A Different Kind of Wheaties!

 Last week when I went to Sprouts, I found some Quorn vegan chicken products on clearance for $1.39 a package!! I've never even had any of the vegan quorn products because they contain gluten. They started making more vegan products once I went gluten free. Quorn was one of my favorite fake meats when I was vegetarian. 

The first thing I wanted to try was some kind of butter chicken. I've always used tofu for the chicken, so it was fun to have something a bit closer. I didn't have all the ingredients for butter chicken, so I made vegan butter chickenless masala. Recipe here. This was super easy, and really, really tasty! I did add some red lentils which is why mine looks a little chunkier than the recipe.

Reunited and it feels so good!! These are my favorite veggie burger ever! But you haven't seen them in over three years because they contain wheat! These burgers are made with mostly potato with some other veggies like peppers and peas, and they are not spicy but spiced wonderfully!!

I've also been enjoying dumplings again! I love making fake wonton soup, and last night I cooked them in a pan with a little oil and had them a bit crispier. Delicious both ways!!

Under my kitchen sink I have a ton of Trader Joe's paper bags from the beginning of Covid, when you couldn't bring in your own bags. Bubba discovered them awhile ago while hiding from the vacuum, and now it's his favorite napping spot!

Some Old School Vegan Cheese

 

City Cakes is a local bakery that sells vegan and gluten free baked goods! I've never been to the actual bakery, but I've always eyed this cheese sauce sold at Natural Grocers. It's normally pretty expensive but I found it on clearance and snatched it up. 

It takes me back to when I first went vegan, when it seemed like every single cheese sauce recipe included cashews and roasted red pepper. The sauce is very, very creamy, but you can taste the red pepper. 

I was really drained yesterday and needed an easy meal so I cooked up some pasta and tossed it in the cheese sauce. So easy!

Although this was tasty and I loved it, especially because of the gluten full pasta, this isn't what I think of when I think cheese sauce. This is definitely a sauce for vegans!!

While we're on the topic of vegan cheese, specifically disappointing vegan cheese, this was a real let down. It was on sale for $1.99 a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, it isn't much of a deal if it's not good.

I should have passed and put my two dollars towards a better cheese. But, I didn't know. I've tried it in a quesadilla, a little bit on a lasagna, a grilled cheese and it just doesn't melt. It reminds me of the cheese when I first went vegan!! I would say pass on this. When it's not on sale, it isn't that much cheaper than daiya or violife. 

 

A Day at Ikea, Frozen Pizza for Dinner!

 The chair that I use when I'm blogging was a very used hand me down that was wonky and wobbly when it was given to me two years ago, and it has been getting worse and worse. I went to two thrift shops to find a new one, but none were the right height. So, a coworker who is in my bubble and covid free took me on an adventure to Ikea!! OMG, I love that store and want to decorate all the apartments from Ikea!! I forgot how inexpensive Ikea really is. Some stuff isn't much more than thrift stores! I found a really comfy and cute chair for seventy dollars which made my day!

As you can see, someone is already giving it the love seal of approval! I'm leaving the old one next to my new chair so that I can have a friend next to me! Plus, I'm hoping it cuts down on the seat thievery around here!

Since I was under budget for my chair, I picked up a few goodies from their little food section! I've heard so many things about the vegan balls(he he) I'm so excited to try them! I can't ever say no to vegan gummies either.

I've been missing the library so much since Covid. The library here reopened for maybe less than a week, Covid cases started going back up and they closed again. So I was so happy when I found this at a thrift store! Nick Hornby is a favorite of mine and I haven't read this one!

Ikea was pretty overwhelming on a Saturday afternoon. My introverted self was very drained when I got home and wanted an easy dinner. It seemed like a great night to bust out my hummus kale pizza from Whole Foods!

It also has these delicious slices of grilled eggplant. I've given up on making eggplant myself, but I sure love it when other people make it! The hummus as the sauce becomes kind of both buttery and a little cheese-y. It also comes with this little packet of lemon olive oil that you drizzle on the end, chef's kiss! And the crust is hands down the best crust of any frozen pizza I've had, and better than some delivery pizza I've had! If you made this no one would ever in a million years guess that it was frozen. Amy's roasted veggie pizza used to be my favorite cheese-less pizza, but this pizza snatched Amy's wig right off. It's also cheaper than Amy's. Ten out of ten will definitely buy again!

Tasty Vegan Food I've Eaten!

 Have you guys seen the quesadilla hack that has taken over the interwebz? I believe it started on Tik Tok, but I saw it on the Gram. You take a tortilla and cut a slit in it, and then put your fillings in little quadrants, fold and toast. I had some leftover lentil taco filling so I decided to try and be hip. I also used this queso I've been loving. It's from simple Truth which is Kroger/Fred Meyer/Smith's and I think Ralph's house organic brand. They're very vegan friendly!

This stuff is incredible. And it's made from butter beans and oats, what?? It's creamy and decadent with a nice little kick. Best of all it's not outrageously expensive like most other vegan queso!

Out of all the little internet food hacks I've heard of and tried, this is my favorite and the most functional. It makes a quesadilla super easy to eat. You could even eat this one handed if you're in a rush. 

I also made chocolate chip blondies!! I used this recipe and didn't change anything. these were really easy to make, and really tasty!

I used to love Wonton soup. It's hard to find vegan wonton soup, and pretty impossible to find gluten free and vegan wonton soup. I have some Korean veggie dumplings I found at the Asian market, so I used those as wontons. This was nostalgic and delicious! A nice dollop of chili garlic crunch rounded out the perfection!

Back to Sprouts!

 I haven't been to Sprouts in awhile, and Wednesday is a great day to go because their weekly ads end and begin so you can really get some deals! I was a little disappointed, they were out of a lot of things, but I also went early in the morning, and of course Covid. 

Ginger, carrots, grapefruit, kale, quorn pieces and Buffalo dippers, yellow onion, gold potatoes, Annie's gummies, lemons, cilantro, apples, russet potato, garlic, oranges, live kombucha soda

Sprouts doesn't normally carry Quorn products, but luckily for me they got some by accident, so they were selling the pieces and dippers for $1.39 a container!! I'm so glad I'm having gluten now!

I bought three bags of the pieces, and one dipper. Buffalo isn't always my favorite flavor, and since the pieces are unseasoned they'll be super easy to use!

It's been a really long time since I've had the Live probiotic soda! The can promised "Improved Taste!" and it was on sale. I don't know what they've done, but the taste really is a million times better. Very smooth, and no weird fake sweetener aftertaste. Ten out of ten!

Noodle-y Bacon-y Things!!!

 Now that I'm having wheat again, the noodle aisle at the Asian market has opened up so much for me, and it's one of my favorite aisles! They also have a lot of fresh noodles, right by my other favorite section, the tofu! 

I found these fresh Shanghai noodles that looked very egg-y and not vegan, but much to my surprise they are vegan!

Since I also had this delicious, already seasoned and already cooked tofu I decided it was noodle night!

I sauteed some green onion, garlic and ginger, added the thinly sliced tofu and noodles, and then stir fried it all with a little sauce made with soy sauce and hoisin. This used only one pan and was ready in under ten minutes. Take out who?

 I picked this up at Whole Foods a few weeks ago. This was a total impulse buy, thanks Instagram!!! I don't really eat a lot of bacon-y things, but I was thinking about using it to try and make mushroom bacon.

Today I made potato wedges and mixed some of the bacon seasoning with vegan mayo for dipping. It's pretty strong, if you're a fan of bacon-y things, this could be for you!

 

Sunday Stuff!

 Yesterday was supposed to be grocery day, but sometimes life is funky. I guess I should say sometimes I'm funky. I didn't have it in me to deal with Saturday crowds, or the bus. The bus has also been difficult during the pandemic, so many people think once they get on the bus the mask can become a chin strap. 

I decided just to pick up a few things at the Asian market. It's a long walk, but it was worth it to skip the bus. 

veggie potstickers, carrots, oranges, ginger, onion, tofu, Shanghai noodles, spinach pakora, fava beans

The oranges at the Asian market are always so cheap, and I swear they are the juiciest oranges I've ever seen in my life. 

I also ran into the Indian market for spinach pakoras and fava beans. I want to make Ful Medames this week!

I used to love to make chickpea noodles soup. In the past few years I haven't made it too often because gluten free noodles just aren't as good, and I always like to have saltine crackers with my no chicken soup. Oyster crackers are just little circular saltines so this was a hit! I made this on a very low day and it was like a hug in a bowl.

Even though I'm having gluten now, I'll never stop loving a bowl of rice, tofu, some veg and a spicy peanut sauce!

Last night I made a real lasagna! I've made several gluten free lasagnas and always felt super let down. The texture is never right, and it never seemed worth the effort. I think I still have several pieces of frozen GF lasagna in my freezer. 

This was so easy because I used the no boil noodles. I just made a quick tofu ricotta and a jarred marinara. I used daiya mozzarella shreds and a handful of Whole Foods 365 brand cheddar shreds. The daiya melted like a dream, the 365 shreds did not melt. The lasagna was still excellent. Gluten for the total win!

The New Normal

 I've really been struggling to post for the past week or so. I just feel so incredibly sad and scared. I keep hoping that the feelings will go away a bit, but so far they haven't. Maybe this is just the new normal. 

I haven't really been eating a lot of exciting food. Lots of rice and lentils. Lentils, rice and tofu are just always so soothing when I feel off for whatever reason. 

My oven also broke over the weekend, so for five days I could only use my stove top. 

I made this delicious crispy, spicy tofu the other day. Recipe here. This is incredible, I will definitely be making this again! It's so balanced, a little sweet and salty and a little spicy. The leftovers were even better!

I ran to Whole Foods for some Nag Champa, and found these two gems! Their vegan shreds were on sale for $1.99 if you're a prime member, which I am currently trialing! This pizza was on sale too, and it looks so good! I love using hummus as a quick pasta sauce, so why wouldn't it be great on pizza?

I've always wanted to try these, and now that I can have gluten I finally did! Ten out of ten recommend. These have a great texture, and the cheddar flavor is great, and not fake. I find a lot of vegan cheese cracker type things have a fake, almost daiya like flavor. it has been a long time, but these very much remind me of cheeze-its!

I finally tried thes Aloo Parathas I picked up at the Indian market! These are stuffed with spiced potatoes. They aren't spicy at all, but they are very flavorful. Incredible. Next I want to try the lentil stuffed version!

Served with tofu lentil curry!

Another outstanding vegan option found at Smith's! Everything is coming up oatmilk! This is really creamy, and a bit light, almost mousse like in texture. I wish it had a bit more peanut butter, but still mighty tasty! 

Small Indian and Asian Market Haul and Spicy Urad Dal!!!

 There's a small Indian market near me on the way to the Asian market. I've never been to an Indian market so yesterday I went to both places. Now that I'm having wheat a whole world has opened up. 

The Indian market was pretty small, and they didn't have prices on like ninety percent of the items, and the prices I did see were pretty high. I'm on a budget and can't just throw things in a basket willy nilly. There's an Indian market near Sprouts, so I think I'll check them out sometime.

 I cannot wait to try the Aloo Paratha! I don't know what could top potato stuffed flat bread!!!

Oranges, Vietnamese udon noodles, fried tofu, spring roll pancake,tofu, tofu cutlet, spiced tofu, ginger, Cantonese noodles

My Asian market haul! I couldn't get dumplings because the aisle was very crowded and being restocked by several employees, so I'll have to go back for all the vegan dumplings!

This is a new to me dish that will be in regular rotation! Spicy Urad Dal! It's black split lentils stewed with lots of garlic and ginger, tomato and spices. I used this recipe. This made my apartment smell so INCREDIBLE!!! I served it with a piece of garlic naan and loved every bite! This dish will be in a regular rotation around here!

Sweet Potato BBQ and Vegan Trader Joe's Haul!!!

 Over the holidays I saw a video of someone trying vegan Tik Tok recipes. There was a recipe for a BBQ shredded sweet potato sandwich. I remember thinking it looked good, especially on the bun. I figured I'd never make it, because why ruin a great sandwich with gluten free bread. Well, now that I can have real bread I had to make it. 

This was so easy and quick! Just shred a sweet potato and saute for a few minutes, add some BBQ sauce and saute for a few more minutes. In total I think I cooked the sweet potato for ten minutes. I used Carolina gold BBQ sauce from Trader Joe's. I had mine on English muffins because all of Trader Joe's hamburger buns have egg or honey. I almost turned into a Karen for bread! Ha!

Speaking of Trader Joe's, I have my first haul of 2021! I went yesterday, figuring it wouldn't be too bad since people probably still have lots of food from the holidays still. I made it just in time, because the line was forming just as I was leaving!

Sweet potato, kombucha,riced cauliflower,gnocchi, green onion, mini sweet peppers, sour gummies, vegetable samosas(!!!), celery, blood oranges, Carolina gold BBQ sauce, coconut milk

English muffins(!!), garlic naan(!!!), shredded cabbage, oyster crackers, carrots,lemon, sweet potato, pepper, edamame, coconut milk, tofu

You know what I noticed right away? Even though I got some treats like the naan and samosas, I still came in a bit under my budget. Because the crackers were three to four dollars cheaper than gluten free, and the two bread products together were less than one gluten free product. 

I have so many ideas for recipes I want to make myself, and recipes I want to try! Today I'm going to attempt to make bread!! I've been in a serious kitchen rut for a very long time. It feels so good to see the light and be out of the rut!!!

I Love Bread!!

 We made it through 2020! I feel like I still need more time to even process 2020. I remember last year I had all these plans and goals for 2020, and then 2020 happened. This year I'm just happy that I'm ringing in 2020 with gluten!! 

I'm thinking of turning this blog into either a gluten fan page, or an anti gluten free page. 

Since I avoided all gluten for over three years, I haven't wanted to go crazy reintroducing it. I've been having one bread item a day for the past six days. I think there was one day I had two sandwiches because I just can't believe how soft and pillow-y real bread is. I feel great, no different really. My pants still fit, and I'm having no digestive issues. 

One of the first things I made is soy curl salad! I sauteed rehydrated soy curls in a little oil and the vegan chicken-less seasoning from Trader Joe's, and then mixed them with vegan mayo, yellow mustard, red onion and celery. And some Old Bay!

Since I'm going to try and make homemade bread, I needed flour, and look what I found! There is no way I would ever find this deal on gluten free flour!

I found these vegan egg roll wrappers at Smith's the other day! I haven't had an egg roll since going vegan, and never thought it would be an option!

I baked these and they turned out great! Not quite like a fried egg roll, more like a big spring roll maybe, but either way still delicious and I'm so excited these exist!

The pink sweater continues to be prime real estate even in 2021! I love how Bubba is laying on the sleeve! Some pink sweater is better than no pink sweater!