Kitties, Good Food, and a Bun!

Hi everyone! Leela had her recheck yesterday; even though she’s been eating well and seems to be experiencing less mouth pain, the vet said the sore spot hasn’t cleared up, so it’s probably a growth of some sort. Since the prednisolone seems to have helped, we’re going to keep her on it; the vet pointed out that this also could help slow the progression of the growth if it’s actually cancer (with where it is in her mouth, surgery to remove it isn’t an option). The vet told us other things to look out for that would indicate the problem is getting worse, but for now, Leela’s still eating and enjoying snugs. Here’s a pic from when she hung out with me last night…

My sister visited on Monday so we went to Sutao Cafe and enjoyed so much good food at the buffet! My two plates, two wonton soups, and some dessert…

I got this cute pic of the little bun…

And made a cauliflower scramble with some modifications to this recipe (I used a full head of cauliflower, substituted baby bok choy for the asparagus, and left out the toasted walnut topping and microgreens) and finally tried Benevolent Bacon, which was just OK…

Here’s Rogue, ready to pounce from under the packing paper…

Peace. :)

Recipe Experiments & Blackbird Pizzeria

Hi everyone! This week I attempted to make my own version of the spicy eggplant dish from Sutao Cafe. It worked for the most part, but the eggplant did not get as tender as I’d hoped. Next time I will boil the eggplant pieces first (with the onions and peppers) and then add them to the sauce in the pan to cook a bit more. If that works, I’ll share the recipe next week! 

I also made a batch of BBQ cauliflower bites (1 cup BBQ sauce, 1 tsp hot sauce) with a single serving of mac & cheese that I put way too much turmeric in (I don’t know what possessed me to do 1 tsp, next time I’ll just do ¼ tsp haha). Other than the too much turmeric, though, it was a good meal overall. 

For dinner on Friday, Zach and I went to Blackbird Pizzeria; it’s been so long since I’ve been there (though this was at their new location), so it was a real treat! We got two slices of the haymaker pizza, cheese fries, and a seitan cheesesteak. Everything was really good; the pizza was delicious (and Zach’s favorite; he said that he liked that it was a bit spicy), the cheese fries were fun, and of course the cheesesteak is simply a classic must-have, though very messy to share and eat, haha! 

Here are some of the sketches I did this week…

carrot (original photo)

cauliflower (original photo)

celery (original photo)

corn (original photo)

And here’s a close-up of Daisy… 

P.S. I finally signed up for Vegan MoFo; I’m going to be doing my own monthly theme: Bookmarked Recipes of Vegan MoFo Past! If you haven’t signed up yet, you only have until August 24, so don’t procrastinate too much longer!

Peace. :)

Spicy Hoisin-Glazed Cauliflower Bites (My cat loves Daiya!)

Hi everyone! The new recipe I tried earlier this week was the spicy hoisin glaze for cauliflower bites from My cat loves Daiya! I left out the soyaki sauce since I didn’t have any, but it still turned out great! I made another batch of green chili mac & cheese to go with them, and it was a perfect combination. 

Absolutely delicious, and the leftovers were great as well!

Cringer and Daisy shared the warm computer when I had the window open for them…

Cringer got tired of bird-watching and turned around.

*yawn*

Daisy makes funny faces when she gets startled by noises.

I’ve done some more flowery affirmations…

Coreopsis lanceolata (original photo)

strawberry blossom (original photo)

sweetpea (original photo)

Delphinium elatum (original photo)

On my last post, Sarah shared her favorite quote…

spring starflower (original photo)

Let me know if you have any text and/or flowers you’d like to see!

Peace. :)

Riced Cauliflower

Hi everyone! Something new I tried this week was riced cauliflower; I had it with Gardein porkless bites and broccoli for my dinner on Thursday. It was pretty good, and the leftovers were great, too!

Here are the kitties enjoying the sunshine on the solstice…

And here’s the ornament Zach and I got for our tree this year...

Peace. :)

Buffalo Cauliflower Po'Boys (One Raw Bite)

Hi everyone! Today's prompt is "Secret ingredient," so I tried a recipe from last year's Vegan MoFo: One Raw Bite's Buffalo Cauliflower Po'Boys. At the end of her post, Jennifer explains how to find a good buffalo hot sauce; that's where we find today's secret ingredient of cayenne pepper.

It's even more secret in the modification I made; I used less hot sauce because the last time I used 1/4 cup in a recipe it was too spicy, and this called for 1/2 cup. So I did 1 tablespoon hot sauce, and emptied out the rest of a bottle of BBQ sauce to get to 1/2 cup. 

This was a really nice lunch, and it was fun to try a new-to-me sandwich. Maybe next time I'll be a bit braver and use 2 tablespoons hot sauce, haha!

Here's my Inktober sketch...

Here's Leela sleeping on the bed...

And here's Buttons in the sunshine...

Peace. :)

BBQ Cauliflower Wings (My cat loves Daiya!)

Hi everyone! This week I tried My cat loves Daiya!'s recipe for Spicy BBQ Cauliflower Wings, minus the spicy part since I was out of hot sauce haha. I had them with mac & cheese & peas. They were so good; I definitely want to make them again once I get some hot sauce!

In other news, the Phoenixville PAN Vegan Pledge starts tomorrow; I'm mentoring again, so I'm excited!

Here's Leela and Buttons sharing the bed...

Peace. :)

Random Food Since January

Hello everyone! Today's post features some of the stuff I've eaten and taken pictures of, but not blogged about, since the start of the year. But never fear, I still tried a new recipe this week, in fact, two new recipes. Together, my mom and I made the tempeh piccata, as well as the black-eyed peas and cauliflower from the cookbook Chloe's Kitchen. Good stuff! 

Now let's get started looking back on some of the new food I've tried since January. First up are the vegan cheddar flavor squares from Earth Balance. These were a pretty good snack; I enjoyed them.

Next we have some potatoes and carrots, baked with some onion soup mix.

I tried the Dr. McDougall tortilla soup; it was alright, but probably not something I'll get again. 

These were a special surprise from England; super delicious and I still have two left! Sure, a brown pudding isn't very photogenic, but it tastes amazing! 

Next up is an Amy's soup (Golden Lentil) I decided to try from the health food store. I love lentils, so I had high hopes for it, but upon trying it and finding out that everything, except apparently for a bunch of fennel seeds (?), was blended together, it was a bit too weird, texture-wise. The smooth, blended lentils would have been fine; taste-wise, it was absolutely delicious... but the whole fennel seeds really messed up the otherwise smooth texture and made it tough to enjoy. 

I tried two more of the Dr. McDougall soups: Thai Peanut and Garlic Vegetable. The Thai Peanut was alright; I preferred the Garlic Vegetable soup.

Next up is a let's-use-up-some-leftovers lunch: Tortilla chips, leftover black beans, and melted Daiya cheddar. 

Valentine's Day dinner with Zach: Spaghetti, Boca chik'n patty with some Daiya mozzarella, and garlic “bread” (bagel), with sparkling cider. 

I tried two new ramen that were on sale at the health food store. The lemongrass ginger one would be perfect for when you have a cold, and the Asian vegetable one was good as well. 

The new hummus I've been having with pretzels for a snack (it's good except for the pine nuts).

And finally, grilled cheese sandwiches featuring Field Roast's Chao cheese slices (creamy original), served alongside some Amy's vegan chicken noodle soup. 

And that about wraps it up! I'll probably do another one of these posts in a few months. For now, here's Buttons & Leela hanging out. Leela got to the sunshine first, but Buttons loves her little perch, so she didn't mind. 

Peace. :)