May 22, 2024
Sticky Fingers was one of the first all-vegan bakeries I ever knew.Β When I first visited in 2009, it was a special visit.Β Now in 2024, living less than a mile from it, it was again a special visit.Β And I got the exact cupcake I had gotten before.Β Now Read more…
February 14, 2024
Though Valentine’s Day is a bit, you know, trite, I am of the philosophy of the 1994 Built to Spill album “There’s Nothing Wrong With Love.” So some of the red happenings of Love’s official holiday. Red Velvet cupcake again, because it is mind-blowing Sugar cookies mostly for the kids. Read more…
September 19, 2023
No longer having the ability to bake fresh cakes for my loved ones, I needed a very high quality replacement to celebrate my parents’ anniversary… and I found one. Peach & Pine‘s baker creates absolutely gorgeous cakes. I was so excited what she could do for this very special anniversary. Read more…
September 19, 2022
A special batch of chocolate chip cookies for my parents’ 52nd anniversary! Sure I wanted to make something more involved, but my mom just loves my cookies. It’s been a rough couple of years for my parents and I wanted to sweeten a their day. Something about this recipe: It Read more…
September 10, 2022
I had this vision of a vintage commercial for this vintage set of Lady Sunbeam hot rollers I scored from the Rochester Goodwill Bins. But it was better in my mind. Still here is some related content for archival purposes. Little me in curlers…
December 1, 2021
Another jam-packed year proceeds to its 12th month… December… 2021. Along with the usual confusion of “How is it December already?!” my beloved holiday decorations welcome the wonder, twinkling with a love and appreciation of those who blessed my year and reflecting an enduring hope for continued adventure in the Read more…
May 28, 2021
My latest photography love is taking pictures that could be from a different time, a time that leaves all of the worst of the now in its own frame, blurred by an airbrushed filter, adds bunny ears and whiskers and then deletes it with harsh alert tone that jars you Read more…
May 17, 2021
Back in 2009 I visited the trolley cars that were withering away behind the Fairway in Brooklyn’s Red Hook. Though I took a few photos of them at the time, I assumed they’d be long gone as Brooklyn’s waterfronts continue to transform. But on a recent ferry ride, I saw Read more…
January 28, 2021
Time is marked so awkwardly now; it’s disorientating. Without its usual structures, a day is still frame. A painting made in a day. Packed in words. Empire. Holy cannoli Keep it safe. Roadside attractions. Bus view of Bayley Seton. Those clouds though. Outfit of the day. Pantone 292. Homemade Chana Read more…
January 17, 2021
The Sicilian chick pea fritter Panelle is “accidentally” vegan. But Staten Island’s only Sicilian eatery, Made in Sicily in Grant City, has got ’em nice and piping hot so you don’t need to get oil all over your stove like I did last I made it. They’ve also got lots Read more…
January 7, 2021
As we enter 2021 still within this health crisis, still within political insanity, the Scenes continue! Freshly testing out of a quarantine, to follow are Scenes from several quarantines past, in-between negative Covid tests… the ones before seeing my family for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, as well as after my Read more…
December 14, 2020
The vegan options at Copiague Bakery are the kind of vegan options I love. Unpretentious and unlikely vegan options that seem available quite randomly. I arrived thinking I’d get a simple cupcake and be on my way… but their sweets grabbed me by the hand in a stroll down memory Read more…
November 24, 2020
I don’t know how it is possible after years and years of blogging that I don’t have more πΎπππππ puns on here! In fact the only one I could find was a two-sentence post that was referencing The White Stripes album… in 2007. So now, a post totally dedicated to Read more…
September 25, 2020
The next V.V. Nostalgic Classic would be the Charleston Chew, a childhood favorite deep-seeded in my memory–like all of my V.V. Nostalgic Classics (new tag!) Like those other treats, the texture and taste has remained vivid for decades. But more importantly, the associations and related details also pour back. I Read more…
July 20, 2020
Despite the continuing of restrictions, I try to get out often and stay busy–but safely. And since my car is not mine anymore, I have been sampling all kinds of mass transit. My favorite: The Ferry. My bike, here, at the Brooklyn Army Terminal when I missed a ferry. And Read more…
April 12, 2020
This classic photo of the Rat Pack captures cool, captures camaraderie and friendship. Because Fun is not just… fun… it’s the meeting of humor and intellect, the application of both to arouse a collective spirit; synergy. A release I need more than ever in confinement. Finding people to laugh with Read more…
April 4, 2020
Nostalgic eats are a huge motivator for my baking conquests. Having been vegan for so very long, I am retroactively fulfilling all of the collected cravings from all those vegan years. Because back in the day I didn’t have the skills, the ingredients, the guides… I want to acknowledge the Read more…
March 23, 2020
A long time ago when the Earth was green, I tried to veganize one of my most favorite childhood snacks… The Scooter Pie. Oh but I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now, to quote my favorite Dylan song. And I really got a handle on making Read more…
March 16, 2020
Growing up, St. Patrick’s Day was another reason to celebrate with a bakery cake. My mother dressed me and my siblings up celebrate our Irish heritage with dorkish results. Here is me and my brother dressed to the nines one such St. Patrick’s Day. Today I still like to honor Read more…
March 9, 2020
I can’t stop making chocolate chip cookies. I think because every time I make them, they’re different. My theory is that I am harnessing the rich and varied content of my heart and soul, subtly imparting their variables upon the recipe. So here are a couple of renditions. I know 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 β€οΈ highlights. Cupcakes just out of the oven are magical. Like a starry night This buttercream was Read more…
February 13, 2020
How are we well into February already?! New Years seems like last week! Must time pass so swiftly? It has been a very busy 2020 thus far. Here are some outtakes. Freshly milked cashew milk from a colleague? Yes, ma’am! ICYMI, there is now a Saturn emoji on the iPhone. 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…
December 30, 2019
The TWA Hotel, the midcentury modern marvel at JFK airport, is an amazing place to pass away a day. Especially when it is raining all day. Especially with a fish eye lens on a new camera. The sublime attention to detail is downright transportive. From every angle, I wanted to Read more…
December 29, 2019
Dreamland Roller Rink is a pop-up roller skating rink in Brooklyn that hosts some pretty amazing themed nights. But my silly heart skipped a beat when I saw that there would be a 90’s Grunge vs. 80’s Hair Metal Night… when my fellow hair metal kid/90’s young adult side kick Read more…
December 7, 2019
Finding time to get moving is an important part of maintaining health, yeah duh. But too often I am emotionally spent by work and stuck to my couch, decompressing from the days’ battles come evening. Since my summer, my activity level has dropped drastically. With motivation depleted, I haven’t had Read more…