Bar Harbor!

I've spent the last couple of days in Bar Harbor for work. Despite all the tourists during the summer, I love visiting this town/island. I've never seen so many "Yes! We have vegetarian dishes!" signs on storefronts and menus.



A vegan could get very fat here.



The bed and breakfast I stayed at, 2 Cats, was excellent. They even had tofu scramble on their menu! I could say that that wasn't the sole reason why I chose to stay at this place... but I'd be lying (ok, the name and the sign was pretty cute too.)


Tofu scramble with tomatoes, onions, and avocado. Hash browns, fruit, and a biscuit. Holy crap, I want to start every morning like this!



I'm going on a business trip down to Baltimore next month. I'm wondering if I'll be treated as well down there...

Land of a thousand cupcakes

Well, not exactly a thousand.

Closer to 250.

I made a kaboodle of cuppies for a concert in Portland yesterday night. It was a great show, and the food was appreciated by everyone!

I kept it simple and just did vanilla and chocolate cupcakes from VCTOTW and their buttercream frosting. It's amazing how a little food coloring and sprinkles can send the food to the next level!

Anyone want me to take care of their next event? (though I have to tell you, driving 2 hours to Portland with the a/c blasting while I'm fretting over the buttercream in the back seat was a little bit terrifying!)

A rockin' good time

Nate's dad's birthday was this weekend. It was a big one (the one between 50 and 70), so of course a major shindig needed to be had.

Luckily, most people who know us know what we can/cannot eat, so we have an incredible feast that was only slightly supplemented by the goodies I brought myself!

V-Con's black bean burgers, potato salad, corn on the cob (drenched in Earth Balance, thank you), baked beans, and salad.

I brought our own desserts, which actually became quite a hit with the guests who were lucky enough to sit with us.


Kittee's AMAZING strawberry pie, and a VCTOTW Banana Split cuppie.


Sadly, that is the only picture of the pie that I took. I have another one in the fridge though for work this week, so I'll remember to take more pictures of it.

As you can see, we had a very good time:

Oreo cake!

For Nate's grandfather's birthday last weekend, I made an oreo cake for the party!

It's the cookies & creme recipe from VCTOTW, doubled, and cooked for about 10-12 minutes longer. It came out fabulous, and there were no leftovers to take home! (one of the sad parts of making awesome food.)

Tofu marsala

Oh man, I think I've found my new favorite dish. Tofu marsala, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, served with a marsala wine mushroom sauce.

I got this recipe from Everyday Dish, and the moment I saw it I knew I had to give it a whirl. I know it looks like a lot of steps, but A) it's really not that bad at all, and B) it's SOOOOO worth it. The tofu comes out so flavorful and juicy (yes, I just used the word "juicy" to describe tofu).

It's definitely a meal I'll whip out when I have a friendly omnivore over to introduce him/her to the wonder that is bean curd. Plus, one of my coworkers shrieked when I was eating the leftovers at work the next day, because she thought I was eating pork chops. Oh yeah.

So please, if you are a tofu hater (if you're a tofu lover, there's no question you have to make this), give this recipe a try... and invite me over. I'll eat it if you still can't stand it. :)

Lasagna!

When potlucks arise, one of my favorite dishes to make is the lasagna from Veganomicon. It's fabulous, and can fool the most stubborn of omnivores. It takes a while to make all the different parts (tomato sauce, tofu ricotta, sauteed spinach, etc.), but it's definitely worth it. I usually get it prepared the night before, and then cook it the next day right before the event.

But things don't always go as plan.

My poor, beautiful lasagna did not survive a particularly sharp turn on our way to a potluck last week. Needless to say, our car smells delicious now. The mangling of the lasagna didn't stop people from digging in once we got there though!

(it'd still be nice if the people there knew I could put together a good lasagna!)

Chickpea noodle soup

So I woke up this morning with a frog in my throat (definitely not vegan), and a groggy head. I'm sick, in bed, and of course not able to rest at all.

So what makes a vegan better? Obviously it's not chicken noodle soup, but...

CHICKPEA NOODLE SOUP!

The recipe is from Veganomicon, and is absolutely fabulous. It isn't hard at all either - which is great when you're a zombie standing at the stove.

That and some garlic bread... I should feel better in no time!