Cake, lots of

Top o’ the evenin’ to ya!  You have to say that like a leprechaun for it to sound cool.  How has your weekend been?  I still have an entire week before I start my internship!  That’s a very good thing, because I have a ton of stuff to do in preparation.  E starts 1st grade in a week as well, and I need to get that boy a new backpack, lunch box, school supplies and some clothes and shoes.  He is SO excited about going back to school.  He loves to learn and I hope to keep that spark alive for as long as possible.  He is such a sweet kid.  Makes my heart melt. 

Anyway, I have a bunch of food pics for you but first I wanted to share this week’s menu.  I’ll make two meals and eat leftovers the rest of the week:

Meal 1) Leftover falafel patties (from this post- I stuck four in the freezer) with this awesome-looking Smoked Eggplant and Red Lentil Dip plus a side of simple roasted cauliflower.  Freakin’ YUM.

Meal 2) Lemon-scented Quinoa with chickpeas plus a side of this gorgeous Roasted Beet & Walnut Salad.  I’ve gone beet crazy!  Seriously mad, I tell ya.  I’m really excited about this meal.  I imagine that the combination of sweet caramelized red onion with the soft, silky roasted beets and crunch from the walnuts is going to be out-of-control delicious.  Yup.

I don’t need to make anything sweet this week, because I baked approximately 6 billion cupcakes on Friday for E’s birthday party yesterday.  We had so many left over that I wrapped up platefuls to pawn off on my sisters, Gram, aunt and uncle tonight when they came over for dinner.  I love cupcakes, but this was kind of ridiculous.  I used this recipe and they turned out fantastic!  They went over well with the kids, too.

These suckers are moist!

face———> bowl

(I wish)

Sprinklezzzzz!

I was quite proud of my cupcakes.  I think this may have been the first time I’d ever made them from scratch.

Tasty Town, oh yes. 

This afternoon I made Eggplant Lasagna for my Gram’s birthday dinner.  It turned out fabulous, I was really very surprised.  Tender baked eggplant layered with tomato sauce, thyme-infused sautéed mushrooms and a spinach and onion mixture with basil, oregano and nutmeg (if you’ve never had a dash of nutmeg in cooked spinach, you are missing out!)…

Seriously, this was so good.

There were two lasagnas at the dinner (my brothers made a classic meat-and-cheese version), and even the meat-eaters raved about this one.

It may not be the most photogenic dish in the world, but trust me when I say that this was rockin’.  Makes me want to check out more PCRM recipes in the future!

My plate, with a mixed greens salad with grape tomatoes, sunflower seeds and homemade balsamic vinaigrette + a chunk of crusty rosemary sourdough bread.

So how about some more cake?    My Mom made a vegan version of my Gram’s all-time favorite, Italian Cream Cake.

Happy Birthday, Gram!  <3

So nice of O to help spit all over the cake blow out the candles. 

THIS CAKE…

This was the best cake I have ever tasted.  Yeah, I said it.

No one knew it was vegan until we told them.  SHOCKER!

I’m going to request this for my birthday in February.

Which reminds me… this month marks my 1 Year Veganniversary!    I spent a little time reading through some blog posts from this time last year, when I was weeding the final animal food products out of my life- Greek yogurt was the last to go.  It has only been a year but I really feel like I’ve been eating a plant-based diet forever.  It all became second nature so easily, like it was just meant to be for me.  Switching to a vegan lifestyle has made me a more aware, confident, mindful and compassionate person.  I’m also in the best health and shape of my life!  I definitely want to do a little something to celebrate this milestone, but I’m not sure what just yet.  A dinner at one of my favorite vegan restaurants, perhaps?  More vegan cake?    A dinner party with my closest friends?

If you’re vegan or vegetarian, do you celebrate another plant-based year gone by?

I’m getting up early tomorrow to work out before the kids get up.  Basically because I’m insane.  Have a great Sunday night and a marvelous week ahead, y’all.

XO,

S.