June 15, 2023
I’m way into creating my own poké bowl, like this one from a place called Poke Rainbow. But then… Poof! The eateries disappear inexplicably. I really don’t get it. Sushi lunch from Kiku. Vegetarian sushi perfection Drinks after work at Shaka Shaka Tiki. Pulled in by ube, but the space Read more…
May 9, 2021
Mother’s Day means I’m making pretty cupcakes for my beautiful Mom. To follow, the very easy fool-proof recipe that contains standard pantry ingredients that I used to make said pretty cupcakes. Really Easy, Really Delicious Vegan Vanilla CupcakesMakes 12 cupcakes 1 cups almond milk 1 + 1/2 teaspoons vinegar 192 Read more…
February 6, 2021
Hoping to woo a vegan this Valentine’s Day… or hoping to woo yourself? For your consideration, a series of vegan treats that aim to please! And boy do vegans deserve it for all the good they do. So bask in the red gel coloring that is this series: Vegan Victuals 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 30, 2020
I have gotten through my entire list of baking goals during the quarantine and have been less motivated to bake ever since. I just miss sharing my baked goods–it’s half the joy of baking! So with plans for a hike in the woods of New Jersey, an impromptu batch of Read more…
May 10, 2020
A beautiful day to celebrate Mother’s Day through the door… Let’s start with the cupcakes. Though I love to show my affection with tremendous baking undertakings, my Mom doesn’t like complicated baked goods. For her day, a basic vanilla and a fudgy chocolate frosting, reminiscent of Duncan Hines. They’re like 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…
March 21, 2020
With some cookie butter in the pantry and a big batch of homemade marshmallow to use, it had to be s’mores again. Okay—blanket statement: marshmallow treats are my absolute favorite–in general, in childhood, now, later. But this cookie butter from Biscoff, my favorite garnish for s’more cupcakes, is also dream. 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 18, 2020
You may have heard about the thing I have for Golden Milk lattes? So I was very happy that somebody on the interwebs made a vegan Golden Milk cake! I may have gotten around to it myself, but thankfully The Full Helping took care of business with a cake spiked Read more…
December 19, 2019
You must have not heard me the first time, World. Sweetness!! Bring it on. Especially to the children. Here my annual cupcake decorating in my classroom holiday party. I love to see their blinged out creations on my cupcakes. Chocolate only, in the vein of “you get what you get 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…
September 7, 2019
Gosh, it’s been so long since I baked! It was nice to have the opportunity to get back in my baking bowls and wish a special colleague a Happy Birthday. 🎉 They are red velvet, but I didn’t go nuts with food coloring. I gave the cream cheese frosting a Read more…
June 20, 2019
Tomorrow, Summer is here. So the teachers drink. And some will eat my cupcakes: vanilla cupcakes with a pineapple-rum compote and a cream cheese frosting. In their cabana wear. Pretty please with a cherry on top… The last of the dried pineapples I made. Cocktail mermaids A word about edible Read more…
June 19, 2019
When I was a little kid I used to huff vanilla extract from the cupboard. And to this day I’m very vanilla with my taste in cake. Nothing beats it. In my vegan life, I’ve tried many vegan vanilla cake recipes and now I am finally in love with a Read more…
June 8, 2019
In celebration of an impending summer, I’m thinking about tropical fruits, sunshine, and reasons to use mini cocktail umbrellas. I am thinking about my 50th state, 🌺Hawaii🌺. Beginning a process of getting there with an appreciation of its elements and its culture within and outside of the culturally-appropriated components. But Read more…
May 11, 2019
Sometimes people expect you to make a batch, and so you do, dutifully but no less lovingly. And sometimes you get a satisfaction by using, finally, some of the applesauce you had to buy when you last made the recipe. I hate to have jars lying about, staring at me Read more…
May 2, 2019
With two days of state exams and an awesome testing schedule, I spent my back-to-back free periods in my favorite place: Green-Wood Cemetery. It is crazy to think I first set foot into its grounds only a year ago. This time, peak flowering for its gorgeous trees would make it Read more…
April 15, 2019
Box-free Baking, Cakes & Cupcakes, Cooking Stuff, Dressing Up, Hosting Duty, Pies, Tarts, & Parfaits, Special Events
It was finally time for the Season 8 premiere of Game of Thrones! And it was time to completely nerd out. And have a vegan Game of Thrones feast with all the bells and whistles. My weekend was full of prep and running around… and then festivities. Here it is Read more…
April 1, 2019
With a very special friend relocating to Florida, we sent her off from the Sunshine State within Brooklyn, Royal Palms Shuffleboard Club. The space was a festive backdrop for the bittersweet affair. And though smiles were plentiful, I certainly won’t be the same without my best gal near by. Of Read more…
March 19, 2019
Sansa is all about the Lemon Cakes. Unfortunately Lemon Cakes were the only taste of happiness in a terrible string of horrific life experiences for Sansa. So let’s rejoice in Sansa’s simple pleasures before all hell breaks loose in Season 8. Candy Some Lemons 🍋 1 cup water 1 cup 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…
January 26, 2019
With a brunch get-together happening, I decided to break in my new cookbook, a gift from my Secret Santa at work: Modern Vegan Baking, filled with next-level vegan baking challenges. I started with the lemon meringue… but improvised the throw down of some Mi-Del Lemon Snaps on the bottoms of Read more…
January 20, 2019
I didn’t know this but Crumbs Bakeshop, one of the early cupcake-only bakeries, closed all their doors, filing bankruptcy in 2014. I looked into them in the cupcake heyday (2003/2004), but they never had a vegan option. Then, eventually, they offered some vegan options–I’m not sure when this happened. I Read more…
January 14, 2019
What is that, velvet? Why yes, they are Red Velvet. Sprinkles’ fantastic vegan recipe makes for a very impressive addition to a work function. And because it’s for colleagues, I didn’t skimp on the red and the sweet. Because you eat with your eyes… and then you eat with your Read more…