you're hot then you're cold, you're yes then you're no

So it's been over a week and that's a while for me to not blog about anything.
I haven't really been making anything lately though.
The other day for the boy I made the tried and true cornmeal pancakes (minus the blueberries) from Veganomicon for breakfast..and he really liked them. They seemed a lot easier to flip and make without the blueberries in them this time, so that was a bit easier for me.


Oh yes, and the other day I finally got a bike I really really love! It's a baby blue color, and is a "beach cruiser" and it's so adorable. I can't wait to ride it around everywhere. ;)

Today I made some oatmeal cookies that I found. I was originally going to make the ones from Veganomicon, but I didn't have any brown rice syrup, nor do I know of a place around here that carries it. Soo I found a recipe on Vegweb.com for a lowfat low sugar recipe, and honestly..you can't even tell the difference! these cookies are awesome!




I made half and half of chocolate chip and just cinnamon. For some reason, I'm not a huge oatmeal raisin fan..soo those were not included at all.

Oatmeal Cookies (low fat, low sugar):
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt (i used a little less than a tsp..)
1 1/2 c oats
1/2 c sugar
1 tsp cinnamon (i used 2 tsps in the half without chocolate chips)
1 egg replacer (i used flax seeds)
1/2 c mild oil
1 T molasses
1 T agave nectar
3 T water
1 tsp vanilla (oops i forgot to add this...guess its not that necessary!)
1/4-1/2 c semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the dry ingredients (flour-cinnamon) in a large bowl. In another small-med bowl, mix all the wet ingredients (egg replacer-vanilla). Add the wet to the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Add the chocolate chips. Roll into little balls and place on greased cookie sheet. Flatten out with a fork so they cook nicely. Bake for 13-14 minutes. Should make about 24 cookies...

although mine came out to be 21, but hey whos counting. ;)

a stranger with your door key, explaining that i'm just visiting

So I'm back from philadelphia for the mean time and I had a really great time up there! We went to the show on Tuesday night, which had Rookie of the Year, The Graduate, PlayRadioPlay!(my favorite),My American Heart, and Secondhand Serenade..if you've heard of any of those..high five! So that was fun.

While we were there we spent the day on south street and such on tuesday. For lunch, we stopped at Gianna's Grille, which I've only eaten from once and all I had was a canolli (but it was an absolute wonderful vegan canolli!) soo I really wanted to eat lunch there. I was torn between the sandwiches or a piece of pizza..and finally went for pizza. It was pretty good, but I wouldnt say that it was picture worthy. Cody got a meat-filled cheeseburger..bleh, but I like that they have vegan and non-vegan foods..so anyone can eat there and hopefully try vegan stuff! For dessert, we split a piece of the chocolate peanut butter crunch cake. oh my. this was AWESOME!

The cake was so moist and perfect, and the icing was soo peanut buttery and delicious. I loved it. :) Next time I go though..I'll choose a sandwich over the pizza. and definitely get another dessert. ;)

Oh yes, also while I was there, I got to finally see my new apartment! Its sooo adorable, i'm in love with it. It's directly on Main Street in Manayunk, so the location is PERFECT. And it has a cute little balcony and everything. I'm so excited! I'll be back in Philly in 2 weeks from today...but unfortunately we don't move into the new place until the beginning of September..but it's worth the wait!

you lost the game you never even played..

So tonight I'm going back up to Philadelphia, just for 2 days. There is a show tomorrow night at the Trocodero that I'm really looking forward to with PlayRadioPlay! playing..soo it should be a fun time. Plus I can't wait to be near vegan restaurants again! :) Govinda's is definitely calling my name..yumm. Hopefully I'll get a nice pretty picture while I'm there..

Soo I had watched the video on everydaydish about the author of My Sweet Vegan cooking the whoopie pies. They looked awesome! So last night I randomly decided that I needed to make them. And I had not too long ago learned that the Giant in my town has tofutti sour cream and cream cheese, so I was able to use the sour cream in the recipe! They turned out smashing, of course. This cookbook is another to add to my need to buy list!




The icing was a bit ...i dont know the word..haha but they tended to get a bit messy..so I put them in the fridge and this made the icing set a bit better in the cookies. They taste like a better version of Devil Dogs in my opinion..(which were a childhood favorite!)

Whoopie Pies (from My Sweet Vegan):
1 c plain soy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 c all purpose flour
1/2 c cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c margarine
1/4 c granulated sugar
1/2 c packed brown sugar
2 T vegan sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

For Filling:
2 c powdered sugar
1/3 c vegetable shortening
3 T soy milk
1 tsp vanilla extract.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together milk and vinegar and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside. In large mixing bowl in a stand mixer, cream together both sugars and margarine until creamy. Add the sour cream and mix until smooth. Take the milk mix and the flour mix and alternately add in batches to the margarine and beat until fully combined. You may have to scrape the sides to really get it mixed! Use an ice cream scoop and drop 3-4 T of dough at a time onto greased or with parchment paper cookie sheets. Leave about 2" between each, as they will expand a little. Bake 10-14 minutes until top is just cracked and let them cool completely. To make Filling: Put mixer on low and beat the sugar and shortening together. Add the soymilk and vanilla. Once sugar is incorporated, turn the mixer on high and really whip it for about 2-3 minutes to make it light and fluffy. Drop a dollop on one cookie and cover with another, gently pressing down. Repeat with all the cookies! :)

And if your icing turned out like mine, (messy but sooo delicious nonetheless) just put them in the fridge for a bit and that should make them easier to eat!

you make me love you

So I got back from new york on sunday, and it was a nice time..seeing family and such. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to see any vegan restaurants or food stores while I was there, but that's okay...next time haha.

I did get my cousin's fiancee The Joy Of Vegan Baking for her bridal shower though.. I really hope she actually uses it! She's a dietician and really health conscience (not sure why she isnt at least vegetarian then..hm) so I'm sure she'll appreciate it..hopefully. I was looking through the book and I was like man I really NEED this book..haha the recipes in it look soo good. I will definitely be ordering it soon.

While in new york, I picked up the book Twilight by Stephenie Meyer..

I have heard SO much about that series..and I didn't know what the fuss was all about. But I've got about 30 pages left of it, and I must say..it's really good! Definitely hard to put down too..so I really like it. I'm excited to read the rest of the series..and the movie is supposed to come out in December..so that should be really good too!

So my sister's birthday was yesterday.. as if I needed an excuse to make a cake. I looked around online.. and I was trying to narrow down the types. I found online the recipe for the Vanilla Golden Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World (no I still do not own this book..unfortunately..i need it!) and I figured I could just double the recipe to make a cake. And then figuring that who doesn't love funfetti cake? Soo it was born. I also used the Buttercream Frosting from the VCTOTW book as well.





I found the recipe online in actually numerous places, So I'll post it in case someone else for some odd reason doesnt own the book either. I plan on getting it soon soon soon.

Golden Vanilla Cupcakes: (Ingredients are doubled for the cake version)
2 cups soy milk
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 1/2 cups flour
4 tablespoons of cornstarch
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 + 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup non hydrogenated margarine
3/4 + 3/4 cup sugar
4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/4 cup rainbow sprinkles (for funfetti version!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan or 2 circle pans (thats what i used..). Whisk the soy milk and vinegar together in small bowl and set aside a few minutes. In a large bowl, beat together soy milk mix, margarine, sugar, vanilla and almond extracts. Sift in the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and soda, and salt and mix until no large lumps are left. Add the sprinkles and mix in. Put into pan(s) and bake for about 22 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Vegan Buttercream Frosting:(i doubled this for the cake but it came out WAY too much frosting..so it'd be best to stick to the original amount)
1/2 cup non hydrogenated shortening
1/2 cup non hydrogenated margarine
3 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup soy milk

Beat the shortening and margarine together until well combined and fluffy. Add sugar and beat another 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and soy milk and beat for 5-7 minutes until fluffy and icing consistency.

Add more sprinkles to the top and you'll have a beautiful rainbow funfetti cake!

you were the best thing summer gave me..

So i'm leaving tomorrow for new york to visit family and such until sunday.. so that should be fun..not to mention the nice 5 days off from work. woot.
i'm excited to perhaps find some vegan restaurant or a good grocery store with vegan stuff..we'll be on long island so i'm sure there'll be something around there!

Last week for dinner one night I made the sweet and sour meatballs I found in a vegan starter kit book we snagged from Warped Tour. They were the first recipe in the magazine that I saw that I wanted to make, and I'm really glad I did! They came out really good..the sauce was delicious and I lovve the gimmelean so it was a great combo.



Vegan Sweet-and-Sour "Meatballs"
1 lb. ground beef substitute (I used Lightlife Gimme Lean in the sausage one..tasted awesome!)
1/2 green pepper, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 slices white bread (i used wheat..whatever!)
2 egg replacers (i used flax)
salt and pepper to taste
oil, for frying
6 oz. chili sauce
5 oz. red currant jelly (this was a bit tough to find, but luckily i did!)

Combine all ingredients except the oil, chili sauce, and jelly in a bowl and stir until well mixed. Heat the oil in a skillet, using enough to coat bottom of the pan. Form "beef" mixture into 1-inch balls and fry in the oil until browned. Meanwhile, place the chili sauce and jelly in a saucepan over medium heat. Heat and stir until smooth. When the mock meatballs are finished cooking, add them to the sauce and stir to coat well. Simmer over low heat for 5 to 10 minutes.

I served them with brown rice and used the extra sauce over it. Was quite scrumptious!

So tonight I'm going to see Dark Knight..i've heard a lot of good things about it so i'm pretty excited. 2 and a half hours long though.. wow! haha it should be really good though!

Oh, and also thanks SO much from Shelby for this fab award!


That's really awesome and honestly I give every single blog that I comment on it, because they're all so great and keep me inspired! :) So woohoo!