January Birthday Celebrations & Teese Trials.

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

While my planned birthday dinner at ubuntu in Napa was less than spectacular & resulted in a mad dash to Millennium to escape ubuntu's sub par offer of soup & salad as the only vegan option, there were luckily other plans to celebrate my birth. My husband Ryan is also a January baby, as is Megan from The Sisters Vegan, so we decided to plan a joint birthday party. Ideas swirled around & the result was a PIZZA PARTY, a la the coveted childhood celebration, often at some horrible place like Chuck E. Cheese's. Further discussion revealed we were all avid Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fans, so we threw them in to the mix as well. Unfortunately, Megan fell ill a few days before the party & couldn't attend, but we did our best to do her proud!

Pizza stone at the ready, I made a few "Isa Pizzas" from Vegan with a Vengeance, as well as various combinations from Potato Pesto to mixed Veggies, topped with Mozzarella style Teese, the perfect vegan cheese for pizza making. Friends were kind enough to bring pizzas to share, such as an incredible Barbeque Chicken pizza, one with homemade Seitan Pepperoni & creamy Cashew Cheese, & a Mexican Pizza in a cornmeal crust. The pizzas were stacked high & as each one came out of the oven, people declared they couldn't fathom another piece, yet they still disappeared.

Dessert was quite the adventure, as I decided to try my hand at making an ice cream cake! I've sang the praises of Double Rainbow Soy Cream in the past & here I go again! I used two of their flavors as bases to create my fillings for the cake. Cinnamon Caramel was mixed with homemade Graham Crackers & spiced Apples to create Apple Pie ice cream & Vanilla Bean was transformed with Chocolate ribbons, Sweet & Sara marshmallows, & more homemade Graham Crackers for S'mores ice cream. They were downright delicious & I laid the two ice creams side by side to create a filling for the 10 x 15 layers of vanilla cake topped in vanilla frosting. I had to keep the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle theme going beyond the pizza, so I tried my hand at piping Michaelango, my favorite turtle, on top with his common exclamation, "Cowabunga!". As you can see, I'm no artist, but it could certainly could have been worse!

On Ryan's actual birth date, we had a quiet night, opting for dinner at Minako Organic Japanese, a local restaurant with an extensive vegan menu. While they surprised us with a fruit jelly dessert, complete with a candle in the agar cubes, we both knew we had another treat waiting for us back home. After the delicious cheesecake we had in NYC, I decided to try my hand at this decadent dessert for the first time & make a mini Peanut Butter Cheesecake. A crust made with homemade Graham Crackers housed layers of peanut butter & plain filling cheesecake filling, chocolate ganache, & peanut butter frosting. Ryan loved it & I will definitely be making cheesecake again, as it yielded many ideas for the future!

As I mentioned, mozzarella style Teese Vegan Cheese makes for a killer pizza topping. When I heard they had released other flavors, I found myself anxious to try them & luckily was able to do so. In the world of vegan cheese, these are a stand out & even as someone who tries not to consume mass quantities of processed food, Teese is something I find myself indulging in from time to time.

Those looking for the fancy wine & cheese experience, look elsewhere, but for American cheesy goodness, Cheddar style Teese is on point. Our first impression was "whoa, Kraft Singles", so we decided to make grilled cheese sandwiches in our sandwich press, or shall we say Grilled Teese Sandwiches?! In the past week, this has been a great snack or last minute meal when we're on the go. Who can resist a melty pocket of cheesiness?

Nacho Teese made a perfect topping for chips, of course! Similar to the cheddar style, but with a hint of jalapenos, it easily melted in a saucepan over medium heat, then was poured over layers of chips & salsa, then topped with olives for our birthday celebration. A giant platter was gobbled up quickly, with no complaints from attendees. Ryan continued to melt Nacho Teese for dipping chips days later & even found it tasty on taquitos!

In other news, in March, Ryan & I will be off on another foodie adventure in Europe! While we couldn't help but make a return to Berlin, one of our favorite cities, this time we'll also see Copenhagen & Vienna, plus my dear friend Marijke & I will be checking out Stockholm. Suggestions on places to see, go, or EAT are always welcome!

Twisted Valentine's Cake, Sorbet, Vegan Brunch, & a Chocolate Orange Cupcakes recipe!

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

I present to you, the most un-vegan vegan ice cream cake ever! As I mentioned in my last post, I spent Valentine's Day with a group of friends. We ordered two ice cream cakes from local shop Maggie Mudd & stuffed our faces until we felt sick! The cake you see on the right was the larger of the cakes, filled with half Peanut Butter & Jelly ice cream & the other half "The Kitchen Sink", which consists of peanut butter, chocolate, & marshmallow swirls in chocolate ice cream, both on a chocolate cookie crust! We couldn't help but add the graphic on top, inspired by a walk to the ice cream shop where we saw the horrible image at a nearby butcher. Of course, we're not completely heartless! We also had a lovely heart shaped cake filled with Apple Pie ice cream on a cinnamon graham cracker crust! We also started the evening with creamy polenta & roasted vegetables, but who cares about that?! Bring on the dessert!

Is sorbet season back?! Despite the mainly cool weather, we've had a few nice days & a plethora of citrus fruit inspired me to make a Tangerine Sorbet! I used my basic sorbet recipe, but added extra Lemon juice, some zest, & the juice of one Tangelo. Very delicious! Ryan & I love this refreshing treat, even on cool nights, you can imagine you're in a tropical climate. I suspect you'll be seeing more sorbet from my kitchen as fruit starts rolling in to the Farmer's Market!

Another successful Vegan Brunch Cartel took place last weekend, with my house being the location. I decided to have a crepes theme & invite everyone to bring a favorite crepe filling for a "Make Your Own Crepe station". It turned out quite well & we were treated to delights like Chik'n & Pesto, Indian Dosa filling, Tofu & Veggie scramble, Almond filling with Coffee sauce, & of course, Banana & Vegan Nutella! We also had sides of Potato Salad, Seitan Sausages ala Julie @ Everyday Dish, & a beautiful "Heart Salad" with adorable heart shaped beets on top! Delicious, Adorable, Fun; I love crepes!

Finally, I leave you with a poocake. That's right, I said poocake! Our good friend Josh was in town to celebrate his birthday & I couldn't help but make cupcakes for him inspired by his favorite subject! At his request, these were chocolate orange cakes with fudgy chocolate-orange frosting! I used Isa's Rich Chocolate Cake recipe, but made a few adjustments to add the subtle orange taste.

Chocolate Orange Cupcakes
Ingredients:
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup all purpose unbleached flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup soy milk
1/2 cup canola oil
1 1/2 cups pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon orange extract
1 teaspoon orange zest

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Sift together the flours, baking powder, & baking soda.

In a saucepan, heat the soy milk on low-medium heat. Once lightly bubbling, add the cocoa powder, whisk well until it is dissolved, & remove from the heat.

Combine the maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, vanilla & orange extracts, & orange zest in a bowl and whisk well. Add the cocoa mixture to the other wet ingredients & combine.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients & mix until just combined.

Bake at 350 F for 10 minutes & rotate the pan.
Continue to bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 4 to 6 minutes more, for a total of 14 to 16 minutes.

Let them cool for 5 minutes, remove them to a wire rack to cool completely & frost with your favorite frosting!

This yields 20 to 24 cupcakes.

My Notes:
This was my first time working with this recipe & I thought it produced a nice little cake! With the amount of maple syrup, I think I'll be sticking to my coveted favorite recipe which includes melted chocolate for depth, but this is still a tasty cake worth making & is much better than most recipes out there! The fudgy frosting was a delicious treat & I used fresh orange juice, instead of soy milk for my liquid, a fun & easy way to flavor frostings.

It's been far too long since I've posted a recipe, but I promise you my next entry will be a delicious & exciting item that's had a bit of buzz around the PPK! Can anyone guess what it is?!

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.