The first year I met David I wanted to throw him a big birthday surprise. He was turning 30 after all! I didn’t realize at the time that David didn’t like big celebrations and attention on his birthday. We had just met, and I was determined to plan something that showed him how much I loved him. I flew his brother in from Toronto, and his best friend from San Francisco. I then gathered the rest of his LA friends for a surprise birthday party at a local music venue that was David’s favorite at the time to see one of his favorite musicians. I thought having all of his favorite things in one place would make for a favorite night, but what I didn’t realize was the following:

1. David doesn’t like surprises

2. The group of people I assembled were all amazing individuals that didn’t make for the best cohesive group.

3. The musician that was supposed to play was sick and was filled in for by some suicidal uber depressing alternative that sang so quietly that any background chatter chatter was forbidden.

4. I could keep listing, but I think you get the point.

In all of the years following I have done a much more successful job of celebrating David. We do something quiet- travel, go out for a meal, spend time as a family. I try to make him a meal he likes, and a special desert. We keep it low key.

When I saw this recipe for chocolate cake, I thought it would be something David would like. Since my transition to becoming Vegan there have been a lot of things that I used to make for David that I no longer cook. I know many of these things he misses. He has been amazingly understanding in not asking me to make them, and only on occasion, subtly hinting that he misses them. I have in turn done my best to create alternatives to those recipes and bring a whole lot of new ideas to the table. It has been a transition for both of us, and one that I think we continue to adjust to.

I didn’t want his birthday cake to feel like a compromise, but I wanted us all to be able to eat it together and a family. As it turns out you would never know this cake is vegan. They yellow cake (colored with turmeric) is moist and delicious. The chocolate icing is creamy and rich. Isaac even helped me make a flag for the top!

This was an important birthday. David and I spent the day together at a nearby hotel just enjoying each others company. With the craziness of both of our schedules we have been like ships in the night, and the reconnecting felt good. This birthday marked not only another year and another decade, but also the culmination of a HUGE PROJECT David has been working on. It feels fitting that he is entering the next decade of his life on the cusp of its release.

When we got home from our day at the hotel the kids were dressed and ready to go for dinner. Isaac had dressed himself in a button down shirt and tie. Coco in a ‘fancy’ dress and sparkly shoes. It was clearly an important occasion to them too, meaningful and special to celebrate the main man in their (our) lives.

Coco was trying to figure out the auto timer here, but you get the drift. We love our man. Happy birthday baby.

Spring is birthday season for some of these friends. Every year I spend a lot of time and energy trying to come up with meaningful gifts that say to each of them, ‘I love you’, ‘I understand you’, ‘I listen to you’, and ‘I like who you are- more than you will every know’.

These gifts often come in the form of books. Something I read that reminds me of a friend, or our relationship. This past  month I felt like making some gifts, and felt inspired to go back to the friendship bracelets I used to make at camp when I was a wee one. There is something in the knot tying that gives you time to think about the person you are making it for. Over the couple hours it takes to make one of these bracelets, I can marinade in memories from our past, and think about hopes for our future.

A couple of these I made as wider cuffs, while others narrower bracelets. I chose colors and fibers that reminded me of the person I was making them for, and I tried to wrap them with love.

And when each of these gals slapped their bracelets on, it was as if they were supposed to be there. Just right, worn in, a piece of me on a piece of them.

“I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you simply, without problems or pride: I love you in this way because I do not know any other way of loving but this, in which there is no I or you, so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand, so intimate that when I fall asleep your eyes close.”

-Pablo Neruda

To start, you have to make plain cream cheese, which on its own is delicious. It is made the same way you would make goat cheese, but instead of culturing with rejuvalac, you culture with plain soy yogurt. After blending the nuts and yogurt you have to exercise patience and wait a couple days.

Once the cream cheese is ready you can get creative and add anything you would to regular cream cheese to make a flavored variety. The ones that I have tried that are both wonderful are Lox, and Sun Dried Tomato.

The lox cream cheese – says David- had a very similar flavor profile to the lox and cream cheese he loves. Instead of smoked salmon, I used crumbled nori and a little liquid smoke. To give it the pink color, some roasted red bell pepper. I was never a fan of lox even when I ate salmon, but this cream cheese won me over.

I added a lot of raw garlic to the sun dried tomato which yielded a really punchy cream cheese. David and I both loved it but tough it would be better suited as a appetizer spread later in the day. It didn’t stop us from having some in the morning, but I saved it to bring a long to a special mothers night I was having with a wonderful group of women from Isaac’s elementary school.

This half and half bagel was a really wonderful breakfast last week. Both David and I couldn’t decide which was better. I think in the end he liked the lox more for breakfast, and the sun dried tomato as a spread.

I took the sun dried tomato and some crostini to my mothers gathering and came home empty handed. A note on the mothers of the kids in Isaac’s kindergarten class… these women rock. They are kind, and warm, and interesting. I have never felt judged for my choice to eat a plant based diet, and have had some interesting and engaging discussions about food choices with many of them. Stephanie who hosted the event prepared a vegan option for almost everything served – including pie!- which made me feel cared for and loved. The feedback on this cream cheese was really positive so I promised I would share the recipe. For all of the group one mamas… here you go! xo

Cashew Cream Cheese
From the book Artisan Vegan Cheese by Miyoko Schinner.  Excerpted by arrangement with the Book Publishing Company.  Copyright (c) 2012.  www.bookpub.com

• 2 cups raw cashews, soaked in water for 8 hours and drained
• 1/2 cup plain, unsweetened nondairy yogurt
• pinch of salt

1. Process the ingredients: Put the cashews, water, nondairy yogurt, and salt in a blender.  Process until smooth and creamy, occasionally stopping to scrape down the blender jar and move the mixture toward the blades.
2. Culture the cheese: Transfer to a clean glass bowl or container, cover, and let rest at room temperature for 24 to 48 hours, depending on how sharp a flavor you want and the ambient temperature (culturing will proceed more quickly at warmer temperatures).  For use in cheesecakes that will be sweetened, allowing it to culture for a full 48 hours will create a tanginess that will nicely complement the sweetener.  Cover and refrigerate.  The cheese will get firmer as it chills.

Lox Cream Cheese

In a food processor, combine 8 oz. cream cheese with 1 finely torn sheet of nori, 1/2 roughly chopped roasted red bell pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a few drops of liquid smoke. Process until combined.

Sun Dried Tomato Cream Cheese

In a food processor, combine 8 oz. cream cheese with 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes (either reconsituted or oil packed drained and dried), 1.2 teaspoon of salt, and 2-4 cloves of garlic. Process until pink. You can leave chunky or creamy.

My friend Harriet, Hat to me, in her always witty way sent me a text message this morning. It read: “I keep meaning to ask… how does one make vegan cheese”. So Hat, this one is for you. this is the easiest kind of vegan cheese as it doesn’t require a culturing agent, or time to culture. It is very quick to put together, requires just a few ingredients, and I am not exaggerating when I say it is a dead ringer for Ricotta.

This vegan cheese is unusual in the fact that it uses almonds instead of cashews. Most vegan cheeses use cashews as they are a very soft nut that process into a smooth cheesy like consistency. Almonds are used in this recipe to achieve ricotta’s slightly grainy texture due to their firmer consistency.

Once the ricotta is made you can do a number of things with it – truly anything you would do with traditional ricotta. In Miyoko’s book she stuffed shells, and because I adored the idea of these little pockets of love I went for it. It is harder than you would think to find the jumbo shells at the market. Once they were located I bought a few boxes for safe keeping.

The assembly is very straightforward. Stuff the shells, lay them on a bed of tomato sauce. Pour a little more sauce on top. And bake at 350 for about 30 minutes covered in foil. I removed the foil and then baked for an additional 15.

David had seconds, and was really impressed with this dish. This is the kind of dish that would leave both of us feeling very full and heavy after we ate it with traditional ricotta, but with the almond ricotta we felt satisfied but not sick. For someone who struggled with lactose issues for a very long time this recipe is nothing sort of a miracle.

Almond Ricotta

(from Artisan Vegan Cheese)

• 2 cups raw almonds soaked 8-12 hours (i recommend buying slivered almonds so that you don’t have to peel the skins)
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2-4 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup basil, chiffonade
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• Juice of half a lemon

After draining the almonds, slip the skins (if you used whole raw almonds) and discard. Put the blanched almonds in a blender with the water and salt. Process until light, creamy, and fluffy, but still with a bit of texture. Add the garlic and process again briefly. Transfer to a bowl and mix in the basil, yeast, and lemon juice.

And is it a chickpea or a garbanzo bean? In Toronto where I spent much of my youth, it was a chickpea. my mother and grandmother call them chickpeas. I think I go back and forth. In my opinion you can call them whatever you want as long as I get to eat them as often as possible. In a pinch I will use them out of a can or a box. I often make a big batch of them from dried beans and eat them forever.

This recipe resembles classic tuna salad, something I was never fond of even when I was eating fish. I could never wrap my head around any kind of meat in a can, and just the smell of tuna alone was usually a deal breaker. There was one tuna salad that I adored, and that was my grandfather (Apu) Louis’. At his bakery in Toronto he made a tuna salad that was so smooth and silky that it resembled some kind of pate (not that I have ever eaten pate) but from the looks of it, I would guess this would be a good description. When I was old enough to care I asked him how he made it, and he told me his secret was that he put the tuna in the blender. I would always look forward to taking trips to his bakery to have some of his tuna on a fresh bagel.

When I came across a recipe a while back for a mock tuna salad using chickpeas, I thought it was genius. I spent some time trying different versions of this until I came up with one that was have Louis’ half mine. it has the smoothness of my Apu Louis’ tuna salad with the more intense flavors I enjoy. What I came to realize after making this salad is that that base ingredient is really irrelevant. It is all about what you add to it that makes it delicious. For me this is red onions, dill pickles, celery, lemon juice, Dijon, a little low fat veganaise, salt and pepper, and my secret ingredient – sea kelp seasoning.  The kelp seasoning adds a ‘sea’ taste that transforms the chickpea into something that taste like it once swam in salt water.

And our little Meyers ripened just in time for me to use them for this recipe. It added that perfect acid hit that brightened the entire dish. I am asked on a almost every day basis “Where do you get your protien?” This is a perfect example of a protein rich recipe that rivals its traditional counterpart. It takes no longer to make than tuna salad, and requires almost the same exact ingredients. Just sub a can of chickpeas for a can of tuna and you are good to go.

Chick’una’ Salad

• 1 can Chickpeas or Garbanzo Beans (call them what you wish)
• 1/4 onion chopped finely
• 1 stalk celery chopped finely
• 1-2 tbsp lowfat or regular vegan mayo
• 2 tsp dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp dill pickles chopped finely
• 1 tbsp braggs sea kelp seasoning
• salt and pepper to taste

Mash chickpeas in a medium size bowl with potato masher or fork until they are broken up to desired texture. If you like a chunkier tuna salad leave some peas more intact. For a very smooth salad, mash finely. Add the remaining ingredients and mix. Serve over a toasted bagel or bed of lettuce. Keeps in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week. It has never made it longer than a day in my fridge.

This new job would have me commuting from my parents house to LA five days a week, which meant about an hour and a half in the car each direction. For a just eighteen year old, this was a pretty big deal. Once I got there I was asked to do just about anything… lay carpet, organize the library, get lunch for my boss, answer the phone. There was rarely a time that I did anything related to architecture, and although I always wished that I could get my hands on something more meaty, I was just happy to immersed in a world with ‘real’ and disgruntled architects.

And then there was Chris. At the time he was 27, and the one person in the office who was clearly well liked by everybody, positive about architecture, and whenever possible would sneak me work that had relationship to what I ultimately wanted to do. We would have lunch often, and had an immediate connection that allowed us to be completely ourselves. Once I left that summer internship we managed to stay in touch, and with each year our little friendship grew.

Over the past almost twenty years of meal sharing, bar going (pre-kids) hiking, running… we have seen each other through every stage of life. Chris has been unwavering in his support and love. He has celebrated occasions of overwhelming joy and consoled the lowest of lows. He understands Architecture, the wonders it holds creatively, and the difficulties it presents as a professional choice. Make ups, breakups, drama in the world of architecture, health scares, and the trials and tribulations of kids… – our friendship has evolved with each passing year. Many many bad relationships later (all of which we survived together) we are now both married and have kid(s). I can say with certainty that this is a friendship that has withstood the test of time, and that will only continue to be one of my most cherished relationships.

And now for the bad news. Chris is moving – across the country. It’s a very long story, and one that I don’t want to focus too much on in this blog entry. I am already a puddle about the whole thing, and just thinking about it seems to create an overwhelming emotional response. With that said, I support Chris, and his beautiful family, and am hoping that this journey provides new opportunities, and a means to get back to LA as soon as possible.

What does that mean for us? I am thankful I have stockpiled frequent flier miles over the past couple years. Their families both live on the west coast so they will be back. And of course there is modern technology like the phone, and skype, … teleporting? It will be ok, or at least I keep telling myself that. It will not be the same, but I can only hope that the change will bring with it its own set of advantages.

And somehow I have gotten to the end of this post, and haven’t even talked about the item I’m blogging about. It was Chris’ birthday this past weekend. When I found out about the move last month I knew I wanted to make him something special to remember us by, and to keep him warm for the times when my support couldn’t be there. The cold climate will be a new adventure for him, born and raised as an Angeleno I hope he makes it though his first winter. This scarf made of un-died wool was knit in a mini herringbone pattern. It’s an unusual stitch that I hadn’t worked with before, and takes a long time to knit up. In this case it was cathartic. The soothing feel of the knitting needles brushing against each other, one stitch after the next, allowed me time to process this new news. In a situation where I have no control, it felt good to DO something positive. To make something good.

And as expected it was so graciously well received. I think he was very touched, and genuinely loved it. To give you a sense of the person he is, he said – not jokingly- ‘This is going to be something I pass onto Nate”.  That, is Chris in a nutsell.

And lucky me, I got to see him twice on his birthday week. He and his lovely, Jacqui, came over with some other friends on Oscar night for pizza and cake. Jacqui made a gorgeous red velvet cake that was moist and wonderful. When I asked Chris what kind of cake he wanted he claimed it was chocolate icing with vanilla cake. I used the only cake pans I had which were the wrong size, and hence over baked it, but it was OK considering. Just OK. I now have to make it again and figure out what happened the first time.

And a few photos down memory lane and a whole lot of smiling.

We need to be better about taking pictures. Something to work on as we enter this next stage of our ever changing friendship.

Isaac decided he wanted to paint hearts for his friends. We had a talk about how he wanted to do that. Should he cut the hearts out and then paint them? Should he paint large sheets and then cut them out? Which medium should he use? In the end he decided to use watercolor on large sheets of paper and then draw the hearts and cut them out. On the back he wrote his own message for each of his friends. Isaac wakes up earlier that we do, so he spent early mornings diligently working on these hearts. I would wake up each morning to a few more completed, and names checked of the list. I was overjoyed that this was HIS project, and that he really felt that it was important for him to complete it in a way that he was happy with.

When the hearts were finished, and I thought he was done, he asked me if he could attach something to them as a treat for his friends. I asked him to talk to his teacher about it and get a sense of what her feeling was. His school has a strict no candy policy, so I knew that wasn’t going to be an option, but I wanted Isaac to research his question come up with something on his own. He came home and explained that he could attach something, but that if it was candy that his friends would have to eat it when they got home. He also said that it wasn’t a ‘have to’ but if you ‘wanted to’ it was ok. He then said, I want to attach strawberries, they look like hearts. I loved the idea, but explained that Strawberries weren’t in season, and were going to be costly and not particularly good. What about dried strawberries mom? And so we stuffed little bags with dried strawberries, attached them to his cards, and off he went with a bag full of love and a smile of pride on his face.

As for Coco, she got a pass this year. Mommy made Isaac’s Valentines when he was three, so I thought it only fair that I do the same for her. I think next year she will be ready to contribute in some way that is meaningful, but for now, she chose gummy bears – her favorite- and was thrilled to give and receive on such a LOVEly day.

I love this treat for so many reasons. First, it takes no time at all to prepare. Second, my kids love to help make it, and can actually do most of it on their own. Third its very good way of getting some potassium into my monkeys. And lastly, it is such a good healthy alternative to ice cream on those days that I have a craving, but don’t want all the fat and sugar that traditional ice cream (even the coconut and soy varieties) have.

There are three ingredients in this yummy treat, well four if you include chocolate sprinkles. Isaac is always in charge of the vanilla. He loves the way it smells – who doesn’t!- and measures out the teaspoon with care.

To make Banana Ice cream in a flash throw three frozen bananas, a teaspoon of real vanilla, and a splash of non dairy milk in your blender. The more milk, the thinner it will be – think frozen yogurt instead of ice cream. My kids like it like that so the version above has a little more milk than the way I would traditionally make it, but it is still delicious. If you like it extra hard, blend it up and stick it in the freezer for a couple hours. Delicious!

Last year when I visited NYC with David around thanksgiving time, I saw this striped cowl hanging at Purl Soho. I fell in love. I remember asking them how they made it, and desperately wanted to get the materials and bring them home, but my small suitcase wouldn’t allow and so I vowed to purchase them once I got home. And then somehow a whole year went by, and a few more months, and then I decided it was time. I was relieved when I finally studied the pattern that in fact there was no pattern. It is a basic knit stitch, with the introduction of different colors of cotton Sashiko thread.

Sashiko thread is 100% Japanese cotton thread that is similar to embroidery floss. It comes in wonderful colors which I was tempted to play around with, but I had to keep reminding myself of how much I loved the cowl I saw in the store, and really tried not to deviate from it. Half way through the project I decided to invest in a winder as the thread needs to be wound before it could be used. I made the beginners mistake of winding the thread without using some kind of paper as a core, and therefore the spools collapsed on themselves making them much more difficult to use.

Once I got a hang of switching out the thread which was quite simple this knit up quickly. It took about 10 days, knitting in the evenings for about an hour or so. The provisional cast on was new to me, and a challenge. I eventually managed to cast on, but when it came to grafting the two ends together, I made a mess of it. I learned my lesson, and will never make a provisional cast on again without using a contrasting yarn as the chain stitch.

I wore the cowl today and I really adored it. It is made from 100% organic cotton which feels great around the neck. I have very sensitive skin, particularly around my neck, so I appreciated how gentle it was. It was easy to wear and I never felt overheated.

I enjoyed wearing this so much today that I am considering making another scarf, for moi. It feels selfish, and unnatural, but it brought me more pleasure than I was expecting – and there is something to say for taking care of yourself sometimes.

For the pattern please see: http://www.purlbee.com/striped-cotton-cowl/

All of these cheeses found in this book are fermented cashew based cheese. She uses Rejuvelac to culture the cashews (a fermented liquid made from sprouting grains, most often wheat berries, but can be made from sprouting almost any grain), and provides a recipe for how to make your own. Being the busy mommy I am, I decided to take a little help where I could and purchase the rejuvel. I do want to try and make my own when things quiet down.

The recipes are all very simple. Truly the only thing they require is patience. Once you process the cashews with a small about of rejuvelac and a pinch of salt, you have to let the mixture sit at room temperature for (1-3 days). This is where the culturing occurs. At that point you add different flavors or ingredients to the base of this basic cashew cheese.

The basic cashew cheese itself taste almost identical to goat cheese. It is startling how close in flavor it is. by adding fresh herbs and garlic you can make a wonderful boursin style cheese, and sun dried tomatoes and basil make a rich and wonderful flavored cheese. I used the basic cashew cheese one day over toasted baguette with some grilled pear for a very delicious sandwich.

The last cheese I tried making was the brie, which uses the basic cashew cheese with the addition of a few other ingredients (coconut oil, nutritional yeast, etc). It has a smoother – more brie like – consistency, and a milder flavor profile.

I took these cheeses to an event I had at Isaac’s school with a few heads of roasted garlic and some crostini, and they truly were the hit of the party. Vegetarians and Omnivores alike both said the same thing. ‘They taste exactly like cheese, I would have never known they were made with cashews’. While I believe that the favors of dairy cheese are complex and nuanced, and unquestionably delicious, I really do think that this alternative is the best one I have tried yet. These cheeses are raw, healthy, full of protein, and handmade with a lot of love.

Up next for me in my cheese making conquests is her cream cheese, alfredo sauce, and hard aged cheeses. I look forward to sharing my adventures here.

All of these recipes can be found in Miyoko’s book, and many are posted on her blog. For the brie recipe check out a recent article in the Chicago Tribune: http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/food/sc-food-0111-veggie-cheese-20130116,0,1320995.story.