So after being really, really good for ten days, I took a bit of a break from the completely plant-based, no booze diet and indulged in my favourite kind of birthday cake (oh, and a couple of vodka martinis as well).

Much to the disgust of everyone I know, I always ask for the same birthday cake every year: a crappy white Safeway cake. My favourite type looks something like this:

But the Safeway in Courtenay recently closed, so J had to go a bit upscale and get a less crappy version of the white cake.

Y’know, people groan in disgust at the crappy white cake, but they always want a piece. It was pretty good this year, but not as sweet as the classic Safeway version (i.e., the type that makes your teeth ache).

We had a lovely dinner out in Comox and J spoiled the heck out of me with a selection of silver jewelry made by local artists and a Gordon Hutchens mug. Hutchens is known for his beautiful glazes, and this mug has some amazing snowflakes in the glaze:

Knowing well my obsession with sprouting all things, J got me a couple of very cool sprouters that will look fine on the marble counters in the loft in town:

 

We had a lovely birthday feast the next evening with Bid and Paul, who came over from Hornby for the celebration. We were celebrating Paul’s birthday as well as mine, so Bid brought another dessert–a chocolate, raspberry ganache (apparently, Paul’s not a fan of the crappy white Safeway cake):

J made an amazing vegetable strudel, that’s alllllmost, but not quite, vegan:

And a fabulous (and beautiful!) salad, that we all instinctively ate with our hands!

I could live on this salad, and if the dressing weren’t made with blue cheese and creme fraiche, I would. The topping is toasted pine nuts and walnuts. And I love that it looks like a star!

So I’m back in the saddle again today, and now that I’ve turned fifty-seven, the plan is to make a more determined commitment to the plant-based diet.