Stunning photography!

I am still recovering from the wonderful-ness that was Mister Nice Guy cupcakes. They were seriously DA BOMB!! L-whack isn’t a big cupcake person (and honestly, neither am I) but biting into these soft, fluffy, moist morsels of deliciousness was so So SO good! Dare I say, vegan cupcakes kick non-vegan cupcake butt!!

L-whack loved his birthday present – now I can reveal all!

I purchased a stunning photograph (pictured below), mounted on aluminium from Clark Little Photography – this guy has serious talent, the way he brings the ocean & beach to life. I cannot recommend his work highly enough.

Gold Nugget - by Clark Little Photography

Now we just have to decide where to place the photo on the wall!

We had a fairly low key birthday celebration at L-whack’s parents place (well, if you call 25 people low key!) – And we ate copious amounts of food. Naturally! I cooked a roast vegetable & burghal salad, which went down a treat. I took a photo of the roasted veg as it came out of the oven, but was running late and didn’t get the chance to take a photo of the final product (juggling cooking, 2 loads of washing, playing with Z-monster and getting ready for the evening), so you’ll just have to imagine how it looked!

Imagine this mixed with burghal, spinach and dressing - YUM!

I ended up using a lemon and olive dressing – I had read good things online about the balsamic dressing from AFR (Appetite for Reduction), but many people commented that it wasn’t a ‘pretty’ dressing. As I was serving many people with this salad, I wanted pretty. So I opted with lemon and olive, and it turned out great!

Now I must express my disgust and disappointment at Pascals (Cadbury). As I was biting into a clinker (it was yellow!), Litha told me that clinkers contain gelatine.

WTF?!!

I knew they weren’t vegan, but I just couldn’t help myself. But who would’ve thought that clinkers would contain gelatine. They aren’t even chewy – far from it. Grr, boo, hiss.

BOOOOOOO!! GRRRRRRRR!!! HISSSSSS!

Since I started my journey on the vegan path, I have been doing lots of reading of articles, websites and blogs. I am really enjoying educating myself, and learning so much – it’s now a daily ritual. I was never someone who had enjoyed studying, never had a hobby or a real passion for something – until now.

One particularly interesting blog I’ve come across is Lisa Dempster – a vegan from good ol’ Melbourne town. A particular article that caught my eye was the 10-part ‘How to be a vegan’ – this is a great read (for both vegans and non-vegans alike), and has some really interesting stuff. I love a term I came across on this blog – Ninja Vegan. Have a read, and you’ll get a chuckle out of it too. I’m so excited that BBQ shapes are Ninja Vegan. WOOT!

Now I mentioned the other week I would write about nutrition. And I will. Instead of bombarding you with too much information, I will split it up into bite size pieces of information.

As a vegan (almost!), I want to make sure that I (and L-whack) get the right nutrition. No one wants to fall ill, and we don’t want to grow older and have to deal with deficiencies. So sometime this week, I will commence a series about the essential vitamins, minerals and nutrients our bodies need to ensure we develop and maintain our health. Calcium, iron, Omega 3, etc.