Vegupcakes.

Obviously, one is doomed when trying to cleverly mashup 'vegan' and 'cupcakes,' but the good news is you're not doomed if you want to make them.

Until just a few days ago, the only vegan things I'd ever cooked were by accident, and since I seem to use cheese in everything, this accident occurred very few times.  I recently hosted my friends Dana, Dave, and Zoe for dinner, however, and since it was Dave's birthday and Zoe's a vegan, POOF!  I decided it was time to give the animals a break.  We had tacos filled with guacamole, pico de gallo, roasted yams and spiced beans (gracias, Dana), vegan chili, cheese (I couldn't not), and Ottolenghi's green tahini sauce.  They were scrumdiddly.

Then we tucked into some chocolate vegan cupcakes, the recipe for which came from this annoyingly skinny baker.  They ask for no weird ingredients, just coconut cream instead of milk, margarine or vegetable shortening instead of butter, a few teaspoons of vinegar, and obviously no eggs.  They rose well, were sufficiently rich and chocolately, and we each polished off two.  I heard the chicken whose eggs I had saved chirp "thanks" from a distance.

In between taco and vegupcake mouthfuls, I spent part of the evening demanding Dave and Zoe go on tour.  They're a band - just the two of them - and it's an excellent one.  Colourful Language will someday* be coming to a city near you, so get excited.

*Just as soon as they finish their album!  Can't wait.  Here's a preview.