Lemony Vanilla Cupcakes and Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

Last week was Danni's Birthday.  Since she is one of my bestest friends I simply HAD to make her a cupcake tower.

I made Lemony Vanilla Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream Frosting with added birthday sprinkles (of course)

and Chocolate Mint Cupcakes decorated with amazing dark chocolate dinner mints that I found at Trader Joes!

The cupcakes were a HUGE hit!  I even had a request for Gluten- Free Vegan cupcakes.  I was bummed that I didn't think of making those as well.  I am going to have to make sure I make some for the next event.  That way no one will be left out of cupcake deliciousness!

These two ladies are easily two of my favorite people!  They hosted a crazy fun event in a private Karaoke room.  We had a blast singing together and celebrating Danni's birthday. 

Happy birthday again Danni!  

Chicago Style Vegan Hot Dog

Okay, okay, I know that a Chicago Style Vegan Hot Dog is not the most creative or healthy meal that I have blogged about, but give me a break, the snow here is up to my hip!

So for those that do not know how to make a Chicago style hotdog, or maybe have never even had one,
here is the list of what goes on it:
Mustard
Minced Onion
Relish
Dill Pickle
Tomato
Sport Peppers
Celery Salt
Please, please, please, remember this... It's all about the celery salt!  Without it, it just isn't a Chicago Style Dog.

Chipotle Chili with Sweet Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts

Tuesday night in Chicago, we had a massive blizzard!  Since class was canceled not only for my students, but for myself as well, I decided it would be a perfect night for Chili!

I made Chipotle Chili with Sweet Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts.  I wasn't sure how Chipotle, Sweet Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts would work together, but I quickly found out!  I was super filling and perfectly spicy.  It was a wonderful choice for such an intensely snowy night!

Chocolate Agave Trailmixers

  

So in my attempt to eating a healthier diet I have begun to make all of the Wholesome Cookie recipes out of this book.  All of the recipes are made with "healthier" ingredients like unrefined sugar and whole wheat flour.  Although I know any cookie will make me fat, I feel a little better about eating these.

Sunday, I was hanging with my niece and nephew.   After running some errands, eating some lunch and watching a movie,  Ethan settled down to play the game cube, so Olivia and I decided to make cookies!  We made Chocolate Agave Trailmixers.  A delicious Chocolate cookie filled with vegan chocolate chips, peanuts, dried cherries and sweetened with agave.

Olivia was such a great helper!  She had to taste each ingredient before it was added to the bowl, although most of the time she didn't like the way things tasted she kept sampling them.   The best part was watching how proud she was when the ingredients finally turned into dough.  She had a look of amazement on her face.  As I finished loading up one pan with cookies, Olivia informed me that I had made enough.  She wanted to eat the rest of the cookie dough out of the bowl.  She loved it!  We didn't get to eat any cookies together because she left before they were done baking, but I think we know how that would have turned out...

Vegan Family Dinner Latin Style

On Sunday night I hosted another Vegan Family Dinner.  This time the theme was anything Latin!  Somehow it ended up being all ladies this time and it was a ton of fun. I cooked 2 recipes out of Terry Hope Romero's cook book Viva Vegan!

The first recipe I made were the Potato-Chickpea Enchiladas with Green Tomatillo Sauce.  They aren't the most attractive enchiladas, but they were one of the tastiest!  Even though there were only 6 of us at the dinner, we killed and entire tray.  Good thing I made extra, because everyone got to bring home leftovers.

Leia made Carne Asada with Seitan and a super awesome salsa with roasted tomatoes and pepper.  What a wonderful idea!  We made tacos with these!  The Pinenut Creama that I made for the enchiladas went wonderfully on top of a Carne Asada taco!

 Tiffany made a Tomatillo Salsa and Black Beans.  Both were absolutely delicious!  

One of Sylvia's friends brought Bruschetta.  It was yummy. 

 I made Guacamole, cause you can't have Latin dinner without some guac! 

This is the second recipe I made out of Terry's book.  The Coconut Tres Leches Cake. It was the most time consuming cake I have ever made.  It took me all day to make it, but it was absolutely worth it!

Each time I host one of these dinners, the food gets better.  Sunday was no expection, I was once again blown away with my friends culinary skills. Thanks for a super fun night ladies! Can't wait for the next dinner, Vegan Pizza Night!

21st-Century Carob Chip Cookies

Since I am trying my hardest to be a healthy vegan I decided that I should give some of the healthier cookie recipes in this book a shot.  I made 21st-Century Carob Chip Cookies.  I was always sort of afraid of carob, it just sounds healthy.  These cookies have totally erased any fear or reservation I had about Carob.

They have carob chips, carob powder, currants, peanuts, Sucanat, whole wheat pastry flour, amongst other healthful ingredients.  Although they are definitely healthy tasting, they do the trick for a sweet treat!  They are super moist and perfectly sweet.  Carob and I are going to be good friends!

Someone paid me to bake!

Last Saturday, I made Crimson Velveteen Cupcakes with Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting for my sisters birthday.  My friends Christine and Wayne sampled them that night and contacted me this week to place an order for a half dozen.  It was super exciting and sort of scary.  I LOVE baking, but I have never had someone pay me to do it, so the pressure was on.

I was very happy with the way these turned out.  I even got them to be more red than the previous batch I made for Teresa's birthday.  I was so honored to have been asked to make Wayne's birthday cupcakes!  I hope they enjoyed them as much as I enjoyed baking them.