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First of all, does anyone remember Henry in a box??

What was the best birthday present you ever received? The best birthday present I ever received came from this guy.

And since our fateful first meeting, he’s continued to shower me with gifts every single day! (Sadly, some of these gifts are wet and slobbery and I wish I could send them back.)

I won’t bore you with details  of the gifts I received from family and “real-world” friends this year. But I do feel compelled to give a shout-out to two sweet bloggie friends, aside from the amazing Caitlin. It’s the least I can do to show my thanks for their thoughtfulness.

First, a thank-you to Gina for some super-delicious chocolate Jocalat bars (my favorites!). And then, there are no words for the kindness of Vegirl, who even remembered my mom and Molly and Henry . She not only sent me a handmade (gorgeously-drawn) card and chocolate bar, she also sent a card to my poor mother! And she included some homemade puppy treats for M&H. (By the way, M&H could not get enough of these quinoa-peanut-butter treats!) Girls, it might sound cliché, but having your friendship means even more to me than the sweet gifts you sent.

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Sharing time!

Your thoughts on puppy kisses: pro or con?

I am definitely con. Puppy tongues encounter all sorts of gross things (worms, dirt, their paws…). Keep that tongue away from my face! But my dad (and some of my friends, as well) has no problemo putting his head right there for Henry to practically lick it off. Ewwwwie!

Other question: What was the best birthday present you received this year (or ever)?

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And now, I promise, no more birthday posts! Well, for a while anyways.

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And, shock of all shocks, it wasn’t chocolate.

I wanted to change it up a bit from last year’s Chocolate Mousse Pie.

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So, this year I chose velvety, homemade Raw Key Lime Pie.

Yeah, it was as good as it looks. If not better. I didn’t even miss the chocolate. No, seriously! (For the recipe, see my “key lime pie option” note on the post linked above.) I’ve always had a thing for cheesecake; as far as cake is concerned, my hierarchy is: chocolate mousse pie, then cheesecake. Then maybe coconut cream pie. After that, who cares?!

A few posts ago, I mentioned that I attended a Labor Day Barbecue on my birthday. It just so happens, I didn’t attend the barbecue alone: I invited my good friend, Mr. raw Key Lime Pie! To a meat-and-potatoes bbq?? Yup, I am that brave.

The barbecue started around lunchtime, and while I obviously didn’t partake in any of the barbecued-meat-eating, I did help myself to copious amounts of the grilled veggies on offer (the sweet griller—a.k.a. my neighbor—made sure the vegetables were grilled in a separate section from the meat). Then, at around 3PM, after we all started feeling hungry again, thanks to some strenuous badminton, swimming, and debating (Uh-oh, political debates!), it was time for dessert. Bring on the raw Key Lime Pie! (Just don’t tell anyone it’s raw. They think vegan is weird enough! )

Tentatively, I pulled the pie outta the freezer (where I’d been letting it set) and served it to the guests—myself included. Then they all sang “Happy Birthday” to me before digging in.  Luckily, it was a big hit. Those of you who have tried raw desserts probably aren’t surprised by this.

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To compliment the key lime variation, I opted for a raw gingerbread crust.

ZOMG it was good. The crust almost stole the show from the cake, itself! And that’s coming from a girl who normally loathes crust. (P.S. to the extremely perceptive readers out there: Yes, the photo above is actually from the “cashew cookie” page, not gingerbread. I forgot to take a photo of the crust while making it. But it didn’t look much different from the above.)

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Question of the Day:

What was your birthday dessert this year?

Or what will it be?

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But first, another shot from dinner at the Clay Pit.

And a close up, because when I was looking at this photo, I saw something that made me stop short. It’s super-obvious who takes after whom in our family: I am my mom and my sister is my dad. (Actually, my sister is my cousin Julie. Those two could be twins. But that’s another story.) I never thought I looked anything like my dad. He is short, dark-skinned, and built for power, while I’m lanky and paler-than-pale, without exhibiting a single physical trace of his Italian heritage. But lo and behold, we do share something: My dad and I have the same eyebrows that curve in the exact same place.

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Hmmm, well maybe that just means we share a common way of posing for photos. But in any case, I thought it was cool to catch a hint that perhaps I wasn’t dropped off by the stork after all. Remember that scary photo?

By the way, does anyone else sense the need for a Friends reference? Joey: My identical hand twin! The person whose hands are exactly like mine! This thing is a gold mine! Now you’re all going to think I’m strange for putting so much stock—an entire paragraph’s worth—into the subject of eyebrows. Hey, I never claimed to be normal. Normal is so boring.

Something else my dad and I share: a love of chewy breakfast grains (He’s a huge steel-cut oatmeal fan, but I’m quickly selling him on the wonders of bulgur beyond the world of tabbouleh.) When he offered to make me breakfast on Monday morning (my birthday morning), I jumped at the chance. After a glorious run (It’s finally cooling off; no more 90-degree mornings!), I came home to find breakfast waiting for me. And what a breakfast it was!

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My busy eyebrow twin made 3 servings of “Cinnamon-Raisin” Breakfast Pudding.

(I added the flowers.) Creamy, spicy-sweet, and chock full of plump raisins… I told Dad he’d better watch out; I might have to start asking him to make me breakfast every day!  (Well, maybe not. I enjoy concocting my own breakfast experiments. But sometimes it’s nice to be waited on.) When I came in from my run, Momma Bear, Pappa Bear, and CCK Bear sat down to a perfect family breakfast, after which it was time to open presents! The breakfast was delicious, the present-opening was exciting (duh), but the best part was spending quality time with the people I love. Yup, I’m a 20-something girl who actually wants to hang out with her family. But then again, if you had my parents you’d want to hang out with them too. They are two incredible people (and I’m not just saying that to suck up to Dad so he’ll make me breakfast again hehe).

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To enter the “Case of New Larabar Flavors” giveaway: click here

The contest ends on the 16th, and there are TWO whole Larabar boxes up for grabs.

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Sharing time!

Do you like spending time with your family?

And do you resemble a certain member of your family? Or maybe you all look alike?

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Sharing time:

Tell me if any of y’all have this problem: You’re such a good cook that you don’t normally like to eat out, because the entire time, you’re sitting there thinking, “I could make this better.”  That’s my problem… so when I do eat out, I try to go to places that offer food I can’t easily make myself, such as Indian (like this past Sunday’s dinner) or Korean (think Hangawi in NYC) or Ethiopian, like my “beer fest” post of a few years ago.

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This weekend, we decided to try a new restaurant, called Clay Pit. Well it’s not really new, but it’s new to us. They have a separate section specifically for vegetarian items, so I was a happy camper. Plus, when I called ahead of time (to ensure that the vegetarian items could be made with oil, not butter), the manager told me that they can even change some of their non-vegan dishes to accommodate my needs if I so desire, such as leaving the cream out of the dahl. A lovely offer, but I didn’t even need to take advantage of it, as there were plenty of already-vegan options at my disposal. Sometimes it’s actually simpler if there aren’t; it’s easier to decide! That night, I went with Aloo Ghobi, a traditional Indian cauliflower-potato dish. However, since I’m not the biggest potato freak (I think they’re mushy and bland), I asked for mixed-veggie Aloo Ghobi instead.

Above, my no-potato Aloo Ghobi, alongside an order of roti bread. This was so good! You bet your socks I licked the dish clean (when no one was watching, of course). The whole-wheat roti bread was a perfect accompaniment for the saucy curry. Ingredients: whole wheat flour, oil, water, and salt. That’s it. Oh, it was so soft and flavorful… I must learn how to make this!

Curry close up. The veggies were cauliflower, zucchini, carrots, peas, and broccoli.

Dining out can be hit-or-miss. Luckily, this was a big hit! I get to celebrate again next weekend, when my friends are taking me to this place. I used to love that restaurant, but I haven’t been there in ages, so I’m excited. But I’m sure I’ll post more about it after going next weekend. Tomorrow, more dinner photos (I’d include them today, but this post is getting much too long). Then, we’re moving on to birthday dessert!

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Finally: Oh my word, oh my word, oh my word. You all!! Yesterday, after getting all of your comments, emails, and tons of facebook wall posts, I felt so so so… I can’t even think of a word.  The fact that so many of you took time out of your busy lives to send me birthday wishes just rocked my world. Your kindness meant more to me than any store-bought gift could. I wish I could hug you all through the screen (would that be creepy?). *Restrains self* Seriously, thank you SO MUCH!!

And there is one blogger, in particular, whose kindness is always above and beyond anything I can ever repay. HEAB, your post was so sweet I wanted to cry (happy crying!). How did I get so lucky to have you as a friend? Actually, that question goes for all of you, not just Heather.

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Tomorrow, I’ll get back to my regular blog posts (i.e. not giveaways nor guest posts). But right now, I’m not actually at my computer. When this publishes, I’ll probably be off opening prezzies .

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So much do I enjoy creating new fudge baby flavors that bloggers and readers often say Larabar should give me a job as a flavor-concoctor. (Do you hear that, Larabar people?) Well, they have not offered me a job. But a few days ago, they offered me something almost as fun: four boxes filled with the new Larabar flavors—chocolate chip cookie dough, chocolate chip brownie, carrot cake, and peanut butter chocolate chip. Just like with the Artisana package, this one was a surprise, showing up completely unannounced.

After I did a Jocalat giveaway more than a year ago, I’d told the Larabar people that I’d be happy to work with them again on another giveaway if they ever wished to do so. More than a year later, look what shows up! Did they know it was my birthday?

(Side note: I haven’t forgotten the Artisana giveaway, but I’m postponing it for two reasons. One is that I have so much Artisana-related stuff to gush about that I’ve decided to do a whole Artisana-themed Week, complete with product reviews, a new raw cheesecake recipe(!), and the giveaway. The second reason is that I know a lot of you are having a difficult time locating these new Larabars, so I wanted to get this giveaway up and running as quickly as possible.) I’m giving two of the boxes away now and a third later. The fourth box is mine, all mine! Muahahaha! Finally I get to try that carrot cake Larabar and see how it compares to my homemade ones.

For the giveaway, there will be TWO winners: one blogger and one reader will win an entire mixed case of the new Larabars.

………Readers enter here……………………Bloggers enter here

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I’ll get back to regular blog posts (with a birthday-dinner recap… and birthday cake, of course!) tomorrow.