A very Special Vegan Birthday

 

Great friend always make it special

 

Hello! I've been very busy and I also just took a road trip to Chicago to celebrate our youngest son's 30th birthday.  I've heard so many people say "where did the time go"?  Well, WHERE DID THE TIME GO????? 

He's an amazing young man. Sacha is quite empathetic, kind and a wonderful son.  We had such a fantastic time.  He also has an amazing close circle of friends, many of them vegan. It was so lovely spending time with them. Special thanks for son Joe and son-in-law Don for making the trek with me.

I made an entire vegan birthday dinner, including his cake and everyone (whether vegan or not) loved it!  That's my point about vegan food.  Clean organic meat free food can be beyond delicious, if you know how to make it.  Unfortunately, I've seen (and tasted) vegan recipes that where so bad, I'd rather eat the plate instead of the food on it.  It is because of this that I decided to see just how good I could make vegan food taste.  Believe me, I've come up with some real losers over the years, but I kept persisting and eventually I learned what flavors and textures went well together.

As a healthy food blogger, I try to make recipes for everyone no matter where they are on their plant based journey.  If you go back and look at some of my past recipes, you'll see I offer  alternatives so you can ease into a healthier diet.  Remember, I don't recommend going overboard and jumping from A to Z if you're cooking for yourself.  (I was going to say "whole hog" or "cold turkey" but both in this case were SO inappropriate)
 Get recommendations before you venture out to new restaurants. In the beginning I actually put a bottle of hot sauce in my purse because it minimized a number of "food sins". Do not be timid about asking how a dish is made.

Yup, me cutting veggies in my pj's

  

 

 

Sacha rolling pie dough

 

Now, on to the menu!

 Baked Rigatoni  topped with eggplant and melted Daiya mozzarella shreds.
Italian blend salad with Roma tomatoes and my signature dressing.
Garlic bread with vegan butter.*
Lemon coconut cake with lemon glaze, lemon curd and fruit compote and coconut whip cream
"Damn  fine" cherry pie (Sacha's request)
Coffee Bar

Moroccan hummus with pita chips*
For an appetizer as quests arrived, I broke the Italian theme and served Moroccan hummus with pita chips.  I always tell people that this is hummus for people who HATE hummus.
I promise to include in my next post the recipes that are not included on the blog that
 past blogs.

 * recipe below  

 

                                     Moroccan Hummus

(the easy way}

Plain hummus  (you're always welcome to make your own, or use your favorite ontainer

 Moroccan Sauce.  (I recommend Robert's Reserve, well worth sending for at HEB.com)   This is a spicy sauce, so start out with a couple of tablespoons at first. 

Thinly sliced scallions (3 tablespoons or more)

Finely chopped cilantro (2 tablespoons or more...in my case, about 2 cups, lol)

Notice, (of course you did) that there are suggested amounts because everyone like these ingredients in different amounts.

Combine ingredients. 
 Garnish top with a small swirl of sauce, scallions and sprig of cilantro.
Refrigerate until ready to serve. You can make this the night before and garnish right before serving.


The following recipes are on my blog:
Roasting peppers and tomatoes.....Sept. 7, 2018
Roasted vegetable pasta sauce.....Feb.25, 2018

Garlic Bread

Ciabatta bread (or other similar vegan bread) bread split open
1/3 c melted vegan butter (I like Earth Balance)
1 clove finely chopped garlic (I grate the garlic)
1/2 tsp. whole grain mustard (You heard that right...trust me)

Combine the butter, garlic and mustard in a small bowl.  Brush on bread and put in the oven until top is browned.
So simple. So delicious. 




Until next time, happy plant based eating!