Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes

I originally got this idea from La Fuji Mama's blog. I couldn't wait to try it. With my company in town I couldn't help but try it. I used the recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking. I love the cinnamon roll recipe in it. I usually make them the day before and refrigerate them over night.

I double paper liners on some and on others I used the Reynold's foil cups. The foil cups were great! they didn't stick to the buns and they kept the gooeyness out of the pan (much easier for the dishes). I overcooked them just a touch but other than that the reviews were good. I do wonder if I would've had bigger rolls had I not refrigerated them. Next time I will try that.

I love that these are Vegan, and no one notices! It's a true test of a recipe when no one really misses the butter, eggs or milk in a recipe. I'm still working on this one but it's coming along nicely. I enjoy it.

Oh and my company was wonderful! We had great meals and to be honest my meals were vegetarian all weekend. My DH was so sweet. He was super supportive of meals. It was great. Yet another reason why I love him!

Cake

Here's a cake I made for a get-together last night. I've never made a bundt cake before and I've never made chocolate ganache. So it was a serious first for me! I made a yellow cake, stuffed berries in the middle and poured chocolate over it all. The ganache didn't work exactly like I had wanted but everyone seemed to like it and it was dairy-free. I accidentally used dark chocolate instead of semi-sweet chocolate. I really liked the contrast of the dark chocolate with the yellow cake and the very sweet berries.

I don't have the confidence in my homemade cakes yet so I still use the boxes which are chock full of yuckiness. But I've tried one mix that's dairy-free, soy-free, gluten-free, etc. It turns out really good. It's made by Nameste Foods. I'll make one soon and post it. Enjoy the picture!

It's Summer!

Yes here in the Soutwest it is summer. Full blown, without a doubt, 100+ degree temperatures, summertime. It's great! The best part about summer for me is the fruit! Ok the veggies too. I went to Whole Foods today. The sights and smells when I walked in were wonderful! It makes me so happy! I bought pineapple, watermelon, berries, corn, asparagus, and radishes. In my head all I could think about was all the yummy stuff I could make and how much I didn't miss meat in my diet. Look at what I would miss out on!

So, I have company coming in for Memorial Day weekend. This is the first time I've ever had house guests since I've been married and since I started my journey to vegetarianism. Needless to say I'm nervous. I was worried about what to have in my kitchen and what to make for dinners and lunch while they are here. You see, my house guests are friends of my Dear Hubby. DH and the visiting husband have been friends for years. The visiting husband comes from a family of cattle ranchers. He isn't exactly fond of those that are vegetarians. I am worried. Like I said before only a few people, ok 2, know about my desire to be a vegetarian. I don't really know how to tell people, especially my family. It would be the equivalent of telling them that I suddenly want to become a man. Anyway, I've got some of our favorite vegetarian receipes ready. Wish me luck for this weekend!

It happened...

It all happened back in December of 2008. I had been married for about 6 months and was suffering from severe anxiety attacks, migraine headaches (which has been normal for my adult life), and I was gaining weight. It was terrible. I was looking for something to change in my life. A way to stop this seemingly endless downward spiral. I had heard about the book Skinny Bitch from the a few of my friends and I was skeptical. I read it. A lot of it made sense to me. Even though, the language was often to be desired it really made me think.

Much to my darling new husband's dismay. He had married an omnivore and here I was telling him I no longer wanted to eat meat AND I wanted to give up dairy as well. He was/is wonderful about it. He had hoped it was a phase. But he soon realized that it was a little more then a phase and he started to make adjustments to fit my new lifestyle.

Which brings me to the title of the blog. Yes inconvenient at times as I'm sure many of you who have made this move have experienced. But it seems to be worth it. As I've stopped eating meat most of the time and avoid dairy I've experienced some changes in my life. My anxiety attacks have become practically nonexistent along with my migraines. Both absolutely wonderful things to be rid of! Also my weight gain has stopped. When I really avoid all dairy, the extra weight seems to disappear. But I have a really hard time being without cheese in my life. I'm working on it though.

Baby steps... it's all about baby steps. That's what the blog is about. Sometimes it will be my frustration with inconvenience of it all. But most of the time it will be about the food. I love food! I love finding other things I can do to make recipes not only vegetarian and good but dairy free as well. So that's the story in a nutshell. I hope you enjoy reading my blog. I welcome comments and suggestions.