Hot Chocolate

Hello on the 20th day of the Vegan Month of Food! Today is the final day of my health food store vegan week, and the highlight of this post is Dandies marshmallows, used in a much-needed hot chocolate! 

I wish I had a video of my reaction when I saw these in the health food store. I think it included an “Eeeeeee!” and clapping and a “Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!” I was so excited! I haven't had a marshmallow since going vegan, and I'd heard so many good things about Dandies, just never seen them around before. 

Zach and I decided to make hot chocolate tonight, and since these were big marshmallows, I cut them up into smaller pieces. (Zach says he thinks he remembers there being mini ones, too? I can't remember; I just grabbed this bag in my excitement. But either way, it worked out.) The marshmallows were amazing, and the hot chocolate turned out well (just coconut milk, cocoa, and marshmallows).

Another item I got from the health food store was tea that was on sale (two boxes, one chamomile and one rooibos).

So last night I had chamomile tea. Yum!

Finally, the Just Mayo was actually something I picked up during my dollar store vegan week, but I didn't talk about it then since I didn't get around to trying it out. Why I'm mentioning it now is because I also saw it at the health food store, in a bigger size. (I forgot to check the price, so I couldn't do a comparison on which is actually cheaper, but to me, it doesn't matter. I'm much more inclined to get the dollar store one simply because it seems like the perfect size for me. I don't use mayonnaise that often, and I'd rather it not go bad. But for people who have mayo parties, maybe the bigger size would work out to be a better deal?)

My lunch today was mac & cheese with the Daiya pepperjack and some leftover green pepper, with tortilla chip crumbs sprinkled atop for some crunch! And then I headed off to visit my kitty friends at the shelter & two got adopted while I was there! Yay!

Dinner was random and quick because I didn't really feel like cooking: French fries (seasoned), Beyond Meat chicken strips, and carrot slices.

Buttons decided to get freaky tonight:

“Well, that was weird.”

P.S. Bonus post coming soon! Plus, check back in tomorrow for the start of The Veganlist, my veganizing of foods from The Blacklist!

Peace. :)

Quesadillas

Hello on the 19th day of the Vegan Month of Food! Tonight's post continues with another health food store item: Daiya pepperjack shredded cheese, which we put to good use!

Zach and I have only ever had the Daiya mozzarella and cheddar shreds (that's what they have at the grocery store), so when I saw the pepperjack at the health food store, I knew we'd have to try it out.

We decided to make quesadillas how we used to, back in the day, this time veganized. Here's mine:

Daiya pepperjack, diced green pepper (1/4 cup), and Beyond Meat chicken (two strips, cut up).

I thought the quesadilla was pretty good (and Zach enjoyed his as well). The pepperjack was spicy, but hey, it's supposed to be. And this was a super quick meal (we heated them up in the microwave). 

I had mine with some tortilla chips and salsa.

 
Buttons and Leela have been getting closer and more comfortable with each other. Here's them last night on the bed, still with space in between, but I think it's promising! Fingers crossed for the day they become cuddle buddies!

Peace. :)

Kale Chips, Pumpkin Cornbread, Beyond Meat, and Skillet Lasagna

Hello on the 18th day of the Vegan Month of Food! Tonight's post features several different items from the health food store, and most importantly, the redemption of yesterday's skillet lasagna!

Skillet lasagna, take two!

But first, let's start with today's snack experiment. I'd bought kale at the health food store simply because it was on sale. It was a variety I'd never had before, lacinato kale, but it looked interesting. I've had kale chips before, but I've never made my own, so I figured I'd give it a try. 

I added olive oil and salt to the batch as a whole, then nutritional yeast to half, and my French fry spices (pepper, garlic, cumin, chili powder) to the other half. I let them bake about five minutes on each side, and kept flipping them and repeating the process until I felt they were done. I spread them out on paper towels to try to soak up some of the extra olive oil (I'm thinking I maybe should have used less), and then tried them out.

Well, the initial taste, with the crispiness and the spices/flavor, was good, but the actual kale just didn't taste that great.

Kale chips with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, cumin, and chili powder.

So I might just have to play around with the recipe a bit, maybe use a different variety of kale, but it was a fun experiment, all in all.

Kale chips with olive oil, salt, and nutritional yeast.

And now on to dinner... Earlier this week, I saw this post by Hannah at House Vegan, wherein she presented her recipe for pumpkin cornbread. Having had such success with making the classic cornbread from Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food in the first week AND having just bought a can of pumpkin (again because it was on sale), I decided that this was the perfect recipe to try. 

I used coconut milk for the non-dairy milk, and left out the sugar because it was technically a “pumpkin pie mix” (pumpkin puree with added flavors, including cane sugar). And I loved Hannah's optional ingredient of sunflower seeds on top; I knew that was definitely something I would want to include! I baked it for 20 minutes, and it smelled so good! The first slice was a bit crumbly, but I didn't mind at all; it tasted delicious & that's all that matters to me!

Since I'd planned to have the pumpkin cornbread with some of the leftovers from yesterday, I figured I'd also add in another of my finds from the health food store: Beyond Meat chicken (grilled). This was my first time trying Beyond Meat and it was really good.

All together, this was a great meal, and the pasta was definitely a lot more enjoyable this time around.

Maybe the skillet lasagna is just one of those dishes that tastes better as leftovers? And/or the fact that the cornbread and chicken were just that awesome!

Buttons and Leela brought back their kitty loaf poses with perfect timing. (Buttons did hers yesterday, Leela did hers today.)

Buttons is a cute lumpy loaf.

And Leela is giving loafing her utmost concentration.

Oh, and I can't believe I almost forgot to mention it, but I got an e-mail today letting me know that I was one of the winners of the Vegan MoFo mug! I'm so excited and can't wait to get it in the mail! I'll be sure to take a picture of it once it arrives. In the meantime, you can check out the shop; lots of cute stuff!

Peace. :)

Skillet Lasagna

Hello on the 17th day of the Vegan Month of Food! Tonight continues my health food store vegan week with a pasta mix that Zach thought would be interesting; I made it for our dinner tonight.

It's one of those simple toss-it-in-the-skillet kind of things: Combine pasta & seasoning, water, and crushed tomatoes (I used pasta sauce instead) in the pan, bring to boil, cover & lower heat to medium, & cook 20 minutes.

So I did just that, and then some... but even after 10 extra minutes, the pasta was still a bit stiff... Well, we were hungry, so we just figured, heck with it, and I added in 6 oz. of Daiya shredded mozzarella, stirred that in, left it to melt for another five minutes, and then we sat down to eat.

Another not-so-photogenic meal... whoops...

I don't know, I didn't think it was that great, but Zach was a good sport about it and said it was “okay.” We determined that it was the spiciness of the seasoning mix that made it less than ideal, plus the fact that some of the pasta was still a bit, ah, “crunchy.” So, my takeaway from this is that I'm just going to stick with making my own instead of using seasoned mixes. In the past we've enjoyed simple pasta dishes with Daiya-cheesy spaghetti sauce. No need for all the silly additional seasonings. Ah well... now to figure out what to do with the leftovers, haha!

Oooo, steamy...

Lunch today was half of the other ramen I bought (millet & brown rice ramen). I added some carrot slices and had my leftover tempeh from yesterday on the side. Didn't like this ramen as much as the first, though. The forbidden rice ramen is still the one to beat!

And for a snack, a gala apple from the health food store with some more dollar store trail mix, yum! 

Buttons and Leela continue to be cuties.

Buttons likes sprawling out at the top of the attic steps.

And Leela enjoys curling up in the corner next to my nightstand.

Peace. :)

Pasta with Alfredo Sauce

Hello on the 16th day of the Vegan Month of Food! Tonight's post continues with my health food store vegan week, featuring vegan alfredo sauce!

When Zach spotted a vegan alfredo sauce at the health food store, I excitedly remembered the pasta I used to get in college at the dining hall (before going vegan), and figured this would be the perfect time to recreate it. I searched for breadsticks in the health food store, but couldn't find them for the life of me, so I used a slice of the leftover cornbread I'd since frozen. And I decided to not even bother with the meatballs (I'd gone vegetarian before going vegan, so the meatballs weren't as prominent in my memory of the pasta anyway), though I figured I should still have something in its place, so I cut up, seasoned, and baked some of the tempeh I'd picked up on sale at the health food store. And finally, the pasta was more of the dollar store bag that I'd picked up last week.

Even though this dinner looks nothing like the pasta bowls from college, it had me feeling super nostaglic, and it was so filling that I couldn't even finish it. And I think I actually liked the cornbread better than breadsticks!

But as for my verdict on the alfredo sauce: Not as great as I'd hoped, and definitely not as “cheesy” as I remembered the alfredo sauce from “back in the day.” Well, you can't win 'em all. Next time I make it (I still have most of the bottle), I might add some Daiya in and see if that helps.

Leela & Buttons often look like silly little statues when I take pictures of them in the kitchen.

Peace. :)

Forbidden Rice Ramen

Hello on the 15th day of the Vegan Month of Food! How is it possible that we are already at the halfway point? Tonight's dinner is another of my finds from the health food store, one of which I would have been skeptical had I not seen Anzia's post over at Peace, Love, Be Vegan where she wrote about eating “forbidden rice.”

Now, bear with me, I know this might not be the most photogenic meal, but it is delicious, simple, and awesomely purple!

It was so quick to prepare; literally, just boil the water, chuck the ramen in, simmer for 4 min. (I did it for a little longer), add the seasoning, stir, and serve (I sprinkled some chives atop, too).

Seriously, how cool is this? This block of black ramen...

...turns into a ton of soft, yummy, purple noodles!

Round Two, hehe.

The package said it was two servings, so I started out with just half the pot, but it was so good that I came back for the rest and ended up stuffed! Definitely healthier than regular ramen, plus it was reduced sodium, so for once I didn't get that gross sodium-overload feeling I'd come to associate with ramen. Hooray!

Silly Buttons, however, never seems to get full. She was super dramatic last night about being a poor, starving kitty. She kept crying for more food, even though she'd already eaten, and finally she hopped up & settled down on the little blue bench next to her (empty) food bowls. With a heavy “woe-is-me” sigh, she decided to take a nap and dream of noms unending. Zach snapped these shots of her:

Leela was super wired this morning, darting back and forth to get out her energy (she wasn't interested in toys or yarn for long). She's quite the sprinter, and it's amusing to watch her go. Later, once she'd chilled out, she decided she wanted to cuddle, so we did for a bit. I mean, really, how can you resist cuddling with someone this cute? (Again, photos by Zach.)

Peace. :)