easter 2012!

To all those celebrating today, a very Happy Easter to you!

HIGH-lights:

- A lovely weekend at home with the family

- Dying Easter eggs in the beautiful, sunny weather

- My last minute centerpiece turning out really cute, actually! (And luckily)

- Catching up with my cousins at the "kid's table"

- AMAZING food, including the infamous hash brown casserole *drooool* and my very first attempt at a "honey baked" Quorn loaf (which I swear, will be GREAT next year)

- Getting to play on my dad's fancy work ipad- thus, the great photo collage, above

- And just enjoying a day full of beautiful weather, wonderful family, and delicious food

LOW-lights:

- Gaining, like, 10 pounds in one weekend.... but let's be honest. It was totally worth it.

Happy Easter everyone! I hope it was a good one for you too♥

st. patrick's day fun

For everyone nursing their green beer headaches today, I hope you all had a very happy St. Patrick's Day! I know I sure did :)

I made some some cupcakes to take over to my friend Dave's house for his annual St. Patrick's Day party, and I'm really happy with how they turned out- vanilla cake batter dyed green, topped with white cream cheese frosting, green sprinkles, and a festive topper. Aren't they cute?

I made the toppers myself with some stickers, cardstock, and toothpicks, and I absolutely love them. The cupcakes were cute on their own, but the festive pick was what really made them extra special. I can't wait to make more for my next round of goodies!

Here's a big cheers to a successful St. Patrick's Day. I hope it was fun for you too. Erin Go Braugh! ♥

snowpocalypse

Happy snow day everyone! If you braved the snowpocalypse, and made it to work, congrats! I hope you're traveling safe and keeping warm. I'm excited to say that today is my first ever "working from home day" and I'm celebrating with a big pile of whole wheat pancakes topped with sliced bananas.

If you're bogged down in snow like a lot of us Coloradoans, how are you celebrating your day inside? Checking emails? Watching movies? Maybe finishing a crafty project?

I'm pleased to say I'm being quite productive, all from the comfort of my cozy bedroom and my sweatpants. Today is such a treat :)

a scrumptious 25th birthday

Excuse me one moment while I put on my fat pants, and talk about my birthday feasts. Even though today was my actual birthday, I feel like I've been pigging out all week in its honor- man I love birthdays! If you're looking for good veggie grub around Denver and the surrounding area, let me tell you where I've recently binged myself:

• Friday night was my Mom's birthday dinner at India's- I love Indian food, not only because of the unique flavors and spices, but also because there are so many great meat-free options! Saag Paneer, Aloo Gobi, and Navarattan Korma? It was all great!

• Saturday night a group of friends treated me to pizza at Lala's pizzeria and wine bar. The wine selection is spectacular, the pizza is great, the eggplant parm is even better, and to top it off- they have gluten free options! Absolutely fabulous.

• Sunday night the boyfriend and I walked over to Shells and Sauce for some tasty Italian fare. It's a cozy little place with all the usual dishes- homemade pastas, thin crust pizzas, and some nice vegetarian and gluten free options. I got the cheese ravioli and it was ridiculously good.

• I managed to actually cook a meal yesterday, but since tonight was my actual birthday, my parents took me out to Tommy's Thai. After some hefty meals the past few days, nothing sounded better than fresh, spicy vegetables served over steamed rice. Once again, Thai food is great for meatless options, so I happily dug into some tofu spring rolls, and Pad Kra Pow. It was everything I was craving and more- Tommy's is definitely one of my faves.

Well, moral of the story is that it was an amazing, and incredibly delicious birthday weekend! I also got some awesome kitchen gadgets I can't wait to play with, lots of fun new cookbooks and spices, a beautiful flower delivery, and I even found my cubicle decorated this morning at work! A BIG thanks to everyone who made my birthday so special this year. I seriously have the best friends and family in the world. I love you guys! BEST BIRTHDAY EVER! :)

happy holidays!

Before I hop in the shower, and throw on my NYE attire, I just wanted to wish everyone out there a Happy Holidays and a Happy New Years! I hope these past few weeks have been just as great for you as they've been for me. A holiday week at home with the parents meant great home-cooked meals, family time out the wazoo, and all kinds of Christmas fun.

While I love each and every gift I recieved, I think the best part of this holiday season was spending time with 30+ members of my extended family, and enjoying all of our Christmas celebrations and traditions. Stockings, Charlie Brown trees, group sing-alongs, cookie baking, silly sweaters, and even watching my favorite VHS copy of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

A special thanks to everyone who made my holiday season so bright. Here's to a fabulous 2011, and an even better 2012! Happy New Years everyone! ♥

holiday brunch

Oh how I love this time of year- picturesque snowfalls, cozy nights inside, all kinds of holiday cheer, and spending time with loved ones. This past weekend, my roommate, Molly, and I decided to host a small holiday brunch for some of our friends, and it turned out to be so much fun.

When we asked everyone to bring something to share, we thought we'd end up with 10 butter braids or 6 boxes of King Soopers cookies, but everyone brought something special, and our potluck brunch, turned into a feast for kings.

We had bagels and cream cheese, fresh fruit, and homemade cookies and pumpkin bread.

Molly made breakfast potatoes, and I made mini frittatas with spinach, onion, bell pepper, and cheese. They were super easy and super cute- chop up your veggies, whisk your eggs with a little salt, pepper, and milk, pour everything into muffin pans, and cook at 350 for 25 minutes. Honestly, that's it. The only note for next time: MUST use cupcake liners! Omg I've been scraping crusted egg gunk out of those pans for days- yuck!

However tasty all the dishes were, the shining star was definitely Christine's homemade-from-scratch cinnamon rolls with made-on-the-the-spot icing. Omg hese were seriously to die for- I think I ate 3 of them :)

Between gobbling cinnamon rolls and other treats, I set up a "make your own ornament" station, where guests could get creative after a bloody mary or two... or three.

I cut basic ornament shapes out of card stock, hole punched the top, and attached an ornament hanger to finish it off. I placed the blank ornaments next to a big box of old crayons, and let the guests get artsy. While the food was delicious, I must say, I think this was my favorite part! I love arts and crafts, and I love seeing people having fun, and getting creative too.

Cocktails were served, food was devoured, gifts were exchanged, and our Charlie Brown tree got decked out in beautiful handmade ornaments. A wonderful brunch, indeed ♥

christmas tree chili

Well the holiday season is definitely here, and it's getting increasingly busy by the minute. This weekend I helped celebrate my boyfriend's 29th birthday, and finally got the chance to cut down Christmas trees with my family. We had to postpone the original date due to weather, but this past Saturday turned out to be absolutely beautiful.

As tradition dictates, we enjoyed coffee and donuts at my parents house, hopped in our cars, drove up to the mountains, chopped trees, and enjoyed the famous family chili. I honestly can't remember a time where we didn't chop trees and eat chili :)

However, since becoming a vegetarian, I've begun bringing my own meat-free chili to the celebration, and I think it just gets better every year.

This year I based my recipe off of Robin Robertson's Chipotle-Kissed Red Bean and Sweet Potato Chili and this one from my BFF Michael. I combined both ideas, threw everything into a crock pot the night before, and early the next morning, I was rewarded with a big ol' pot of vegetarian chili.Here are just my random thoughts on my homemade chili:

1. A variety of beans gives it it great color and flavor- black, white, kidney, & chili are all great

2. I started my chili with some sautéed onion, garlic, carrots, and celery- all good ideas, except the celery, which gave it a funny taste.

3. Boca ground crumbles were perfect for texture and consistency. I've used TVP before, and it's just not the same- crumbles or fake beef are definitely the way to go.

4. It's all about adjusting the seasoning. A little more chili powder, a little more garlic salt- after simmering all night, the flavors weren't perfect, but a little trial and error in the spice cabinet really made the difference.

The tree hunt was successful, and the veggie chili turned out great! If you've got any chili secrets, I'd love to hear them, so hopefully next years' batch will be even better! Now all that's left to do is eat them leftovers, and decorate those trees ♥

fakesgiving

Tonight was the third annual Fakesgiving- a vegetarian Thanksgiving celebration that's quickly becoming one of my favorite holiday traditions. Every year, the same group of friends gathers together to make, and gobble, one epic meat-free meal. While the food is always spectacular, it's really the company that makes it so great.

This year, our feast included a hazelnut cranberry roast from Field Roast, mushroom gravy- which I seriously need the recipe for 'cause it's amazing- stuffing, green bean casserole, mashed sweet potatoes, mac & cheese, and a little cranberry sauce too. Omg everything was ridiculously delicious- my stomach is still full to bursting.

All the dishes were home-cooked, meat-free, and absolutely scrumptious. We finished off everything with a pumpkin roll, spice cake, pecan pie, and some hot spiked cider- so good. Speaking of spiked drinks, our pre-meal cocktails this year included Moscow Mules- my new favorite beverage- and Honey Badgers. While a little too sweet for some, I thought it was perfect- thank you bartender and boyfriend extraordinaire, Troy.

For the Honey Badger

Stuff you need: 1. Jack Daniels Tennessee honey 2. Lemonade 3. Apple Cider

Simply combine equal parts Jack, lemonade, and apple cider in a glass with ice. Shake with a cocktail shaker, or swirl with a spoon, and then enjoy your drink... or 5 of them ;)

The drinks were strong, the food was fantastic, and the group in attendance was simply superb. I hope that you celebrate this holiday season with people you love- people who make you smile and laugh- people who let you forget about everything else for an evening. Tonight was spectacular, and left me feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. I'm already counting down the days until next year's fakesgiving♥

roasted pumpkin seeds

With only 4 days 'til Halloween, I've been running around like crazy sewing costumes, buying face paint, and of course, carving pumpkins! I don't think it matters how old I am- I will always love carving pumpkins. This year, pumpkin carving was extra fun, thanks to a handful of my favorite ladies, and a couple bottles of wine.

Top left down: the grim reaper by Julie, a wine bottle & glass by Molly, and a vampire by me :)

Top right down: ghosts by Jenna, a witch by Megan, and an experimental gangster by Lisa

After the pumpkins were carved, and the wine was consumed, there was only one necessity left- roast the pumpkin seeds! If you've never roasted your own pumpkin seeds before, you have to try it. It's a healthy, delicious snack, and it's another way to put that beautiful pumpkin to good use.

Stuff you need: 1. Pumpkin seeds from that jack-o-lantern you just carved 2. Olive oil 3. Salt & pepper 4. Other spices of your choosing

Remove all the seeds from your pumpkin, and wash them thoroughly- it may take a couple of times to get all the gunk off. While you're rinsing the seeds, preheat your oven to about 350 degrees.

When the seeds are cleaned, pat them dry, and spread them onto a baking sheet. Douse the seeds in olive oil, salt, pepper, and any other spice you'd like. For a regular batch, we used plain old salt and pepper. For our spicy batch, we also threw in cumin, chili powder, and hot sauce.

Finally, pop the baking sheet into the oven and cook until the seeds are golden brown. We didn't really keep track of how long they were in the oven- just check on them every 5-10 minutes to shake them around, and add a little extra seasoning. When they are baked to perfection, take them out, and devour!

The left bowl is the regular batch, and the right bowl is the spicy batch- special thanks to Julie, for the great photo! ♥ Lovely ladies, beautiful pumpkins, and delicious seeds! I couldn't possibly think of a better way to get in the Halloween spirit on a chilly fall evening. 4 days 'til Halloween! I can't wait! :)

world vegetarian day

Happy World Vegetarian Day everyone! October is the best month of the year, and it's not just because of Halloween, and pumpkin flavored everything. October is also Vegetarian Awareness month, Vegan Mofo, and to top it off, it all begins today with World Vegetarian Day! Did you celebrate today? Enjoy any meat-free adventures?

There's lots of animal-free fun coming up this month & I can't wait! :)

harry potter & the deathly hallows cookies

I love Harry Potter. Yep, I said it. I'm a total Harry Potter NERD. Binge-book reading, midnight movie openings, and collecting various wizarding paraphernalia- I've done it all, and now I can't believe the final movie in the series is here so soon. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, officially hit theaters today, which meant that it was definitely an occasion to celebrate. Since Julie and I snagged tickets to the midnight showing, we properly celebrated yesterday with themed t-shirts, and a big batch of deathly hallows cookies.

For the cookie, I used the vanilla almond sugar cookie recipe from Bake at 350, and for the icing, I prepared a basic buttercream from an old-school Betty Crocker recipe I found in my parents' house.

I collected my recipes and ingredients, and when I was ready, I cut the cookie dough into triangle shapes using a cardboard template that I made. After baking and cooling, I frosted each triangle with the buttercream frosting, and then added the detail with black icing that I purchased at Michaels. I tried putting a decorating tip directly on the tube, but of course, the coupler didn't fit, and I had a giant black icing explosion all over the counter. I also tried putting the icing directly onto the cookie, but it was way too much black, and it looked horrendous. Finally, I put the black icing into a squeeze bottle with a little water, and that was perfect! Easy to handle, the right consistency, and just the ideal thickness for the black lines I wanted.

I have A LOT to learn about dessert decorating, but more than anything, I was just excited to do something special for the big day.

They're not perfect, but they tasted great, and everyone at the office loved them! It was just the thing to get everyone in the wizarding spirit :)

After a full day at the office getting completely cracked out on sugar cookies, it was finally time to grab some dinner and get in line at the theater. Julie and I arrived at 9:30 pm, and there were already TONS of people there!

The feeling in the theater was astounding. There were great costumes everywhere, and you could feel the positive, anxious, energy floating in the air. Someone told me that at our theater alone, there were supposed to be over 4500 people in attendance! It was phenomenal. Finally, after much waiting and great anticipation, we filed into our seats and the movie began! Yayyy!

It was a fantastic night, and even though I was completely exhausted today, it was totally worth it. A great movie, and an even better book- it's truly been a magical journey. If you're a Harry Potter fan like me, I highly recommend you read this beautiful article from NPR, it elegantly sums up so much of how I'm feeling right now. The movies may be over, but it's definitely not the end. Whatever comes next, you better believe I'm making cookies for it! :)

rainbow cupcakes & carrot cake cookies

Where do I begin? Between Father's Day, PRIDE, and Westword Music Fest, I don't know where I found the time to whip up such delicious sweets, but somehow I made it work :)

Friday night, I got together with some friends to make rainbow cupcakes, and properly kick off Pride weekend with dinner, dessert, and drinks. I was nervous to make the technicolor sweets, but I'm actually really proud of the outcome!

Stuff you need: 1. A box of white cake mix 2. White frosting 3. Food Coloring 4.Rainbow sprinkles

Start by making the cake batter according to the back of the box. When all the ingredients are mixed together properly, divide the batter into 4 separate bowls, and dye each bowl with a different color. Grease a muffin pan, and pour dollops of each color batter into every hole. Once again, follow the package for baking times, and when they're properly cooked, swirl on some frosting and top with rainbow sprinkles. For how phenomenal they turned out, they were actually quite easy, and fun, to make!

This was also my first time using a decorating bag with an icing tip, and I think they turned out great! Now all I need to do is practice, practice, practice, and hopefully I'll be making beautiful treats in no time! See how happy I am with my rainbow cakes? Yayy!

After a rowdy time at X bar, a day of great local music, and the Pride parade this morning, it was finally time to tackle my Father's Day gift! But first, did I mention I saw Mondo at the Pride parade?! He's one of my all-time favorite designers from Project Runway, and I just about peed my pants when I saw him this morning. *Insert squeals here* OMG MONDO I LOVE YOU!!

Anyway, back to baking. One of my Pop's favorite treats is carrot cake- it also happens to be the cake that my parents had at their wedding. I knew I had to do something special, so I went to Tasteologie, and found this great looking recipe for Carrot Cake Cookies. I followed the instructions as written for both cookie and icing, and let me tell you, they turned out so so good. My crappy phone camera does these cookies no justice. You'll just have to trust me- these babies are outstanding!

My Dad loved them! He said that eating just one of these cookies, was like devoring a giant triple layer slice of a great carrot cake. They're soft, decadent and the flavors are perfection. If you have a carrot cake fanatic in your family, I highly recommend you try these out.

Well it was a wonderful, crazy weekend filled with great people, great food, and great music. I love that this weekend was all about celebrating local music, equality, and fantastic dads- 3 of my favorite things! Happy PRIDE & Happy Father's Day!♥

street food eats & mother's day treats

Happy Mother's Day out there to everyone! Normally I can find the cutest, most perfect thing to get my mom, but this year the holiday snuck up on me, and a jam-packed weekend kept me extra busy.

Yesterday I checked out the Horseshoe flea and craft market with some friends, hoping to find the perfect thing for mom. While there were tons of fantastic vintage and handmade goods, I didn't quite find the right thing. I did, however, find the Seabirds food truck from Food Network's The Great Food Truck Race. They're filming season 2, and I'm really excited I got to dine at the vegan truck!

The avocado tacos were good, the fries were really good, and the jerk jackfruit sliders were phenomenal. I don't know what jackfruit is, but if it tastes that good all the time, I want more of it, and I want it now! Unfortunately, we waited in line for around an hour and a half, which was seriously lame, but I'm still glad I could support them in their food truck race! Yay vegan street food!

And now, on a very NON-vegan note, I just wanted to share the Mother's Day gift I made for my mom. The inspiration came from the Real Mom Kitchen, and I must say, the outcome was far better than I anticipated.

I made my mom half a dozen mini cheesecakes (it's one of her favorite treats) with strawberry, chocolate, or caramel and pecan toppings. I pretty much followed the recipe, except for the Nilla Wafer crust. For my version, I finely crushed up about 10 Nilla Wafers and mixed them up with 2 tablespoons of melted butter. I then pressed the mixture into the bottom of the muffin tins, and baked them at 375 degrees for 5 minutes.

From there, I poured in the batter, and baked them for 20 minutes. When they looked ready, I popped them in the fridge overnight, and decked them out with various toppings this morning before giving them to my mom. I opted for drizzled chocolate, caramel sauce with pecans, and fresh strawberries soaked in a simple sugar solution (thanks to Chef Troy).

The recipe was surprisingly easy, and the outcome was perfect! The flavor was right on- just like a store bought cheesecake- and they're so cute and elegant looking, no one would believe I made them myself. Add a bottle of merlot and a little card, and that's an indulgent gift, indeed :) Happy Mother's Day, Mama! I ♥ you!

easter festivities

A Happy Easter to everyone binge-eating jelly beans and dying Easter eggs today. I may be 24, but nothing makes me happier than pretending I'm 5, and painting silly things on eggs once a year.

I come from a large Catholic family, so Easter is always a big deal. This large family, mind you, is not vegetarian, and we always have the traditional Honey Baked Ham. Minus the meat, there's always tons of great food and way too much candy. In fact, here's a great list of vegan candy from PETA. I had no idea that a lot of my favorites were vegan! Total score.

Also, for my family celebration today, I brought a citrus quinoa salad that I found at Tall Green Grass. It's a pretty tasty dish, but definitely needed some tweaking. I doubled it, cooked the quinoa in vegetable broth, added another 1/2 lemon of juice, a little more siracha, and a pinch of salt for serving. Otherwise, I was pleased to introduce a large number of my family members to quinoa, since they had no idea what it was. I think they liked it too :)

On a crafty note, I wanted to pass along a super cute sewing pattern I found last week. My Grandma is in the hospital right now, and since she couldn't make it to the Easter celebration, I thought I'd bring a little Easter to her. The pattern and tutorial are here at Craft Gossip. I'm a total novice when it comes to sewing, but it was a moderately easy project that only took me a few hours to do during one of my late night spurts of energy.

I always find projects to start, but rarely finish them, so I'm really excited that I actually finished this little guy and he turned out great to boot. Most importantly though, my Grandma loved him, and it totally brightened her day.

It was a delicious day, but a long and busy one as well. It's time to eat some left over quinoa and a few more jelly beans before bed. Happy Easter! ♥

vaffeldagen

If your Friday was anything like mine, it probably included excessive amounts of drinking and waffles. Waffles you say? Of course! For those of us who are not up-to-date on our random holidays, yesterday was Vaffeldagen! In Sweden, March 25th started out as a celebration for the virgin annunciation- the day Mary found out she was preggers with baby Jesus. However, Varfrudagen (Our Lady Day) sounded way too close to Vaffeldagen, and it stuck! Thus, March 25th is Waffle Day. Note: this is the only thing I learned from my vikings class in college.

So, yesterday I filled my meals with waffles in various forms. For breakfast, I had whole wheat waffles covered with apples and strawberries- SUPER tasty and healthy. My lunch was an ode to chicken and waffles- a Morningstar Farms chik patty with some more whole wheat waffles and a little stone ground mustard on the side- also delicious.

For all my waffle needs, I usually use Krusteaz wheat and honey pancake mix. You measure it out, add water, stir it up, and throw it in the waffle maker. It's super easy, and the results are always fluffy breakfast perfection.

Even though my waffle streak was broken with a plate of fried pickles and some Mexican food, my first 2 meals were a total success! More importantly, I had way too much fun planning out special recipes in celebration of a fun holiday. I definitely plan to do it more often!

valentines

Happy Valentine's Day! Today I'd just like to share a few things that I'm loving right now:

First and foremost, big kudos to Qdoba today. If you haven't done it yet, find a participating store, grab a friend, and get to kissing for some free food! It's no candlelight Chick-fil-a dinner, but hey, it's still pretty spectacular. I'm pleased to say I took advantage of this delightful offer with my boyfriend tonight. Best V-Day meal ever.

Also, I'm absolutely obsessed with these free downloadable Valentines from Samantha Hahn. I spent far too much time this morning, downloading them, and e-mailing them to my friends! I thought my 3D hologram dinosaur valentines were pretty cool, but I adore these.

I also adore the phenomenal candies from fahrenheit goods. My boyfriend got me orange and olive oil caramels from this store and they are ridiculously delicious! Everything there is handmade with natural ingredients, and I love that it's locally made too- yay Denver! He couldn't have picked out a better gift for me. I just hope that he liked the nutella bacon that I made for him. Who knew a veggie-enthusiast and a carnivore could get along so well :)

Finally, my parents sent me this article a few days ago from the Denver Post. The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee has recently acknowledged how beneficial a plant-based vegetarian or vegan diet can be for you!

"The new guidelines devote two full pages to vegetarian and vegan diets and the health benefits of following these eating patterns. They point out that these diets provide nutritional advantages and reduce obesity, heart disease and overall mortality."

I love it! Articles like this provide more information and better awareness, which will hopefully some day lead to healthier, happier people all over! A healthy, happy Valentine's Day to you & your loved ones! :)