HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY!

Last weekend was my son's first birthday! I cannot believe how quickly time goes by... how fast they grow! We had his party on a perfect weather weekend, at our favorite park in Salt Lake. I made chocholate and vanilla cupcakes from VCTOTW, and we just had finger foods to go with them. I made 3 dozen cupcakes, because that is how much my new cupcake carrier holds, and that was barely enough! See the pics below :)

My new cupcake carrier

3 dozen cupcakes

My sweet boy just realized everyone was signing to him!

Instead of taking the cupcake out of my hands, he decided to just dive right in!

Enjoying his very own cupcake

He got a little messy, and it was so much fun watching him eat that thing. I'm not the kind of mom that doesn't let my child eat sweets. I love sweets, why shouldn't he? He is, afterall, a child. And nothing is sweeter than his mama's milk! So it was not his first time eating a cupcake, but it is the first time I've let him feed himself a cupcake out of the sheer messiness of it!

I also love that new cupcake carrier. I saw it on HSN online, but bought it on Amazon for the free shipping. I will be using it for many, many birthdays, holidays, and every other occasion I can make an excuse to bake yummy treats!

Ethiopian food in Las Vegas

Our last stop on our way home from California was back in Las Vegas for the night. I found a little Ethiopian restaurant, Cottage Cafe, for us to try. We were even able to talk my mother-in-law and her friend into trying it out with us (they are often skeptical of what crazy foods we'll make them try next!). They were reluctant to join us, but were glad they did! I told them that eating Ethiopian food isn't just eating. It's an experience- one to share with your friends and family. On top of that, it's super cheap.

This cafe was empty when we got there, and isn't too pretty. Our waitress didn't speak English, and there were holes in the table cloths. But, the food made up for it, and the price was worth every penny. We ordered the vegetarian combo plus one other dish (I forget which one.. but it was the one that was not included with the combo), to split between the 4 of us. There was plenty of food, and we even had leftovers.. all for about $22! You can't beat that anywhere!

Oh, and by the way.. we stopped at Ronald's donuts on our way out the next morning, and stocked up on donuts for the ride home! I wish we had one of those here!

Vegan in West L.A.

On our way out of Los Angeles, I really wanted some pancakes. I was jealous of our travel-mate that went and got pancakes in the cafe below our hotel, so I researched a bit online to try to find a place were we could get some too. I found a place called The Vegan Joint in West L.A. where we could stop on our way out of town.

Finding it was really easy, just off the freeway, and on a nice little corner-street. I got what I came for- pancakes with tofu scramble, called "Cowgirl Pankcakes". Hubby was overwhelmed with all the options so he ordered pancakes, fresh spring rolls, and Pad Thai. My mother-in-law got some chicken pancakes- with fried chicken that was some of the best fake chicken I've tried. And our other travel mate that ate before we left really regretted eating so much because it was all so tasty!

Pad Thai

Chicken Pancakes

Cowgirl Pancakes

Vegan in Santa Monica

Eating vegan in Southern California is easier than any other place I've been. There were a few options within walking distance from our hotel in Santa Monica. The first one I wanted to try was Juliano's Planet Raw Cafe. I read an article in Men's Journal about Woody Harrelson, he and the interviewer went to this cafe, so I thought it would be cool to try. I liked that they mentioned something about eating desert first, and I am always curious about raw vegan food, but don't really plan on eating a raw diet at this point in my life.

I really loved the deserts here, and if I lived in this area I'd come back for them often. But the price tag was crazy-expensive! Oh, and there is also honey in some of the desserts.. and some of them are with agave nectar, so be sure to ask.

Click on the photo below for photos of our food:


That same evening hubby and I got to go out to dinner by ourselves! We choose another restaurant within walking distance called Real Food Daily. I loved this place! It was very crowded and not very big, but the food was awesome. I ordered the soup of the day, Leek and Chickpea, the TV Dinner Meal- tempeh loaf with mashed potatoes, gravy, and veggies, and Tirimisu for desert.

Click on the photo below for photos of our food:

Vegan on Catalina Island

Vegan dining on Catalina Island was much harder than I anticipated. You'd think that a hip little California town would be more veg-friendly, as they almost always are. Yet that is not the case when it comes to this island.

I did my research ahead of time to try to find a nice place to eat for our first and only night there. I found Ristorante Villa Portofino
which isn't vegetarian, but I figured since the Chef also works for Vegetarian Times that the place should at least be veg-friendly. Well, I was wrong, as everything we ordered came back with cheese on it, even though we ordered everything without cheese. I'm not sure if that was just the fault of our terrible waiter, or the restaurant itself. The menu item we ordered, the Funghi Portobello, also looked like it should be vegan as well. And did you look at that price? $17.00 for the dish you see below! Hubby and I shared it.

The next day we hung out at the Casino, where all the Scuba diving happens. We stopped at a little beach side burger place to see if they had anything, and surprisingly they had a few veggie items on the menu. Their beans are lard-free and cooked fresh everyday. We ordered a plate of nachos- minus the cheese and sour cream, and a veggie sandwich- minus the mayo. It was all tasty, and satisfying for what it was.



So, if you are planning a trip to Catalina, you can get by as a vegan. There are plenty of pizza places you can order a veggie cheeseless pizza, but there is not much else. I'm sure we'll be going back someday, since hubby is an avid scuba diver, and next time maybe there will be something vegan at the Mediterranean spot we saw on our way out.

Vegan Donuts in Las Vegas

On our way to California, I had to make a stop at Ronald's Donuts... it was so worth the trip! These donuts are not healthy. But, they are vegan. I started out with a vegan cream filled/chocolate covered that was my favorite of all the ones I tried. I didn't choose all the donuts in our box, if I would have there would be less apple filled ones (not much of an apple filling fan).


The top two shelves in the shop are all vegan. The bottom shelve is not, but all of those are the cake-type. There is every flavor you can imagine; glazed, sugared, bear claws, cinnamon twists, maple bars, jelly filled....


I've never tried the other ones that vegans rave about.. but these are the real deal!

Almost Raw "Almond Joy" Tasting Bars

I got a pound of dried dates from my co-op and had no idea what to do with them. After a small amount of research, I found out that they make good raw food bars. So, I created these tasty, and rich ones that ended up tasting just like almond joy candy bars.. only vegan... and healthy.

1 lb dried dates
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup chopped almonds
2 Tbs Cocoa powder

In a food processor combine all ingredients until everything starts to stick together looks like dough. Press into a bread pan, and chill in the fridge to set.

I love that these are so sweet, but with no added sugar. These are sure to impress your whole family, and are super easy to make!


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By the way, we are leaving for vacation to Southern California all this week. Hopefully I'll be able to find some yummy veggie restaurants to showcase on my blog. I know it's been a while since my last post, but now that school is out things should be back to normal!