Cupcakes, Taco Trucks & A Sneak Peek…

 

Happy Birthday to the most wonderful man I know. You are everything I could have ever wanted and more

 

Unfortunately, he didn’t get his birthday wish. My present to him Ella is still hanging out in my belly. But we did have a wonderful weekend. Friday night had dinner with his family at Tango on The Main Line. It was the never ending dinner. We were there for almost 3 hours!!! I did not have my camera for foodie photos this weekend since schlepping it around can be a pain (when I already have enough extra weight to carry as it is.) My favorite part was the dessert. Michael and I split 2 of them Saturday night we just went over to Morton’s and sat in the bar area and had salads and split a shrimp cocktail. Light dinner, good company

Today I wanted to take him to a well known deli downtown (since he LOVES good Jewish deli’s and never goes to them), but there was a supposed Regatta (according to his sister) and it would have probably taken 2 hours to get there (usually a 20 minute ride). If I ended up going into labor that  would have been a bad situation. Better to stay close to home at this point. So, we went over to Whole Foods and ate up on the rooftop where this now is:

again, didn’t bring my cam...they got this up on the rooftop now — their new taco truck!

source

Michael got chicken tacos and I had vegan tacos with veggies, jalapenos (to induce labor?), jicama and guacamole. Next time we go I will bring the SLR. This summer we can bring Ella up there, grab some tacos, relax and Michael can have a beer if he likes. It’s a nice atmosphere.

 

Later I made him some AMAZING cupcakes! Thank you, Chantal for emailing me a  recipe from this book (which has been on my Amazon wishlist for over 6 months):

 

They were for the Golden Vanilla Cupcakes. The only thing I did different…which made them even MORE amazing, was instead of adding the extra vanilla or almond extract (in addition to the 2 teaspoons) was I scraped a half of a vanilla bean and added it to the batter:

 

^can you see the vanilla beans in there…AMAZING!

and nothing “weird” that he would not eat was involved. He saw all of the ingredients.

 

I made my Fluffy “Cream Cheese” Icing instead of the butter cream that they recommended:

“Cream Cheese” Icing

1 (8 ounce) Package Tofuetti Cream Cheese (or organic cream cheese if not vegan)

6 Tablespoons Earth Balance Butter 

1 3/4 Cups Confectioners Sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Soften Butter and Cream Cheese and Mix with an electric or stand mixer until smooth. Add Vanilla and mix until combined. Slowly add sugar from a sifter as you mix. To make them pretty get the Wilton Pastry bag and tips to swirl them on! Store icing in refrigerated when not in use. Make sure cupcakes are completely cool when applying.

 

I contaminated the vegan cupcakes with my non vegan version of the icing as per his request. He was at the market with me and saw me grab the tofuetti and made me grab a regular organic cream cheese. I was going to do half and half, but really didn’t feel like doing the extra work. There’s a 9 month pregnant excuse for that

 

Michael decided he did not want me to cook him a lasagna. He actually forgot that we discussed me making that for him. Which I kind of secretly was happy about because who needs all that cheese? That’s how he would have wanted me to make them…lots of ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan. There’s no getting one by him with cashew ricotta either…he wants to see me put it in, from the container. Besides, I promised I would make everything for him how HE wanted it for his birthday. His mom was barbequing and she said she would have some things for me so we went over there for dinner and I brought some cupcakes She always has an amazing spread so I wasn’t complaining!

—

 

I have a little surprise sneak peek for you guys tonight too! I have been going back and forth as to whether I wanted to do maternity photos or not. I wanted to do them over 6 weeks ago when I was feeling better about my body (rapid weight gain in the 3rd trimester, lost more muscle tone everywhere and a bunch of other fun symptoms to make me feel bleh). That and day to day not knowing if she is going to come or not. It makes it hard to plan appointments, or RSVP to events for that matter.

 

I originally asked my old neighbor, Ashley who did these ADORABLE pictures of Munchkin if she would do them, but we couldn’t really get it together. Once I reached 35 weeks, I said forget it. Then, my mom was practically begging me to do them and told me I would regret it if I didn’t. She said the same thing when I wanted to quit ballet when I was 12 after dancing for since I was 3–and I do regret it. So I decided to listen to her. My moms good friend, Angie (who I have known since birth) is a photographer and artist had asked me a few times to come to her studio to take them. The last time  she asked was at my shower, and at that point I did not think I was into doing it. I decided last week that I wanted to take them regardless of how I have been feeling about my body lately.

It sound silly, but doing this (aside from trying to keep up with my workouts) kind of livened me up and made me feel a little better at 37  1/2 half weeks pregnant:

My good friend & client, Lisa owns Heaven & Earth Salon and they recently got airbrush tanning. I was SO excited when they did! I have already been  back twice. I am hoping to have a fresh spray tan when I go into labor Nothing like a fresh glow to pick up a 9 month pregnant girl. Say what you want…I can exercise, eat clean all week, but this Italian girl does not do well with pasty. I know SO many people that pull that fair skinned look off beautifully, and wish I could be one of them. I just feel I look healthier with a glow. I am not being vain, it makes me feel good, I am just honest.

The best part…ALL NATURAL! NO TOXIC INGREDIENTS!!!!

 

If you live in the area I highly recommend trying it here . The best spray tan I have ever had

 

So, needless to say, since I had a fresh glow and a few good days without too much fatigue and pain, I asked is Angie was available Saturday afternoon to fit in a shoot and she was able to squeeze me in

Here’s a sneak peek…I am extremely happy with how they turned out, Angie did an AMAZING job, she’s very talented!!! I’ll reveal the rest in my next post (courtesy of Angela DiSanto Photography ):

Have a Wonderful Night!

 

How was your weekend??

Do you have Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World? What’s your fav recipe? I am going to order it for sure

Any other vegan baking book recommendations, that have healthier low sugar recipes? (For post-baby when I give up/greatly reduce the sugar).

 

 

Talk to yah later!

 

xxoo