Just a quick one - bake sale, trivia night FUN

Hey all! I'm finally over my cold. started working out last week, getting back in the groove of things and BAM! I woke up to massive shoulder/arm pain this past Sunday. will it ever end? I'm sure it will, but right now, I'm taking drugs at night, icing throughout the day and whining like a baby to Andy. It does feel slightly better, so I'm hoping I'm good for this weekend.

side note: I had to turn off anonymous commenting because some stupidheads are making lame-o viagra/spammy type comments. I tried comment moderation, but it's not worth wading through all that junk.

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Here is a calendar of some of the things I'll be up to, that y'all could be up to too.

Vegfest shift: Sunday, April 11th: volunteering at Vegfest for their AM shift w/ Andrea. Then in the afternoon at the NARN table for an hour or so. vegfest is also on Saturday. if you go, stop by the NARN table and check it out!

In prep for the NARN table, I put a ton of Why Vegans inside seattle vegan restaurant guides. How, w/ my shoulder issue? By very carefully laying down in my la-z-y boy only using my left hand. w/ my right arm imobilized.

Chocolate Shoe Box: Saturday, April 17th from 11 am - 2 pm. The grand opening of one of my awesome friend's vegan shoe and chocolate store in Seattle, The Chocolate Shoe Box. Woohoo!

Vegan Bake Sale: Saturday April 24th: I'm coordinating another vegan bake sale at Sidecar for the Pigs Peace Sanctuary. If you want to bake (I'll send good karma your way - well even if you don't, I will send it), please email me: seattlebakesale [at] hotmail [dot] com.

This is part of the worldwide vegan bake sale. If you're not in Seattle, check out their site, and see if there is a sale near you.

Sidecar

5270 B University Way NE, Seattle
Both Sat & Sun 1 - 8 PM

Here's the poster I designed. And yes, the food pics are things I've made ;).

NARN Trivia Night: Saturday May 22nd: I'm coordinating a Trivia Night fundraiser for NARN. Should be a blast! I'll even be reading a round of trivia :). In case you didn't already know it, NARN is Seattle's animal rights org and they do awesome things like vegan outreach, protesting, and many other things to support the animals/raise awareness. Trivia night starts at 8 PM. Click here for more info & to RSVP.

Another one of my creations. Somehow my posters have a certain vibe to them.
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There are many more fun NARN fundraising events that I'll be working on this year. stay tuned. I'll also be doing other events w/ them. Come check them out, you'll be glad you did. Their event calendar has tons of things on it, something for everyone. If you're shy and want a buddy to hang w/ let me know and we can go together.

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I have no idea why I waited so long to try Vegan w/ a Vengeance's Phad Thai recipe. It's spot on! And fast! Since it's just the 2 of us, I prep for a full batch, cook 1/2 one night, then the other 1/2 the second night. they are not kidding when they say you have to make a full batch in 2 wok sessions. It makes a mountain of phad thai deliciousness.

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Here's the obligatory cat pic section. Yeah, I know some of you skip all the blathering and scroll straight to the cat/Kobie pix. feelings not hurt :).

Who is more demented? The groomer, the groomees or the photographer? Tubs is styling because he can groom both worms (Peepa, The Judge) at once. Yes, part of his grooming is to "nibble" on their dirty ears (pic 2 & 3).

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PS. I've had all the typing my shoulder can take tonight. I'll be a checking your blogs out tomorrow and Friday. gotta limit myself, sadly.

Bake sale success!

The bake sale was a huge success. As a result, I'm completely tired today. Zero desire to do anything, and I have lots to do :( Enough whining, because I'm sure you want details on the sale.

I met a fellow blogger! Tofu Mom and her boyfriend made an appearance and we talked about things like making barbie cakes. Tofu Mom, I've confirmed what I already knew from reading your blog, you're awesome!

There were 28 different kinds of baked goods at the sale, 554 items in total. I bought a bunch of them, but I missed out on a few kinds because I was too caught up in the logistics of the sale.

Baked goods kept rolling in throughout the day, so what you could buy at any given hour would change.

Here is some of what I bought (Andy & I are still working our way through them). The cookies at the bottom right are mojito cookies and they are refreshingly minty and surprisingly mojito-y -- I loved them!

Here is what I made.

I used mostly eco friendly containers. Bagasse paper containers for the baklava and cupcakes. Natural Value waxed paper bags for the scones. I say mostly eco because the baklava needed an aluminum foil liner because it's so sticky and I didn't trust the bagasse container.

Cheddar Cheezly Scones using Bittersweet's delicious recipe. I actually made them twice for a total of 4.5 batches. They went quickly.

Cookies 'n Creme Cupcakes from where else but Vegan Cupcake Take Over the World. I sold them w/ 2 Newman O's so people could scrape frosting off the cupcake. My real motivation for that was to make sure there weren't lots of Newman O's lying around at home for me to eat.

Persian Baklava from a PCC Cooks class recipe.

More pics of the sale can be found here. The pic of the PB Insider eater is Sidecar's manager.

Now do you know why I'm tired? Two days of bake saleing is hard work.

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Random summer fruits.

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The new foster dog is here! Her name is Diana and she has tons of puppy energy because she is only 7 months old.

It's really hard to take a picture of a white dog on a super sunny day, so you can just barely see that she has super fuzzy wispy fur. That's because she is a longdog, which is a cross between 2 types of sighthound. In this case part greyhound. The things you learn while fostering dogs.

Aside from that, she is like any other dog I have fostered - loves to lick my face, likes to steal cat poop and cat food (though hopefully not before licking me), is way too interested in Kobie, and has lots of energy. I have found a way to keep her occupied and that's by giving her a Snook's dried sweet potato treat. It takes her hours to eat it.

Around here, a cat is always watching. This time it's only 2 - Chippy and The Judge.

Worldwide vegan bake sale & some restaurant reviews

I'm coordinating the Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale in Seattle this weekend. If you're not in Seattle, check out their site because the sale is happening all over the globe. Here are the specifics of the Seattle sale:

Where: Sidecar for Pigs Peace
5270 B University Way NE, Seattle

When: June 20 & 21 -- 1PM - 4PM each day

Why: To raise funds for the Pigs Peace Sanctuary by stuffing yourself w/ tasty vegan treats.

There are lots of bakers baking many delicious treats, so please stop by and grab something. I'll be making baklava and some other stuff. Hells yeah!

All proceeds go to the Pigs Peace Sanctuary. Here is some info that I gleaned from their site, but really you should look at their site and check out the cute pig pics.

Pigs Peace Sanctuary is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to providing a safe home for unwanted, abused or neglected animals in need and is committed to spreading the message of compassion and respect for all animals.


Questions about the sale? email seattlebakesale@hotmail.com


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NARN Bingo was lots of fun. David, the guy reading numbers, had me laughing the whole time. I'll post the pics of what I made for 2 of the prizes soon-ish. you know me :)

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Eastsiders, I am one of you! There isn't a lot in the way of exciting vegan food on the eastside, but there are a few spots. Preets is one of them. It's a veg indian restaurant located in downtown Redmond and it has lots of vegan options. They give just the right amount of food so you leave satisfied, but not uncomfortably stuffed. Though leftovers aren't an issue as long as I remember my tupperware.

Cauliflower Pakoras, mostly eaten because as usual, I forgot to take a picture at the beginning.

Their samosas are really really good.Clockwise from the top. Corn flat bread hiding underneath a roti (be sure to specify no ghee), Aloo Gobi (potatoes and cauliflower), Sagwala (spinach), Carrot Pickles/Onion/Jalapeno, and Rice.

Note that you have to order the rice separately, not a huge deal, but annoying to have to order after the fact.

The carrot pickles are so good and I always eat my jalapeno. Plus if you go w/ Andy, you get his pickles :). Did that sound dirty?
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I went to Squid & Ink in Seattle a while back. There were some hits and misses (fries & frosting) here, but overall, it's worth going back again.

Fish & Chips. The breaded tofu fish was really good. The fries were not good, they were very firm on the inside and greasy (but not crunchy) on the outside - maybe the oil wasn't hot enough? I would like to give their fries a second chance at some point.
Monte Cristo. This was really good, but I was expecting the more traditional version where it is assembled, dipped in batter, then fried as one cohesive block of a sandwich. Then sprinkled w/ powdered sugar, and served w/ strawberry jam.

Carrot Ginger soup was good.
Clouds and hearts cake. This was very fancy looking. The inside of the cake was good, it reminded me of a firm, yet delicate wedding cake texture. The frosting wasn't very sweet, sort of like that grocery store crisco like frosting.

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The Judge was rolling around in the dried up grass clippings left behind by the trimmer. He doesn't mind getting dirty. Hmmmm...

They see him rollin', they hatin', patrollin', they catch The judge ridin' dirty. Hey, Sal, hopefully you get that song stuck in your head. It's in mine now.

The Judge is serenading all dino style. Just look at that neck stretch as he eats some triassic vines (ok, fine, it's me holding up some grass). Don't be messing w/ those dino teeth!

Now, I'm completely hungry. Time for something frozen for lunch. Trust me, I'd rather have pakoras and roti.