My hubby and I were chatting with a friend last month who’d never visited Cheeky Kitchen. As we messaged each other back and forth, he said he’d stop by my site and check it out.

“It’s not quite where I want it,” I quickly typed into my Facebook messaging box, “I’m getting away from baked goods.”

To which he almost immediately replied, “Just looked at the site and I can definitively say you are not getting away from baked goods.”

What is it about pancakes and cookies and cake that translates into warm and comfortable and happy? Since working toward vegan-based family recipes these last several weeks, I have less and less desire to drown my cravings in flour and chocolate. But, on a winter morning, a griddle of hot pancakes with a fat slather of butter and syrup is as nice as this season gets.

Which is why I’m glad vegan eating doesn’t call for lettuce for breakfast. It just wouldn’t work.

But a plate of fresh pancakes (with the sneaky sneak of flaxseed and chia), a squash of peanut butter, piles of bananas, and a homemade maple syrup? Well, honey. That’s the way to start off a morning.

©2012 Cheeky Kitchen

Shameless. What I’m about to do to you is completely shameless.

Because, you see. I have no agenda. But in about three seconds and a series of nine photos, I might convert you to veganism.

For starters, I’m not 100% vegan yet. I ate a Cheez-It the other day and sneaked a bite (and by bite, I mean four slices) of banana bread the other day. So, let’s get that straight right off.

But, I tell you what. This whole vegan eating thang is working.

I’ve lost 5 pounds. It’s strange, too. I wake up every morning after eating mounds of decadent food. Hummus and veggies and grilled eggplant and portabella fajitas and creamy pasta, and place my hand on my stomach. It doesn’t feel bloated. I don’t get that post-indulgence guilt. My cravings in general are subsiding. I took one look at a chocolate heart today and tossed it in the trash because it sounded so unappetizing compared to leftover fajita veggies. Yes, you read that right. Veggies over chocolate.  This, I believe, is my body finding it’s peace. This is my liver and marrow and intestinals saying, “thank you. You’re figuring us out and treating us right.”

To which I say, of course, “awww, guys. You know I love your guts.”

©2012 Cheeky Kitchen

Did you just smidge your nose?

I think you did.

What? Whyyyyy? Oh yes. The mushrooms.

I recognize there are those amongst us who turn a stinky eye toward mushrooms. But listen, guys. This recipe is going to change all of that.

Because no matter how much you don’t like mushrooms, it’s worth a try making mushrooms that taste like steak. And tulips. And ice skating whipporwhills. And these mushrooms do. They will defy your imagination. They will wow your senses. They will be gobbled to gone in ten seconds flat.

©2012 Cheeky Kitchen

From time to time (read: often) my inbox plays tidepool to requests for help. Sometimes companies ask for a review. Sometimes fellow bloggers have questions. Every now and again, I’m invited to join pinup websites. No, really. That is true.

I really try not to bother you with these things. You’re much too busy to care about the newest package of nuts which can be shipped directly to your door for any occasion. If you want nuts, I figure you’ll figure out how to get them to your door.

But this week, there were two requests I simply had to pass along.

The first came from my DC food writing pal, Russell W. Warnick. Yes, I put the W right there in the middle because I think it looks proper that way. And I need you to be willing to give thirty seconds of your time for my Russell friend. He just cooked lamb nachos for the Fans of Lamb contest and demurely asked me if I could click a thumbs up for his recipe. I totally did. And it was so easy, and he was so not yet winning (obvs, he SHOULD win. Lamb nachos? Yes thank you.) So I thought, YOU might be willing to CLICK HERE and offer up your vote for his crazy clevs “Welsh Rarebit Lamb Nachos” by Endless Simmer. You can only post one vote per computer, so a single thirty-second click is all that’s needed to make an adorable Englishman’s day.

Did you click and vote? Oh my gosh. You know I lurve your head, right?

©2012 Cheeky Kitchen

Eldon planned a Sunday Brunch. I know this doesn’t mean much to you, but to Amy and Em and I, this meant squeals and thrills and texts exchanged like teenage girls.

Oh em gee. Are you going to brunch?

WTFabulous? How much do we love Eldon?

What are you taking? What are you wearing? What time are you arriving? 

You see, ever since the three of us met Eldon and his infamous Kartchner clan, we’ve been smitten with stars and smiles. Eldon and his siblings and their beautiful spouses and adorable children have been nothing but a gift in every way. All warmth and strength and wide open hearts. And a day huddled with these people around brunch foods, in a house decorated with breathtaking flair? Well, that is really something, you know.

©2012 Cheeky Kitchen

One of the things I really like to remind myself is that it’s okay to eat.

We’ve been raised in a diet culture. So I forget this sometimes.

If your mama wasn’t on a diet, the lady on the front of the grocery store magazine was. We’ve seen the rise and fall of the lowfat diet (how many Snackwell’s Devil’s Food cookies did I consume in the 90s?), the low-carb diet (bacon + hot bod =WTF), the SlimFast shake (icky), the Master Cleanse (guilty), the Taco Bell Drive Thru Diet, Fen-Phen popping, calorie restricting, calorie combining, big meal, small meal, no meal eating regimes.

©2012 Cheeky Kitchen

I’m learning a few things about vegan eating.

Number one. It’s nearly impossible to do over lunch at IKEA.

Number two. It’s not as hard to do over lunch at a pizzeria. Just make sure the guy taking your order knows that “no cheese” includes “no feta.”

Number three. Cashews are king. They can do cuh-razy things. Like turn into a divine whippy cheesecake. Like make a creamy scrump pasta sauce.

©2012 Cheeky Kitchen

You guys. Going vegan with a family isn’t supposed to be this easy. The kids shouldn’t come running into the kitchen, asking you what smells so good. They shouldn’t set the table all by themselves, then tuck themselves into their seats, forks held at the ready as if you’re feeding a roomful of starving soldiers.

Because vegan should be lame, right?

And vegan should be hard, right?

And boring, right?

What.ev.er. Forget everything you’ve ever thought about plant-based diets. Toss aside all that flotsam that says you could never live without meat or butter or cheese. Gird up your loins and prepare yourself to be challenged. Because this recipe is the first tool every human should have in their “you so too could be vegan” arsenal.

You so too could be vegan.

©2012 Cheeky Kitchen

I made crepes today. Vegan crepes. There’s totally such a thing.

I bet you didn’t know that. Maybe you did. Now you definitely do.

It is highly recommended you grab a pan and whip up a batch of these suckers. They’ll make you think you could live vegan for the rest of your days. And nights. And midnight snacks. And second helpings of midnight snacks.

And always and forever.

©2012 Cheeky Kitchen