A Little of This, A little of That!

I got my hair kind of fixed yesterday. It involved getting even more hair cut, and I am definitely growing out the bangs, but it's a little more bearable. Thank gourd I have a lot of hair to grow, because I won't be sitting in a stylists chair anytime soon!
I stopped in the Barnes and Noble next to the mall to have a gander. It's been a long time since I've been in a Barnes and Noble. It's a bit overwhelming at first. My eyes had to adjust, like going in a movie theater.
I was surprised that the vegan section was lacking a little. They had a decent selection, but they were missing a lot from Isa Chandra Moskowitz, I didn't see any Terry Hope Romero books, and they were also missing a ton of Robin Robertson's books. I'm pointing those three out only because every bookstore or library I've been in, including some used bookstores have those authors, and they are just who comes to my mind when I think of vegan cookbooks. Anyway, I might go back someday and get Eat Like You Give A Damn by Josh Hooten and Michelle Shwegmann. It had some seriously drool-worthy pictures. The problem with me and cookbooks is that I like to get in the kitchen and throw a little of this, and a little of that together and see what happens. So, although I love recipes, in a weird way I feel like I'm doing an assignment or something when I follow a recipe. Also, I sometimes feel discouraged to try recipes when they serve 4, 6, or 8 people, and I am only one person. I am not someone who can eat exactly the same food over and over, and I feel stressed because I don't want to waste, and it's just a whole thing. I would rather spend twenty five dollars on food. But a lot of those cookbooks sure are beautiful works of art!
Target is across the street from the mall, so I stopped in to see if they had replenished their Ben&Jerry's, and they had! Yay no shortage! I had a coupon for a dollar off of a pint, and I picked up the coffee caramel fudge! I've heard really good things.

I am always really excited to see any kind of vegan caramel offering. I tried to make vegan caramel once, and it was seriously traumatic. It went from zero to almost burning down the neighborhood in like five seconds. And, even in Seattle I find vegan caramel to be as elusive as white chocolate. And I've heard the caramel in this is spot on, and as with their other flavors they are generous with the add ins.

It was raining and I was mopey, so of course I needed mashed potatoes and gravy. I made horseradish mashed potatoes this time. I was going to add kale at the last minute with my potatoes, and make Colcannon, which I have never made, but I forgot to add the kale. So, I added some parsley and chives for a little green. I was too full after this to even have any of the ice cream!
Happy Tuesday!

Fixer-Upper

I massaged a little kale with some lemon juice and salt and pepper and let it marinate while I cleaned my apartment yesterday. I mixed it with some Romaine and shredded carrot, and tossed it with FYH's vegan Caesar. So good. It was extra tangy from the extra lemon juice on the kale.

I made sweet potato soup for dinner. I used red curry powder instead of yellow this time. Red curry powder is definitely more intense, and I used a little less than I would yellow. Yesterday was a grey day, perfect for soup. I'm so glad I found an immersion blender at the thrift store! It's so much easier blending hot soups.
I'm going to try to get my hair fixed today. The lady who cut my hair had given me her card, and according to it she is off on Sunday and Monday. I don't want her touching my hair, and I just don't want the awkwardness of having to explain. Years ago, I had someone destroy my hair, and when I went to get it fixed, they tried to tell me the person who did my hair had to be the one to fix it, and I had to really argue to have someone else do it. I'm leery to let someone who has already made me look like a complete buffoon have a second turn, call me crazy! I'm trying to be very mature, and very not vain about it, but tears have been shed over how I look. I saw a little girl at the store the other day, and she was being super obnoxious, and she had a bad haircut. And, I realized she and I had the same haircut, as if the same frazzled mom had put the same bowls on our heads.
Happy Monday!

Mini Vegan Haul!

Maybe my first haul picture without kitties!

I got a few things at my neighborhood grocery store. It's not my favorite place to shop, but it's close, and it is usually somewhat sane on an early Saturday afternoon. I got mostly healthy stuff, but I couldn't pass up the Gardein, it was two for something. I love the fishless filets so much, and I haven't had the porkless bites yet. I love their mandarin orange crispy chick'n, so I feel confident that these will be tasty. The only Gardein product that I haven't cared for is their chipotle lime tenders. All the rest is good stuff. I stocked up on more potatoes, including sweet. I've been craving sweet potato curry soup.
I'm so bad, getting more of the dirty Chai! But, like I said we are in the grey rainy season in Seattle, and some days, (most days) I feel like I need extra help. And oddly enough, this little grocery near my apartment is the only store I've seen carry the caramel Silk creamer.

More oven fries for dinner. These have turmeric, cumin, garlic powder, S&P, and 21 seasoning salute. BBQ sauce for dipping. OH Yeah. I truly feel like the potato cleanse did wonders for my potato cooking skills. I would enter a mashed potato or oven fry contest any day of the year.
I hope everyone has a perfect Sunday!

Just Another Caturday!

I decided to be brave and try the mango habanero kombucha from Kevita. I love it! First of all, I love mangoes. But I find a lot of mango flavored things taste terrible and fake. Same for peach. But this tastes light and fresh, and the spice is just a little slow burn that is more of a flavor enhancer than spice. The little kick compliments the mango and also the tang of kombucha really well. This is much tastier than I expected, and you guessed it, it's one of my favorites!!! The candle holder doesn't look as awesome during the day. When it's darker out, and I have a tea light burning in there, it's such a warm comforting glow. Apparently these things are food grade Himalayan sea salt, and could be grated for salt. Good to know if I ever have a salt emergency!

I can't seem to go more than two days without oven fries in my life. For someone who was so eager to get off the potato cleanse, I sure do continue to eat a ton of potatoes! This Carolina gold BBQ sauce from Trader Joe's is really, really tasty. It's lighter than other BBQ sauces. It's made with mustard, so it has extra tang! And, Trader Joe's uses vegan worcestershire sauce. They now put the ingredients in parenthesis for the worcestershire sauce.

This Quinoa and brown rice blend was on sale at Target, so I decided to try this for my new rice cooker. As I mentioned, cooking fluffy quinoa is not one of my talents. I'm happy to say it came out fluffy! And it cooked while I did yoga, and i didn't have to worry about running in to turn the stove off!

When it was done cooking and steaming, I stirred in some frozen roasted corn and edamame. I had this for breakfast this morning with some Romaine lettuce, red onion and carrot. I drizzled a little Italian dressing over the whole bowl. It was really delicious! I enjoy quinoa when it's fluffy and fully cooked! This bowl just looks so happy with all of the colors! It drives me insane when vegan food is portrayed as beige, or only green, as if we live on kale.
As always. I wish you a happy Caturday!

Look at Animal creeping in the background! She's wondering why I'm not taking her picture!

Bad Hair, Good News!

So, I got the salt lamp, or in this case candle holders. My logic is this way I can have one in the bedroom and one in the living room. These are $14.99 which is wonderful. When I first read about these, I figured it was yet another natural, feel good thing that was not for people like me. Or, I guess I should say wallets like mine. I bought votive candles, and I should have bought tea lights. I am a lucky girl when I get to go to the mall twice in two days. (Dripping with sarcasm!) I also have to get my hair fixed. Never trust your hair to someone who's own hair leaves a lot to be desired. I look like a tool. I did get bangs, which was a terrible idea because now they are just there. I look like  I could be a female lead in Dumb and Dumber! And I don't mean as the hot female lead, I mean as a female dumber! So, hopefully something can be done to salvage this. And I didn't flash my coupon till after the cut, so it wasn't that.

Library haul

Luckily for me the library balanced out the mall madness. I feel claustrophobic as soon as I enter a mall. It's hard for me to believe I ever worked in one!

This is my new favorite smoothie, period. Pineapple juice, frozen mango, and spinach. It tastes sweet, and tropical and it makes me feel cheerful and happy when I drink it. Plus, I guess I did participate in St. Patrick's day!

I whipped up these veggie burgers last night with more cupboard stuff! I have a big bag of oatmeal, and to be honest oatmeal never satisfies me for breakfast. I have never been into sweet breakfasts, except for fruit on a hot summer day.  I like savory things in the morning. But, I bought this oatmeal because I always see beautiful oatmeal bowls on the webz, and I feel like I'm missing something. Anyway, I decided to use some of the oatmeal as a binder for these pinto bean burgers. It's just pinto and lentil beans, oatmeal, some roasted corn, a little salsa, and seasonings. These turned out pretty tasty, and I'm bummed I didn't write the recipe down. It was a spontaneous meal choice.

My delicious dessert. I would like to take a moment to notice some personal growth as a human being. There was a time not too long ago where I would have totally shoved the rest of this pint in my face to sooth myself over this chop job on my hair. But, not only did I not do it, I didn't even have the urge. I don't want to speak too soon, but I might just be done punishing myself! It feels pretty amazing.
Before I sign off, I just heard that Sea World is finally doing away with their "Theatrical" shows, and also the captive killer whale breeding. I can hardly believe it. It proves that progress can be made, even when it seems like nothing is happening. This is just so amazing, and I want to say such a huge thank you, and also congratulations to all of the people who protest, and protest, and than PROTEST!
Those assholes finally listened! Here is an article on NPR about it, and also a short three minute video.
Happy Friday!

Chatty Cathy

You know those trust building, or group building exercises we've probably all done at one time or another? Well, yarn is the group building exercise in this house. As you can see you can do a loop the loop around, so I can stand and constantly tug the yarn from one side to another, and they all work as a team to make it stop. It is so fun for them! I like to play this if they've been getting on each others nerves. They work as a team, and fun is had by all.

I picked up these splurges at Target when I went to get laundry detergent. I've been off the La Croix for awhile, I felt like I was drinking too much, and I have been trying to cut down on waste and all of that. But sometimes a sparkly La Croix is a nice treat. Moderation. I love this tea, it's Mate and Lemon  Myrtle and it tastes really light.

Close up in all it's glory!

Target had Califia Farms coffee on sale, and I have really been loving caramel things, so I had to try it. It's funny because sometimes I cringe at the price of this, but Target had it on sale for $4.99, which is less than, or at least around the price of a latte at a coffee shop.
Target was also sold out of every single pint of the vegan Ben& Jerry's! I was going to grab the coffee caramel flavor, and the case was empty. I was too stunned to take a picture! I always find these situations to be good and bad news. It sucks that you can't get what you want, but I feel so happy that so many people are buying what ever the food is.I see every sold out vegan food as a step for animals. Even though I want to live in a house made of vegan Chunky Monkey, I want animals to be safe and have happy lives more. You know some vegans are going to be sharing this with some non vegans, and it's going to open sooo many minds! I wonder if Ben&Jerry's will have a hard time keeping up with demand. I remember that happened with Chao when they first came out, people were losing their minds over it, and there was a shortage for awhile.
I'm going to get my hair trimmed/cut today. I might get bangs. I got bangs for a short while when I lived in PA. but I grew them out, then cut them again, freaked out again, and grew them out. They felt weird on my forehead, and also I can't imagine trimming my own bangs, because scissors by the eye is never okay. So, it was just a lot of anxiety. So, why am I thinking of doing it again? I have no idea. I just feel like I need a change, a new look, I don't know. We'll see how I feel when I get there. I feel like my grandma, and I feel like I should be embarrassed to admit this, but I have a coupon for two dollars off at Mastercuts! Who uses a coupon for a haircut? I don't know, but I'm going to. Is that tacky? I don't know, and I've never done it. I also have a coupon for a free Chipotle burrito, maybe I could make a whole day of being a cheapskate! Ha, should I wear sandals and socks? I also have a five dollar off Bed Bath and Beyond, and I was thinking of getting a Himalayan Salt Lamp. I've been hearing good things, and I'm really hoping for some allergy relief. Bed Bath and Beyond has them on sale, so I could get one for under fifteen dollars. Spring is like my New Year. I get very into wanting to make improvements, and just kind of refresh my life.
Sorry, super long gabfest today! Happy Thursday, and if your into it, Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Mini Haul and New Kevita Kombucha Flavors

I said I was going to keep challenging myself to take pictures in public, and I'm super proud of these two pictures. This is right on Market Street, which is a very happening street in Ballard. I've been wanting to take a picture of this for so long, because no matter how many times I see this, from across the street I always think it's a really sad looking dog, and i wonder if I can pet it. I never take a picture because of all the people, and today I took about four or five pictures, and look, I lived to tell!
That's my Trader Joe's bag in the background in the top picture! The sheep is in front of like a fancy    super artisanal store that seems to sell furniture and such. I don't know, it looks super expensive and super uninviting. I wonder why they made him look so sad?

Here's my Trader Joe's haul framed by Chunk and Animal. They assume every haul is for them, and this was a rare time when everything was for me! It was confusing. Trader Joe's was out of frozen pineapple! Weird right? So, I got frozen mango, and discovered a new amazing smoothie. Spinach, pineapple juice and frozen mango. I would have added banana but they aren't ripe. Last week I was doing banana, frozen pineapple and baby kale. Very tropical. The frozen mango adds a creaminess similar to frozen bananas. Trader Joe's has some really good pineapple juice too.

I attempted to make a vegan Shepard's pie. It turned out like a million times uglier than the picture with the recipe, but it tasted pretty good. It had lentils and mushrooms as the base, and I added about a fourth of a bag of soy curls that were lurking in my cupboard. I forget which recipe I used. Honestly, I probably won't make this again. I think I prefer mashed potatoes as they are. I think I would have preferred to just make a lentil mushroom gravy to serve over the potatoes.

I had a little more Peanut butter and cookie Ben&Jerry's. It has the salty and sweet thing that I really enjoy.

I also saw these new to me flavors of Kevita kombucha. I grabbed the citrus to try, although I looooove spicy food, I don't know how I feel about a spicy drink. I feel a little scared to be completely honest. Well, I just tried the citrus flavor, and wow, it tastes a lot like sprite. Not exactly sprite, but like a lemon lime soda. It's really refreshing, and will be wonderful on a hot summer day. It's really crisp. I also like Kevita because it isn't super sweet, but also not super dry which I don't care for. Anyway, all the thumbs up for this one! Kevita is definitely the kombucha that I buy the most. It's almost always the cheapest, and all of their flavors are delicious. Maybe next time I'll be brave and try the Mango Habanero!
Happy Wednesday!



                               

I Scream for Cilantro!

More good news for vegan ice cream lovers! I came across this article this morning, and as a huge fan of the cashew milk ice cream, I'm super excited! I'm really stoked for the creamy chocolate, and chocolate cookies and cream? Hello amazing idea, nice to meet you. I've always wondered why the ice cream is always vanilla in cookies and cream.
So, I decided to use my new rice cooker for the first time yesterday. I even read the instructions! I decided to use this medium grain rice I had gotten on sale. For some reason I've had real problems with cooking this in my pan. Pus, I am spoiled and I much prefer Basmati or Jasmine rice. Anyway, problem solved, the rice came out perfectly fluffy. The best part is I was able to use my pan to cook beans. I made a delicious burrito bowl with lots of cilantro and I used a dollop of garlic tahini sauce in place of vegan sour cream, and it totally worked.

The weather is supposed to be sunny(!!!) tomorrow, Thursday and Friday. I really hope they're right. I could really use some vitamin D. I hope to take my camera out and about and practice, because I need it, and maybe I can get some cool pictures. Between the rain/grey and my allergies my practice has gone be bye. I don't always remember to take my camera, but I try to take it with me when I go anywhere, and take at least one picture, even if I don't post it on the blog. I try to make myself take at least one around people, because I need to get over my anxiety, it's ridiculous. Like, my heart starts racing and I feel sweaty and stressed like I'm doing something wrong! So, yes, practice is needed.
Happy Tuesday!

All Good Things

I found this lurking in the back of my cupboard last week. I've heard mixed reviews of this product, so I decided to try some for myself. The sauce is made of pumpkin and sweet potato with seasonings and thickeners. Here is the small ingredient list. I've heard some complaints that it's too sweet. I expected to not care too much for it, but to be honest, I enjoyed it. I spruced my serving up with a little nutritional yeast, salt and pepper and then it was perfect. It tastes healthy, it doesn't really taste cheesey, and if you notice on the box, they call it shells and creamy sauce, not cheesey. So, I think people are expecting it to be more like the Earth Balance or So Delicious boxed mac and cheese. If I were a parent, this is what I would feed my kid. It is way healthier than any of the boxed vegan mac and cheeses out there, and the sauce is creamy.  I won't be rushing to buy it again, but at the same time I would buy it again if I had a hankering. I wasn't allowed to eat boxed mac and cheese as a kid, so I guess I'm lucky in that I don't really crave it, or miss it. But I will say this is a million times better than daiya's boxed mac and cheese!

An acquaintance of mine gifted me this rice cooker! They had decided to try gluten free months ago, it lasted less than three days, and they've been driving around with this in their trunk. I've never owned a rice cooker in my life! Normally I think they're kind of unnecessary for me, but I only have one sauce pan, so sometimes it's tricky if I want rice with my soup that I'm cooking in my saucepan that I use for rice. I have given up on cooking quinoa myself, because it's expensive and I have a high failure rate, so I wonder if this could help me? I don't know, but new kitchen gadgets are super exciting!

For dinner I had some oven fries with BBQ sauce. No curry on these guys, just salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Trader Joe's 21 seasoning salute. That stuff loves potatoes so hard!

I tried the peanut butter and cookie Ben&Jerry's! The Chunky Monkey really raised the bar, and to be honest I was expecting this to be good, but really no competition. Well, it came to compete. This one is vanilla almond milk ice cream with big swirls of peanut butter, and big and small chunks of an Oreo type cookie. Once again, these guys are super generous with the add ins. The vanilla ice cream is super rich and thick, and the peanut butter adds  salty peanut-y excellence, and then you have the bites of cookie. Just like with the Chunky Monkey, the best bite is with everything, and because of their generosity it's easy to do. I don't know which one I like best, I really don't. I guess Chunky Monkey wins because of sentimental feelings, but other than that it's a tie. I am seriously amazed by this ice cream. I know I've been a vegan for a long time, and our taste buds change and all that, but I seriously think that a non vegan would not know the difference in a blind taste test. If cookies and cream was your fave, and you like peanut butter, this will make you cry with Joy!

 Have you tried this? It has Espresso in the tea bag, and it is AHMAZING! I did coffee up as a daily habit years ago, but the weather has just been rain after grey after rain after grey and I need the extra boost sometime. I really need to live someplace sunnier, but since that can't happen now, I'll drink this tea. And of course the caramel creamer from Silk is OUT OF THIS WORLD!!
Happy Monday!

Ben&Jerry Nailed It!

Orange, carrot, red pepper and ginger juice!

Pantry Lentil Soup with Roasted Garlic Bread

Not pictured, a vegan Caesar salad with the amazing vegan Caesar dressing from Follow Your Heart. I made sure and ate nice and healthy all day since I knew I was going to be having some Chunky Monkey later on! I'm saving the Peanut butter and cookie flavor for today. I have a non vegan friend who was most excited for that flavor, so I decided to be nice and wait. I should be trying it today.

As soon as I opened it, I could smell banana, which was an excellent sign. I don't know what else to say other than they totally nailed it! The ice cream is very banana-y, and they are just as generous with the walnuts and chocolate pieces as the original! Almost every bite I had had all three components. What can I say, I'm in love. This tastes exactly how I remember original Chunky Monkey tasting. And it's so thick and creamy! I've had other almond milk ice cream, and to be honest I wasn't that impressed. Next to rice milk ice cream it's my least favorite. I've always preferred soy, or my current fave, cashew milk. So, I don't know how they made this have such a rich mouth feel. It really reminded me of cashew milk ice cream. I remember Ben&Jerry's just always tasted a little different, a little better. I felt the same when I ate this. It just tasted better. Maybe it was just the nostalgic feeling of having Chunky Monkey again. I guess I'll see when I try the second flavor. Regardless of the evils of Unilever, we asked and Ben&Jerry's listened, and they really gave it 100%! I never thought I would have Chunky Monkey as a vegan, so this felt wonderful. It brought back memories of past friends and boyfriends, and all kind of warm food memories. This is a MUST TRY, especially if you love banana!
I'll leave you with this adorable picture of my own little Chunky Monkey!

Happy Sunday!