Fresno Vegan Options, Strummer's Labor Day, & Vegans on TV!

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

Here I go again, missing my weekly blog post! I almost missed this one as well, but I thought I'd throw in a mini update, until I have time to make a proper post next week.

Last week, I was in the Fresno area, hence the missing post. Now, Fresno isn't exactly on the list of vegan destinations, but I'm happy to say I found a decent little spot with vegan cupcakes & food options! Charlotte's Bakery serves up rotating vegan cupcake options daily. We tried 5 flavors when we were there; Red Velvet, Coconut, Raspberry, & Chocolate. While they weren't the best cupcakes I've had, I have to hand to them for serving up cruelty free confections! We also snagged a couple vegan paninis with eggplant, mushroom, red bell pepper, & pesto that were tasty & were told some of the grain salads are vegan as well. If you're in the area, I would recommend checking them out!

Over Labor Day weekend, I attended a potluck picnic in Dolores Park with a large group of PPKers. Despite having made giant, gooey cinnamon rolls & having my camera, I managed to forget to take food pictures! We had a pretty amazing food spread from pies & baklava to BBQ black eyed peas & tempeh sliders, yet I managed to miss it all. Instead, I was overjoyed that Strummer made a new friend & dare I say, love connection with a 3lb male chihuahua named Mango. They were friendly, to say the least & the photo says a bit more! I'm just thrilled that Strummer could finally frolic in the grass with someone close to her size & hope that there will be many future doggy dates.

This afternoon, I went to a taping of local TV show, View From The Bay to support Colleen Patrick Goudreau, author of The Joy of Vegan Baking & The Vegan Table. Colleen was doing a cooking segment on the show & made her Better Than Tuna Salad & No Queso Quesadillas. I managed to sneak a taste, they were delicious! We were stuck in the back row, so none of us appeared on screen, but regardless, you can check out the segment HERE!

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day Weekend! Until next time!

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!

Summertime Fun; VBC, a Picnic, Gardening & Voting Mania!

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

San Francisco is finally starting to get summery weather, which means it's time for food related get-togethers! In one weekend I was able to attend two foodie functions, the anniversary celebration of the Vegan Brunch Cartel & a picnic with PPKers, organized by Mel from Veglicious!

Saturday afternoon is typically when the VBC crew starts rolling in to the selected location, despite the claim of an 11am start time! By 1pm food starts to hit the table & this particular brunch had an outstanding selection. While I made omelets with salty greens & sausage filling, other delights such as french toast, watermelon salad, blintzes, roasted potatoes, smoky veg-bacon, chocolate balsamic cookies, fresh fruit, & donuts filled our plates. The donuts were made by Joel, who always contributes deliciousness, & came in vanilla glaze, cinnamon sugar, or vanilla sugar; yum! It's safe to say this was the best brunch we've had in the culinary department, it must have something to do with it being the 1 year anniversary! Regardless, I hope we'll have many future brunches with the same quality spread.


Sunday was a gorgeous day, perfect for bike riding, which was wonderful since we had plans to ride over to West Oakland to check out Middle Harbor Shoreline Park with friends from the PPK. The park boasts a beautiful view of the Bay Bridge & the weather couldn't have been any better as we all noshed on the lunches we brought. Grilled peanut butter & banana sandwich, anyone? Mel hooked us up with cookies containing tasty Joe-Joes pieces, while Erin from Vegan Homemade, who just moved to the area, made cupcakes! All in all we had a fun day with food, old & new friends, & bike riding!


In previous posts, I've mentioned my garden & I'm happy to say it's doing pretty well! While the tomatoes never yielded any fruit, we ate many bunches of incredible kale, as well as a few green beans, fresh cilantro & basil, & onions are currently on the way. Instead of buying transplants this time, I decided to try some sprouting seeds; so far, so good! What you see is the start of Oxheart Carrots & Red Chard. Also, there's more kale & other unidentified greens in the background, although those came pre-sprouted. Harvesting my little planter box has been so rewarding, I hope to keep things growing to put on our plates year round!

On another note, in March 2009, SXSW is holding the SXSW Interactive Festival, five days of panel content & parties for entrepreneurs, nerds, bloggers, techies, & more. There's currently a vote going on to pick the panels & I just happen to be a tentative speaker for one titled "Growing Up as an Internet Oversharer" which deals with coming of age on the internet & baring it all for the masses. The panel is hosted by Maria Diaz from One Sharp Broad & of course, a vote to get on the schedule would be appreciated!

Finally, August 31st is the last date to vote for the VegNews 2008 Veggie Awards! This humble little blog is nominated for "Favorite Veg Blog", although the real reason to vote may be the fabulous prizes!