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 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…
February 24, 2019
What a wonderful coincidence that the day I tripped to Baltimore, Maryland was during the extended Maryland Vegan Restaurant Week! I had a big list of eats and sites to see, starting at SweetSide for a croissant. The SweetSide is a delightful bakery that is pretty much akin to sweets Read more…
October 28, 2018
Though I love to bake, I like to use my birthday to sample cakes by other vegan bakers. This year my folks got me a beautiful cake from Pisces Rising after I found them, or her really, via Instagram. And lucky me, Pisces Rising just started taking custom orders. After Read more…
September 22, 2018
Williamsburg, Brooklyn now has its own Avant Garden, Ravi Derossi’s spectacular high end eatery that worships the almighty vegetable. And luckily we had a special occasion to celebrate that merited the fanciness. To get in the fancy zone, a cocktail. We shared a bunch of plates, but only after some Read more…
July 14, 2018
How cool that the Brooklyn Cyclones would do a vegan night! Well, to be accurate it was Grateful Dead Night, Vegan Night, Cub Scouts Night, so on and so forth. But I appreciated the options… and the buzz of Coney Island in the evening, one of my favorite Brooklyn things. Marty’s Read more…
June 17, 2018
VCTOTW vanilla layers, coconut whip and strawberries… with a little lemon zest and one blackberry: This is what Dad wants. An oozy, creamy layer cake is what he gets. Happy Father’s Day!
June 16, 2018
Nothing gets me motivated to bake than a Bake Sale that benefits animals. Last time is was for The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. This time… for with Mutt-i-grees. So I just had to go all out… First, S’mores cupcakes would mean a couple of batches of marshmallow fluff. I piped Read more…
May 13, 2018
When you’re late for the Mother’s Day soirée you best bring a sack of White Castle! Well, this may be my new go-to move. My family got to feast on the new Impossible Slider, now available in all New York and New Jersey White Castles. Oh, and I got to Read more…
December 20, 2017
I’m so vanilla. I’ll take it over chocolate any day. But vanilla buttercream can be easy to mess up. And many do. So here are some tips to create perfect fluffy buttercream. 1.) Use Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s buttercream recipe from VCTOTW. It’s tried and true, and there ain’t no need Read more…
November 20, 2017
This is how I look when I wake up… next to a pretty large pumpkin I would go on to process. I used my head for scale, though I kind of have a big head. Processing pumpkin is one of my favorite seasonal rituals. The mind boggles with pumpkin opportunities… Read more…
November 12, 2017
Firstly, a giggling me photoshopped the picture above… but it is not that far off an idea that Cook’s Illustrated, my favorite print magazine, would soon contain a vegan or “plant-based” feature. To this point, the latest issue had write-up on the coconut whip, the well-loved easy-peasy pantry tip, in Read more…
October 11, 2017
So there is a donut shop in Great Neck, Long Island that is mostly vegan. How fantastic, right?! Foughnuts bills itself as a more healthful donut. And that means… vegan options! (Don’t tell the folks that are still scared of the v-word.) I stopped by on a rainy Monday to do Read more…
August 20, 2017
I arrived in Nashville in the early a.m. One, because of entering the Central Time zone and two, more so, because I left Sweetwater, TN at the crack of dawn. I just didn’t know what to expect as far as traffic. But it was smooth sailing and I arrived with Read more…
July 24, 2017
Despite being pretty organized and calculated in many areas of my life, there are other areas in which I am reckless, irrational, and possibly quite stupid. Eh, definitely quite stupid. One minor example of this is how I go veggie-crazy at farmers markets. I buy what looks good without regard, Read more…
July 4, 2017
A birthday this big requires a great cake. So, I will make one. These colors are from the Rockville Centre Farmers Market. Happy Birthday, U.S.A.! Ok, more sweet treats for America with the leftover batter and berries. These are for my parents. And some pyrotechnics… Taking a slice of America. Read more…
June 30, 2017
I made this cute cake for a good friend of mine. I got a little cake-trendy with it. Besides the whole unicorn thing, I filled it with a mix of goodies that’ll pour out upon slicing… To do this, use a biscuit cutter to punch out the centers of your Read more…
May 14, 2017
Sometimes I make enough cupcakes, enough that I have to drive to work. With a staff potluck and a bake sale that I organized, this was the case this past week. Both events called for a special load of cupcakes. I opted for the nostalgic s’mores combination… Graham cupcakes, aquafaba marshmallow Read more…
April 13, 2017
After the world’s most perfect train ride, I was back in Paris again, finally learning how to take the Metro. I was also back in the room I stayed in days before. With Eiffel Tower views. Can you see it over there across the way from my balcony? And what Read more…
February 19, 2017
When the seductive sun returns and undresses you, leaving the Southern hemisphere on the sly and randomly, you make an occasion of it. It was Spring in February! We had the plan to head to the Jersey Shore off-season for lunch before this forecast. Partly because going to the Jersey Shore Read more…
January 29, 2017
How exciting to have even more vegan Girl Scout cookie options this year! That’s right, ABC Bakers–the Girl Scouts’ west coast cookie manufacturer–added a new 5th vegan cookie option to their repertoire. I reported on the first three options a couple of years back. The next year, the east coast (Little Read more…
October 30, 2016
Luckily, my birthday celebrations expand many weeks–there’s me-time travel involved (the sloths), us-time travel (London), family, friends. Eventually, all sides have been represented, leaving me smiling and grateful. I love October; and I love how my birthday delivers me to the excitement of autumn and winter holidays. And I love October sunrises, Read more…
August 6, 2016
Lest you think me a sunflower stalker (I am), please know that Babbette’s Seeds of Hope was the first field of sunflowers I knew about, though I suppose I realized they existed, and the very first field of sunflowers I intended to visit… the reason for the route I established Read more…
June 26, 2016
This year’s Pride celebration coincided with cake duty for a very special colleague who will be moving on to a new job. He is also fiercest gay man I know. Naturally, I’d express myself through cake, signing up for dessert at the goodbye potluck. It’s a language I am pretty Read more…
May 19, 2016
There is a place where vegans can get French macarons, pretty chocolates with caramel inside, pretty/decadent things… in New York City. Finally! The funny thing is that they’ve been available in New Paltz for quite some time. It’s Confectionery: the East Village home of Lagusta’s Luscious and Sweet Maresa. (Not really Read more…
