Posts Tagged ‘sweets’

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Odds and ends

Tuesday, May 12th, 2009

It’s really shameful that it’s been almost a week since I updated. Oops. I’ve been busy with lots of things though – not the least of which is cycling! The Brit and I dusted off our bikes (actually, he bought a new one and we dusted off mine, but whatever), and have been trying to get in as much cycling as possible. So far this month I’ve done 43 miles – my goal is 100 miles in May.

To help me keep up with my goal, I’ve put together a Cycle Progress Chart (some of you might have already seen it – it’s over there —>). If you notice it hasn’t budged in a few days, please feel free to give me a proverbial kick in the arse to get going again!

In other news, this last weekend Bianca of Vegan Crunk and I put together an awesome party. We called it the Prodigious Vegan Sushi-Palooza Madness Extravaganza. It totally lived up to its name. I haven’t uploaded any of my photos yet (not sure if I even have any worth posting), but go check out Bianca’s post about it – trust me, you won’t regret it.

I promise not to leave you without pictures of food! First, check out the pizza I made last week from some extra dough I had frozen:

Check out those crust bubbles!

Check out those crust bubbles.

The whole thing was covered in roasted red pepper sauce and onions, which is all The Brit wanted on his half (crazy man). I then added some tofu ricotta, black olives and arugula to my half, making it far superior.

Then I made a couple of testers for Kelly and Garrick’s Vegan Cookie Book (it’s in its final stages of testing! woo!). I made Rice Crispy Treats and Flapjacks.

No special vegan marshmallows or marshmallow creme required.

No special vegan marshmallows or marshmallow creme required.

No, not pancakes... proper oat flapjack like they eat in the UK.

No, not pancakes... proper oat flapjack like they eat in the UK.

Both of these recipe were awesome, just like all the other recipes in their book!

Lastly, I’ve been helping a friend plan and purchase items for a joint birthday party for her daughter and nephew this weekend. We’re making a ‘Pink Princess Doll’ cake and a ‘Lightning McQueen’ cake (from the movie Cars). Did I mention there are 130 people invited to this party? Yeah. On the plus side, she wants to make all of the cake vegan even though no one in attendance (including her) is vegan! Awesome, yes?

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They were sitting, they were sitting on the strawberry swing

Thursday, April 30th, 2009

Last week I went strawberry picking for the first time. Bianca met up with me (and The Brit, but he didn’t do any of the picking) at Windermere Farms, which is a locally-owned certified organic farm, run by a couple that she knows. I think they mostly grow strawberries, although I understand that they also have lima beans and squash later in the year.

We picked eight pounds of strawberries between us – three pounds for me and five for her. The whole experience of picking them was really fun, but nothing could be more fun than getting to eat them. And what better way to enjoy them than with some Chocolate Chip Quickcake?

Check out those beautiful berries.

Check out those beautiful berries.

I’m lucky enough to be testing recipes for Tami’s upcoming cookbook, and this recipe caught my eye right away. I already had all of the ingredients, most importantly the strawberries. Of course it helps that I’m always in the mood for something sweet. It was a breeze to put together, and the combination of not-too-sweet cake studded with chocolate chips paired perfectly with the juicy ripe strawberries.

This was my first tester for her book, but based on what I’ve seen, this is going to be another one you’re going to want!

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The last of the travels

Wednesday, February 18th, 2009
In Nashville we got to meet up with a couple of people from the PPK for brunch at Fido. It was super-fun and yummy, although I didn’t manage to get any pictures of my food (sorry!).

Here’s the adorable Annieeggplant, who was kind enough to grace us with her awesome presence:


And of course, what would a trip to Nashville be without a visit with the fabulous johnp? Here he is holding the famous little blue monster made by pandacookie:


Thanks so much to John for organizing such a fun get-together! It was really great meeting you two!

After Nashville we wound up driving to Asheville NC, you know, just for fun. After just a little searching online we found this fantastic place called The Green Sage:


I opted for a soy latte:


And this enormous brunch plate with scrambled tofu, sweet potato home fries, vegan sausage, a giant vegan biscuit(!) and Earth Balance. Holy yum, this was good.

 


It was freezing out, so after we finished eating brunch we decided to stick around in the warmth for a bit longer and indulge in a little Earl Grey tea. They had soy milk, rice milk, agave and stevia on the condiment bar! I love Asheville.


That’s it for our trip out east. Last week The Brit and I went to TX to visit the grandparents, so of course a visit to Spiral Diner was in order. The Brit and I each ordered a sandwich and split them, so we could both try a couple of things.

We got the Meatball Sub:


And the Chopped BBQ Seitan:


We both agreed that the BBQ Seitan sandwich was better, but we managed to finish them both anyway :)  After lunch I ordered an almond milk latte with vanilla syrup. It was soooo good.

Check out that foam:


Of course, I couldn’t leave without dessert. We ordered the ‘Deathstar Sundae’, which was a warm brownie with homemade vanilla ‘i-scream’ and soy whipped cream, with a shot of espresso on the side to pour over the whole thing. The Brit didn’t really like it (he’s not much of a sweets person), so I had to eat most of it. Such a sacrifice, right?


Overall, this visit to Spiral Diner went over with The Brit much better than last time, and that in itself made me happier than the food did. Well, almost.

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What do you mean it’s been over four months?

Friday, January 9th, 2009

Happy New Year! (Okay, so it’s a little late. Whatev.)


I got a job in October working as a Customer Service Supervisor for a well-known electronics company, but my last day was Wednesday so that’s all sort of irrelevant now. My new job is to help The Brit with his business – bookkeeping, answering phones, data entry etc… Should be fun, right?


I’ve eaten lots of good things in the last few months, but I don’t have many pictures to share. I’ll show you the few things I have managed to capture before I devoured them.


First off, some frozen vegetable filled buns I got from the Asian market a while ago. Steamed in my bamboo steamer, these were surprisingly good. I haven’t been back, but when I do finally go I will definitely get more of these. Sorry, no inside shot.



Next, I finally made Julie’s sausages (along with a shit-ton of other things) for a get together at my house. I didn’t get pictures of any of the finished food, but I did manage to snap this photo of the dry ingredients for the sausages. So pretty, no?



Chicken Parmesan! Boca patties, vegan parmesan, marinara and Teese. Totally easy, but super yummy. Served with whole wheat linguine with marinara and a giant salad (not shown).


 


Next up, my first ever experience with soy curls – Thai style peanut coconut curry. I soaked the soy curls in chicken style broth, squeezed out the liquid and sauteed them in my wok until they were browned. Removed them and sauteed some bell peppers and onions with fresh garlic and ginger. Removed those and made the sauce. I couldn’t duplicate it if I tried, but it was something like coconut milk, reserved chicken style broth, maple peanut butter, tamarind paste, demerara sugar, thai red curry paste, lime juice and dried basil. Simmered until thickened, added everything back in, served with rice. The only thing it was missing was fresh basil, but it’s impossible to find here this time of year so I settled. It was still yum.



And for dessert, Triple Threat Chocolate Cheesecake from My Sweet Vegan. Words can not do it justice, so I’ll just leave you with a picture.


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Last supper

Friday, July 18th, 2008
Thanks to everyone who offered their condolences for my recent loss.

My new oven will be delivered tomorrow. I have needed a new oven since we moved into this house, but I’ve never HAD to buy one, so I’ve been putting it off. It is kind of a blessing in disguise, although choosing a replacement oven was not without it’s own trials.

The oven that died is the original from when the house was built. It’s 23 years old and never held a consistent temperature since I’ve lived in the house. It’s always required constant babysitting of my oven thermometer to not turn every cake and meal into charcoal. In a nutshell, it was time.

Unfortunately, it is a 27″ drop-in oven. The counter around it is built to fit a 27″ drop-in oven, and nothing else. There is only one 27″ drop-in oven on the market these days. It is small, it is crappy, and it is $1200. If I was going to spend that amount, I did not want to settle for a newer (admittedly better) version of the same thing. I had a tough choice to make.

I decided to shell out a little more, and get an oven that I love. Namely, this oven. I had enough money saved from my cake business to buy it in cash, thankfully. It will not fit where the old oven is, so it will have to sit on the other side of the counter (in the dining room) until I can figure something out. I can’t afford to remodel the kitchen right now, so I’ll just have to get used to having the stove in another room. It’s hard to describe, but I’ll take a picture once it’s here and in place.

Here is a picture of the last meal my oven ever made:


Baked BBQ Tempeh, couscous and mixed veggies (from the freezer!). Easy, but good.

Buying ovens isn’t all I’ve been up to the last few days. I’ve also made petit fours (among other things which I didn’t get pictures of)! These were for a bridal shower. They were having a zebra stripe and monogram theme, with red accents.



I think the zebra stripes turned out so cute:


(Hopefully) pictures of my beautiful new oven tomorrow!

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