Sushi Cake, Tiramisu Cupcakes & Birthday Cookout!

 Birthday Biscuits & Gravy (with Lightlife "sausage" grounds) for breakfast!

I love sushi so much (Vegan sushi that is!) that I wanted a sushi-themed cake for my birthday this year. It was such  blast, we brought it out to the local Japanese restaurant where I ordered sweet potato tempura rolls, tempura vegetables, cucumber avocado rolls, & shared some veggie Udon noodles. Tried chilled sake & got a glass of my favorite - plum wine!

 I saw ideas for a sushi cake on the web, & used the suggestions for coconut and fruit as an easy topping. The shaped laffy taffy wasabi and ginger are a great touch!

Tiramisu Cupcakes! Made these the day after my birthday.  These were really good; from an online recipe. I was trying to mimic ones my good friend got me from a bakery as a birthday surprise!

Grilled tofu! Had a great after-birthday, end-of-summer cookout before school started.

roasted potatoes, onions & peppers with oil & herbs

 BBQ "Ribs" mix - I think the main ingredient in that was wheat gluten, so it's kind of like seitan. I liked how the instructions called for sesame tahini to be poked into the dough before cooking, it gave it a neat texture. We added beer at the end to char it better.

S'mores! What end of summer cookout wouldn't have s'mores? I used vegan graham crackers, Dandies marshmallows, and some rice milk chocolate I'd been saving (don't really care for it plain, but good when melted into a s'more!)

 And, some yummy baked apples we wrapped in foil & threw on the grill~

And here are a couple shots from the Japanese restaurant & the neat chilled sake glass with a concave for ice!

Athens, WV Town Social 2011

My friend Leza & I set up a vendor stand at the 25th Annual Athens-Concord Town Social this year to sell our eco-friendly arts & crafts, and my delicious vegan baked goods! Here are some pictures of that day & everyone that helped to make it a success! Sold out of ALL the food; we were very satisfied.

                                                            Leza & lavender-lemon poppy bites

                                                Chocolate chip cookies & crispy rice treats!

                                                                    Rye & white bread

French Apple Pie tartlets

Pineapple Rightside-Up cakes

The elusive vegan chef

PJ, Leza's brother - one of my big helpers!

Bleach art clothing and shameless Facebook page advertisement

Me & the little bear

Chatting up the customers!

Rainbow Cupcakes

I have to say, these took a ton of preparation time and effort - not to mention clean-up was not necessarily a breeze due to all the different color bowls needed. BUT, the presentation was worth it, I think. Everyone (especially kids!) at my family reunion loved them! I may make them for my little 'vendor stand' at my town social this year. This is the first time I'll have any sort of booth, for anything really. I'm making eco-friendly crafts and fashions, as well as the vegan baked goods...I'm going to sell for very cheap though - the main goal of this for me is to educate about veganism - not many in my area understand it very well. I'm going to have brochures about it, as well as maybe tape a 'business card' listing this blog and my upcoming Facebook page to my goodies.

My Famous Marinara

My 'famous' marinara is made from mostly fresh veggies and spices, lots of herbs, and is simmered all day long - just the way a good Greek girl should prepare it! I like thin spaghetti noodles with it; it's just...good. I tried some new vegan meatballs with it ("Nate's" brand) that you simmer right in the sauce. I think next time I'll keep the 'meatballs' separate and pan-fry them with some oil. I made super-excellent garlic bread from leftover sourdough bread I made for my family reunion, and garnished with purple basil from my little herb garden. (That actually inspired me to plant more - that basil is great!)

Family Reunion Foods ~ 2011

I try to make things for my big (gargantuan) family reunions that even hardcore meat-eaters like, which is usually no problem - I keep it simple. I made a huge vat (the only way to describe it, really) of pasta salad, worked 7 or 8 days on sourdough loaves(!), and made rainbow cake & cupcakes. The rainbow cupcakes were so cool, they're getting a post of their own!

         A cup measure next to the tub of pasta salad for scale, after half or so was devoured.

Rainbow cake...Yummy, yet my icing piping skills leave a bit to be desired!

Watermelon Carving

Since I make such a huge deal about carving pumpkins every year, and everyone loves watermelon in the summer, I should start practicing carving melons! Turns out, the juiciness of them makes it quite different from pumpkins, but I like the color contrast. This is just a simple rudimentary design - I didn't put a lot of work into it, but it's a start. I'm hoping to be able to post some better-looking ones by the end of August.