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Yesterday I bought 2 lbs. of Maine shrimp at Whole Foods Market. Maine shrimp are available from December through February. They’re small, but delicious — taste a lot like lobster. And y’all know how I feel about lobster.

I boiled one pound and peeled them for DH and The Oyster. The other pound went into my shrimp bisque, pictured at left. Very tasty! Sauteeing the shrimp shells with the aromatics made all the difference in flavoring the stock. I used only a touch of cream and a teaspoon or so of tomato paste — most of the color comes from the shrimp shells. Although it’s a fairly “light” recipe, one bowlful of this bisque was plenty enough for dinner; very filling! I had another bowl at lunchtime, and again, one bowl was enough.

I’m obsessed with The Vegan Lunchbox, a blog run by a mom who lovingly photographs the creative veg-only meals she creates for her son. Well, she published a book and I bought it a few weeks ago. I’m not vegan and I can’t even call myself a proper vegetarian anymore. But The Oyster occasionally cries about eating creatures, so I like to have tasty options available for him so that if he ever *does* decide to go vegetarian/vegan, I won’t be at a total loss.

At any rate, I turned to the desserts first (naturally). Being an eggs/butter/cream kind of girl, it has always baffled me how vegans turn out cakes, muffins, and cookies. And when I saw the recipe for vegan Twinkies, I knew I had to give them a go.

I don’t have a Twinkie pan, so I baked the cakes in a muffin tin. The batter smelled kind of funny (you curdle soy milk with cider vinegar … that, plus a bit of almond extract), but once they came out of the oven they looked (and smelled) just like Hostess Cupcakes.

Next up was the frosting filling, a blend of soy margarine (ick), trans-fat free Crisco (double ick), powdered sugar, and malt powder, which I didn’t have, so I substituted with a couple tablespoons of vegan marshmallow fluff. Filled the cooled cupcakes using a pastry bag and tip, and then dug in.

The verdict? The Oyster liked the cupcakes until he reached the frosting in the middle. “Yuck! That frosting is gross!!!” Okay, so I’ve ruined my kid for life by baking him cakes made with El Rey and Callebaut chocolates and frosted with pure buttercream. He’s never had a Twinkie or Hostess cupcake. Me? Oh man, they tasted just like what mom used to put in my lunchbox. They were awesome. I scarfed two of them and felt supremely virtuous. And greedy. They freeze well and I don’t have to share.