Look at those bean bags! Whoa! Lots of ingredients for the Babycakes NYC gluten-free cupcakes, but I think the "Healthy Hostess" worked out just fine! Hit up the local library for the recipe! I did not have time to get the ingredients for the frosting (one of which is soymilk powder [not soy powder...much easier to obtain]) so I just dusted them with cinnamon or powdered sugar for a finished effect...although an icing-written expression of Marquez-esque love would also be appropriate :)

Non-vegan, yet very veggie update...

So my friends, I am INFAMOUS for my chocolate truffle cheesecake. The "cheese" part is probably not hard to replace with the tofu variety, and the eggs that are in are probably just as easily substituted. Don't care! I love my vegan friends, but I would hate to part with this recipe from an old issue of Taste of Home, the magazine that my grandmother in the heart of South Dakota swore by.....(I do not know how to complete this sentence, yet I'm uncomfortable with ending sentence with prepositions...I digress)

This is a delicious recipe to say the least, and I promised I would make this for my roommate before our lease together ended, and we both embark on different living adventures.

This is the cheesecake recipe.

In other news, I noticed that one of my favorite recipe/posh entertaining books recently came out in paperback! I recommend always buying hardcovers used on amazon.com or preferably betterworldbooks.com (as it's an organization that supports literacy with every purchase!). Instyle Parties is a book presented by the editors of the magazine, and if you look past the expensive preferences, you can find some good food recipes and party ideas for yourself! The link to such book is here.

I would like to try the Real Simple Celebrations book as well, but the other books from them on organization are just as good. I swear I'm not really a domestic housewife in the middle of nowhere moonlighting as a college student! I'm just that invested in being a hostess ;)

Pictures! (about time right?) Adventures in Baking!

This picture is one of many from the Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. This particular recipe is a pumpkin cupcake with chocolate chips. The critique on this one was too much cinnamon (which I tend to add too much of most times!). If you're wondering what that glaze is... it's cinnamon! Not bad lookin' for my first take at vegan cookin'!

VegNews

http://www.vegnews.com/web/home.do

A trendy look at the life of a vegetarian. To me, it's a nice thing to skim through and get ideas for, especially when it comes to vegan cooking. I will say that some of the more "youth oriented" articles bring up some good topics. For example, surveys asking "Would you date a non-veggie?" etc....

Check it out!

Gillian McKeith

I LOVE Gillian McKeith. She's this crazy British/Scottish nutritionist who lays down the law with people who have gone out of control with their eating habits. Her first book that I read was "You Are What You Eat," and it was a basic tool on getting in touch with your body a bit more (even if it's getting gross). I will caution you though, some of her detoxing methods I would not recommend. Her newer book, "Slim for Life," is much more up my alley, with just being simplistic and trying to create foods that will make you feel better. It's a good read, especially after I've had a dinner of cheese fries.....

So...Check her out!