Christmas Trifle Goes Vegan

(Note: Salba contest winner Tricia - I still haven't received an e-mail from you - please be in touch within the next day or another winner will have to be selected.)

Anyone remember having trifle in their pre-vegan days? I sure do, it was a Christmas dessert tradition in our house, and so this year I recreated the tradition for our family, vegan style!
The trifle was far easier than I had anticipated. Once the elements for the layers were prepared (which could be done a day or two in advance), then it was merely a matter of layering... and then the hardest part - waiting!

I will formalize this recipe, but here's the basic rundown of what I did:

Made the cake layers (used the All-Purpose Vanilla Cake recipe from ed&bv), custard, pineapple sauce, strawberry sauce, and Celestial Cream (also from ed&bv) ahead of time, and refrigerated everything until cool.

I assembled the trifle on Christmas Eve, but next time I'll assemble the morning before serving (if serving for afternoon or evening). A day in advance made the layers soak into one another more than I had wanted, though it tasted terrific nonetheless.

I started with a layer of custard on the bottom of a large glass bowl. Then, added slices of the cake, as you see here...

This was followed by another layer of custard and cake, and then a layer of the pineapple sauce...

Then, more cake/custard, and a grating of white chocolate. I used an Organica White Chocolate Bar and really liked its flavor, and also appreciated that it is made with great ingredients including organic fair-trade cocoa butter, fair trade organic raw cane sugar, and organic rice syrup.

A little more cake, then a layer of fresh strawberry sauce...

More cake (here you see my elves helping out), and then finally the layers were topped off with the Celestial Cream, and shavings of more of the white chocolate.

All of these layers made for one monstrously delicious trifle...

For serving, it was as easy as spooning into a bowl or parfait glass (and in my case, scooping out extra bits of custard or celestial cream until just right!)

Mom's The Word

Yesterday it was all about us moms, right? Even though the cynics in us might say this is a fabricated 'holiday', I for one am not complaining!

Us moms work our butts off! (Dads do too, but their day is coming, so let's get back to us mommies.) Yes, our butts are running to and fro. And multi-tasking is not just a trendy sounding word - it's life! So, it's lovely to have a day that is all about making mom feel special.

Our morning began with pancakes. Not in bed. I'm up before everyone else, so I'm not going back to bed to eat pancakes! I gathered the ingredients for hubby and the girls, because I knew it might take a little long for the pancakes to hit the skillet if they had to search for everything. Pictured above are blueberry chocolate chip pancakes with my new Celestial Cream for Eat, Drink and Be Vegan.

On the left of this pic you also see a mug of cocoa with the pancakes. This Coco-Cocoa is also a new recipe for the book, and is a luxurious twist on regular hot cocoa. This was very rich and decadent, not only with the chocolate chips in the pancakes, but then with the Celestial Cream and the Coco-Cocoa... amazing, but I really craved a salad for lunch!

Hubby gave me this for Mother's Day. I LOVE it. It's from Matt and Nat. They have an online store, but certain stores in Vancouver carry their purses. Up until now, I have been using a sports-type shoulder bag. It's very functional, but not very fashionable. And that's about all I had in the 'purse' department. Until now! I tell you, hubby has gotten so keen over the years about things I'd like. He knows I'd like to have a few more vegan items like nice shoes and such, but I don't like ordering online. Need to try things on and see them for real. This was so spot on!

He also gave me this new book, Wiped!. The title alone is priceless (Wiped! life with a pint-sized dictator). I was laughing when reading in the first pages how the author walked into the wall in the middle of the night, thinking she broke her nose but refusing to go to the emergency room because (1) she was too tired and (2) she didn't dare wake the baby. After all the time it took to get the baby to sleep. Oh yes, how I remember those days. Well, not banging in to the wall, but spending the better part of my days trying to get the babes to go to sleep already! Definitely a great gift for any moms who can use a laugh (and need to know they aren't alone in these experiences)

I took full advantage of Mother's Day, telling the girls that fighting and whining were not at all allowed. "It's in the Mother's Day Rule Book", I told them. My older girl said "no it's not, mommy". "Oh yes it is", I said, "that's what we talk about in the mommy meetings". (note: mommy meetings are what we term those occasions that I get together with my girlfriends for lunch or tea - not at all often enough, but when we do, it's a 'mommy meeting') You know, I used this card a few times yesterday - with some success! I'll 'milk' the day for all it's worth!!

Earlier in the week, we had a special "Mom's Day Tea" at kindergarten. It was precious, and of course we had tea - and scones. The teachers there are outstanding, and since they were making the scones with the children, they offered to make vegan scones. I'll fill you in on those scones in another post, since this one is getting long. I also brought in the Celestial Cream to serve with the scones. Celestial Cream. mmmmm I'm in heaven.

Happy (belated) Mother's day to all you moms out there. I hope you felt special yesterday and had a little break. You deserved it!