Walking the Vegan Line

Welcome Boden!

2010-06-01T16:05:00.001-05:00

I can't believe it has been almost a year since I have posted on here. I have really missed blogging! The last year has brought a few changes, most notably the arrival of my son, Boden Hardy Mariano! He came into the world on April 2, 2010 at 11:16pm weighing 6 lb. 15 oz. and 19.5 inches long. After a quick stay in the NICU (thanks only to my high fever during labor, he was perfectly fine), he came home and we have been enjoying our time together ever since! Being a mom has been everything I hoped for, and so much more. Here we are just after Boden was born...

I am still doing the vegan thing. During my pregnancy I found it very easy to maintain a healthy diet. My midwife said I had the textbook healthy pregnancy (perfect weight gain, fundal height, etc.). I never had morning sickness and I felt pretty good right up until delivery. Here's a photo of me and my belly just a week before Boden's birth...

I am going to attempt to visit some blogs in the several weeks and catch up a bit. Not sure at this point whether I will start blogging again, but I'll at least update with some cute baby photos every once in awhile :-) Hope you are all doing well!

And since I'm a proud mama, here's a few more pictures of my sweet baby boy!

Houston Represented! Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale Recap

2009-06-25T19:21:00.002-05:00

Houston's Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale this past weekend was a huge success!! Despite temperatures that could melt vegan buttercream in a matter of minutes, we drew in quite the crowd of hungry vegans and non-vegans looking to satisfy their sweet tooth for a good cause. Proceeds from this Society of PEACE sponsored event are going to Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary in Colorado (a place both near and dear to my heart). I think our electric blue "Vegan Bake Sale" sign really got the point across!

Check out our goody table! This was taken before even more cupcakes and brownies arrived. We had some seriously skilled bakers throw down for this bake sale. Embarassingly enough, I think I tried one of almost everything and there's no way I could choose a favorite (though John is still talking about the mexican wedding cookies and the pineapple upside cake).
Want a close-up? Of course I'm sure you're all wondering what I baked. Suprisingly enough I chose not to make cupcakes (shocker, I know), and instead made some healthy low-fat banana bread with pecans(Vcon), banana split brownies (VWAV), and coffee cake (VB).
In addition to all the tasty vegan morsels for sale, we also had a literature table chock full of information on why we should all go vegan, including pamphlets from Peaceful Prairie, how to bake without eggs/dairy, vegan recipe booklets, and upcoming vegan events in Houston.
At the end of the day, we sold almost everything (plus, for those of us lucky enough to stick around till the end, we got our pick of the leftovers!). And in the process we spread the vegan word and raised $650 for our friends at Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary!!
Thanks so much to our wonderful volunteers and talented bakers for making this happen, Mango's Cafe for hosting (more on them in an upcoming post), the coordination efforts of the Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale folks, and everyone who came out to support us!

Houston Represents! Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale Tomorrow!

2009-06-19T09:16:00.004-05:00

Hey Houstonians! Join Society of PEACE tomorrow as we represent the Bayou City in the Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale! We will be at Mango's Vegetarian Cafe (where you can also grab some excellent vegan brunch) tomorrow, June 20th, from 2:00-6:00pm. Proceeds will benefit Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary and Society of PEACE. Here's just a sampling of some of the goodies we are going to have:

Rice krispy and fruity pebble treats
Chocolate chip, mexican wedding, and ginger snap cookies
Cherry pineapple squares and pineapple upside down mini cakes
Plenty of cupcakes to choose from, including red velvet, chocolate, and coconut lime
Traditional and banana split brownies

Not in the Houston area? Check out the mega-list of other vegan bake sales happening all around the world in the next week. Hopefully there is one in your area, if not, throw one together yourself!

I will of course post a full report on the bake sale next week!

The Brunch Crawl

2009-06-11T08:34:00.000-05:00

Every Sunday afternoon, my neighborhood is overtaken by drunken yuppy hipster brunchers literally crawling from one brunch hangout to another. Unfortunately, just about the only vegan item on the menu is a mimosa or a bloody mary (which I'm happy to partake in, but it leaves a girl needing some food!). So now join me on my own mini brunch crawl, courtesy of the fabulous new Vegan Brunch cookbook, as I take you from the savory all the way to the sweet.

First up are the Chesapeake tempeh cakes with a tangy remoulade sauce. Holy moly these things are tasty. For those of you that are tempeh-haters, give this recipe a try and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Really, you can't go wrong with capers and panko. If you don't have Vegan Brunch yet, you are in luck because this recipe is online.
After a few failed previous attempts at making vegan omelets, this recipe made it so easy! I filled my omelet with roasted plum tomatoes, grilled asparagus, melted teese, and fresh basil. I could have eaten ten of these things they were that good. On the side are baked hashbrowns, a nice variation to the typical fried version.
Oh, the bagels. Now I know making bagels sounds a bit daunting to some but you must try it (plus people will be impressed). I literally ate three bagels 20 minutes after they came out of the oven, I couldn't stop myself. The toppings were a bit finicky with them coming off in the boiling water, but it was all worth it. I made an assortment of cinnamon-sugar, poppy seed, and sesame seed bagels. They were perfect plain but my favorite way to eat them was toasted and slathered with some tofutti.
And now moving on to a few sweeter items.... these are the bakery style berry muffins. I used a mixture of frozen raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, and a few frozen strawberries. These muffins had a delicate crumb... so delicate that a few of the berries exploded out (result of no muffin liner, but hey, that's bakery style!), but they were eaten regardless.
And the sweetest of all, really a dessert, the East Coast coffee cake. I followed Isa's suggested variation of adding both frozen raspberries and chocolate chips. This is a sure way to win over your friends and family when hosting vegan brunch.
So don't crawl, don't walk, run and get a copy of Vegan Brunch. You will have people lining up at your door for good food and good times on a Sunday afternoon! Oh, and don't forget the mimosas.

It's Not Spring Without a Little Bling Bling

2009-05-25T21:34:00.001-05:00

Friday night I had the most awesome job of baking and giving out (free!) over 150 vegan mini cupcakes to a crafty crowd of Houstonians at the Spring Bling event. Held at Sew Crafty (my go to spot for learning all kinds of crafts), several local artists came out to show off their handmade goodies. Plus there was drop-in crafting fun for everyone! Plus appetizers, wine, candy, and vegan cupcakes, of course.
These vanilla minis with lemony buttercream were the most blinged out of all my cupcakes. Hot pink disco dust is my new favorite thing to sprinkle on cupcakes!
The crowd favorite was definitely the green tea minis with green tea glaze and finished with a marzipan flower (a la VCTOTW).
And no cupcake tower would be complete without at least some chocolate, and these minis served double duty. Chocolate cake topped with a swirl of mocha hazelnut mousse. They may not be pretty, but damn they were good!

A shout out to all of the local crafters! You ladies inspire me.
A Punkin Card Company
Apt 3305 (I couldn't resist purchasing a dessert-themed sugar bowl and creamer from her)
Knotty by Nature

Walking Like a Vegan Chic

2009-05-21T08:53:00.001-05:00

Have you heard that Vegetarian Shoes and Bags is now Vegan Chic? And they have an even bigger selection of 100% vegan shoes, as well as bags, belts, wallets, and clothing! The easy-to-navigate website makes it a cinch to find what you're looking for. Eco-sneakers for running errands around town? Check. Gladiator sandals for brunch with the girls? Check. Sexy peep-toe pumps for a night out with your honey? Check. Best of all, they have plenty of very affordable shoes (plus bags, wallets, and belts) in all the latest styles.

So what look did I go for? Some super sexy, oxford-detailed vegan pumps in cappuccino that will take me from the office to an evening of cocktails with friends. The Caroleena pump by Neuaura has a glossy brown finish with details that makes these shoes look more expensive than they actually are, but these shoes are built to last! I chose to wear mine without the ankle strap.
So the shoes look good but do they feel good? I felt these shoes ran true to size, though slightly on the narrow side (perfect for my narrow feet). The wide heel makes it such that I don't feel like I'm having to balance on my toes while walking. They certainly aren't as comfortable as my trusty flats, and if I didn't have a desk job I probably wouldn't last in them all day. But I thought they were cute enough to withstand a little pain. (no blisters, just sore arches and ankles)
A lot of my friends often remark that they wouldn't waste their time purchasing shoes online... too risky. But I have found that with a little practice (yes, this likely involves returning a pair or two of shoes), you learn what brands and styles fit your feet. And for most vegans, there aren't too many options at local stores for quality footware. What are your experiences with buying shoes online?

Thanks to Vegan Chic for the opportunity to review a pair of shoes! They must have known that shoes are my weakness....

I Know You Were Expecting Mighty O's...

2009-05-17T16:13:00.000-05:00

Has it really been almost two months since I last posted? I didn't mean to drop off the face of blogworld, but it has been an emotionally challenging past few weeks and I really needed some time away. I am trying this weekend to catch up all of your blog posts, and can't wait to see what everyone has been up to!
It feels like forever ago that I was promising yall photos of all the Mighty O's I was going to consume in Seattle. Unfortunately, that trip didn't happen, but I wasn't about to go without donuts! So I used Vegan YumYum's recipe to make these baked donuts with chocolate glaze and vegan sprinkles. A suitable substitute until I can get back up to Seattle.

To celebrate Earth Day our local vegan group organized a potluck picnic, which always means lots of great food to sample! Since we were minus a kitchen at my place (we were getting wood floors installed throughout the house), I went with a simple but classic picnic favorite... potato salad! My favorite recipe lately has been the one from Skinny Bitch in the Kitch, but I just spotted an avocado potato salad in the new Vegan Brunch book that I'm excited to try.

Did I mention I visited NYC for a long weekend as well? Despite the rainy weather, John and I walked up and down Manhattan Island in search of good vegan (for me) and Italian (for him) food, while seeing some of the sights along the way. One of the coolest things we saw was on Ellis Island, where John's grandparents had their names engraved on the immigrant wall... a piece of family history! So I know you're waiting now for food pics, but I didn't take any! So instead you get a photo of me on the Brooklyn Bridge....

Okay, so maybe I took one or two food photos, here is a spelt chocolate cupcake from Babycakes! I also picked up their new cookbook, and am excited to try some of their recipes in my own kitchen. In addition to Babycakes, this was the food line-up: fauz meat dinner at Red Bamboo, pizza in Little Italy, fancy dinner at Candle 79, and brunch at Counter. I desperately wanted to make it to Lulu's for ice cream but ran out of time. Gives me yet another reason to return.

And check out the goodies I got in the mail this week...

Amey sent me homemade cookies! From the top down they are maple walnut, chocolate cherry almond (my favorite of the three), and chocolate chip. Thanks so much Amey for sweetening up my week; these cookies put a big smile on my face.

No plans to be disappearing again. I have a shoe and book review to post soon!

Snuggle Up for a WIP Wednesday

2009-04-01T09:00:00.001-06:00

So many crafts! So little time! For this Work-In Progress Wednesday post I'm showing off a bunch of finished projects. So grab a cup of tea, a snuggly blanket, and follow along...

First, it's time to reveal this month's completed stitch-along! The last few days I have been embroidering like a mad woman to finish up the Bear & Bunny dolls. I must admit to struggling a bit with stitching up the final bit after stuffing. My slip stitch isn't the best, so I often resort to other techniques (such as forcing the stuffed animal through my sewing machine, with mixed success). But it worked out in the end and these two dollies have now found good homes. (oh, and that is my childhood Easter basket with them that my crafty mom made!)

I made these boxer shorts for my brother's birthday (hopefully he won't read this and spoil the surprise). This is my first pattern from Sew Everything Workshop, and the directions were a bit cryptic for me, but I was still happy with the final product.
Did you know that March 20 was Meatout Day 2009? Actually, everyday should be meatout day as far as I'm concerned, but that's beside the point. Our local vegan group held a movie screening with an accompanying bake sale, so I made vanilla Meatout cupcakes complete with a fondant piece of meat.
Remember those giraffe parts strewn about that I showed you last time? Well here is the final first birthday cake. The recipient was even sweet enough to send me a few pics of her little one blowing out the candles and getting all messy with the cake (I made a separate, mini-cake just for that). So cute!
I finished sewing the first of three aprons this past week, and I love the way it turned out! The pattern is from Amy Butler's book In Stitches. A quick and easy pattern that can easily be finished in a few evenings of sewing.
And my final sewing project to show off... I made this fleece-lined paw print blanket to donate to the Snuggles Project, which provides blankets to animal shelters. My hope is that a lonely cat or dog finds some tiny bit of comfort in resting on this blanket rather than a concrete floor. My stuffed koala, Barnaby, is demonstrating one potential use.

That about wraps it up for this WIP Wednesday! Be sure to check out other wipsters posts!

I am off to Seattle this weekend to visit my sister and have a girly few days of facials, yoga, baking, visiting a chocolate factory, and shopping. And of course, there will be Mighty O's, lots of Mighty O's....

Daring Bakers Challenge: Noodles!! for Lasagna

2009-03-29T15:45:00.002-06:00

Time once again for another Daring Bakers Challenge!! Only this month we have a new website, new logos, and a very different kind of challenge: making your own pasta! And not just any pasta, spinach lasagna noodles layered with a country ragu and bechamel sauce. Veganizing this challenge wasn't even an issue. Those eggs that pasta recipes call for? Not needed at all! For the pasta dough I used a recipe from Nonna's Italian Kitchen, but substituted semolina flour for regular flour and added pureed spinach. I made my ragu using a simple marinara sauce recipe and adding some texture in the form of sauteed onions, green pepper, soy crumbles, fresh basil, and plenty of garlic. The bechamel started with a simple roux of Earth Balance and flour, with soymilk, white pepper, and nutmeg added to the mix and thickened. But really the whole process is best illustrated in pictorial format...

Since I am lucky enough to have a husband who is half Italian, we actually own a pasta machine! Not that I've ever used it until now. With John's help we cranked out pasta sheet after pasta sheet...
After cutting the pasta into shapes resembling lasagna noodles, they were spread out to dry. I had quite a bit of pasta leftover!Vegan Noodle holding one long vegan noodle!
Sauces simmering....
One thing about making your own pasta... it makes a mess. Flour everywhere and in every crevice!! It was even all over the floor by the time we finished.
But it was all worth it in the end. I'm not sure I'll ever be quite as happy with dried pasta. The two sauces complimented each other nicely and the noodles were amazing.

The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.

Breathing Some Soul Into My Kitchen

2009-03-25T18:34:00.002-06:00

You would think that since I grew up in the South, my formative years were filled with Southern comfort and soul foods. Truth be told I was never a fan of fried chicken, grits, collard greens, or most of the staples of the South. But all of that seems to have changed in the last few years (except for the chicken part, of course), and now I savor the flavors of soul cuisine. So when I was asked to review Vegan Soul Kitchen, a new cookbook by Bryant Terry, I took that chance to breathe a little bit of soul into my kitchen.... and here's what I came up with.

One mandatory recipe to make (for anyone who gets this book) is the one that inspired the book itself; citrus collards with raisins redux. This was my first time cooking collards in my kitchen, and I was worried that the bitterness would be too much for me. Wrong! The burst of citrus and sweetness of the raisins was the perfect compliment to the greens.

Along with the collards, I made whole-grain mustard and cornmeal crusted seitan and sweet cornmeal-coconut butter drop biscuits. The biscuits ended up looking more like cookies, but none of that mattered once you slathered on a little Earth Balance and took a bite... these just melted in my mouth. I also loved the crunch I got from using coarse cornmeal.

Another meal I made was the blackened tofu slabs with succotash salsa. The blackened tofu was quite a hit, and I liked his suggestion of chilling, slicing, and putting it on a salad. The succotash was alright, I don't think it turned out so well because I used both frozen corn and lima beans (fresh is recommended), plus my tomatoes were less than stellar. But during the right season (summer) I think this would really compliment the tofu.
And to round out my review, tonight I whipped up a trio of salads for dinner, including: carrot-cayenne coleslaw, chilled citrus broccoli salad, and roasted red potato salad with parsley-pine nut pesto. The pesto had a very unique flavor, thanks to the addition of miso I am guessing. Next time I would use more red pepper, but this is a potato salad that would certainly please a crowd. The broccoli was also full of flavor, though the citrus wasn't too overpowering. The only unfortunate thing is that the acid in the citrus turned my bright green broccoli into a mucky brown color! The coleslaw wasn't much of a standout, and I didn't end up tasting the cayenne at all. But my cabbage-loving husband still devoured it with pleasure.
Overall, I have really enjoyed the recipes from Vegan Soul Kitchen. Bryant Terry gives us quite a variety of traditional southern recipes, but with a modern twist. The tone in his directions is smooth and relaxed (he actually told me to "massage" my broccoli!). And his soundtrack selection for each dish allows the food to really sing to you in more ways than one (though I didn't have too many of them on my iTunes playlist). Surprisingly, though, I'm not even sure Bryant Terry is a vegan (based on his comments in the introduction... haven't confirmed this!). I guess this is one detail I am willing to overlook, because I sure do like his soul food!

Dust Off the Shelf - The Classics

2009-03-18T17:17:00.000-06:00

It's time to dust off my cookbook shelf again! This time with a triple shot of Sarah Kramer and a double dose of Tanya Barnard: La Dolce Vegan, How it all Vegan, and The Garden of Vegan. Like many of you out there, these cookbooks were the first thing I turned to when I went vegan (hence the post title, "the classics"). And it was a good thing too, because they are filled with familiar recipes that are generally simple to prepare and taste delicious.
From La Dolce Vegan, I cooked up the Aloo Gobi Potatoes and Cauliflower, making sure I added plenty of peas (a favorite of mine in Indian dishes). This was the perfect quick meal: a short ingredient list and minimal cook time, plus the result was full of flavor and rivaled the aloo gobi at my favorite Indian restaurant in town! Served with my favorite lemon basmati rice on the side. In The Garden of Vegan, I dove right into the extensive dessert section. I was looking for something to build a cute housewarming gift around, and these lemon poppyseed shortbreads were just the thing. Lemon is such a fresh and inviting scent; perfect for a new homeowner! I wrapped the cookies with a cute yellow bow and added it to a box with a lemon tea towel, zester, squeezer, and a tiny bottle of lemon oil.
And finally, from How It All Vegan I made one of my childhood favorites -veganized-... chocolate chip cookie bars. Part cookie, part cakey brownie, but all parts good. These turned out so moist and fluffy, it was difficult not to eat the whole pan!
So now my cookbook shelf is looking rather spiffy and well used... but it will surely collect dust once again, and that's when I'll be back with another round of Dust Off the Shelf!

Fabric and Fondant

2009-03-11T17:00:00.001-06:00

It's time for another Work-In-Progress Wednesday! This week I'm focusing on fondant and fabric, my two weapons of choice when it comes to creating lately.

I finished up sewing my sun and surf halter top with the help of my Sew Crafty peeps. I love the fabric and can't wait to wear this around the beach when summer rolls around. To celebrate, I of course brought cupcakes. I made the VCTOTW S'mores cupcakes but added a chocolate ganache layer beneath the frosting to add extra chocolatey flavor and added ricemallow cream to the frosting (both tips courtesy of Conscious Kitchen). The ganache was still warmy when I frosted them, so they ended up being all gooey.... just like a good s'more should be!

Another completed project started off with making what looked like packing peanuts to one of my Flickr commenters! These are actually handmade fondant bows. Unfinished bows on the left, finished ones on the right. I had to make 72 of these little bows....
To go on top of 72 cupcakes! These were for a Breakfast at Tiffany's-themed bridal shower. Half chocolate and half vanilla, both with cream cheese frosting tinted that signature blue color.
Here is a close up shot of the cupcakes. Apparently they were the hit of the party!
Now for a few current projects involving fondant and fabric.... This hula print really made me giggle when I saw it so I'm using it to make someone else smile on their birthday. Can't reveal any more than that right now, more to come later.
And here is a fondant giraffe that I'm working on as I type this for a banana first birthday cake. Assembly will take place tomorrow. Now just trying to decide on a coordinating border color to pipe on the cake. I'm thinking brown? Or is that too blah? Future projects: the WIP stitch along, blankets to donate to the Snuggles project, and an apron!

Beeting Hearts and Half-Eaten Chocolates

2009-03-03T09:01:00.001-06:00

Yes, I know February is over... all the Valentine's Day flowers have shriveled and died, the last few half eaten truffles have been forgotten in the heart-shaped box, and all the card companies have moved on to the next commercialized holiday (I guess that would be Easter?). But I still thought I would blog about an amazing dinner and everyone's favorite on Valentine's, boxes of chocolates.

For dinner, I made seitan piccata and stuffed mushrooms, both from the Candle Cafe cookbook along with roasted beets sprinkled with celtic gray sea salt and a dribble of balsamic glace. I had to use my heart cookie cutters on the beets, because honestly, when else can you use them if not on Valentine's day?
After seeing a post on the always fabulous Girlie Girl Army about the delicious treats from Allison's Gourmet, I decided to splurge and buy myself a box of truffles (thinking there was no way that John would figure out a way to get vegan chocolates). The box included three types of truffles (hazelnut, mocha, and almond) and three types of caramels (pecan, peanut, and chocolate) Next year I will be ordering a box full of the caramels (pecan was my favorite)! Not that I didn't like the truffles as well, but I had plenty of those to choose from....
Because to my surprise, John did a little online searching on his own and ordered me a box of truffles from Rose City Chocolatier. I was seriously impressed with his effort. This one had all kinds of flavors (hazelnut, vanilla, mandarin, coconut, pistachio, strawberry to name a few). Quality-wise they weren't quite up to the standard of Allison's truffles, but it was kind of fun to eat a box of chocolate the way I used to... take a bite and if it was a less than stellar flavor (the mandarin), I just put the uneaten half back in the box!
And as if I didn't have enough chocolate... I made chocolate covered strawberries drizzled with the last of my white chocolate chip stash. What the strawberries lacked in ripeness, the chocolate more than made up for in sweetness. The strawberries, chocolates, a bottle of champagne, and the Lush sex bomb bath bomb made for quite a relaxing evening.

Daring Bakers Challenge: Flourless Chocolate Cake

2009-02-28T18:37:00.005-06:00

This month's Daring Baker's challenge crept up on me like no other. And it failed on me like no other. Since it was so last minute, I went with a simple tofu variation of a flourless chocolate cake recipe. Wish I had beans to make Hannah's version. It looked alright coming out of the oven....
But once it was de-panned... it turned into a mushy mess, not cakey at all! At least the vegan vanilla mimicreme ice cream made it somewhat edible.

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

I promise to post for real tomorrow, and catch up on blogs! I'm sooooo behind....

Giveaway Winner!

2009-02-16T17:56:00.004-06:00

I had a blast reading about all of your favorite shoes! I wish you could all be winners, but the random number generator spit out lucky number.... 79.

The winner is Nora from My Cup of Tea! Her favorite shoes were....

"... these sparkly red mary janes i had when i was 5 and i would walk up to strangers and say, "do you want to see my pretty red shoes?!"

What a coincidence that her response totally made me remember the Mary Janes that I never wanted to take off in third grade. Send me an email Nora with your first and last name and I will have Onlineshoes contact you about your prize. Thanks to Onlineshoes for letting me host this giveaway!

Pillow of Love

2009-02-11T18:12:00.003-06:00

Don't forget to enter for the $100 giveaway to Onlineshoes by Feb. 16th! See this post.

Time for another Work In Progress update.... I finished my love bear pillow for the Valentine's Day Stitch-Along. I was amazed at how fast the whole thing came together. Now I want to make room full of pillows!
Way back in December, I took a Valentine card making class with my mom and sister. I didn't exactly follow the instructions on all of the cards (like my heart skull and crossbones?), but I had fun with stamps and hole punches and glitter. After all that hard work, it's kinda hard to part with them!
Last night I finished the first of two nappy bags. Just in the nick of time too; my friend is due on Valentine's day! I really like the dragonfly pattern. I even modified the cell phone pocket to fit the my girlfriend's super cool iPhone that I wish I had. This bag is huge and has tons of space to stash all sorts of fun baby things... diapers, wipes, binkies. Crazy fun.
Tomorrow night I start another 3 week sewing class and I ordered my fabric for the project online at reprodepot. It's such a fun, whimsical print. I'll reveal what we're making when I'm done in a few weeks... (hint: it will be perfect for all the warm weather that's headed our way in the coming months)

This post is a part of Work-In-Progress (W.I.P.) Wednesdays where I share some of my projects that serve as a creative outlet for my mostly left-brained mind. I may be posting the results of finished projects, actual W.I.Ps, or projects that are on my to-do list. Be sure to check out others that are posting their projects as well!

Stomping Grounds Cake and a Contest

2009-02-09T16:10:00.006-06:00

First things first. The cake. I was asked to make the birthday cake for one very cool vegan kid celebrating his fifth birthday. The party was held at the "Stomping Grounds" playland, so to continue the "stomping" theme, a dinosaur cake was in order. I know my brontosaurus and his footprints aren't exactly anatomically correct, but at least they are cute. The volcano was apparently the hit of the party when the birthday boy was blowing out his candles.
Even though this was the largest cake I've ever made (11'x15'), I was nervous that it wouldn't be enough for a crowd of hungry toddlers (is 5 a toddler? I don't know these things) so I also whipped up a batch of carrot cake cupcakes. These were also stomped, I mean stamped, with a dinosaur footprint made of fondant.

And now, the contest and some stomping of your own (which has nothing to do with cake). Onlineshoes has asked me to host a giveaway for a $100 gift certificate to their store, which carries plenty of vegan friendly shoes including the super comfortable Earth brand shoes. The rules are simple. Just leave a comment describing your favorite pair of shoes that you have ever owned (mine are the shoes on my feet right now, forest green vegan flats). On February 16th at noon (CST) I will randomly select a winner, so be sure to check back and see if you've won! The contest is only open to those who currently reside in the US. Now stomp to it!

And you can triple your chances of winning if you head over to The Urban Housewife's blog and Awesome.Vegan.Rad , where they are both running the same giveaway!

Daring Bakers Challenge: Tuile Cookies

2009-01-29T11:00:00.003-06:00

Tuiles so light so crisp

being a daring baker

you lifted my heart

No reinventing
Yum yum recipe and tools
I cut out my heart
Patience played its part
one broken for one intact
heart flutters each drop
Whipped a mango mousse
into shape you were molded
now i heart agar

Topped with raspberries
endless possibilites
a heart shape five ways

Hope you understood
my haiku lyric journey
tuile around my heart

This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

Inspired by Apples

2009-01-28T10:26:00.001-06:00

It is a happy day when the first US grown apples arrive in the produce section. Apples are one of my favorite staple foods during the cooler months, whether serving as a snack with peanut butter, in a salad with greens and walnuts, shredded in a slaw with carrots and lemon juice, or baked with an oat & pecan topping with vanilla soy ice cream in an apple crisp (as shown below). My favorite variety of apple? I'm partial to Fujis, but also love the honeycrisps and pink ladies.
Not only will this fiber-rich fruit help keep the doctor away, but it can also serve as inspiration for more creative outlets. I chose this bright, cheerful apple print fabric to use as a lining for the Frenchy Bag that I made at a recent Sew Crafty class. Now it makes me hungry everytime I look inside my bag!
The outside of the bag turned out cute as well. It's the perfect size to stash just about everything in, even a couple of apples!
The W.I.P stitch along was just the push I needed to start my first embroidery project! And with such minimal supplies, it's easy to get started. I picked up some organic cotton twill, embroidery floss (in pink, purple, brown, and green), a hoop, and a needle and that's it! I finished up embroidering the love bear last night and now just need to decide what to do with this cute little guy.
No shortage of projects in my queue. This weekend I went fabric shopping with two of my prego girlfriends (yes, I have entered that stage in life where everyone I know is pregnant) so they could pick out what they wanted for the nappy bags that I'm going to make them. I am currently in the cutting fabric stage (aka my least favorite part) for the first one which has a fast approaching due date!

This post is a part of Work-In-Progress (W.I.P.) Wednesdays where I share some of my projects that serve as a creative outlet for my mostly left-brained mind. I may be posting the results of finished projects, actual W.I.Ps, or projects that are on my to-do list. Be sure to check out others that are posting their projects as well. Thanks to Shellyfish for inspiring us all!

Dust Off the Shelf - Uncheese, Kitch, & Maximus

2009-01-26T14:21:00.001-06:00

I mentioned a few posts back that I have been struggling somewhat to find cooking inspiration. Reviewing many of my recent posts, it may appear to my readers that all I eat are cupcakes and treats! While I do tend to indulge in something sweet once a day, the bulk of my daily food intake is actually quite healthy. All I had to do to find a little inspiration (in addition to your suggestions... thanks!), was dust off my cookbook shelf and rediscover all the recipes I already have at my fingertips! So, I'm going to be doing a series of "Dusting Off the Shelf" where every few weeks I'll make a recipe from 3-4 predetermined cookbooks, with particular attention being given to those I use less or that have been a new addition to my ever-growing and hopefully now less dusty shelf.

First up: The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook, Skinny Bitch in the Kitch, and Gastronomus Maximus.
The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook is one of those books on my shelf that I have yet to make a single thing from.. embarassing I know! I chose to try the Broccoli and Rice Casserole since it's a dish that I recall fondly from my childhood. This version was super simple to prepare and required minimal ingredients. If you are a fan of noochy rice, this one is for you.
I was one of the lucky recipients of Amey's holiday zine, full of wonderful recipes and adorable drawings. This recipe for Quinoa with Brussel Sprouts and Tempeh is originally from Fresh Food Fast. I used a mixture of red and regular quinoa to add some color to this healthful dish. (and shhhh... I also made a cookie recipe she put in the zine as well ;-)
The arrival of my Skinny Bitch Total Body Workout video reminded me to revisit Skinny Bitch in the Kitch. I am a big fan of their "Down Home Cookin" section (e.g. the meatloaf), so I took a chance on the Sloppy Joe recipe. My mom calls these "yummies" but I always called them "yuckies". Maybe I just needed to try the vegan version, because now I agree with my mom. Oh, and I made my own buns using Vegan Dad's recipe.... not sure if I have the patience to wait 5 hours for buns ever again, but they sure were good.
To accompany the Sloppy Joes, I also made potato salad, yet another Southern dish that I've been avoiding all of my life. And once again proving that vegan versions are far superior... I couldn't get enough of this stuff. The veganaise, the sweet pickle relish, the dill, mmm mmm! Bring on summer picnicing season (not so far off here in Houston) because I'm ready with my potluck dish to share!
And even though it wasn't included in last week's assigned cookbooks, here's a bonus dessert from My Sweet Vegan, the triple threat chocolate cheesecake. It pleased a table full of omnivores with it's rich, chocolatey, creamy layers.

Try Walking in My Shoes

2009-01-21T08:53:00.002-06:00

Confession: I used to be a shopaholic when it came to shoes. I loved them all... rugged hiking boots, dainty ballet flats, trusty running shoes, funky wedges, and even those killer spiky heels. After going vegan I realized that most of the shoes in my growing collection were born of cruelty so I slowly began to purge my closet and took them to Goodwill. I kept a few pairs that I really loved, figuring it seemed logical to wear them out before getting rid of them. But I found myself not wanting to put those on either, and they eventually got the boot. So you can only imagine my excitement when a representative from Gaiam contacted me asking if I would like to review a pair of their vegan shoes! Let's take a walk in my new J41 Yoga Slide shoes (which are on sale right now!) and I'll let you know what I think...

These slip on shoes are constructed with a cute and colorful corduroy upper and recycled rubber soles . The treads are tough enough to take you on a short rocky hiking trail but still comfy enough for walking to your neighborhood coffee shop. I have an older style of this shoe (which I still love), and I'm happy to report that they have added more cushioning to the insole, allowing for endless hours of roaming through the city in search of vegan treats. The handy velcro closures allows a snug fit for both narrow and wider feet, but you still have the luxury of being able to slip these shoes on and go!

I have worn my J41s both with and without socks (got a tiny blister the first time I wore no socks, but after that no problem), with jeans and with skirts, to the grocery store and to work and all without missing a step. Speaking of missing steps, if you are a bit of a clutz (like me), the super reinforced rubber will keep your toes safe from whatever you smash them into. Plus, it's super cool that they have the word "vegan" written on the inside.. just in case your friends have any doubt.

Overall I would rate these shoes as excellent and they are key player in my line up of everyday shoes. My only suggestion is they should add more color combinations so I can get another pair!

In a world that is full of yucky leather shoes, it's nice to know that our options are growing everyday with stylish, eco-conscious, well-built vegan shoes that with every step we take, we are making the world a more compassionate place. Thanks Gaiam for the shoes... I love them!

** My only compensation for this review was a free pair of shoes. Sweet!
** In other shoe-related news in my life... I bought John a pair of his first vegan work shoes for Christmas this year and he loves them!! He says they are not only more comfortable than his other work shoes, but they also make his feet sweat less. Bonus!

Bienvenue dans la jungle, bébé!

2009-01-14T08:16:00.001-06:00

Two of my closest friends will be welcoming a baby girl into this crazy jungle of a world in just about a month, so this past weekend I cohosted a co-ed baby shower in their honor. The mom-to-be's only request (besides minimizing the pink) was that I make a cake for the occasion. All that pressure! So I really didn't want to disappoint...

For this jungle-themed cake I made the raspberry blackout cake from VWAV and added fresh raspberries to the ganache layer in the middle. After frosting it with the thick chocolate ganache, I rolled out white fondant to cover the cake. The zebra stripes were cut freehand from black rolled fondant and I piped a pink buttercream border. But the funnest part of making this cake had to be molding the elephant topper from fondant by hand! It turned out so cute! I have a feeling I will be making more fondant figures in the future...
And just in case the cake went fast (which it did, once I could bring myself to cut into it), I also made a dozen lemon macadamia white chocolate chip cupcakes (VCTOTW) in zebra striped cupcake liners with a piped buttercream swirl, a pink fondant flower, and placed in these adorable cupcake cuppies from Etsy.
I wanted to give the expectant parents a few more personalized gifts than just what was on their registry. So I got out my dressmaking shears, some pretty fabric, and 6 plain, white, organic cloth diapers and turned them into a bib and four colorful burp cloths using tutorials from Chickpea Sewing Studio. I thought the Eiffel tower bib was especially appropriate since the baby daddy is French and they are expecting a little girl. These projects were both so easy!
Testing my beginner sewing skills a bit more... ever since Shellyfish posted about the animal friends fabric book from Natasha who runs Hanies Etsy shop, I knew I wanted to make one for the parents-to-be. They have two rescue dogs and mom is a vegetarian, so animals are a big part of their lives (not to mention the jungle-themed party)! Each page of this fabric book features a different animal, including a cat, elephant, dog, lion, and a chicken. Sewing those tight little curves was a bit stressful for me, luckily my mom was there to help out and we cheered each other on through the tough parts.
And since I enjoy decorating real cakes so much, I figured I would attempt my first diaper cake for the occasion. Since this wasn't just a girly shower and I didn't want the guys feeling too threatened, I kept it simple with a few different ribbon trims and a bow on top. You can't see it, but on the inside are two bottles filled with baby stuff. Not edible, but still fun to look at.
I can hardly wait to meet their little girl! Now I am trying to figure out what homemade foods to make so I can help stock their pantry, fridge, and freezer. After all, they're going to need something to eat during those late night feedings!

This post is a part of Work-In-Progress (W.I.P.) Wednesdays where I share some of my projects that serve as a creative outlet for my mostly left-brained mind. I may be posting the results of finished projects, actual W.I.Ps, or projects that are on my to-do list. Be sure to check out others that are posting their projects as well. Thanks to Shellyfish for inspiring us all!

Going the Distance for Vegan Pizza

2009-01-07T08:42:00.002-06:00

Can you believe it's 2009?!? It seems like we just rang in Y2K and now all of a sudden it's nine years later. I have high hopes for 2009 though!

To celebrate the new year, we joined some good friends for dinner at Houston's new "green" restaurant, Pizza Fusion. Well, calling it Houston is kind of a stretch since we had to drive 40 minutes to get there (which, I know, isn't very green to drive that far for dinner), leaving the 610 loop which we rarely venture outside of. Pizza Fusion is a restaurant chain that prides itself on minimizing their ecological footprint through the use of organic ingredients, hybrid delivery vehicles, reclaimed building materials (the floors and tables in this one were from the basketball court of a local high school), LEED certification, and recycling. All good things if you ask me! Of course, the fact that they have a vegan cheese option as well as a vegan dessert, also helped lure me outside the loop.

It was kind of surreal to see the word "vegan" emblazed on a building in the suburbs of Houston. If that's not progress, I don't know what else is.

After some confusion over volumetric conversions with the bartender (the 16oz glass of beer came marked in a 0.4L glass, which is equivalent to about 13.5 oz, but we were still charged for the 16oz), our vegan breadstick order arrived with a mix of both white and multigrain minis and a marinara dipping sauce. We probably would have ordered two if we knew our pizzas would take almost an hour to arrive....
But arrive eventually they did. Two specialty pizzas, a veggie medley (mushrooms, broccoli, bell pepper, onions) and a Seattle (onion, garlic, basil, balsamic vinegar, and artichoke hearts) both with FYH mozzarella on a crispy white dough crust. The Seattle was my favorite with the bite of the vinegar, the sweetness of the onion, and the creaminess of the melty "cheese", all the flavors melded into a perfect pairing. The pizza was definitely a hit with the vegan and non-vegan parties at our table.
To make up for the very slow service, the manager gave us a few freebies... "I'm a vegan" bracelets, coupons for soy cheese pizzas, and dessert! This vegan, gluten-free brownie was a nice ending to the meal. Not as good as my homemade brownies (they were a little grainy and could have been more chocolatey), but still good.
While I enjoyed out trip out to the boonies for a vegan pizza, it's not likely a trip I'll make very often. Luckily, Pizza Fusion has plans to open more locations throughout Texas and the country. Maybe one will be opening close to you (and me)!

I have been in a cooking rut lately. I think last week I ate out 4 nights in a row which is very unlike me. So I'm searching for some inspiration... what have you cooked lately that you absolutely loved?

Daring Bakers Challenge: French Yule Log

2008-12-29T08:56:00.000-06:00

I believe I have met my match. Never before have I heard myself utter the words after savoring a bite of dessert, "That's too much chocolate..." but this month's holiday Daring Bakers challenge has proven that such a thing exists. Since I served the yule log for our holiday dinner, I added some festive vintage decorations. The mushrooms and silver trees were my favorite.
This French Yule log has, count 'em, six different elements with a grand total of nine layers. Starting from the bottom up:
1. hazelnut genoise
2. dark chocolate ganache
3. chocolate hazelnut mousse
4. hazelnut praline insert
5. more mousse
6. vegan pastry cream (a stand in for creme brulee)
7. more mousse
8. more genoise
9. chocolate icing
Even the tiniest of pieces felt like a brick of chocolate had just settled in my stomach.
If I ever do dare to make another yule log, I think I will break it up with a bit less chocolate. Maybe a vanilla mousse? I can hardly believe I am typing this out, I feel like I'm cheating on chocolate!

This month's challenge is brought to us by the adventurous Hilda from Saffron and Blueberry and Marion from Il en Faut Peu Pour Etre Heureux.
They have chosen a French Yule Log by Flore from Florilege Gourmand.

Dance of the Sugar Plum Vegan

2008-12-24T08:54:00.004-06:00

There is something magical about the Nutcracker ballet... the music, the story, the thought of a land filled with endless sweets. Many years growing up, I looked forward to wearing my holiday dress and using those little glasses to magnify the dancers up on their toes. I would leave the theatre feeling like I too had been transported to the land of the sugar plum fairy with a nutcracker prince at my side. Since I didn't make it to the ballet this year, I put together my own little video to whisk me away to that magical place filled with holiday sweets...
(music from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker)

This year's holiday baking included veganizing some of my childhood favorites. They turned out so well that I'm going to share the recipes...

Mounds Bars - a graham cracker crust with a gooey coconut filling and topped with a layer of chocolate

Ingredients:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup Earth Balance vegan butter, melted

1 cup coconut (sweetened, not dessicated)
3/4 cup sweetened condensed soy milk (recipe here)
1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup vegan chocolate chips
1 T chunky peanut butter

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Mix crumbs, sugar, and melted earth balance and press into an 8x8 pyrex dish.
2. Combine coconut, sweetened condensed soymilk, and vanilla in a small bowl. Spread carefully on top of crumbs in an even layer.
3. Bake for 15 minutes in 350 oven. Remove from oven and cool.
4. Melt chocolate chips on a double broiler. Add in peanut butter. Spread on top of baked bars.
5. Refrigerate until chocolate has set and ready to serve. Store in refrigerator.

Pecan Tassies - a creamy dough with a sugary sweet pecan filling

Ingredients:

1/3 cup vegan cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup Earth Balance vegan butter, softened
1 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp EnerG egg replacer + 2 T water
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 T Earth Balance vegan butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
1/3 cup pecans, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325. Line a mini muffin pan with liners and lightly oil. Set aside.
2. In a stand mixer, cream together softened cream cheese and butter. Mix in flour until well incorporated. Chill in the refrigerator for an hour.
3. Shape dough into 24 - 1 inch balls. Place balls into greased muffin cups. Press dough into the bottom and up the sides of the cups.
4. Beat together the EnerG, sugar, butter, vanilla, and salt until well combined. Add the chopped pecans.
5. Fill the dough lined muffin cups with the pecan mixture. Top with extra pecans if desired.
6. Bake for 25 minutes at 325, or until filling is set. Remove from oven and cool until able to remove the tassies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Crispy Peanut Butter Balls

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup chunky natural peanut butter
2 cups crisped brown rice cereal
1/2 cup sweetened coconut

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, combin rice cereal and coconut, set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, bring sugar and corn syrup to a boil.
3. Add peanut butter and return to a boil. Continue to boil for approximately one minute.
4. Pour sugar and corn syrup mixture over cereal mixture and quickly coat the cereal.
5. Drop 1 T sized balls onto waxed paper and allow to cool. Store in an airtight container.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday full of friends, family, and of course, lots of vegan sweets.

W.I.P. Wednesday: PJs and Pizzelles

2008-12-24T00:10:00.009-06:00

I have graduated to sewing curves! And the zigzag stitch! And elastic! These Eiffel Tower pajama pants were made with the Sew Easy Pajama Pants pattern and with the help of the lovely Sarah. They are an xmas gift for my sis (who loves Paris, hence the pattern).

In addition to my normal holiday baking, I also attempted vegan pizzelles for the first time (and subsequently learned that I've been pronouncing "pizzelle" incorrectly my whole life). The whole process was a bit finicky, but with a little more work, I think I'll have it mastered! I used a variation of Emilie's recipe, with both anise and ground almonds.

My next project? Baby bibs and an animal friends fabric book for my good friend who is expecting a little one on Feb 14th! And maybe a pair of pajama pants for myself :-)

Holiday baking post is up next....

The Ghosts of Christmas Meme

2008-12-17T09:27:00.001-06:00

Since I have now been tagged four times for the "7 random facts meme" by Liz, Stacey, Al, and Sarah; I figured it is about time I got around to posting it! And since I recently saw The Christmas Carol at the theatre, I'm going take a stroll with a few Christmas spirits. And I'll throw in a recent dinner as well. As the clock strikes 1 am, I am visited by...

The Ghost of Christmas Past

1. When I was in grade school, I won a poetry writing contest and the prize was getting to go see Queen Elizabeth when she came to Houston (an aside: I was first accused of plagiarizing but then they realized I was merely using another author's style, but it was pretty traumatic to be accused of such a thing as a fourth grader). I still remember the very royal feeling dress that I wore to the event.

2. My first marathon attempt was when I was 17 years old on the coldest day I can remember in Houston. I dropped out of the race around mile 13 with a mild case of hypothermia. After that we had two days off from school because of icy roads. (I later completed my first marathon while living in Colorado)

3. I used to have a serious love for the frozen Stouffer's corn souffle when I was growing up. Now that my taste buds have matured a bit ( i.e. I need more spice), the kicked up southwestern corn pudding was just the thing to send me down memory lane last night. (from veganomicon, served with chile cornmeal crusted tofu and mango salsa)

The Ghost of Christmas Present

4. Now my current obsession is Maine Root Ginger Brew. I just had to say something about this because Stacey predicted I would. I am trying to be good though and limiting myself to just four per week. Beware though, this is not your standard ginger ale. If you take a big gulp, it will come back to bite you in your throat!

5. Not sure why, but I got all into the holiday spirit this year and decided to get my first tree as an adult (and after much research on the environmental consequences, I went for a real tree). I even carried on the tradition from my childhood of making fudge to have during the decorating process. And it finally made me appreciate that my mom got us an ornament every single year, because now I can look back and remember picking them out. And funny, my ornaments seem to mimic my obsessions at the time (I got a cupcake this year).
6. I have itchy legs. Seriously, even though I live in a pretty humid climate, I have terribly dry, itchy legs. The moisturizer I'm using right now just isn't cutting it (Alba). Any suggestions?

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come

7. I've been in somewhat of a blogging slump, but that will hopefully change soon with the new year. I do have a major holiday sweets post coming your way next week. As my brother would say, "wait for it". There's much more where this came from...

For the two of you out there that haven't been tagged yet.... you are now tagged if:

1. you're looking out your office window (or at your cubicle wall) right now wishing you were anywhere but there
2. you like having nuts stuck in your teeth

Craftiness and Cupcakes on W.I.P. Wednesday

2008-12-10T07:17:00.000-06:00

Lately I have been trying to overcome my left-brained tendencies and get a little crafty. So when Shellyfish introduced her Work-In-Progress (W.I.P) Wednesdays last week, I thought I would join in on the fun occcasionally (maybe once a month I'll post my crafty endeavors)!

Now I know I'm supposed to post works-in-progress, but I couldn't help but showing off a few completed crafty things. Starting with cupcakes of course! But these are no ordinary cupcakes.... they are crafty cupcakes. I made these to bring to an amigurumi class at Sew Crafty Houston, my first attempt at crocheting (and definitely not my first attempt at cupcakes)!

And how perfect is it that we crocheted cupcake ornaments? I still need to work on my crocheting technique....
I've also been learning to sew. I haven't moved beyond straight lines and 90 degree turns yet, but maybe someday soon. This weekend I made up a bunch of reusable bags to use for Christmas gifts. These are so easy to make! Just four straight lines of sewing, a few more if you want to add a handle. And the more you give them away, the less everyone will use wasteful wrapping paper.
And now for the real "works-in-progress", all knitting projects for Christmas! These projects are all at a beginner's level, and most involve just knitting and purling. I'm knitting as fast as I can to finish these up before the 25th. There is a boy hat, fetching fingerless gloves (okay this one is for me, but I've put them on hold till after the holiday), a pair of yoga socks using bamboo and soy yarn, and a one-row scarf. Not to mention I need to cast on three more dishrags!
There is something very magical and rewarding about a handmade gift. With each stitch that is sewn, every row that is purled or every cookie that is baked, there is also a lot of love that goes into that fabric, yarn, or dough. As I'm working on a particular gift, I often think of times I've spent with that person or how they might use what I'm making them. It has helped me understand the true spirit of giving. What handmade projects are you working on for the holidays?

Get It While It's Ripe

2008-12-03T14:06:00.003-06:00

I must admit to a serious addiction... I can't stop filling my bookshelves with vegan cookbooks. So for all of you out there that are working on one (Hannah, Ricki, Urban Vegan, Celine & Joni, Bianca, others?), you can count on me purchasing a copy! One of my more recent cookbook acquisitions is "Get It Ripe" by Jae Steele. The first half of the book is a great reference tool on how to cook the basics, stocking your pantry, even some details about the wonders of our digestive system! But of course, the best part is the recipes. Her dishes rely on fresh, seasonal produce, which is something we could all use more of.

The first recipe I made from the book was the Sesame Kale Soba. Such a simple meal, but very flavorful and beautiful color with the olive green soba noodles (these had some kind of sea vegetable in them) and the emerald green kale. The sesame seeds added some textural crunch.

And since my first home-cooked spaghetti squash turned out so well, I decided to try something a bit fancier, spaghetti squash with pinenut parm. I think I may have found a vegan parmesan that I love! Next time I make this dish, I'll remember to invite friends over because we had tons of leftovers (luckily not a bad thing).
Even though the day's of fresh basil are waning with the entrance of cold weather to the Houston area, we have plenty of frozen pesto to remind us of the summer months. In this dish, pesto pairs perfectly with white beans, quinoa, and fresh spinach.
And I couldn't leave out the ultimate in fall seasonal produce... the pumpkin. I used Jae's recipe for pumpkin pie to make a "deconstructed pumpkin pie" for our recent Society of PEACE Thanksgiving dinner. Constructed of a base of pumpkin mousse, a pumpkin and chocolate chip biscotti, and a dallop of vegan whipped cream with a dusting of cinnamon, these were devoured (and hopefully enjoyed) by the 75 dinner guests.
Even if you aren't addicted to cookbooks like me, I think this one is certainly worth checking out!

Daring Bakers Challenge: Caramel Cake

2008-11-29T07:20:00.006-06:00

I am not completely sure what happened to the month of November. Between post-MoFo blog abandonment, making enough "decontructed pumpkin pie" for 80 people, and preparing for our own Thanksgiving dinner, Daring Bakers kind of crept up on me.

Luckily for me, this month's challenge for Caramel Cake with Caramelized Buttercream frosting (written by Shuna and presented by Dolores and her cohosts Alex and Jenny, with GF help from Natalie) allowed for some freedom and was easily veganizable. The first step to making caramel cake? Well, that would be making the caramel.

I got a stern warning from the main dishwasher in the family NOT to let the caramel burn lest I spend hours scrubbing out the saucepan. It was extremely tempting to remove the pan from the flame before the syrup turned a golden amber color, but I resisted even in the face of the potential consequences.
Knowing that I've done several cakes for Daring Bakers already, I decided to mix it up a bit and make cupcakes. I only slightly modified the recipe for agave nectar cupcakes from VCTOTW, subbing half of the agave nectar with the caramel. And to make for an even sweeter surprise when one bites into the vanilla and caramel-scented cupcake, I filled the center of each with caramel before baking.
See that caramel bubble on the wrapper below? That's the caramel trying to bust out. Just a swirl of fluffy buttercream and a drizzle of caramel completes these simple cupcakes.
And I didn't even have to scrub the pot for hours on end....

Gifts in Kind

2008-11-20T08:47:00.011-06:00

I have been lucky enough to receive several gifts in kind the last few weeks...

Amey from Vegan Eats & Treats was kind enough to send me some of her homemade quince jelly. She also included some chocolates which disappeared not long after I opened the package. I have been using this jelly on my morning English muffin and it is delightful!
Two weekends ago while we were in Austin for the chili cook-off, we made a quick pitstop at Sugar Mama's Bakeshop to try out their new vegan cupcakes! After sending an email to the owner thanking her for adding cruelty-free cupcakes to the menu, she offered me a free cupcake! We got there just in time to swipe the last vegan cupcake of the day... peppermint patty. So perfect and so pretty.
And Stacey thought of me when she saw this cupcake notepad while she was out shopping!

With all this kindness that has been gifted to me, I have been wanting to "pay it forward" and send kindness to others. As luck would have it, I opened up Sarah's blog from Sew Crafty Houston (an awesome little craft studio and sewing lounge!) to find a pay it forward challenge. Here it is...

The rules are simple: I will send the first ~~three~~ five people to leave a comment on this post a handmade gift within the next 365 days (that’s my kind of time frame!)

I am willing to post anywhere in the world, so don’t let that stop you from commenting.

The catch is that you have to have a blog and be willing to do the same thing....

And since I can't send everyone who comments a handmade gift (if I only had the time!), my gift to the rest of you are two recipes!

Baked Acorn Squash with Hazelnut Pearl Couscous

Ingredients:
1 acorn squash
2 T olive oil, divided
1 1/2 cups Israeli/pearl couscous
2 shallots, finely diced
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups water
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup toasted hazelnuts, chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1 T hazelnut oil
fresh black pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cut the acorn squash in half and remove the seeds (clean off the guck and toast them with salt and pepper, they're delicious!). Lightly oil the inside of the squash (approximately 1 T). Place the squash cut side up in a baking dish and fill with 1/2 inch of water. Bake for approximately 50 minutes or until squash is tender.
3. While the squash is baking, in a large saucepan saute the shallots in olive oil until slightly caramelized, approximately 10 minutes. Add the couscous and cinnamon and stir to lightly toast the couscous for 5 minutes.
4. Add the water and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes or until all of the liquid is absorbed.
5. Add toasted hazelnuts, dried cranberries, and parsley. Drizzle with hazelnut oil to finish.
6. Once squash is done baking, fill it with the couscous mixture.

And here's a link to the recipe for Society of PEACE's award winning chili!

Sugar Cookies with Cairo

2008-11-17T14:53:00.002-06:00

On Friday night, we took a break from our regular weekend routine and hosted Cairo, a 3-year old vegan toddler that is full of energy! This gave his parents a chance to have a night off on their own. Cairo requested that we make vegan sugar cookies earlier in the week, and who am I to say no to baking?

First step... dough smashing! And of course getting flour all over the counter and on our faces (on Cairo's cheek and my nose). I pre-made the dough using the recipe from Katie at Troubled Tofu, which I highly recommend if you like soft sugar cookies! Scroll to the end to see the crossposted recipe.

After dough "smashing" we rolled out the dough... Check out the cute "Junior Baker" apron he has on!
Next, we cut out the cookies into different shapes. Cairo was especially excited about the dinosaur cookie cutters (triceratops, stegosaurus, and tyrannosaurus rex), he loves dinosaurs.
While the cookies were baking in the oven, we built a skyscraper made out of Linkin Logs. I remember playing with these as a kid, but don't think I was ever able to build anything that tall!
Once the cookies were cooled and the icing was made, Cairo got right to icing the cookies (like the stegosaurus shown below).
Then there was the question of sprinkles. Too many choices. But once Cairo made a decision on what color to use, he was committed. John tried to coax him into adding more sprinkles, but Cairo clearly had a vision. A vegan master baker in the making!
Check out the care he used in applying the sprinkles! He decorated a cookie for his mom, a cookies for his dad, a cookie for John, a cookie for me, and a few cookies for himself (smart kid!).
The finished plate of iced vanilla sugar cookies... my favorite (besides the blue T-rex that Cairo decorated for me) was Cairo's rainbow snowflake on the bottom left. He kept dipping the spatula into the different color icings saying "a little of this and a little of this and a little of this...." So cute!

Whew! Three hours with a three year old really wore us out, but Cairo was such a happy, fun, loving kid that it was worth it. As we were sitting on the couch watching a video, there was a dragon eating spaghetti and meatballs. John asked Cairo if he ever ate meatballs. His reply? "We eat spaghetti with veggie meatballs".

NoWhey's Sugar Cookies

2/3 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
egg replacer = to 1 egg (use ener-g, not flax)
4 teaspoons soymilk (might need to add more in later)
2 cups sifted all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
Thoroughly cream shortening, sugar and vanilla in a mixer until a bit fluffy, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl every once in a while. Add egg replacer; beat until even more light and fluffy. Stir in soymilk until well combined. In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients and then blend into creamed mixture. It will seem a little dry at first, but keep blending and it should be moist enough to hold together well. If it is extremely crumbly, add about a teaspoon more of milk. Divide dough in half, wrapping each half in wax paper. Chill at least 1 hour.
On lightly floured surface, roll to 1/8 inch thickness (one half at a time, while still chilling other half). The thicker it is, the softer the cookie though. Cut in desired shapes. Bake on greased cookie sheet about half an inch apart at 375 for 5-7 minutes. Cool slightly, remove from pan. Cool all the way before frosting. Makes 2 dozen (depending on cookie cutters).

Vegan Chili Cook-Off Deep in the Heart of Texas

2008-11-10T21:04:00.007-06:00

This past weekend, Society of PEACE took a roadtrip to Austin, Texas to compete in the 20th annual Lone Star Vegetarian Chili Cook-Off. Don't let the sign below fool you, this was an all vegan event held at the Austin Farmers Market :-)

17 teams from around our beautiful state competed in the competition. Each team was charged with making 5 gallons of vegan chili. In case you've never had to make 5 gallons of chili yourself, here is what all the ingredients look like.... thank goodness all those cans are recyclable!
After the vegan police inspected all of our ingredients, we got started bright and early (around 8am) chopping vegetables, draining beans, measuring spices, and getting everything prepped to start our first batch of chili.
At high noon, the doors were opened to the public for chili tasting. Before we knew it, there people were lined up at our booth! From then on, it was an almost constant stream of filling up chili bowls, serving up cornbread, selling baked goods, and handing out vegan literature. With all the running around trying to make additional batches of chili, I barely had time to say hello to Diann from Eat'n Veg'n who stopped by for a sample. It was nice to see a familiar face!
So did I manage to actually eat any chili during the cook-off? The answer is, of course, yes. We did several tastings of our own chili to get the seasoning right, and John was nice enough to run out into the crowd for brief breaks from kitchen duty and bring me back almost all of the other chili entries.
Chili wasn't the only vegan food being served up at the Society of PEACE booth. We made several batches of cornbread (one with jalapeno and one without) that were complimentary with chili samples while supplies lasted (it went fast!). To soothe the taster's taste buds, we offered grapes as a palette cleanser. And to finish with something sweet, as a fundraiser we offered Stacey's pumpkin oatmeal cookies and my pumpkin pie brownies as well as chocolate and vanilla cupcakes (Happy National Vanilla Cupcakes Day by the way) swirled with Society of PEACE colors.
As the competition came to a close, we gathered around to hear the results of the judges voting as well as the crowd favorite. Imagine our surprise when we heard Society of PEACE called out... the judges awarded our chili 2nd prize!! It was a rewarding finish to a crazy day. I had such a great time making chili with our awesome team: Sergio, Stacey, John, Kristen, Tosh, and Cairo (he's hiding between Stacey and I). Be sure to check out Stacey's post about the day on her blog Te Amo Vegano! And Tara posted about her experience as a chili tester on her blog My So-Called Vegan Life!
Congratulations to everyone who competed!! And the next time someone asks you how a vegan could ever survive deep in the heart of Texas... send them to the Lone Star Chili Cook-Off!

VeganMofo: Dia de los Muertos Means No More MoFo

2008-10-31T22:41:00.006-06:00

Happy Halloween!! The vegan month of food has come to an end. What better way than to celebrate with Dia de los Muertos cupcakes?

Oh no! The holiday season is now upon us. Time to start making christmas presents (my goal this year is to make at least part of every present I give).
So this may be a lame way to finish mofo, but it's 3 minutes to midnight and I'm out of time!

VeganMoFo: Better than Sex in Mamaw's Kitchen

2008-10-30T09:17:00.002-06:00

I know the title has you all excited, but I'll address that a bit later. As a kid, trips to grandma's house were a guarantee of something mouthwatering on the dinner table. Both of my grandmothers are whizzes in the kitchen, but today I'll focus on my maternal grandmother's cooking. This post is dedicated to my mamaw; even though she isn't able to cook in her own kitchen anymore, her recipes are still bringing smiles to the faces of her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren!

Mamaw's bread was a treat that all of the grandkids looked forward to each and every visit. It is especially good straight out of the oven and slathered in Earth Balance. My mom veganized and healthified mamaw's recipe by substituting Earth Balance and soymilk, replacing part of the flour with whole wheat, and adding ground flax. Last night was the first time I actually made the bread myself!
As much as I loved mamaw's bread, I equally loathed another one of her dishes that frequently ended up on our table at home; chicken spaghetti. My youthful palette was not one that could handle onions and green pepper, and I could never understand why one would eat spaghetti that way. In hopes that my palette has matured, I decided to give a veganized version of this a shot. This dish is a casserole consisting of sauteed green pepper and onions, lightlife chikn strips, homemade mushroom sauce, and stewed tomatoes; baked with whole wheat spaghetti noodles.
One thing you could always count on was that mamaw would have a mouthwatering dessert for us. From strawberry kisses to mounds bars and fudge to bunny cakes, it was always enough to send all the grandkids squealing to the table for dessert. A few years ago, my mom put together a book of recipes for mamaw to send us all as Christmas presents. And I'm not lyin', 80% of the recipes were dessert! I was a bit surprised when flipping through the pages and I came across a familiar dessert with an unfamiliar name... that's right, "better than sex". Now I know I've never heard my southern Baptist mamaw use that name for this dessert. Oh, how sheltered we were back in the 80's and early 90's. Well, I am sheltering you no more from this fabulous, easy to whip up treat.
Better than Sex - veganized from Mamaw's Kitchen

Ingredients:
1/2 cup pecans, ground
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup Earth Balance, melted
1 recipe of your favorite chocolate pudding (I used Julie's from the Everyday Dish DVD), chilled
4 oz. Tofutti cream cheese, softened
2 T Earth Balance, softened
1/3 cup powdered sugar
2 - 4 T soymilk
1 tsp vanilla
whipped cream (optional, I used soyatoo)
dark chocolate shavings (optional)

To make the crust:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine the melted Earth Balance, ground pecans, and flour in an 8x8 pyrex dish. Mix well and press down into the pan.
3. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely before filling.

To make the filling:
1. Combine cream cheese and Earth Balance in a bowl and cream together with a hand mixer until well combined.
2. Add the powdered sugar and mix until incorporated.
3. Add the vanilla and enough soymilk (start with 2 T) to reach a thick pudding consistency.

To put it all together:
1. Spread the cream cheese filling on top of the cooled crust. Smooth top.
2. Carefully spread the chocolate pudding on top. I like to drop dallops of pudding all around before spreading so there is minimal mixing between layers.
3. Since soyatoo is pretty unstable, wait until you are ready to serve the dessert to top it with whipped cream.
4. Finish with grated dark chocolate on top.

I'll leave the decision as to whether or not this dessert actually is "better than sex" up to you...

VeganMoFo: Daring Bakers Challenge - Pizza Dough

2008-10-29T07:28:00.000-06:00

With all the time I've been spending mofoing and traveling lately, this month's Daring Bakers challenge really snuck up on me! Before I knew it, I had to crank up my oven and get to baking (as in last night). Luckily, this month's challenge was vegan as written and allowed for plenty of variation: pizza!
But there was one twist... we had to photograph ourselves tossing the dough. Even though I knew my lack of hand-eye coordination would make this quite a challenge, I gave it a whirl. Surprisingly enough, I managed to get the dough maybe 8 inches or so away from my hands and only dropped it once. I convinced John to give it a try and he was a natural... must be all that Italian heritage in his blood! But we both found that the dough was thinning on the inside and still thick on the outside no matter how hard we tried, so I eventually resorted to the rolling pin.
I kept the toppings quite simple; a light tomato sauce, homemade basil pesto, mushrooms, green bell peppers, green onions, and a sprinkling of nutritional yeast. It was the perfect thin crust pizza.
And I still have two more pizza crusts in the freezer so I can continue to perfect my pizza tossing skills !

VeganMoFo: The Top Ten Inside 610

2008-10-27T23:01:00.004-06:00

If you've been to Houston, you know that there are two main loops around the city.... the "beltway" on the outside and the 610 loop on the inside. Pretty much everything cool in this city occurs inside 610 (sorry to you outside the loopers!). Believe it or not, Houston is actually a pretty easy place to eat out for vegans, you just need to do your homework and have a bit of patience. I'll help you out with the homework part. Here is my top ten list of places to eat inside the 610 loop.

1. Mo Mong - A hip Montrose hang out for "Asian fusion" cuisine, Mo Mong has several vegan tofu and noodle dishes. By far my favorite is the tofu luc lac which I order pretty much every time I'm there.

2. Madras - There are a plethora of Indian restaurants in the Houston area, many with vegan options, but Madras remains my favorite for vegetarian south Indian cuisine (think: dosas!). Just be sure to tell them you don't eat dairy. Not a place to go for ambiance, but great, spicy food.

3. Field of Greens - A mostly vegetarian cafe with plenty of salads, sandwiches, and dinner plates; many of which are vegan or can be made vegan. I'm a fan of the California club and the macrobiotic platter.

4. Late Night Pie - This pizza joint used to be located in a garage until recently (how cool is that?). While waiting for our pizza I always get in a game of pac-man. They aren't stingy on the toppings and the crust is excellent.

5. Rickshaw Bambu - In the mood for veggie sushi? Rickshaw is one of my favorites because of their use of soy paper for the vegetarian roll. They also have vegetable nigiri, inari (for those who like it), sweet potato fries, and a coconut curry tofu side that always hits the spot.

6. Thai Cottage - There are numerous Thai restaurants I enjoy inside the loop, but Thai Cottage delivers delicious food at the right price. The bamboo shoots in the tofu vegetable curry make it a hit for me. They also have locations outside the loop.

7. Cafe Brasil - A popular hangout for the university crowd with a wonderful outdoor seating area. The Brasil chef salad is a star, especially when you can add grilled tofu on the nights they have it. Plus they also serve my favorite ginger brew. (please excuse the cell phone photo!)

8. Tafia - The only upscale restaurant on my list, Tafia uses local, organic ingredients in many of their dishes and always has one vegan item (tofu with portobello) on the menu. I usually opt to get a salad and a sampling of a few of their veggie side dishes like swiss chard with garlic confit or roasted carrots with dukkah spices. A great place for special occasions.

9. Pepper Tree - A 95% vegan eatery with an excellent buffet (on the weekends they include sushi). I sometimes overeat on the fried foods here, but they also have a wonderful salad bar selection. Vegan dessert too!
10. Niko Niko's - This is the place for Greek fast food in the city. They have plenty of outside seating to enjoy their falafel pita (minus the tzatziki) with a side of hummus. Or try the veggie kebob.

Anyone else who lives or has been to Houston have their favorites inside the loop? Be sure to list them in the comments! A great resource for a more complete list of Houston restaurants, both inside and outside the loop, is at the blog vegan Houston.

VeganMoFo: Boo Y'all

2008-10-26T17:32:00.003-06:00

Whenever I tell people that I'm from Texas, they are usually amazed because I don't have an accent. But I am always quick to point out that I do use the word "y'all"... a lot. I even use "all y'all" with an amazing frequency. So I couldn't resist these Halloween napkins.... the mummy cupcake is saying:
I also made some spiderweb cupcakes with chocolate ganache. Both were for a SOP vegan potluck picnic yesterday which, by the way, was a perfect Texas fall day.
Is everyone ready for the final week of mofo?

VeganMofo: A Crafty MoFo

2008-10-24T16:28:00.005-05:00

I recently picked up knitting as a new hobby. All I've been knitting so far are dishcloths for xmas gifts, and I figured it would be fun to knit one for myself honoring this vegan month of food. Just in case anyone wants one for themselves, I've included the pattern as well. This dishcloth is perfect for cleaning up all the messes I make in the kitchen!

Vegan MoFo Dishcloth

Supplies: worsted weight orange cotton yarn (I used Sugar'n Cream), US size 8 needles
CO 43 sts.
Rows 1-7: Knit across
Row 8 and all wrong side rows through 48: K4, P35, K4
Row 9: Knit across
Row 11: Knit across
Row 13: K4, K2, P1, K3, P1, K2, P4, K3, P3, K4, P1, K4, P1, K3, P1, K2, K4
Row 15: K4, K2, P1, K3, P1, K2, P1, K5, P1, K2, P1, K3, P1, K1, P1,K3, P2, K2, P1, K2, K4
Row 17: K4, K2, P1, K3, P1, K2, P1, K5, P1, K6, P1, K1, P1, K3, P1, K1, P1, K1, P1, K2, K4
Row 19: K4, K2, P1, K3, P1, K2, P3, K3, P1, K1, P2, K3, P3, K3, P1, K1, P1, K1, P1, K2, K4
Row 21: K4, K3, P1, K1, P1, K3, P1, K5, P1, K2, P1, K2, P1, K3, P1, K2, P1, K2, P2, K2, K4
Row 23: K4, K3, P1, K1, P1, K3, P1, K5, P1, K2, P1, K2, P1, K3, P1, K2, P1, K2, P2, K2, K4
Row 25: K4, K4, P1, K4, P4, K3, P2, K3, P1, K3, P1, K2, P1, K3, P1, K2, K4
Row 27: Knit across
Row 29: Knit across
Row 31: K4, K5, P1, K4 P1, K3, P2, K3, P4, K3, P2, K7, K4
Row 33: K4, K5, P2, K2, P2, K2, P1, K2, P1, K2, P1, K5 P1, K2, P1, K6, K4
Row 35: K4, K5, P1, K1, P2, K1, P1, K1, P1, K4, P1, K1, P1, K4, P1, K4, P1, K5, K4
Row 37: K4, K5, P1, K4, P1, K1, P1, K4, P1, K1, P3, K2, P1, K4, P1, K5, K4
Row 39: K4, K5, P1, K4, P1, K1, P1, K4, P1, K1, P1, K4, P1, K4, P1, K5, K4
Row 41: K4, K5, P1, K4, P1, K2, P1, K2, P1, K2, P1, K5, P1, K2, P1, K6, K4
Row 43: K4, K5, P1, K4, P1, K3, P2, K3, P1, K6, P2, K7, K4
Row 45: Knit across
Row 47: Knit across
Rows 49-53 Knit across. Bind off in Knit stitch.

VeganMofo: Adding to My Fall Produce Repertoire

2008-10-22T20:14:00.004-05:00

It struck me while I was in the grocery store yesterday that there were three fall produce items that I have never used in my home kitchen. Since discovering new flavors is at the heart of what veganmofo is about, it was the perfect opportunity to try them out. So into my grocery basket went a spaghetti squash, a pomegranate, and a blood orange. Then I needed to figure out how to turn them into a meal....
After googling how to remove the seeds from a pomegranate, I went step by step through the simple instructions, first chopping the top off, then scoring the sides, soaking in water for ten minutes, and then gently prying out the seeds and letting them sink to the bottom of the bowl. And of course, I kept sneaking seeds into my mouth!

For a sweet and tangy fall salad, I tossed organic greens with the pomegranate seeds, blood orange slices, avocado, and a roasted shallot dressing.
The spaghetti squash was cut in half, seeds removed (and subsequently roasted and eaten), drizzled wih olive oil, and seasoned with salt and pepper which then went into the oven to roast at 375 for 45 minutes. Served with just a dab of Earth Balance.

VeganMoFo: California Food Journal

2008-10-19T23:20:00.001-05:00

Days 6 & 7 - San Francisco

After Santa Cruz, we headed back up to the city for one final weekend of eating and walking (pretty much what we do in San Francisco). Saturday was beautiful day and we enjoyed hazelnut flavored soy gelato and blueberry sorbet from Gelateria Naia while basking in the sun.
Our last night in the city, we had another wonderful dinner at Millennium. And for the first time, I didn't take pictures of it (unlike my previous three Millennium visits). It seems like every time we go there, John and I imagine what it would be like to have a restaurant like this in our neighborhood.
Sunday morning came too quickly, but we had just enough time to enjoy a bagel with avocado, tomatoes, olive oil & balsamic vinegar, and some spices with a glass of steamed soy milk from a local coffee shop in North Beach.
And we had to stop on our way to the airport at Maggie Mudd's for ice cream. They made my waffle cone fresh when I ordered it with a scoop of the reverse tarmack. John went for the seasonal pumpkin flavor. It was just enough to tide me over till I got home to Houston.

Okay, so hopefully no more veganmofo posts on the run.

VeganMoFo: California Food Journal

2008-10-17T22:24:00.001-05:00

Day 5 - Santa Cruz

Ah! I'm trying to play veganmofo catch up (hopefully post dating blogs is not considered cheating).

We only got to spend one night in Santa Cruz, but it was a good one! John and I met up with Amey (from Vegan Eats & Treats) and Musty for dinner at Malabar / Asian Rose for Sri Lankan cuisine. Amey and I discovered we both had a serious weakness for bread (and that garlic olive oil was still on my breath the next day!). I attempted to take photographs of dinner, but my camera was misbehaving... though I thought the resulting effect was kind of cool. We sampled three different dishes and shared them at the table including a mango curry, something called the India Jonze curry, and an eggplant dish with tofu. So delicious! I would highly recommend Malabar... especially if it comes along with Amey's accompaniment, because she had me laughing so hard with stories of her travels. Oh, how I love blogger meet ups!
The next morning after tips from several folks (thanks to all of you!) I stopped by the Bagelry for breakfast before starting a long day of interviews. It felt like quite a novelty to be able to order a bagel with tofutti cream cheese out in public. On campus, I also spotted a Sjaak's chocolate bar. This wasn't for breakfast, but it made for a great mid morning snack.
Tomorrow I'll post the conclusion of my California Food Journal. And then I'll be back to cooking and reading blogs as normal. Thanks to those of you who have left comments even though I haven't reciprocated! I'll be visiting soon ;-)

VeganMoFo: California Food Journal

2008-10-16T06:03:00.001-05:00

Days 3 &4 - Palo Alto

Breakfast the past two days has been on the run, but I was able to purchase coconut milk soy yogurt and some granola to grab on the way. I also had an english muffin with jam this morning before checking out of our B&B.
Dinner on Tuesday night was at Darbar Indian restaurant. For appetizer I tried the vegetable samosas which were a little greasy (like samosas generally are), but very flavorful with a perfect bland of spices. For dinner I had the aloo gobhi which was also delicious and was enough to save for lunch the next day. A great place for Indian cuisine if you're in the area.
I was excited to try out Palo Alto's brand new, all vegan cafe: the Loving Hut. It was also a chance to catch up with one of my baking partners from vegan bootcamp this past summer in NYC. The menu was quite different from what was posted online, much more limited with only abou 5 entrees. Ordered spring rolls for appetizers, which came to our table wrapped in plastic wrap. Dinner for me was a tempeh BLT with avocado on ciabatta that came with a side of quinoa salad. John ordered the Heavenly Salad. We were both reasonably satisfied with our dinners.... But I am sad to say that the piece of chocolate cake I ordered was anything but satisfying. It took quite a bit of shoving my fork to break off a piece of this rubbery cake. Without a doubt this had to be the worst piece of cake I've ever had.

Luckily Fraiche was a five minute walk away, so I was able to sample more frozen soy yogurt, this time with blueberries and toasted almonds (after confirming that their shaved chocolate topping was indeed not vegan).
This afternoon we head to Santa Cruz!

VeganMoFo: California Food Journal

2008-10-13T23:37:00.003-05:00

Day 3: Palo Alto

I have been having internet connection issues so I'll make this quick... we left San Francisco Sunday night and headed south to Palo Alto. Breakfast was at the Cowper Inn; strawberries and figs with granola and toast with jam.
Lunch on the Stanford campus at the Treehouse consisted of two veggies tacos with a side of guacamole. These were better than I expected.
And a shitake mushroom rice bowl. Not as impressive, but it was nice to get some broccoli and cauliflower.
Dinner was on the main drag, University, at Zao Noodle Bar. Vegan options were clearly marked and I had the vegetable & tofu noodle bowl. If you order noodle bowls for the amount of noodles, this bowl isn't for you, as it was mostly veggies (which I didn't mind). The service for us was very slow though....
And for dessert I couldn't pass up soy frozen yogurt at Fraiche, topped with mangos and strawberries. I might be back for more of this another night this week!
Whew! I made it through without losing my signal completely. I'll be back tomorrow with more daily eats from Palo Alto!

VeganMoFo: California Food Journal

2008-10-12T23:35:00.000-05:00

San Francisco: Day 2

Brunch at Greens Restaurant on the marina. I had their "signature dish", Mesquite Grilled Brochettes with mushroom, onion, yellow fin potato, bell pepper, corn, and smoked tofu with pistachio pearl couscous.

While roaming around the Yerba Buena Gardens, we stopped for tea and I had a vegan thai iced tea.
We saved space for the Aphrodisiac dinner a Millenium....

L'Intrigue - Fig and Belgian endive salad with a pine nut cream and pepper, fennel, and orange relish. Probably my favorite course.
Le Desir - Kuri squash masa empanada with smoky blackbean puree
La Seduction - There wer two entrees and we each got one and shared. There was a stuffed poblano chili with tempeh "chorizo" filling and a creamed corn and butternut squash hash.
And creole spiced chanterelle and piquinto bean gratin with green beans almondine.
Love Potion #9 - A blencd of pomegranate and fresh lemon juice
La Petit Mort - A pecan cinnamon roll with cappucino ice cream and a pear and bing cherry compote.
Plus we got two heart shaped pistachio cardamom cookies.
It was a delicious meal that I wish I had more time to describe!! I also wish I had more time to visit blogs... hopefully Monday night.

VeganMoFo: California Food Journal

2008-10-11T23:22:00.000-05:00

Day 1: San Francisco
Since I am in California for the week, the only way I'm going to keep up with MoFo is to post my daily eats...

Started off the day at Herbivore on Divisadero for breakfast. I had the southwestern scramble hich included tofu scrable, black beans, potatoes, and cornbread. The scramble was good but the cornbread was pretty dry.

Lunch was at Weird Fish on Mission Street. I couldn't pass up the chance to try seitan "fish" and chips with vegan tartar sauce. Tasty!
After lunch we walked up to Rainbow Grocery where I nabbed a Sugar Beat Sweets peppermint patty cupcake. I devoured it before we even left the store.
And consequently for dinner we met up with the owner/baker of SBS and blogger Melisser and her partner Ryan. We attempted to try out Delfino's new location on Fillmore, but a 1+ hour waitlist drove us to get in a cab and have Ethiopian food at Club Waziama instead. The injera might still be expanding in my stomach. And I decided not to subject you to low lighting pictures (which I'm warning you I might do tomorrow).

VeganMoFo: Scrambling

2008-10-09T21:54:00.005-05:00

As in scrambling to find something to post! I am busy packing tonight.... John and I leave for California tomorrow for a 10 day stay in San Francisco, Palo Alto, and Santa Cruz (mostly work related). Needless to say, our dinner was a bit too rushed to photograph. But I will share some recent dinners with you that I've enjoyed, but haven't gotten around to blogging about.

This is my first recipe from my newly acquired Real Food Daily Cookbook (thanks Brian!): seitan tacos. I even made my own pico de gallo! Usually I am just lazy and buy premade stuff.
Butternut squash lentil soup. This was the first butternut squash of the season that I saw at the grocery store. I think it was about 90 degrees outside when I made this, but that didn't matter much to me.
And finally, one of my favorite meals in the last few weeks, Hannah's entry for the Whole Foods Budget Recipe Challenge, miso bulgur pilaf with lemon ginger tofu. This meal comes together in a flash, tastes delicious, and how could you say no to only $2.86 per serving? I am rooting for Hannah to win!
And speaking of winners, several of you asked who I am rooting for from Project Runway.... organic Leanne (that was also my favorite cupcake)!

VeganMoFo: You're Either In or You're Out

2008-10-08T18:22:00.005-05:00

There's only one week left until the season finale of Project Runway. And there is still one more round of eliminations tonight! In anticipation, I designed cupcakes for a piece from each of the designers Bryant Park collection. Below they are lined up for judging with Heidi, Michael, and Nina. Tim Gunn is scurrying around in the background to give advice.
Kenley vs. the World - She is known for her 50's style dresses and of course her headpiece with feathers. You can't see the headpiece on the model in this photo, but trust me, she has one. This cupcake employs a frosting layering technique, with the feathered texture achieved by a #67 tip. Hometown favorite Jerell (he's from Houston!) - He is known for his detailed eclectic designs that are always glamorous. This cupcake is styled with a layer of dark chocolate ganash and embellished with silver dragees and gold luster dust stripes and swirls.
Rooted Korto - She is known for her classic designs mixed with tribal details, always using rich textures and colors. This cupcake highlights those bold colors and uses a variety of piping techniques.
Organic Leanne - She is known for getting "back to the Earth" with her structural and sophisticated designs. This cupcake starts with swirls of frosting and is lined with oversized confetti dots and accented with a silver dragee.
So who do you think is the winner? And remember, with cupcake fashion, one day you're in and the next day you're out. Auf wiedersehen!

VeganMoFo: Presidential Bakin' and Debatin'

2008-10-07T09:55:00.001-05:00

No need to watch the presidential debate tonight and get frustrated about the candidates avoiding questions or answering with a bunch of political mumbo jumbo. Instead, you can bake and eat your way to deciding who you will cast your vote for come November 4.

Before we get to the judging, I'll share the recipes which are both available online (from Family Circle magazine). My modifications to veganize the recipes are in blue. To be fair, I veganized them using the same methods.

Obama's Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups Earth Balance buttery sticks
1 1/2 cups plus 2 T (reserved) vegan sugar
2 flax eggs (1 T flax meal + 2 T water = 1 egg)
2 T Amaretto (almond liqueur)
1 tsp each orange and lemon zest
3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 T soy milk
Chopped nuts, dried fruit, or poppy seeds (optional)

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 325. In a large bowl, cream together EB and 1 1/2 c. of the sugar.
2. Whip flax eggs in food processor. Add to Eb & sugar and beat well until smooth. Beat in Amaretto and zest.
3. Stir in flour and salt until combined.
4. I baked these as cookies by flattening out the dough and using round cookies cutters. You could also bake all together in a 17x12x1 inch baking pan.
5. Brush tops of dough with soy milk. Sprinkle on topping if desired (I used pistachios, dried cranberries, and poppyseeds), and sprinkle on remaining 2 T of sugar.
6. Bake at 325 for 25 minutes or until brown. Mine took a little less time than this since they were individual cookies.

McCain's Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies

Ingredients:
3/4 cup Earth Balance buttery sticks
3/4 cup vegan sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 flax eggs (1 T flax meal + 2 T water = 1 egg)
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups rolled oats
1 2/3 cups vegan butterscotch chips

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 375.
2. In a large bowl, cream the Earth Balance, sugar, and brown sugar. Add the flax egg (use same method to make flax egg as in the previous recipe) and vanilla and beat well.
3. In a medium sized bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture and stir until blended. Add oats and butterscotch chips. Drop by tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart on greased (or silpated) cookie sheet.
4. Bake for 10 minutes until the edges begin to brown (mine were done in 9). Transfer to wire rack to cool.

And here is a head-to-head analysis of how the presidential cookies stacked up. Each check mark is worth one point.

Veganizability - each recipe needed 3 ingredient substitutions

Access to vegan ingredients - vegan butterscotch chip are available only in the northeast (thanks to Bazu for mine!)

Ability to shape cookie into first letter of candidate's name - I tried an M but it came out a big ole mess

Inclusion of chocolate - I must say I was disappointed that neither included chocolate anything

Inclusion of booze - Boozy baking is always better

Office appeal - I set out a plate of cookies in the workroom kitchen at 8am, by 10am there were 2 McCain cookies left and 3 Obama cookies (I grabbed an Obama cookie so now it's even)

After tallying up my votes, it looks like a 4-2 win for...

But no matter if you make your decision based on cookies or credentials, make your voice heard.... get out and vote on November 4th!

VeganMoFo: The Best Thing About Jury Duty

2008-10-06T08:32:00.003-05:00

Sleeping in and making a big breakfast! This is my first time being summoned for jury duty, so please excuse my excitement. In order to serve my country to the best of my abilities, I want to arrive focused and ready to objectively analyze the facts (or just sit and knit till I am released to go). And what better way to prepare myself than eating biscuits with tempeh sausage gravy ala VWAV and coconut milk soy yogurt on the side? I'll let you be the judge of that.

I'm off to the courthouse!

VeganMoFo: Pass the Radioactive Vegetables Please

2008-10-03T20:16:00.006-05:00

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip....

For today's installment of vegan mofo, I cooked up a TV-themed dinner to an episode of Gilligan's Island. Gilligan reels in a mysterious crate containing seeds, but he failed to see the warning....
The seeds produced carrots, beets, spinach, and other vegetables as fast as the half life of radium-216m (7 nano seconds)! Then it was time to dig in and pass those vegetables!Mary Anne's favorite vegetable was the carrot, and these radioactive carrots had so much carotene in them that her eye sight allowed her to see miles away! Here she is pointing out a potential rescue ship as the Skipper and the Professor look on squinting.
Mrs. Thurston Howell III (aka "Lovey") just adored sugar beets! All that sugar made her a bit hyperactive though and she actually ran around the hut cleaning.
Gilligan ate more than his share of spinach, and the radioactive amounts of "oxalic minerals" enabled him to pick up entire tree trunks and even the Skipper!
So how did we eat our radioactive vegetables? I roasted the beets (along with fennel), sauteed the spinach, and made a curried carrot soup. And although we didn't experience the same effect as the castaways did, at least we didn't have to "apply the principals of theoretic chemistry to the problem of radioactivity" and eat soap to "prevent the bombardment of radioactive chemicals", as the Professor puts it.
Hope you enjoyed your three minute tour!

VeganMoFo: Veggin' Out for Animals & the Economy

2008-10-02T20:56:00.004-05:00

In recognition of World Vegetarian Day (Oct. 1) and World Farm Animals Day (Oct. 2), Society of PEACE encouraged all Texans to eat out and show our support of local vegan/vegetarian/veg-friendly restaurants. Additionally, it's probably not a bad idea to get out and support our struggling economy right now. So even if you're not located in the lone star state, get out there and support your favorite veg restaurant!

I picked up take-out from Field of Greens, a mostly vegetarian casual restaurant that can veganize almost everything on their menu. Even though I tried to encourage myself to try something new, I couldn't help getting my tried and true favorite.... the california club. Composed of toasted whole wheat bread, soy ham & tempeh, avocado, and veganaise with well-seasoned fries on the side.
And even though John isn't home yet from work, I picked him up an Eden Burger. Soy ham (subbed for soy chicken since it has whey in it), barbeque sauce, shitake mushrooms, and basil crusted bean curd on a whole wheat bun.
I don't often get dessert at Field of Greens (since I usually make my own!), but to celebrate Veggin' Out days, I ordered the chocolate cake. And after asking which chocolate dessert was better, the cake or the tofu pie, the FOG staff added in a small sample piece of pie! I think my vote (as well as the staff member I talked with) goes to the cake.
Speaking of voting, I must get back to flipping between the vice-presidential debates and Project Runway. More mofo tomorrow!

VeganMoFo: Goals + Cake Hit & Wreck

2008-10-01T15:04:00.002-05:00

Welcome, my friends, to the 2nd annual vegan MOnth of FOod. Over the next 31 days this blog, and many others in the vegan blogging universe, will step it up a notch and post about the wonderfulness that is vegan food at least 5 days a week.

Here are a few posts to look forward to:

Texas Veggin' Out Days
Veganizing Mamaw's Kitchen
TV show themed dinner
Veganized Presidential Cookie Bake-Off
Daily eats in Palo Alto and Santa Cruz, CA (I'll be there for a week!)
Top 10 inside the 610 loop (Houston vegan dining)

And since I couldn't leave you without some food in my first MoFo post... here is a recent cake wreck and a cake hit.

First, the cake wreck. For our one year wedding anniversary, I wanted to recreate the top tier of our wedding cake, with a few different embellishments (a fondant bow instead of buttercream roses). I baked a vanilla & chocolate marble cake in my mom's kitchen and took it home to frost with chocolate mousse and cover with fondant. Even though I felt rushed to get it done before the sun went down (this was back when we didn't have power), I was pleased with my first fondant bow and the ivy leaf border on the sides of the cake. Little did I know that the fondant would melt into a puddle in the heat of the night....
After that massive failure I needed the next cake to redeem myself. Success came in the form of macadamia ginger carrot cake from VWAV with cream cheese frosting (which was flavored with orange oil). The top border was piped to resemble carrots. Hopefully the cake was enough to impress Kristen (the birthday girl and our SOP president). But I'd have to say that the cutest thing was watching her son pick out all the macadamia nuts and then proceed to make a "gingerbread house" out of the remaining cake by piling leftover fruit and rice from dinner on top.
By the way, if you haven't made this carrot cake yet... you should!! The macadamias and crystallized ginger really make this cake stand out compared to other carrot cakes I've sampled.

More Vegan MoFo tomorrow!

Daring Bakers Challenge: Lavash

2008-09-27T08:28:00.008-05:00

This month's Daring Bakers Challenge marks a momentous occasion... I didn't have to make a single substitution to make the recipe vegan! That's because this month's lovely hosts are members of the Alternative Daring Bakers, representing both vegan and gluten free... Shel of Musings from the Fish Bowl and Natalie from Gluten a Go Go. The challenge? Make vegan, and optionally gluten-free, lavash (an Armenian cracker bread) topped with a spice mixture of your choice and a vegan dip! It was nice to have so much freedom to play around with the flavors. And luckily, my post-Ike power situation was resolved this week (after 12 days without power), so I was able to bake with my own oven!

Even though we made Armenian-style lavash crackers, I chose an Egyptian spice mixture as a topping. Dukkah is a blend of dry nuts, seeds, and spices. The dukkah I made has slivered almonds, sesame seeds, cumin seeds, fenungreek, dried thyme, black peppercorns, and sea salt all toasted lightly, then ground into a coarse meal (photo below is just after toasting).
I was a bit pressed for time last night when I made these crackers. We were having a dinner party and I was making three other dishes at the same time, so I chose a simple dip for the lavash that would let the dukkah spice mixture shine through. This is a traditional hummus recipe from Veganomicon, finished with a light dusting of paprika and a drizzle of olive oil.
As for the lavash, they are crispy and full of flavor. In fact, I am eating them for breakfast with leftover hummus as I type this post. Best of all, they were very easy to make and my dinner guests were impressed with homemade crackers!
I hope all of the Daring Bakers had fun with this challenge and saw how easy it is to bake with vegan ingredients! There has not been a challenge yet that I couldn't complete, baking vegan allows you to experiment and be creative. I would encourage anyone to join us as an alternative baker any month to see how much fun it can be. Thanks again Natalie and Shel for a challenge that will go down in daring bakers history!

"Ike Didn't Beat Up My Basil" Cupcakes

2008-09-23T15:21:00.001-05:00

Hurricane Ike may have taken away my oven, but it sure didn't take away my will to bake (though it did provide the inspiration) for the Iron Cupcake Earth, Battle Basil Challenge.

Since we still don't have power at our house (going on Day12), and baking without an oven can be a bit challenging, I spent Sunday baking at my parent's house. Their basil survived Ike's strong winds and rain, and presented a perfect opportunity to add local ingredients to this month's challenge. Here is the basil basking in the morning sunlight, ready for the rare opportunity to be paired with a cupcake.My inspiration for these cupcakes came in several forms. I wanted the frosting swirls to look like a satellite view of the hurricane, which meant leaving a hole in the middle to represent the eye of the storm. After the storm, our garage was speckled with leaf debris, and in cupcake form this meant torn pieces of basil as the "sprinkles".
The morphology of this cupcake was kept pretty simple with a traditional chocolate cupcake filled with basil infused chocolate mousse and topped with swirled vanilla bean and basil buttercream.
These cupcakes were delicious, just the perfect amount of basil without being overwhelming and ruining the overall chocolate flavor.
And don't forget, you decide who wins Battle Basil in the Iron Cupcake Earth Challenge! Voting starts September 27 at noon here. And the winner will receive lots of cool prizes from Etsy artist Metal Sugar, Fiesta Products, Hello Cupcake, Jessie Steele Aprons, Cupcake Courier, and Taste of Home. Lots of other vegan bloggers are participating, so take a minute and vote for your favorite so a vegan cupcake wins this round!

And I must apologize for being a bit absent on many of your blogs lately, I feel so out of the loop! Without power I have limited internet time at work during the day. I am trying though and will get around to commenting eventually... thanks for your patience. And I promise my next post won't be anything Ike related!

Hunkered Down: Our Hurricane Ike Story

2008-09-17T10:34:00.009-05:00

Having grown up here in Houston, hurricanes are not a new thing to me. I was about 4 years old when the last big hurricane (Alicia) hit Houston and my memories of it include playing on a tire swing the day before the storm and taking a walk outside when the eye passed over us. Hurricane Ike has certainly left a bigger impression on me, so I thought I would share some photos and a few thoughts about my experience.

The night before the hurricane, I was pretty relaxed. With Rita missing us at the last minute three years ago, and the fact that we are pretty far inland, I wasn't too worried. I stocked up on some food that day, and would have filled up my gas tank except all the stations on my way home were out of gas. We removed all the porch furniture, and put some of our more fragile plants inside the garage. Then I made dinner.... a delicious salad with roasted shallot dressing, chickpea romesco (from VCON), and mustard crusted seitan (from YRR). We went to bed with full bellies, hoping we would wake up to news that the storm had weakened as it neared land.

Sleeping on Friday night when the hurricane hit was next to impossible. Our power went off around midnight and in addition to the howling winds shaking the house, it was starting to get very warm without the air conditioner. Finally around 2am, John got up to peek outside some of the windows. At that point he told me to get dressed and ready to leave, because there was a fire about 25m from our house! The picture is really blurry, but you can see the fire trucks and flames coming off a Houston restaurant (Brennan's). We were worried that with the high winds, the fire might start moving, but thankfully they got it under control.

Several hours later, after the eye of the storm passed and the sun came up, we awoke to find street flooding that was almost up to our doorstep. Thankfully, the water began receding after I snapped this photo.

After concluding that our townhome didn't sustain any major damage (except for the plants we left outside all got knocked over), we took a walk down our street to see how the neighborhood fared. We saw lots of downed trees.....

This one knocked down a power line and clipped the edge of the house right across the street from us.

This tree blocked the entire street until someone with a chainsaw came by and made room for cars to pass.
And this tree came down with so much force that it shoved a car out of it's way!
Luckily though many of our huge, beautiful live oak trees survived the storm, minus a few branches here and there.

The streets were littered with debris, including roof shingles, leaves and branches, styrofoam board, and signs....
Such as a piece of the Jack in the Box sign on Montrose.
And a Montrose street sign that blew down from a stoplight intersection.

Sadly, there were also signs of looting, such as at the Berryhill on Montrose (along with their torn up patio)....
And the Starbucks in the same parking lot with a smashed in window.
After our walk through the neighborhood, I noticed how our garages were covered with pieces of leaves. Looks like something you would see in a modern art museum.
That night, with candles and flashlights to light the way, a hand-crank rechargeable radio to cut the silence, our last bit of cold champagne for a mimosa, and our leftovers from the warming fridge, we ate dinner. Our "hurricane hash", John arranged the plate to look a bit disheveled, with the green beans leaning over like many of our neighborhood trees. Our hash included chickpea romesco leftovers, homemade seitan, mushrooms, and green beans.

At this point, I pretty much stopped taking pictures. Sunday was much of the same, we took walks, cleaned up the yard and packed up what was left in the fridge into coolers. Everything we had in the freezer (including the last bit of wedding cake... our 1 year anniversary is next week) ended up getting tossed. We headed out to my parents house where they had power and stayed till Monday evening (Thanks mom & dad for a place to crash and for feeding us well!!). Then we got a call from a neighbor that our power was back on. We rushed home only to remember that our townhomes are on two sets of transformers... and we are on the other one.

We still don't have power... I am back at work right now typing this up. We are still trying to salvage our refrigerator food, so the search for ice is constant. I still haven't attempted to get gas because the lines have been so long. But slowly, things are returning back to normal. And it's easy to see how lucky we were compared to many in the surrounding area, especially the areas hardest hit.

I hope to get around to visit blogs in the coming days, especially if our power is restored. And I am really hoping to get back in the kitchen soon (though thankfully we do have a gas stove)! Thank you so much for everyone's thoughts and well wishes.

Blogging Break Due to Ike

2008-09-14T17:00:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that we are okay!! We still have no power where we live (some water pressure), but luckily my parents on the west side of the city do have power, so we drove out here this afternoon. Thanks for everyone's concern! I hope to be back to blogging soon... I definitely have some pictures and stories to share.

Pushing 30

2008-09-08T16:58:00.008-05:00

I am now officially in the last year of my 20's. Here I am blowing out the first of two sets of candles.

If you remember my birthday last year, John made me an ice cream cake. Well this year he outdid himself and made a mocha devastation cake (from My Sweet Vegan) and got fancy with a piping bag! It was a lesson in patience to stand by and watch someone else decorate a cake, but I tried my best to keep my mouth shut (except I had to say something when he accidentally wrote a "b" instead of a '"p" in "happy"). I can't wait to see how he tops this next year!!
Sunday was the Houston Vegan Knitters first meeting, the perfect occassion to make knit cupcakes (inspired of course by vegan yumyum's version)! Simple vanilla cupcakes with chocolate buttercream right out of VCTOTW decorated with natural sprinkles and fondant "knitting". One was a mini-version of my very first knitting project, a pink and white dishcloth (which I'm still working on). I am so excited for more knitting projects, including making blankets to donate to pet shelters, a hobo bag, belt, fruit cozies, cupcakes, and maybe a scarf or two. Now I just need to learn how to purl....
I have been in the mood to make a fancy dinner ever since I saw the recipe for Emerald Rice Cakes in the June 2008 Vegetarian Times (originally from Millennium). There were four separate elements to this dish, including a butternut squash puree, habanero jerk sauce, homemade seitan and cauliflower stir fry, and jasmine rice cakes. It was certainly worth all of the work, and the puree and sauce could easily be made a few days ahead.

And on my actual birthday (the 8th), my mom made me a chocolate pecan pie (from La Dolce Vegan), since the weekend had been been filled with too much cake already. The two red candles apparently represented 10 candles each.... 29 candles on one cake is a bit too much.
Thanks so much to everyone for the birthday wishes!!! And a special thanks to my family and friends for making it such a special weekend.

Invasion of my Wok

2008-09-05T16:49:00.000-05:00

It was just like any other ordinary evening. After prepping the veggies I got out my wok to start stir frying. I casually grabbed the bottle of olive oil and drizzled a bit in the pan, turned my back to grab a spatula for only a moment, then returned to my wok to find this weird little guy looking back up at me.
You know how sometimes you see produce that is just so beautiful that you put it in your basket and forget to check the price until you see it flash on the computer screen at check-out? This happened to me with some gorgeous graffiti eggplants (not sure why I didn't photograph it), now forever known as the $7 eggplant. I kept it simple and served the eggplant napoletana style with artichokes, tomatoes, and capers from VWAV. Being a somewhat picky eggplant eater, I thought the graffiti eggplant had a milder flavor, but probably not quite worth the high price!

I recently picked up a copy of Vegan Express and have been meaning to try out a recipe from it. Wow, do I love how fast this meal got cranked out... grilled polenta with spinach, black beans, and sun-dried tomatoes (I also added a few chipotles in adobe sauce). This meal also reminded me how much I love my grill pan!
And after dining at the real Candle Cafe in NYC back in July, I dusted off my Candle Cafe Cookbook to make the tempeh scallopini. You honestly can't go wrong with a mushroom sauce made with wine. This sauce theme was continued later in the week when I made purple hull pea and quinoa croquettes with mushroom sauce from VWAV (but the picture turned out kind yucky).
I am so ready for the weekend! We have our first Houston Vegan Knitters meeting on Sunday at Field of Greens, and I think I'm going to attempt veganyumyum's knit cupcakes for the occasion! Oh yeah, and I turn 29 on Monday....

Daring Bakers Challenge: Éclairs

2008-08-31T00:15:00.005-05:00

Ah, the éclair.... These delightful pastries remind me of the summer I spent a week with my mom and sister in the quaint town of Saint Amour, located in the Franche-Comté region of France. While my mom played her heart out in a flute masterclass, my sister and I were free to roam the streets in search of adventure. While we didn't find much to do besides waiting for stores to open (they seemed to always be closed!), we did make a point of stopping by the local pâtisserie each day for crème-filled éclairs. When the August Daring Bakers challenge was announced, my taste buds were tickled. Could I recreate a vegan version of the eclairs I remembered so fondly?

Traditional éclairs call for a choux pastry, which contains butter, flour, water, and eggs. Perusing the internet for recipes left me doubtful that my vegan version would have that signature "puff." I gave my mini éclairs a fighting chance by adding a bit of baking powder to the "choux" (using a slight variation from this recipe). For the inside, I used agar flakes to create a vanilla bean pastry creme, not as thick as I would have liked, but one can only slave over a hot stove with agar for so long (especially in the heat of summer!). Topped off with chocolate ganache and a few chocolate covered cocoa nibs, and voila!

Check out that bubble in the vanilla bean pastry cream. Too cute, huh? And the best part? I could close my eyes, pop one in my mouth, and be transported back to the streets of St. Amour.... sitting on a bench with an éclair in my hand, a smile on my face, and two people I love by my side.

And just a reminder to vote here for the Iron Cupcake Earth Challenge before September 4 at noon!

The Vegan 100

2008-08-29T10:47:00.005-05:00

When I first saw the Omnivores 100 list, I kind of threw up a little inside my mouth (oxtail, foie gras? ew). Thank goodness Hannah came up with a Vegan 100 so all of us vegan foodies could play along without having to cross out half the list due to ethical reasons. You should play along too!

1) Copy this list into your own blog, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten. (and mine are in blue)
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Post a comment on Hannah's blog once you’ve finished and link to her post
5) Pass it on!

1. Natto
2. Green Smoothie - I love me some spinach in my smoothies!
3. Tofu Scramble
4. ~~Haggis~~ - ick! some faux meats are really too creepy!
5. Mangosteen
6. Creme brulee
7. Fondue - chocolate counts, right?
8. Marmite/Vegemite
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Nachos
12. Authentic soba noodles
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Taco from a street cart
16. Boba Tea
17. Black truffle - I've had the oil, but never even seen the real thing
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Gyoza
20. Vanilla ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries - while hiking near Seattle one summer, we pickes a ton of mountain blueberries and made a crisp!
23. Ceviche
24. Rice and beans
25. Knish
26. Raw scotch bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche - made my own!
28. Caviar - had a tiny taste and thought is was waaaay too salty
29. Baklava - had this at vegan bootcamp!
30. Pate
31. Wasabi peas - addictive little boogers
32. Chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Mango lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Mulled cider
37. Scones with buttery spread and jam
38. Vodka jelly
39. Gumbo
40. Fast food french fries
41. Raw Brownies
42. Fresh Garbanzo Beans
43. Dahl
44. Homemade Soymilk
45. Wine from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more - this is all thanks to John
46. Stroopwafle
47. Samosas
48. Vegetable Sushi
49. Glazed doughnut - I think I've hit the triumvirate of vegan donuts: Mighty-O, Voodoo, and Ronald's
50. Seaweed
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Tofurkey
54. Sheese - I had a tiny bite for free at the Seattle Veg Fest!
55. Cotton candy
56. Gnocchi
57. Piña colada - had a lot of these on our honeymoon at St John
58. Birch beer
59. Scrapple
60. Carob chips - might have never tried them if it weren't for VeggieGirl!
61. S’mores - please send more for my birthday! (the sweet&sara kind, but I've also done the homemade route)
62. Soy curls - ordered these in bulk, so I'm all set
63. Chickpea cutlets
64. Curry
65. Durian
66. Homemade Sausages - Julie's are the best!
67. Churros, elephant ears, or funnel cake
68. Smoked tofu
69. Fried plantain
70. Mochi
71. Gazpacho
72. Warm chocolate chip cookies
73. Absinthe - I love little green fairies
74. Corn on the cob
75. Whipped cream, straight from the can
76. Pomegranate
77. Fauxstess Cupcake - somewhat embarassing to admit...
78. Mashed potatoes with gravy
79. Jerky
80. Croissants
81. French onion soup
82. Savory crepes - must get over my fear of crepe-making
83. Tings - oh man, now I really want some
84. A meal at Candle 79 - one of the best meals of my life!
85. Moussaka
86. Sprouted grains or seeds
87. Macaroni and “cheese”
88. Flowers
89. Matzoh ball soup
90. White chocolate
91. Seitan - a good reminder to make some this weekend
92. Kimchi
93. Butterscotch chips - thanks to Bazu!
94. Yellow watermelon - I hope I find this someday...
95. Chili with chocolate
96. Bagel and Tofutti
97. Potato milk
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Raw cookie dough - one of the benefits of lots of vegan baking!

With the only failing grade in my life (66/99, discounting the haggis), I really need to get to work on trying some of these!

Cupcakes Will Sustain Me

2008-08-26T16:51:00.003-05:00

Well, maybe only for a little while. But it was cupcakes and a few other vegan treats that sustained me on Friday night for our local vegan group's first summer movie night and bake sale! I made almost 100 minicupcakes for the event in four flavors, including: vanilla with raspberry cream cheese frosting, chocolate with peanut butter frosting and chocolate ganache, chocolate orange cupcakes with orange frosting (and a fondant flower :-), and vanilla with mocha chip frosting.
The feature film of the evening was Sustainable Table, a documentary about what is on your plate and where it comes from. The film includes segments on the history of agriculture, animal agriculture, plant-based diets, organic & sustainable foods, and what you can do to help. I was so proud to have several family members and friends in the audience to share this message with. I would love to hear who you would share this kind of a film with and why, so leave a comment and I'll choose one person to receive a free copy of this DVD! Please comment by August 31 :-) Here's only one table from the bake sale. By the end of the night, there was almost nothing left (we had a turnout of about 70 people!). Besides my minis, there were lemon bars (made by Stacey who has a new blog!), peanut butter oatmeal cookies, homemade protein bars, chocolate caramel bars, creamsicle cupcakes, and a chocolate cake!
And if 100 mini cupcakes in one week wasn't enough.... I bring you my entry for the Iron Cupcake Earth Chili Pepper Challenge: Just Peachy Texas Kicker Cupcakes.

The initial idea for these cupcakes came from a jar of BBQ sauce in my pantry, Peach Chipotle BBQ sauce to be specific. These cupcakes are made with peach preserves, a little hint of cornmeal, and ground chipotle chili powder layered with fresh Texas peaches (the last of the season!!). On top is a peach glaze infused with a whole chipotle pepper and a drizzle of white chocolate ganache. Innocent at first bite, these little cuppers pack quite the kick about 10 seconds after swallowing.

Oh, and did I mention that this was a contest that you can all go vote for the winner beginning August 31 at noon (CST)? How about that there are all kinds of prizes for the winner, including an adorable Cakespy original watercolor, cute cooking tools from Fiesta products, the book of pure cupcake decorating genius Hello, Cupcake, the super handy Cupcake Courier, fun stuff from A Taste of Home, and the ultrachic Jessie Steele hostess aprons? So be sure to vote here before September 4 at noon!

And remember, even if you don't vote for my kicker cupcakes, let's make sure that vegan cupcake cuisine reigns supreme in this Iron Cupcake Earth Challenge and all of those to follow of course!!

Entering the Terrible Twos

2008-08-20T19:14:00.003-05:00

The month of August marks my two year veganiversary!! This causes for celebration in the form of super chocolate vegan gelato served in a tulip cone, both from a recent Vegetarian Times issue. Smooth and creamy, this pudding-like gelato was perfect on its own, no extra flavors or mix-ins necessary.

Looking back, here are a few of my proudest vegan moments of the year....

1. Adopting Lucas and Petunia, two rescued pigs living at Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary
2. Vegan wedding cake!!
3. Becoming more involved (currently treasurer) Society of PEACE, a local vegan outreach group
4. Going live on air to interview fellow vegan bloggers and activist/writer Mark Hawthorne
5. Helping paint the Go Vegan Art Car for ten thousand Houstonians to see
6. Winning a Veg Bloggy award from VegNews
7. Discovering that vegan baking is a powerful and convincing form of outreach!

Looking ahead, I think my vegan twos will be terribly terrific!

A Real Mixed Bag

2008-08-17T18:36:00.002-05:00

That was John's response when complaining I couldn't think of a post title and listing off everything in it.... works for me.

A good friend told me recently how much she enjoyed the Potato and Eggplant Moussaka from V-con and how perfect it would be for a potluck. I couldn't agree with her more! Go make this now if you haven't already.... or at least make that pine nut cream and start putting it on everything.
My favorite sushi place in town (Rickshaw) uses soy paper in place of nori for the veggie roll. So when I saw some in pretty colors at the grocery store (all using vegetable based dyes), I had to try it! I had a bit of a tough time getting the edges to stick. I think this might be my new homemade sushi wrapping standby, although John prefers nori, so we'll probably keep both on hand.
I finally got around to making the vegan omelette for one, except I doubled the recipe to make it for two. These were filled with sauteed creminis, swiss chard, onion, and topped with fresh heirloom tomato. I apparently need to work on my flipping skills, but this was delicious despite its appearance.
Two recent Society of PEACE events called for baked goods, so I pulled out my trusty and somewhat tattered copy of My Sweet Vegan and cranked up the oven. On the left, the Cookies and Creme Pound Cake, a fun twist on a very classic dessert. And my recent acquisition of butterscotch chips from Bazu led me to the butterscotch blondie recipe, where the chips were the perfect addition to these gooey bars.
And it seems most of my posts just aren't complete without a cake! This is my 3rd fondant covered cake, and I think it turned out pretty well. All of the decorations are made of fondant (except the pink centers on some of the flowers which are dragees). Inside, a red velvet cake with pecan praline buttercream. Perfect for the southern belle birthday girl...
This upcoming week will see some serious baking in my kitchen, and along with that comes lots of dishes.

The Cape Without Cod

2008-08-11T08:23:00.001-05:00

To celebrate John's parent's 50th wedding anniversary, the whole family (all 20 or so of us) spent the week on the beach in South Yarmouth on Cape Cod.

Before heading down to the Cape, John and I took a detour into Central Square for lunch at Rangzen Tibetan Restaurant where we were joined by Emilie from The Conscious Kitchen and her husband. The four of us enjoyed a delicious lunch from the buffet and good conversation. After interviewing Emilie several months ago, it was so much fun to be able to meet with her in person!

Emilie must have heard my secret cries for a week without homemade cupcakes! It was so thoughtful of her to bake these and transport them by bike. They were devoured rather early in the week and I can now attest to the fact that her baked goods taste just as amazing as they look! Thanks Emilie!

On the way out of Boston, we stopped by Wheeler's Frozen Desserts to get a taste of their famous vegan ice cream. I had a scoop of peanut butter (my favorite) and Mexican chocolate. Still waiting for they day when they open up shop in my neighborhood...

While on the Cape, we didn't do much eating out, but one afternoon while shopping in Chatham, we stopped into the Anytime Cafe where they had a vegan wrap on their menu. Not the tastiest wrap I've ever had, but certainly edible.

A few cool pictures from the trip... an amazing orange full moon on our walk home from dinner one night. And a jellyfish from our dock at the mouth of the Bass River. John got stung one night while in the water (I was safe on land)!

Home for the week was a little cottage merely 50 feet from the water. When we first arrived, I was a bit skeptical as to how I would be able to cook anything in the miniature and dated kitchen, but it grew on me and I was able to turn out quite a few meals for myself and to share with the family. The stove/oven combo must have been straight out of the 1950's! But I managed to make things like tofu and asparagus stir fry, baked tempeh, roasted chickpeas, and a beautiful peach and blueberry crisp! The potato salad on the bottom right (please excuse the camera lens in the photo) is a family favorite put together by my father-in-law. John's family went out of their way to make sure I had plenty to eat :-)
The hydrangea must be the most popular flower on Cape Cod, because we saw them everywhere. I especially loved this heart-shaped one from my sister-in-law's garden. And I couldn't not post a photo of one of the gorgeous dahlias planted by my father-in-law.

One foggy afternoon we went on a whale watching trip to Stellwagen Bank, just northwest of the tip of Cape Cod. I was a bit skeptical that we would actually see anything, but we saw a number of minky whales, and had numerous sightings of humpback whales! One pair was a mother and baby (left photo). It was amazing to be so close to these majestic creatures.
We also trekked over to Chappaquidick Island, sight to the famous beach scenes from JAWS, to enjoy a final day in the sun. Lunch was picked up from Skinny's Fat Sandwiches (I got a pretty tasty tofu salad wrap) and I baked some chocolate chocolate chip pecan and peanut butter oatmeal cookies for dessert. It was a perfect beach day (the first photo in the post is from the beach on Chappy).

After returning to Boston for one night before heading home, we soothed our sun-soaked bodies with some of the new Purely Decadent coconut milk ice cream, cookie dough flavor. I am still sad I haven't been able to find this stuff in Houston.
So that wraps up my posts about my month of intense traveling and I should now be getting back to blogging about life in Houston!

Whipped Into Shape (Vegan Baking Bootcamp-Style)

2008-08-05T15:11:00.005-05:00

Sift that flour! Soak that agar! Roll that pie dough! If these commands send you running towards the kitchen to stand at attention, then you would have loved Vegan Baking Bootcamp, a five-day course offered by the Natural Gourmet Institute in NYC and taught by the highly acclaimed diva of dairy free desserts, Fran Costigan. I had the honor and joy of attending from July 7-11 (for other posts about the previous class, look here and here) with 13 other aspiring bakers. Here is a brief account of each day...

Day 1 - Demo Day. Orange tofu cream, wheat free lace cookies, cornbread, nut cream, and fruit gel

Even though there was no mixing or kneading on my part, my hand was tired by the end of the day from taking notes. Fran covered topics such as the importance of mis en place (having all your ingredients ready before you start baking), staple ingredients for vegan baking, and various techniques and tricks that can make a baker's life in the kitchen a little easier.

Day 2 - Creamy and Gelled Desserts. Assignment - mango mousse, rice pudding, maple cider sauce, orange-ginger crisps, carob pudding, and magic chocolate pudding cake.

This was our first day to do some baking of our own. Half the battle was finding our way around the kitchen. Thankfully there were four amazing assistants who were always there to help. We broke into groups and were assigned several recipes. One major success for the day? The demystification of agar. It seems the key is soak time and lots of patience!

Day 3 - Cookies, Bars, Muffins, and more! Assignment - almond anise biscotti, carob brownies, pumpkin muffins, basic biscuits, and sesame oat squares

By the third day I was finally relaxed and in my rhythm. It was kind of nice to be assigned recipes, because I tend to be a creature of habit, and bake things I know and like. Carob brownies were something I would have never attempted (why? when there is chocolate), but the results were surprisingly delicious.

At the end of the day, it was all about presentation. We plated our desserts and lined them up for discussion and tasting. Can you see the tripod on the far right photo? There was a Japanese journalist who came by each day to document and photograph the class for an article in a Japanese food magazine (Cafe Sweets), where vegan desserts are apparently all the rage!

Day 4 - Pies and Tarts. Assignment - Black Bottom Coconut Banana Cream Pie, Fourth of July Blueberry Streusel Pie, and random tarts of our choice (as seen in the first photo of this post).

As someone who all too often relies on store bought pie crusts, the first lesson of the day (making your own foolproof flaky pie crust) proved to be one of the most beneficial for me. It was also yet another test for my dough rolling skills, I'm getting closer to being able to roll a circle! And can you believe that there are 8 cups of blueberries in that monstrous pie?!

This class would not have been the same without Fran Costigan and her contagious energy and excitement for all aspects of vegan baking. She was graciously giving of her time and vast knowledge. Her words of encouragement have given me motivation to continue to experiment and enjoy baking back in my own kitchen.

Day 5 - Cake Day! Assignment - 24 Karrot Cake with tart lemon spread and Chocolate Layer Cake to Live For with chocolate cream frosting

This was the day I had been looking forward to all week. And can you believe this was the first carrot cake I've ever made (bottom left)? Making the cake was about 30% of the fun, the rest was decorating! We played with melted chocolate (with tranfers and bubble wrap), frosting spatulas and tips, fresh flowers, and gold luster dust.

I even got to use some of my recently acquired cake decorating skills to ice smooth our chocolate cake. It was very exciting to find a frosting that contains no shortening, EB, or powdered sugar; and one that you can still pipe! We had fun playing with gold luster dust on the mint leaves.

The reward each day for hours of baking? Sampling, of course. My plate got a little bigger everyday as you can see...

After flexing my vegan baking muscles all day, every day for an entire week, you might think I was ready for a break from desserts. Quite the contrary! My sweet tooth rarely diminishes in strength, but more importantly, my interest in all things vegan baking has been heightened to a new level. From understanding the chemistry of baking, to using natural/wholesome ingredients, to perfecting presentation, I want to learn more about it all. Fran's class provided me with a jumping off point to explore baking on my own, and I can't wait to get started!

Thanks to Fran, our assistants, my baking partners (pictured above with Fran), and the whole class for making this week truly worth using up half of my allotted vacation for the year! For more pictures, visit my flickr set. Also, if you are interested in any of these recipes, most of them can be found in Fran's book More Great Good Dairy Free Desserts Naturally.

Daring Bakers Challenge: Pecan Gateau with Praline Buttercream

2008-07-30T06:49:00.001-05:00

I had my doubts that this month's Daring Bakers challenge would actually get done. I was away from my kitchen every weekend of the month. But something told me that I would enjoy the result of this challenge, so I rallied and did some daring baking the day before posting! (I'm usually not a procrastinator with such things) The challenge was a filbert gateau (i.e. cake) moistened with simple syrup, layered with praline buttercream, topped with apricot glaze, and finished with a chocolate ganache. Being the Texas girl that I am, instead of using hazelnuts for the challenge, I used the nut of our beloved state tree (and my mom's favorite); the pecan.
I must admit that with the time crunch, it was tempting to crack open a bag of pre-made pralines. But in the spirit of the challenge, I made them from scratch. Growing up, my mom and sister often made pralines and often complained about the finicky nature of candy making, especially in a humid climate. My experience was no different (I singed the ends of my hair!), luckily it didn't matter that I had one massive praline because it went in the food processor to making praline paste. But just to show I made them, here they are....
Veganizing this challenge was a cinch. For the originally egg-laden genoise, I used the recipe for the virtuous vanilla cake from Great Good Dairy Free Desserts Naturally, substituting 1 cup of ground pecans for the 1 cup of whole wheat flour called for. For the buttercream, I used the tried and true fluffy buttercream recipe from VCTOTW, adding a splash of Grand Marnier to complement the apricot glaze. The combination of the praline paste and buttercream yielded amazing results.
Now I am a bit saddened that I only made a mini-cake. At least I have this last piece of cake to enjoy....

Next up, my baking adventure in NYC! (promise, this daring bakers challenge really snuck up on me!)

NYC - I Have Never Eaten This Much Food in my Life

2008-07-24T11:00:00.003-05:00

So much I'm not sure how I digested all of it (maybe I still am ;-). My weeklong visit to NYC was full of amazing food, inspiring sights, blogger meetups, hanging out with two of my favorite people (my mom and sis) and lots and lots of baking (stay tuned for my vegan baking bootcamp post!). Watch out, this is a mega picture post.

After arriving in the city, I was in the mood for a light dinner, so I headed south to Sacred Chow in the village for vegan tapas. I ordered a trio of tapas including bbq seitan with cabbage, raw kale salad, and root vegetable latkes with Indonesian date butter. This was my first latke experience, and I was not disappointed. Friendly staff as well :-)

On my second night in the city, I went out with a new found friend from class to Pure Food & Wine for some fancy raw food. We decided to share all of our dishes. For starters, there was veggie sushi (I think the rice was daikon?) and an arugula salad with watermelon, a refreshing start on a hot evening. Then we enjoyed "chevre cheese" stuffed squash blossoms with heirloom tomatoes and avocado as well as a spanikopita with root vegetables (the dots are grapes!). Both dishes were amazing and it was hard to believe they were raw! We couldn't leave without dessert, and since it was quite warm sitting on their back patio, I chose the Thin Mint Sundae. Mint and chocolate ice cream paired with a chocolate cookie, very heavenly. I highly recommend trying Pure the next time you're in NYC.

Red Bamboo is know for its wide selection of tasty faux meats, and it did not disappoint. After a day full of dessert tasting, I was in the mood for something a bit lighter, and definitely not fried. The grilled bourbon chicken was very tasty. The plain steamed veggies on the side were a bit boring and bland, but I was actually in the mood for that.

Even with all the desserts from class, I somehow was able to make it to Atlas Cafe twice during the week to pick up something from the massive Vegan Treats dessert case (I did at least make the 2 mile walk from Chelsea!). There was Death by Chocolate Cake and Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake. Both were devoured, but the peanut butter (top right) with added fervor.

On Wednesday night I met up with VKO from Lifestyles of the Chic and Vegan at Candle Cafe. We started with the very popular seitan chimichurri, pleasant texture and delicious flavor. For dinner I had one of the evening's specials, walnut crusted tempeh over quinoa with sauteed green beans, good, but not nearly as delicious as the cajun seitan sandwich that VKO got (which she also recommended to me, doh! should have listened). We saved a little bit of room for dessert, the chocolate mousse pie, yum! But of course, the sweetest part of the meal was visiting with VKO! She was even kind enough to lend me her umbrella for the rainy walk/subway ride back to Chelsea.

My mom arrived in NYC on Thursday to spend the weekend (my sis took a red eye and came the next morning), so we headed south for dinner to Wild Ginger. Samosas to start, then I had the black pepper seitan while my mom went with the pad thai. Next time I would choose different menu options because none of these were particular favorites. But I've heard many good things about Wild Ginger, so I would definitely try again.

Friday night we enjoyed an early, relaxed dinner at Blossom in Chelsea. Lots of delicious food, including the phyllo roulade, sweet potato gnocchi, and stuffed portobello mushroom. My favorite was the roulade with the lentil stuffing served over swiss chard, very filling and hearty. For dessert we sampled the cheesecake, pretty plain and simple.

And another blogger meet up! Bazu from Where's the Revolution was in town with her husband celebrating his birthday, so VKO and I met up with the two of them at Blossom Cafe on the Upper West Side. Bazu brought us vegan butterscotch chips! All of my food photos were kind of so-so, but I had the grilled tofu salad, which was just what I needed after finishing cake day at bootcamp. Luckily the blogger photo turned out (on the left the three of us, and on the right from a few nights before). These two meetups were one of my favorite things about the trip...

Of course, I didn't just eat and blogtalk my way through NYC, I enjoyed spending time in Central Park getting lost in the maze of trails, spotting turtles, and seeing the first fireflies of my life (lower right picture, those bright spots!). We also spent time in the Metropolitan, Guggenheim, and MoMA (my favorite), saw a Broadway show (Legally Blonde), and shopped on 5th Ave (no purchases).

After a long day of roaming the city, we were ready for our fancy dinner at Candle 79. For starters we had some veggie sushi to refresh our palates, then we went seitan crazy!! My mom and I split the seitan piccata and one of their specials for the evening, a pumpkin seed crusted seitan over rice and a kind of cuban bean stew. Certainly some of the best seitan I've ever had. For dessert we split the brownie sundae with ancho chocolate sauce. I think I could have eaten three of these.

I viewed the city from atop the Empire State building, took a ferry out to admire Lady Liberty, saw some the the NYC waterfalls, and even saw a Houston Astros version of the Statue of Liberty (on parade for the baseball all star game that week).

On Sunday afternoon, we attempted to visit the Natural History Museum, but were turned away due to a "special event"... what a bummer! But we made up for it by revisiting Blossom Cafe for black-eyed pea cakes, quesadillas, and the best vegan burger I've ever had... the soy bacon cheeseburger. Greasy and good. And what goes better with a burger than a chocolate peanut butter shake? Well, nothing.

My last day in the city came too quickly. I had some errands to run on the Lower East Side, so we stopped at Teany cafe for a quick lunch. I was most impressed with the chicken salad sandwich and my raspberry lime ricky, a refreshing drink on a hot day.

And the errands? Cupcakes from Babycakes. On the left gluten free chocolate and on the right spelt lemon. I wasn't thrilled with the texture of either cupcakes, but I did really enjoy their brownie bites. And such a cute little bakery! And I loved quote on the back of the cupcake boxes, "Saving your behind, one cupcake at a time".

Had to hit up Economy Candy for vegan lentils (aka m&ms). Just inhaling the sugar in this place is enough to send you into a coma. And since my favorite pair of work shoes was ripping at the seams after years of wear, we visited Mooshoes where I walked out with some green Molly shoes and an herbivore shirt. Now that's my idea of shopping... who needs 5th Ave?

Whew, sorry if some of that seemed random, I've been trying to get this post up for almost two weeks now! But this isn't the last you've seen of my trip to NYC. Just wait for all the bootcamp desserts!! And thanks to everyone who gave me vegan foodie advice!
I'm on Cape Cod right now with all of my inlaws, sorry I haven't been visiting blogs regularly! I return home for good this weekend and will play catchup.

Las Vegas in a NY Minute

2008-07-09T11:00:00.003-05:00

Happy late 4th of July!! Just thought I would show off my Stars and Stripes cobbler (recipe based on this one from Everyday Dish).

I should be sleeping right now, but here's a quick run down of our trip to Las Vegas. Thanks to stonie brook for her suggestions! The first place we hit up was the Go Raw Cafe down by the airport. For lunch, I had the enchilada. Very refreshing after stuffing my face with way too much food the day before in San Fran.

And of course, what trip to Vegas would be complete with out a little... no, not gambling (for me at least).... vegan donuts from Ronald's! I roused up John and the couple we met in Vegas to drive out and get some donuts one morning. This place looks like a normal donut show, but the top two shelved are all vegan! These reminded me of the donuts I used to have growing up. We tried chocolate covered, cream filled, glazed, and what John referred to as an "apple burrito".

After donuts, we made a trip out to the Hoover Dam, quite an amazing engineering accomplishment!

Other things we did in Vegas... walk the strip, see two shows (go see Le Reve!), watch John play blackjack, ate overpriced sushi. And I got a preview of the city where I am right now.... New York!

Can't wait to catch up with what everyone has been up to!

5, 4, 3, 2, 1 .... Launch!

2008-07-03T09:14:00.001-05:00

A launch party that is! We went out to San Francisco this past weekend (and then onto Vegas, the topic of a separate post) to attend the launch party as "VIPs" (haha) for the July/August issue of VegNews magazine. After a delayed flight due to the smoky skies around the city, we finally arrived, dropped our bags at the hotel, and rushed up to North Beach ...

Lunch was at The Usual Suspects, a new (and sadly, may no longer be open?) vegan/vegetarian cafe nestled up against Telegraph Hill (literally!). Since we hadn't eaten all day (and it was 3pm our time), we started with some taquitos served with an creamy dipping sauce. They were gobbled up of course. John went with a big salad topped with lots of veggies and cashews while I had the schawarma stuffed with seitan (no good pic of that). But the best part of the meal? Chatting with Melisser (who was there frosting 200+ mini cupcakes for the launch party, part of her Sugar Beat Sweets business) and sampling her chocolate cupcake with tangerine frosting. Heavenly! Maybe someday she'll give me the secret to what makes her frosting so fluffy.
After a relaxing afternoon of strolling through North Beach, we headed down to SOMO for the launch party at the Electric Works art gallery. After scoping out the silent auction items, we perused the artwork for a bit before the crowds starting arriving. I had a blast meeting VegNews staffers, fellow bloggers, ppkers, and even someone that recognized me from reading my blog (hi Kenya!). The martinis and wine flowed like water. And Lavay Smith and her Red Hot Skillet Lickers jazzed up the evening with their saucy tunes.
During the party, appetizers from local veg eateries (including Millennium, Usual Suspects, and Herbivore) were passed by a wonderful group of volunteers. As dessert time drew near, we stationed ourselves near the bar and managed to score 4 mini cupcakes, courtesy of Sugar Beat Sweets. As you can tell from the photo, they went fast!
Even though it had been a long day, and almost midnight Houston-time, we couldn't not eat at Millennium on our brief trip to Frisco. So we forced ourselves :-) We started off with a roasted beet appetizer with hazelnuts, so delicious. John ordered a salad for dinner... let me just say that it was quite possibly the best salad I've ever tasted. And dang, I don't remember what it was called. There were greens, fingerling potatoes, smoked tofu, other stuff I'm forgetting, but oh I will never forget how much I loved it. For my entree, I had coconut black pepper crusted tofu, served with fragrant rice, oyster mushrooms, edamame and some other veggies. Dessert was a must, even after 1 full size and 4 mini cupcakes that day. I must not have satisfied my chocolate fix yet, because I ordered the chocolate almond midnight. We got it to go and headed back to our hotel room. Most of it was actually eaten the next morning for breakfast!
6:30 am the next morning came fast. The 17 hour trip to San Francisco was a whirlwind of vegan food & sweets, music, art, and new & friendly faces. Wish we had more time, but we'll be back...
I am heading out of town again this Sunday, so forgive me for not visiting blogs the week I'm gone! I do have a post or two lined up to publish while I'm away though. And once I return, I will have some vegan baking bootcamp stories to tell and lots of sweets to show.... NYC here I come! (any advice on where to eat is welcomed of course)

Daring Bakers Challenge: Danish Bread

2008-06-29T06:16:00.002-05:00

My second Daring Bakers challenge is complete! Unlike last month, this challenge was much less about veganizing the assigned recipe and more about technique. The scariest part for me was making the laminated dough, consisting of alternating layers of detempre (dough) and beurrage (butter, i.e. Earth Balance). Even with well chilled ingredients, my butter was squirting out the edges every turn of the dough I made. But in the end, I had two beautiful fruit-filled danishes to show for it.

The process of actual braiding the danish was much easier than I anticipated. The hardest part was rolling out a rectangle! And of course, on my first braid I failed to place the dough on my silpat prior to braiding.... big mistake and is was a painstaking process to transfer it, I was lucky it didn't get ruined! (check out this and this video for a visual demonstration)

As the danish baked, orange and cardamom (in the dough) wafted through the air, filling the house with an amazing aroma. I wish I could bottle up that smell, I think it might get me out of bed faster in the morning. Here is the danish right out of the oven.

For the danish braid filling, I wanted to use mainly local ingredients, especially with the bounty of fruits available in the summer season! The danish below is filled with blueberries and blackberries, and a pastry cream (not local) with drizzled icing for some extra sweetness.

The second braid is filled with Texas peaches and finished with almond icing as well as sliced almonds. I didn't quite get the flakiness I wanted (probably due to all that squirting Earth Balance), but these still tasted so much better than those store-bought danishes I remember from my pregan days.
With the leftover dough, I experimented with a few smaller danish shapes for fun. Now I'm wishing I had more of this dough in my freezer to make a few danishes whenever I fancied them.

What will next month bring for this vegan daring baker? I guess you'll just have to wait and see!

Bar Stocking, Potlucking, and Ice Cream Making

2008-06-25T18:42:00.004-05:00

Before I head out of town for a long weekend, I though I would share what I've been up to in the kitchen....

Here are the tiramisu cupcakes I made for an "stock the bar" engagement party. The engagement actually happened in Italy, so I thought these were appropriate. They might be my favorite from VCTOTW, although it's so hard to choose just one!

On Saturday night we hosted a small potluck to show appreciation for everyone involved in our Go Vegan art car. For an appetizer I cut up some of Julie's sausages and simply sauteed them and served them with a mustard sauce. These were a big hit.

My main course contribution was Isa's broccoli quiche from her upcoming brunch book. Oh I love her so much for sharing this recipe before the book is available. I added some tempeh bacon and a healthy dose of nutritional yeast. I was so sad to see it go so fast at the potluck, so I made another one last night.

Here's my plate from the potluck.... homemade bread with avocado butter, pasta salad, pineapple slaw, fruit, quiche, and mac and cheese (with peace sign pasta!). I had another plate with lasagna and tamales as well!

For dessert, I tried to recreate something I saw at one of our favorite cafes here in Houston (Brasil), a mini cake with chocolate base layer, fresh fruit (strawberries and blueberries), and topped with chocolate mousse (from VCTOTW). The presentation needs some work, but the taste was right on.

I finally broke down and bought an ice cream maker, an attachment for my Kitchen Aid standmixer (anyone use that one?). The last time I made ice cream was in high school chemistry class!! This try turned out well except I learned a valuable lesson, big chunks of strawberries in your strawberry chocolate chip ice cream cause major brain freeze and tooth pain! I also need to figure out a storage system since my ice cream developed ice crystals; I'm assuming because I didn't have an airtight seal. But, nonetheless, with temperatures soaring here, this is just what I needed when I walked in the door after work.

Tomorrow we leave for a San Francisco to attend the soldout VegNews launch party and then onto Las Vegas for the remainder of the weekend. Who knows, maybe I'll come back a millionaire. At least I'll come back with a tummy full of Ronald's vegan donuts....

Virtual Trip to PDX via Everyday Dish TV

2008-06-19T21:42:00.001-05:00

It's been over a year since my last trip to Portland, and with the Try Vegan Week and Let Live Conference going on in the month of June; I've found myself wishing for a free plane ticket to this vegan friendly city! Instead, I think I found the next best thing.... a gastronomical tour of Portland's cuisine from right here in Houston, courtesy of Everyday Dish TV.

I started my virtual trip with a simple, yet fancy-sounding dish served at the vegan restaurant Nutshell (where there has been some recent controversy), sauteed chard with cherry ginger gastrique. This is a great way to eat more greens! The sweet yet sour sauce really helps mask the bitterness of the chard. I served this over sauteed polenta, with a side of grilled tempeh.
This next dish I was super-psyched to see, since it is the exact dish I got for dinner at the Farm Cafe.... herb crusted tofu with mushroom marsala. Although it took a bit of time to put together, this was a perfect Friday night meal to celebrate the end of the week. I think this is a tofu dish that would really impress for dinner parties, it's so crisp and flavorful! Plus you can have fun with the presentation. (and oops! I forgot to cut my tofu into pretty triangles!)
Next I tackled a recipe that has made the rounds already on pretty much every blog I've seen (and for good reason!), Julie's spicy Italian sausages. Where have these been all my life? I made a few sausages as well as some cutlets. The cutlets I sauteed in the leftover breading from the herb crusted tofu and served over pasta.... parmigiana-style. Soooo good. And I thought it was so cute to see Julie's dog roam into the kitchen during the demonstration! And to complete my tour, I had to make dessert! Chocolate mocha cake seemed like the natural choice. This is a rich, deep chocolatey cake that gets a kick from fresh-brewed coffee and a splash of alcohol (I used Kahlua versus the suggested rum). Finished with a chocolate ganache... what could be better?
I was sad to miss the vegan prom in Portland last weekend, so I took a trip down memory lane instead and dug out my high school prom pictures! Don't you just love the cheesy backdrop? Even though I did have the sparkly dress on, at least I didn't have big Texas hair! Isn't my date cute :-) Too bad he only exists in photoshop.
Thanks so much to Julie for bringing us such wonderful vegan cooking shows on Everyday Dish TV. Now hurry and go take a virtual trip of your own! Plane tickets aren't getting any cheaper....

And on another note, tune into Go Vegan Texas this coming Monday at 10am CST. I'll be cohosting with Kristen and Stacey for the show themed "Walking the Walk" where we interview Mark Hawthorne, author of Striking at the Roots. You can listen online or download the show from the archives. Should be a good show!

I Wish I Was A Little Bit Taller

2008-06-17T09:07:00.003-05:00

I have nominated myself for two "memes" of sorts, one because I wish I was taller (more on that one later) and the other because I was bored at work and wanted to have fun with flickr.

This first one I saw on Hannah's lovely blog. Each photo represents something about me. (click on the image to view larger size)
The concept:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker).

The Questions:
1. What is your first name? Amanda
2. What is your favorite food? peanut butter
3. What high school did you go to? Elsik (*edit* our mascot was the ram, which is what came up on flickr)
4. What is your favorite color? green
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Johnny Depp
6. Favorite drink? water
7. Dream vacation? Nepal
8. Favorite dessert? chocolate
9. What you want to be when you grow up? a mom
10. What do you love most in life? family
11. One Word to describe you. complicated
12. Your flickr name. vegan noodle

For the second meme, Shellyfish used a unique way of tagging folks by listing five random categories, one which called on those who feel a bit vertically challenged (I'm 5'2.5" that 0.5 " is very important to me). So here goes, this one is a bit long...

What were you doing five years ago?
I was living in Boulder, CO working toward my masters degree in Geology. That pretty much consumed all my time.

What are five things on your to-do list today?
1. return a double stack cupcake holder with a completely stupid design
2. bake a mini chocolate mocha cake
3. suck it up and put some gasoline in my car
4. start preparing to cohost GVT next week
5. menu planning for weekend dinner party

What are five snacks you enjoy?
1. peanut butter on just about anything
2. fresh fruit
3. tortilla chips with mango salsa and guacamole
4. roasted chickpeas
5. chocolate, duh

What are five things you would do if you were a millionare?
1. Go bicoastal and get a place in San Francisco and on the coast of Massachusetts
2. Give a big chunk to Society of PEACE so we could do some serious vegan outreach
3. Use one of my new residences as an animal sanctuary
4. Travel the world
5. Open up a vegan bakery and not have to worry about making a profit

What are your 5 bad habits?
1. starting projects and not finishing them
2. leaving clean clothes in the dryer for days
3. don't read as many books as I should
4. a weakness for kitchen toys
5. letting produce go bad before I use it

Where are five places you have lived?
1. Houston, TX - the suburbs
2. Fort Collins, CO
3. Boulder, CO
4. Babenhausen, Germany and Chester, England (for about 5 months)
5. Houston, TX - the city (way cooler)

What are five jobs you've had?
1. hostess at The Black-Eyed Pea (even in my pregan days I was scared of the food)
2. soils lab and field assistant
3. taught Intro to Geology laboratory
4. writing environmental impact statements for reclaimed mines
5. geologic modeling research and applications

Five people I tag (again borrowing from Shellyfish), if you...
1. bite your nails
2. secretly listen to Britney Spears while driving
3. wish you had a pig as a companion animal
4. consider yourself a scientist
5. ate a cupcake this past weekend

(I just realized that I reavealed five more things about me with this list, except #2, really) Next post will include food, and a prom picture (yikes!).

Sampling Squares, Planks, and Bars

2008-06-12T09:30:00.001-05:00

I was lucky enough to get some samples in the mail of "darn good whole foods" made by Honest Foods. When I am traveling or on the go at home, I always have a stash of vegan snacks in case I skip breakfast, can't find something vegan on the lunch menu, or I'm getting the munchies late in the afternoon. So I was very excited about the opportunity to add a few more to my usual repertoire. Inside the package addressed to "walking the vegan line" (which in itself was exciting to see), I received samples of all flavors from their two whole foods product lines: country squares and granola planks.

The country squares are a soft, chewy, whole grain bar that comes in four flavors: choco p'nut butter, apple ginger spice, farmer's trail mix, and cran lemon zest. All four are made with whole grain oats, almond butter, dried fruit, and other ingredients you can pronounce; with 6 grams of protein and a healthy dose of omega 3's. These were perfect for when I was heading out the door hungry. My favorite? Well, this shouldn't be a surprise to any of you that read this blog with some regularity, but it was the choco p'nut butter, followed by the farmer's trail mix (I loved the addition of pumpkin seeds in this one!).
For some strange reason I was less excited about the granola planks, probably because I tend to prefer soft and chewy things to brittle and crunchy. But these were a pleasant surprise! I enjoyed eating the blueberry vanilla crackle plain out of the box, the maple almond crunch crumbled as cereal in almond milk, and the pomengranate walnut crisp topped on vanilla soy yogurt. Check out the Honest Foods website for a list of places where you can purchase these to taste for yourself!
Since I was in the sampling mode, I decided to do more, but this time, no freebies :-) My sister highly recommended the Vosges "haut" chocolate, but with "haut" prices, I was glad to find some miniatures to taste that were a little nicer on the pocketbook. The flavors included the creole bar (coffee + cocoa nibs), red fire bar (ancho and chipotle chilies + cinnamon), oaxaca bar (guajillo and pasilla chilies), and the black pearl bar (wasabi + ginger + sesame seeds). These miniatures are worth savoring every bite, don't use these for a quick chocolate fix! I brought a few with me to share with a few girlfriends when we went to see the SATC movie, and I made mine last about twenty minutes into it. The clear winner for my tastebuds was the Red Fire bar... the fire of the chili and the spice of the cinnamon was a combination that awakened my tastebuds. Coming in second had to be the Creole bar, I loved the crunch of the cocoa nibs.
I think I could get used to this product sampling thing...

My Own Form of Detox

2008-06-06T15:08:00.005-05:00

I am honored to have been chosen by VegNews to receive a VegBloggy award for 2008! I am so excited to see who else has gotten one (here's some I know of right now: conscious kitchen, vegan talk, urban housewife, bittersweet, veganyumyum, get sconed, fatfree vegan kitchen). The July/August issue hits newstands on July 1 (earlier for subscibers), so be sure to pick up a copy! And I really wish this was one of those awards that you could also give to five other bloggers so we could spread the love to all vegan blogs. Because really, I think we all inspire each other and are all deserving of recognition in the vegan/vegetarian community. I'm also excited that this gives me an excuse to stop in San Francisco at the end of the month (on my way to Las Vegas) for the Music Issue Launch Party. Hope to see some of yall there!

Now, back to my regularly scheduled blog post.... looking back on recent posts, there has been a lot of dessert! And I've seen several of you blogging about all the raw food and cleanses and detoxes you have been doing, and this is a great season for it! Now I'm not really on a detox, just a blog post detox (yes, just last night I had a brownie, but it was low fat!). All healthy food in this post. First, a grilled vegetable salad with corn, asparagus, and portobello mushroom over a bed of spinach with heirloom tomato and sunflower seeds.

The mushroom was marinated in red wine, olive oil, and dried basil. The corn was just basted in some olive oil and placed right on the grill for about 15 minutes. As you can see, the grilling of the asparagus was a bit tricky... we lost a few to the doldrums of the charcoal fire! I've tried skewering them in the past, but was just too lazy to do it that particular evening.
For Memorial Day, we brought out the grill once again for more corn on the cob and some homemade burgers! This was my first attempt at a homemade burger and it was not really very successful. I spaced reading the instructions earlier, and discovered the burgers had to chill 4 hours, time that I didn't have. So our tempeh mushroom burgers (grated beet lending the red color) kinda fell apart. John showed some mad skillz with the grill by managing to get them off in one piece!
And finally, the Taco Salad from Yellow Rose Recipes. Romaine lettuce with cilantro topped with taco TVP, avocado, tomato. Joanna's spice mixes (this one for the tvp) are the best. And no oil! Okay, so there was a dallop of sour cream, but the rest of the dressing was just fresh lime juice. I've been making a few things from YRR lately for the review I submitted to our Society of PEACE newsletter.
I hope everyone has a great weekend. Tomorrow I am going blackberry picking!