Eats and Treats...

Hello lovelies!

It's been a few weeks.. gosh I am a slack blogger these past few months. How shameful.

Okay, so. Here's some food for ya, since you're all so sweet and patient with me.

First off, I got a new cookbook, that I am totally in love with. I've only made a few things, but it's all been successful. (Not pictured, but amazing are the Chewy Peanut Buttah Cookies. So so good.)
Pictured is the Barbecue-Baked Tofu with Mushrooms and Bell Peppers. Oh, this was so lovely. I paired with with a simple cabbage salad.

Our building had a potluck barbecue thing a couple weeks ago, so I threw together a random pasta salad, bursting with rice pasta, bell peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, celery, green beans, and the tofu feta from... Garden of Vegan, I think? One of the Sarah Kramer books. It is my go-to feta recipe. And I just used the marinade as the dressing. It was so great. Pasta salad is one of my favorite comfort foods.
I brought 2 dishes to the potluck. My second "dish", was Vive's Coconut Carob Pecan cookies, made with chocolate instead of carob... I was already serving people tofu feta, so I didn't want to freak them out too much.

So, there was a crazy, major power-outtage downtown a couple weeks ago, which means that Keith got 3 days off work. So, we randomly drove to the Okanogan to visit his parents. So, the day before we left, I was browsing the Vegan Essentials website, in the hopes of ordering some marshmallows for the summer. They were out of stock, so I checked out the Sweet and Sara website to see if I could get them anywhere locally. Well, they aren't sold anywhere in Vancouver, but I could get them in Kelowna! Woot! I stocked up. And, I got a few of the S'Mores, which I'd never had before. Holy sugar Batman! They were so so so good. Mmm.
We also stopped at an organic fruit stand, and loaded up on fresh, local peaches, apricots, cherries, and cucumbers. Lucky us!

Lastly, even though I had a conference last weekend, I managed to get in one day with my boys at the Folk Fest. And, there was a kiosk selling only vegan food. Yes. Mostly raw food (we enjoyed some raw cookies and popsicles), but Keith and I inhaled some chili dogs. Hells yes. So freaking awesome.
We also enjoyed some chocolate tofulati. Yum!

Lots going on in the next few weeks, including a trip back home, and Keith's high school reunion! I'll keep you posted!

xo

one.

Last Sunday we celebrated the first birthday of my littlest man, Baby Teague. We had a teeny party, with just the four of us (and my sweet mom and sisters watching via webcam), after enjoying a nice day at the beach.

For his cake, I altered a recipe from this book (veganized it, and made it quite a bit healthier...). Here's the finished product:


Teague's Healthy Carrot Cake

1/2 cup (scant) sunflower oil
9 tbsp applesauce
3/4 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
3 cups spelt flour
1/3 cup wheat germ
1 tsp baking soda
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 cups grated carrots
1 8oz can crushed pineapple, well drained

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly oil 2 8" or 9" round cake pans. In a large bowl, combine the oil, applesauce and pineapple juice, and stir well to combine. To this, add flour, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda, and spices, and mix well. Fold in carrots and pineapple. Divide evenly between pans, and bake for 35 minutes. Allow to cool, and then ice with creem cheese icing.

Creem Cheese Icing

1/2 cup apple juice concentrate
16 oz. vegan creem cheese
2 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup raisins
1 1/2 tsp agar agar powder

Combine 3 tbsp of apple juice concentrate with the agar agar powder, and stir until agar is dissolved. Set aside. Finely chop raisins using blender or food processor. Add remaining apple juice concentrate, creem cheese, and vanilla, and blend until smooth. Add agar mixture, and blend once more. Let rest for at least 10 minutes before using. Makes enough to frost one 8" double-layer cake.

I decorated mine with unsweetened coconut flakes. It was enjoyed by all.

Happy Birthday, sweet peanut.