Another Delicious Trip to Seed & Soil

Hi everyone! On Sunday, I hung out with my sister and we went to Seed & Soil for lunch. We were excited to see that there were more new items on the menu!

We each ordered a cheesesteak like last time, and then I got the mac & cheese, while she decided to try the soup. 

For a drink, I got apple cider; she got the pineapple lemonade.

Everything was fantastic, as always! I was too full to finish all of the mac, so I took home the leftovers; for lunch the next day, I added some Boca chik’n and mixed veggies… 

Here’s Rogue all curled up and sleepy… 

And here she is cuddling on top of me and sticking out her tongue ever so slightly… 

Peace. :)

Cheesesteaks, Trader Joe’s, and Brussels Sprouts!

Hi everyone! Last week my sister and I went to Seed & Soil again after I saw online that they had added cheesesteaks to their menu. We each got a cheesesteak and a pineapple lemonade, as well as the mac & cheese bites to share – the cheesesteaks were great and the mac & cheese bites were really fun! 

On Monday, I finally made it to Trader Joe’s, hooray! I stocked up on some of the fun things I’ve seen recommended on other blogs, as well as fall/Halloween goodies. If there’s anything I missed, definitely let me know so I can keep an eye out next time! 

I found these vegan and gluten-free hamburger buns at Giant on Tuesday, so I figured I would give them a try, and they’re so good! I’ve been using the buns for the Morningstar cheezeburgers, which are also delicious! 

Served with homemade pickles, carrots with Daiya ranch (I want to finish up that bottle before opening the Trader Joe’s ranch dip), and Trader Joe’s tater tots with ketchup.

I also tried a new recipe this week – it was my first time making Brussels sprouts, and it was a success overall! For the Brussels sprouts, I used half frozen, half fresh; the thawed frozen ones were small enough, but some of the fresh ones were a bit too big and didn’t cook all the way through. Also, to make things simpler, I combined the tempeh and its marinade with the Brussels sprouts instead of making a separate sauce for the sprouts. It was really tasty, and I’ll definitely make it again! 

Served atop white rice.

The pumpkin Joe-Joe’s were really good; we finished them off at D&D on Wednesday, haha! I also tried the Pumpkin O’s with some unsweetened soy milk and added dried cranberries as well, which was nice… 

And now it’s kitty time! Here are two sketches I did this week… 

Leela keeping me company while I was meditating…

And Daisy, apparently waiting to be served a meal at the table… 

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. :)

Blackbird Pizzeria and Vegan Tree

Hello everyone! Today Zach and I visited my sister Alena in Philly, and it was a lot of fun! We went to Blackbird Pizzeria for lunch, ordering a large pizza (half pepperoni, half plain) to share. The pepperoni (made with seitan) was great, and Zach enjoyed the plain pizza. 

Alena also got a cheesesteak (Blackbird Pizzeria won this year's Best Vegan Cheesesteak in Philly contest)... 

...and Zach got a side of fries (not pictured, but they were good; I made sure to grab some hehe).

After that, we walked along South Street, checking out a comic book store, and then heading over to my favorite bookstore -- Wooden Shoe Books -- but it was closed for the day.

Alena had recommended that I try the banana strawberry smoothie at Vegan Tree, so she and I each got one, and it was amazing (a bit messy because it got overfilled and then a lid squished on, but absolutely delicious and well worth the sticky fingers haha). Here's a pic of Alena's, almost finished... 

And here's some nice art we saw on our walk... 

P.S. I got to see this cutie, the sweet little Blu!

Peace. :)