October 21, 2022
August 25, 2022
Like Madrid, Barcelona is swarmed with vegan options. But I had made many-a day’s mission a meal in Madrid. In Barcelona, food would not be my first priority. I was on my own and free to explore at my pace, which meant sites trumped eats… especially because I had felt Read more…
July 23, 2022
I was excited to learn that Pride Enjoy now had its own storefront on Long Island. Wading River now has a place for top quality gluten-free, vegan sweetness–in varying forms. Presentation comes first and all these treats spoke loud and clear–these aren’t your average gluten-free vegan options that you’ll tolerate Read more…
June 22, 2022
Work is crazy, but there are cupcakes. I’ll just leave them here while I decompress from yet another day of chaos. The storm before the calm…
June 19, 2022
Since Father’s Day is in June, my Dad often gets fruity sweet treats for his special day. This year, the full spectrum of the rainbow… Red (strawberry), Orange (apricot), Yellow (pineapple), Green (kiwi), Blue (blueberry), Violet (blackberry) paired with either vanilla or red velvet cake along with vanilla buttercream or Read more…
April 8, 2022
A whole slew of them… because I have a whole slew of students. Mini’s are the best to pipe. Just give me a large star tip. All done and looking pretty On my way now…
October 17, 2021
I insist on making my own cupcakes when I visit my family for my birthday celebration. Because I greatly enjoy baking and am pretty critical of vegan baked goods, in general. And where can you get vegan s’mores cupcakes with a cookie bottom, chocolate ganache filling topped with chocolate buttercream Read more…
June 16, 2021
🌈 🏳️⚧️ Making rainbow treats for Pride Month is a favorite baking past time for me! This year I took on the goal of using the Progress Pride Flag as inspiration, and tried a few things out. None that totally blew me away. To follow, my two-day experiments… all for Read more…
March 1, 2021
When I was told that school was closing and I’d be teaching remote back in November, I grabbed the essentials from the classroom–the classroom pumpkin and acorn squash that had the heart in it, part of the seasonal display table. I wasn’t going to let the pandemic mess with my Read more…
July 4, 2020
Though I had just gotten home from my trip, I quickly got to work on an Independence Day treat for the festivities. I took a risk on veganizing these firecracker cupcakes. But I had no more all-purpose flour and subbed with cake flour and whole wheat flour. The result, a Read more…
May 9, 2020
The Vegan Gastronomy Culinary Academy has updated their informative vegan macaron Master Class on Youtube, incorporating their vegan egg white mix, Gerbet. Gerbet, a proprietary powder mixture of plant protein, fiber and gums, was created specifically for vegan macaron making. Having had a recent macaron fail with aquafaba, I really Read more…
April 17, 2020
A big bummer that the French macarons I attempted to make, a two-day process, were a big fail. 😢 So I made a batch of cupcakes to adorn them with my failure… and ordered some ingredients for my next attempt. Stay tuned! The extra Italian meringue would be piped into Read more…
February 14, 2020
Happy Love Day! And with it, one of my favorite forms of affection: cupcakes. Little ones for my students and a few big ones for my work loves. Here are the day’s red ❤️ highlights. Cupcakes just out of the oven are magical. Like a starry night This buttercream was Read more…
January 24, 2020
Though I was more a Yankee Doodle dandy, Drake’s being my choice in snack cakes as a child, Little Debbie holds a special place in my heart for her hexagonal twin cakes. The waxy white chocolate giving way to creme-filled yellow layers—pure nostalgia. And now, a vegan version here, from Read more…
November 25, 2019
A decade of teaching, a decade of turning the classroom pumpkin into cupcakes. These are my all-time favorite cupcakes to make. Maybe because my students are always skeptical about how the pumpkin on my desk can become a delicious cupcake. Maybe because most have learned of my being vegan by Read more…
August 18, 2019
Animals, Arts & Crafts, Beautiful Places Far Away, Eating Out, Nature, Southern Comfort Food, Wanderlust
Blog back-up makes me uneasy. Each day is a million adventures, so just two days ago is a million miles away. But Day 6, yes. Speaking to what I took pictures of is a helpful system, but it doesn’t indicate a lot of the important feelings I am having on Read more…
August 5, 2019
Summer eats are a celebration of color and freshness. After a long weekend of repeated trips to the shores of the Rockaways, here is what I ate. Above, avocado toast on a thick slice of housemade bread from La Fruteria at the bustling 97th Street concessions on Rockaway Beach. And Read more…
May 12, 2019
My Mom is cooler than yours. I mean, look at those brows. Though mine look pretty good too. I had grand cake intentions for today, but… sometimes I have cake fails. My Mother’s Day cake was a hot mess, though my sweet Mom would never say that. The problem was Read more…
April 27, 2019
Zucchini Kill, You Really Had To Be There Zucchini Kill is likely thee best name for a vegan bakery. I was so excited about checking it out that I bought some merch, just like going to shows back in the day. A shirt, stickers, a button… and of course a Read more…
April 20, 2019
Easter is like Christmas but with pastels! Well, in a secular sense… Easter used to be one of my favorite holidays as a child. For one, my Mom made thee best easter baskets for us, including two of my all-time favorite confections: Cadbury Cream Eggs and Peeps. She also made Read more…
March 24, 2019
There always seems to be something vegan to eat in Asbury Park. As the area makes a name for itself as a food destination, the vegan realm reaps the benefits. The folks setting up shop in Asbury Park have to care about quality, as the restaurant next store or down Read more…
March 17, 2019
Usually I wear my “Italians Do It Better” shirt on March 17. But I am Irish, too, so it’s a joke. Actually, my Irish blood is far more festive than my other components. My great grandfather (or possibly great-great? I’ll have to ask my cousin who dug deep on our Read more…
March 10, 2019
For my sweet Mom, sweet cupcakes… and a bouquet of flowers! In this case, same-same. Instead of the usual vanilla recipe, I tried this new one from Nora Cooks. Well, new to me. I love that it has aquafaba, vegan butter and oil in it, for flavor and for moistiness. Read more…
December 13, 2018
I finished off the last of the pumpkin puree from the classroom pumpkins with three more batches of the well-loved pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes. And the kiddos were excited to decorate their own at our Holiday Party. Though extremely stressful at times, I love that my profession allows me to Read more…
November 11, 2018
With a very dear friend’s birthday deserving a proper cake, especially after the praise I received for my recent vegan Pom Pom Cake, this cake (below) would just not do. Though it tasted great, it was–hideous looking. There was no way this was going to cut it! So it was Read more…
November 3, 2018
The first batch of cupcakes for this year’s kiddos. I start simple with a chocolate cupcake and vanilla buttercream for our Dia de Los Muertos celebration… The classroom spread. I go to Don Paco Panaderia in Sunset Park every year for the pan de muerto. And they never bat an Read more…