Elementary, My Dear Vegan: Coffee, Yogurt, Assorted Fruits

Hi everyone! Today’s “Elementary, My Dear Vegan” is also from S1E10 (“The Leviathan”), and it’s the first time Holmes brings Watson breakfast in bed. (One of the best and funniest things about Elementary is all the different methods that Holmes uses to wake up Watson, who is definitely not a morning person. Since he rarely sleeps, Holmes is almost always the first one awake and ready to go, especially when they have a case. Every now and then, Watson gets the opportunity to wake Holmes, but this was not one of those times.)

Holmes: Good morning. Coffee, yogurt, assorted fruits. (sets tray down on Watson’s bed)
Watson: (tiredly, still lying down) Thanks.
Holmes: Seven minutes for you to eat. Twenty-three minutes for you to shower and get dressed.

For breakfast this morning, I made coffee (for Zach, since I don’t drink coffee, haha!) and had some vanilla So Delicious yogurt with a mix of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries (plus a couple leftover crepes from yesterday, but those aren’t pictured).

Compare a still Rogue… 

To a Rogue in motion…

Peace. :)

Squash Casserole, Tofu Scramble, Bagels, and More

Hi everyone! I tried two new recipes this week and lots of other good food as well. First up was the squash casserole from Vegan Crunk; I made it on the stovetop and mixed in crushed Ritz crackers instead of topping with breadcrumbs and baking it. It turned out really well – I used two big yellow crookneck squashes from my garden – and the leftovers were awesome, too. I had it with a vegan chickenless patty from Aldi, which was really good. 

On Tuesday, my sister Alena visited and we did a lot of cooking together, including the second new recipe, which was the herbivore’s tofu scramble from Eat Like You Give a Damn. It was super simple and quite tasty, paired with a hashbrown (also from Aldi). 

We also made nachos with Tostitos scoops and Daiya pepperjack shreds for a snack (not pictured), and then we dug out my bread machine to make bagels, which turned out quite nicely due to Alena’s bagel-forming skills! 

Dinner was a bagel with pasta.

Yesterday I threw together a random lunch because I’d harvested more corn and wanted to have some; it was great! 

Hashbrown, black bean burger, corn, and carrot sticks with Daiya ranch.

And I also tried these blackberry sorbet bars that Zach picked out; he said he had to get them because of the name…

Yum!

Here are a couple fruit sketches I did this week…

gooseberries (original photo)

ground cherry (original photo)

And here’s Leela with her toy mice in the background…

P.S. The themes & prompts have been announced for this year's Vegan Month of Food (Vegan MoFo), which will be taking place in September, and sign-ups are open until August 24. I haven't decided what specifically I'm going to do (I'm debating the idea of creating my own theme this year), but I know I'll be participating -- will you?

Peace. :)

Bethlehem VegFest, Vegan Treats, and More

Hi everyone! Bethlehem VegFest took place on July 14; I was totally out of the loop and only found out the night before. With such late notice and plans later that day, I figured I’d skip this year, but Zach made sure we got there on Saturday for a bit. For lunch, I had the buffalo chick’n mac & cheese from Freakin’ Vegan – there was a long line but it was definitely worth the wait – and Zach had a grilled cheese & pineapple guava lemonade. 

Then we picked up some desserts at Vegan Treats; I got the triple berry cheesecake and Zach chose the s’mores cheesecake. 

In other news, I harvested my first ears of corn on Sunday!

And then on Wednesday, after we made a delicious batch of lemon spinach pasta, my sister Alena gave me the grand tour of the new Aldi near her, so of course I grabbed some fun vegan stuff – hashbrowns, two types of meatballs, and chicken patties. 

I also sketched some more fruit…

nectarine (original photo)

pear (original photo)

And here's Cringer; she takes the most dramatic cat naps... 

Peace. :)

Lazy Lemon Spinach Pasta (Unhealthy Vegan)

Hi everyone! This week I made the Lazy Lemon Spinach Pasta from Unhealthy Vegan. I used 3 tablespoons lemon juice instead of the lemon slices; it turned out really well, and the leftovers were great, too! 

Back on the 6th, I had a big harvest, which included my first yellow crookneck squash! 

I’ve been sketching some more fruits…

raspberries (original photo)

watermelon (original photo)

blackberries (original photo)

And here’s Daisy in the sunshine… 

Peace. :)

Golden Wax Beans and Fruffalo Wings

Hi everyone! The new recipe I tried this week was perfect for all the golden wax beans I’ve been harvesting. It’s really good and super simple to make (instead of the butter, I used Earth Balance to veganize it), and it went perfectly with the spicy “Fruffalo” wings from Field Roast that I found on sale. I’m definitely going to use this recipe again! 

In garden news, I finally started harvesting cucumbers and blueberries (in addition to the snow peas and golden wax beans)… 

Here’s my last flower sketch… 

purple coneflower (original photo)

I’ve switched to fruits now…

strawberry (original photo)

highbush blueberries (original photo)

And here’s Leela; she enjoys hanging out on the crinkly packing paper… 

Peace. :)

Fruit Salad Smoothie (Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food)

Hi everyone! June’s MiniMoFo is “fruit,” so I tried a new smoothie recipe, the fruit salad smoothie from Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food. It was really good! The fruit in it is banana and frozen strawberries, but it also contains romaine lettuce, making it the first “green” smoothie I’ve actually liked, hehe!

Here’s Buttons resting in the kitchen...

Peace. :)

The Apple Man's Apples and Red's Peaches

Hello on the 27th day of the Vegan Month of Food! Today's final Veganlist is short & sweet, featuring two fruits – apples and peaches – that have appeared on The Blacklist.

The apples, of course, are those of the “Apple Man,” the one who was conducting surveillance on the Keens. Sitting at his desk, he munched on an apple, watching the footage taken from multiple cameras inside their home. In “Anslo Garrick (No. 16) Conclusion” (Season 1, Episode 10), Liz discovers the surveillance site, and we meet Mr. Kaplan when she arrives to “clean up.” (Mr. Kaplan is one of my favorite minor characters & I really hope she will feature more prominently in Season 2.)

The peaches hail from “Berlin (No. 8) Conclusion” (Season 1, Episode 22), when Red goes to the Russian ambassador's place, sitting down to eat while holding the ambassador's dog and going on and on about how good the peaches are and how freestone peaches are so ideal. The ambassador warns Red to not hurt his dog, to which Red replies, “Oh my goodness, no! I'm not a monster. You really think I'd harm a dog?”

Bonus quote from “Berlin (No. 8) Conclusion” (Season 1, Episode 22):

Red: Tell me your story. I'm not leaving here without a story.

Here's two more pictures of Buttons and Leela from yesterday.

Peace. :)