Allergies Get in the Way!!

I saw this bush yesterday and the flowers look like buttercup flowers. I don't know what kind of bush it is, but I love buttercup flowers. I also took a picture of the library that I go to most often, the Northgate branch, since that's my current hood.

Definitely not as modern as the Ballard branch! At this point in my journey, my eyes were on fire, and my nose was running for it's life. I think I'm sensitive to the buds in the beginning of spring. Like that bush, and everything sprouting new life. As soon as things have settled in and grown a little, I seem to be fine. Ahh,the life of an uninsured person. I remember once reading an article with some doctor who was complaining about people using Web M.D. to figure out what's wrong with them. He was saying for people to "just go to a doctor" I think sometimes people forget that not everyone has that luxury. And it's the jobs that pays the least offer no insurance. Okay, rant over.
The real reason I was out in this part of my hood was to go to Target and pick up some vegan Ben&Jerry's!  I just couldn't contain myself, and I said allergies be dammed!

There it is, in all it's glory! My Target has it with their other vegan ice creams, not with all of their other Ben&Jerry's, so don't get discouraged if you don't see it right away. At first I got excited because the non vegan flavors were on sale, two for seven, but alas the sale didn't stretch to the non vegan tubs. I chose the Chunky Monkey and peanut butter cookie flavors. I will be trying the coffee caramel fudge my next trip. I'm not sure if I'll try the fudge brownie. Responses have been lukewarm, and I've heard a lot of people say the chocolate flavor is lacking. So, at five dollars I just don't know.

Chunk is super interested! Dylan loved vegan ice cream, he really loved the coconut bliss ice cream, because he loved coconut! I miss him so much. Anyway, Chunk wouldn't let me get a picture sans cat!
Sadly, after all this hype I didn't even try it. Usually I try ice cream when I get home, because the trip has softened it to the perfect consistency, but I was in so much pain when I got home I just took this picture, and forgot to taste! I made a simple dinner and went to lay down, thinking I would taste after I got my headache under control, but that never happened. Allergies are bad when they get in the way of ice cream tasting!

I had this pesto in the fridge that I found at Grocery Outlet(it's not easy to find vegan pesto) and we all know I have tons of pasta, so add some edamame beans and I've got dinner! I topped mine with nutritional yeast and hemp hearts. This pesto is really tasty. It tastes really fresh, and it's nice and lemony and garlic-y!
I'm going to do some extra cardio today, so I can have a Ben&Jerry's taste test later on!

Not thrilled to be woken with a camera.

Happy Caturday!

It's HEEEEEEEERE!!

I just realized that today is March eleventh, which means that it's pretty likely that the new Ben&Jerry's vegan ice crams should be in stock at the Ben&Jerry's store. The manager said that they were getting it on or around the tenth, or I guess the week of the tenth, and then it should be hitting Target and wherever else soon after. I might call Target to see if maybe they got it in early. The store is going to be two bus rides away from me, and Green Lake is not a neighborhood I'm too familiar with. When it isn't raining I'm a lot more willing to explore new neighborhoods. We are in that time of year in Seattle where days with non stop rain are very common. Le sigh. Anyway, sometime in my near future I will be trying some vegan Chunky Monkey! I've been feeling torn, because once I was reminded that Ben&Jerry's is owned by Unilever, my enthusiasm waned a little bit. Then, I spent some time going back and forth. There are solid arguments for not supporting Unilever at all, because Unilever, but there are also strong arguments for supporting vegan products from non vegan companies, letting them know that it is worth it to make vegan products. I try my best to not buy anything from Unilever's many, many, many brands, but I'm not perfect. Plus, it's hard to keep up sometimes. These huge conglomerates just keep expanding. Anyway, I don't eat a ton of vegan ice cream to begin with, but I think in the future I will probably try to stick with other brands, but I do want to try this. It's been years in the making, and I want to support this decision to make vegan ice cream for sure. So, that's my plan. Now, if Ben&Jerry's ever decide to make vegan Phish Food, I might not be able to contain myself and my desires.

I made this delicious juice yesterday with carrots, red bell pepper, Clementines, ginger, and some sweet baby peppers. I swear this combo is like a facial from the inside out. I know that both vitamin C and A are really good for your skin, but I think when they are ingested together they're like a superfood or something! If you're ever having one of those days where you're feeling a little wan, try this combo.

I had a salad and some Pudlas, or chickpea pancakes for breakfast. I discovered a bag of chickpea flour that I forgot I had when I reorganized. It's been awhile since I've made these, and they really hit the spot!

For dinner I made another old friend, mashed potatoes and gravy. I served them with some fire roasted corn that I got from Trader Joe's. That fire roasted corn is sooooo delicious, and a really great value too. I've seen fire roasted corn at other stores for A LOT more. It's so funny that even as a vegan I used to think mashed potatoes required a lot of extra fat to be rich and creamy. I guess that's because it's what most of us have been taught for freaking generations? I don't know, but I apologize to my arteries. I added a splash of unsweetened almond milk to these, but maybe three tablespoons worth. And nothing else besides salt and pepper. I like my mashed potatoes much more now. As always, this was very comforting on a grey, gloomy day.
I have the most Ahmazing update. When I started typing this Target wasn't open yet, but now they are, and I called them and they have all four flavors NOW! Target is close to my apartment, no riding two buses and possibly getting lost! Woot Woot! If you haven't been able to find it yet, I would check your Target store, I've noticed a few YouTubers found theirs at Target.
Happy Happy Friday!

It's All Unreal!

I don't know if anyone heard, but there was a huge explosion in my second favorite neighborhood in Seattle, Greenwood. Here is a short article if your interested. It did some very serious damage, but amazingly no one was killed or seriously injured. I lived in Greenwood for several years, and like I said next to Ballard it's my favorite. I went there yesterday to see the damage. Most of the area is blocked off, even for pedestrians. I did get two pictures.

To the right of Gorditos(blue awning) used to be the back way to a place called Mr. Gyros, where you could get the best falafel that I have ever had IN MY LIFE. The two brothers who owned/ran it, and everyone who worked there were the nicest people I have ever experienced in my life. They were amazing, loved life, loved their shop, loved their customers. It was great food and great energy. The place was never not jam packed. It was one of the businesses totally destroyed.

This was as close as I could get. I've never seen anything like it. It was definitely a very somber feeling in the area. It really is a miracle that no one was seriously hurt. Some of those buildings have apartments above them, and there are a lot of apartments mixed in the area. So scary.
Onto some happier news, since there is a Fred Meyer store in Greenwood near the whole area, (not damaged) I stopped in to get some more of those delicious Unreal peanut butter cups, and I found a new vegan chocolate chip cookie!

I love when a package says vegan right on the front! It is just one of those little touches I really appreciate. The cookies are okay, I have to admit that I am not a fan of gluten free baked goods. I can tolerate some gluten free noodles, but I just have never had a gluten free baking mix that really works. I taste the baking soda or something. There is a distinct taste that does not exist in gluten full baked goods.
I have a serious addiction to these Unreal cups. I stocked up because they are on sale at Fred Meyer right now. I learned about these amazing treats from a vegan YouTube channel I recently discovered, Team Broccoli. It's a really cute channel, lots of what I ate, recipes, no food or body judging or shaming, and also no graphic images. Just some great videos showing how awesome vegan life is.

Curry fries for dinner. Easy, filling, and comforting. Just Mayo mixed with sriracha for dipping.
Happy Thursday!

Pantry Cooking

I thought I'd start my post with this hilarious picture I got of Animal yesterday. She was just lounging and letting it all hang out! I would say at this point she's back to 100%. She has been super playful, and I think she's just so happy to be feeling better!

I don't have quite as much rice as I do opened bags of pasta, but I do have several kinds of rice floating around in my cupboard. I had enough sushi rice to make a few rolls, and a half an avocado that needed to be used, so hello breakfast sushi! This is now two times in a row I have successfully made sushi rolls! I swear it's the meditation.

My allergies have been going BANANAS for about two weeks or so. I'm allergic to something that exists in early spring, because that's the only time I'm miserable. I think it's the cherry blossom trees, because as soon as those beautiful flowers disappear, I'm fine. I've never been tested, I'm just guessing. Anyway, my eyes burn and water, my nose gets runny, and I end up getting the headache of all headaches. Yesterday was a really bad day, so I needed an easy dinner. What could be easier and cheaper than beans and rice? I found this recipe, and I followed it almost exactly. I lowered the amount of oil to one teaspoon, and I sauteed a jalapeno along with the onion and garlic. I really love this dish, which is  good because it made A LOT! The rice is fluffy and seasoned perfectly. And man did my apartment smell good while this was cooking! I had a big bowl with a couple of warmed up flour tortillas, and some hot sauce. It was super easy to make, and it hit the spot.

I made a breakfast burrito this morning with some of the rice and beans, and a little daiya wrapped in a flour tortilla, and crisped up in the oven. Yum. I still have quite a bit leftover. This would be a dish I would serve to people who think vegan food is expensive, or if it isn't expensive it must be boring and bland. This is a super inexpensive dish that could feed many, and it is really tasty, and definitely not boring.
I also wanted to mention that sometime this week you might want to keep your eyes open at Target for some new Hampton Creek(makers of Just Mayo) products. Like ranch dressing, and the elusive cookie dough. I've been wondering if some of their other products were ever going to be seen by the masses. I also came across this article, mentioning products I didn't even know were coming! Cookies, scrambles, more vegan cheese, it's just so exciting! Hampton Creek seems to have really good relationships with a lot of big retailers, and businesses that aren't only vegan, or vegan at all. And, offering affordable prices seems to be very important to them, so that all equals mainstream appeal. Huge score for the animals, HUGE! I know for sure that I will continue to support and try all of their new products.
Happy Wednesday!

Dusting and Reorganizing

There were my three projects from yesterday. Both of the kitchen cupboards have been emptied, wiped down, and refilled in a more organized manner. Sometimes when I get home from the grocery, I just kind of shove stuff in there. Okay, not sometimes, most of the time. I often wish I could borrow a type A personality just for like one day a month. Anyway, I also reorganized my little bookshelf. I dusted everything, and got rid of some junk that had somehow piled on top. I need to work on my book collection. I used to have so many books, books everywhere. I had some rare books, and just all kinds of unique books found at library sales, and thrift stores, and second hand book stores. Some were given to me. They were my most prized possession besides Dylan, but Dylan was much more than a possession. This bookshelf needs more books for sure. But it's all clean, and dust free!
Isn't it funny what you learn when you reorganize your pantry? I realized I have entirely too many half bags of pasta! It's insanity! So, I will be eating all of those half bags before I buy any new pasta, I don't care how awesome, how vegan, how new, how cheap, whatever.
I have seen some awesome organization skills, so I'm sure to some people this probably still looks unbearable, but believe me when I say it's a mass improvement over what it used to be! I should have taken before pictures, but I just kind of started doing it, and before I knew it I was done.

This is some sweet potato cheese sauce I made with a sweet potato and one little yellow potato that needed to be used like yesterday. Perfect thing to mix with some noodles!!

As you can see, this is two shapes of pasta. I mean, I have a lot of opened bags that need to be used!
I basically used Buzzfeed Video's vegan mac and cheese, just with a few changes. Insted of carrot, I used a small sweet potato, and I used garlic instead of onion, and I also threw in about five red baby sweet peppers. For spices, I used smoked paprika, nutritional yeast, onion powder, turmeric, and a little cayenne. I also threw in about one fourth of a cup of shredded cheddar daiya. It really hit the spot.
I also got brave, and tasted the cheddar daiya cold, and guys, they really did improve it! I would eat it cold again with some crackers for sure. It's no Chao, but I am impressed. I actually ate two pieces cold because I thought my taste buds were deceiving me when I took my first bite and didn't die. Good job daiya, you've come really far!

Daiya Cheddar Block and Reorganizing

I made these delicious pinto bean and daiya quesadillas last night. I used the cheddar daiya block for my cheese. We all know that daiya was Dylan's favorite, but I remember when they first came out with the block style, he was not impressed. He was a shreds boy. I haven't ever tried their cheddar block before. First of all, I have to say hats off to daiya for greatly reducing their packaging. I should have taken a picture, but it's now tightly wrapped in plastic, not the plastic container they used to be in. I noticed right away that the block didn't have such a strong daiya smell. I used a hand grater to shred some, and you know how the shreds sometimes have a wet or slimy feel to them? That isn't the case with the block. It is not slimy, and it shreds up very nicely. It doesn't leave a huge, oily residue on your grater either. I mixed it with some pinto beans I mashed with a fork.It melted perfectly as daiya does. I know that tasting it cold would have made this a complete review, but I'm sorry I wasn't brave enough! I know it seemed safe based on the better smell and texture, but I just couldn't. I feared it was a trick. I didn't use a whole lot on my quesadilla, so the taste didn't really stand out. I just wanted the melt, which I got. I still have most of the block, I might work up the courage to try some cold before I use it up. No promises, but I will try. But, based on the packaging, and the new and improved texture, I give it thumbs up.

This was an amazing veggie sandwich I had today with some spicy hummus, sweet peppers, pickles,and some perfectly ripe avocado. Chunk was very interested. That's his studious face.
I'm really enjoying hummus as a sandwich spread. I don't know why I haven't been doing this longer.
Today is another grey rainy day, and I have to admit the grey does get me down. Today I'm going to reorganize my kitchen. It's so tiny, and the cupboard are small and annoying, and it really stresses me out. I used to cook so much more, and I find that if I cook something, I end up getting so annoyed that I don't even want to look at my kitchen again. That was one of my favorite things about the potato cleanse. Not much to the preparing and cooking. I'm hoping that if I find some magical, creative way to make the kitchen less cramped, I'll want to be in there more. I actually really love to cook, and I love making my own recipes, but I've just lost my spark.
Happy Monday!

Dinner and a Haul

Well, I woke up to some exciting news today. First, let me start off by saying that I do not follow any sports, I know nothing about sports, and I certainly can't even stand the thought of boxing, cage fighting, extreme fighting, whatever it's called, I don't like it. So, I'm not even sure how I came across this news, but I learned that a vegan fighter beat Conor McGregor last night, and the dude who beat him is a vegan! Here is an article on the fighter that beat him. I read about this whole thing on a non vegan website, and they definitely spoke favorably of the vegan diet. They spoke of his strength and endurance, and credited his vegan diet for both! I really love how more and more athletes are coming out as vegan. It shows that vegans aren't a bunch of skinny, pale weaklings.
I went to Trader Joe's yesterday to pick up a few things I couldn't find at Grocery Outlet. It was a sunny, gorgeous day. It was a super nice surprise, because rain had been in the forecast. Trader Joe's on a Saturday mid morning can be a little intense. I have a small little grocery rant. I can't stand the big ass car carts at regular groceries, and I really can't stand the itty bitty carts for kids at Trader Joe's. I have gotten my foot ran over like a trillion times by those little carts, not to mention I have almost ran over several children because the cart is all the way down there.  I can appreciate that both the huge and the tiny carts might make life a little easier for parents, but still.

                                                                                                                        
So, onto what I found, what I got. I stuck to mostly fruits and vegetables, with one super new to me impulse buy!

Look at all the nosy Nellies! Trader Joe's had five pound bags of clementines for some crazy price like $2.99! Scrappy was licking my frozen pineapple tidbits bag!

So, the impulse buy is a totally new to me vegan burger. It's a Thai sweet chili burger, and I had to get it. I think my favorite of all time veggie burger is their vegetable masala burger. So, when I saw this I couldn't say no to myself. I just have a feeling they're going to be AHMAZING!

These are some fresh noodles I found at Central Market the other week. They needed to be used, so I stir fried some garlic, onion and cabbage, made a little sauce of some Soyaki, and sriracha and added the noodles. I also baked some tofu to add at the end. The noodles were made here in Seattle! Look at me, I eat local and stuff.
Today is a grey day, so I'm off to listen to some podcasts while I do some deep cleaning. I'm sure I will have lots of furry help. Snort.
Happy Sunday!

Food Haul Photo Dump!!

I decided to go to Grocery Outlet yesterday, but in exciting news I went one in a different neighborhood. I went to another old neighborhood of mine, Lake City. Or Lake Shitty as some like to call it. I forgot my camera, but it's okay. Lake City definitely lacks the charm of Ballard. I found some fun snacks, including some snacks from Maya Kaimal, who makes the curry sauce I used the other day.

Both of the Naan chips are vegan, it says so right on the back of the bag. And the black pepper pea crisps are my fave!! I forget the price, but they are already pretty inexpensive, and at Grocery Outlet they were super cheap!

I've never heard of this brand of kale chips, but at under two dollars a bag, I'm willing to give them a try. And I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw So Delicious mac and cheese for under two dollars a box! I've never had Amy's Alphabet soup, but I loved alphabet soup as a kid, and it made me feel nostalgic.

I didn't know Food Should Taste Good made hummus. I guess it makes sense to make dips to go with their chips. Either way I had to get this. It's made with chickpeas, and my favorite, lentil! It says it's made with Vindaloo curry, and topped with mint chutney. Doesn't that sound amazing, not to mention fancy pants? Chunk also found these items to be super exciting.

I like that daiya has shrunken down their packaging, like A LOT. I think this was under two dollars also. I found vegan bread without a million funky ingredients for under four dollars a loaf!  Etta really likes the smell of the Beast Burgers!

These are items I got at Fred Meyer. Fred Meyer is the only place I can find the Asian pear and ginger kombucha. I think it's my all time favorite. The Lightlife black bean burgers are really delicious. I'm a repeat buyer!

I forgot to show this bamboo cutting board I found at Grocery Outlet for five dollars. My other cutting board is too big for my counter, and it's always slipping, so this smaller one will be safer.
Believe it or not, it took FOREVER to take this picture, because all of my cats decided that they needed to lay, walk,rest on the cutting board.

Have you heard of Unreal peanut butter cups? I hadn't, but I was watching a YouTube video, and they were eating both those cups, and the The Complete Cookie, and I was super surprised to see both at Fred Meyer. Both were pretty inexpensive. It seems like the cookie is kind of a protein thing, which I'm more of a starch gal, but it's a vegan chocolate chip cookie! And the company is vegan, so I feel good about my impulse purchase! And the Unreal cups are definitely cheaper than Justin's and Theo's. I had one last night, and out of all the vegan peanut butter cups I've had, this is the most like Reese's. It's the chocolate I think. It's a lighter layer of chocolate, and it has that snappier bite to it. Not snappier really, but just that lighter layer. I mean, these things are good. Looking at this picture makes me wish I would have skipped the Theo's. The red package is the plain, which is what I had, and the green package is quinoa crunch. I think the quinoa is mixed in with the peanut butter to make it crunchy. If you see these, try them, especially if you sometimes miss some of the milk chocolate treats. I know it isn't the sophisticated thing to say, but I always was a milk chocolate girl.

Here is a wild eyed Animal. My camera has a wrist strap that she is dying to eat. I don't know how to get it off, and I'm afraid if I cut it off and ruin it, that will be the day that a wrist strap is desperately needed, so for now I just have to be careful around this one. After her health scare, I will never ever get tired of her wild side!
Happy Caturday!

Vegan Food For All the Wins!

                                         
I figured I'd share this video. I love Lauren Toyota, I love both of her YouTube channels. I love that all these foods were a hit, and I was most pleasantly surprised by her reaction to the field roast sausages. I love seeing peoples minds open to the fact that VEGAN FOOD IS NOT GROSS! I bet the girl in the video will be buying more vegan foods in the future. Win.

I took my camera with me yesterday when I walked up my hill. Which has gotten so much easier by the way. Anyway, I was happy to see the veggie dog representing! There's a picture of a happy little dog on the van, and it's just another example of how people like to use happy animals to illustrate how wonderful their meat products are. I mean, hello how does that make any logical sense? I remember walking by a church once that had a sign for their weekly chicken dinner, and it had a picture of a happy chicken with a napkin  and fork and knife, smiling away. All I could think was, man that's some dark shit even for a church.

This is me when I came home from my walk. Afro has been being a sneaky, pushy girl who bum rushes her way out into the hallway. But, she stays glued to my leg and meowing like a big old scaredy cat. However, even though she's scared of the hall, she digs her claws into the carpet when I bring her in, and she insists on charging out every time! There are many people on my floor who have dogs, including the people directly across the hallway, so one of these days she is going to really get the shock of a lifetime!

This was my breakfast yesterday of lentil soup with some toasted sourdough baguette, and my lunch of five or six baby Persian cucumbers dipped in FYH vegan blue cheese. That dressing is truly a vegan miracle. I have had two different non vegans try it, and both agreed they would never know it's vegan.

Curried potato wedges for dinner.

I just got done eating breakfast, and I finally got around to making High Carb Hannah's oil free hash brown rounds! Oh my gourd you guys, these are amazing, easy, delicious and you should go make some. I added turmeric and smoked paprika to my shredded potatoes, and it gave them a nice color. To be honest, I didn't think these were going to work for me. You know how sometimes things work for some people, and not others for no real reason? But boy was I wrong! These turned out perfect, and you can eat them with your hands, they don't even fall apart! They'd be great for an on the go meal! I will definitely be making these again and again!
Happy Friday!

Centerfolds and Stallions!

This is the bus stop where I catch the bus when I take it. It's also right next to the building with the budding tulips, although those are everywhere at this point. This is about a block or a little less away from my apartment, and there is one right outside of my building, but this one has a cover and on rainy days that is important. Especially because my umbrella gave up on life awhile ago, and I haven't replaced it yet.

This is the side of the thrift store I go to so much, Value Village. This artist who signs his stuff henry started painting these adorable animals on buildings around Ballard right before I moved back to PA. I love the cheerful animals, and their eyes. I remember it seemed like this appeared overnight.

The trees are kind of in the way, but you can see how huge the building is. It really cheered the neighborhood up.

This is a terrible picture, and I was feeling very self conscious, but I wanted to note the progress. This is the safeway in my old 'hood. When I made the jump to veganism, I found it very difficult to shop here. I could really only find the basic, bare essentials. Now look at this whole case filled with all kinds of vegan meats and cheeses. They even have daiya frozen pizzas. I also remember the only veggie burgers they had were morningstar farms, now they have gardein, and Beyond Meat right next to morningstar! I am seeing all this change in a span of four to five years, and that is some progress!

I was waiting for my bus, and even though it's far away, (I should have zoomed, I always forget about the zoom) this always cracks me up. It's a strip club, and sometimes it's centerfolds, when it's female strippers, and other times it's called Stallions, when it's male strippers! So hilarious. And soooooo creative! HA ha !

This arm of the kitty tree was where I got the best light! Ha ha!

I have had this sauce in my cupboard for so long, and I just have never used it I got this at Target, but I have seen it at Whole Foods too. I cooked up some garbanzo beans, and steamed some Yukon gold potatoes, and then combined the three I let it simmer on very low heat while I cooked up some rice.
Here are the ingredients, which as you can see are pretty great. This sauce is pretty spicy, I still needed sriracha, I would say if you're super sensitive to spice, try a little bit first. It is really tasty, and I will buy it again. I struggle with curry sauces, sometimes I have luck, other times I don't. So, this is nice to have in the pantry when I'm not in the mood to gamble, I just want some curry! I could actually taste all of the ingredients, and it is really balanced Not too much of anything. I just remembered that I've had their chickpea crisps and I really enjoyed them. The next time I'm at Target or Whole Foods I will check out the other sauce varieties.
I'm trying to really practice, practice, practice with the camera. When I take pictures in public, I get this anxious feeling, and my heart beats and it's just annoying. I also need to learn how to use the camera correctly so I can take pretty pictures! Practice means progress.
Do you have success with homemade curries?