Freezer Food, Pretzels, and “Catifying” Updates

Hi everyone! This week I’ve been working on using up stuff that’s in the freezer; here’s the Daiya pumpkin spice cheesecake that I’d gotten back in fall and then forgotten about – I had it with some So Delicious coco whip, and it was really good! 

I also enjoyed some delicious mashed potato bowls with carrots and a chopped-up Boca turk’y burger, topped with gravy I’d frozen back in November… 

I tried the sweet & salty pretzels last week and really enjoyed them, and then I saw the gluten-free version this week when I was grocery shopping, so I’ll try these next! 

The “catification” is progressing nicely, and the kitties have seemed to enjoy testing out the changes. Here are the shelves I’d mentioned Zach had installed; I got some mats and double-sided tape at Lowe’s, so now the shelves are safer, and I moved the dog bed that Leela had sometimes slept on up to the top of Zach’s old desk that he doesn’t use anymore. (And yes, Zach added Tigger as a masthead to the longest shelf, haha!) 

I got this tablecloth at Goodwill and draped it over the shelves we use as a shoe rack, so now it’s nicer for the kitties when they want to hang out at the window. Here is Cringer modeling… 

We’ve had this cat tower for a while, but I experimented with turning it ninety degrees, and now Daisy is watching the birds more often! 

I got this new scratcher on sale at Pet Supplies Plus; the one we’d had there was a lot less sturdy and kept getting knocked over. Here’s Rogue with a nice big stretch! 

I moved this lidded plastic bin to a low window and added an old seat cushion and folded sheet for some padding… 

And last but not least, I moved this cat bed that had been Leela’s up to the top of the fridge. No one had shown any interest in it when it was on the ground, and they were ignoring it on the fridge as well, until Zach caught Cringer hanging out up there one night and managed to snap a pic for me! 

To end today’s post, here’s Daisy posing so perfectly… 

Peace. :)

Pizza, Fun Finds, and “Catifying”

Hi everyone! Here are the two delicious slices of pizza (funghi, sausage) that I ordered at Blackbird Pizzeria on Saturday. Zach and I shared some cheese fries, too, but I didn’t take a picture. He ordered the cheesesteak.

I found the Tofurky roasts on sale at Kimberton Whole Foods for $6.99 each, so I grabbed these two; now I’m all set for Easter and Thanksgiving this year, lol!

And I saw these pretzels at Giant; I’m bringing them to D&D tonight for a snack, so we’ll see how they are… 

I finished reading this book that my aunt had gotten me for my birthday; there were a lot of really cool ideas in it… 

Zach had already installed some shelves for the cats, so now I’m brainstorming where more can go, measuring for some nonslip mats to make the shelves safer for the kitties as they explore, and considering a tall cat tower as another way for them to get up and down from the shelves. I’d also like to get/make some sort of window ledge perch/bed for Rogue so she can fit better in the window above the kitchen sink since that’s her favorite place to watch birds.

Of course, Cringer swears she’s content with just her soft blanket by the heater… 

Peace. :)

Vegan MoFo 2019: Wrap Up Day

Hi everyone! Today is the last day Vegan MoFo, and I’m following the prompt: “Wrap up day – what’s been your highlight of VeganMoFo? Make something inspired by a recipe from one of your fellow MoFo’ers!”

My highlight of Vegan MoFo: I really appreciated getting to share my love of the TV show Elementary with all of you! The series finale aired in the middle of August, so my “Elementary, My Dear Vegan” theme for MoFo was a wonderful way for me to process it coming to an end, as well as giving me a reason to rewatch old episodes and remember everything I love about this show! (There was enough food in the first and second seasons that that’s all I was able to get to this month, but maybe I’ll continue this theme in a future Vegan MoFo for seasons 3-7!) I enjoyed lots of great food this MoFo, but if I had to pick, my four favorites would be the pancakes, quiche, risotto, and baked ziti!

My inspired food: I didn’t get a chance to go to Aldi this month, but Sarah of Long Island Vegan had such good things to say about the dessert hummus, so I found this recipe to make some myself! It was simple to prepare and super delicious!

Served with gluten-free pretzels, which I first found out about thanks to Hillary of My cat loves Daiya!

I finished off the leftovers last night, so I think I’ll need to make another batch soon!

Here’s a sleepy Cringer, who I’m sure is reflecting how most of us feel right now after a month of blogging, haha! 

Peace. :)

Hummus

Hi everyone! The new recipe I tried this week was for hummus. I had some with pretzels yesterday for a snack, and it was really good!

Earlier this week, I visited the firebird (the festival is on December 9th) and took some photos; here are a few of them… 

Here are Daisy and Cringer among some of the many boxes we leave out for them…

And for a sign that winter is on its way, here’s Leela, back in her corner by the heater, keeping nice & warm…

Peace. :)

Buttons Update, then Pretzels & Ice Cream

Hi everyone; I'm a bit out of it right now because this afternoon we learned that Buttons probably has cancer. She's staying overnight at the emergency vet; they are going to try to get a sample tomorrow in the hopes of getting a definitive diagnosis. 

I'd brought Buttons in to the emergency vet earlier today because she hasn't been eating much, has been a bit coughy, and Zach noticed she was a bit wobbly when she stood up last night. The vet did bloodwork and the plan was to have her stay overnight and then see internal medicine in the morning. When the vet called with the bloodwork results, she suggested doing an ultrasound (at that point thinking it could possibly be pancreatitis based on the bloodwork). Well, then the vet called back with the ultrasound results, and I just went numb when I heard "multiple masses in the chest... probably cancer." I started crying but kept it together until the end of the call; after hanging up I just kept screaming "Fuck!" and punching a padded chair and crying some more. 

It'll probably be several days until we get the results. Right now I'm just focusing on: "I'm picking her up tomorrow, I'm picking her up tomorrow..."

Anyways, all of that is to say that today's Vegan MoFo prompt is perfect timing: "Junk food forever!" Here's some So Delicious salted caramel cluster ice cream that I had a few days ago with pretzels and will obviously be having again tonight...

Here's my Inktober sketch...

And here's a pic of Buttons hanging out with Leela in the sunshine...

As always, peace...

Rosemary and Sage Pretzels

Hi everyone! This week I made another House Vegan recipe, Homemade Rosemary, Sage and Sea Salt Pretzels. After I kneaded the dough together, Zach helped by separating the dough and doing the simmering while I shaped the pretzels. The last few turned out the most pretzel-y, so practice makes perfect and all that fun stuff. Regardless of the odd shapes, these were absolutely delicious, and I'll definitely try making them again!

Here's Buttons and Cringer lounging together on the top of the stairs; I'd never seen them do this before, so I made sure to take a picture!

Peace. :)

Plain Ol' Hummus

My new recipe this week was the plain ol' hummus from Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food. It's a simple recipe, but preparing it proved to be quite the adventure.

The recipe says to process all the ingredients together in a food processor, so I dug mine out and set it up and added in all the ingredients. Well, it turns out it's actually a mini food processor, and I wasn't paying attention and accidentally went over the liquid fill line, and all the lemon juice and water started leaking out of the bowl before I could even start the processor. So, that was exciting... and messy...

By the time I got all that cleaned up and processed it in two batches to avoid further spills, I realized I should have drained the chickpeas (garbanzo beans) because the resulting hummus was way too watery, even with some of the water having leaked out. (I didn't drain them because the recipe didn't specify, and in other recipes in this cookbook, it's been noted when to drain & rinse canned beans.) But I gave the hummus a try anyway, and in addition to being watery, there was too much cumin.

So, yesterday, I tried the recipe again, making some changes: I drained & rinsed the chickpeas, used only ¼ tsp cumin (instead of 1 ¼ tsp cumin) and just a dash of pepper (instead of 1/8 tsp), and blended these and the rest of the ingredients (tahini, flax oil, lemon juice, garlic cloves, salt) in a blender (instead of my mini food processor). This time, it was a delicious success; I had some of the hummus with pretzels for a snack last night. (Note: In my next batch, I think I might try adding just a little bit of water to the mix.)

Here's Leela (tucked in bed) and Buttons (getting some sunshine) this morning. 

Peace. :)

Red and Dembe's Yogurt Pretzels

Hello on the 25th day of the Vegan Month of Food! For today's Veganlist, I figured I'd try to make yogurt pretzels.

In an attempt to convince Craig (Christopher) to talk, Red takes him out on a “field trip” to look at some art. When Christopher realizes that harm will likely come to his mother if he doesn't cooperate, Red wraps up the visit.

Red: Well, let's go back to the hotel. I think I saw some yogurt pretzels in your mini bar. 

Liz returns from working the case to find Red and Dembe snacking as they watch TV in the room, Christopher still refusing to talk. After something rather sudden and shocking...

...Red decides it's time to leave, and Dembe stays behind to clean the place of any sign they were there.

Red: Dembe, I'll get her downstairs. After you're done, grab the pretzels.

To make the yogurt pretzels, I mixed together vegan yogurt and powdered sugar, into which I dipped the pretzels. I wasn't sure how well they'd turn out, so I wanted to try making them two ways: Some I put in the freezer; for the others, I warmed up the oven for a bit, then turned it off, placing the tray of pretzels inside with the oven door cracked, leaving them to hopefully solidify.

Well, this wasn't quite what I pictured when I heard “yogurt pretzels.”

Never having had them before, I guess I'd been expecting something that looked similar to (white) chocolate-covered pretzels, but the yogurt was not nearly thick enough for that to work. (Maybe I should have done more powdered sugar? I don't know.) But regardless of them just looking like shiny, sticky pretzels, they smelled delicious and tasted nice & sweet. I'm not much of a sugar person, so maybe it was good that there wasn't a super thick coating.

Notes: The ones I put in the freezer didn't get as soggy/soft as the ones in the oven. More of their yogurt/sugar coating was visible, in patches, but it melted rather quickly.

Buttons rested on her blue bench today while I made the yogurt pretzels.

And Leela is back to curling up on my jeans.

Peace. :)

Random Vegan Noms

Hello on the 29th day of the Vegan Month of Food! I can't believe there's only one more day left! I've had so much good food this month, but I didn't get the chance to post everything, so here's a photo & commentary post of some additional vegan noms I've enjoyed in the past several weeks.

Random Vegan Noms

Hummus and Pretzels

My new favorite snack to have with tea time!

 

Sprouted Quinoa with Gardein Chick'n and Spinach

Still getting used to quinoa...

Chick'n Soup with Wild Rice and Spinach

Served with crackers.

Spaghetti with Smart Dogs

I did this one as a tribute to The Big Bang Theory, when Penny offers to make spaghetti for Sheldon, and he requests that she mix in chopped-up hot dogs.

  

Mac & Cheese with Smart Dogs

Pretty good, just using up those Smart Dogs!

"Beef"-a-Roni

 

Made utilizing the leftovers from April and Andy's Frisbee Chili.

Peanut Butter Brown Rice (with Broccoli and Peppers)

And baked potato "fries."

Be sure to check in tomorrow for my Vegan MoFo round-up! I plan to include links to all the amazing recipes that I hope to try soon, as well as to give shout-outs to my favorite blogs this Vegan MoFo!

Mystery spent a good portion of the day snuggling with Zach on the couch.

Oh, and be sure to hop over to Lymie Eating Coconut to see the awesome sketch she did of Mystery in Caturday and Kit Kats!

Peace. :)