Birthday 2010: Recap

My birthday was months ago, but here is a short recap on some of my fooding adventures on my holiday. First up, as pictured above, a piece of Chocolate Cake from My Local Co-Op, Mississippi Market. I really like picking up a couple pieces of this cake, that they always have available. It's delicious and simple and awesome with a glass of soymilk or almond milk.

Next up, Punch Pizza. It's my new favorite local pizza joint. Cheap, delicious food that is easily vegan and brings quality ingredients to the forefront. Plus, AMAZING freebies throughout the year via social networks. One of the smartest restaurants I've ever seen utilize Facebook, Twitter and a blog. First, the Punch Salad:


Mixed greens, pine nuts, balsamic vinegar. I believe the actual Punch Salad comes with prosciutto and cheese but vegan without those two. Focaccia comes with the salad and is also vegan.

Next, one of the "basic" pizzas, a margherita (crust, sauce, basil) with the dipping sauces of olive oil and balsamic vinegar for the crusts:



Truly awesome pizza with a truly smart company. These folks should be the business model for all restaurants.

The Great Cake Waffles Experiment: Chocolate and Vanilla

I love making cake, but the problem I have with making most desserts is that I don't typically have tons of people to share the dessert with. So when I make a large number of cupcakes, cookies, or just a big cake, Mr. Coconut and I end up gorging on all of it within 2 days or some of the dessert goes bad.

My solution came in the form of my waffle iron. Genius, pure genius.

I've seen/read/heard of other folks using waffle irons for cooking things other than waffles. I also know I am not the first person to think of cake batter in a waffle iron, but nonetheless it was a delicious experience.

I used Cherrybrook Kitchen brand cake mix in vanilla and also chocolate. Cherrybrook Kitchen is an awesome brand of cake, cookie, and other baking mixes that are allergen free, which makes all of their products vegan. They also have a decent line of gluten-free mixes. These are available at Whole Foods, Super Target, and local co-ops in my area.

It took a while to get the timing and amount just right. I used my Belgian waffle iron, which made for some extremely delicate pieces that fell apart easily. A regular waffle iron with smaller squares or pockets, whatever you want to call it, would probably be better for a more sturdy piece of cake. I sprayed the waffle iron with non-stick spray, ladled in what I figured out to be the perfect amount, closed the waffle iron and waited. My iron has a self-timer with a green light that indicates when you should pour in the batter and a red light which indicates when it is done. I found I had to wait for a minute or two after the red light came on in order to get the cake in one piece.

All in all, light, fluffy cake was done within minutes. I was able to store the pieces in the fridge in an airtight container for a lot longer (and a lot easier) than a whole cake. I used some frosting from Pillsbury that is "accidentally" vegan and decorated with sprinkles. I couldn't frost easily because I was too impatient to soften up the frosting enough to spread on the delicate pieces -- so no photo of the frosted end result.

Here's a shot of the vanilla pieces in the waffle iron:

Wedding Food: MGM Grand in Las Vegas

March? Really? It's been 7-8 months since the last update? Whoa.

Well, The Saucy Coconut has been quite busy, as this post will prove. Yes, there was a wedding, and the reception was catered by MGM Grand Las Vegas in the Skylofts. I married Mr. Coconut in July, and the ceremony was great. Most importantly to this blog, there was great food. We had a chips and salsa station which also doubled as a taco station, a "build your own pita/falafel" station, lots of fruit and vegetables and some of the TASTIEST vegan cake EVER.

Pictured above: fruit kabobs with pineapple, melons, and strawberries.

Next: Vegetable "trays". If you're a vegetarian, chances are you've ended up at more than one buffet where there are only vegetable or fruit trays to choose from. While my wedding did have vegetables, I LOVED the way they were presented, such as the fruit kabobs above or the standing holders of vegetables below.



Close-up of the yellow squash and zucchini spears:



Grilled Vegetable Kabobs:

These have patty pan squash, artichokes, tomato and mushrooms. Hummus for dipping.

A giant mound of falafel:


An unimpressive picture of the most impressive cake I've ever had:


A more traditional fruit tray:


While in Las Vegas, we also visited Yellowtail inside Belaggio and Chin Chin inside NYNY. Next post I'll feature the food had on the honeymoon in Kauai, Hawaii.

Vegan Marble Cake from Bravo! Café and Bakery

Simple: Vegan Marble Cake from the wonder that is Bravo! Café and Bakery. This stuff is great: thick and dense yet light and fluffy at the same time. It's delicious and $2.50 per piece. No frosting, but that's fine with me.

Carrot Cake, aka Marvelous Return of the Food Blog!

Whoa. It's been a while! Well, I hope to update more than once a month. I'm going to aim for once or twice a week. I started school again and my schedule is overwhelming to say the least. I am still eating, though!

To start us off, above is a picture of carrot cake a co-worker brought for me. It was from a wedding of some sort. Very thoughtful. The cake was scrumptious. I really enjoy carrot cake and this slice did not disappoint.