Mickey Cupcakes

“I can’t stand the rain, against my window… I, I, can’t stand the rain…”

It has been raining all day in the gloomy ‘Burgh today. It is nearing the middle of April and I have yet to see much sunshine poking through in Western Pennsylvania. 

Everyone needs sunshine.

That sounds like a Disney song.  (What a segue...)

So if you follow me on Twitter and have read some of my previous posts, you know I am a terrible cake “froster.” I freely admit it. A piping bag and I are not friends. People have given me all sorts of suggestions but I think I am just stubborn about it. I need to take a cake decorating class.

Just for fun I wanted to share my latest frosting mess. I guess it isn’t that bad but it sure isn't perfect. Since I like perfection (which evidently is a Taurus quality, so I have been told) I am just not happy unless it’s the best cupcake you have ever seen. I made these cupcakes for one of my students who got a job at Walt Disney World.

The cupcakes tasted great, but I could pick apart their aesthetics all day. But, I won’t.

Instead I will just think like Disney; forget the gloomy rain, forget my poor piping bag skills, eat my cupcake and say, “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!" Yes!

If you are riveted to make your own Mickey cupcakes, follow me after the jump…

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Fried "Chicken"

It is incredible how intoxicating smells can be.

In all of my heart and conscious mind I have no desire to eat things like fried chicken or bacon. Any weird desire for that kind of thing is completely gone. Lucky me! But, for whatever reason, when I am in a confined space and people are cooking certain things (fried chicken or bacon) I feel like Pepe Le Pew sniffing in the air for the lady skunk (whose name is actually Penelope Pussycat).

Phew… It feels good to get that out. Does that make me a bad vegan?

The thought of eating bacon or fried chicken repulses me beyond belief, but those smells just do something to my head. It’s like a drug.

*Light Bulb*

Alas, I know better. I know that the chicken frying in the pan is a life lost from horrible treatment and factory farming. I know that bacon is a pig that is smarter than most of the people I interact with on a daily basis. They are lives, not food. So take that drug like smells! I am stronger than you!

Plus, I have a vegan “fried chicken” recipe in my arsenal that is out of this world. This little ditty uses Gardein Chicken Fillets or Scaloppini with a light breading and quick trip in the frying pan.

This recipe is a super easy one from Vegan Pandamonium that she modeled after an Argentinean recipe from her mom.  So cute! One of our friends, who happens to be a chef, tried it and said, “This tastes just like fried chicken.”

Why yes. Yes, it does.

Recipe after the jump…

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Mr. Jingles & Hope Pastures

I have rescued four dogs.

When I talk to people about my dogs they go crazy... People say, “ Oh beagles!” “Show me pictures” & “Do they howl all the time?”

I love when people have questions about my dogs because I love them and I love talking about them. They changed my life. Really, they did. But, that is a whole other post.

When the Humane Society shows videos of dogs (and cats) who are abused and neglected people lose their mind. It is heartbreaking. It is sad. I am so appreciative for rescue groups like the Humane Society and all of the wonderful shelters and breed rescues around the world doing the challenging and important work of animal rescue. However, there are so many animals in the world that face the pain and sadness of abuse and neglect that don’t get a big celebrity endorsement or television ad.

A few months ago I saw a post by fellow blogger Fat Gay Vegan (FGV) about a Horse & Donkey rescue just outside of Leeds, England. He spoke passionately about Hope Pastures which is dedicated to saving horses and donkeys “deemed redundant or left for certain death.” The trust is run by a few paid staff and a team of dedicated volunteers.

I love places like this; saving horses and donkeys can’t be easy. Not only does a place like this require a tremendous amount of financial support, but even more “people time” to make sure the animals are properly cared for. People who do this work amaze me and I am so thankful for them.

FGV laid down a challenge to his readers to send some financial support to Hope Pastures. Twenty (20) dollars (12.50 pounds) “adopts” a horse or donkey for one year. Twenty bucks; I can afford that! I headed to their website and Mr. Jingles the donkey became the fifth member of my furry family!

Here is the kicker, I am currently the only American who has given them any financial support. 300 million people in the US and I am the only one! I hope one of you will change that.

We all choose charities that are important to us and with no personal connection sometimes its hard to send money to a random place. However, I hope you give Hope Pastures a chance. Take a look at their website, see what they do, and think about “adopting” your own horse or donkey. Plus, these horses and donkeys have a British accent, can you beat that?

Mr. Jingles picture is proudly displayed in my office with his four other furry family members. Thank goodness he likes dogs! They sent me his picture, a letter from him, and a lovely certificate confirming my adoption. So sweet...

What did his letter say? I thought you would never ask...!

Read my letter from Mr. Jingles after the jump...

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Chickpea Lentil Soup

I recently got a request from someone to post more lentil recipes.

Happy to oblige!

So this soup is super easy and uses ingredients that some people may just have lying around. I got this from a Veg News e-newsletter and it sounded good so I made it that day.

Now, you know I have to keep it real with all of you. I love my CV readers so I don’t want to lie to you. This soup is super easy to make, really low in calories, but it's a bit bland boring. If you want a basic and hearty soup, this will do the trick. Husband was NOT a fan, but he also isn’t really a big “soup person” all around.

Straight from the recipe, the flavors are basic and not anything crazy exciting. However, this is a great filling and inexpensive soup to make and freeze or pack for lunch for the week.

So although I am not giving it a rousing standing ovation I say try it for yourself. Add some more spices, throw more vegetables in, use a different lentil, or use some good quality vegetable broth! Add your own flair to it. Best part about soup is you can always make it your own with whatever you have.

Recipe and another photo after the jump…

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Stuffed Shells

Do you ever notice how people always speak for their kids?

“Oh, Billy won’t eat that. He only likes chicken nuggets and McDonalds. He despises vegetables.”

“No I will never get Jane to eat that, she is so picky!”

I don’t have children, so I will never try and act like I know what it is like to have kids. But whenever I see people making excuses for feeding their kids a poor diet it just makes me wonder if it is just purely a societal expectation that children will only eat chicken nuggets and fries, food marketing, availability, cost, ignorance, or just a combination of all of it.

I can’t consciously remember what its like to be 4 years old, so I don’t know if most kids really don’t like vegetables or if advertisers have made everyone think that kids will only eat processed crap.

 

I have a lot to say about this issue, but I will step of my soapbox for now. Really, it is my long way of getting to pictures of an adorable baby eating tofu.

I had the chance to go to a first birthday party for an amazing little boy a few weeks ago. I brought some cashew ricotta stuffed shells and they were a big hit, especially with the one-year-old crowd! Whoever said babies won’t eat tofu?

Recipe and more pictures after the jump…

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Nacho Mom's Ultimate Vegan Queso

Every now and then a product comes along that you don’t really know how you lived without…  A good example of this may be Gardein or cheap bulk bags of cashews. You choose.

On my recent trip to Austin (see 1 & 2) I had the chance to meet the creator of one of these new and amazing products. Yes, I got to meet the Nacho Mom.

First of all, she is adorable and actually not made of nachos.

Second, her product will blow your mind.

Imagine this, a jar of queso that is vegan, has no fat, and is only 160 calories for THE WHOLE JAR! Yep, you read that right.

Warm this queso up and pour it on anything, it is amazing! I can’t even describe to you how awesome it is. When I was in Texas, I brought some to a party and it was gobbled up in about 5 seconds flat.

So thanks to the Nacho Mom, I am giving away two jars of Nacho Mom’s Vegan Queso (original & fire roasted) to one of my loving Chubby Vegan readers.

I am so excited about this giveaway because I can’t buy vegan queso in Pittsburgh. Now that I have tried it, I need you to be able to try it too!

*** This contest is now closed. Thanks to everyone who entered! ***

Entry Guidelines:

To enter, comment below and tell me how you would use vegan queso. Please be sure to include a way for me to contact you if you win.

For an additional entry, tweet the following phrase:

     “@thechubbyvegan Give me some @veganqueso! http://bit.ly/f5ekX6 #giveaway #vegan”

Please leave an additional comment below and let me know you did; be sure to include a way to contact you!

Contest will close on Wednesday, April 6^th at 10:00 pm. Make sure to get your entries in before then! Can’t wait to read how you would use your Nacho Mom’s Vegan Queso!

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