ok, so let's be clear here. my birthday, for me, is not about the presents, the "loot" or the giftcards. my birthday is about hosting some sort of event where i can cook a lot of (probably too much) food, get all stressed out the day before, have everything be fine, all the food get eaten, and then get drunk.
yesterday's memorial day/b-day bbq/potluck/kegger proved to be rather foodielicious as i made the following:
+chorizo sausages from vegan brunch (by way of julie hasson)
+black bean burgers from veganomicon
+seitan with backyard bbq sauce from veganomicon
+jello shots with vegan jello available at whole foods for $1.29 a box. who knew?!
+vegan
coffee ice cream served a la mode atop
the best damn vegan brownies ever, all from
a vegan ice cream paradise, a newly discovered vegan ice cream recipe blog
--i'm going to be honest, because we're not perfect here at vegan royale, and say that my vegan ice cream attempts were not so successful. i believe some steps were, ahem, mis-executed, and we got more of a coffee ice cream slushy than actually ice cream. i'm going to give it another go while the ice cream maker is in our possession. (props to elisha for letting us borrow this awesome appliance!)
in addition, potluckers brought: ryan's famous potato salad with pickled onions and cucumber, more black bean burgers and brownies (i'm ok with repeats!), corn, TONS of grillables - dogs, burgers, etc. (the gracious hosts, i.e. my housemates and i even let some of our friends grill bbq chicken, because we're not fascist vegans. however, the grill was thoroughly scraped clean before more vegan goodness went back on), SEVEN LAYER DIP (can i name all seven? refried beans, tofu sour cream, guacamole, corn, fresh salsa, cilantro - hint, it's not actually seven layers, the maker tells me), fresh guacamole, more beer and watermelon!
some shots of the table and its wondrous offerings:
hammy's 7 layer dip
seitan skewers
ry's potato salad
karina's guac
the table!
i think i would call it "a successful barbeque". the keg was finished, the food was demolished (i didn't even get a bbq seitan skewer! luckily though, i snagged a snausage and a black bean burger before those went). only one person got trapped in the downstairs bathroom with the broken doorknob, the house wasn't trashed, everyone left by midnight and the housies and i had a mini dance party and then watched
super troopers. NOT TOO SHABBY!
plus, ok, i did get some sweet presents:
cutie pie kitchen timer
vegan cupcakes and a vegan cake from my coworkers!:
a-dang-dorable green bean button and a shirt with patch:
a future dinner date with/from my sis (should we go
here,
here or
here?)
border's giftcards! who doesn't love buying books?
a batch of banana-chocolate chip cupcakes with peanut butter icing:
can't wait to do it all again next year!
love,
lauren
last night i had the privilege of attending a pumpkin party with my dear friend anabell. her whole foods pals were throwing an autumnal themed party and she invited me along knowing my love of food, parties and themes! fancy cheese platter aside, the drinks, soups and dessert were vegan friendly and certainly delicious. cobwebs adorned the walls, the birds played on the television and the fog machine...fogged all night long.
the root veggie soup was hearty and filling made with turnips, potatoes, tomatoes, leeks, carrots, celery and beets. optional garnishes included toasted walnuts, scallions and goat cheese!
a bowl of pomegranate seeds on the table made for a light sweet snack and a bowl of pumpkin chocolate chip bars made for a not so light but decadent sweet dessert. candy corn flavored soda was passed around the in the tiniest, cutest little 8 oz cans!
(jones "candy corn" flavored soda!)
throw a scarf around my neck and call me cozy, because i sure do love autumn.
love,
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