A few weeks ago I was contacted by someone at PETA and asked if I would be interested in donating some of my baked goods for an event that supports Vegan Outreach. Of course I was thrilled and felt honored that I was even considered. I was going to be displaying all my creations next to other well known donors such as

Endangered Species Chocolate, Lagunitas Brewing Company, Maggie Mudd, Red Truck Wines, Sjaak’s Organic Chocolates, The Stanford Inn by the Sea, Sunflour Baking Company, Tofutti, and Zevia Natural Diet Soda.

For those of you who don’t know, Vegan Outreach is a nonprofit organization that focuses on spreading the vegan lifestyle through booklets. Vegan Outreach “preaches to the convertible” by focusing on college students through their ‘Adopt A College’ program. Since 2003, leafleters have handed booklets to over 3 million students.

So what was this special event? A vegan prom!!! The theme was “Starry Starry Night”.

Super excited, I quickly threw together a menu and got to work. After a couple failed attempts at some cinnamon rolls, I started to worry that I wasn’t going to have enough to donate. Luckily, my parents pulled through and surprised me with 4 batches of emergency cinnamon rolls! My saviors.

After gathering all the cinnamon rolls together and boxing them up, it was time to start working on the next menu item. Vegan Caramel Chocolate Chip bars! I LOVE these things. I probably wolfed down 2 of them before they were even baked. It was my first attempt at a vegan version which left me feeling kinda sketch about the whole thing but everything worked out perfectly. We even made the caramel from scratch unlike the non-vegan version.

After breaking myself away from the pan, I noticed that I had a bunch of bananas sitting on the counter that were perfect for banana bread. I had everything else on hand also so I figured, why not? Bam! An hour later, 2 loaves fresh from the oven. My entire house was filled with the aroma of cinnamon, chocolate and banana at this point. Not only the smell of it, but my kitchen floor was a disaster as well. I can only imagine what my neighbors must have thought watching us slip all over the kitchen floor for hours.

Next…. Brownies. Mix, pour, bake. Nothin to it. Done in a half hour. Nothin fancy. Just plain ol’ fudgy, amazingly good brownies.

“What next?” I thought. I decided I wanted to make something Gluten Free to mix things up a bit. All I had was some chocolate chips, agave syrup and coffee in my cabinet. My solution… Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie bars! Moist and somewhere in between a brownie and a cake, they came out super yummy.

After everything was boxed and loaded, we were off to prom!

The venue located at a.Muse Gallery in SF, looked awesome. It was decorated with white streamers, silver star cutouts and pink and white lanterns. There was a bar area set up which served beer and wine (both generoulsy donated) and even a sparkling backdrop where you could line up to take prom photos. All the decorations were just as cute as the idea. Attendees were able to purchase $1 raffle tickets to win a night at The Stanford Inn by the Sea, an award-winning animal-friendly vegetarian bed and breakfast in beautiful Mendocino, one free personal training session with vegan and professional personal trainer Darren Middlesworth, or a “Romantic Dinner for Two,” prepared in the winner’s home by certified Natural Chef Jesse Miner.

Tickets were $40 a pop which included desserts and beverages and all the proceeds went to benefit Vegan Outreach.

Once we delivered our goods, the volunteers were nice enough to cut and plate them for us while we snuck off for a cup of joe.

We hung out for a couple hours, took some pics, talked to some cool peeps, bought a few raffle tickets, watched people in silly costumes and ball gowns get down to Michael Jackson songs and tried a few of the other goodies before sneaking out.

All in all, it was an amazing night and everyone had a great time. The event organizers and the set up crew did a fantastic job.

10 years late, but I finally made it to prom.