This blog has been moved to: http://smoochpandablog.blogspot.com

The new blog will mainly focus on my craft life and motherhood with a little bit of veg(an) info in between, though not so much about food. I hope to see you there! Thanks :)

Hi everybody. As much as I enjoy blogging, I'm going to have to take a break for a while. With big changes ahead of us, there won't be much time left for me to keep writing. This blog will mainly be a place for me to post vegan baking recipes now and then, but not so regularly :(

For more frequent updates, please follow me on twitter @smoochpanda, or add me to your circle on etsy, or google+ (for personal & vegan related matters). I also have a google+ page to keep you updated on my etsy shop happenings and treasuries I make. You can also check out my pinterest boards if you like to see what inspires me.

Please feel free to follow those accounts. I will usually follow you back! (unless the account is a spam or used solely for marketing purposes)

Also, Mochi's blog will continue to be updated weekly or fortnightly so check it out :)

Thank you so much for reading my blog. I hope to see you in one of the above places or will see you next time I come up with a scrumptious vegan baking recipe (which hopefully won't be long!). Until then, have lovely days :)

wordless wednesday #15: Tofu Meatballs and Thai Sushi

spaghetti tofu meatballs

not that I made tons of vegan meatballs before but this was the best I've ever made :)
I loved that the walnuts added extra heartiness to the meatballs.
the vegan meatball recipe is from healthier steps

gorgeous fusion of Thai food and Japanese food. yum!

pleasant surprise

We're having a really mild winter here (and I suppose other parts of the US as well?). Last couple of days we could even go out without coats on and open the window to get some much needed fresh air in the house.

Then I saw these pretty faces in the ground.

I believe these are crocuses. Aren't they pretty? It's really nice to find something cheerful in our otherwise brown yard. I didn't even know we have crocuses in our yard.

What pleasant surprise did you find today?

I made these brownies for my MIL's birthday.

these are raspberry truffle brownies from the ppk. It was a bit difficult to take good photos of brownies but I hope you can see that the pink raspberry color peeking from the dark chocolate brown is really pretty! In fact this inspired me to make Chocolate and Raspberry treasury I made a couple of days ago.

They were very tasty but I wish I baked a little longer. well, the recipe mentioned that this was supposed to be soft and gooey but mine was still way too soft after the suggested baking time. I baked for a few more minutes. Putting them in the refrigerator set the brownies for most parts but the middle was still sticky. Everybody did enjoy them though :)

etsy treasuries: bekind blitz!

yesterday was a fun day at the bekind team on etsy. we as a team made as many treasuries as possible in one day.  It was a lot of fun to create treasuries featuring great products that I admire. Viewing beautiful and inspiring treasuries other team members made was great fun too. I was so inspired to make more treasuries, new items and just generally more handmade items.

I'd love to share all of my favorite treasuries but that would be a bit lengthy (because there are so many!). so here's the link to all the treasuries the team members made yesterday. All the items featured here are animal-friendly :) please have a look and indulge in fun and beautiful collections.

here are the four treasuries I made during this fun event. enjoy!

(note: the treasury will not show on some RSS readers. please go to my blog page. thanks!)

etsy treasury: I Just Called To Say I Love You

My first Valentine themed treasury this year is inspired by a Stevie Wonder's song "I Just Called To Say I Love You".

I feel fortunate to have a partner to spend this day with but I certainly remember the days I was more inclined to celebrate an anti-valentine spirit. One Valentine's day, though, I decided to invite my good friends over and had a wonderful girls' night. It's not too much of a stretch to think exchanging love can mean love between friends, right? (^^)/

However you celebrate your Valentine's day, I hope you'll have a wonderful one!

etsy treasuries: year of the animals and lacy

recently I had an opportunity to join this wonderful treasury making team called quintessential etsy. this gave me even more incentives to make treasuries and I've been having fun doing so.

Here are the two I made this week.

I've made a special treasury to honor this year's animal, dragon, but I thought it wouldn't be fair for other animals :) So I gathered all the 12 animals in this cute treasury. they showed up in the order of animal years starting from the rat.

the second one is all about lace. I love this classic beauty.

(note: the treasury will not show on some RSS readers. please go to my blog page. thanks!)

wordless wednesday #14: recently baked

carrot cake with toasted coconut flakes on top, frosted with vegan lemon buttercream

leftover sweet black beans turned into

chocolate chip version

yes I overbaked them because the timer didn't go off :(

and

this braided bread is fromVegan Baking Classics



ps. the "stop SOPA/PIPA" ribbons are from iBlognet.Thank you for your understanding.

wordless wednesday #13: Stitching and Winter Harvest

I've finished "the life is sweet" project

this was a stamped kit but I changed the colors.
I know I like cross stitching but I found I loved back stitches and satin stitches also.

I made this for my nephews as their Christmas gift

I stitched their birthdays in the stars and names in the pennant

this was actually to celebrate my 2nd nephew's birth in April but alas time flies :(

the last two photos were taken a while ago

winter's harvest

hello broccoli!

etsy treasury: come sit near the fire

Although this winter has seen many rather warm days until recently, it finally started to get cold. All I crave for is a cozy warm place with a nice company.

And maybe a drink or two. Or perhaps a nice cup of tea.

(note: the treasury will not show on some RSS readers. please go to my blog page. thanks!)