Après-walk

After the Pooch Promenade, Simon was beat. All the excitement wore him down - which isn't an easy thing to do. He's a Jack Russell, remember? While he was home, lounging in his/our bed, we packed up some food and headed over to Mama Rita's. She had shoulder surgery a few weeks ago and still only had the use of one arm, so I offered to bring over a couple of salads.


My first offering was from La Dolce Vegan. Here we have "Auntie Bonnie's Chickpea Salad". There's nothing to throwing this baby together and it is very nummy! I first tried this recipe when my naturopath's had me on an anti-inflammatory diet & I loved it.

Mama Rita really like this and raved about it. There wasn't much of this leftover, but we left some for her and took a couple of spoonfuls (literally) home for ourselves.

I also made Quinoa & Corn Medley that I have also made before. The recipe is courtesy of Beverly Lynn Bennett, The Vegan Chef.

This takes a bit more fussing & cooking, but comes out beautifully. It's very light and fluffy & was a nice contrast to the chickpea salad. The recipe for this can be found here. The recipe makes a huge amount, so I halved it with no problems.

We also went out and grabbed some pizzas. Here's my plate piled with some of everything. The pizza has a multi-grain crust and my toppings were green peppers, carmelized onions & sundried tomatoes.

My friend Michelle joined us as did Rita's friend Mary. Everyone was quite hungry and really enjoyed the feast. Jim was being such a gentleman and let the ladies help themselves first. He's patiently waiting for his turn, which explains the absence of his plate.

The star attraction was yet to come.



Ta-Da!! Dreena's Coconut Cake! She was kind enough to let me try this recipe out and let me tell you....I have a new favorite cake.


This was a snap to make and was so moist and delicious. It was quite a hit with everyone. Some even had a second sliver! The icing was great to work with and wasn't sicky sweet at all. Just Dreena-perfect! I wasn't sure if the recipe made enough to fill & frost the whole cake, but it did. I was going to pipe trim around the bottom and top edge, but only had enough for the bottom. Next time I won't make it so thick on the sides and top of the cake so I have enough to do fancy trims.


Here's my slice. This is so incredibly good! When the cookbook is released, you MUST try this cake.

We easily demolished half of the cake. I left some for Rita and her friend Gina. Simon adores Gina and she was kind enough to give him a generous donation for his walk. Apparently, she raved about the cake and practically licked her plate! So, yet another hit for Dreena!

UPDATE: I told you about Shane Bernier a few posts back. He's the little boy who is battling cancer and wanted birthday cards. Well, Shane's birthday was on May 30 and he got his wish!!








This was in the Toronto Sun on Thursday. Click the photo to enlarge and read the article, or go here.