Countdown to VegFest is on! Plus Some Grub...

Who is super pumped for VegFest on May 1st? Me! Me! Me! It's been almost a month since my Cupcake Party and I can't WAIT for the day that I can enter my creation. When they indicated that a preliminary round would not be necessary, I was so happy...not just because I felt that there weren't hundreds of competitors, but also because 6:30pm (the slated time of the potluck where said round would take place) is the equivalent of hell in this house. It would have been disaster. Anyways, I was so smug until I got an e-mail from the organizers indicating that there would be a preliminary round after all the day of the contest! Yikes! Must remain positive...I just am trying to write a big long post about my trials and tribulations with the major mystery ingredient of my cuppie...although I fear that come May 2nd I'll forget everything...

Similar to this post - I haven't had a chance to get on the PC and when I do to write up a post, I look at the pics and for the life of me, cannot remember what stuff is. Like this - I stared and stared and FINALLY realized it's one of my new fave dishes! From 1000 Vegan Recipes by Robin Robertson Chinese Noodles with Black Bean Sauce. I think that's the title and am too far away from the cookbook right now. I toss in some edamame for added protein. So yummy! I added tri-colour chopped peppers since I have them for Ash to add like 'sprinkles' (likely due to my recent cupcake obsession).



This next treat was a mild disappointment...I came across one of Isa's blogposts from eons ago about a Raw Cheezecake. For forever, I have tried to mimic a childhood recipe from a kid's Better Home and Gardens cookbook - something like Be My Valentine Pie. It was made with gross Jello and soft ice cream in a cookie crumb shell. I liked it as a kid, and have tried re-creating it with vegan Jello and ice cream, but with no such luck. Reading the ingredients I was hopeful. But the darn thing just didn't set - I had read through the comments and it seemed like it either turned out great or not, and I so hoped I would be in the success group :( I even omitted adding water to combat my fear! But alas, it was a soggy mess. I had to keep it in the freezer. I will definitely try this again during strawberry picking season as the berries will be more plentiful then and I won't feel so badly for using up a ton of expensive raw cashews on top of it.



But this recipe of Isa's was a hit! Pasta De Los Angeles or something like that...with the black beans and cilantro and salsa-like sauce, it reminded me of the sweet potato and black bean enchiladas from Vegan Planet but just with pasta instead. Yum!



Always looking for snack stuff, I was drawn to a recipe on my PC Toasted O's cereal box for Honey Butter Crunch. Now the name alone is totally not suitable for vegans but it's pretty easy to make subs:

1/2 cup melted Earth Balance
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/2 tsp vanilla
4 cups toasted o's
1 bag plain microwave popcorn, popped
1 cup almonds

Mix wet ingredients. Add dry and stir. Place on parchment lined cookie sheet and bake at 250 degrees for 45 minutes.

Not sure if I should have reduced the agave a little or upped the oven temp or cook longer, but this stuff was soggy but good. I don't think I'll make it again since you have to wait way too long for your snack. I prefer popping corn, then pouring melted coconut oil and chocolate chips on top and enjoying right then and there. Maybe I'll just add some almonds for a healthy boost to make me feel better!