Shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day

March is upon us, and with it, St. Patrick's Day! To celebrate, I decided to make some treats that would put me in the spirit, and also maybe make me feel a little bit more Irish. Honestly, my lineage is sort of foggy in some ways, and for all I know I might be Irish. Everybody's Irish on St. Patrick's Day, right?

Mint & Chocolate Shamrock Cookies

I started off with a basic veganized Spritz cookie recipe, because I wanted to try out my new cookie press. I added green food coloring and peppermint extract to the batter, and used the shape that looked most like a four-leaf clover. To add to the deliciousness, I turned them in to sandwich cookies by melting chocolate and using it as a filling. To finish it off, I added a bit of edible green sparkles for shine! 

Stack o' Shamrocks

 

Close-up of the shine!

The cookies tasted like a minty version Peppridge Farm Milano Cookie, and they were really fun to make! Do you like to make any food to celebrate St. Patrick's Day? I myself, am also hoping to make some Irish Soda Bread, cabbage, and potatoes. Yum!

Pizza Fusion in Hollywood

I have to say, one of the best perks about living in a big city like L.A. is all the amazing vegan options that are available. Luckily, though, there are restaurants with vegan options popping up all over the country! One such establishment I've recently visited is Pizza Fusion in Hollywood. Pizza Fusion has locations all over the country, offering a wide variety of vegan and gluten-free options. They even have a vegan and gluten-free dessert! As an extra bonus, Pizza Fusion is an environmentally conscious company that uses eco-friendly business practices and features an entirely organic menu.

The Fiancé and I visited Pizza Fusion a few weeks ago, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Here are some of the yummies we devoured.

Organic and vegan Hefeweisen

I started off with a nice cold beer, and it was hard to choose which one to order. They offer a big selection of organic and vegan beers and wines, and everything is labeled clearly so there's no confusion. 

Fusion Salad with Goddess Dressing

Next, to balance the heavy pizza we were planning to devour, we enjoyed the Fusion Salad with Goddess Dressing. I expected it to be Annie's Goddess Dressing, which I'm very fond of, but Pizza Fusion has their own recipe. It's absolutely delicious! This salad may have been my favorite part.

Large Very Vegan Pizza with Gluten-Free Crust and Daiya Cheese

As our entrée, Fiancé and I shared a large Very Vegan Pizza. We went with the gluten-free crust option, which was nice and crisp, and chose our very favorite vegan cheese: Daiya. The Very Vegan comes with two of my favorite toppings: mushrooms and garlic. Delicious!

Fresh Homemade Brownie with Coconut Ice Cream

Finally, since we were feeling a little bit decadent, we decided to order dessert. The obvious choice was the vegan and gluten-free brownie, with a side of coconut ice cream. Not only did it look beautiful, but it was rich and had a great consistency. It was the perfect end to our meal!

I really enjoyed our visit to Pizza Fusion, and I'm sure we'll be back again soon. They also offer local delivery in their eco-friendly hybrid vehicles! Check out their website to learn more about Pizza Fusion, and to see if there's a restaurant near you.

P.S. Apologies for the iPhone photos, sometimes I get stuck without my camera! I'll do better next time. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope everyone is enjoying a lovely Valentine's Day today. I'm feeling pretty festive myself, and am looking forward to having a quiet dinner with the fiancé this evening. In case you need a little Valentine's inspiration, here is a little something sweet to help you out: homemade chocolate truffles!

I made these little yummies last year for Valentine's Day, and they were positively decadent! They're easy and fun to make, too. You can find the recipe on my old blog, here.

What sort of deliciousness do you have planned this Valentine's Day?

Cupcakes Available For Purchase!

Great news: Cookies and Cream Cupcakes are now available for purchase in the Etsy Shop!

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes, $14 for six

After much thought and consideration, I've decided to make these yummies available to vegans across the United States. Obviously, it's not easy to ship a frosted cupcake. They'll be shipped unfrosted with a container of frosting on the side, so you can apply it yourself. Think of all the fun and creative possibilities! In the future, I'd like to offer cupcake kits that will include a variety of different decorations for you to play with. So keep your eyes open for that.

For now, check out my cupcake trial run. If all goes well, there will be many different flavors for you to choose from in no time!

New Photographs

One of my goals for the beginning of this year is to re-photograph quite few of my items. Now that I've invested in a quality camera, I can get better, more detailed images of the treats so you can see them in their full glory. I began with two of my top sellers, Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies and Oatmeal Walnut Cookies (formerly called "Autumn Oatmeal Cookies"). Here are the results!

Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oatmeal Walnut Cookies

 

Oatmeal Walnut Cookies

So far, I'm pleased with my results! Next weekend, I'm hoping to tackle a few more. Soon, I'll have a shop full of pretty pictures. I can't wait!

Cupcakes Upon Cupcakes!

Over the weekend, the fiancé and I attended a wonderful family party to celebrate his grandparents' 56th wedding anniversary and a housewarming for his cousins. To help celebrate, we decided to bring along some cupcakes. I made two dozen, as there would be a pretty big group. For the first dozen, I made the Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting, as they've been so popular lately (plus, they're seasonally appropriate). For the second dozen I wanted to try something new. I had been thinking about making a cookies n' creme cupcake for a long time, and thought this would be a great opportunity. Then of course, I realized that there's a recipe for the same thing in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World. So much for originality. I went for it anyway, and stole Isa and Terry's idea of cutting an Oreo in half as a garnish for the top. They turned out so yummy!

The box of all 24 cupcakes

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting and a candied pecan

 

Cookies N' Creme Cupcakes with crushed cookies in the batter & frosting

I got a few new oversized pastry tips at Surfas Kitchen Supply, and I'm really happy with how they worked out. It took me a little while to get the hang of it (you can see a few cuppies that are a little lopsided), but once I did I started getting great results. Also, I'm glad I made two dozen, because almost all of them were eaten! So all in all, grand cupcake success!

Monsieur Marcel Gourmet Market

Recently I took a long, leisurely visit to the very famous Farmer's Market on Third and Fairfax here in Los Angeles with my dear friend, Martina. We spent an afternoon there, and ate until we could eat no more (more on that later). We also visited Monsieur Marcel, a beautiful little gourmet food shop tucked in to the southeast corner of the market. While the shop features many non-vegan items, they also carry a treasure trove of vegan delights! This is a must-visit for anyone who is passionate about cooking.

The shelves are stocked with beautiful bottles, tins, and packages, and everything is just so pretty! I couldn't help but take a bunch of photos. Here are some of my favorites.

The view upon entering Monsieur Marcel. Check out those barrels of olives!

The aisles are stocked with beautiful items. I want that clay pot. 

They have a huge selection of tea, all beautifully packaged.

Beautiful vintage-style seasoning tins.

These marinated leeks look scrumptious! 

This Missoni-styled Pellegrino bottle made me smile.

This beautiful pasta was colored using all natural ingredients, like fruits and veggies.
I was impressed that such vibrant colors could be produced naturally!

There were so many beautiful shapes and colors available.

The wine "cellar," with a wide selection of domestic and foreign wines.

This one made me laugh. Really? Gaga?

Aren't these chocolate wrappers lovely? I want to wallpaper my house in these patterns.

Surprise! They're vegan too. What a nice ingredient list.

This was a really special treat that I haven't had since living back East.

They're made of 100% maple syrup! Can't argue with that. 

We wound up purchasing a Mast Brothers chocolate bar (how could we pass up artisan chocolate inside such a gorgeous package?), the maple candy, and a bottle of truffle oil that I didn't get a photo of. We shared the chocolate later that day, and it was delicious. We had the sea salt and almond flavor, and it was just decadent. I brought the maple candy to my future mother-in-law who loved it. I had a piece, too, and it was so good. Just like I remember it! And of course, the truffle oil is amazing. All in all, a fruitful trip!

If you haven't visited Monsieur Marcel, I highly recommend a visit, even if you just go to drool over the merchandise. Se magnifíc!