Valentine's Day Dairy-free, Sugar-free Tea Party

    We had our first Valentine's Day Tea Party today. I broke out my 100+ year old china  from Germany, a wedding gift from my adopted Grandmother. The girls enjoyed drinking tea for the first time out of their little plastic tea cups and tea pot. I wanted the food to be as traditional English tea as possible, but kept it all vegan and sugar free! Love that. Still, I forgot how rich tea food is! Glad we had early tea so they could get all that sugar high out by nap time.

Note the clean shinny beautiful faces. Soon to be covered with chocolate.

I get a big girl plate. These shortbread cookies were to die for!

The Menu:

*  Raspberry Scones from Babycakes NYC Cookbook (Agave Sweetened)

*  Gluten-Free Lemon Poppy Seed Teacake from Babycakes NYC Cookbook (Agave Sweetened)

*  Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies from The Kind Diet (Sweetened with Maple Syrup)

*  Cucumber Finger Sandwiches with Chive Butter

*  Olive Cream Cheese Spread Watercress Finger Sandwiches

*  Farmers Market Sliced Strawberries

*  Chamomile Tea for the girls

*  Tazo Calm Tea for me

Substitutes: For the cream cheese replacement I used "This is not a tub of cream cheese" from Trader Joe's. Veganise to replace the Mayo and Earth Balance Butter to replace the butter. 

Favorites: I was in love with the cream cheese and watercress sandwich. I just followed the recipe (posted above) and topped with a bunch of watercress. SO GOOD. I think I will make this for myself on a regular basis. The shortbread cookies stole our hearts. I've tired to make these a couple other times and they didn't come out quite right. Today I actually followed the recipe very carefully. I took one bite and was transported. We all fell in love. Now I get what the whole short bread infatuation is about. So delicious. 

Special girl time with my crazy girls. They were excited about life. Monique always has some whack move going on. 

Thérèse was a little liberal in her tea pouring. Monique taking a sip. So cute!

Tea was followed with a dance party. Monique got in this position and danced around the whole room like this. It's what she does. 

Dinner! This was one of the best pizzas I've made. The dough was perfect and the sauce sweet. I've been working to perfect the potato pizza for a while now. Potatoes are a great alternative to cheese and vegan cheese. I paper thinly slice them and let them hang out in olive oil for a while. Once I get this recipe just the way I like it, I will share it. For now, it is still in the works. 

We served this with steamed very dark leafy green veggies called broccoli greens? Never heard of it. Got it at the farmers market and the girls like it! Love it when dinner is easy!

Tea party was fun. We will be having another one Easter Morning! Can't wait! For now, I'm keeping out one of my pretty cups for my quiet time Mama moments. 

Hope you all had a lovely St. Valentine's Day! 

Books We Love: Cookbooks

When we were on vacation

I really missed my cookbooks. 

I'm a literature major,

which means I've read Shelly,Thoreau, 

Hemingway, Tennison, Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy,

you get it.

I've read all the good stuff.

But I have to tell you

my absolute favorite genre is the cookbook. 

Here are just a couple of my favorites.

The Kind Diet

by Alicia Silverstone

Years back, I remember reading that Alicia Silverstone had a vegan wedding.

How cool is that? But I didn't realize she was a major foodie.

This book is great because she explains all the reasons to be vegan:

 health, environment, and animal treatment. 

So by the time you are done reading all these scientific facts that she simplifies, 

you are not only pumped to be vegan, but you can't wait to get started! 

It's an easy read, and once you have serious reasons to be vegan

it makes it so much easier to give up something you love.

Like steak. I don't miss steak. Crazy, right?

And she isn't pushy. 

She promotes "flirting" which just means easing up on meat and dairy,

instead of making it all or nothing. 

Also, all her recipes are easy and I've loved everything I've made.

Some of my favorites are:

Artichoke, Mushroom, and Leek Crostini with Pesto - good enough for company

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Crispy Peanut Butter Treats with Chocolate Chips

Oatmeal, Walnut, and Dried Plum Cookies - My favorite oatmeal cookie, and I've tried them all!

Cornbread - My brother-in-law is a cornbread connoisseur, this is his favorite

Mixed Berry Cheesecake - No, really, it doesn't get better than this.

Nabeyaki Udon - Japanese food rocks!!

Alicia's Magical Healing Soup - For when I feel a cold coming

Baby Bok Choy Drizzled with Ume Vinaigrette - I eat this several times a week

Scrambled Tofu - without this, I would have never been able to give up eggs.

Thin Mushroom Pizzas

Barley Casserole

Polenta Casserole with Seitan

Vegan Family Meals

by Ann Gentry

Her restaurant, Real Food Daily

made a believer out of my omnivore husband.

Her restaurant cookbook is great,

but like many restaurant cookbooks,

it requires lots of work, and, well, i don't have a sous chef.  

This cookbook is composed of her recipes 

she makes in her own home for her family.

That being said, she is not an amateur chef. 

These recipes are designed to taste good, 

not to take fifteen minutes or five ingredients. 

However, she does have easy dishes in here.

This is my absolute favorite cookbook on my shelf.

Everything I make tastes amazing

and they make me feel like a pro.

If someone had given me this book two years ago

I probably wouldn't have been able to make anything in it.

They aren't difficult,

they just require some savvy.

I don't mind prepping something ahead of time 

to make these dishes happen.

It's totally worth it.

I'm not a salad person.

The only time I would eat a salad pre-vegan

was when I was forced 

or at a restaurant when they load it 

with meat, cheese and creamy dressing.

Talk about calories! 

(We weren't talking about calories. 

And you won't see that word on my blog. 

I believe in eating healthy, not calorie counting.)

Once I became vegan salads turned me off.

Seriously? A bowl full of raw vegetables? 

Sounds....great....

But Ann Gentry has really perfected the art of a good salad.

No, I mean, she makes salads that make me want to jump for joy

and ask the world to eat them with me.

They are hearty and oh so good!

With her salads, your meal will not need anything else. 

Some favorite recipes so far are:

Watercress and Butter Lettuce salad 

with israeli couscous, orange - basil tempeh, and sweet miso dressing - 

What a title! Best dish of my life. No joke

One-pot vegetables and tofu with sesame rice - Super simple and delicious

Lasagna rolls with tofu ricotta and everyday tomato sauce 

Vanilla and chocolate swirl bundt cake with chocolate fudge glaze

Ann's morning power smoothie - My morning staple

Super Hippie granola

Quick oats and quinoa flakes - How I get more good stuff into my toddlers oatmeal

Kung pao tofu and vegetables - Another basic and simple dish

Babycakes Covers the Classics

by Erin McKenna

You can read my raving love for Babycakes here.

I prefer this cookbook over her first one

because there are more of a variety of recipes in here.

Their pancakes and waffles are my hubbies and my absolute favorite.

The first time we made the pancakes, I called my mom on the phone,

"Get over here now! I just made pancakes that are going to change your life!"

Some of my favorites recipes are:

Pancakes

Waffles

Snickerdoodles - Daniel asked me to keep these around the house at all times

It's - It - We made these the first night the book came in the mail. Best ice cream sandwiches ever!

Rugalach - Just made this today. It's a more delicious cinnamon roll. How does that happen?

Blackberry Swirl Donut - I dream about these.

Spice marble Donut - Made these yesterday. Yum!

Chips Ahoy!

If I were single and had no one to take care of

I'd probably spend all day baking every single recipe in this book.

We dream. 

For now, I'm enjoying baking with my daughter,

and trying to convince her one...or three is enough. 

Erin McKenna is probably my favorite person in the world. 

I thank God for her. 

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies and My New Favorite Summer Meal

Today I sat on the couch and ate three of these Double Chocolate Chip Cookies.

This is a rare occurrence for me, which is why I enjoyed it so much.

These cookies are good.

They are from the Babycakes cookbook so they are gluten and dairy free.

Click here to read about my past post on gluten free baking and why we love it.

Gluten free baking includes some strange ingredients. 

Here are the ones for this recipe:

Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free Flour:

I love this stuff, it's a great blend of different types of G.F. flours. 

Bob's Red Mill Xantham Gum:

Made out of the sticky substance from plants, 

it helps to bind the flours together.

Flaxseed Meal:

This stuff is so good for you. 

If you are pregnant, you definitely should find a way to

 get a tablespoon of this stuff into your daily life 

(by way of shakes, on cereal, or oatmeal) 

it is important brain food for your growing baby.

Baking Tips: Feel free to replace canola oil for the coconut oil.
I actually make the batter into large tablespoons
instead of teaspoons before putting them into the oven.
It makes for a larger, chewier cookie.

Here is the recipe from Goop.

I first learned about Babycakes NYC 

from Goop and fell instantly in love.

Those cookies have loved me back 

since they have zero white flour and saturated fat! 

What, what?! Rock on Babycakes.

Dinner

I absolutely had to share tonight's dinner with you.

For the past couple weeks, 

I've had my parents over every night for dinner

because I want to lower my dad's cholesterol.

We've been eating very yummy healthy meals. 

Lots of whole grains, bean proteins and a big variety of veggies.

Tonight we had what I call a "Love Life" dinner. 

Still 100% cholesterol free, but totally delicious.

Panzanella (I omitted the anchovies) from My Father's Daughter, 

Creamy Zucchini Soup from Vegan Family Meals steamed arugula,

served with my favorite glass of Riesling.

Of course we ended with Double Chocolate Chip Cookies! 

So delicious! Great way to enjoy the summer veggies. 

Yum! All that EVOO on the bread and roasted bell peppers! 

Great flavor combo with the vino and soup! 

Yes...that's my wedding ring. 

I was so anxious to eat all this yummy food 

I didn't dry my wet hands completely.

Can't stand water in between my finger and my ring. 

Mi Familia

My two-year-old built this and told me it was a "T"!

I know, she's a genius. 

Not only do I get to hang out with these people, 

but I get to live with them too!

She grew two teeth on her upper right side. 

Haha, kind of funny looking.

Go love the ones you love and go crazy cooking up some great summer dishes!

Live it up, 

Banana Bread

When I first started eating like a health freak, I'd eat beans, salad, carrot juice and then I'd eat one of my homemade chocolate chip cookies. They were SO good. Soft with all that fabulous butter and sweet loaded with sugar. I had perfected them. Suddenly all that good food I'd put inside of my body was worth nothing. The cookie (or rather, three of them) had put me back to square one. I was so discouraged. I wished there was such a thing as gluten, dairy and sugar free baked goodies. 'Cause really, is life without desserts worth living? 

Enter Babycakes NYC. They are the REASON I am able to be vegan. I would never have committed to this lifestyle if it didn't come with perks. Let me tell you something about Babycakes, you can't tell it's lacking white flour, processed sugar or butter. Amazing!

Here is Thérèse and I last year at Babycakes NYC's Los Angeles Grand Opening with the genius behind these delicious treats, Erin McKenna. 

Look at those cupcakes! Voted best cupcakes in all of NYC. 

Why Gluten-Free? Gluten includes white and wheat flour. The problem with gluten is that it is popping up in everything. They shove wheat in nearly all packaged foods. Because we are getting an overload of gluten, our bodies are building up an intolerance to them. Our kitchen isn't 100% gluten-free, but we do avoid them. One way we do this is by eating rice pasta and Ezekiel Bread, which does contain wheat but not processed. Eating something in their true form is always the best. 

Back to the good stuff. The first Babycakes recipe I conquered was their Banana Bread. 

Babycakes made this nice video to help out new bakers. I wish I had had this when I was learning!

BabyCakes NYC: Some Baking Tips! from BabyCakes NYC on Vimeo.

 Anytime I have black bananas I pop them in my fridge so I can make bread or shakes with them later. Today I halved the recipe since I didn't have enough bananas. Also, this should be eaten in about three days. I don't like making more than we can eat.

My new favorite way to make this is by smothering the batter about an inch thick on parchment paper. I love it this way because one, I'm obsessed with the crust, this makes every piece be a crust, and two, it only takes ten minutes to bake. I kept mine in for fifteen minutes till the toothpick came out clean. Oven temperatures and time vary, over time you will figure out about how much time you should leave your baked goods in. 

Here is my assistant baker first thing this morning still in her PJ's. Since the batter contains no raw eggs we don't have to worry about salmonella poisoning. Hooray! 

Often I'll throw in chocolate chips or chopped walnuts. Today I made it plain so we could smear some nut butter on instead. 

Yummy! These are soft, moist and sweet. Thank you Babycakes! 

I'll definitely be sharing more from Babycakes in the future. We can't get enough of them here!