Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Polar Bear Plunge 2010


Chesapeake Climate Action Network held their 5th Annual Polar Bear Plunge on the Chesapeake Bay beachfront property of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in Annapolis ,Maryland, the 23rd of January, 2010. New Leaf participated in several ways. I baked and brought along 100 muffins ( Apple Pecan and Carrot Cake Orange ) and 250 cookies ( Peanut Butter, Oatmeal Raisin and Chocolate Chip)to give away to the hungry Plungers and their support teams. New Leaf's own Jamie raised approximately 350.00 ( I say apprx, because I'm not sure how long the donation period stays open....we've had several come in after the actual dip! ) and put up with my non-stop bake-athon the few days leading up to the plunge....thanks, Hon!

Great hot coffee and tea were being given away by Chesapeake Bay Roasting Company. They are an awesome company that pledges 2% of their gross sales to community organizations that are making a positive impact on the health of the Chesapeake Bay. And they graciously shared their tent with us :)

Lori Hill, of Lori Hill Productions, is "committed to the belief that sustainable meetings and events should be the standard, not an option." Lori not only provided us with a gorgeous table and signs labeling the foods, but enthusiastically applauded New Leaf's efforts to introduce people to the joys and benefits of a vegan diet. AND she plunged in the frigid water, raising over $ 1,000.00 for CCAN....!


The recipes I had used for two of the three cookies are from the following cookbooks. The Oatmeal Raisin Cookie recipe is from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's fantastic Joy Of Vegan Baking, and can be found on an earlier post on our blog. The Chocolate Chip Cookies are from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's venerable Vegan with a Vengeance. However, I am no longer going to use those recipes due to their dependence on Earth Balance margarine which, unfortunately, uses the really problematic palm oil. Check out this post on Vegan Baking.net to see a good overview of the palm oil issues, and enjoy browsing the rest of their site. They are a very valuable vegan baking resource ( say that 5 times fast! ) And it's not that I won't ever use Earth Balance again, but baking hundreds of cookies to give away and essentially promoting the product, definitely does not feel right. So look for newer, more responsible recipes in the near future here. The third cookie was a soft Peanut Butter Oatmeal that used tofu as a secret ingredient...those were pretty darn addictive!