Vegan Ben & Jerry's Waffle Ice Cream Sundaes for VM Day!

Got a little sidetracked with the Philly rehash; we're now back to our regularly scheduled programming, starting with Mother's Day!

Making Mother's Day brunch is kind of my thing, so I began preparing months in advance- truly. The first step was to acquire a waffle iron. I'm not really into kitchen gadgets, so I didn't want to spend much money. I bought this little Oster Belgian waffle maker and it's pretty much the pits; don't be fooled by the fact that it's an Amazon best seller. Unfortunately, I'm a dummy who waited too long to take it out of the box and actually try it, so once I finally did it was too late to return. All this is to say, don't buy that one! You can make do with it, but it's FAR from ideal.

But, don't worry about us; we were fine. I monkeyed around with it long enough to figure out how to get a relatively decent waffle (NOT Belgian as advertised) with as minimal mess as possible. I used this recipe for waffles and then crisped them up in the oven for a few minutes before assembling and serving.

And, by "assembling and serving", I mean WITH ICE CREAM. Yeah, that's right: Mother's Day waffle ice cream sundaes.

Freshly made waffles with ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate chips, and this really amazing syrup.

Lately I've been eating a lot of Nada Moo, but on this day we partook in the three new, vegan, Ben & Jerry flavors.

 
Shown here, sans waffles. Caramel almond brittle up top, coconut 7-layer bar to the right, and cherry garcia at the bottom. All three flavors are a vast improvement of the original four vegan flavors they released last winter; I especially loved the brittle & the 7-layer. In case you're wondering, I do know that Ben & Jerry's (and parent company Unilever) are problematic- not the least of which because some flavors contain palm oil and the chocolate is not Food Empowerment Project approved; feel free to let me have it in the comments. Please note, though, that I don't necessarily have a problem with non-vegan companies making vegan items; instead, I think it's a sign of progress. But, I digress.

 You-know-who got her own 89-size waffle sundae; see her chowing down here.

 

As you might imagine, this meal held us over for quite some time. We spent the day chatting, watching movies, and being amazed by a sudden hailstorm.

Well, we were amazed. Petri Hawkins Bird not so much.

Also, VM brought a present for 89. Not sure how that works since 89 already has 2 personal holidays, but there you go.

Of course that didn't stop her from trying to gnaw her way into VM's gifts because she's a humongous glom.

Eventually we got hungry again and had Ethiopian food for dinner.

Aaaaand, luckily there was plenty of brunch leftovers so that we were able to repeat the sundaes a few days later as if Mother's Day never ended!

How I Ruined Mother's Day with the Flu

When you're lucky enough to be a healthy person, you sometimes refer to having a really bad cold as "the worst." The same might also be said for other relatively minor ailments that pop up along the way: sore throat, headache, etc. But nothing is quite THE WORST as getting the stomach flu. Unless, of course, you get the stomach flu on Mother's Day.

I had all of the best intentions. Her gifts were bought and wrapped well in advance, Netflix sent me Suffragette, and I was prepared to make thick cut, strawberry shortcake French toast. 

I woke up feeling a little under the weather, but I figured it would pass. I put 89 in her annual Mother's Day dress and we went to pick up some flowers. When we returned, I filled up our M&M bowl with dark chocolate raspberry Little Secrets (more on them soon) because VM loves raspberry with chocolate.

While our guests were en route, 89 waited impatiently as I began to prepare brunch.

The breakfast turned out divine. Or so I'm told. I served the plates and immediately crawled into bed- still holding out hope that the feeling would pass.

When they were done eating and cleaning up (a fine Mother's Day tradition), VM came upstairs to see how I was- just in time for the moment of stomach flu confirmation. It was not my finest moment.

So, that's where the photos stopped. Dinner was cancelled, as was dessert. I spent three days in bed trying to avoid Instagram because there are way too many food photos when you're not feeling well; all I wanted to see were goats! And this nerd.

 

 Days later, when I was ready to eat, VM delivered some homemade soup from her freezer.

This is an important distinction in my family. While VM makes extraordinary matzoh ball soup, the matzoh balls never pass her lips; she always has a bowl with no balls. That day, it was I who needed a bowl with no balls.

Although it was only a few days, they were rough ones. Instead of celebrating, poor VM was busy momming on Mom's Day...and beyond. 89 put in some long hours as well. My dad had to mow my lawn!

All of this is to say, "Thanks, VM; sorry I ruined Mother's Day. Do-over, please."

Also, beware of germs.

Vegan Mother's Day Lemon Poundcake (based on Starbucks' lemon loaf)

I don't know how long ago it started, but I've been in charge of Mother's Day breakfasts for years now. I always like to make something I wouldn't otherwise or ordinarily try, so there's been speculoos crepes, samoa french toast, hot cross buns, etc. This year, I decided to keep it simple when a recipe purporting to mimic Starbuck's lemon loaf, VM's fave, surreptitiously showed up in my feed a few weeks prior to the holiday.

 

You might recall that my favorite lemon poundcake has so far eluded me, but I had high hopes for this one. I easily veganized the recipe by subbing old-fashioned egg-replacer for the eggs, but I was off to a bad start when the cake sunk while cooking.

I thought I could hide the chasm with the icing, but instead the pooling just called more attention to the failure.

 

I then decided to draw attention away from the cake by picking up VM's fave Starbucks drink (soy Oprah chai) on what was probably the last day of the season it was possible to leave 89 in the car for two minutes without expecting someone to (rightfully) throw a brick through my window. We passed VM and OD en route!

I'll admit it made a fine presentation.

VM said it tasted authentic, but I wasn't all that impressed.

I decided to rest on the laurels of 89's appropriate attire.

And her phenomenal gift-giving skills.

Hope yours was great too.

Mother's Day Win

On the Friday before Mother's Day weekend was about to begin, I received a phone call from my dad, "Prickly pear ice cream: yes or no?  Tell me quick; we're on line."  Where else?  Vegan Treats.

 

I countered, "Tell mom to try it," but then I heard her respond from the background with an unequivocal, "No."  The difference between she and I is that although neither of us was familiar with prickly pear, I knew what another master purveyor of ice cream has taught me: that such things are just a $4 gamble.  So, I confidently responded, "twist...with sprinkles."  An hour+ later, this showed up at my door and it was divine.  Fresh and summery: a subtle and pleasant berry mixed with Tahitian vanilla bean with rainbow sprinkles; I now not only know what prickly pear is, but I like it.

But that wasn't all they got.  For "breakfast" on the following day, I was invited over for donuts galore.  Banana cream pie, cannoli cream-filled fasnacht, raspberry jelly, Boston Creme, and glazed chocolate with sprinkles.

Also, a linzer-tart!!!  So soft and authentic I almost ate the whole thing myself and it was the size of my head.

And then it was Mother's Day.  Here's 89 checking out VM's gift.

Even thought the balloon lit up (that's the red dot at the top which you can't tell is blinking), she was unimpressed.

Not having anticipated the previous days' sweets, I'd already planned to make samoa fronch toast, inspired by this recipe from Vegan Richa- subbing French toast because VM prefers it to pancakes.  Behold the breakfast samoa: PPK Fronch toast, home-toasted coconut, chocolate chips, and salted caramel sauce from Sweet Ritual (more on that later) via Rabbit Food Grocery.

Oh yeah, and whipped cream.

Up close and personal.

And, of course, the stalker.

After brunch I went to my parents' house for the day and, after dinner, VM pulled out even more Vegan Treats.  For starters, there was this amazing flower pot cake.

Amongst its (non-edible) contemporaries:

Inside was a chocolate layer cake with oreo cream to compliment the cookie crumb "dirt" on top. 

Then, a berry marscapone tart with strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries.

I don't really like fruity desserts, but I was a big fan of marscapone cheesecake before I was vegan, so I had to try it.  Not only was it dreamily creamy and light, but who can be mad at such perfect berries (and is this what produce is like in Pennsylvania?)?

Eventually I rolled myself home to lay like a sloth with this gal...

who, for the record, really liked the prickly pear ice cream as well.

Hoping everyone else enjoyed their Mom's day.

I'm glad mine did!

Sweet and Sara Mother's Day Hail, Abby Bean Fail

Happy Mother's Day, VM!

The day before Mother's Day, VM and I kicked off the festivities by seeing The Great Gatsby in 3D, and enjoying a peanut avocado sushi unroll accompanied by Trader Joe's delicious vegan kimchi. I returned home later than I expected that evening, and remembered I hadn't yet assembled the bouquet.  I'd ordered her a dozen Sweet and Sara marshmallow pops: "creamy, plush marshmallow dipped in rich, organic chocolate rolled in graham cracker crumbs, real strawberry flakes, or sprinkles on a lollipop stick," with the intention of expertly assembling them as an edible bouquet, but the only preparation I'd accomplished thus far was to have purchased the pops...and a bit of green Styrofoam.

why do sprinkles so often elude me!?

As it turned out, the Styrofoam was old and brittle; the second I opened the package I had invisible Styrofoam crumbs all over my kitchen.  I tried to seal it with tape; green tissue paper; even wrapping paper to contain the bits, but it was no use.  The frightening granules were spreading and I just had to discard the Styrofoam, clean my kitchen, and come up with another plan.  At this point it was after 1:00am and I was a bit thirsty.  I poured myself a small cointreau on the rocks and became instantly drunk, talking gibberish to 89 and scanning my house for anything that I could stick lollipops into; this is how my green tissue box became a target.  Alas, instead of creating the illusion of greenery, it looked only like a tissue box with lollipops stuck in it and I quickly abandoned the idea.

And then, an epiphany.  Why couldn't I just re-purpose the container the pops came in?  I crumpled a piece of green tissue paper inside, turned it upside down, gave it my awl, and voila: a field of chocolate-covered marshmallow pops!

I finally got to bed at about 2:30 and was up again at 7:00 to begin work on breakfast: My Vegan Dad's hot cross buns.  While reviewing the recipe, I was slightly concerned that my previous blogpost about them mentioned that the preparation called for a lot of dishes- especially since I had also patently forgotten that the recipe required two rises.  The clock was ticking.

 

It was laborious, but I was making good time.  Here's the dough after the first rise, during which I folded laundry, peeled & cut mangoes, and began the dishes.

 

When the buns were finally ready to bake, I noticed that my oven wasn't holding temperature.  So, I self-regulated for twenty minutes.

I swear that I let the buns cool sufficiently before attempting to ice.  The results would suggest otherwise.

not

cool

Ultimately, what had seemed so promising and worth the effort...

wound up looking less than appetizing:

The icing was both unruly and melty and there was nothing I could do about it!  Considering I'd been intending to spell out a message in icing on the buns, I was incredibly disappointed.  Also, I was running a half hour late.  I packed everything in the car and hightailed it to my parents' house.  On the way I passed a diner, brimming with blissful customers who hadn't began their day suffering a defeat.  Next year: Champ's!

Although they fell far below my aesthetic expectations, my family will tell you (and I will concede) that the buns tasted significantly better than they looked.  In future, though, if I intend for them to take the place of a greeting card, I'll make both the buns and icing in advance- ensuring they are respectively chilled and under my explicit control.

What exceeded my expectations, however, were the marshmallow pops.  You'll notice that they fit right in amidst the other Mother's Day bouquets, however embarrassingly non-edible.

Marshmallows dipped in chocolate are even better than they sound.

The rest of the day consisted of fun with 89 and two Scrabble tournaments.

my win

my loss

To recap, the hail:

The fail:

P.S. Does this remind you of anything?

Happy Mom's Day nonetheless, VM!