Birthday Brunch

Sunday we had a birthday brunch for my sister, but she forgot about it until a couple hours after she was supposed to be here. Luckily, we know Karen and went ahead and ate. She did come by after she realized she was supposed to be at our house to play with the kids (she helped them advertise for the neighborhood bakery), receive her birthday drawing from Parker, and eat some cake. Rob's dad, Mike, was in town all weekend from North Carolina and my dad made it for brunch.Tofu Florentine from Veganomicon. We like to live on the edge and we topped it with fresh raw tomatoes (hydroponic so we thought they would be safe). I used whole wheat English muffins for the base as I did the Tofu Benedict last weekend. Rob really enjoyed it and I was a little distracted with my worry about Karen so I didn't notice any other reaction, but Parker said later that he really liked it. Organic grapes from the co-op. Pumpkin Crumb Cake with Pecan Streusel from Veganomicon. Organic strawberries from the farmer's market and organic blueberries from the store. Rob roasted asparagus from the farmer's market (not in the picture).
I made the Coconut-Lemon Bundt Cake (from Veganomincon) and the Pumpkin Crumb Cake with Pecan Streusel around midnight for a couple reasons (everyone was in bed), but the main reason was the heat. It was hot and humid this weekend and we can only open one window on the first floor (I'll remind ya again that we don't have A/C). Baking didn't even sound tolerable until after 11pm. I really like to bake at night anyway. It reminds me of my mother and it is nice time to think about things and it almost meditation...until Josie wakes up screaming because I'm not right next to her and decides to nurse for the rest of the baking. Anyway, the point is I modified the recipes a bit due to running out of ingredients and the time of day/night. I didn't use lemon zest (and I feel the bundt cake suffered a bit for it) and used lemon extract instead, but not enough...it was still good, just not lemony. I ran out of cinnamon while making the crumb cake so I winged it with allspice and nutmeg with fine results. I used walnuts instead of pecans for the topping and I would do that again.

I used leftover English muffins, broiled tofu, and avocado for lunch the next day. We were at our friend, Jenny's and the broiled tofu was a hit for her boys. I used the sauce (added some flax seed oil) for whole wheat macaroni and "cheese" dinner (with leftover beans, kale, and brown rice from Saturday when Rob made burritos).Sunday afternoon we took a dip in our neighbor's pool and it was so nice to get cool we didn't want to leave. It was a perfect way to deal wtih the heat. Just for the record, that is Rob's hairy leg behind Josie, not mine. The funny look is because she is looking into the sun. She had a blast at the pool!
For dinner Sunday night we walked (I pushed Parker and Josie in the Chariot) and biked (Rob rode Mike on the back of his Xtracycle...wish I had snapped a picture of that!! and Dema rode his bike) downtown to the Esquire for black bean burgers. We ran into Cynthia's gang which was a nice surprise. They were leaving as we were coming in. Dema fell asleep at the table (long hot day!) so Parker rode Dema's bike home and I pushed Dema and Josie in the Chariot.
We had a nice visit with Mike, but he left for North Carolina just as the weather turned tolerable and today it is downright beautiful!