Flavor of the Minute, aka Five Current Faves!

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While raindrops on roses & whiskers on kittens aren't too shabby, they're not currently on my list of my favorite things. Instead I'm enjoying everything from food to friends & thought I would share what I'm crushing on at the moment; maybe you'll find a new love as well!

In my VegFest post, I mentioned a super fun sampler pack of spreads from Artisana. I tried all 11 flavors & boy, do we have a winner! Goji Bliss is SO good, I've been eating it with a spoon! A little bit goes a long way as this coconut butter flanked with everyone's favorite superfood Goji Berries, is rich & creamy. I can't wait to try baking or making frosting with it, but I'm perfectly happy eating it on toast, so it may disappear before I have a chance!

Halloween is here! I hope you're all dressing up & planning to share photos! I'm having a potluck, of course, & the place I sent my guests for ideas is Wing It Vegan, home of "Halloweegan" & the best posts on festive & cute food for the big day! Someone needs to make Mashed Potato Ghosts & Spookitty Heads for me, pronto!

I was lucky enough to get to spend some time with Amanda from Walking the Vegan Line. It's not our first time meeting, but I always enjoy meeting up with fellow vegans & bloggers from all corners of the earth. We tried to grab pizza at a new spot, but ended up having an Ethiopian feast, husbands in tow, while we chatted for hours. She also ordered some mini cupcakes with red frosting for a company event from Sugar Beat Sweets. How cool is that?!

While it might seem quite obvious, I am obsessed with my puppy, Strummer. Well, she is currently obsessed with a new toy given to her by the always awesome Laura B. It's a big orange skull & yes, it's larger than her! Check out the video to prove it. The cats received new toys as well & it looks like it's a love fest; here's Beamish & Scurvy.



Finally, TRAVEL! We all know I love to travel & bring you the vegan goods in cities far & wide. Well, I'm at it again. New York City & I have a serious love affair & after landing an insane bargain on airfare (another favorite thing of mine), I will be biting in to the Big Apple from November 15th through the 19th. I'm ready to chow down, like you can see I did last time! Anyone want to join me at Lulu's Sweet Apothecary for sundaes?

These are just some of the items on my radar & I'll be sure to share more in the future. What are some of your favorite things right now?

Birthday Mania, I'm a Cupcake Hero?!, & Europe!

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After the madness of the Holidays, there's always one more day we celebrate in my household; my birthday! In years past, I've hid from this day, as I'm not fond of growing older, but recently I've decided to mask my distaste of aging with a party! As you know, I always like an excuse to gather people together & this was no exception.

I debated my birthday cake situation for weeks. Should I order one? Should I make my own? In the end, I went with an ice cream cake from local shop Maggie Mudd, purveyors of Muddslinger's vegan frozen desserts. The "cake" was an oreo-style cookie crumb crust & was topped with two types of ice cream of my choice, placed side by side. Death Squad; a combination of chocolate, peanut butter, marshmallow, fudge, peanuts, & brownie bits took up one side & Twisted; peanut butter ice cream with peanut butter & marshmallow swirls & peanut butter covered pretzels took up the other! It was rich, decadent, & the crumb crust was a perfect addition, although I must say the mix-ins were sparse, as many bites were only ice cream. I took advantage of the photo cake offering & threw my blog logo on there! I thought the birthday message of "Life Ain't Nothin' but Bitches and Money" would be written in fluffy pink frosting, but unfortunately they just digitally altered the file I sent. Overall, it was a good cake & a nice way to enjoy my birthday without laboring over my own celebratory dessert!

In addition to the cake, I pulled out one of my favorite treats; the chocolate fountain! While it may seem insane to own a chocolate fountain, I assure you, it's a delicious treat enjoyed at any party. Deep dark chocolate flowed as people drenched both sweet & savory items in it before consumption. Cherries, strawberries, pineapple, apples, rice krispie treats, pretzels, & of course, Candy Cane Joe Joe's were the items on display & I noticed some other salty treats, like chips, started to be dipped in as well! Bottom line? I love the chocolate fountain & don't have one ounce of regret that I bought it!

There was also non-dessert food there, surprise, surprise! A mini potluck occurred & we noshed on pita & hummus, chips & guacamole, crackers & creamy Sheese, & Ryan's popular dish; cream cheese with hot chili poured over the top! It was the first thing to go, as people ravenously scooped the dip up with chips.
I received amazing presents; gift cards to my favorite places, an adoption of a sheep named Sophie at Animal Place, Sweet & Sara marshmallows, Sheese, & Liz Lovely cookies, an adorable heart covered Jessie Steele apron I've had my eye on, & more! Ryan's gift surprised me most of all, as I never expected something so amazing, especially as we never exchange gifts for holidays. A 9 piece stainless steel All Clad Cookware sets is now in my possession & it is the most beautiful thing a girl with a love of cooking could ever ask for!! To end the night, I headed out dancing at one of my favorite clubs. I ran out to the dance floor with a major sugar buzz & while I probably looked like a maniac, it was a perfect end to my 27th birthday!

In a previous post about my Rich Chocolate Cupcakes topped with Mint Icing & Bittersweet Chocolate Dipped Candy Cane Joe Joe’s, I'd mentioned I may enter them in to the monthly Cupcake Hero contest. Well, I'm happy to say I entered them & I WON! December's entries were all fabulous & I was especially happy to see other vegan entries in the competition this time around. I was totally surprised to take home the title for December & it was a perfect way to wrap up my birthday!

In other news, Ryan & I are heading to Europe in March!
We'll fly in to Frankfurt on March 10th & spend just over 2 weeks traveling around; my birthday present to him. As of now, we plan to visit friends in London & check out Berlin, but we're looking for other destinations to explore. Recommendations on things to see, places to eat, cities to check out, ways to travel, inexpensive places to stay or if you have a place we could crash at for a few days, I'd love to know! Get in touch via email (melisser AT theurbanhousewife.com) or leave a comment.

Anatomy of a Dessert Review.

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From time to time you’ll see reviews of desserts I’ve consumed while on the road. To fully understand my ratings on desserts, I thought I should give you a view in to my process for tasting baked goods & what I believe makes a high quality item. Anyone who’s been on a tasting with me can tell you, I move slowly, love to discuss every detail, & often I take notes!

When tasting a dessert, I like to taste each component on its own, be it the cake, frosting, filling, etc. I note the flavor profile, the depth, & texture of each section; I then taste the item as a whole to see how everything works together. In my opinion, the perfect dessert needs to be delicious as separate components, but also work together to be a truly outstanding treat. I find my scrutiny is especially intense with cakes, as many times a portion will be too dry or lacking in flavor, while the other portion is perfectly fine or even good. In baked goods, I like depth of flavor, but not too dense & moistness with a bit of fluffiness. I like rich & decadent, I’m not afraid of triple chocolate or a sugary sweet buttercream. I also enjoy fruit flavors, sharp & tangy, smooth & creamy, although I do tend to gravitate towards a cake versus a pie or a crumble versus a tart!

While in New York City, I had the chance to sample desserts everyday. I plan to review them all over the course of a few posts & have decided to employ a rating system of 1 to 5 stars. Rating systems vary vastly from person to person, so here’s some insight in to mine!

5 stars- Wonderful! Craveable! These are the items my dreams are made of & they dance in my head whenever that sugar craving sets in!
4 stars- Delicious, something I’d recommend to others & would consume again.
3 stars- A nice dessert item, not spectacular, but solid; I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat this again, but probably wouldn’t turn it down either.
2 stars- Flawed & lacking in multiple facets, not something I’d consume again & would advise others against.
1 star- Inedible & just downright BAD. These are the items that make people think vegan food is “weird” or “gross”; they should be outlawed!

I hope you enjoyed a look in to the madness of my mind. Stay tuned for my upcoming New York City dessert reviews, as well as future thoughts on confections around the globe!

Feelin' the Love.

Please head over to my new blog at TheUrbanHousewife.com, where you'll find this post & more!

First of all, thank you SO much for the wonderful response to the candy corn. I've been thrilled with all the positive feedback, my daily hits are at an all time high, & having some of my favorite chefs & bloggers stop by to comment feels is wonderful! It makes the process worthwhile & I hope many of you will have the opportunity to make & enjoy them.

On a whim, some candy corn was sent to various locations & the recipients were kind enough to take lovely photographs & write a bit about them on their blogs. Check out the posts from Celine (her fun photo is seen above), Kittee, & Hannah. Oh & while you're at it, pre-order Hannah's book, My Sweet Vegan; I've already ordered my copy!

Another reason I'm feelin' the love is I was named as a "Rockin' Girl Blogger" at epicurean escapism. Be sure to check out all the gorgeous pastries that come out of her kitchen! If you're not inspired, you're not paying attention!

I opened the photos of my Flickr friends the other day & imagine my shock when I saw a familiar logo, but in tattoo form! The awesome Milvia is a gorgeous vegan gal from Ferrara, Italy. She makes beautiful baked goods, some of which are sold in cafes, she also posts great bento photos, & has the cutest kitties. I am so flattered she liked my logo enough to get it inked on her & the muffin eyes are a cute addition! Check out her Flickr & her blog for tasty recipes, if you read Italian.

I had an amazing day yesterday! I was working on a magazine shoot at a private event location with a rustic barn, a train, a lake, & best of all, apple trees! There was so much fruit, it covered the ground & we all were picking apples & eating them on the spot. I've never had the chance to do that before, so I was in heaven! At the end of the day, we were welcomed to take home as much as we could carry & I didn't hesitate. I climbed the beautiful trees & with branches brushing my face, I picked apples in four varieties, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Red Delicious, & my favorite, Fuji! This Saturday is another installation of the Vegan Brunch Cartel, so an apple treat, most likely a crumble, will be made & consumed. Viva Gluttony! (More photos of the gorgeous apples are HERE.)

This weekend, Ryan & I will be celebrating 2 years of marriage. Sunday night we'll be attending the Aphrodisiac Dinner at the amazing Millennium Restaurant; 5 courses of love foods, yum yum! I'm so lucky to have "the Mooks" in my life, he's so supportive & it's wonderful to be married to your best friend. Here's a photo of us from last weekend at a club, I found it at random on a photographer's webpage!

As a gift, Ryan bought me tickets to see Morrissey, TWICE! The shows were both fabulous & I swooned when I reached out & was able to touch Moz. (Yes, I am that sad.) We also brought home a guitar pick from each night, which will be framed with the poster from the show. I wasn't able to take photos, but the photo you see here is right before the Monday night concert with a postcard I hold dear.

I saw Morrissey in London a few years ago & that exact postcard was handed to me before the show. I had been contemplating a return to vegetarianism at that point (I'd lapsed after 5 years of being veg; so foolish) & the postcard yielded an epiphany & I went right back to being a vegetarian. I keep the postcard on my refrigerator as a constant reminder of where I came from, where I should be, & of course, the eye candy doesn't hurt! haha.

OKAY, but what about the FOOD??

Recently I've made Pineapple Curry, a Sourdough sandwich loaf, Fat Free Vegan's "Corned Beef" & Cabbage with the Seitan o' Greatness, Sourdough Pancakes with a side of fruit salad, my 1st bento box lunch, & attended the 1st annual Mac & Cheese off with a Smoky Mac & Sheese recipe, that tasted better before I baked it! doh. Last night, I made banana muffins on a whim & today I've got bread rising for 2 loaves & will be making an Apple & Cabbage Slaw shortly. Phew, it's been busy in this kitchen!

Don't worry, I'll have some sweet recipes for you soon, including one that Celine tested awhile ago & I haven't had the chance to organize & post yet! Until then, Ciào!

In My Kitchen / Recipe Roundup & MeMeMeMeMe!

Please head over to my new blog at TheUrbanHousewife.com, where you'll find this post & more!

I've been cooking like crazy in the kitchen lately, yet I've haven't been taking the time to blog about it! I had a stockpile of photos I'd taken & I finally got around to editing them tonight, so let's go on a photo tour of my culinary adventures, shall we?

Vegan with a Vengeance is an awesome cookbook, but I never took the time to make dishes from it; until now! You don't need to be a vegan to enjoy this cookbook, there's so many awesome dishes using things you already have in your kitchen, plus other recipes to make you branch out from your old standards.

The Black Bean & Quinoa Stuffed Peppers were SO good, I could eat them every day. In fact, I bought more peppers to make them again this week. The original recipe has mushrooms, but since that's not my veggie of choice, I omitted them & it's still amazing! I had extra filling left over & it was a tasty lunch the next day!

Another night, I made the Revolutionary Spanish Omelet with Saffron for dinner. I am lucky enough to have saffron threads from Iran, given to me by a friend's mother. I never had a use for them besides sprinkled in Persian tea, so I was excited to find this recipe! This dish was surprisingly mild & may have been best with the Red Pepper Almond Sauce it suggested, but we still enjoyed it!

Another delicious dish from VWaV is the Maple-Mustard Glazed Potatoes & String Beans! The ingredients & process are simple, but the flavor is undeniably tasty. I served it over red quinoa & it was perfection on a plate!

I don't know what took me so long to get in to this cookbook, but I'm now even more excited for Isa's next book, Veganomicon!

Of course, I have to make dessert! I had some very ripe bananas, so I made ice cream with them & WOW, it was excellent! Here's the recipe, do yourself a favor & MAKE THIS!

Banana Ice Cream
Ingredients:
3 very ripe or overripe bananas
1 1/2 cups soy milk (I used very vanilla.)
1/3 cup sugar
a splash of vanilla
Instructions:
In a food processor or blender, puree all your ingredients together.
Put the mixture in the refrigerator until it's cold.
Once cold, add the mixture to your ice cream maker & follow the manufacturers instructions.
woo, you're in HEAVEN now! No need to thank me.

Another fun thing I've been doing is making bread. I was lucky enough to have a member of the PPK send me a sourdough starter that dates back to the Oregon Trail! As soon as it arrived, I got the starter going again & made two loaves of bread. One was consumed with a dinner of Lachesis' Seitan o' Greatness & mixed veggies simmered in tangy BBQ sauce & the other was made in to Sunday late-morning French Toast, which was perfect after a late night of dancing!

Mooks LOVED Orange Glazed Chick*n, but since that's not an option anymore, I made Orange Sesame Tofu, a dish Love Like a Vegan adapted from a Martha recipe. It's safe to say the old favorite won't be missed anymore & the tofu version is here to stay! We served it up with fluffy quinoa, a favorite around here & the sauce was so delicious, we'll putting it on everything in sight soon enough.

I love to cook for others, so when a friend wanted to get together for dinner, I suggested she come here! I used the opportunity to make the Seitan Ribz everyone loves from Fat Free Vegan, but opted for zesty Buffalo Wing Sauce. I served the Buffalo Seitan Ribz with a Corn & Cucumber Salad & homemade Biscuits. Of course, Buffalo wings need Blue Cheese dressing; enter Blue SHEESE!

I was lucky enough to find out Sheese, a hard to come by cheese alternative, was being carried at a local grocery store. It's not an inexpensive product, so I read online reviews before heading out & opted for the oft enjoyed Blue Sheese. The opening of the package revealed the typical blue cheese smell, so with high hopes I took a bite & while the texture initially was a bit lacking, the taste is great, so I don't mind! In addition to the dressing, I've been enjoying blue sheese with apple slices & put them both on a salad today with balsamic vinaigrette; wonderful! I also picked up Strong Cheddar, but have yet to open it.

Blue Sheese Dressing
Ingredients:
1/2 cup Vegannaise
1/4 cup Blue Sheese, crumbled
1 tablespoon Soy Milk
1 tablespoon Vinegar
1 teaspoon Sugar
1/8 teaspoon Onion Salt
1/8 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/8 teaspoon Dry Mustard

I found the dressing to be a bit on the sweet side, so I would omit the sugar in the future. Also, I used Dijon Mustard, instead of Dry Mustard & Onion Powder instead of Onion Salt since it's what I had on hand. Many recipes I found utilized mayonnaise & sour cream, but since I didn't have both, I was able to find a recipe without the sour cream & went with that. It was good & my husband who eats blue cheese dressing often really enjoyed it!

While I try to keep the subject here to food, I was tagged for multiple memes & thought I'd give it a whirl. Hopefully, the name meme Amey, Lori & Amanda tagged me for will also work for the "8 Things" meme Natalie & Gigi tagged me for ages ago!

M is for Married (to Mook!). I've been with my husband Ryan (also known as Mook) for 9 years, but our 2 year wedding anniversary is upcoming (October 1st). When he met me I was a 17 year old with a shaved head & a bad attitude. We've grown so much together, he's my biggest fan & best friend. Seriously, any man who can deal with me is a champ!

E is for Explorer. I LOVE to travel. I have a serious case of wanderlust & try to take a trip every few months even if it's just to NYC or LA. Some of my favorite cities are London, Tokyo, New York, & Paris. I'd really like to go back to Berlin to explore more, but I also want to check out the cities in Spain, Italy, Sweden, Turkey, China, Denmark, Scotland, Ireland, Norway, & more more more!

L is for Late Bird. My motto is, "Always late, but worth the wait!". If you want me somewhere at 5pm, tell me to be there at 4:30pm. It's annoying & frustrating, but I can't seem to get anywhere on time, no matter how early I start getting ready! I like to blame it on having a due date of Thanksgiving & my mother going to the hospital to have me removed from her on January 5th. I was BORN late, people!

I is for Inked. I have 7 tattoos, most of which are large pieces. My whole back is pretty much covered & the rest of my work is on my arms. I have everything from flowers to anchors to cupcakes pushed in to my skin & my plan is to have a floral half sleeve & a half sleeve of various things.

S is for Silly. I love to be silly with the Mooks or my friends! It's not odd for me to make funny noises, dance around the house, make faces at people, go to clubs & imitate people's bad dancing, jump on the bed, whatever strikes me, really!

S is for Sweet Tooth. Obviously, I like to bake, but even before I knew my way around a kitchen, I knew my way around a sugary treat! I have been known to consume more sugar than a human ever should- the 1st time I went to a Krispy Kreme, I bought a dozen, then sat down & had 8 of them before I felt the sugar buzz & stopped. These days I don't have that tolerance, but I'm still not opposed to having dessert first!

E is for Emotional. I've always been a very emotional person, a roller coaster, if you will. I can scream or punch you in the face one minute, then start bawling the next! It's really inconvenient, to be honest, but most days I'm glad I get to go through life aware & feeling everything I do, I think it's what makes me a compassionate person.

R is for uhhh.. Rock & Roll? Music is a big part of my life & always has been. Even in my days as a competitive dancer & dance teacher, I was picking rock songs when everyone else picked dance music. I found punk rock at age 13 and it really shaped my world & made me in to the person I am today. These days I've calmed down a bit & spend more time in the kitchen than at shows, but there's still a rock & roll soundtrack to my life & that will never change!

By the way, you can now connect to The Urban Housewife at www.theurbanhousewife.com!! No need to update your links, but for future reference, it's an easy way to get here!

Melisser; The Urban Housewife.

I've never been the domestic type- owning a home in the suburbs, children underfoot, having dinner on the table when my husband walks in the door have never appealed to me. Guess what? THEY STILL DON'T!
I am a city girl with no plans for children. I have tattoos, I love to dance at clubs, I love animals & I'm a vegetarian. I have a career that sends me all over the place & a husband who in our 9 years together never minded I was domestically challenged. I have always had a sweet tooth & I've never had a problem downing 2 desserts before the main course has arrived.
So, when did I make the jump from dancing & dining out to baking & recipe book reading?

About a year ago, I went to a bakery in New York City & tasted their famous cupcakes. Once home in San Francisco, I wished I could have more of these delectable little treats, but there was nothing similar available. That's when it dawned on me, "I could make my own cupcakes!" & I hit the internet & came across the recipe for the very bakery I adored.

Baking was foreign to me- sure, my mother made cakes for people to raise extra money when I was a child, but I hadn't experienced anything beyond cake mixes, canned frosting, & basic cookie recipes.
Whether beginners luck or meticulous attention to detail, my 1st attempt at baking cupcakes from scratch was a success. The friends who experienced my cupcakes started asking for more & I was hooked! Potlucks, BBQs, & birthdays meant a chance to bake & I took every single opportunity I could get.

These days between work & travel, you'll find me cooking with vegetables from our local farmers market, shopping at Sur La Table & Williams Sonoma, studying Martha Stewart, scouring Epicurious for recipes, & of course, tearing up the local dance floors all night long!

Hi there, I'm Melisser. I'm 1 part sugar, 2 parts spice & I'm here to share my culinary adventures with other foodies, fashionistas, & fun seekers from every corner of the world.