Diary of a Vegan Dinner Party.

First of all, I would like to thank all the lovelies who wished me well after having my wisdom teeth removed on Monday. It's so nice to know people all over the world are connected through amazing vegan food! It literally fills my heart with jubilance. I am happy to report that I am recovering quickly! I haven't taken any vicadin since yesterday around 4, and I am feeling just fine, a bit sore, but nothing I can't handle! I even made some yummy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies last night, which will be appearing in the next couple of days.

On another note, I am presenting my blog to my class on Monday March 10th. I am really excited and a bit nervous. I have put a lot of work into my blog, but it doesn't really feel like work because I love doing it so much. I just hope I have enough time in my presentation to express all that I want to say about my blog and the community of bloggers that I have met.

Last Friday night before J's show (he's in a hip-hop/jammish band, and he sings), my lovely girlfriends and I finally got it together (after weeks of not) to have a dinner party. It was so nice to see all the girls and my friend Camina brought her vegan friend from home (California), Kalela. We had so much fun! All the food was vegan, even the amazing desserts from Sweet Life. I don't have pictures, but Carrie made a gigantic salad with avocados, tomatoes, cucumbers, hummus, carrots and baked tofu that was so delicious, Lin made stuffed mushrooms that were itsy bitsy bite sized treats, and Sammi brought a bowl of green grapes and strawberries that we munched on during our pre-dinner champagne toast!

I made the Creamiest Vegan Mac n' Cheez EVER from Yeah, That "Vegan" Shit. I added some spinach before baking for some added color and nutrients. Everyone loved it including moi! :o)



Camina and Kalela made a yam and apple bake that was fabulous with spicy cinnamon sprinkled on top. The tenderness of the apples and the yams were perfection.



And Lydia outdid us all and brought a selection of desserts that we managed to devour in ohhhhh 7 minutes. Of particular liking was a slice of Banana Cream Cake. Sooooo delicious, definitely the group fav along with the Cheesecake of course. All in all it was an AMAZING dinner.





Afterward we thought it would help with our digestion to take some shots of tequila before heading off to the concert. Ehhhh, I don't know if they really helped with digestion, but they definitely helped with my hangover the next morning. I LOVE my friends!!!

I can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday afternoon...

....then at Sweet Life with my best girlfriends, Carrie, Lin and Lydia. We decided that it was time for a trip to our favorite sweet spot since we hadn't been all term. Lydia got regular cheesecake (She swears by it, but I really just don't like cheesecake unless it's vegan), Lin got gelato, which I did sample, and although not vegan, was delicious. And of course Carrie and I got the mixed berry vegan cheesecake. A staple in the life of any real sweet tooth. We also got petit fours, which are just so cute we couldn't resist! Mine was pink with a little red heart in honor of St. Valentine, and Carrie's had a white musical note on it in honor of..umm...the sweet melody of life! Chatting with my bestests and eating vegan cheesecake is how I wish to spend every Saturday afternoon. With the beautiful Eugene sunshine casting shadows on our table in the brightly painted patisserie.

Birthday Cakes Galore!

On the 26th of January it was a certain J.’s birthday. 22!! A magic year. And this lucky man got two birthday cakes. One when we were on the coast celebrating with his family, and one when we got back to Eugene.

The first one was the legendary vegan cheesecake from Sweet Life. I was thrilled because I had only ever had one piece placed in front of me, and all of a sudden there was an entire cheesecake. We could eat cheesecake till we die!! It survived the trip to Waldport, but the berry topping got a little displaced along the way. Well, it didn’t matter one bit! The cheesecake was delicious on the night of J.’s birthday and the next day as well!



The second cake, made by moi, was a Raspberry Chocolate Cake. I got the recipe off FatFree Vegan Kitchen. And as always, it did not fail to impress. I was particularly impressed by the chocolate buttercream! It tasted and looked perfect. I decorated it with some left over raspberry preserves and some dark peppermint chocolate. I think, and hope, J. really enjoyed his birthday!

Vegan cheesecake...to kill for.

I have always hated cheesecake. I guess it's because it tastes so much like cream cheese, which I dislike as well. Last fall on a special trip to Sweet Life Patisserie in Eugene my oh-so-wise (not to mention handsome) date suggested we share a piece of their non-dairy cheesecake. Ever since that first bite of close to perfection, I have been obsessed with vegan cheesecake.

It doesn't have that heavy, thickness to it like regular cheesecake. It's light, creamy and matches perfectly with its graham cracker crust. I went on a mission to try to make a similar creation.

Last Christmas I made my first vegan cheesecake, which was pumpkin. It turned out fairly well, and fooled my whole family who thought it was just a regular vegan cheesecake. I wish you all could have seen my brother's face when I told him (after he ate his whole piece) that it was made using tofu.

This Christmas with my new vegan cookbook in hand, I decided to attempt to make a pumpkin cheesecake again. I enlisted the help of my darling cousins, Shannon, 10, and Alyssa, my goddaughter, 5. The especially loved making the crust.



After I have mixed the dry ingredients together, made the crust and beat together the egg replacer, I discovered that while caught up in the gloriousness of Whole Foods I only bought one 8-ounce container of vegan cream cheese while the recipe called for two.

I quickly turned to my fellow vegan food bloggers, who inspire me and whom I admire. I went to the recipe index of The FatFree Vegan Kitchen and to my delight there was a recipe for double-layer pumpkin cheesecake! After reading the recipe and seeing that SusanV, the creator of the FatFree Vegan Kitchen, used an 8-ounce container of vegan creamcheese in combination with 12 ounces of tofu. I trust these knowledgeable vegan bloggers, and I had the tofu so I gave it a shot. The cheesecake came out perfectly and my family was thoroughly impressed! Thanks SusanV!





I have to say as much as I am proud of my attempt at making vegan cheesecake, it still cannot live up to the amazingness of the cheesecake at Sweet Life . I might have to find a way to get my hands on their secrets....hmmmm....

A trip to Sweet Life is in order for the coming week. Keep checking back as I will likely blog about that little slice of goodness.