Summer Potluck Season; currently in full swing!

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

It's been a whirlwind start to summer & although San Francisco's temperatures are their typically chilly selves, we're still celebrating with all sorts of food & fun! It seems like my social calendar has an Eat-A-Thon scheduled for just about every weekend until the end of time, but I don't mind, it gives me more to share with others!

A few weeks ago, Ryan, Strummer, & myself headed down to sunny Santa Cruz for a PPK potluck hosted by Amey from Vegan Eats & Treats. The weather was perfect & we stuffed ourselves with savories like Empanadas, Stuffed Mushrooms, homemade Bagels, Broccoli Quiche, Spring Rolls, Macaroni Salad, & more! Avocado Key Lime Pie, Rice Krispie Treats, Coffee Cake, & Banana Pudding made up some of the sweets, plus I made a Chocolate Butterscotch Chip Cookie Cinnamon Swirl Cake Pie with toasted Marshmallow Meringue. Yes, you read that right. Inspired by Jessie at Cakespy, I made a pie crust, chocolate butterscotch chip cookie dough, & cinnamon swirl cake batter, layered & baked them together, then topped it with Julie Hasson's Marshmallow Meringue from Everyday Dish TV. The most fun of this dish was busting out the kitchen torch & toasting the delicious fluffy topping, yum!

City from New Zealand, aka the NZ Cupcake Queen recently made her way through the United States & we were lucky enough to have her here in San Francisco! We had a great time showing her & husband Chris the sights of the city, but we also had to have a proper American cookout (all vegan, of course), as they were here for the 4th of July! We deemed the day the "Sausage Fest", as we had at least 6 types of veggie dogs & sausages to grill up. Erika made adorable Onigiri with Nori faces, while the rest of us seemed to fill the table with sugary confections from cookies to Lemon Bars. Thanks to Dandies Marshmallows, I was able to make a proper Ambrosia Salad, so the Kiwis could taste the classic potluck dish loved & feared by many!

Speaking of sausages, inspiration struck recently & I decided to make Pretzel Dogs! I started with a homemade seitan hot dog recipe, then made soft pretzel dough. After the dogs were steamed, I wrapped them in the pretzel dough, baked them golden, & boy, was this gluten wrapped gluten delish, ha! I made some classic soft pretzels as well, which were also a hit, & I can see these being a repeat offender in our household.

This weekend a milestone birthday occurred & friends Gina & Adam from the PPK were in town, so of course, an epic celebration with lots of food was in order. Since our friend Nate turned 40, his wife Jen threw the party, which was a surprise for the birthday boy! We had a good potluck assortment with dishes like Quinoa Salad & Pav Bhaji, then also fired up my chocolate fountain with an awesome spread of dippables like fresh fruit, Dandies Vegan Marshmallows, Chocolate Cake Truffles, Pound Cake & pretzels. As if that wasn't enough sweetness, Jen, Jordan, Erika, & I decided to construct the most metal cake around! Chocolate cake & chocolate frosting with oozing strawberry "blood" inside & out, we wrapped the cake in over-the-top marzipan decor & a decapitated groom to honor "40 Years of Brutality"! Not a bad way to celebrate a birthday, eh?!

By the way, voting is winding down for the 2009 Veggie Awards by VegNews Magazine & all votes must be in by July 31st. The Urban Housewife is nominated for "Favorite Blog" & you can win fabulous prizes, just by voting! Get to it already!

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

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

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.