Some Random Goodies + Christmas 2019

Hi everyone, I’ve finally tried the vanilla bean dessert hummus with some pretzels, and it is so good! 

I’ve also been enjoying this chocolate that Zach got for me… 

And I tried this new-to-me vegan mac; I didn’t care for the pasta on its own, but once combined with the sauce, it was delicious! 

served with onion potatoes

Two Christmas dinners again this year – we went to my parents’ first…

chicken noodle soup

Field Roast celebration roast and agave-glazed carrots by me, green beans and roasted potatoes by my mom, and corn and mac by my sister

And then we went to Zach’s family and got to meet their foster pup Tatiana; she’s such a cutie! 

pickles, salad, cornbread, ratatouille, chicken and rice, shepherd’s pie

raspberry chocolate cake for dessert

Here’s Daisy… 

Peace. :)

Lunch at Franconia Heritage Restaurant

Hi everyone, no new recipe again, but I do have an awesome lunch to share! My mom, aunt, and I took my sister to Franconia Heritage Restaurant for her birthday this week. They have a separate vegan menu, so we ordered lots of good food and were pleasantly surprised to find that the portions have increased since a previous visit in 2018. They had two vegan soups, so I ordered the creamy broccoli and carrot soup while my sister ordered the vegetable chowder. The soup arrived in an overflowing bowl, and it was incredibly delicious! 

My sister got the vegan chicken Parmesan (a breaded cutlet this time instead of Beyond Chicken strips) with fries, and I got the vegan tortellini, which was another gigantic serving, and a much better pasta-to-sauce ratio than it had been before… 

I was only able to put a small dent into that after finishing the soup (and the fries, which were an unexpected side), so I had some really nice leftovers for lunch this week! 

Here’s everything all together… 

And here’s a sleepy Cringer… 

Peace. :)

Some Goodies, Firebird, and Easy Meals

Hi everyone; I’m doing a photo post today. I’m still missing Leela, and I didn’t get around to trying a new recipe this week. 

brownie batter dessert hummus from Aldi, dipped some pretzels in it, quite tasty

a friend took me to V Marks the Shop; here’s my haul

plus more pierogies

Zach got me vegan ham and Swiss cheese from Luhv Vegan Deli

Firebird Festival

head of the firebird on fire

a nice drink after the festival

with peppermint Dandies marshmallows

a dinner of Field Roast mini corn dogs, tater tots, and Annie’s vegan mac

a lunch of a toasted bagel with vegan ham and Swiss cheese, served with homemade pickles

my D&D friend who bakes made me a box of vegan sandwich cookies (I took this pic after the game, so there are some missing lol)

a dinner of Mac ’n Chao with broccoli, tater tots, and Morningstar buffalo chik patty

Here’s Rogue being a cutie, sniffing the lamp on my desk… 

Peace…

Leela Update

We said goodbye to our dear sweet Leela on Wednesday.

Tuesday morning, we’d gotten confirmation from another vet that not only was the growth in her mouth almost definitely cancer, but that it had gotten significantly worse and started spreading. By Tuesday night, Leela had stopped eating and drinking again, even while on the pain medication that had helped last time.

We had one last night of cuddles in bed with Leela, and even though we knew it was the right thing to do, it was so heartbreakingly difficult to bring her to the vet to be put to sleep when morning rolled around.

My sister Alena came over Wednesday afternoon to keep me company when Zach had to get back to work. On Monday, I’d tried the pierogies I’d gotten from V Marks the Shop, so we had the leftovers for lunch, adding mustard to the kielbasa. 

my pic from Monday’s lunch; served with Tofurky kielbasa, sauerkraut, and homemade pickles

Later, I made mac & cheese for dinner; there were enough leftovers for lunch yesterday and today, so that was nice. 

elbow macaroni, soy milk, Daiya mozzarella shreds, nutritional yeast, turmeric, with frozen mixed veg and Boca chik’n added in

After dinner, Alena headed home and I left for D&D; Zach and I agreed that it would be good for us to get out of the house for a bit that night. Someone from the group brought a vegan banana bread with berries; she does a lot of baking but rarely vegan, so she’d made this with me in mind, which was super sweet of her. I had a slice during D&D and took another slice home for my snack on Thursday; it was really good. 

Here are the last pictures Leela posed for… 

As always, peace…

Vegan Treats, Sutao Cafe, Thanksgiving, and More!

Hi everyone! It’s been a busy week! On Saturday, Zach went to Vegan Treats and picked up some birthday goodies as a surprise for me: an apple pie cheesecake (so good!) and a pumpkin cake (so cute!)…

On Sunday, we visited the Wolf Sanctuary of PA in Lititz. The wolves were happy because it had just snowed!    

Rogue

Sky

Mika

Galahad

After the sanctuary tour, we went to the Tomato Pie Cafe for a late lunch; I got the vegan black bean burger and chips! 

On Monday, I made mac & cheese and Brussels sprouts and tempeh, so that made for some good lunches throughout the week… 

Also on Monday, I hit 50,000 words and finished NaNoWriMo early!

On Wednesday, Zach and I walked a section of the Perkiomen Trail…

I was very impressed by this big tree

Schoolhouse Run

Perkiomen Creek

Perkiomen Creek

bridge over the Perkiomen Creek

Perkiomen Creek from under the bridge

And then we joined my family for dinner at Sutao Cafe to celebrate my birthday! I’m finally thirty, hooray!

first plate

second plate

soup

On Thursday we had Thanksgiving with Zach’s family; dinner and dessert were both fully vegan, which was awesome, and everything was so good!

first plate

second plate

dessert (apple pie with crumble topping made by me, pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies made by Zach’s mom)

When we got home, I had some of the pumpkin spice almond milk from Trader Joe’s and it was really good… 

And for a quick dinner tonight, I had an Amy’s baked ziti bowl, which was good for an easy meal! 

Wednesday morning, Leela wasn’t eating or drinking, so we brought her to the vet; she was given fluids and medicine and as soon as we got home, she made a beeline for her food and started eating! She’s been doing better since then (the pain medicine the vet suggested we start giving her seems to be helping), and she’s been getting lots of cuddles and loves hanging out on this sleeping bag! Here’s Leela posing with the little friend my mom got for her… 

Peace. :)