eclaire (what’s in a) name?

way back in december of 2003, i was sitting at the dentist office, waiting for my turn to have my teeth cleaned, and i stumbled across an article about latke parties. the article suggested throwing a food-based holiday party instead of coordinating a gift-giving secret pal party or a white elephant party. the article advocated latkes and homemade applesauce as the food of choice, and i decided that we had to throw a latke party that year to celebrate the holidays and create a secular event that all of our friends could attend, regardless of religious beliefs. and let’s face it, fried potatoes and homemade applesauce are amazing.

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hello, dear readers! how was thanksgiving? mine was wonderful – beginning the wednesday night before thanksgiving and lasting right up through sunday night, mike and i were lucky enough to spend time with all four of our parents, plus their significant others, plus our sisters, plus lots of friends – we couldn’t ask for a better way to celebrate the last of fall! unfortunately, i was so busy cooking and enjoying our company on thanksgiving that i barely took any pictures – except for a few of the table and all of us sitting down to eat. i hope all of your thanksgivings were full of good friends and family as well!

but now the leftovers have been consumed, dishes are all washed and put away, stomachs are enlarged from the feasting, and taste buds are tingling for more rich and hearty food. but for the sake of detoxing a little from the pounds of butter, sugar, and carbs – what can we make that will satisfy us, get us back on track with healthy eating, and most importantly, be quick to save our feet from standing up in the kitchen for many more hours? may i suggest cheater beans?

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in case you missed part one of the vegan cupcake extravaganza, i’ll catch you up to speed. jamie, tyler, mike, and i perused the cookbook vegan cupcakes take over the world, by isa chandra moskowitz and terry hope romero, and bit off more than we could chew in one night by selecting two recipes. we started the project late in the evening, and didn’t thoroughly read the directions for the creme pie cakes, which includes not one, not two, but THREE steps of chilling ingredients for at least an hour.

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a few weekends ago, jamie, tyler, mike, and i decided it would be a great idea to select TWO cupcake recipes from the tantalizing cookbook vegan cupcakes take over the world, by isa chandra moskowitz and terry hope romero. we labored over our choices, drooled over the pictures, and selected coconut lime cupcakes and brooklyn vs boston creme pie cakes.

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one year ago today, mike and i celebrated our wedding with our friends and family at pajaro dunes. most of you know the story, but just in case you don’t – we started dating on september 20, 1999, and decided to get married on the saturday closest to our 8 year anniversary. we sweated over details, made lists, spent lots of money, and involved our family and friends in all kinds of projects to get to the day of the wedding.

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