Rice and Cats!

Last night I tried a recipe from The Asian Vegan Kitchen, I've been looking through the book, and I want to try most of the recipes! I have a million little bookmarks sticking out! I do need to make a trip to the Asian market for some ingredients.
But last night I had all the ingredients for the Thai red chili fried rice! The book calls for making your own red curry paste, but I had some in a jar so I cheated. I also threw in some edamame because why not! This recipe was really easy to make, but so freaking tasty! It definitely tasted like it came from a restaurant!!

This was so amazing! I don't know why I've never thought to use curry paste for fried rice! I'm going to make the basil fried rice sometime this week. That's also fro the Thai chapter, and used to be a favorite at Thai restaurants. Thanks again Blake, I think this book is going to be well used and loved!

This is what happens a lot around here. The stare down between Kiki and Bubba. Roxy is looking on from above. Kiki likes to sit in the doorway of the extra room which has become Bubba's room. I call her thug life now! Also, as you can see they are very close to their goal of completely shredding the couch!

These two were napping in some of the cutest positions yesterday! Keeping someone in constant check can be so exhausting for a girl!

More Hauls!

I went to Sprouts yesterday morning, and came home to a package in bright pink wrapping!! It was a perfect day for a surprise! The package was from Caroline from Tea and Sympatico.

I took a bath the the devil's claw bath oil and then enjoyed the AHMAZING Vego bar!! Vegan white chocolate is impossible for me to find, and this was so creamy and honestly, even better than I remember. I remember that white chocolate was always really, really sweet. The vego bar is sweet, but not sickly sweet! Ten out of ten for sure! Thank you so much Caroline!

Ginger and peppermint tea, potatoes, celery, lite coconut milk, green onion,gluten free bread, fizzy water, califia farms creamer,lemon, oranges, red pepper, garlic, power c packs, avocado, pears, onion,,tofu, carrots

Because the peppermint and ginger aid teas are seasonal, Sprouts had them on clearance for $.99 a box! Those are two of my favorite flavors of tea, so that was a total score!
I got kind of a light haul this week because I'm supposed to be getting a new fridge this week! My fridge has something broken, maybe a fan, I don't know, but it isn't as cold as it should be. The handy man who will be installing it is flaky to say the least, so I'm not sure when it will happen, but I want to make it as easy as possible.
Can you guys believe it's about to not only be a new year, but a whole new decade? 2019 for me seemed to both drag and fly by. I feel so ready for a new decade!

Haul on Top of Haul!

I have a couple of hauls today. One is just my weekly grocery haul, and one is a surprise package haul!!
I got a package Friday morning, very early and I had to leave for something, and the surprise was killing me so bad!!! I could barely wait to get home. I've always been really, really terrible with surprises, both keeping them and waiting to find out. The package was from Blake and it was such a nice surprise! This time of year puts me in a pretty funky place emotionally speaking, so it was nice to feel childlike anticipation!

Seriously, I can't wait to make everything in The Vegan Asian Kitchen cookbook! You know me well Blake, I would say Asian cuisine is my favorite cuisine!

And all these spice blends!! I'm so excited! I remember wanting to make a recipe with peri peri seasoning awhile ago, and couldn't find it anywhere, now I just have to remember what I wanted to make!!!
There was also a Trader Joe's gift card and like surprises, things like gift cards totally excite me, and burn a hole in my pocket as I've been told my whole life, so I braved Trader Joe's the Saturday before Christmas!! It was bad, but not as bad as I expected to be honest! It was way worse around Thanksgiving.

Tomato paste, mushroom umami seasoning,peanut butter, seaweed snacks,sun dried tomatoes, edamame, tofu,chili onion crunch,lime, water kefir

Eggplant hummus, fizzy water, carrots, chocolate peppermint creamer, garbanzo beans, green dragon sauce, tahini, sesame crunch salad,cannelinni beans,romaine, lemons, cashew butter, stuffed grape leaves, gingerbread candle

I also had a coupon for Sprouts, so I went there for some stuff too. A lot of great deals on produce, as usual!

Apples, rasberries, vitamin C packets,ginger, peppermint vanilla candle, red and yellow onion, method all purpose cleaner, blueberries, cutie mandarins, jalapeno crackers/chips, Ataulfo mangoes, teecino, Bubbies spicy sauerkraut, mango fizzy water,raspberry oranges, vanilla protein powder, sweet potato, celery

Honestly, I think the raspberry oranges are probably blood oranges just with all new "branding" but I love blood oranges so I'm fine either way!

Look what popped up at Sprouts!! Amy's seems to have veganized a few of their vegetarian classics!! The new vegan chili mac is also gluten free so woot!  And the vegan meals are pretty stand out with the bright green packaging.

This was truly a holiday miracle!! Bubba has been slowly getting bolder in his napping spots. He knows the pink sweater is THE SPOT so he tries to get it, but Etta and Kiki almost always claim it. I'm shocked Kiki allowed this. Like he's almost cuddling Etta! Things are far from perfect, awhile after this picture was taken, Kiki went on the attack again. Progress not perfection!

No More Lasagna for Me!!!

I've been seeing lots of beautiful pictures of holiday lasagna all over the webz, and I caught a craving! The problem is that I have tried making lasagna several times since going  gluten free, and I have never, ever liked the results with gluten free lasagna noodles. And it's always so frustrating to spend all that time and money to have bleh results.
I decided to try to make an eggplant lasagna this time. Eggplant is cheaper than gluten free lasagna noodles anyway! I wanted to keep it simple, so I just made a "cheese" lasagna. I made a cashew ricotta which turned out AMAZING, I wanted to eat it all with a spoon!

I used this recipe. This was my first time making cashew ricotta, I usually use tofu. I like them both, but the cashew ricotta is definitely more decadent!

Ugliest picture in the west! I layered slices of eggplant with sauce, cashew ricotta and a little daiya. I am not very good when it comes to cooking eggplant. I love eggplant dishes in restaurants, but when I make it, it's usually not so good. I precooked the eggplant slices, and then the lasagna cooked for forty five minutes and yet there were still bits of the eggplant that were a little under cooked. I think I'm just not meant to eat lasagna ever again!!

This made up for the meh eggplant! Seriously, if you see this chocolate anywhere you owe it to yourself to give it a try!!

Samosadilla!!!

Lately when I'm searching around for new recipes, I find myself searching non vegan sites and YouTube channels. I find that when non vegans post accidentally or purposely vegan recipes, they are more my speed. There's rarely a mention of any superfoods, mushroom teas, or any fancy, expensive artisinal ingredients. And rarely a mention of an instantpot or air fryer.
I came across a recipe for something called a samosadilla and knew I had to make it. You just make the spiced potato, pea mixture for a samosa, and put it in a tortilla and brown it up a bit. Brilliant!!

I used Mission gluten free tortillas, which if you're gluten free Mission makes the best gluten free tortillas I've tried. They're far from perfect, but they're way more flexible than other gluten free wraps, and a little cheaper.
Here is the recipe I used. The mint cilantro chutney was more like a green juice because I didn't have any plain, unsweetened yogurt so I just blended the ingredients with a splash of olive oil and a little water. Either way it was still delicious with the samosadilas. Ten out of ten recommend this recipe! And he's right, the filling makes a great potato salad!

Here is my second batch of homemade booch! This time I'm experimenting with grape juice for flavoring. You don't see many grape flavored kombuchas out there, and I'm a sucker for anything grape. Grape Hubba Bubba forever!

Weekend Haul

I have some hauls to share. Yesterday I went to Sprouts, Target, even Trader Joe's for lettuce(!!!), Whole Foods and even did a little thrifting. Whew!

Whole Foods still has the Caribbean Mix popsicles two for one dollar!! I'm also in love with these strawberry filled chocolate bars.

Next up my little Target haul. I found out on Instagram that Kraft's creamy Italian is accidentally vegan!! Not extremely healthy, but vegan. I used to love creamy Italian and always assumed it was made with dairy or eggs! The almond nog was the same price as coffee creamer for much more, so my tea and coffee will have almond nog this week! The Kite Hill ranch dip was on sale so I gave into an urge. Kite Hill is hit or miss for me, and I usually don't think their products are worth the price. Has anyone else tried this dip?

My thrifting haul. I needed another jug for my booch brewing, and I found a few other goodies, including a glass pyrex bowl! I got it more for a mixing bowl but nice to know it can ho in the oven! I don't even really like casseroles, but now I want to make one!

I love this coffee mug! It has a kid's name on the bottom, so some cute kid made this and it seemed sad to be on the shelf of a thrift store. I'm enjoying my tea in it this morning. Thanks Jacob!!

Coconut milk,lemons, so delicious frozen mousse, apples, peanut butter,tofu, lettuce, small potatoes, oranges,protein powder, fizzy water, avocado,carrots,celery, BBQ seasoning, rice cakes, blueberries,gardein chicken scallopini, coconut curry hummus

I don't eat a lot of gardein products because most are made with gluten. I recently learned that the chicken scallopini is gluten free, and Sprouts has all gardein thirty five percent off, so I decided to pick up a package. Not sure what to do with it, but it's always exciting to discover something else I can eat!

Hits and One Miss!

I found these on sale when I was really, really hungry. I've had veggie burgers from this company and they weren't my favorite. Pretty dry and crumbly. But these little bites are not dry, and they have such a great savory flavor. Probably because they have both portobello and shitake mushrooms.

I enjoyed these with thick cut oven fries and yellow mustard for dipping. They'd be really great in a sandwich or wrap.

I found these parsnip chips at Big Lots awhile ago. I like parsnips, and I like those root vegetable chips that have parsnips, but man when I opened this bag the smell was so weird it was a turn off before i even tried one. They were barely okay. I had some in hummus which really helped, and I really had to force myself to finish them which is not how we should feel about snacks!

I found this Szechuan sauce awhile ago and finally tried it the other night. I baked some tofu and then just tossed it around in the sauce. I also toasted some sesame seeds to throw on top, which was a nice touch if I do say so myself! This sauce is really, really spicy. I love spice, and this was just on the edge of being too much for me!! I feel like I need to make some cauliflower wings to toss in this sauce!!

And finally I recently found this at Winco for under three dollars! You know I had to try it! Cherry Garcia was one of my favorite Ben and Jerry's flavors and the vegan version does not disappoint. It tastes just like I remember!! My favorite part is the cherry chunks. Ten out of Ten!

Simple Meals with Chicpeas

Chickpea pancakes are one of my favorite things to have for breakfast. They're so easy to make, taste great and are full of protein so they really stick with you! I like to douse mine with green dragon sauce and top with avocado. They're also great with sauteed veggies if you're fancy, which I usually am not. Ten out of ten I recommend this breakfast!!

I recently discovered a little corner in Sprouts where they put all their clearance items. Clearance corner!! I've found some great things there, including this seasoning blend. It has parsley, salt, garlic and onion, It was $.99 so I figured it was worth a try. I always think potatoes when it comes to seasonings that seem to be made more for meat.

I cubed some potatoes, drizzled them with a little oil and lots of this seasoning. They smelled soooooo good while they were roasting!! I then topped the potatoes with some Buffalo chickpeas and some FYH blue cheese dressing. This is one of my favorite things to eat, whether the chickpeas are stuffed in a baked potato, or over roasted potatoes like this. Creamy, mild potatoes balance the tangy heat from the chickpeas. It's just as enjoyable without the blue cheese too!!

Rainy Day Food and Books

Carrots, potatoes,avocado,cuties,garbanzo bean flour,protein powder,jalapeno, clearance all purpose seasoning

I popped in to Sprouts for a few things on Saturday. Just a few basics to tide me over until I get paid. This haul was nine dollars and some change, so I can't complain at all! I appreciate Sprouts for always selling really, really affordable produce. I wish Sprouts stores existed everywhere, so that more people could actually afford fresh fruits and vegetables.

The library is near Sprouts so I stopped in and picked up my books I had on hold. Trying to heal my thyroid on my own has been daunting, and I feel like I'm not doing enough so hopefully I can learn more. And Jennifer Weiner is one of my favorite authors. I have read all of her books, most more than once. At one point in my life I owned all of her books. So I'm excited to read her essays, should be hilarious!!

Please excuse the trash in the background. Ha! This is my first glass of my just brewed strawberry lemonade kombucha! I'm really, really happy with the results.It's sweet but not too sweet, and it has a great strawberry lemonade flavor.

It has been nothing but grey here in SLC for days, maybe even a week. I've definitely been feeling the blues. I wanted soup yesterday, and for some reason tomato rice soup was all I wanted. So comforting!!! I used this recipe, and it was super easy and tasty. And with the brown rice it was surprisingly hearty and stick to your ribs!

DIY

I've been reading a lot about mac and yease being sold at Whole Foods. Here's where I first read about it. I'm sure for a lot of us longtime vegans mac and yease was what we ate when we first went vegan. Eleven or so years ago when I first went vegan, the cheeses left a lot to be desired, and were expensive so I just didn't even bother. Although vegan cheese has come a long way, unfortunately it's still pretty expensive so good old mac and yease is way more affordable!

This was so easy! I boiled a potato and then blended that with about 1/4 cup cashews, nooch and some garlic and onion powder. I also added a little lemon juice. This was creamy and dreamy and honestly, I didn't even miss cheese. I added some Buffalo hot sauce which took it over the top!!

This was another quick and easy meal I threw together. Baked tofu, black bean rice noodles and some shredded romaine. Lately I've been enjoying tossing my baked tofu with the chili onion crunch from Trader Joe's. This was definitely better than take-out!!

Here is my home brewed kombucha during it's second ferment! I decided to flavor it with strawberry lemonade. I'm hoping it turns out tasting like the strawberry lemonade from humm kombucha. Look at the carbonation at the top of the jug!!! I'm so proud!

Booch and Potatoes!

Look at my homemade booch go! She's fermenting all on her own, like a big girl! Ha! Today is the ninth day fermenting, so today I'm going to start the second fermentation with some juice. So, that means in the next few days I will have my first batch of homemade kombucha!!

Speaking of kombucha, this is one of my favorites!! I love all humm flavors, but the hopped grapefruit is my all time favorite!

Last night I made mashed potatoes and gravy. One of my favorite comfort meals! I had a couple of slices of the whole foods brand cheddar left, and I just wanted to use it up, so I stirred in some horseradish and melted the cheese in the potatoes for horseradish cheddar mashed potatoes!! Really, really delicious!!

I know I've shown it a million times, but here's a million and one! This is my favorite vegan gravy. Since it's holiday time and gravy goes with lots of holiday food, I figured I'd share again. I know I'm not the only gravy challenged person out there! This has a rich flavor and definitely doesn't taste like it came from a packet!

Whole Foods Vegan Cheddar!

I picked this up at Whole Foods on Sunday. I'm always excited to try a new vegan cheese, and this is under three dollars so that makes it extra exciting.
It does have traces of wheat in it, which I didn't notice until I got home. Why Whole Foods, why?
That's the bad news for me, but the good news is it tastes great cold, right out of the package. It has a little sharpness, almost like a sharp cheddar.
I used some for mac and cheese, and I'm very happy to say it melted and got oooey and gooey. What a bummer that it isn't gluten free!

If you're not gluten free, I highly recommend this cheese. They had cheddar and smoked provolone, other Whole Foods might have more flavors. The price is very fair, and the cheese is great!

Sorry for the horrible flash photo, but look at these two!! Afro's neck has left the building!! Just one little ball of floof!!!

Violife Just like Feta and More!!

I showed you guys this Violife just like feta I found at Smiths the other day. I wasn't sure how to use it, because while I did like feta cheese, it wasn't one I bought and used a ton. I went to Violife's website, and found a recipe for a Greek salad and knew I had to make it! Here is the recipe. I cannot recommend it enough!! I want to bathe in the dressing!

I had my salad with lemony Greek potatoes from Veganomicon. The salad is AMAZING!! The dressing is what really makes it.
The feta is a different texture than real feta, it's not as dry and crumbly. In fact, it isn't crumbly at all. It's smooth and creamy more like a mozzarella. But the taste is out of this world. It has a bit of a goat cheese flavor, I don't know how they recreated that delicious funk. I will definitely be buying the feta again.

I went to Petco to get litter yesterday, and since there is a Whole Foods in the same plaza I decided to pop in and see if there was anything new and exciting. I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw these popsicles on sale two for one dollar!!! I swear I read the sign five times to make sure!! It finally pays to be the weirdo who loves posicles in the winter!!

I also found this on sale, and I couldn't resist. You guys, this is the best! They're very generous with the strawberry filling. Each square is like a chocolate covered strawberry in bar form!!! The only thing that could make this any better is if it were filled with raspberries!!!

So I was trying to do yoga yesterday, and this happened. Since Afro got so cozy, Etta of course had to join in to offer further assistance!

I really don't know what I would do without their help! I might have overstretched and pulled something!!!