C’est La Vegan

I love entertaining  – making lots of appetizers for parties, making dinner for friends, etc., and I really like to go all out when I do it.  In the past, I wasn’t that up for taking short-cuts when I entertained.  I guess I looked at it as cheating.
Now, with my business to run (and bake [...]

Just looking at this photo makes my mouth water.  I really, really, really used to love fried chicken.  Love it like it was actually my favorite food kind of love.  Throw in some mashed potatoes and biscuits and I was in heaven. Fried chicken was definitely one of the hardest foods for me to give [...]

I first had these crackers at a vegan bake sale in Los Angeles last year.  They were made by the adorable Celine Steen of Have Cake Will Travel.  I’m around sweet stuff all the time, so I opted for one of the savory options on the table, and then I proceeded to inhale the entire [...]

You know what’s coming this weekend…  That’s right – it’s Super Bowl time!  Now I must admit that I’ve never actually been much of a football fan, but I’ve always been a food fan and game food is some pretty great food.  I don’t have anything against the actual game, but being the youngest of [...]

Sushi and me – a short story…
When I was a kid, the thought of sushi was totally disgusting to me.  The raw fish part was gross, and yes, I now know it isn’t really all just raw fish, but I didn’t then, so I never even considered trying it.
Cut to one of my first trips to California, [...]

I saw Nigella Lawson make this Middle Eastern roasted eggplant dip on one of her cooking shows years ago, and since then I’ve made it many times for get togethers at our place, or as a dish to bring to a party.  This doesn’t have an overpowering eggplant flavor, so even if it’s not your [...]

Last week in my  Bakin Wrapped Dates post I mentioned a Date Cake that I’d made, and here it is!  When I first passed the date stand at the Farmers Market I had a flash of this cake that my Mom had made when I was little.  I probably remembered it because dates sounded really [...]

A few years ago I saw a Good Eats episode featuring fried plantains.  They looked and sounded so good, and I made a mental note that I’d have to try them someday. Cut to breakfast a few months ago at Hugo’s Restaurant.  They were featuring a special that had plantains as part of the dish, [...]

The other day when I was looking for a particular post, I came across this photo in a draft that I had totally forgotten about.  I have no idea how this slipped through the cracks!  I meant to write about it this summer, and just forgot I guess.  Poor loaf.
I made this when Ryan and [...]

Recently when I was buying our produce at the Market, I passed by the date stand (Dates by Davall) and thought I’d take a look.  The woman at the stand encouraged me to try the samples, and I have to admit I was a little freaked out to eat one plain. I’d read about them [...]

I finally got the chance to eat some Taste of Life a couple months ago, and I’m probably the last vegan in LA to try this stuff!  It’s certainly old news to many, but since becoming a vendor at the Hollywood Farmers’ Market, Ryan and I have had it almost every week.  Apparently they’ve closed [...]

Back at the end of August (was it really that long ago?), I wrote about our trip to Santa Barbara wine country and Ditmar’s Apple Farm.  These are some of the beautiful Gala apples we purchased on the trip.  I meant to write about the apple cake that I made after that trip, but the post [...]