Happy Birthday / Labor Day

The partying has continued and for today I had planned to make my easy pasta salad. Despite my best intentions, I either did not hear the timer while the pasta was boiling, or it didn't go off. I'm leaning towards a defective timer. So, I got distracted while visiting with my mom and by the time Joe asked me what was cooking it was just one big mush.

I didn't want to show up with nothing or I'd be stuck eating fruit and carrots all afternoon. I knew I had all the ingredients to make the Vegetable Phyllo Roll from Vegan Family Favorites, so I pulled that out and got to work. I've never worked with phyllo before but it was much easier then I though it would be. I shredded my vegetables in the food processor and the rest of the prep was very simple.

I loved this. The pastry was crispy and buttery on the outside. The vegetables were cooked nicely and tasted fresh. The hoisin sauce gave it a nice subtle seasoning. I ended up making 3 smaller rolls, instead of one big one. I don't really see how all of that filling would have fit in one roll. Even with 3 rolls I had some filling left over.

I forgot to take pictures of my phyllo rolls at home and they were gobbled up before I had my camera out at the party. These were really quick once the phyllo was thawed out. I'll make them again to go along with some Asian food.


For Ramsey's continuing celebrations I made the Triple Layer Chocolate "Cream" Cake from The Everyday Vegan. Everyone was amazed at the frosting. It's made from tofu, maple syrup and semi-sweet chocolate chips. It was wonderful. It was super creamy and had a very rich chocolate taste. I really was surprised at how well it turned out, though it is Dreena Burton. Dreena is a cooking goddess.

We had a lovely time today. It was crazy hot and we didn't stray from the pool much. We have one more party to get through before the partying is at an end. I'll give you a hint about tomorrows menu.....it involves a grill and some BBQ sauce.