Currently viewing the tag: "holiday"
It’s time to bake a cake for mom day! Here is my beautiful Mom holding a pint-sized me next to my sis.
And here I am photobombing a very proper picture of my brothers and sister in their Easter best. This became a bit of a common occurrence as I would grow older. I used to steal my mom’s camera mid-roll and take pictures of myself sticking out my tongue. (And I used to press ‘play’ and ‘record’ to interrupt my dad’s mix tapes with weird noises.)
Forecasts call for a light dusting of cocoa and soymilk powder.
Vanilla layer cake with chocolate frosting, as requested by Mom.
I love Isa’s thick, fudgey chocolate frosting from VCTOTW. It reminds me of the cakes my mom used to make. Jiffy cake and frosting mix… in the little blue box.
A delicious bite. I highly recommend subbing Earth Balance regular for the coconut spread. It gives a subtle coconut flavor and a yummy shine. Happy Mom Day, Mom!
Since I was a little girl, vanilla has been one of my favorite flavors. I used to huff vanilla extract on the sly, enjoyed only vanilla ice cream, eating around other flavored add-ins, and, as my birthday neared, requested only vanilla cake. Fragrant and delicate, it is still my first choice in desserts. Chocolate is an easy please. Vanilla, on the other hand, requires more effort. And now that I’ve tasted vanilla beans in their natural state, now that I’ve stripped pods of their tar-like innards, I am in a pure state of vanilla love.
The Electrician and I were hosting Electrician Dad and Mom for an Easter dinner. And I was in charge of dessert. With the start of the berry season upon us, I decided on a vanilla layer cake blinged out with a heavy hand of strawberries. My vision of the cake was tall, slathered in both coconut cream and vanilla buttercream and guarded by towering strawberries quartered lengthwise. Here is the play-by-play.
Because this was a special occasion cake, I used many cups of confectionary sugar in total. Proportionately, I put the most in the coconut whip and halved the buttercream sugar. I didn’t want a cloyingly sweet dessert, especially given the sweet, red berries. I also added some smashed strawberry into the whipped coconut cream, both for flavor and desired hue. Coconut whip can look a bit grey, especially when paired with a stark white buttercream. However, needing most of my berries for the tops of my layer cakes, a subtle hue would have to do.
After baking my vanilla cake layers, I opened up the springform pan, removed the bottom part of the pan, and let cool. Afterwards, the bottom layer was set on the cake server and the springform side refastened. This would help the coconut whip and berry center to set securely in the fridge.
Same went for the top layer. I placed this layer on a cutting board to allow for easy moving.
It was a berry convention on top!
Flash forward, the layers were stacked and the sides were frosted with the buttercream. I attempted piping but the refrigerated buttercream resisted… and I was concerned about over doing it, since the berries were pretty dramatic on their own.
The cake was a big success! And I was happy to have expanded the perception of vegan baked treats.
I will be eating this for the rest of the week, thankfully.
Sprig & Vine is a delightful cafe nestled cozy and snug on the New Jersey-Pennsylvania border in New Hope, Pennsylvania. On the Delaware river, New Hope offers an idyllic setting for an urban escape… and a proper all-vegan ‘last of 2012′ brunch with Ms. CandyP.
We started with some hearty biscuits and cashew-herb gravy. Savory, substantial and delicious.
Will travel for a Tofu Benny! Ever since I glimpsed their menu months back I have been daydreaming of this dish… carefully however, accepting the possibility that the success of this vegan brunch classic lives and dies by the quality of the Hollandaise. We were happy to see these tall Ben’s were covered in an aerated Hollandaise, air-bubbled and indicative of a light, frothy texture. Oh yum.
You know I had to zoom in on this bad boy.
The choppy Delaware river on a windy winter day.
After brunch, a proper lunch. On Sundays Kaya’s Kitchen does an all-you-can-eat buffet. All I can eat all-vegan? Hold me back! Plenty of tasty options, Caribbean inspired.
This was a flavor-packed buffet. Most notable, soft and delicate potato-filled pierogi. I had to get up for seconds.
Last but certainly not least, all-vegan bakery in Matawan, New Jersey, Papa Ganache.
This bakery is stock with beautiful and delicious vegan treats, including these babies.
All dressed up for the New Year!
They also have plenty of gluten-free goodies… a whole showcase full (above).
Ok, 2013. I’m ready!
I am now the happy owner of a Vitamix! Ever since I was a young newbie vegetarian I have wanted one of these powerful kitchen wonders. I am looking forward to using my Vitamix for many years to come. I am still pouring over the recipe book in awe of its capabilities. Stay tuned for homemade mayonaises and nut milks! Merry Christmas and Happy Blending!
Boom! It’s the holiday season again! Time for photo collage prints of little ones. Traffic by the shopping hubs. Jewelry commercials. An inbox full of pending deliveries. The songs. The movies. The build-up… and then a new year. I’m slowly getting into it. Frankenstein and I are experiencing our first real tree, a gorgeous 7 ‘ Frasier Fir. The big old school bulbs and Evergreen roping are up. The Pumpkin Bandit morphed into the Christmas Bandit, leaving a decorated wreath at the usual victims’ porch at dusk. And the classroom gets a poinsettia. Wishing you a fruitful holiday season, at your own pace. xo, V.V.
Independence Day is all about strawberry/blueberry sweet concoctions! I made my patriotic parfaits mostly from scratch, save for the berries, and delivered them to my family as a sweet summer treat. After all, I can’t very well eat all of them! A cold parfait is not only refreshing, it’s a great way to utilize a whole bunch of yummy things before they go bad. Using up the remainder of my farmers market blueberries, I layered away with halved blueberry cupcakes made earlier in the week, an easy organic strawberry compote (sliced strawberries, cane sugar, and lemon in the saucepan), and fresh-made coconut whip (chilled full-fat coconut milk and a couple of tablespoons of powdered sugar whipped till creamy)… and WOW! Delicious… and very photogenic. 
After setting in the fridge, these beauties were ready for delivery. The basket was the perfect touch.
The coconut whip was absolutely scrumptious. For a million pictures of it, check this post from Healthy Happy Life.
Liberty, justice, and the pursuit of happiness. I couldn’t think of any puns…
The grill is the second vital piece of Independence Day. I thought that the tempeh-nectarine skewers from VegNews looked quite tasty. Another awesome grilled feast from Grillmaster Electrician.
To die for was the spicy peanut sauce. I look forward to using it again, maybe for some summer rolls. It was kind of a mismatch for these skewers however. A wet marinade to moisten up the tempeh would serve the dish better.
A mid-week July 4th, that’s a wrap!
To bid farewell to 2011 I coated it in beer batter and slipped it into hot oil. And in a homage to a year packed to the brim with forward progression, I used the seasonal beer I enjoyed with 2010′s last meal to make the batter. The last bottle had been incubating for this exact purpose for 12 months, as will 2011′s brew North Coast Brewing’s Old Stock Ale.
Beer-battered tofu, sweet potato fries and roasted Brussels was the complete meal. Of course the fried filets had to have a tartar sauce puddle to bathe in (recipe from The Gluten-free Vegan.) I kind of love tartar sauce. I wanna dip everything in it.
For a cocktail, an Old Fashioned. Bring it on, 2012!
The Iced Whale ornament waited patiently for the Christmas tree, comforted by the whiff of the salty scent of the Atlantic that wafts to The Electrician‘s home. In protest to a premature holiday kick-off, he waited well-past Black Friday/Small Business Saturday/Cyber-Monday to adorn the tree.
Aaaah, a Poinsettia in front of a frosted window. The gorgeous red and green leaves illuminated by the morning light. More Christmas than I know what to do with.
My adorable nieces inside one of the best gifts I’ve ever given as an Aunt: Buddy Bumper Balls. These zany ladies sure can have fun.
Three batches of my favorite cookie recipe. Check! Winning the heart of palates more inclined to enjoy super-processed snack cake Little Debbie‘s: Not-so check. Oh well, I think it was Princess Leia who said, “Everybody thinks they have good taste and a sense of humor but they couldn’t possibly all have good taste.”
A motherload of cupcakes for my class Holiday Bonanza.
I have a ton of vintage aprons but I much prefer using my pants. Here they are dusted with flour and cocoa. I think I just like making a mess so I can clean it up.
Hilarious card from one of my students. Luckily there is no onomatopoeia coming from that sleeping one next to the tree.
Christmas morning. We watched the Yule Log & listened to WQXR‘s gorgeous choral classics.
Onward to my parents’ house. Their Christmas tree was oozing ornaments: old and new. It looked like a display and served as a timeline.
With the week off, I found myself ricocheting from Long Island to Brooklyn, delivering all my gifts and goodies back to my apt, then thrifting and digging through my storage stowed years ago and delivering that back. Waiting for the parking restrictions to end, I hit Champs for lunch. Brief rant: I can barely breathe in there. There is zero ventilation and a grey, burnt-smelling cloud hovers in the dining area. Nothing is made to order and grows cold within minutes, as microwaved foods usually do. Why, Why, why, New York City?! Why can’t you get all-vegan right like so many other cities have?
After watching a Storage Wars marathon, I remembered I had some goodies in my sister’s storage locker. I paid it a visit and uncovered a slew of my old treasures. Plus I got to play real life Tetris with the space, leaving chaotic and haphazard organized neatly and efficiently. I found a bunch of my old indierock shirts, which I left to increase their value, and my gorgeous accordion… and my banana-seat bike is doing well.
I’d like to cook a proper Thanksgiving feast, but it’s not that simple unfortunately. It’d have to be a reheated prepared meal. And thankfully, that ain’t bad at all. With a Whole Foods near, it’s convenient enough. I ordered their Vegan Field Roast with an extra side of Brussels and popped it in the oven before heading to Mom and Pop’s. With gravy, Earth Balance and a batch of my white pumpkin ginger cupcakes en tow, Thursday morning was an easy feat.
My huge plate: a couple of slices of field roast in a pastry shell, green beans with almonds, roasted Brussels sprouts, butternut squash puree, grain and bean stuffing topped with cranberry-orange relish.
I am thankful for the autumn colors.
With a batch for the kids (check!), a batch for the boyfriend’s family (check!) and a batch for my family, my cupcakes were a real hit! Though I am very vanilla, I kind of love these spiced beauties.
I am thankful I can make a batch of cupcakes from scratch… even if my dinner isn’t. Happy Thanksgiving!
The Electrician‘s Betsy Ross flapping in the wind.
Fresh cut fruit. Oh watermelon, why art thou so temperamental?
I husked 20 ears of corn for a big party. Here they sit waiting for a boil.
Chopped peppers and onion prepped for the grill.
Dinner is served. Roasted corn, red cabbage slaw and a grilled Kielbasa from Tofurky. Oh, and a huge pickle. Yum.
‘Tis the season. Tofutti Yours Truly cones. Too many ingredients but hey, I’m celebrating America’s birthday!
Pine Box Rock Shop, a vegan-owned and operated bar in Brooklyn, hosted a special Cinco de Mayo feast, courtesy of Yummy Eats [a pop-up restaurant] and Verily Baked Goods [an impressive baker that does both omni and vegan treats]. Here was the impressive pre-fixe:
Having the choice of two appetizers, I selected the black bean and mango salad in a delish tortilla bowl, as well as guacamole and chips. They also were offering fresh salsa and chips; mushroom ceviche; a kiwi, cucumber & jalapeno cup or a sexy green salad. These fresh, flavorful bites were paired with a sweet blanco sangria filled with yummy berries.
Entree was a smoky veggie chili in a whole wheat bread bowl. It had a lot of heat and I wished I had ordered it atop lime rice rather than in the bowl, which was quite dense.
Yum. Verily’s delicious avocado cupcake. This was spectacular–a moist muted chocolate cupcake with a perfectly textured and sweet-pitched frosting. The frosting tasted a tinge bit like how Play-doh smells but it worked! It was such an interesting flavor. I hope to try more of Verily’s goods, especially after perusing their Flickr album for their other goodies, most which are very un-vegan.
CandyPenny, ArtSparrow and VeganVictuals–and cupcakes.
Vegan Reporting By Location
