Happy 58th Birthday, Mama Crunk!

My mom turns 58 on Friday, but we had to celebrate tonight since her birthday falls on the first day of the annual Memphis In May Beale Street Music Festival (where I'll be seeing Lupe Fiasco, Three 6 Mafia, Florence + the Machine, Megadeath, and Girl Talk).

For dinner, my mom chose Pancho's Mexican Restaurant in West Memphis, Arkansas. It's a quaint little Mexican joint that my parents have been going to long before I was born. They love it! So we go there every few months. There's not much vegan on the menu, but I can always order the Mexican Pizza made with spinach, black olives, and tomatoes (no lard beans!) and guacamole. I think I ate my weight in chips and salsa too.

I didn't take pictures at Pancho's, but I did capture a shot of the cupcakes I made for her. She requested something with coconut, so I made German Chocolate Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World:

I forgot how much I LOVE these! These were the first thing I made from the book way back in, oh, 2007. Haven't made them since. Coconutty, chocolately, pecan goodness. My mom even said, while eating her cupcake, "I just love vegan cupcakes. They're always so moist."

Anyway, I got her a couple of Jane Fonda workout DVDs because her back problems are forcing her to quit boot camp in favor of low-impact workouts. I joked that I was giving her "old lady workout DVDs." Paul gave her Memphis cookbook author Jennifer Chandler's new book, Simply Grilling.

Happy Birthday, Mama Crunk!