Rachel Winard, founder of Soapwalla + Karen Vanede Beauty Director, Vogue Netherlands

Last month, Rachel Winard, founder of Soapwalla, kicked off autumn with a trip to the Netherlands + France to host exclusive skincare + beauty events in Amsterdam, at Le Bon Marche and Mademoiselle Bio in Paris and at the flagship Univeda in Aubernas (L'Ardeche). Between kayaking + romantic train rides between Amsterdam and Paris, she caught some downtime to relax and get ready for Soapwalla events this month with MINI! 

A few of Rachel's favorite Amsterdam and Paris spots: Headfirst Coffee Roasters (fantastic espresso bar on Westerstraat), Anne Frank Haus, wandering the canal-lined streets in the Jordaan neighborhood; Fragments Cafe (Paris), Musee L'Orangerie, Rue des Roisiers in Le Marais (and the falafel there)!

GLUTEN FREE VEGAN BROWNIES

Ingredients
 

• 4 ounces Earth Balance or butter (1 stick)
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• Scant 1 cup sugar
• 2 flax "eggs" (2 tbsp freshly ground flax seeds + 6 tbsp hot water, whisked well and left to set for 10 minutes)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 100 grams teff flour
• 2 handfuls chopped, freshly toasted walnuts
• 2 handfuls semi-sweet chocolate chips (make sure they're dairy-free!)

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line and grease an 8-inch baking pan with 2 sheets of parchment, set perpendicular with enough to hang off the sides. 

• Melt the Earth Balance and chocolate in a medium pot over low heat. Make sure not to burn the chocolate. Stir well!

• Let the butter-chocolate combination cool until you can touch it. Add the sugar and stir until it is dissolved. Add flax mixture and stir well. Pour in vanilla extract and stir. Add teff flour and stir batter well with a spatula for at least one minute. Toss in the chopped nuts and chocolate chips and stir until combined. 

• Pour batter into prepared pan and spread it evenly into the corners. Bake until the edges have begin to pull away from the pan and the center is just starting to set, 20 to 25 minutes. Don't overbake! Remove brownies from the pan by lifting parchment hammock and placing it on a cooling rack. Cool for at least 45 minutes (so hard!); indulge away, and try to not eat them all in one sitting!

Soapwalla L O V E Across the Internet 

Events

Rachel will be at the MINI Reinvented event, October 29th + 30th at Brooklyn's The Green Building. The event is an exhibition of skilled Brooklyn artisans passionate about their craft and community. Rachel will be on hand to demonstrate her techniques, processes and products. RSVP here. 

Rachel is leading three breakout sessions at The W.E.L.L Summit in Boston, MA November 6-7, 2015. Her session, Going With Your Gut: How Intuition Leads Us Down the Path to Fulfillment, will focus on learning to listen to our intuition, how to harness its power and how trusting yourself will lead to a fulfilled, meaningful life. We are so excited about this truly incredible event.