Vegetarian Birthday Dinner

Cooking vegetarian is not in my comfort zone. I don't know why. I eat vegetables. I cook vegetables. I even bake with vegetables at times. Maybe it's something to do with not having the choice. Maybe having no other option but to use vegetables sets my control issues on high alert. For whatever reason, planning for a vegetarian meal always feels like an extraordinary feat.

The Adolescent, the Daughter, the Beamer, Paolo

This weekend's dinner is to celebrate the April birthdays of 3 of my beloved people: Mary, the Adolescent, and the Hubby. Or as the Hubby will be affectionately called in today's post: Mush for Brains. Mush for Brains is nearing the end of "tax season" and it seems that mush is about all he has left up there for things that are not tax returns. For 2 months of the year he works all day, into the wee hours of the night, and on weekends. The tax returns he completes are things of beauty but everything else is hit and miss. His patience is shot. His memory is in tatters. He falls asleep at the table in the middle of a dinner party! Luckily the heart does not appear to be dependent on a well-working brain. Mush for Brain's heart continues to be large and loving. (Read about MFB`s birthday last year)

Wild Mushroom Parcels in front of a photo of Black Pepper Tofu from Plenty cookbook

For this weekend's dinner I must plan a feast that doesn't include meat (Mary), nuts (Mike), eggs or cheese (Paolo). I scour through my recipe files. Everything good I've already made or contains one of the forbidden ingredients. I buy a vegetarian cookbook: Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi. It's gorgeous and inspiring. I decide on Wild Mushroom Parcels which are appropriately gift-like for a birthday dinner. A mixture of shitake, oyster, and cremini mushrooms along with fresh tarragon give the dish a subtle licorice taste. Mary is touched. She recognizes the effort. She is especially appreciative of the fact that I even cooked at all! (Read about Mary`s birthday last year)

Inside the Wild Mushroom Parcels

Mush for Brains grills a few steaks for the die hard carnivores among us. To balance all this Meat I must also make "meat". What's the deal with tofu? Tasteless, odourless, and pasty white. I don't even know where to find it in the supermarket! Is it vegetable? "meat"? dairy? eggs? But all is forgiven with Black Pepper Tofu from Plenty cookbook. The tofu is smothered in garlic, chilies, ginger, shallots, and soy sauce and it's delicious! Paolo who apparently doesn't like tofu gobbles it up.

Blowing out the birthday candles

Finally it's time for the reason why I eat all the other stuff. So I can get to dessert. The birthday cake is Frozen Lemon Meringue Cake. This cake will definitely be added to my repetoire. Layers of meringue, lemon curd, and vanilla ice cream are frozen and then, just before serving, softened in the fridge. It is cool, tart, sweet, velvety, crunchy, and lush. Lemon heaven! Paolo eats THREE pieces! And he usually doesn't like meringue (it's made from eggs you know). There are no leftovers.

Frozen Lemon Meringue Cake

One dinner out of my comfort zone, three new recipes tried with great success, one amazing birthday cake, and three beloved people celebrated in the best way I know how.

Eliza's Cupcakes

"Eliza"

This is "Eliza". She is in quotation marks because I have never actually met Eliza in the flesh so can only vouch for "Eliza". Although quotation marks are not good when it comes to "meat" I think it's acceptable when referring to "people". I talked to "Eliza" on the phone once very briefly. And we exchanged a couple of instant messages a while ago. "Eliza" drew me a picture a long time ago and it's still pinned to my bulletin board at work. Or at least I was told she drew it for "me" but nothing's for certain when you're dealing with quotation marks.





I "know" Eliza because her father is my friend Treasure. According to Treasure, Eliza is an amazing kid who always has lots to say, is a very good baseball player, and now it seems is a baker of amazing looking cupcakes. I can't vouch for their taste because, sadly, no cupcake was ever shared with me. But I have a good imagination and they certainly look like they taste good!

This is "Eliza's" story...

Hi my name is Eliza. I am nine years old and was born in Ontario. I got this recipe from my Nan. She sent it to me in the mail. She said she found it in a magazine. They looked super cute and yummy. These are the steps me and my mom used:

1. we made the cupcakes using a rainbow chip mix

2. my mom iced the cupcakes while I put on the sprinkels and M and Ms        

3. When they were all done we  made faces and itenies (antennae is a hard word to spell - Gastronome)

4. After that we made eyes and mouths      

5. Last we put a brown line through the middle

The ingreetings that we used were:

·         Cupcake mix (found at any grocery store)

·         White iceing (found at any grocery store)

·         Red sprinkles

·         Lindor chocolate cut in half

·         Brown M and Ms

·         Same white iceing to do the eyes

·         And black iceing to do the dot in the eyes (found at a cake store)

·         Last we used  light brown iceing  to do the middle line (found at a cake store)

  
On Easter Sunday my family went to my dads sisters house and took the cupcakes. I  thought  they were super good and my cousins did too.

                                                        Guest Blogger, Eliza 

P.S This is my first time being on a blog

P.S I prefer you to make these cupcakes

                                        Bye!

To Ring or Not to Ring?

The Adolescent is maturing! How I know this to be true:

Immaturity is never far below the surface

It was the Adolescent's 17th birthday on the weekend. This in itself means nothing with respect to maturity. But, coupled with...

Scarlett colours Easter eggs to decorate the dinner table

At his birthday dinner, the Birthday Bell did not ring even once! The tradition at the birthday dinner table is that the Birthday Person gets full Power and Control of the Birthday Bell. With its ring, the Birthday Person can ask for ANYTHING!  Theoretically, when the bell rings, everyone around the dinner table jumps up and clambers to do whatever it is that the birthday person wants. This is how it happens in my fantasy anyway. Before the Adolescent was an adolescent he was given the birthday bell for one memorable birthday dinner. He rang that bell constantly. Everyone was going insane with the ringing and the demands. It was Power and Control gone amok in the hands of someone too young to respect the responsibility of it all. I lasted as long as I could but then I took the bell away. He claims that no bell rang this year due to emotional scarring. I suppose that some would consider this a byproduct of maturation!
 

The Adolescent with Sinikka and Gung Gung

The Adolescent is engaged and interactive during family dinners. What happened to the sullen, slouching, grunting boy of just a year or so ago? Today he chats, he tells funny stories, he asks people about themselves, he asks his sister for advice, he listens, he speaks of a future and how he wants to change the world for the better.

Richard, the Adolescent, and Trish flexing their muscles with Grandpa looking on

The Adolescent actually listening to Brian

The Adolescent eats the birthday cake I bake for him! Every year we go through this sad little ritual. I ask him what cake he wants me to bake. He says he'd prefer a cake from the grocery store. I really try and do what he has asked. I remind myself not to take this personally. I remind myself that it's not about me this day. I try and convince myself that if he wants a store bought cake that it takes nothing away from me to get him a store bought cake. I try but in the end I always fail.

So delicious!

But this year is different. We never even begin our sad predictable interaction. This year I bake him a Frozen Mocha Cake with Chocolate Ganache Glaze. Coffee mousse in the middle surrounded by chocolate meringue cake and covered in a rich chocolate glaze. This cake gets raves from everyone at the table. But will the Adolescent eat it? He tries a taste. It's delicious! He finishes the slice and then polishes off the rest of the cake later that night. I don't even recognize this boy.

Me and the Birthday Boy

Here's to many more years of birthday cakes that may or may not be eaten, to experiences that may (hopefully there's not too many of these) or may not scar, and to Birthday Bells that may or may not be rung! Happy Birthday Sweetie!