Sunday while I was out doing errands I made a quick stop at Fritz Pastry for a vegan chocolate cupcake – DELICIOUS!  This isn’t the best photo but last time I went I completely forgot to take one for you   Isnt’ it cute how they do the frosting?  So different than everyone else

Over the years I’ve received several WiltonArmetalepieces but only just now found out about their concern for the environment.  Their products metal are actually made from recycled metal and their glassware is made of recycled soda bottles.  Their literature and packaging are produced with recycled paper and corrugated materials, which hopefully consumers recycle at home.  My latest piece of WiltonArmetale is this Chip & Dip plate that we got as a wedding gift.  Their products are super cool – you can cook in them on the stove, oven and grill.  So, rather than dirty one pan to cook on and then another to serve in, you use just one item, so less washing up!  The metal holds temperature well, so hot or cold, it’ll keep your food at the correct temperature for longer than conventional platters.

Check out this video to see that they really are multi-functional pieces!

Sunday I checked out Sweet Cakes here in Chicago for the first time and was in heaven!  I can’t wait to go back!  I had an organic iced tea, but most importantly a PB&J cupcake!!!  YUM!  Forgive me, I forgot to take a photo so I borrowed on from Caitlin L on Yelp.  I was SUPER IMPRESSED with the amount of vegan goodies - cookies, scones, cupcakes, breads…and more!  There are NEVER that many vegan options at bakeries!  It was so much fun and so difficult to decide.  They have more seating than I expected and offer free WiFi!  Their flatware and cups are made from that corn based plastic which is always great to see.

Talk about some amazing vegan cupcakes at my wedding last Saturday!!!  Aren’t they pretty?  AND they were DELICIOUS!!  They were from Molly’s in Chicago.  I was enjoying the night so much that I didn’t even remember to have one until I was walking out the door and there were only a handful left!  Luckily I still got a filled one – cookies n cream – although my favorite are the chocolate with peanut butter filling, but apparently everyone else loved those too so I didn’t get one of those  

The other night Eric and I met a friend for dinner at Flat Top Grill with to start celebrating our wedding a little early.  I absolutely love Flat Top Grill.  They’re so accommodating for vegetarians and vegans.  They clearly label everything so you know what is safe and then you can have your stuff prepared on a separate, clean grill so it doesn’t mingle with the meat and dairy!  So awesome!

I registered for these awesome wine glasses.  I know they aren’t really eco-friendly but, they’re virtually indestructible so unlike glass which will eventually break, this will last a life time and since I don’t like plastic since it leaches, these are a great alternative for durable glasses!  I also love that they’re dishwasher safe!  We used them outside on the deck for the first time this weekend and it was great to not worry about them getting broken outside.  Amazon has them fro $24.00 for two and they’re eligible for super saver shipping which is a bonus

At my last wedding shower I got this Eco Life Salad Bowl & Server Set.  It’s made from rice!  Isn’t that cool?!  I’ve never seen anything like it so I was super excited!  Mine came with the brown bowl and serving spoons but the colored bowls.  I absolutely love it.  My cousin found them for me at Younker’s.

This is what they say about their stuff:

Eco Life Rice Hull serveware and accessories are not only functional and stylish, but they also leave less of a carbon footprint on the planet. Each piece is constructed primarily from rice hull, the hard covering on grains of rice. In fact, each piece is 90% biodegradable within approximately six months when in a compost setting (with the exception of its glue, which is required to adhere the natural components).

• Durable for many years
• Rice hull and other natural, sustainable materials like plant fibers and bamboo
• Food and dishwasher safe
• Not for microwave or oven use
• Imported

Saturday I went to the Green City Market in Chicago with a girlfriend.  I found a lovely mini loaf of ciabatta and a fresh tomato.  When I got home, I grabbed some fresh basil from my patio, threw that in the food processor with garlic olive oil from Old Town Oil, nutritional yeast, sea salt and pepper for a pesto spread.  I smeared that on the both sides of the ciabatta, sliced the tomato, and smashed some avocado.  It was fabulous!  So fresh – great on a hot summer day!  YUM!  (sorry I forgot to take a photo of the sandwich once I put both of the halves together…I guess I was just too excited!

Thanks to Chic Vegan for her post about the Banana Soft Serve!!!  I’ve found my new summer love!  Choosing Raw had this absolutely amazing recipe and I know I’m going to be addicted to this all summer long.  I love that she titled it – “This Post Will Change Your Life” – she was serious!

If you click on the photo you can see the original post and get the recipe.  Essentially it’s just frozen bananas!  I added peanut butter which was amazing.  Also, be sure to give your bananas a little time to warm up – I tossed them directly from the freezer into the food processor and let me tell you, that was CRAZY!  The poor machine went nuts and started bouncing all over!  Winston (my dog) came running wondering what the heck I was doing!  In the recipe she tops it with a chocolate sauce made with agave nectar.  I was out of agave so I ran to Whole Foods and discovered coconut nectar and thus tried that instead – it was great!

I don’t think you can get any healthier of an ice cream than this!  I was skeptical about eating mushed bananas but try it and you’ll be pleasantly surprised!!!

Happy 4th of July!!!

I was craving some all American style food today so I whipped up some vegan mac & cheese which was AWESOME!

I’m not much for measuring when and I like to just throw a bunch of stuff in.  I used a package of rice pasta, elbow macaroni (it’s gluten free and I was curious to try it – didn’t like the texture – it cooks for 17 minutes but even then didn’t seem done, I cooked it a little longer and then it started to fall apart but the center was still slightly uncooked – I think it’s just the way that pasta is – won’t buy it again but if I was celiac then it surely would be better than nothing!)  Anyway, after cooking the pasta I added:

1 heaping tablespoon of miso paste

3/4 package of Daiya shredded cheddar style cheese

1 heaping tablespoon of soy sour cream

1  tablespoon of arrow root starch

2 tablespoons of coconut milk

3 heaping tablespoon of nutritional yeast

1 clove of garlic (smashed through the garlic press)

lots of black pepper

this turned out SUPER CREAMY and delicious!