Fries, Risotto, and Gummies!

Hi everyone! On Sunday, I used the last of my potatoes to make a big batch of oven fries; I had some with green beans and an Asian veggie burger from Aldi…

Yesterday I made butternut squash risotto, which I enjoyed with some Aldi vegan meatballs… 

And I found these cute gummies today when I went out on a quick grocery run…

Here is a picture from a walk that Zach and I took yesterday. It was raining, so there weren’t many other people out, making social distancing easy! 

Schuylkill River

And here are Cringer and Rogue hanging out together… 

Peace. :)

More Good Food and a Couple Puzzles

Hi everyone! For lunch on Thursday, I made the green chili macaroni and cheese from My cat loves Daiya! I’d made it before, so I knew it would be delicious again, and the leftovers have been so good, too!

For dinner, I made oven fries, which I had with Gardein fishless filets and golden wax beans… 

And for breakfast this morning, I had waffles with mixed berries and powdered sugar… 

I figured I would share the puzzles I’ve been doing; the first was a gift from Zach’s family, the second from my mom… 

Here is some more spring happiness from a walk… 

And here is Daisy being absolutely adorable; she wanted to hang out with me yesterday morning while I meditated, so I scooped her up and she snuggled in, gently kneading the air with her paws… 

(When I wasn’t taking this picture, my right hand was rubbing her belly!)

Peace. :)

Some Food and More Signs of Spring!

Hi everyone! Hope you’re all doing well! For breakfast on Sunday morning, I had my leftover baked oatmeal while Zach tried out the Gardein southwest saus’age & veggie breakfast bowl he’d found; his review: “It was pretty good.” 
 

photo by Zach

An easy lunch of leftover rosemary potatoes, Gardein fishless filets, and ½ can of Amy’s lentil vegetable soup… 

With a bag of baby carrots being the only veggies left in the house, I finally went out to Giant yesterday (two weeks since going for groceries). I got three bags of frozen greens (kale and collard greens), two little cans of green beans, two little cans of golden wax beans, and a little can of sauerkraut (I have pierogies in the freezer). I also got two bottles of apple juice since I was running low. Back at home, I made another batch of chex mix, which I’ve been having for a snack at night… 

For dinner, I had leftover fettuccine Alfredo with a Boca burger and some kale!

And today was another easy lunch: The last of the chickenless nuggets from Aldi, two hash browns, and some canned golden wax beans… 

A sign of spring in our front yard yesterday… 

And more signs of spring around the neighborhood this morning… 

To close today’s post, here we have Cringer and Rogue, hanging out together on the couch… 

Peace. :)

Baked Oatmeal and Other Good Stuff

Hi everyone! The star of this post is my version of the Strawberry Banana Baked Oatmeal (Vegan) that The-Student-Turned-Doctor shared on Food for Dissertating. 

I made it for breakfast this morning, and it was such a nice treat! I don’t have strawberries or bananas, so I used some of this frozen berry mix that we have in the freezer… 

And no chocolate chips, so those were replaced with cocoa powder. But other than that, I followed the recipe, and it was delicious! 

Earlier this week I whipped up a batch of alfredo sauce, so I’ve been portioning that out for fettuccine alfredo, one of my favorite comfort foods! This bowl included chickenless strips from Aldi. 

Yesterday I had my shift at the food pantry. Things are running a bit differently with everything that’s going on, and we’ve been very busy. The increased need is being met with an enthusiastic outpouring of donations, so we were moving a lot of food in and out. I’m usually just there in the morning, but I ended up going home for a quick lunch (Amy’s Asian Dumpling Bowl) and then heading back for an afternoon shift as well. 

Zach was a sweetheart and picked up vegan soups and other goodies for me when he went out for some groceries yesterday. I’m still planning to try cooking through the food I already had, but these will be good to have in case I need a break! 

Here is the foundry on the first day of spring… 

And Daisy offers you a virtual high-five for being your awesome self! 

Peace. :)

Pantry Cooking and Some Flowers

Hi everyone! How are we all doing? I’m trying to make the best of things and treat this whole social distancing thing as a reason to cook some meals and snacks that I’ve been meaning to make but haven’t (even though I’ve had the ingredients). First up was this breakfast-for-lunch of scrambled tofu, Field Roast apple maple breakfast sausage, and hash browns with ketchup, which was delicious… 

Yesterday I made chex mix; it’s been a while since I’ve made this, but I always love it! 

Of course I’ve still been having my usual oats for breakfast lol… 

I forgot to take a pic, but I also made a Gardein skillet meal (chick’n florentino) that I’d had in the freezer for a while; it was a nice weekend dinner for me and Zach. And I’ve been making some faves for myself like my peanut butter brown rice burritos.

In addition to cooking, I’m getting lots of reading done, making good progress on my writing, and having lots of cuddles with the kitties. I’m cleaning and reorganizing things in the house. I’m catching up on movies and TV; I finally watched the new Jungle Book, and I also realized that Good Girls started up again, so I watched the first episode of the new season online last night. Every afternoon, Zach (he’s working from home) and I get some fresh air outside; when we’re not working on preparing the garden (weeding, turning the soil, and mixing in compost from the bin), we’re kicking a soccer ball back and forth in our yard. And I’m always happy to see these lovely signs of spring… 

I moved this stepladder to the back door so that Rogue could better observe the nest-building birds under the overhang. Can you see the little bird in the first pic? 

Peace. :)

Seed & Soil, Barrister’s Bagels, and More!

Hi everyone! On Sunday I went with my sister and her husband to brunch at Seed & Soil. I got the breakfast platter, which was great, especially the sausage!

We also grabbed a half dozen bagels from Barrister’s Bagels to split between the three of us. I had one of my salt bagels when I got home; it was so good, but I had to brush off a ton of salt, haha! 

I’d also ordered Seed & Soil’s mac & cheese to go, so that was my dinner…

For lunches this week, I’ve been having grilled cheese with tomato soup…

And yesterday I cut up the sandwich and tossed it into the soup!

I took this picture by the foundry this morning…

Spring is coming!

And here is a close-up of sweet Cringer; she was cuddling on me last night!

Peace. :)

Root Down, Sutao, and KWF

Hi everyone! I finally checked out Root Down Brewing Company with a friend on Saturday. I ordered the vegan falafel; it was good, though a little messy to eat! 

On Sunday, Zach and I went to dinner at Sutao Cafe, which was delicious as always! 

And on Monday, I grabbed the vegan tempeh Caesar wrap from Kimberton Whole Foods for an easy, yummy lunch… 

Here’s a very cute (and very alert) Daisy… 

Peace. :)