Thanksgiving Day Parade #11: Apple, Sage & Molasses Vegan Holiday Roast with Mother-In-Law Stuffing

Not the best photo of this best meal. 

So I'm back on my Mac today and I can't for the life of me figure out how to get the photo editor to flipping work... so not only is this not my favorite picture of this simple yet snazzy Thanksgiving recipe, but it's not frakking edited at all. Kill me. I have a much better photo--really beautiful, and you guys know how hard I can be on my myself--but it won't load. This whole photo situation is probably the most stressful part of this post.

The Treasure 

As you may remember, we've been searching for vegan holiday roasts all over New York City. Last week after a pretty tramatic* doctor's appointment, I found myself wandering around near Central Park. That's when I found them. NYC's vegan holiday roast stockpile was being horded away at the Whole Foods at Columbus Circle. So like a good little food blogger, I grabbed as many as I could carry and put them on our credit card. I may have had a little buyer's remorse halfway home when my back freaked out on the subway; but all was forgiven by the time I was preheating my oven. See folks, I didn't just find the usual holy grail of holiday roasts... I found the new kid on the block that's causing such a stir. Yes, I found a Gardein Holiday Roast!

We're big fans of Gardein (obviously) so we've been looking out for this roast since we first heard rumors that it exsisted. And I am happy to report it lived up to our impossibly high standards. Seriously, I'm rough on products and don't post things I think will make anyone question a cruelty-free lifestyle. I think this holiday roast has great texture and flavor, and makes a great canvas for our Apple, Sage, & Molasses baste--which means it's great for anyone who wants to personlize their holiday a little. Yes, we did include tips below on how to level up the gravy that comes with your roast. The only thing I didn't love is the stuffing center - though I love that they included cranberries. Next time we make one, I might just have to get out our flavor injector and doll that up a bit. But really, who can complain about an excuse to make a big pot of your own stuffing?

Hidden in the back of a display of chicken-flavored stuffings was a lone Whole Foods brand vegan stuffing package. It was a great find for lazy, emotionally-drained me and gave me a great excuse to pilage Whole Foods anti-pasta bar. See, I've been playing around with this idea of making an Italian-themed stuffing for awhile now... it's an idea who's time has come. I love this stuffing so much, I had some the next day for breakfast and then like an hour and a half later for brunch. The idea of an Italian-themed stuffing with green olives, mushrooms, and artichoke hearts isn't new. I've been making artichoke heart "oyster" stuffing for years... but I really think the combo of the baste and this stuffing makes for a holiday meal that's both sweet and zesty. Yeah, I used the word zesty. It's a silly word, but it does a better job of describing this really unique and appetizing flavor than, I don't know tangy, savory, or like, piquant. Though piquant seems pretty prefect too. 

Thanksgiving is almost here. I apologize for posting this so late in the season, but the clock is a-ticking so let's get started. 

The Betty Crocker Project: Maple Glazed Holiday Roast

So I never grew up with a huge ham for Easter dinner. As many of you already know, around The Ol' Shannon Homestead we look forward to Passover every spring but that's not to say I don't appreciate many of Easter's fine qualities like Sweet & Sara's Vegan Easter Peepers & Skippers and big dinner or brunch parties. Since we became a "we", Dan and I have hosted some pretty outstanding secular Seders for Passover. I can tell you from experience that the best ones took awhile to plan. Which brings us to the other day when I realized we weren't gong to be able to host a huge Seder this year because we just don't have the room and I haven't had the time to rent a space. Last year we had to settle for a big dinner at a Thai restaurant because we were moving. So what's a grrl like me to do with literally years worth of pent up Seder planning? Well, she starts to explore Easter dinner.

She starts to look at the springtime vegetable dishes and desserts and wonder why she never really thought of Easter food as being more than candy, chocolate and of course those damn eggs. I decided to start with something pretty easy but also pretty crucial to any dinner party... the center piece dish!

Every dinner party has one whether they know it or not and from what I gather when it comes to Easter the traditional super stars are Ham, Lasagna and Manicotti. We used a Tofurky to replace the the less compassionate ham but still played around with the whole cloves and baked it with a smokey maple and brown sugar glaze to create a vegan dish that will feel right at home being the center of attention.

Vegan Irish Coffee Cheesecake with a Shortbread Crust

Almost 3 years ago, I became newly Irish-ed. See I wasn't born a Shannon. I married one. But somewhere deep down, maybe I always knew in my Mediterranean blood that I was meant to be Irish. Not to brag but I can do wonders with a potato. I adore green, plaid, cute fuzzy haired sheep and castles combined with overcast days.  Boil me a cabbage and I'll smile like you've just made me ice cream. But sadly I am still only faux Irish. So heading into St.Patrick's day, I thought it would make sense to start with a faux Irish treat. 


Traditional Irish Coffee is actually a cocktail of sorts made with hot coffee, Irish whiskey, brown sugar and cream. We took those key ingredients and flavors and transformed them into pretty much the ultimate adult dessert. This vegan cheesecake also has a "buttery" shortbread crust that does more than just hold the cheesecake together. It completes it. It is also probably one of the easiest - yet extremely impressive - vegan treats you could make to impressive even the meatiest eater. Sadly though like its dairy ridden cousin, this cheesecake takes awhile to set. So we should get started. 


Bain taitneamh as do bhéil!

The Cupcakes Unofficially Inspired by The Lorax

Like many vegans in my generation - I haven't always felt that I was surrounded by people who truly understood where I was coming from.

I've always found that strange because to be perfectly honest I've never really understood why because I feel like I can trace my origins back like some kind of circuit diagram through 80s popular culture. I learned that vivisection is cruel from The Secret of Nimh and Project X. I learned that animals don't want to be eaten from The Muppet Movie and that hunting was scary and pointlessly sad from The Muppet Show and Bambi. Circuses are indifferent to the wants and needs of the animals in their care from Dumbo and that wearing real animal fur is more than vanity - it's just mean past the point of being a sane person from 101 Dalmatians. As I was learning that being a human being was a privilege, I also learned that it came with a responsibility to protect those who couldn't protect themselves and that included their homes - from The Lorax.

Now it would be really easy right now for me to rant here about how the new Lorax movie is being used to greenwash companies that aren't doing all they really can to live up to the message of this book but others have already done that and to be honest - this is my happy place. Here is where I focus on the positive things - like how this movie will hopefully introduce our friend with the orange mustache to   a new generation and how I hope a handful of them grow up to continue where I will have to leave off someday.

Here is where I share cupcakes made with organic cotton candy. So please enjoy these cupcakes and remember "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing's going to get better." 

The Betty Crocker Project: Vegan Beer & Cheddar Bombs

Right now you might be furiously flipping through your Betty Crocker cookbook looking for this recipe. You'll stop at Beer-Cheese Triangles and wonder if this is what we veganed. You might read through the list of ingredients and notice that we tinkered a bit. You might even find it in your heart to forgive me introducing these addictive bitty noms into your life because not only are these little awesome bombs super easy but they turned out even better than I thought they would. I think sometimes this is why I try to keep my hopes and dreams to myself. I mean things don't always turn out the way you hoped they would and who wants anyone ever saying to them things like:

"I was watching The Olympics the other day and noticed you weren't there. What's up with that?"

or

"I couldn't help but notice you never married Christian Slater." *

Who also wants to admit they actually wasted a daily "wish" and some "hope" on Vegan Beer & Cheese Bombs? I really should be saving those things for more noble pursuits but I'm off topic. Now that I know these little savory buddies are actually incredibly easy and completely delicious - I have to share. It's my job.

Ready to get bombed?

Chocolate Strawberry Whoopie Pies

We live in a world with rules. Now it may not seem like it because the world rarely follows these rules. Evil often goes unpunished and sometimes the hero doesn't get the girl but the rules exist nonetheless. Things do happen for a reason and to paraphrase the genius Ian Malcolm immortalized by Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park: Life finds a way.

The same goes for Vegan Baking. Vegan Cupcakes have yet again dominated in Cupcake Wars. Vegan donuts, cheesecakes and various other sweets are popping up in mainstream groceries and bakeries all over the world. There seems to be nothing that can't be made cruelty-free! This is the story of how one little batch of vegan whoopie pies came to be.

The cakey cookies in this recipe were easy enough. I wanted something that would recreate a dark chocolate flavor so that the sweet tanginess of the strawberries would really shine through. I also wanted fluffy cakey cookies so that the whoopie pies would be a bit more rounded like a chocolate covered strawberry than a cookie sandwich. The funny thing was that I thought the frosting was going to be the easy part.

I wanted to use real fresh strawberries for the frosting rather than using strawberry extract and red food coloring. Right now some of you are nodding your head and know where I'm going.

See, strawberries, while a lovely berry that is just beautiful, happen to have a subtle flavor that can be easily overpowered. Perhaps that's part of their charm - like cucumbers and star fruit. Strawberries don't show off. Which brings me to the frosting that I made with fresh strawberries. The frosting that was an amazing pink without using any food coloring while still having small bits of strawberries you could spot swirled in. The rosy frosting that tasted just like a spoonful of sugar. Our fresh strawberries flavor was completely lost and adding more strawberries only made the frosting have an unpleasant texture.

So I thought back to a trick I remembered from our good friend Betty Crocker. See Betty has had a number of cakes with strawberry frosting and fillings over the years. In almost all of them she recommends mixing strawberry jam or strawberries in syrup with vanilla frosting. In there seems the key to our success. So yesterday, I bundled up and went to Whole Foods to buy a jar of organic jam with the least amount of sugar I could find.

I tested one whoopee pie with just the jam before I committed to another batch of frosting and couldn't believe how absolutely perfect it was. Messy and sticky? Yes! But the flavor was spot on what I was hoping for and kinda actually better.

So please enjoy these whoopie pies that combine both sweet and bitter in a way that is chocolatey and has actual strawberries in it!

Vegan Baking finds a way!

The Return of Very Special VegNews Contest & Soy Nog Cheesecake with Buttery Rum Sauce

Almost a year ago from this very day, we posted a recipe for Soy Nog Cupcakes and a contest. A contest that was so epic -- people got so excited that for the year following this little contest -- we were still getting emails asking when we were going to have this contest again... Well. Here it is! 

The return of The Very Special VegNews Contest* and this year's awesome Soy Nog recipe! As we mentioned last year -- this is a magical season! We have excuses to buy and make presents for each other. Which I love. People host parties centered around cookies.Which is as awesome as it sounds. People donate and volunteer more during these winter holiday months than any of time of the year. Which is incredibly important and I wish happened more. There is random mistletoe everywhere to kiss your husband under. Which is one of my favorite holiday traditions**. And the retour au sommet... Silk Soy Nog hits the shelves.

I was trying to find a way to top last year's cupcakes and then it hit me... everyone loves vegan cheesecake. I mean everyone. Bring this clandestine vegan treat to any party and watch it disappear plate by plate and you are guaranteed at least one "Hmmm. This is vegan?"

This is a recipe that I think might become a new tradition for us - like partnering up with one of our favorite magazines, VegNews--the premier magazine focusing on a vegetarian lifestyle since 2000--to bring you this contest!

All you have to do to win is leave a comment below answering these 3 questions:

• What has been your favorite Meet The Shannons Recipe thus far? This will help us plan out our posts for next year.
• What recipe have you always wanted to see veganized? This will help us make sure the book we're writing covers everything you ever wanted.
• What is your favorite feature on VegNews.com - Book Club, Cafe VegNews, Savvy Vegan...?

Before you leave your comment - Remember in order to win one of our contests, you need to be a "Member" of Meet The Shannons. If we can't email you, then we can't send you your prize! So before you leave your comment with the answers, make sure you use the "Join" button in the right hand column of this blog.

We'll randomly choose a Member from the correct answers posted below on Jan. 1st and send you a MAJOR AWARD! (Please keep in mind that it will take a few days for processing and shipping). What is this major award all the kids are talking about? Well, a gift pack from VegNews, of course! This includes a one-year subscription, the current issue of VegNews, an over-sized tote bag, and six vegan cookies, a gift pack totaling $50!


I know. That is a Major Award! That goes great with vegan cheesecake... let's make some.

The Betty Crocker Project : Baked Vegan Chicken & Waffles

My only compliant about this recipe is that I didn't add enough Maple syrup in the pictures.

When I lived in Atlanta, there seemed to be signs everywhere for Chicken and Waffles "Shacks". I mean even Motown Legend Gladys Knight had a chain that seemed to be in every strip mall*. Which at first I assumed meant they served waffles in the morning and fried chicken at night. Imagine my Northern girl surprise, when I learned about this heart attack inducing dish was a staple in Soul Food cuisine. I mean I had lived in St.Louis and spent time in Kentucky and Louisiana and never heard of such a thing. But any cuisine can vary from region to region. Take the French dish Ratatouille: It originated in Nice and was simply seasoned with thyme and black pepper but then those show-offs down the coast in Provence started adding all these green herbs and a bit of lavender and the flavor turned into something completely different. Well, Soul Food is no different**. You can go to a completely legit Soul Food restaurant in Texas and have a pretty different experience than you would in Florida or Tennessee. From what I gather, the epicenter of Chicken and Waffles is Georgia. At first it seemed strange to me but then when I thought about it. Is it really that much weirder than having a side of fried bacon or sausage? I mean it's savory and oily meat with sweet waffles.

So when I was putting together a menu for a vegan Soul Food dinner party, I started thinking of ways to veganize this classic unique dish while also making it a bit more healthy but didn't have a proper waffle iron to pull it off. $40 later and here we are enjoying Baked Vegan Chicken and Waffles. I have to admit I've fallen in love with this unusual but awesome combo.

Speaking of awesome combos... Tonight we're going to a Hen Party with free cupcakes! No, not a British bachelorette porn and baked goods extravaganza. There is a party for our dear friend Jasmin Singer over at Our Hen House. If you find yourself anywhere near Manhattan tonight you should stop by and say "Hi". Just Click Here for the details if you didn't already click on the other link.

Even if you can't make it tonight - You can still enjoy this Georgian country classic! If for not other reason than to add it to the list of things you've done in your life.

The Betty Crocker Project : Brown Sugar Pumpkin Cookies with Maple Frosting

Ta-Da! This is a soft, sweet and delicious cookie that is pretty much wonderful. I know a lot of us are overdosing on pumpkin right now but these little buddies aren't so pumpkiny that they'll put you over the edge into Mrs. Mia Wallace territory. Dan brought the extras to work today because this recipe can make 3 dozen small cookies. They are also really easy and quick to make. So pretty much perfect party noms.

Have a Happy & Safe Halloween everybody!

The Betty Crocker Project : Mini Pumpkin Pleasecakes (Cheesecake)

 I haven't been sleeping all the great lately. It's not really anything to be concerned about. There is no real mystery as to why. I've been sabotaging myself by doing all kinds of things I shouldn't. I mean what do I expect if I watch American Horror Story right before I go to bed?

The other night I woke up in the middle of the night because the cats were bickering in the kitchen and my first thought in my slightly unconscious mind was "They must have cornered that troll* from the 1985 feature film adaptation of Stephen King's Cat's Eye." I mean obviously. Because that's what happens to your brain when you overdose on monster movies. AMC's Fearfest has had me in it's clutches for weeks now. I skip anything with any real gore and focus more on the classics like Teenage Zombies.

Between the leaves changing color and the black and white movies, it just felt like it was time to add a vegan classic to our little blog. Vegan pumpkin cheesecake is actually one of the first recipes I ever tried out on non-vegans back in my Olympia days when I worked at a domestic violence shelter as a sexual assault counselor. This recipe has evolved a lot since that first Thanksgiving cheesecake I brought for the families and residents in the shelter. That while I have fond memories of it, I am willing to admit was a pale shadow of this recipe. It's a much firmer and creamier pie. I've learned how to have a more logical head around pumpkin. I mean it's a fall tradition I respect but over the years my maturity has brought an understanding that sometimes you don't have to use the whole can**. I also have to admit the New Yorky style of this version's sweet almost cookie-ish crust makes it my favorite but you can also put this filling in a regular old pie crust and not sweat the spring-form pan. Either way, pumpkin cheesecake is awesome.

Salted Caramel Apple Whoopie Pies

So here it is. My first Monday as cookbook writer.

A million years ago when I lived in DC and was going through a really tough time in my life, I snuck away from my terrible situation and went to a photography exhibit of people on the morning of wonderful days in their lives... like the day after they learned they'd beat cancer or became parents. I'm pretty sure I recently saw a commercial for an insurance company who took the concept and featured people who had just retired. Don't worry, I'm getting to my point. This morning, I decided to take a photo of myself as I sat down to start writing--in my nightgown and my sweater with the little cherries on it. Although it's not a photo I'm ready to go public with, it's kinda lovely. I feel like I look 10 years younger and, although slightly terrified, I have a calmness that makes me wonder what I've been doing to myself these past few years. I'm not sure anyone else would even notice, because sometimes you have to be on the inside to actually truly know something. That brings me to these wonderful little American* baked treats.

See, the mystery behind the "Whoopie Pie" is not whether or not they were really invented by The Amish, or why they're the official baked treat of Maine, but this: why is it that you never see a photo of one that looks as delicious as the actual "pie"? I think it might just be one of those things you just have to live through to really understand, because unlike old-school caramel apples, it can be hard to see all the stuff inside that makes it special. 

This recipe is particularity elusive. See, in this one golden-brown baked treat, you have sweet and slightly spiced apples, 'buttery' and salted caramel frosting, and roasted peanuts. Now it may seem weird to some to add salt to your sweets, but this is one of those food trends I have fallen madly in love with. If you are even slightly hesitant, you can ease into your salted treats with a Chocolove Almonds & Sea Salt in Dark Chocolate bar. They're my favorite.

But more chocolate later... let's make these treats with a silly name but the heart of gold!

Mini Pumpkin Spice Donuts with an Apple Glaze

I've been finding it really hard to explain what I did this weekend. I'm not sure where to even begin. I guess that's why I'm posting this on Wednesday. See, I've been on the verge of an anxiety attack since last week... in a good way. But rather than throw all my news and stories in one huge blog post you won't even read (because let's be honest today's recipe is pretty awesome), I'm going to do something really mean and drag this out over several posts this week. Shall we begin?

These donuts - these mini pumpkin donuts* - were made for a lovely vegan baby shower brunch I went to on Saturday for the beautiful Leinana Two Moons. You might know her as the talented veganista behind Vegan Good Things. I know her as my friend. In a recent twitter conversation we discussed her love of pumpkin and my aversion to this classic autumn flavor since a childish incident with Dan's ex. It's a dumb story I won't bore you with, because to be honest this is a happy place where we don't bore each other with stories about jerk faces. Also, the story might make me sound like I keep crazy grudges**, but the truth is that pumpkin is delicious and the annual pumpkin treat flood is one of the best things about fall. I am adult enough to admit that.

This is a recipe I was saving for the donut section of our book, but there will be plenty of other unreleased recipes for that, and I really wanted to make something special for Leinana. I know I make jokes all the time about being socially awkward and shy, but it is real. Having Leinana include me in her circle of friends when we moved to NYC has meant the world to me. Also, I got to enjoy a huge plate of some of the best vegan food ever at her baby shower with some of the most amazing vegan ladies in the city: Marisa Miller Wolfson, the extraordinary activist and documentary film maker behind Vegucated; Hope Kandel, my nominee for a Nobel Prize in Super Awesome for being the food genius behind Foodswings; and the cruelty-free fashion maven behind Lifestyles of the Chic and Vegan (whose name I'm leaving out because I don't see it on her pages and I'm not one for outing folks)... just to name drop a little. Seriously though - you should check out these photos to be inspired to plan your own vegan brunch ASAP.

And when you do - include these prefect little buddies that are just the right amount of spicy and chewy and cakey and yummy. Yeah. I said "yummy" like a 4th grader and I sincerely meant that "yummy". These donuts will make you do and say all kinds of things. They're like little shots of Vegas. Enjoy!

Let Pumpkin Season Begin! 

The Betty Crocker Project : Vegan Cheese & Spinach Biscuit Bites

So once upon a time there was a man named Nick Cage*. He loved Superman. I mean he loved Superman in an Action Comics No.1 kinda way. He loved Superman so much that in 2005 he named his son Kal-el... Superman's birth name before he was adopted by The Kents in case you're actually cool enough not to know that. Yeah. You could say Nick Cage is a Superman Enthusiast.

Now these little buddies are really freaking good. I mean crazy-inspire-you-to-hum-Edith-Pilaf-love-songs good. Not because they're French, or romantic even, but because sometimes when I'm happy and eating wonderful baked goods it's hard for me to not be a little pretend French... I can only assume from what I have read that this is how Nick Cage feels about Superman. 

These little buddies are easy to make, delicious, and marvelous! They're also very similar to Betty's Garlic Cheesy Biscuits. Remarkably so, but just different enough to post and encourage you to try. The Garlic Cheesy Biscuits recipe we posted before might be a great vegan version of the infamous Red Lobster biscuits, but these "bites" are just as tasty with a bowl of soup or some tea. May I also suggest trying these with some outrageous pretend French accents? I mean why not? French accents are awesome and add a little class to anything "cheesy".

Now, let's start making some biscuit bite thingys or I'll talk about Nick Cage a second time! 

These are the Mini Chocolate-Covered Coconut Doughnuts you're looking for.

We roasted our coconut but I think they would be just as good with raw coconut.

Please forgive me boring you with my 'I survived the NYC Earthquake of 2011' story, but I think that I might have learned something about myself that day. And don't worry, this isn't a story about surviving a traumatic event as much as a story that gives me a chance to laugh at myself.

There I was, typing away on the sofa. Our beloved Agatha was under the sofa, amateur kitten spelunking. Never heard of it? Oh, that's where your little buddy crawls around upside down on the lining of sofa - tearing it to shreds and growling at dust bunnies. It looks fun. Never tried it myself. Then I started to feel like there were 30 cats under the sofa. The screen on my laptop seemed to be swaying. My mind tried to figure out why I felt seasick, and then it hit me. I hadn't eaten breakfast or lunch... hadn't even finished my coffee that day. So like a good New Yorker, I began neurotically googling symptoms for low blood sugar, because I had this tiny fear I was going to pass out. I mean, what would happen if I passed out? Would the cats sit on me to keep me warm like they do when I'm sick... or take this opportunity to go after the catnip stash? Then I spotted a tweet about an Earthquake near DC. Yay! We're saved! Back to work!

Now the moral of this little tale is this, my friends - eat breakfast*! We just got a new mini doughnut pan and we've already started to tackle the doughnut section of our cookbook. Everyone should get one of these mini pans. They're like adorable little doll house donut pans. These doughnuts are faster to make than you think. With a little planning, you might be able to make these before work one day.

Now remember, these are mini cake doughnuts so they're heavier than raised doughnuts - if you want something like that, we have a Vegan Beignets recipe that makes me swoon. But let's not get off-topic. These are the doughnuts you were looking for.

The Betty Crocker Project : Masala Spiced Donut Bites

There is a time and place for every sad story. Since it's Monday, I won't break your heart with the story of how we missed yet another BBQ this weekend because of a kitchen emergency, or give you nightmares telling you about the corn fritter from Hell that did this to me... only on the top of my foot. I hadn't realized that corn fritters could become molten lava, but they can. I also won't bore you to death talking about how the ceiling in one of our rooms caved in from the rain. What a big huge annoying yawn. Yeah. Instead I'm going to tell you about an odd little donut miracle that we stumbled across while flipping through The Betty Site.

If you follow me on Facebook and Twitter, you know since we moved to NYC we've been eating a lot of curry. To quote my handsome husband: "I am now more curry than man." I mean Thai, Indian, Chinese, Jamaican... you name a curry, and we've enjoyed it. So you can imagine what happened in The Shannon Homestead when I stumbled across donut "holes"/bites made in mini muffin pans and spiced with light, sweet & warm curry spice! I'm pretty sure something like this happened.

But that wasn't the only awesome thing to happen recently. Here are but a few!

• Compassionista Girlie Girl Army featured our Vegan Bacon & 3 Cheese Frittata of Your Dreams and included a Bloody Mary Recipe that I can't wait to try!
• Vegan Rock Star (& a bag of chips) Sarah Kramer opened her own Vegan Shop recently in Victoria, BC! I have just added a visit to this little shop of wonders to my bucket list... which I just started this weekend and only says : Visit Sarah's Place.
• Cookbook Author/Post Punk Kitchen Queen & Awesome-sauce Expert Isa Chandra Moskowitz & team launched their Teal Cat Project! Anyone who lived anywhere near Brooklyn knows that feral and homeless cats need our help now and this project is a clever and compassionate way to help cats and get an adorable tchotchkes in the process! We have already ordered ours! They already sold out of the first batch but more cats are promised and there are shirts to hold you over till then!
• We recently went on a doubles datesy thingy with the ladies over at Our Hen House and saw The Breakfast Club in the big screen! I'm still totally saying totally too much, but it makes me feel young again. Plus I work from home so who's it bother besides Dan who promised to love through better and worse. Totally.

There was more but I feel like I've kept you from the donut bites long enough...

Pasta con Fiori di Zucca Ripieni Vegetariani (Italian Stuffed Squash Blossoms with Pasta)

I grew up eating these bright yellow blossoms* Italian-style - filled like a ravioli and deep fried with a healthy (as in huge) helping of pasta. Ours is vegan, of course, so we replaced the traditional ricotta with a Lemon & Garlic Pesto-ish Tofu filling. I really think the bright, savory flavors really compliment the fresh blossoms, but you can also use the Kalamata Olive Pesto recipe, or the Vegan Ricotta recipe we used in our Manicotti recipe last December. We ate ours with Whole Wheat Spaghetti tossed in a Summer Sauce, some red wine, and a helping of True Blood - Season 4. (Was that a gasp I heard around the internet from all you True Blood DVD watchers?)

Yeah, my anniversary present this year was HBO & Showtime. Dan knows the way to my heart is paved with vampires, mobsters, vigilante serial killers, the sordid back story behind one of the more corrupt Italian legacies in history, and of course fantasy clan wars. Isn't it kind of marvelous when you meet that person that just gets you?

And what could be more romantic than feeding the one you love this classic Italian delicacy? Besides Vampires - obviously.

The Betty Crocker Project : Adventures with Strawberries & Rhubarb

Strawberry Rhubarb Spice Muffins

Once upon a time there was a girl* who had never eaten rhubarb. Over the years, several opportunities to bake with rhubarb presented themselves, but it never really appealed to her. Then one day she found herself in a position where she had to be open to new ideas... because Betty Crocker said so.

Last weekend, we had a perfect married weekend. When I say perfect, I mean super crazy mega-married weekend**. We got up early on Saturday, filled our travel mugs with coffee, and went to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. They're free 10am to noon every Saturday, and it's rose season. You don't have to love flowers to love this place, but if you do, it totally rocks. I strolled around for about an hour with my best friend and talked about the random things friends talk about when there are pretty things to look at. Then we walked over to the Grand Army Farmer's Market to load up on organic and locally grown everything.


The Situation.

Yes, that's where we got that gorgeous bread from yesterday's post. It's also where I found organic locally grown rhubarb and these huge irresistible baskets of organic strawberries from New Jersey. We bought too much because this was my first time baking with it, but I knew there were two recipes in Betty's Big Red that asked for this pretty pink celery looking stuff - so sometimes you just have to be brave and commit.

Now, like always, I did a little research before I committed to a big bag of rhubarb. You may already know these things about rhubarb, but in case you don't, I hope you find this helpful during your own rhubarb purchasing and baking missions:

1. Rhubarb can be very tart, so Betty's recipes call for a lot of sugar to be added to offset that. I've tried to replace and decrease sugar where I can, but it was tough because Betty is pretty much always right. The earlier in the season you get the rhubarb, the sweeter it is and the less sugar you need. Since April appears to be prime Rhubarb Season in NY, we followed Betty directions for "older rhubarb" - hence the sugar.
2. Rhubarb is a good source of Vitamin A. That's good for you.
3. Strawberries can have a very subtle flavor that can be hard to capture in baking sometimes. Rhubarb compliments it so well, it really would be shame to not combine them. It not only makes your baked goods a bit healthier, but it makes the flavor more vivid too.
4. Don't eat the leaves - I guess they're poison. I think this is a pretty important tip, even though most of the time when you go to buy it the leaves are removed. Poison is bad.

First thing we made was Strawberry-Rhubarb-Mint-Tea-Tarts and if you're wondering where the Tea Tart recipe is, well I should be honest and tell you, the crazy person in me wasn't satisfied with them. The crust was just a little too crumbly. We made a tiny tweak to a recipe we already love with our vegan chicken pot pie and used a different vegetable shortening, but apparently it made a big difference. I think this tart would have been perfect with the crust we used for the fresh berry & tea tart and so we're going to try that next. The other thing was that I wasn't sure how rhubarb cooked down. So my first 2 tarts were overflowing like Jane Mansfield in an evening gown***.


I just want to point out that if you ever find yourself getting a look like that from Sophia Loren - You must be doing something right.

It was a sad moment when I realized these little tarts, tasty as they were, weren't ready for the public. But the kitchen can be a funny place. Just when you want to give up and order a pizza, you remember there's a coffee cake recipe you still need to try. These muffins are our take on Betty's Rhubarb Coffeecake and are lovely little buddies to start the day with. They've also convinced me that I can take on rhubarb.

So enough chatter... to the rhubarb!

The Super Chocolate Vegan Hootenanny Continues! Episode IV : Vegan Mississippi Mud Pie Cake

In my defense, it *is* called a mud pie... what'd you think it was going to look like?

Yesterday was apparently "Jerk Tuesday." I'd forgotten to mark my calendar, so you can imagine my surprise. It's like forgetting it's the Fourth of July and then spending the day surrounded by exploding things and patriotism--only instead of someone offering you a beer or inviting you to a BBQ, they're just a jerk.

Man, it was a long day. It was the kind of day that makes you understand why someone would start a Fight Club. But let's not focus on the those grumpy little black clouds... instead, let's talk chocolate.

To be more specific, let's talk about the ultimate chocolate dessert: vegan Mississippi Mud Pie Cake. Yeah, this little buddy lives up to the name and isn't the prettiest little baked good on the block. But this pie-cake has heart! This super rich and gooey yummy pie-cake is perfect with a scoop of vanilla soy or coconut ice cream and will help you forget - if only for a moment - why you hate your job or whoever it is that was being a rude jerkface monster.

You know what else was really helpful yesterday? This photo. I keep a copy of this photo on my desktop for tough days, and not for the reason you might think.

God Bless you Happy Wolverine & Stan Lee.

Yeah, this guy has been posted all over the internet and people have said some pretty mean things about him... but look at that smile in his face. This might be a photo of the best day of his life! No one can ever take this moment away from him. I want to be more like Happy Wolverine and focus on what makes me happy, and not those who want to steal my joy.

This is not a healthy recipe. This is not something that is designed to help you lose weight. It is just a compassionate version of chocolate awesome.

The Betty Crocker Project : Blackberry & Walnut Coffeecake

I've spent a number of years being a best friend/amateur therapist to several young men and one woman who were addicted to "complicated" women. Some would call them "crazy", but I prefer to use a word that's just as judgmental when you say it in quotes and in a certain tone. When I'd look back at the countless hours I spent over the years listening to detailed accounts of crazy, I admit I used to shake my head in bewilderment. This delicious amazing coffeecake changed all that.

I feel like I should tell you - this is a bittersweet love story. See, I think I may have met my "complicated" woman.

Now you'll look through this recipe and wonder what I mean, because really it's a pretty simple, pretty awesome cake. But in less than 24 hours, this cake has come to make me realize that something beautiful can also be a real pain in the ass. You could even say this cake and I were doomed from the beginning. The fact that I forgot to defrost my berries over night so that I could bake the coffeecake for breakfast may lead you to say that the timing was just wrong. But really it was more than that. Things were going so well while I was blending the ingredients and filling our angel food cake spring pan. The Blackberry & Walnut filling was so good it was hard to not just sit down with a bowl of those berries and skip the cake altogether. While I sat typing away, waiting for this cake to get ready (bake), the warm vanilla fragrance that filled our home held the promise of true love. Then as I pulled this wonderful cake from the oven, I bumped my elbow on our kitchen island and dropped the pan. It flipped in midair like a freaking circus performer, and using reflexes that I can only describe as 'spidey*', I caught half of the cake in my skirt and the pan with the other half of the cake still in there with my other hand.

The cake that tried to get away.

The other half that was saved was less than pretty, but still absolutely freaking great. I debated just making this again, trying to undo what was done, but that's not how relationships work, is it? You can't just try again and pretend like nothing happened. The other thing is that this a real blog about real people really cooking their way through The Betty Crocker Cookbook, and this really happened. It's dumb, wasteful and sketchy to rebake another cake just so I can pretend everything I do is perfect and like I've never dropped a cake on my dress. I mean do I have to have a pretty picture when I can tell you this recipe works and is wonderful using the real photos from this really great cake. Don't believe me? You still need photographic proof?

A peak at the Blackberry & Walnut Filling.

Also yesterday was Geek Pride Day! Yes. Yesterday in 1977, Star Wars IV - A New Hope was released and no one was ever the same again...

Let's bake some cake.

The Betty Crocker Project : Mojito Bars

This will be my last post before I turn 36.
I feel like I should tell you that this is when I stared at my computer screen for about 5 minutes.

See I've been a little distracted lately. I've been prone to these strange fits of optimism and silliness. An example of this is when I recently watched the movie Kick-Ass* again and found myself saying to Dan : "I think I may have to rethink my position on Nicolas Cage. He's kinda sweet." I mean Kick-Ass is a great movie but is it really good enough to make me forget this? Or this? What about this? Sigh. I'm just not sure.

For now, let's file that statement away with the time in college when I was slightly intoxicated and argued for longer than is reasonable that Henry Rollins is a modern day Renaissance Man**. There are other comments like this in that unnamed file but I think I have shamed myself enough for one day.

Let's get back to the business at hand. This weekend is not just the rapture - it's my birthday. So in case this is my last post before I'm sucked away to paradise***, I wanted to make sure that all you vegans could celebrate in style with Betty's Mojito Bars. They are perfect for bringing to farewell potlucks or to just enjoy at home with some real Mojitos - which is what we plan on doing tonight. I mean it is Friday and that means Mexican food at The Ol' Shannon homestead.

We make some marvelous mojitos around here - just saying...

I know some of you are wondering what the big plans are for my birthday weekend and to answer your questions : Dan will be planning our weekend events. GASP. I know the mystery and suspense is killing me. You're welcome to follow along on Facebook because I can't help but post things constantly and of course join us Sunday at Foodswings in Brooklyn at 1:30pm for lunch.

I know I should be using this post to reflect on this past year and all that has happened during the 35th year of my life but you guys don't want to hear about that... you want vegan Mojito bars and I'm happy to oblige!