Saturday, July 11, 2009

Hi.Peanut Butter S'mores Bars.Yeah.



peanut butter s'mores bars.
peanut butter blondie
mini chocolate chips
dandies marshmallows.

i am having a lot of fun with this vegan marshmallow thing.





these rule the school.
i gave one to robert who works at jj bean and got a free soy macchiato.
jj bean

jj bean

jj bean-hi robert!

then i ran into ppker fishelle and happened to have one to spare for her.
re-entry-hi michelle!
(it's in the tofutti container!)

then i brought these to an earthsave potluck and won 1st prize for best dessert.


oh,and if yr in the area,these will be appearing at the next bake sale!

"Blim Monthly Community Market and Market 1886 day ( craft event )

Blim will be presenting a monthly Main Street Community Market this month on Sunday July 19th to take place at outside on main street between 12-16th ave. from 12–5 PM, and will be in conjunction with Market 1886 Day.

This Months market will include over 50 vendors, live music, hot food, beverages, and entertainment. Vendors will include food, fashion, accessories, supplies, fine art, vintage items and records, and not be limited to crafts, and there will be a focus on nurturing and promoting creative production in our community. We want to appeal to young, old, hip, plain, babies, animals, men, women, everyone.

We are very excited about this event and what it can contribute to Main Street’s artistic vitality, and how it can help support and encourage the local creative community.

July Market will feature:


Exclusive @ BLIM:

basement sweet ( jewellery) www.basementsweet.com
Darwin Meyers ( vintage vinyl )
Angelu Novus (modern and vintage jewellery )
Noel Macul and Daniel Giantomaso (vintage toys and comics)
Blim (clothing and accessories) www.blim.ca
Evan McGraw (delicious vegan pastries)
Coco Cake (designer cupcakes)
Open Sesame (homemade gourmet japanese cuisine)(inside BLIM Lounge)"

Sunday, July 5, 2009

S'mores Danishes!Portland;Let Live,Peanut Butter,Chocolate,Mangoes,Figs,a lot of Espresso and Espresso Drinks,Birthday Cake,and a bunch of Crazy Stuff

s'mores danish
so last weekend i went to portland,or for the Let Live animal rights conference.
my friend glenn gaetz from liberation bc was one of the speakers,so a car full of us drove down.


glenn being really attractive when we ran into each other at whole foods the night before leaving.

and knowing how people are,i knew that i should make something not only for the car pool,but for friends in portland,too.so i made S'mores Dansihes.

s'mores danish

i used both Dandies Vegan Marshmallows and Sweet and Sara Vegan Marshmallows.

s'mores danish
straight from the oven,they puffed up like crazy.

s'mores danish

but as you know,some people are haters and think s'mores danishes sounds like 'too much' or something,i made fig and raspberry danishes,too.



some homeless lady at the food carts at 12th and hawthorne wouldn't leave us alone,so i gave her a raspberry one.

speaking of portland,and the food carts at 12th and hawthorne...

Peanut Butter Truffle and Caramels by Missionary Chocolates.
the truffle was super awesome,so rich.
but the caramels were unbelieveable.oh and only $0.50!

the next day after the conference,jess and i went to Barista.

Soy Latte from Barista.
like drinking a cloud.amazing.
we opted for ecco cafe espresso over stumptown and 49th parallel(no intelligentsia that day)

and while i'm at it...
almond and hemp milk
ALMOND/HEMP MILK Latte at Sweetpea Baking Company.
so i was kind of amazed by audra's latte art skills with almond/hemp milk(there's 1 place in vancouver that offers both of these milks for coffee,and they don't even try to do latte art with them...)and so when we saw her at the bye and bye on saturday night i was going on about how i'm a huge fan of hers through flickr,and the next day she made me this drink.and the taste was fantastic.a little hint of almond,and a lot sweeter than soy,but really really creamy.


loose trousers at the bye and bye.

albina soy
soy macchiato at albina press.
that morning i had an espresso and an espresso macchiato with soymilk.
and i had 2 really wonderful baristas.
the blonde girl told me about how soymilk is sometimes easier to work with,especially now with the barista series soymilks which contain canola oil,and the brunette gu talked to me about how he studied sound art at smfa and how i'm going to cooper union in the fall.

and it's kind of a given how the coffee was.


soy macchiato at coffee plant.

moments after having incredible espresso at spella coffee cart with maeve and jess.

something like latte art...

i was planning to only be in portland for the weekend,but i stayed until wednesday and helped isa pack.oh,and i had to go to new seasons a lot.AND change the cat litter.it's like i never left home...
and i guess a few more to wrap up pdx eats...


Multigrain Apple Cranberry Bran Muffin from Black Sheep Bakery.
moist and really big and delicious.
I love bran muffins.


Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bar from Laughing Planet on Mississippi.
ummm,WHY have i never heard anybody mention these before until isa asked me to get one when i picked up dinner?!


tried tay berries for the first time at new seasons.nothing too special.


and ate a lot of fresh figs.zomg.
the huge one is turkish brown,smaller ones and black mission.

speaking of fresh figs...


Chocolate Peanut Butter Coconut Bliss with Fresh Figs,Raspberries,Mango,and Banana.
so,yeah.i love peanut butter and mangoes,okay?and on monday after noon i went to the store to get chocolate ice cream and ended up getting this:



i've tried a few other flavours,and really liked the vanilla,but this was better.BUT there wasn't enough peanut butter.please work on that.also at the store i picked up:


isa really liked this one a lot.it did have really good texture,but i think chocolate ice cream is kinna lame,so i wish it had more fudge swirl.great texture though.isa said she liked it more than the coconut milk ones,but i haven't tried enough of those to be a good judge.

okay.end of portland.but not the end of peanut butter and mangoes...

Mango Peanut Butter Chocolate Parfait.
i made these a few days before i left.
it is layers of:
fresh mango
peanut butter mousse
chocolate mousse
banana
and topped with peanut butter granola






peanut butter mousse.


chocolate mousse.



Chocolate Mousse Birthday Cake.

i got a really immediate order for a birthday cake earlier in the week,so i utilized the mousse in a different way to make a cake.


chocolate cake
chocolate mousse filling
two layers chocolate ganache
more ganache and mousse ontop

same day i had an order for brownies...

Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies.

and i'll end with the oldest stuff i've put off posting...


Go Max Go Candy Bars-Buccaneer and Jokerz.
i have to say,these candy bars and phenomenal.especially the Jokerz.(peanuts,duuh)especially from the freezer.dissolving in yr mouth,except is cold and hard and can only dissolve so much and then you bite into it and the frozen caramel and peanut butter and chocolate is so thick and chewy and rich...zedohmygod.
and i never even though about 3 musketeers bars since going vegan,but the whipped nougat in these is just like it,and again,so darn tasty.these are awesome.
at let live my friend joanne bought me a Mahalo,which i really liked,but not as much as these two.i did share it with somebody else though,so maybe i didn't get to fully appreciate it.whatevs,these things rule.

and post bake sale,pre portland...

the day after my last bake sale,sarah wanted more of the muffins i had made,so took me to whole foods to pay for the ingredients to make more Mixed Berry Muffins.


and i also made some Banana-Oatmeal-Coconut-Almond Muffins,just cause they're really good.


besides lots of muffins,i've been baking a lot of East Coast Coffee Cake from Vegan Brunch.

plain.


chocolate chip.


raisin.

one was for my dad who visited a few weeks ago from california.we went to gibsons,too.


and on the ferry ride i ate this:







and kind of like a ferry,but not,i took james,my brother's boyfriend on the sea bus for the first time.and i know that's not important,but i think he's like the best person ever and just want an excuse to post his picture.


soy latte at jj bean on main street in vancouver.

Monday, June 15, 2009

My Big Fat Vegan Bake Sale v.3.0-Chocolate Hazelnut Layer Cake,Fig Danishes,More Muffins,that Mint Chocolate Oreo Cake,Cherries,etc...

chocolate hazelnut layer cake

chocolate hazelnut layer cake
Chocolate Hazelnut Layer Cake.
two layers of chocolate cake with organic hazelnut extract
chocolate ganache in the middle and a layer of vegan nutella
chocolate ganache on sides and top and toasted hazelnuts.

ReallyReallyGood 001

HI.
Yesterday was my third vegan bake sale at the BLIM monthly community markets.
This one was also part of the Main Street Car-Free Festival,so that was really fun!
Suuuper busy,though.It took me almost an hour and 45 minutes to completely peel a mango!Anyways,the sale was fantastic,and i'm excited for next month!I need to find a lackey or something-I didn't get to see any of the other vendors,which is fine because i'm selling stuff,but there seemed to be a lot of neat stuff going on-especially yesterday.Though,that would mean i'd probably look through Darwin's(not Damien,p.s) records,buy some,and then be annyoed about how I can't buy useless crap(okay records aren't useless crap)that I can't take with me when I move.
As well as the car-free festival,this was a part of the super-awesome(SERIOUSLY) World Wide Vegan Bake Sale,which is one of the greatest ideas since,i dunno,not eating dairy and eggs?
Thanks Gary for the help with this!
ANYWHOO,here's some stuff I made:

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the spread...

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danish assortment
Danish Assortment.

fig danish
Fig Danish.

raspberry danish
Raspberry Danish.

grape danish
Grape Danish.

mango coconut danish
Mango Coconut Danish.

strawberry danish
Strawberry Danish.

chocolate hazelnut raspberry danish
Chocolate Hazelnut Raspberry Danish.

cherry cheese danish
Cherry Cheese Danish.

mint chocolate oreo cake
Mint Chocolate Oreo Cake.



rolls
Cinnamon Rolls.

cherry hazelnuts
Cherry Hazelnut Muffins.

cherry hazelnut

mixed berry
Mixed Berry Muffins.

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Peanut Butter Cups.

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pistachiorose & vijita
the internets came!

teet & ryn
rude customers.

meems and ems
thanks for the ride,mimsicle.

mybigfatveganbakesaleV.3.0 068
sup?

oh,and here's some better pictures of the ballpoint pen drawings i did for my table's sign this time:




hope to see some of you next month!

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Becoming a Ginger

becomingaginger1

becomingaginger2

becomingaginger3

becomingaginger0




Blueberry Ginger Spelt Muffin
(and a blueberry spelt cardamom muffin)


p.s don't forget Sunday!

Monday, June 8, 2009

BEST Brownies Ever,BIG Muffins,BRIDAL Shower Cake

best brownies,ever4

best brownies,ever3

best brownies,ever2

best brownies,ever
peanut butter swirl brownies.
the BEST brownies ever.
so for testing for the cookie book isa posted a recipe for 'deluxe cocoa brownies' which are the best-dense,chewy,fudgy,the whole deal.they're also the base for the 'chocolate chip cheesecake topped brownies'.
i didn't think that they could be improved upon,but i was wrong.peanut butter is basically,as in is,the best thing ever,so i made a peanut butter topping and turned them into peanut butter swirl brownies,and i think they're like the best thing i've ever baked.okay,maybe not,but they're up there.best brownies,ever.


bridal shower cake.
chocolate cake,coconut milk chocolate mousse in the center,chocolate cake,covered in vaniller buttercream,and more coconut milk chocolate mousse on top.and white and dark chips.


some lady ordered this for her friend's birdal shower.she needed an eggless cake.i won't get into it,but apparently i effed up and didn't write 'congrats pavan' on it,even though i was told i could "maybe" write it,and i the lady haggled me down $20 on the price.whatevs.

i won the first prize!
bleuberry and almond creme danishes.
i made these for last weekend's earthsave canada potluck,which was at jericho beach,and really nice and sunny and lots of great people were there.


this was my prize.

here's some more pictures from the potluck:
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raw mousse
basically a smoothie.well,it was just blended fruit...





raw daikon
raw daikon.


he only ate it because it looked weird.


orange chocolate sconed.



banana.

banana oatmeal coconut almond muffins.









orange.

orange cranberry nut muffins.

from Vegan Brunch.duh.

ben
i got a makeover.

these muffins are ridiculously good.fresh orange juice,juicy crans,pecans...super soft and moist.and i love the crispy edge on the top.another winner.


maple peanut butter.
because y'know,cranberry,pecans,maple...all those warming,wintery flavours,really coagulate well.especially in this heat.


i should also mention that since last tuesday i've been listening to the cranberries almost exclusively.see,i was at my mom's boyfriend's house just visiting,and i wanted to draw,so i go onto his computer and look at his itunes,and randomly out them on.'to the faithful departed' was the 3rd cd i ever bought,but i hadn't actually listened to them in forever.the songs played continuously for like 2 hours,and then that night i couldn't get 'linger' out of my head,and i felt really silly,but i looked for my cds,and i found them,along with a ton of old no doubt cds.
POINT of the story is,i felt really silly/funny/serendipitous buying and using cranberries since y'know,i was probably listening to them when i made these.seriously.


fresh-squeezed orange juice.


watermelon juice.
huh?

and i'll leave you with this:


watermelon and juice leftover from cutting one up,a mango,banana,and bluebs.all juicy in the sun.zedohmygod.

actually i'll leave you with this:
SUNDAY JUNE 14TH is the next BLIM Monthly Community Market.
And,like at the previous markets,I will be selling vegan baked goods!Last month there was mint chocolate oreo cake,9 varieties of danishes,and more!so it's DEFINITELY worth it to come out!
please note that I will be selling inside of BLIM(half a block west of main,on 17th)with the other food vendors.

here are the details:

"Sunday June 14 | 12 – 6 PM | Free
@ Outside on Main and 17th

Blim will be presenting a monthly Main Street Community Market this month to take place at outside on Main street and 17th from 12–6 PM, and will be in conjunction with Main Street Car-Free Day.

This Months market will include over 50 vendors, live music, hot food, beverages, and entertainment. Vendors will include food, fashion, accessories, supplies, fine art, vintage items and records, and not be limited to crafts, and there will be a focus on nurturing and promoting creative production in our community. We want to appeal to young, old, hip, plain, babies, animals, men, women, everyone.

We are very excited about this event and what it can contribute to Main Street’s artistic vitality, and how it can help support and encourage the local creative community.

Exclusive at BLIM:
basement sweet (jewellery)
Blim (clothing and accessories)
darwin meyers (used vinyl)
Evan McGraw (delicious vegan pastries)(inside BLIM Lounge)
Gldnmilitia (modern and vintage jewellery)
Julia Lemieux (tasty vegan baked goods)(inside BLIM Lounge)
Noel Macul and Daniel Giantomaso (vintage toys and comics)
Open Sesame (homemade gourmet Japanese cuisine)(inside BLIM Lounge)"

also,this will be part of the increbile World Wide Vegan Bakesale(thanks gary)so check it out!

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

My Big Fat Vegan Bake Sale v2.0-Mint Chocolate Oreo Cake,9 Varieties of Danishes(fig!),Lots of Muffins,and a lot more...PLUS East Van Barista Jam

mybigfatveganbakesalev2.0 078

evanmcgrawveganpastries2

evanmcgrawveganpastries1

Hey.So this past sunday was the second BLIM Monthly Community Market,and again i was selling vegan baked goods.oh,and that's the poster i made for my table.it's ballpoint pen and coloured pencils.

mybigfatveganbakesalev2.0 051
Mint Chocolate Oreo Cake.
so i wasn't actually gonna make this,or any cake,rather i was going to only bake what sold really well last time and lots of it and stick to that.BUT,everytime my mom visits she says "you should make a cake for yr next bake sale and sell slices,and have them in little pieces of wax paper for people.but in the shape of a cake still.that would sell.you should do that.people like cakes.make one that looks nice.and put the slices in little pieces of wax paper.i see people do that all the time.that would sell."
but i still wasn't going to.then last week she said it again,and even said that if it didn't sell then she would buy it from me.i wouldn't have taken her money(maybe...)but i decided to do it to make her happy.so,since i still have some Trader Joes Peppermint Jo Jo's left, i decided to do a mint chocolate oreo cake.it was chocolate cake,mint buttercream frosting,more chocolate cake,and A LOT of thick chocolate ganache.and extra mint frosting on top and bottom,and quite a few of the peppermint jo jo's.and well,it sold.i sold a slice before i had even taken my stuff out of mimi's car to set up the table.so i guess my mom was right.
i still have some jojo's,and the boxes say they're good until july,so there miiiight be another cake at the one next month on june 14th...

mybigfatveganbakesalev2.0 055

mybigfatveganbakesalev2.0 059
Danishes!9 Varieties!
From left to right,top to bottom:
fig,blueberry,chocolate hazelnut raspberry,coconut mango,nutella,grape,raspberry,strawberry,and cherry cheese.

OMG ROSE MELBERG CAME TO MY BAKESALE AND ATE A RASPBERRY CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT DANISH!!!
oh,hey,this is freaking Rose Melberg with a chocolate hazelnut raspberry danish.i was kind of blown away.
joanna said this on flickr

"it's too bad that you decided at the last minute not to make some peanut butter pillows and call them "the softies.""

and it made me really happy.
mybigfatveganbakesalev2.0 041

mybigfatveganbakesalev2.0 040
Nutella Danish.

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Blueberry Danish.

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Fig Danish.

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studio from the ppk and her fig danish.

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Coconut Mango Danish.

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Raspberry Danish.

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Grape Danish.

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Cherry Cheese Danish.

okay,sick of danishes yet?!
moving on...

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Cinnamon Rolls.

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Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk muffins.

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Mixed Berry Muffins.

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Peanut Butter Cups.

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White Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chip Cookies.
i.e the best cookies EVER.a few ppkers,daniel's boyfriend,and myself agree.


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and some dough.maybe better than the cookies?

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the spread.

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denyce has really great taste in music.

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leila and becca even brought me coffee.and i didn't know they were coming!it was from the le faux bourgeoise cafe that opened.not bad,but...

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lorrie.

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mimsicle is the best.

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and the internet came!

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and their children.

mybigfatveganbakesalev2.0 026

and there you have it.whoo.

mybigfatveganbakesalev2.0 045
pre-bake sale black cat espresso at wicked cafe.i had to go that morning to get 20% off beans so...




speaking of coffee,last week i went to the east van barista jam.which was awesome.i think i'm really becoming a coffee connoisseur now.or nerd.whatevs.thanks so much michelle,who works at radio station cafe,for letting me know about this and being so nice and friendly that day.





welcome

it was at radio station cafe,i met a lot of friendly people,there was a lot of fancy cameras,and umm it was really exciting watching baristas,and some non-baristas,pull shots for 3.5 hours.




Banana Espresso Chocolate Chunk Bread.


peanut buttered.


9 free organic bananas from whole foods.
the one furthest to the right was already mine,and i was just eating it.
see,i just asked if there was overripe bananas.the guy said probably not,but that's he'd look in the back,came back with a box,and said to tell the cashier they were courtesy of brayden in produce.
and honestly,look at those bananas,they're totally sellable!

i guess you could say that the bread was partly inspired by the coffee-filled events earlier in the day...


free poured soy cappuccino at jj bean in yaletown.
dan and i went on a date.
ordering this was a hassle though-the girl told me they scoop the cappuccinos and made it seem like they wouldn't be able to do otherwise,and i didn't want a latte really,so i was taking forever and then they asked what exactly was it that i wanted,because i hadn't
specifically said before "i want a free poured soy cappuccino" and so then the barista was like yeah,i can do that,and the problem was solved.was it even a problem?





and i'm just not gonna shut up about coffee...


soy macchicato at jj bean on commercial drive

last thursday,brian,or,hoveringdog from the ppk(internet fame,f'reals)was here in vancouver and i showed him around for about 3.5 hours,wish it could have been longer,but we saw a lot,and had coffee attwo of the best cafes in vancouver for good espresso

dogs that hover

but i don't think he even knew



we met at wicked cafe downtown and he actually brought me some sweet & sara marshies.yes.

okay,and here's a big mango:

see ya.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Vegan Brunch is Here!Raspberries!Victoria!Danishes!Etc...

so because i spent a million dollars on fresh raspleberries
OHMYGOD YOU GUYS!DID YOU KNOW THAT VEGAN BRUNCH IS FINALLY HERE?!
to celebrate,these are the Bakery-Style Mixed Berry Muffins.They're pretty much going to be the new 'Best Pumpkin Muffins'.Does that make sense?They're really big,fluffy,perfectly moist,sweet,and well,muffin-y in the best way possible.For this batch I used whole wheat pastry flour,will no-less awesome results.

raspberry beret
and speaking of bother berries and isa,here is the Raspberry Blackout Cake from Vegan with a Vengeance.
I'm instantly reminded of why I will always love that book.
This was for Mimi's 30th birthday.I was all fancy and used organic raspberry preserves and even bought fresh raspberries at the new Whole Foods to decorate it.And they cost a small fortune.But some made their way into the muffs.

and speaking of raspberries...
raspberry blackout danish
Raspberry Blackout Danish.Danish with a chocolate hazelnut raspberry filling.


zebra pastry
mini Zebra Pastry.
Just cuz.











Oh and last week I went with my good friends Joanne and Glenn of Liberation BC fame to Victoria,where Joanne,who is working at HSI currently was organizing a bear trophy hunting demonstration at the Parliament building.We built a teddy bear monument.It was really fun.Though,it started pouring at about 10 to 2,right when it started.Fun.
It went really well though.


soya.

Photo Library - 20


Oh,and I should mention that Denyce,a fellow ppker had been in contact with me about mail ordering some danishes and cinnamon rolls the week previous.How serendipitous that I would be going to Victoria,so we met up and I sold her some goods.Also,I provided nourishment for the 5 of us who drove over:


very professional.




sick of seeing danishes yet?




green cuisine.


mango.


honeydew.





bird watching.


...and of course there was coffees.
But really fantastic coffee from 2% Jazz.
2% jazz soy macchiato #1
soy macchiato #1.

2% jazz soy macchiato #2 for free!
soy macchiato #2.for FREE!

the first one was good,but this one was ambrosial.f'reals.
and prettier.
apparently it was a shorter pull.
can i mention that they use Soy Dream soymilk?
yeah,the guy and i were talking and i was like "well,if you can make the macchiato really pretty,that's a bonus.."and he was all "well,latte art with soymilk is easy,but it's just generally harder in a macchiato" and so i had the first one and then he just looked at me and was like "do you want another?"
how great is that?

oh and i'll also mention that soy dream french vanilla ice cream is amazing.people don't really seem to like it!
wtf is with all these companies making vanilla bean,when french vanilla,all off-white/manilla coloured,is the best?!and they don't even sell it here anymore.laaame.






done.

and more coffee:

free-pour soy cappuccino at wicked cafe.
it's nice to get intelligentsia coffees in vancouver,especially since all anywhere else seems to serve is 49th parallel.diversity is good and nice.

brother
I finally used my free coffee stamp card at wicked cafe last week.i had to make an event of it so i brought dan,his boyfriend james,and maria.