The cutest thing ever

This is video from my camera of the seals at La Jolla. So cute!!! (and if you have your sound on you can hear me being a dork and giggling like an insane child in the background)

Like a clown car, only smaller

Well, I'm happy to say the first annual Aly and Chris holiday party was a rousing success. We were surprised--and thrilled--that everyone who rvsp'd to our e-vite (and then some) showed up. There were 20 of us crammed into our tiny shoebox of an apartment. We had friends from like five different "groups" so not everyone knew each other, but by the end of the night we were all so cozy that everone was bffs--er, sort of. I totally forgot to take pictures when everyone was there--probably because I could barely move. My food was a hit, and our supply of Christmas cookies was greatly reduced. For apps I made butternut squash and pumpkin seed spring rolls (vegan), panko-stuffed mushrooms (also vegan), artichoke dip (vegan, again!), and olive cheese puffs (not vegan, and the only ones that weren't gone by the end of the night--funny how that works). Yay for parties and friends and holiday cheer!!!

A Cup of Christmas Cheer

I wouldn't mind being paid to bake cookies all day (or simply eat them!). On Sunday I went over my parents and spent roughly eight hours slaving over batches of the following Christmas cookies:

• sugar cookies (dairy-free for Chris!)
• peanut butter balls (my fav--we made almost 100 and I don't think it's enough)
• chocolate crinkles (my other fav)
• pizzelles
• pecan cookies, topped with caramel and drizzed in chocolate (I'm afraid to even try it)
• candy cane and chocolate covered cookie sticks

It was exhausting, but tons of fun. Monday I rolled out and baked gingerbread for a gingerbread house and a few gingerbread punks. And last night I prepped and assembled as much as I could deal with for our Christmas party tonight. The appetizers I'm making are all new recipes, and I'm a little nervous about that since you're never supposed to test new recipes on guests. Oh, well, at least we'll have tons of alchohol to wash it all down!

Viva San Diego

Just got back from four days in sunny (to be honest it was pretty cloudy and a bit rainy during my stay) San Diego. I went out there to visit my good friend from college, Katie. We had lots of fun just hanging out, and it was really nice to get away from work and all the crap I have to think about in everyday life--not to mention the brutal weather here. We didn't really do anything exciting: went to a few parties and hung out with Katie's boyfriend JB; ate at some of their favorite local spots, like the restaurant Katie works at (I had fish tacos--my fave!); experienced the bar scene; and I helped Katie through a minor drunken breakdown after said bar scene. Katie lives in Cardiff by the Sea, which is in North County, so that area is where we spent most of our time (Del Mar, Encinitas, Carlsbad, and lots of other little towns that are all grouped together along the coast). On Saturday we headed into the city and checked out Balboa Park, which was really beautiful. I wish we would have been able to visit some of the many museums in the park, but that will have to wait until my next visit. Saturday night we bartended for Katie's dad's company's Christmas party, which was at her parents' house in Carlsbad. It was a really neat party--they had a chef come in and cook up a bunch of fun appetizers. Most of them were pretty meat-centric, but the ones I could try were really good. Anywhoo, I'll put some pics from the trip up soon. Meanwhile, I'll be freezing my butt off and dreaming of faraway lands ...

Cooking up a blizzard, maybe.

As a pre-Thanksgiving gift Chris surprised me with Veganomicon, the cookbook we've both been coveting. I've had it for less than a week and I've already tried out a bunch of recipes--all of them were major successes! For dinner on Friday I made a pasta with spicy tempeh and broccoli, and it was amazing. You mash up the tempeh after it's cooked, with all the spices (fennel seeds included!) it totally tastes like sauces (but without the gross meaty texture). It was so good I not only had it for dinner on Friday, but lunch AND dinner on Saturday. I think Chris may have pilfered some of it for his midnight snack on Friday, too. On Monday I made chickpea cutlets. They were so much easier than I thought they would be since this was my very first experience cooking with vital wheat gluten. They kind of mimic those Boca chick patties, but a) are cheaper b) have way less processing c) are better because they're homemade! To go along with that we roasted some little red potatoes, carrots and parsnips (I'd never tried parsnips before, but they're really good). Last night I made spicy cornmeal-crusted tofu po' boys complete with homemade slaw and a spicy aoli I sort of threw together myself. They were delicious, and really spicy. But mostly delicious. I also made scallion flat bread, which was lovely. I really need to start taking pictures of these creations.

Vegan Enchiladas Rock

Last night I discovered The Post Punk Kitchen--Chris heard them on NPR a while back. It's this vegan public access cooking show out of NYC, and it's awesome. The founders, Isa Moskowitz and Terry Romero, just came out with a new vegan cookbook called Veganomicon, and I definitely plan to get it. They have some recipes from the book posted on the website, and last night I made the Potato Kale Enchiladas with Roasted Chili Sauce. They were amazing. I think Chris had about six of them! Kale and potatoes seem like such a crazy filling for enchiladas, but it was so good we didn't even miss the meat or cheese. And I love that all the ingredients are totally normal and natural--no processed meat or cheese substitutes at all. The recipe looks a little daunting, but it turned out to be super easy--even the made-from-scratch sauce was a breeze. I used fire-roasted tomatoes from a can, which were really good, and for the peppers I just broiled them for a few minutes until the were black and bubbly, then removed the skin and seeds. Oh, and the photo above is from the website, my creation wasn't as pretty to look at, but it was sure tasty!

Almost Famous?

So, Friday night a few girls and I went to see a show at The Varsity with Ari Herstand, White Light Riot, The Alarmists & This World's Fair all performing in random order (they drew out of a hat before each set). It was a really good show, and despite a little trouble getting in (it was already sold out at 9:30 p.m.!!!) we all had fun. The girls left during the last set, so I went downstairs to hang out with the bands in their "backstage" area (Chris is The Alarmists' manager). The room was like two levels below the stage and totally cavelike with stone walls and creepy doors leading to what I imagine are ancient passageways. You enter the room and are immediately enveloped in a haze of cigarette smoke. A mishmash of vintage-y chairs circle the perimeter, and wine and beer bottles litter just about every stable surface. The room is full of band members and friends, and just about everyone is drunk, or on their way to being so. The acoustic guitars come out, and suddenly everyone is singing "Hey Jude," then "Come Together" followed by a dozen other songs that everyone knows the words to (but none that I can recall right now). There was something so surreal about that experience--the music, the people the atmosphere--it felt just like a scene from a movie, and it was really cool. It's the little moments like that that make me realize just how amazing life can be and how lucky I am to live in such a cool city with such awesome people.

Hot Fudge Sundae Cake

Yum! This is the perfect ooey, gooey treat to whip up when you're in desperate need of a chocolate fix.

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix in a 8"x8" square pan:

• 1 cup flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cocoa
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Add:

• 1/2 cup milk (I use soy milk)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix until smooth, then sprinkle batter with:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa

Next, pour 1 3/4 cups hot tap water over the entire thing (don't stir), and bake in the oven for about 40 minutes. Once it's all bubbly and gooey, take it out and serve (with vanilla ice cream, if possible!)

Vegan Mac & Cheese

So last night during a short break in my painting fiasco (more on that later), I decided to whip up a comforting batch of my fabulous vegan macaroni and cheese. I pretty much change the recipe slightly each time I make it to accomodate what I have or don't have on hand at the time--luckily this is a very forgiving recipe and nothing needs to be too precise. I wouldn't say it tastes much like the Kraft Mac 'n' Cheese I grew up with, but it's totally hits the spot. I even tested it out on my teenage cousins and they had no idea it was a cheeseless dish--now that's success!

Ingredients

• 1 package elbow macaroni, shells or any other type of pasta you'd like, cooked (should make about six cups when cooked)
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes (available in the bulk bins at most coops)
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 cup water
• 4-6 teaspoons dried herbs/seasoning (I use whatever I have on hand. Last night it was basil, oregano, marjoram and a pinch of chili powder.)
• Salt and pepper to your liking
• 1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce or Bragg

Preheat oven to 350. Mix yeast flakes and flour in a small saucepan over med-low heat until they start to smell nice and toasty (but don't let them burn!). Then slowly whisk in the vegetable broth and water to form a smooth sauce. Add the seasonings, tomato sauce and soy sauce, and mix until blended. Put cooked pasta in a 9"x13" pan/casserole dish, and add sauce. Stir until all the past is coated with the sauce, then stick it in the oven for about 30 minutes. Usually I just forget about it until the timer goes off and the top is a little crusty and chewy (fine by me!), but if you like all your noodles to be tender and coated in sauce, be sure to stir it a few times while it's baking. Let cool for a few minutes, season to taste and serve. Yum!

Welcome to the Cupcake Revolution

This is my place to dish on baking, bitch about work, and share my musings on life, style, and anything else that's on my mind. Let the revolution begin ...