Vegetarian Family

A Peek @ Food We Eat & Things We Do!

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Happy Father's Day!

I'm a proponent of beginning with dessert, and I'm so pleased to begin with 'Coconut Heaven Cupcakes' from Vegan with a Vengeance. These are easily the best cupcakes I've ever made (vegan & non), and possibly the best I've ever eaten. They are dense coconut cupcakes topped off with fluffy coconut icing. I used coconut extract instead of vanilla in the cakes & icing, let's do organic coconut, and topped them with a blueberry for color. The recipe should really come with a warning label for dieters "You can't eat just one". I'm telling ya...these are so delicious, and if you like coconut, you will LOVE these cupcakes.

Olivia painted a picture for Art. She said it had a yellow and a blue sun. She made finger prints all over and fingerpainted a bird. We only had blue, yellow, & red ~ and she mixed to also have orange, green, & purple. Every year, I pick out a new bedtime story and write Happy Father's Day & the year with a Sharpie. This year, I picked up, "What Am I?" It's a really cute animal guessing game book. Speaking of guessing games.....read on.



While she painted, I made 'Banana Bread' from "The Vegan Family Cookbook", which touts that this will be the best banana bread you will ever have! It is really good. Among other ingredients, this recipe call for egg replacer, 2 very ripe bananas, soy milk, & silken tofu. The bread also fills the house with a wonderful aroma, and I think this loaf would have gotten more attention if it weren't for the coconut cupcakes! (the only downside of beginning with dessert)


A guessing game: What vegetable do you think this is? Hints: It has thick skin, golden roots with purple shoulders. They are carrot-sweet and slightly peppery, with a golden flesh that tastes like a cross between a turnip and a yellow-fleshed sweet potato. Here is the mystery vegetable after being peeled, cubed and boiled. Below, you'll see it mashed with soybean margarine & sea salt. Comment on your mystery veggie guess & I'll comment back later with the answer.



I had a lot of fun cooking Art's Father's Day dinner. I began cleaning the collard greens by cutting out the spine, folding the leaf in half, & cutting into strips. I put the collard greens into a large pot, covered with water, added some sea salt, & brought to a boil, reducing the heat for an hour. Then, I changed the water, added some onion & soybean margarine and brought to a boil again. In a skillet, I browned each side of the Veats Bites, then added some Island Teriyaki sauce by Soy Vay along with some fresh green beans and a half can of pineapple ~ & let that simmer together. On the plate you see: a dual bed of mashed mystery vegetable and jasmine rice, topped with collard greens and veats bites & a thick tomato slice. Art called this 'Soul Food' and said it was the best meal I've made him. Wow! Happy Father's Day.

16 Comments:

Blogger Tanya Kristine said...

i think that looks just lovely.

and CURSES!!! you make me want to make the cupcakes now! cuuurrseesssss!!!

10:36 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I always see that recipe for cupcakes and just haven't made them yet. I'm happy to hear a good review of them....now I'll be more likely to try them soon!

12:38 PM  
Blogger Crystal said...

My guess is a rutabaga...although I'm not sure about the golden roots part. Truth be told, I've never had a rutabaga. Oh well, had to guess at least!

-Crystal

P.S. - I'll have to try those cupcakes. I'm trying the Tempeh Reuben tonight from VwaV.

12:38 PM  
Blogger jess (of Get Sconed!) said...

Fresh fresh goodness!

I held off on those cupcakes for nearly a year, as I'm a pre-vegan fluffy coconut layer cake lover, but my sister and I made them into a cake for birthday and it was fabulous. I want to try them with cocoa powder too.

How are the Veat bites? Speaking of Soy Vay sauce I have plans for mine tonight : )

1:48 PM  
Blogger jess (of Get Sconed!) said...

That is so sweet - "the best meal I've ever made him"
Compliments like that make me melt.

1:49 PM  
Blogger urban vegan said...

need. cupcakes. NOW!
Olivia is a cutie. Love her abstract work--she's a visionary.

2:16 PM  
Blogger Eat Peace Please said...

Everything looks so tasty Vicki (of course, the cupcakes the most).

As for Olivia's fingerpainting, the whole time I was reading about it, I kept thinking of the song "Scarlet Begonias" the line where it says "...the sky was yellow and the sun was blue...". I love that song!

3:30 PM  
Blogger Art Hodge said...

I must chime in to say that this meal was truly outstanding, from the cupcakes to the collard greens. I never had rutabega, and I don't know how to spell it, but it was some good shiz.

4:17 PM  
Blogger Dori said...

Thanks for the answer Art... rhutbaga?! I've never grown this one because they get planted in the fall here, winter over and are ready in the spring.

4:54 PM  
Blogger KleoPatra said...

Olivia the artiste! Lookin' good, kiddo. Very sweet photo of your little one doin' her thing. I gushed with joy looking at her focus on the task at hand. I am a "sucker" for kids' art, you should know!

Way to start out with cupcakes! Dreamy cupcakes, might I add? They look like puffy clouds with a berry on top. Sweet. I love coconut and I for sure would have to have a couple of these guys!!

Banana bread.... mmmmmmmmmmmmm! I would dig a piece of this... probably two pieces!

I have no clue what that veggie is... maybe jicama!? Or are the above post-ers correct about rutabega?

I can't find Veat here in SoCal, maybe i need to search harder... You know I looooove Soy Vey, the delish dressing started by Humboldt State grads... YUMMY! I love that Art appreciated your effort and told you so. GOOD ONE! It makes the effort so much more worthwhile. Soul food indeed. And in deed.

:o) You go, Vicki!

6:27 PM  
Blogger funwithyourfood said...

woo hoo a game

I'm going to guess rutabaga too

:)

8:25 PM  
Blogger Art Hodge said...

Veats bites are available at many Ralph's, Vons, and Albertson's in SoCal.

8:33 PM  
Blogger Carrieā„¢ said...

When I first saw your picture, I thought "that looks like turnip", but then you said a cross between turnip and sweet potato. Hmmmm, then I remembered - aha! What you call rutabagas, we call turnips. What you call turnips, we call white turnips. So...yes. That's my guess too. (also called neeps if you have it with haggis *wink*). My mom loves to cook it and mash it with loads of marg and salt and pepper.
I saw that recipes for those coconut cupcakes. You told me once already to make them, so I guess I'm going to have to. Sure, twist my arm..... :o)

10:28 PM  
Blogger MeloMeals said...

Your daughter is adorable... she looks very focused on her project.

I have to try those cupcakes.. I have the cookbook..

1:09 PM  
Blogger Regina said...

Those cupcakes are making my mouth water. Yummmmmm.

Olivia looks like the budding artist. Love those fingerpaint art sessions with the kids -the cleaning up- not so much.

I'm guessing you made rudabaga too. Your dinner looks fab! I've tried the Veats before- it's pretty tasty.

1:40 PM  
Blogger Kuntal Joisher said...

everything looks absolutely delish and healthy too!! yummm!!

10:08 AM  

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