I hope you all had great holidays and fun New Year’s celebrations! I had a great Christmas, spent in Whistler with my family and my boyfriend. It snowed the whole time, and I gave snowboarding a go. Our car was jam-packed so when we picked up a little Christmas tree there one was only one place for it…thanks Mom! We also had no room to bring up ornaments for the tree….but we are a festive family and thought of something suitable

New Year’s was also spent in Whistler and …

The other day it was one of my best friends birthday, and I was super excited to make some cupcakes for her! She works at Starbucks and I thought I would make some adorable Starbucks themed cupcakes. We also recently took a trip to Seattle and of course hit up Starbucks every single day!
I made a basic vegan yellow cupcake, filled them with a delicious caramel sauce, and topped them off with a swiss meringue buttercream. Of course if you make these, you’ll have to discreetly steal some supplies from …

It’s that time of year when I get to start baking for Christmas! I loooove Christmas baking, and I kicked off the season’s treats with these Lemon Lavender Shortbread. I’ve made this recipe a few times now and it takes the rich buttery taste of shortbread and pairs it up with the delicate scent of lemon and lavender. These are so unique- I bet your family and guests will never have tried a cookie flavoured with lavender before. The recipe is a snap to make, but do make sure you …

On Friday it was my friends birthday and I was super stoked to be able to make her birthday cake for her. Since she is turning 21, I thought a Vegas themed birthday cake would be appropriate.
The big bottom layer was a white cake with maraschino cherries and white chocolate chips. It was frosted with my favourite Italian buttercream, flavoured with vanilla bean and white chocolate.
The dice were both a devil’s food cake layered with a delicious chocolate cocoa fudge icing, and chocolate ganache.
I woke up the next morning with …

Happy Birthday to Koko’s Kitchen! I started this blog on January 11th, 2009 and I can’t believe it’s been two years. Woohoo!
These were actually special birthday cupcakes that I made for two friends in December. Cupcakes are simply one of my favourite things to make for others.

Funny story….my friend and I got pulled over for driving with a tail light out as we were heading to our friend’s birthday. I think we may have avoided a full ticket by giving the cop one of these babies. Nothing wrong with a …

Can you believe it’s 2011 already? I literally remember being nine years old and counting down to midnight on y2k, wondering what would happen when the year 2000 hit. Hah!
Last night was a ton of fun. I invited five friends over for some snacks and drinks before we hit the town. I love entertaining, I wanted a really fun menu with everything miniature!

Everyone was greeted with a Mini Peach-Pomegranate-Grapefruit Drop Martini.

Peach-Pomegranate-Grapefruit Martini

2 oz Absolut Peach vodka
splash of pomegranate juice
splash of grapefruit juice
sugar
orange zest

Put a bit of sugar into a bowl …

I’m a bit sad that Christmas is already over, but that seems to happen every year. It even snowed 4 days after Christmas this year…..the weather was taunting my white Christmas dreams!

We did have a really nice Christmas though, and man, was the food ever good. My family feasted on roasted garlic mashed yams, turkey, corn, peas & mushrooms, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, asparagus with orange sauce, coleslaw, cranberry sauce, roasted brussel sprouts, a green bean casserole, and I’m probably forgetting some dishes but there was so much delicious food. …

Here is another great salad recipe that is light and healthy and perfect for Fall. Delicious bosc pears, dried cranberries, candied pecans, and a homemade balsamic vinaigrette. The pecans are really the star of this dish, they are sooo tasty!

Spinach Salad with Balsamic Dressing (Oh She Glows)
Salad:

1 bag baby spinach (about 6 cups)
2 bosc pears, chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 cup candied pecans

Dressing:

2.5 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Ground black pepper to taste
1/2 minced clove of garlic

Candied …

Here is a great use for butternut squash (my fav!). It’s a lovely curried soup and it’s so easy to make. I served this for my friends when they came over for a “Fall Dinner” and they asked me if it was from a package because they thought it was too good. What a great compliment!

Curried Butternut Squash Soup (adapted from The Everyday Vegan)

1 large butternut squash, cooked (6-7 cups)
1 large yam, cooked
1 cup carrots, roughly chopped
2 tsp olive oil
1 cup sweet white onion, roughly chopped
1/2 cup celery, roughly chopped
3 …

I know I’m a healthy-food blogger, but I really do love to bake. I like the process of baking much more than I like eating baked goods. I would rather bake a bunch of things and give them away. I just find that baking is so calming- I bring my laptop to the kitchen (yes, it is coated in flour and has flecks of icing over the keys), turn my itunes on as loud as possible, zone out, and bake. A half hour or so later, I have made something …