So I finally cooked some of the white garbanzo beans I found in the bulk bins at Whole Foods. Usually I try to soak dry beans overnight, especially garbanzos which I find to take the longest out of any other dried bean to cook. I decided to see what would happen with a quick two or three hour soak. I figured I would be up for at least an hour and a half to two hour cook time, but I was super surprised that they cooked in under an hour! I couldn't believe it! Even soaked for eight hour garbanzo beans rarely cook in under an hour. Once cooked they aren't as white as dry. They are lighter than regular garbanzos, just not as much. Here is a little extra information. I was surprised at how little information was available for these, and also the zero tannin lentils I found. Anyway, they were a little firmer, I could see where they maybe wouldn't make the best hummus. Taste wise I really didn't notice a lot of difference. I would say both are equally delicious, but I like that this new to me variety has a quicker cook time. The next time I use these, I will cook them without any soaking to see if they still cook much faster, and report back.
They don't look much different, just a little lighter. I think this variety would make the best crispy, baked chickpeas.
I was going to make one recipe, then I was going to make a different one, and I just couldn't decide, so I went with no recipe, and just some simple comfort food of mashed potatoes, chickpeas and vegan gravy. I used the Simply Organic brand of gravy mix this time. It was all right, I prefer the Hains brand but hey, gravy is gravy.
It was a warm hug of a meal and I definitely needed a hug! I used a little bit of the So Delicious culinary coconut milk to mash the potatoes, and it made them rich without having to add any earth balance or anything like that.
I'm glad I found a reliable bulk provider. I'm going to step outside of my bean comfort zone this year, and every time I go to get bulk supplies, I'm going to experiment with a new to me bean and/or grain!
I hope everyone has an amazing day, and evening. If you're going out, please be safe.
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
My Favorite recipe of 2015
I am terrible at picking things, picking favorites and narrowing anything down. I am that person at a restaurant that is the last to order, and almost always has to ask the server for a few more minutes. I also like variety, and rarely make the same recipe over and over. Or if I do have something on repeat, I always change it up a little. And, there are two foods that I just refuse to eat like a stubborn toddler. Those foods are cauliflower, and asparagus. I never outgrew my extreme dislike of these two veggies. So, those reasons show why what I'm about to say is so strange. Last night for dinner I made General Tso's cauliflower AGAIN! I've made this at least once a week for over a month now! Every time I buy a head of cauliflower I shake my head and laugh, and allow my inner child to have a hissy!
I really think the secret to this dish is the sauce. I keep saying I need to try the sauce with some tofu, or egplant but I just keep using cauliflower cause it's that good! I know people are probably sick of seeing it and hearing about it, but I just can't stop with it!
This dish has made cauliflower edible and craveable, and for the first time in forever I can confidently pick this as My FAVORITE recipe of 2015! This recipe has defied all odds, and I'm so glad I tried it. I usually automatically look away from cauliflower recipes, but I must have been feeling super open minded the day I saw this recipe.
Here is the recipe. I cannot stress how delicious it is, and it's fat free to boot. It does not use one stitch of oil and when you taste it you would never guess that it wasn't fried. I'm very proud to say that last night I didn't even have to look at the recipe! I have now made it enough times that it's just in my head!
To really make clear how much I love this, yesterday was my birthday, and this is what I made myself for my birthday dinner. I have gardein stuff in my freezer, and all kinds of stuff I could have splurged on for my birthday dinner, but this was how I wanted to celebrate! With cauliflower!! I mean, you just never know what's going to change in your life! I will try to find other recipes to go on and on about in the New Year, but it's going to be hard to come close to this one!
Happy Wednesday!
I really think the secret to this dish is the sauce. I keep saying I need to try the sauce with some tofu, or egplant but I just keep using cauliflower cause it's that good! I know people are probably sick of seeing it and hearing about it, but I just can't stop with it!
Look at that deliciousness! |
Here is the recipe. I cannot stress how delicious it is, and it's fat free to boot. It does not use one stitch of oil and when you taste it you would never guess that it wasn't fried. I'm very proud to say that last night I didn't even have to look at the recipe! I have now made it enough times that it's just in my head!
To really make clear how much I love this, yesterday was my birthday, and this is what I made myself for my birthday dinner. I have gardein stuff in my freezer, and all kinds of stuff I could have splurged on for my birthday dinner, but this was how I wanted to celebrate! With cauliflower!! I mean, you just never know what's going to change in your life! I will try to find other recipes to go on and on about in the New Year, but it's going to be hard to come close to this one!
Happy Wednesday!
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Upton's Naturals Jackfruit and Califia Farms Coffee Creamer
So last night I got around to dinner later than usual, so easy was the plan. Lucky for me I had the Upton's Naturals BBQ jackfruit in y fridge begging to be used! I still have some jalapeno hamburger buns in my freezer so I made BBQ sandwiches.
The first thing I noticed was it was a little chunkier, less shredded than I expected. The sauce smelled AMAZING and it made my mouth water. I put the jackfruit in my little saucepan, and slowly heated it up. As it was warming I took my wooden spoon and kind of broke the chunks more into shreds. It was pretty easy. I'm sure it would have been even easier with a fork, but I was too hungry to be bothered.
The jackfruit kind of reminds me of hearts of palm in both texture and the mild flavor. The texture is not meaty in any kind of dense, toothsome way. It's not crunchy, but it has the toothsome bite of a vegetable. Flavor wise it's very mild, and it let the sauce be the star. Lucky for it, Upton's knows what they're doing in the sauce department! It's tangy, and most important not too sweet. I would buy the sauce if they bottled it for sure! I really like that my sandwich was hearty and filling, but you don't feel weighed down. And get this, each package has four servings, which I find a little questionable, I would say two servings, but anyway each serving has only 45 calories! The whole dang package only has 180 calories! And it's super satisfying! It looks creepily like shredded meat once the chunks are broken down, so I know this would look appealing to non-vegans. I am so glad I found this. Now, my goal is to find the unripe jackfruit in cans so I can experiment and try to make my own. This is a little on the pricier side, I paid around six dollars or so, and if you had a family or you were making this for more than one or two people, you would need more than one package for sure.
I'm really glad I got to try it, and I would definitely recommend this! It's so exciting to just have almost every kind of food available as a vegan!
In the winter i drink a lot of Chai tea, and so I've been experimenting with all the different vegan creamers. I saw this the other day, and it was on sale so I decided to try it. It is so delicious! Just wow. I like this better than the Trader Joe's coconut creamer. It is thick, and the hazelnut flavor is the strongest, and most authentic of any flavored creamers. It's like they used real hazelnuts instead of almonds. Really tasty, and if you haven't tried hazelnut and chai, you should!!
Happy Tuesday!
The first thing I noticed was it was a little chunkier, less shredded than I expected. The sauce smelled AMAZING and it made my mouth water. I put the jackfruit in my little saucepan, and slowly heated it up. As it was warming I took my wooden spoon and kind of broke the chunks more into shreds. It was pretty easy. I'm sure it would have been even easier with a fork, but I was too hungry to be bothered.
Getting warm! |
All snug in it's bun! |
In the winter i drink a lot of Chai tea, and so I've been experimenting with all the different vegan creamers. I saw this the other day, and it was on sale so I decided to try it. It is so delicious! Just wow. I like this better than the Trader Joe's coconut creamer. It is thick, and the hazelnut flavor is the strongest, and most authentic of any flavored creamers. It's like they used real hazelnuts instead of almonds. Really tasty, and if you haven't tried hazelnut and chai, you should!!
Happy Tuesday!
Monday, December 28, 2015
Rosti
I made a recipe from Vegetarian Times yesterday! It's called Fresh herb Potato Rosti. I've had the page dogeared for awhile now. It's pretty much one big circular hash brown with herbs thrown in. It involved browning one side, putting it on a plate, and flipping it back into the pan to get browned on the other side. It was okay. Not really worth the hassle of doing the flip. It would be much easier to just make single servings of this, more like potato pancakes. It tasted good though, I mean it's crispy potatoes, how could it not taste good, right? I used parsley and green onion, because that's what I had, but this is definitely one of those recipes that is very flexible. After I took the picture, I added some hot sauce to spice it up. Again, if I would have thought ahead, I could have soaked some cashews and made sour cream. I understand so clearly the benefits of meal planning, yet I just don't see myself ever sticking with it. What can you do?
I wanted to give a little update on the new to me lentils I found last week in the bulk bins at Whole Foods. They are golden zero tannin lentils. They remind me of red lentils. They cook in like fifteen minutes, and they definitely lose their shape like red lentils, which means they are great for soups! I would say cook them for ten to twelve minutes if you wanted them to be firm for a salad or something solid. And, they really don't "muddy the water"! After shopping at Whole Foods a few times, I have a new understanding of them. You have to treat Whole Foods like Grocery Outlet. You can't go there for all of your groceries, (unless you can) but you can go there and find some good deals. They have had good deals on certain organic produce both times I've been there, and there have been some decent sales on other specialty items. It feels good to lose some of that loathing!
Happy Monday! It's the last Monday of 2015!
I wanted to give a little update on the new to me lentils I found last week in the bulk bins at Whole Foods. They are golden zero tannin lentils. They remind me of red lentils. They cook in like fifteen minutes, and they definitely lose their shape like red lentils, which means they are great for soups! I would say cook them for ten to twelve minutes if you wanted them to be firm for a salad or something solid. And, they really don't "muddy the water"! After shopping at Whole Foods a few times, I have a new understanding of them. You have to treat Whole Foods like Grocery Outlet. You can't go there for all of your groceries, (unless you can) but you can go there and find some good deals. They have had good deals on certain organic produce both times I've been there, and there have been some decent sales on other specialty items. It feels good to lose some of that loathing!
Happy Monday! It's the last Monday of 2015!
Sunday, December 27, 2015
Lentils and Cookies
This was in my food haul from Whole Foods the other day, but t deserves it's very own close-up. As soon as I opened the jar and smelled, I not only knew I was in for a treat, but I really wanted to just eat the sauce with a spoon. It smelled spicy, and tomato-y, and delicious. The insructions say to simmer the sauce with one cu of red lentils, and five cups of water. That's it. The sauce has all the spices you need. You simmer everything on medium heat for thirty to thirty five minutes. Halfway through simmer time I got some rice cooking to make a meal. Whole Foods had this sauce in mild, and hot, and being the spice lover that I am I chose hot. It wasn't blow our face off hot, but it has a kick. I expected to have to maybe add a little extra crushed red pepper or something, and it definitely did not need it. If you are a spice lover, go with hot, otherwise stick with the mild. That's what sriracha is for! The red lentils cook down and get all soft and the sauce is tomato-y, and rich and does not taste like it came in a jar! I enjoyed this so much! I have only had Ethiopian food one other time in my whole life, so I am by no means an expert, but I do know good food. Now that I'm back in Seattle, I need to seek out an Ethiopian restaurant and get familiar!
I didn't have any Injera, so I warmed up some flour tortillas for scooping. It made a lot, and I am so happy to have those leftovers. I had some for breakfast, and it tastes better the next day!
I also baked up some Eat Pastry cookie dough. I always eat it with a spoon, but yesterday I was feeling crazy! It was the gluten free variety, (it was all they had at the store.) I have to say I'm pretty impressed. I find gluten free baked goods to be not my fave, and I've tried some gluten free baking myself and it isn't easy. These cookies have a texture pretty close to their glutinous relatives. They aren't dry or crumbly, I might not even guess that they're gluten free if I didn't know.
Not a bad food day at all. And I had a big old green juice and a green salad for breakfast to balance out the cookies.
Happy Sunday!
I didn't have any Injera, so I warmed up some flour tortillas for scooping. It made a lot, and I am so happy to have those leftovers. I had some for breakfast, and it tastes better the next day!
I also baked up some Eat Pastry cookie dough. I always eat it with a spoon, but yesterday I was feeling crazy! It was the gluten free variety, (it was all they had at the store.) I have to say I'm pretty impressed. I find gluten free baked goods to be not my fave, and I've tried some gluten free baking myself and it isn't easy. These cookies have a texture pretty close to their glutinous relatives. They aren't dry or crumbly, I might not even guess that they're gluten free if I didn't know.
Not a bad food day at all. And I had a big old green juice and a green salad for breakfast to balance out the cookies.
Happy Sunday!
Saturday, December 26, 2015
Look What Popped Up!
Look what jumped out at me today om YouTube! The other day I saw Burmese tofu in Whole Foods and snapped a picture for this blog, but I had to look up what it was! This video make it look super easy to make, and I love working with garbanzo bean flour, so this is something I have to try. The dish at the end where she turned it into the crispy little "dippers" looked really tasty! It really does look like polenta when she's cooking it too. I've mostly used garbanzo flour to make pudlas so this should be fun.
Remember the other day when I had such disastrous luck with the kitty corner thing I bought? Not one kitty dug it. I noticed a box in the laundry room yesterday that someone left by the garbage shoot, so I brought it to my apartment, put it and the box I already had face to face with a piece of construction paper on top like a fort,and it has been a smashing success!
Total dorks! |
Friday, December 25, 2015
Last Minute
Just a quick little post to say how AMAZING the Hain vegetarian brown gravy mix is. It comes in a brown envelope, and it mixes with one cup of water, cooks in under five minutes, and don't worry, it's vegan! I struggle with making gravy, it's not my strong suit, and I eat it so rarely I guess I'm okay with not being a gravy expert. This stuff isn't full of funky ingredients, and it was really savory and surprisingly rich. And look at that color, so nice and deep! I guess it's a little late for holiday meal suggestions, but then again that's me, coming in at the last final moments! Fashionably late. I have another packet in my cupboard. Every once in awhile I get a mad craving for mashed potatoes, so these little packets will come in handy.
Speaking of mashed potatoes and gravy, I recently learned that steaming potatoes instead of boiling makes for much fluffier mashed potatoes. I think they absorb too much water when you boil them. Same thing with potato salad. Am I like beyond late to the cooking party?
Anyway, if you celebrate, I hope today and the whole holiday season is everything wonderful, and full of love. And if you don't, I still hope your day is filled with love!
Speaking of mashed potatoes and gravy, I recently learned that steaming potatoes instead of boiling makes for much fluffier mashed potatoes. I think they absorb too much water when you boil them. Same thing with potato salad. Am I like beyond late to the cooking party?
Anyway, if you celebrate, I hope today and the whole holiday season is everything wonderful, and full of love. And if you don't, I still hope your day is filled with love!
Thursday, December 24, 2015
MidWeek Munchies all Bulked Up!
I discovered my bulk connection! I feel like I came home yesterday! Other times I've been in Whole Foods, I've just run in for a few things. I've always gotten a ride, and so I felt pressured to be kind of quick. Yesterday, I put on my big girl pants and figured out the bus situation, and I took myself! Jumping back into riding the bus in Seattle has been pretty much like riding a bike, but the Whole Foods closest to me is in a neighborhood called the university district, or you know, the u-district for us cool locals.(haha) Anyway, the u-district is one of my least favorite neighborhoods, so I am pretty unfamiliar with how to get around. But it's easier than I thought, and now I can bulk up whenever needed! This is only one wall, on the other side is a whole wall of nuts, all different types of granola, and dried fruit.
They had several varieties of garbanzo beans. I always thought it was just the one type of garbanzo. I got some of the York White ones. I wonder if they'll taste a lot different?
I had to get these Zero-Tannin lentils. They had several types of lentils I had never heard of, like these. I once crowned myself the lentil queen, so maybe I'm demoted to Princess of the lentils for now. According to this website, they cook to a golden color, and won't turn the water muddy. That is so wonderful! It's so hard to make lentil soup look appetizing because it's always so brown. I can't wait to cook with these!
Look at all that vegan Mac and cheese on sale! Woot Woot! Also, I noticed Follow Your Heart ranch was on sale for $2.77 a bottle! I don't know if all Whole Foods run the same sales, but it's worth checking out of you're doing any last minute food shopping!
I saw this on a shelf, they also had plain and chipotle BBQ style. What is Burmese tofu you ask? I had to look myself! It is tofu made from chickpea flour!! It's kind of similar to very firm polenta. This is great news for people who can't have soy. It has to be better than the hemp tofu! I don't like to bad mouth vegan foods too much, but the hemp tofu is one of the worst things I've ever put in my mouth. I didn't get any of this today, but I will try it in the future. It seems like it might be easy to recreate. I love how almost every time I go to a store, a new to me vegan product appears. It tells me that although not fast enough, things are changing, and people are giving up, or at least trying to give up animal products.
Okay, now on to my haul!!
They were having a sweet sale on all varieties of organic kale, so I couldn't say no. I really enjoy the Tuscan Kale for salads. I'm making an eggplant dish from The China Study Cookbook and I have to say sometimes it can be hard to find a nice eggplant at the grocery, but these are so perfect and beautiful.
The kitties told me that I needed to get some vegan treats today, as a gift from them. I do listen to my cats, so vegan cheese it is! The Provolone slices will be an addition to my eggplant dish if I don't eat them all straight out of the package! And Goat cheese was one of my favorites, so the Heidi Ho and Treeline should fill that void.
Wildwood smoked tofu is one of my favorites, and they have a BBQ and a mild schezwan flavor that I didn't know existed! And chocolate! The Thumbs Up is the Go Max Go version of a butterfinger. I had it last night and it is my favorite of any of the Go Max Go candy bars I've tried. Very close to the original. And it's nice to have "milk" chocolate!
Can you believe I finally got my hot little hands on a package of this Jackfruit? I have looked everywhere for the canned stuff so I can experiment, but so far no luck. I need to hit up an Asian market. In the meantime, I am so excited to try this, I've heard nothing but rave reviews.
I can't wait to try this Ethiopian simmer sauce. I got some red lentils in bulk, and these two are going to get married! Does anyone remember the blog Peas and Thank you? I used to love her blog. Anyway, she came up with her own version of Cafe Yumm's Yumm sauce, and it was love at first bite. Even my extremely non vegan, very picky ex boyfriend loved Yumm sauce. There is a Cafe Yumm in downtown Seattle, maybe one day I will venture to downtown and stop in. This sauce is really amazing. It's made with almonds and chickpeas and some seasonings. I'm sure I still have the recipe written down somewhere!
I remember years ago I started taking Spirulina tablets, and they really helped with my energy and mood. So I thought I could use the help since the grey is real in Seattle.
And finally, I had to get more Samosas. These are also on sale. All Whole Food appetizers are two for five!
And finally, after all that adventure I made my beloved General Tso's cauliflower for dinner. If I were to make any best of lists for 2015, this would be in my top three of favorite recipes of the year.
I cannot stress enough how amazing this dish is. The sauce would make anything taste good. I am not one to repeat recipes this often. I like/need a lot of variety, so it;s so shocking to me how often I make this. But I seriously crave it. And it's cauliflower!!!
I hope everyone is relaxed, and enjoying the season, and eating some great food!
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Cats, Fails, and Taco Tuesday
I wanted to get my fur babies something for I guess the season, and so I got this cozy kitty corner fun house type of thing at Target. They love their cat trees, much to my chagrin, so I figured this would be a hit. It came "assembly required" which immediately made me nervous. I am not always the best at putting stuff together, and my lack of patience rears it's ugly head, and it's a whole thing. But, I came home, had a cup of ginger tea, and told myself I could do it! So, fast forward like an hour and many swear words later and I got it together. By the way, the directions for this were a joke! I finally figured it out just by looking at the picture on the box. Keep in mind that I was assembling this with some VERY nosy kitties. I suddenly felt very close to all the parents out there trying to assemble toys for their kids this time of year. Here's the worst part of the whole story. As I was putting it together, I felt like it was much more flimsy flamsy than I was expecting. As soon as I got it together, they lost all interest. An hour later, Kanye starts batting at one of the balls, and promply takes it down. She was only half- heartedly swatting! As the afternoon progressed, no one was hanging out in it, they have more interest in a paper bag! I woke up this morning and it's partially collapsed! It is the worst, and it's getting returned today.
Here's the sunken, busted version. We haven't even had it for twenty four hours, and no one really digs it. I could have done something wrong in assembling it, but even so no one likes it. Notice there are no kitty tails or feet in this picture. When is the last time that's happened?
See on the bottom of the box? The whole city? You're supposed to be able to build up, and have towers and cities and all of that. And see how the orange kitty is on top of the thing, feeling relaxed and comfortable? Well, I put the smallest of my brood, Kanye on top and she was like I'm outta here.
I can't imagine building a whole city just to turn the fan on and have it all crash down. Needless to say I don't recommend this for any kitty parents out there. What a fail!
After all of that hullabaloo, I was getting pretty hungry. I was going to make potato and chickpea Korma with the cashew Korma sauce I found, but I was out of chickpeas. I don't even know how I let that happen! I still wanted something with potatoes, so I decided to take part in Taco Tuesday! I feel so hip and part of a movement! Ha ha. I sliced some fingerling potatoes, tossed them with a small amount of coconut oil, salt, pepper, cayenne, garlic powder, cumin, and smoked paprika. Fingerling potatoes cook so quickly, I love it! They roasted at 400 degrees, and were done in under thirty minutes. I piled them in some flour tortillas with lettuce, salsa and green onion. Super simple, super cheap, and super satisfying. I need to make potato tacos more often.
I wish I would have known ahead of time I was making these, I would have soaked some cashews and made sour cream! They were still pretty delicious without. Food definitely doesn't have to be complicated to be satisfying.
I hope everyone is keeping their sanity this season!
Here's the sunken, busted version. We haven't even had it for twenty four hours, and no one really digs it. I could have done something wrong in assembling it, but even so no one likes it. Notice there are no kitty tails or feet in this picture. When is the last time that's happened?
See on the bottom of the box? The whole city? You're supposed to be able to build up, and have towers and cities and all of that. And see how the orange kitty is on top of the thing, feeling relaxed and comfortable? Well, I put the smallest of my brood, Kanye on top and she was like I'm outta here.
I can't imagine building a whole city just to turn the fan on and have it all crash down. Needless to say I don't recommend this for any kitty parents out there. What a fail!
After all of that hullabaloo, I was getting pretty hungry. I was going to make potato and chickpea Korma with the cashew Korma sauce I found, but I was out of chickpeas. I don't even know how I let that happen! I still wanted something with potatoes, so I decided to take part in Taco Tuesday! I feel so hip and part of a movement! Ha ha. I sliced some fingerling potatoes, tossed them with a small amount of coconut oil, salt, pepper, cayenne, garlic powder, cumin, and smoked paprika. Fingerling potatoes cook so quickly, I love it! They roasted at 400 degrees, and were done in under thirty minutes. I piled them in some flour tortillas with lettuce, salsa and green onion. Super simple, super cheap, and super satisfying. I need to make potato tacos more often.
I wish I would have known ahead of time I was making these, I would have soaked some cashews and made sour cream! They were still pretty delicious without. Food definitely doesn't have to be complicated to be satisfying.
I hope everyone is keeping their sanity this season!
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Feeling Saucy
Yesterday I had to pick up some more Dijon and yellow mustard, and of course I found a few other sauces to try too!
I'm excited to try this cashew Korma sauce! |
This garlic relish looks really interesting. It's made with garlic, onion, sugar, canola oil, raisins and dates, and some spices. I don't know what I will use it for yet, but it just sounded too delicious to pass up.
I also picked up some more veggie bouillon cubes. I find them a million times easier, and more economical than the boxed stock. I don't use veg stock that often, and the boxed stuff haunts me if I don't use the whole carton. It sits in the side door of my fridge taunting me, and reminding me that it has an expiration date. If I were a more organized thinker, I would just put the unused in the freezer. But, I am who I am so the bouillon cubes work for me.
The Not chicken cubes are really good for chickpea noodle soup. And I make lots of chickpea noodle soup as the winter months drag on!
For dinner I baked some tofu in some coconut oil and salt and pepper. I've said it before, and I'll say it again this is hands down my favorite way to cook tofu. It's how I cook tofu 99% of the time. The other one percent is split between tofu scramble and tofu miso soup. I put less than a tablespoon of coconut oil in a baking dish, place it in the oven to melt it, and then place my sliced tofu down, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 350 for about twenty or thirty minutes, flip pieces over, season second side and bake for ten or fifteen minutes. You can bake longer if you want it extra crispy. It has a really great texture, and the coconut oil gives it a satisfying mouth feel. And it only takes a small amount of coconut oil to cook the whole brick of tofu.
I wrapped the rice and tofu in some butter lettuce leaves and dipped the wraps in the Spicy and Sweet chili heat sauce by Soy Vay pictured above. The sauce is amazing, and it definitely has a kick. Usually I add additional sriracha, but I didn't need it with this sauce. It's also a marinade, and I bet it would really make some tasty marinated tofu, or seitan too!
Do condiments play an important role in your life?
Monday, December 21, 2015
This and That Monday!
Here's another video from hot for food. I have had this saved in drafts for so long! My plan was to make these, and have a picture of what my pockets ended up looking like. The day that I was going to make these, I discovered my Trader Joe's dough ball had been in my fridge a little too long. And I was too hungry to make fresh dough. I don't want this video to get lost in the shuffle, so here you go. I will be making these very soon.
Look what I won in a giveaway over at My Blissful Journey! Liquid iron! Iron is a supplement that I have always struggled with. It makes me feel nauseated, and shaky and just not good. Not to mention that sometimes it can be constipating. I loathe that feeling, so I just stopped trying iron supplements and upped my dark green veggie intake. According to Garden of Life's website, this liquid iron supplement will not make you sick, or you know. I got it a few days ago, but to be honest I've been scared to try it. I am not the best with liquid medicine type things. It smells very green, with some sweetness thrown in. I finally got brave this morning and took half of the dose. I will take the second half a little later. I'm overcoming a big fear, so baby steps and all that. It's very sweet, but not in a fake way. It's somewhat syrup-y, but not as bad as Nyquil. The bottle has almost thirty days worth of iron, so I'll let you know if I notice a huge difference in how I feel. The liquid is definitely more pleasant than some of those huge iron pills I've taken in the past. At least it won't be an anemic New Year!
Happy Monday!
Sunday, December 20, 2015
Cauliflower and Cats Again??
Well, I finally made the buffalo cauliflower sandwich from hot for food! It was everything I hoped it would be. In the past two months I have eaten more cauliflower than I have in my entire life! I am full on addicted to the General Tso's cauliflower, and now this epic sandwich. I guess as long as cauliflower is dipped in batter, baked, then slathered in a really delicious sauce I like it! It was super easy to make. I used a sweet onion hot sauce mixed with some Tapatio sauce and it was spicy and delicious! I loved every bite, and I will be making this again and again. I didn't make my own vegan ranch, even though their recipe looks great, because I wanted to use the Follow Your Heart blue cheese. I topped my sandwich with lettuce, and sliced pickle and of course the blue cheese. It was crispy, salty, spicy, creamy, and crunchy all in one bite. My inner little me is absolutely GAGGING at all this cauliflower consumption! I know it's the holidays right now, but soon it will be full on football and super bowl time, and these would be great game food! I bet doing the same batter process but using a vegan BBQ sauce, or a vegan honey mustard sauce would be delicious as well.
I caught this cuteness. My two favorite guys in the whole world! Chunk has taken to kind of cuddling with Dylan. Dylan is relatively grumpy towards the other kitties in his old age, and for the most part wants to be left alone, but Chunk finds sneaky little ways to get some contact, even if it's only head to head!
Happy Sunday!
I caught this cuteness. My two favorite guys in the whole world! Chunk has taken to kind of cuddling with Dylan. Dylan is relatively grumpy towards the other kitties in his old age, and for the most part wants to be left alone, but Chunk finds sneaky little ways to get some contact, even if it's only head to head!
Happy Sunday!
Saturday, December 19, 2015
Get Thee to Grocery Outlet!
I went to one of my favorite thrift stores yesterday, because I needed a lamp for next to my bed. I love to read at night before I go to sleep, and The overhead light is so bright, and I like to be able to stay in bed to while I turn off the light. Lucky for me the thrift store that I love is also next to a Grocery Outlet! It's a thrifting extravaganza! I found a lamp, and I found some deals so it was worth battling the rain.
I got the lamp and two pictures for seven dollars. Added bonus, the light bulb in the lamp works, so I didn't even need to buy one. That's a true bargain!
I took some pictures of things that I didn't buy, but I wanted to show the deals, and I took pictures of my haul of course.
Yes, Ritter dark chocolate bars for ninety nine cents! Sadly they didn't have the marzipan, but I enjoy their plain dark chocolate bars too! Organic coconut flour for $1.99?? Some of the prices almost seem like a prank.
Yes! Amy's black bean chili well under two dollars? Both of these items are organic as well, so it's even more amazing. Your eyes are not deceiving you, that is Silk cashew milk for ninety eight cents. What in the world??
All the vegan nogs for under $1.50!! Spoiler alert- I bought some of this. Hummus for under a dollar??
Yes, that is Atheno's hummus for thirty eight cents. They had lots of dips that weren't vegan at great prices too. Veggie trays for the holidays?
The force was with me, and they still had Chao at the sweetest of all prices!
Now, onto my haul. I believe I spent twenty three dollars, and I saved thirty five dollars! My favorite is when I save more than I spent. It's the closest I'll ever feel to one of those extreme couponers!
There were a few things I bought that weren't pictured. I got some cat food, and cotton balls. I will be going back to get more of the Amy's chili. That is if there is any left. Vegan specialty items go quick!
I made a really delicious chili mac and cheese with the Amy's chili. I had some cashews that had been soaking for two days and they needed to be used, so I made a quick cashew cheese sauce, added it to some cooked macaroni, and mixed in a can of the Amy's black bean chili. I broke up a few pieces of the Chao tomato cayenne and stirred those in, and baked for about twenty minutes. It tasted amazing if I do say so myself! I had never had the Amy's black bean chili, and man was I missing out!
All in all I have to say yesterday was an epic success! Good deals, and good food, and I can stay cozy in bed while turning off my light!
Today I will be rearranging my living room. I've been in a bit of a slump, and I think changing the scenery a little will help freshen everything up. My cats will be both interested and annoyed I'm sure.
What are your weekend plans?
Thrift haul! |
I took some pictures of things that I didn't buy, but I wanted to show the deals, and I took pictures of my haul of course.
Yes, Ritter dark chocolate bars for ninety nine cents! Sadly they didn't have the marzipan, but I enjoy their plain dark chocolate bars too! Organic coconut flour for $1.99?? Some of the prices almost seem like a prank.
Yes! Amy's black bean chili well under two dollars? Both of these items are organic as well, so it's even more amazing. Your eyes are not deceiving you, that is Silk cashew milk for ninety eight cents. What in the world??
All the vegan nogs for under $1.50!! Spoiler alert- I bought some of this. Hummus for under a dollar??
Yes, that is Atheno's hummus for thirty eight cents. They had lots of dips that weren't vegan at great prices too. Veggie trays for the holidays?
The force was with me, and they still had Chao at the sweetest of all prices!
Now, onto my haul. I believe I spent twenty three dollars, and I saved thirty five dollars! My favorite is when I save more than I spent. It's the closest I'll ever feel to one of those extreme couponers!
There were a few things I bought that weren't pictured. I got some cat food, and cotton balls. I will be going back to get more of the Amy's chili. That is if there is any left. Vegan specialty items go quick!
I made a really delicious chili mac and cheese with the Amy's chili. I had some cashews that had been soaking for two days and they needed to be used, so I made a quick cashew cheese sauce, added it to some cooked macaroni, and mixed in a can of the Amy's black bean chili. I broke up a few pieces of the Chao tomato cayenne and stirred those in, and baked for about twenty minutes. It tasted amazing if I do say so myself! I had never had the Amy's black bean chili, and man was I missing out!
All in all I have to say yesterday was an epic success! Good deals, and good food, and I can stay cozy in bed while turning off my light!
Today I will be rearranging my living room. I've been in a bit of a slump, and I think changing the scenery a little will help freshen everything up. My cats will be both interested and annoyed I'm sure.
What are your weekend plans?
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