Birthday Celebrations Continued

My sister and her 2 kids came from St. Louis for a visit last week. We packed in lots of fun activities - and lots of food.

This is Cary.

I'll explain later this week why she was eating out of a dog bowl.

Cary is a (vegan-minded) vegetarian. I am not so fortunate to have vegan/vegetarian friends in "real" life (I mean, of course, I have all of you!), but I love that my sisters and I have this commonality.

the mixture before cooking

Friday night, we hung out with them at my parents' house. It was Cary's idea to make veggie burgers with this recipe from The Front Burner. It is mostly black beans, carrots, and oats. And we used sunflower seeds instead of pumpkin seeds. This was a great recipe that I would definitely make again.

We had our veggie burgers with all of the best stuff to go along with them.

Cary gave me beautiful, wooden bird earrings.

My parents gifted me with these white dishes.

Thank you all!

Cary and Mom had a little surprise up their sleeves. They had ordered this cake from Whole Foods, and Cary decorated it up all fancy.

I'm not used to having fancy birthday cakes. What a treat!

What is NOT a treat...turning thirty...five...sigh.

Mixed with a little Soy Delicious, there was approval all around.

That was my cutie nephew and niece.

As if all of that wasn't enough, my other sister Tracy (who is my youngest sibling) had been planning on making me a vegan birthday meal. Tracy was vegan around 10 years ago and has gone through various periods of veganism and vegetarianism over the years. She's back, though, in full force, and I'm glad - because she's a great cook!

And I feel certain I should mention that she didn't want me to take her picture. She was feeling a little awkward in our mother's shirt.

This little guy, however, loved discovering he was wearing the same kind of shirt as his Papaw.

first up on Tracy's menu: Manicotti from Vegan with a Vengeance

She also made Isa's Seitan Portabello Stroganoff to spoon over homemade mashed potatoes (with skins, like I like it). This was amazing. We all loved it. My dad said, "Don't take this the wrong way, but it doesn't taste vegan." I do think he meant it as a compliment.

Our dad is so cute. He actually will eat and appreciate anything vegan we make him. In fact, when he hears us talking "vegan" and discussing recipes or whatever, I think it makes him feel left out; he'll say, "I'm thinking about becoming vegan," just so he can "fit in." :)

I am afraid my husband will not want to go back to my boring cooking after this flavorful meal. Stroganoff is not something I would have ever picked out of a cookbook to make (I'm a little one-track minded.), much to Ryan's dismay. Everything was really delicious.

Thank you, Tracy. This was such a great birthday gift.

We had the hardest time with our photo shoot, trying to take a good picture of ourselves. Or even getting ourselves in the frame.

I'll let these cuties take over instead.

I'm hosting a $40 CSN giveaway. I will draw a winner on August 15th!