WIAW: Margarita & Margherita Birthday

Today I thought I'd showcase the treats from my birthday party/game night last weekend. I didn't go all-vegan, but it was fully vegetarian. In the past I've often had Papa Murphy's pizza at my game nights and acquiesced to buying a pizza with meat, but that's as far as I'll go in terms of preparing or serving meat for anyone. Out of 8 people, there was one other vegetarian (who I was sure was vegan, I guess just because I met her at a NW Veg event, but turns out she isn't), and another friend who's omnivore but tends towards vegetarian and vegan food.

Margaret's Margarita & Margherita Birthday Game Night

(I did have photos in here at one point, and then I was trying to organize my google+ photo albums, and didn't realize that if I had uploaded something directly from google+ to this post, deleting it there would delete it here. I've also changed phones since then, and am having technical difficulties trying to access photos on the old phone.)

Beverages: Margaritas made with Stirrings natural margarita mix, Santa Cruz organic lemonade, and whatever tequila was middle-of-the-road at the liquor store (and virgin margaritas with just the mix and lemonade, since 25% of my guests were pregnant - makes me feel old that my close friends are having babies).
Snacks: 

• Beet dip - I think everyone tried it, and a few people enjoyed it
• King Harvest hummus
• Food Should Taste Good multigrain and blue corn tortilla chips
• Chocolate- and yogurt-covered almonds
• Grapes and mini oranges (Aren't those so cute!? They're only about an inch in diameter.)
• Bell peppers, carrots, celery

Dinner: Semi-homemade margherita pizza. I used a Pillsbury thin crust, canned tomato sauce (that was seasoned with just garlic, salt, and pepper - I don't recommend using a "pizza sauce" that has additional seasonings for margherita, as it will overwhelm the basil), roma tomatoes, basil, and shredded mozzarella cheese. I also made a vegan version with Daiya shredded mozzarella style.

One of my friends, who arrived later in the evening, and who is not by any means veg, tried the vegan version without knowing what it was, and she even thought it was good! The Deiya is a little... gooey... I'd say, and definitely doesn't taste or smell great straight out of the bag, but it does melt well, and makes a decent substitute for baking.

Dessert fail: I bought a vegan chocolate mousse cake from Whole Foods but forgot to serve it. The sad thing is that this isn't the first birthday party I've hosted and forgotten to serve the cake - if I don't put it out with the rest of the food at the beginning, I get distracted with games and fun conversation, and it doesn't cross my mind to interrupt at some point and serve cake.

So, I guess I'll just be eating it all myself for a while. What a sacrifice.