Vegan Birthday Cakes!

My daughter recently celebrated her 7th birthday.  I usually get excited about making the food, but baking a cake for a party gives me the chills.  There was one birthday where I stayed up until 3am trying 2 different times to make a beehive shaped cake for a bee themed party.  It turned out OK (see old blog post here) but I would rather not stress about it.
I decided to leave this year's cake to a professional.  So what kind of bakery was I looking for to make the cake?

I'm not into lard balloons (that's what I call those huge icing balloons on cakes you find at Costco and HEB).  The cake also needs to be eggless, so I decided a vegan cake would be awesome.  With all the food allergies out there, going vegan is a great way to knock a few allergens off your list.  I didn't want to call all around town to bakeries asking if they would make a vegan cake.
Who knows, it might be the first one they make. I did not want my vegan cake to look or taste like a Cake Wreck.

Sugar Tooth Bakery to the rescue!



I would have to say that Sugar Tooth Bakery would be your best bet for the most creative vegan cakes in Austin.  Meghan did a great job at responding to my emails and making great suggestions.
My request for natural food based colorings was no problem.
I wanted an ice pop (Popsicle is a brand) cake as that was the theme for this summer birthday party.
I thought lemon poppyseed would be a nice refreshing flavor.
The cake was moist and not overly sweet. The icing was also light and not super thick (who needs 1/2 and inch of icing anyway) with a light lemony flavor.  The yellow portion was colored with turmeric and the pink with fresh raspberry puree.
My daughter had an extra wooden musical stick and that was the ice pop stick.



I was very happy with the way the cake came out and also very happy to support a local business that is in tune with my lifestyle.  Thanks again Meghan for making such a "cool" cake.
We hope you enjoyed the little bite off the top!  ;)

Visit Sugar Tooth Bakery at http://www.sugartoothbakery.com/ or go by their bakery in the Community Renaissance Market off William Cannon and Westgate.

Happy 3rd Anniversary Chef Veggie

After a tumultuous Sunday with fires on my street, I'm very thankful and grateful to have been unharmed and still have a place to cook meals for my family.
If you would like to support some of my neighbors who lost their homes, there will be a bake sale/lemonade stand on Saturday, April 23rd at 8007 Landsman Drive Austin, TX 78736.
Jack Allen's Kitchen on HWY 71 is also having a benefit buffet (2:30pm to 4:30pm) on Saturday.   Please RSVP if you can on Jack Allen's Kitchen Facebook page.
You can also donate to the Red Cross.

Now on to my happy announcement.  In addition to it being Earth Day tomorrow, Chef Veggie is turning 3!  There are lots of fun events in town to help you celebrate Mother Earth and rediscover ways to have a more harmonious relationship with her.  Now that I'm in my fun toddler phase, I'm continuing to see growth and changes in my business.  I'm working on a cookbook that I hope will be in some finished form in the fall.   To celebrate, I also wanted to offer all new and existing clients 30% off any cookdate in May!
So if you wanted to try my services, this would be a great time.  Spring produce is so beautiful and fresh and great to get before more of the Texas heat comes in.  Is there anything you would like to see Chef Veggie do this year?

Here's a great Spring Salad Recipe to celebrate Mother Earth's bounty:

Spinach and Strawberry Salad with Texas Pecan Vinaigrette

1 lb organic baby spinach
1 pint organic/local strawberries, sliced

Dressing:
(makes about 3 cups)
1 cup Texas pecans (you can toast them but I like to leave them untoasted to get the most nutritional benefit)
Extra pecans for garnishing
1 cup filtered water
1/3 cup olive oil
1 TBSP maple syrup
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (can also use apple cider if you prefer)
1 TBSP tamari/shoyu

Place all dressing ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.  Place spinach on individual plates, top with strawberries and dressing.  Garnish with extra pecans.

私たちはビスケットを食べみましょう

Let's eat biscuits!

That's what happens when your gluten-free baking adventures come up short due to very hot water!
Please recipe writers: mention how hot the water can be, otherwise if it's too hot, your cupcake batter cooks in the bowl.

Anyway, for Austin's Bake Sale for Japan here's what Chef Veggie brought....a known yummy standard she's made dozens of times - Scallion Biscuits.  A vegan version with Daiya and a cheese version with smoked Gouda.  These should balance out all the sugar out there today :)

Here's what I picked up with my donation!

Cupcakes from Sugar Skull and a chocoholic cookie from Vegan Lazy Smurf.

There will be more goodies out at the west location (The Shops at Mira Vista - 2785 Bee Cave Road, 78746) until 5pm, so if you haven't had a chance, stop by there now.

And a big thankyou to Kathryn - The Austin Gastronomist  and all the volunteers who made this all possible.

Austin Bakes For Japan

On Saturday April 2nd, the Austin food community is gathering together to support Japan with sweetness!  Come on out to one of the various locations around town and make a donation to the relief efforts in Japan by consuming a super tasty treat.  We'll have you saying "Oishii!"

As someone who spent part of her youth in Japan (3-4  and 10-14 years old), I have a special place in my heart for Japan.  I cannot remember happier memories.  The respect they have toward each other is beyond words.  My own father resides in Tokyo so I know this will go to help all his neighbors.

I plan on having some gluten-free/vegan goodness at the South Congress location - Hotel San Jose

To learn more about  Austin Bakes for Japan, the locations, and view some the awesome treats that will be available check out: http://austinbakes.wordpress.com/

I'll update here tonight once everything is baked and ready to go for tomorrow!

Chef Veggie's Food Blog Commitment

I recently went to Austin's SXSW food blogger conference called TECHmunch  and learned more about the latest and greatest ways to be a wonderful food blogger. Lots of high profile foodies on the scene explaining the wonders of Twitter, getting your site sponsored by major brands, and creating kick-ass multimedia content (that was an actual title of a segment.)

I realized that while I do have some of the skill sets and definitely the ability to create tasty dishes, my desire to post a recipe/article/review everyday and have blogging be my life is not where I am at.

However, I think when one wants to have a space that people want to visit and interact with, there should be a consistent level of activity.  If I want to make genuine connections with others they need to know what to expect.  One of the goals I have is to be better connected with my local food community. Austin has one of the greatest number of food bloggers in the US and also happens to be a very friendly bunch.  The group (Austin Food Blogger Alliance) plans on having lots of events to further education and also to help the community at large.  There is already a bake sale being planned to help the relief efforts in Japan.  As a former resident of Japan, this warms my heart.

So here before the world and the day before St. Paddy's Day (I am married to an Irishman afterall), I plan to post at least twice a month.

If you are looking for some healthy fare for tomorrow, here's a previous post about my St. Patrick's Day Salad!   Spring is here and there's lots of GREEN out there.

Christmas Coconut Granola

coconutmacgingergranola, originally uploaded by veggiebytes.

I love a good granola filled with yummy ingredients.  To me that means lots of coconut. Some of the best granola I've had was made in Hawaii with tropical fruits and macadamia nuts. If you are looking for something to bake for family and friends as a last minute gift, granola is grand choice. It is very versatile and can be made to suit almost any taste. The granola pictured was full of coconut ribbons, candied ginger and whole macadamia nuts. It will whisk you away to the tropics on a cold winter's day!

Here's a basic granola recipe:

Grains: 3 cups rolled oats

Nuts/Seeds: 1/2 cup sunflower seeds, 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds, 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut, 1 cup nuts (almonds, mac nuts, walnuts)

Dressing: 1/2 cup oil and 1/2 cup of brown rice syrup/maple syrup/honey

Fruit: 11/2 cups dried fruit 
(chopped pineapple, cranberries, blueberries, golden raisins, papaya, candied ginger)

Salt: Sprinkle coarse sea salt (up to 1/2 teaspoon) over the mixture before baking

Optional: flax seeds, chia seeds, coconut flakes, chocolate chips

Mix grains, nuts, and dressing in a bowl. Put mixture on baking sheet bake at 300°F for 30 minutes (stirring occasionally), cool, stir in dried fruit.  Add optional items.

Some Helpful Tips:
I like to use a mixture of coconut butter and coconut oil. It is a natural and vegan source of fat. I don't like canola oil and try not use soy-based margarine.  Also, I add the flax seeds after the granola has cooked and cooled. Cooked flax seeds basically have no Omega 3 value as heat destroys the fatty acid structure. You could process the flax seeds in a spice grinder to get more benefit from them.
This granola would be gluten-free if you buy oats labeled as gluten-free (they are processed in gluten-free facilities). You can find natural dried fruits and candied ginger without sulfites at natural food stores.
My favorite candied ginger brands are: The Ginger People and Reed's.

I like to eat my granola with unsweetened almond or hemp milk.

Have fun making granola and I recommend making double or triple as it will be a hit.  Your kids will ask why they didn't get a granola gift too.
Warm Wishes & Happy Holidays!

Cooking at Retreats

In early November,  I had the pleasure of cooking for a great group of moms at a knitting retreat in the Texas Hill Country.

All the ladies were able to sit, knit, explore the grounds, share friendly conversation and enjoy the beautiful and rustic atmosphere.  They didn't have to worry about little ones or making meals.

My friend posted some beautiful pictures about the event.  Check it out on waldorfmama's blog.
To learn more about Moriah and getting together with family and friends there, click here.

Here's what was on the menu:

Breakfast:  Handmade Cinnamon Rolls, Smoothies and Chickpea Omelettes

Lunch:  Butternut Squash Lasagna
(I even had Stuffed Butternut Squash for our gluten-free gals)
Fall Salad with Spiralized Beets, Walnuts and Blue Cheese
Vegan Cream of Broccoli & Parsnip Soup

Dinner:  Hyderbadi Biryani, Mung Dal with Cauliflower, South Indian Brussell Sprouts, and Sprouted Mung Bean Salad with Coconut

Breakfast:  Vegan Blueberry Muffins and Spinach Tofu Scramble

Some pictures are better than others.  Everyone was so ready to eat that I had barely time to compose the shots...and I was using my iPhone.

I had a wonderful time!  If you ever think of staying at Moriah with friends or family and want some great veggie meals, give me a call!  I'm already familiar with the kitchen!