Monday

I went in search of vegan graham crackers yesterday, and the store I went to only had two different brands, and they both contained honey. Even the cinnamon topped variety, which I thought would be safe. I had gone to Grocery Outlet to see what new vegan stuff they had(not much) and so I ran into Safeway which is not the most vegan friendly so I will keep hunting. Even though this particular Safeway is small, and not the friendliest towards us vegans, I feel a sense of warmth whenever I go there because it is where I did a lot of shopping when I lived in my last apartment in Ballard, before making the terrible decision to move to Erie. The apartment I had was so cute, and for the first time in my adult life I had a back yard and everything! And my neighbors were sooooo nice, one of them grew kale, and they had so much of it they invited me to come by and pick some anytime I wanted! It was so much sweeter and more tender than any I've bought at a grocery or a Farmer's Market. It was my kind of neighborhood. So, even though it isn't where I want to do all of my shopping, I definitely like to stop in and get the feels.

Bread, peanut butter, baked tofu in Italian and Thai flavor,spaghetti. and sriracha mustard!!!!

I've honestly been wondering when they were going to make sriracha mustard! They make sriracha everything else, ketchup, mayo, popcorn, chips, but never mustard. I believe if I had to choose, which I am the WORST at choosing, but if I had to I would say mustard is my favorite condiment. I got my love of mustard from my grandpa for sure. Mustard and radish love came from him. Grocery Outlet had this baked tofu for only like a dollar fifty a package or something. If  you see this brand at full prices, I would probably keep it moving and choose a different brand. It's super saucy and messy, and it doesn't have that super duper firm texture that I love in baked tofu. Pretty good for discount prices though!
I was able to find rice paper wrappers at Safeway though, so rice paper bacon is on the list for cooking this week! I even picked up a couple of tomatoes for RPBLT's!!

Booch, tomatoes, spring roll wrappers, and mushrooms!

I also got some mushrooms because I want to make like a mushroom melt sandwich this week, and I'm going to try some of the Truffle Just Mayo on the sandwich. A restaurant I used to work in had a veggie melt sandwich on the menu, and it had grilled veggies and cheese in the sandwich, and then the sandwich itself was grilled/toasted. It was really tasty, so I'm going to recreate that in my own way, vegan style! I'm starting to notice when I feel overwhelmed emotionally, sometimes I get inspired in the kitchen. I guess cooking is my outlet? Or I'm eating my feelings? Let's stick with cooking is my outlet!
For dinner I made a super green pesto. I replaced one handful of basil with a handful of baby spinach, and you couldn't even tell. I also used a little water to get it all going so that I could cut down on the oil. It was super tasty.

I know that I joke a lot about my crush on Cenk Uygur, but in all seriousness I deeply respect him as a human being. I don't believe I've ever heard him say one thing I've disagreed with, and that is very rare. If you are confused, sad, angry, scare, and feeling helpless like I am, and have fifteen minutes to spare, here is a very thoughtful video where Cenk talks about the events of this weekend. The air definitely feels a little heavier today.
I hope everyone has a Monday full of love.