"twix" bars

One of my twitter buddies posted a link to a recipe for veganized twix bars a few days ago. I've been thinking about them ever since. Today, I attempted to make them, with limited success. At least they taste good. But, I think the effort to make them outweighs the result. This may be the only time I ever make these.


I struggled to get the shortbread to roll out properly.



Though the recipe suggests scoring the dough, I cut the squares into "fun-sized" pieces.



the squares, spread with caramel right before I popped them into the freezer.



the finished result.



after I bit into the bar, you can see the chocolate layer and the caramel underneath.

dinner at a Santa Cruz taqueria

We took our niece to Santa Cruz, for a fun beach outing. As there was nothing too vegan-friendly on the boardwalk, we stopped at this local taqueria and had a very good vegan meal. I ordered a taco plate which was larger than I thought it would be and slathered in creamy guacamole.

pizza pizza!

Mark, my talented hubby, baked these pizzas from scratch (that includes the dough & sauce). The result was delicious. I particularly enjoyed the addition of jalapeno pepper instead of bell pepper. It gave the pizza a nice kick.


a pizza waiting to be baked.



the first result, before I ate half of it.


the last pizza, with slivers of jalapeno pepper.

VF vegan bake swap 3/09

I've been in a funk this year & baking has not been one of the things I've been wanting to do. However, I did sign up to be in the VF bake swap and the deadline was looming. So, I was inspired to bake 3 items for my recipient. These two recipes, from La Dolce Vegan, are ones I had never used before and was happy with the results. The other item was my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe, which I've posted on here before.


Cinnamon Doughnut Holes, still cooling & before I glazed them.



Wolffie's Chocolate-y Moist Brownies, prior to the drizzling of chocolate ganache.

bakery cupcakes

We had a vegan meetup at the end of February 2009. Martha brought these cupcakes from a bakery in Santa Cruz and we all decided they looked like boobs. I snapped this pic of Joe's hands about to grab some cupcake (it was funny, at the time). The cupcakes were tasty, if a bit dry. I think I'm spoiled by my own baking.

chocolate babka

In my search for a veganized brioche recipe, I found this chocolate babka recipe. Mark baked these and the result was delicious.


babka, in two sizes.

a cruelty-free thanksgiving (2008)

Since it was just Mark & I celebrating the holiday this year, we toned it down and kept just the essentials.




the pecan pie, fresh from the oven.


our simple meal of Field Roast, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and veggies.



this year, there was no Soyatoo or Hip Whip to be found, so we had our pecan pie with a scoop of vanilla rice cream. It was yummy.

bite-sized cinnamon rolls

Mark likes to tweak this recipe nearly every time he bakes them. This time, he was inspired by a work potluck to make the cinnamon rolls smaller. Now, this is our preferred way to bake them.


proofing the cinnamon rolls, before they go into the oven.



the finished result: with "cream cheese" frosting, caramel, and pecans.

peanut butter chocolate heavencakes

a from VCTOTW, using the Basic Chocolate Cupcake recipe & adding a peanut butter cream and chocolate ganache frosting. I've never made a dessert that required piping the filling in and it showed. Next time, be more aggressive with filling.



filling the cupcake.


topping the cupcake with ganache.