Just another pizza...

Pictured above: Pre-made pizza crust, generous layer of Isa Chandra's Romesco sauce, a sprinkling of vegan Mozz (very optional) sliced green almond-stuffed olives, diced onion, and crumbled scratch-made Italian sausages (one batch has fed us for four meals and counting btw...), quick-made pizza ranch dip.


This pizza was so good and rich with flavors that seemed to complement eachother perfectly.
I highly recommend trying the Romesco red pepper sauce for your next pizza - it hits your basic tomato spread out of the park!

Me love food.

So I've been slacking on the blogging lately.

I've even missed getting Naked on Sunday once or twice (SO SORRY!)

But it's probably because I've been crazy busy eating all this bomb ass delicious vegan food, and it's not polite to talk with your mouthful.


So without further ado, here's some photos of some recipes I have either made myself, or eaten myself, that gives omnivore "junk" and "comfort" food a run for its money.

(DISCLAIMER most of these were taken on my cell phone in a mad dash to get a shot before the food in question was completely wolfed down, AND unedited, so please excuse all the blur and poor framing.)

First off, the grocery shop.

I know there are a fair share of WINCO haters out there (trust me, I see them with their protest signs literally EVERY time I go to the discount super grocer) but I just gotta go with a place that I can get two weeks worth of food (including a varied selection of fresh produce, organic bulk dried goods and some pretty decent vegan specialty foods) for around $50. And it's less than five minutes from my humble South End abode. 

I usually round it out with trips to Fred Meyers, Grocery Outlet and Trader Joe's (when I'm feeling extra energetic) but hot damn, B! 

You really can't beat WINCO for the basics of a good, well-rounded vegan diet on budget. 

And moving on to all the downright deliciousness I've created with that and similar shopping trips.

We'll start with my Scratch Pizza. 

This is/was one of my pride and joy recipes I made a while back, COMPLETELY from scratch from COMPLETELY delicious, healthy and whole ingredients. 

This is also the only food porn you will see today that was taken with my "real" camera, and spruced up a bit in Photoshop.

Here is the uncooked model:

And AFTER about 20 minutes in the ol' toaster oven. 

I topped this super easy, scratch, whole wheat pizza crust from The Preppy Vegan with some super rich and fresh pesto I just "whipped up" right quick, sauteed onions and greens (can't remember now if I used kale or spinach), sliced red peppers, sliced red tomatoes, a simple cashew ricotta from Hipsterfood and tempeh sausage crumbles from the venerable Isa Chandra Moskowitz's go-to vegan recipe guide Vegan with A Vengeance.

OMG IT WAS SO MOFREAKIN GOOD THIS PICTURE CANNOT EXPRESS HOW MUCH I WANTED TO CRAWL INTO A HOLE AND DIE AFTER EATING IT BECAUSE MY LIFE WAS PRETTY MUCH COMPLETE.
But the best part is, this was so the opposite of the super trashy, greasy pizza I usually lean towards, I actually didn't want to crawl into a hole and die because the ingredients were so good I felt close to amazing after eating it.

No gut-bomb. No guilt. PURE LOVE.

And speaking of the aforementioned trashy, greasy pizza I so adore, there is still a special place in my heart for that breed of goodness as well. 

Behold, homemade (but definitely not from scratch) stuffed crust, gooey, greasy, bad-for-you-pizza complete with melted garlic butter and ranch for dipping. 

And tall boys, of course. 

I used a pre-made Pillsbury pizza crust, stuffed the edges of it with more Daiya mozzarella than should be legal, spread out a healthy slather of BBQ sauce, topped that with even more mozzarella, threw some diced white onions, olives and pineapple on top, coated the stuff'd crust with butter and garlic seasoning, and while that all baked up just perfect like, I melted a heaping spoonful of Smart Balance with garlic, and brought out the home-made vegan ranch that I had made the day before just with pizza-dipping in mind.
To avoid the risk of sounding redundant, please go back and refer to the completely bolded paragraph above if you are interested in how the enjoyment of this, pretty much my favorite meal of all time (I'd probably eat something similar before being sent to the electric chair) went down, but skip the part about it being all healthy and shit. 

And now moving onto something much more healthy: rawchos!

Here's the plate of completely raw nachos which I enjoyed on my first trip to the new, almost completely raw restaurant downtown: AmeRAWcan (pronounced American) Bistro.

They were delicious, fresh and I can't wait to go back and try more off their raw-tastic-menu.

Is that a vegan torta? Or are you just happy to...  ---  OMG HELLS YES THAT IS A VEGAN TORTA.

what?!

 So for those of you who know me, know there is one food that is pretty much on par with pizza in the "favorite" slot on my list of top comfort foods.
And that would be sammiches.
And about a year ago, I experienced a torta (a Mexican sandwich) for the first time, and it has been true love ever since.
After going vegan, and not realizing that there was a good vegan mayonnaise on the market (my first attempt at vegan mayo was Nayonaise which just did not do it for me) I thought I would never enjoy the amazing flavor combo of a well-made torta ever again (as mayo is one of the key compliments to a good mexi-sammich-stack.)
 And then one fateful day I discovered the utter holiness of Vegenaise.
Thus, my homemade vegan torta was born.
Smashed up black beans, thick sliced cold tomato, white onion and avocado, melted pepper jack Daiya, a nice schmear of mayo, cilantro and a home-grown Serrano pepper all put together within two thick and crusty pieces of toasted soft roll.
I ate one and an half of these in less than 30 minutes.
And I am not ashamed.



And then, with my leftover, large soft roll and pepper jack cheese, I made a delicious broccoli and cheddar (dare I say?) "hot pocket" sandwich for lunch the next day.
Nothings super crazy, but definitely a "spot hitter" for a Monday in the cube.

And that wraps up my food porn update for today!

I realize it's mainly pizza and sammiches with a slight detour into the fine world of nachos,  but I gotta share when I do "normal food" vegan and it turns out a million times more amazing then I could ever even imagine.

For the record, I do not eat these types of foods on the daily - they are once-in-a-while meals I spring for when I get inspired to veganize something and put a pesky craving to bed.
I make a wide variety of healthy greens, beans and whole grain dishes too, just like every good vegan should, and maybe sometime I will share some of those with you as well.

But until then, just enjoy the pizza and nachos, aight?

Thanks, Grace!

So I'm generally a pretty happy, easygoing person. 

Don't get me wrong,  I get straight heated when the time is right, but I usually don't just walk around thinking that the world sucks.

But for whatever reason, today I was totally not in a happy mood. 

I woke up normal, and moderately happy.

Then work happend. 

Rain in July.

Got about three disappointing text messages.

And voila! I'm grumpy.

And I really don't like being grumpy.

Being grumpy actually makes me more grumpy because I fixate on how annoyed I am that I'm grumpy, which obviously fuels the fire. 

It's a pretty vicious cycle, really.

So, in order to distract myself, I decided to read my sister's blog , which didn't actually help matters because he content of her latest post is midly depressing and, she has the flu. 

BUMMER.

So naturally, I moved on to my neice Grace's blog, where she had recently shared a few simple things that make her smile.

Not only does Grace alone always make me smile, but so does thinking about the little things that make her smile. 

So, in an attempt to be less bitchy and more smiley, I'm taking a cue from the noble 12-year-old in my life and going to focus on the many, many things that make me happy, instead of the handful of things that don't.

Here goes!

(And these are in no particular order)

First off, Grace 

and her blog

because pretty much everything that she posts makes me smile in some way- whether it be her hilarious, witty or observant rambings, or her always sunny, bright and cheery photos (usually of people that I know and love, which obvi adds to the smile-factor.)

P.S. isn't she freakin' gorg?!

2nd:

Yesterday I picked up my oldest friend Courtnay from the airport. 

I hadn't seen her since April, and she hadn't set foot on the West Coast since January. 

Not only am I super excited to be able to hang with her for the next few days (which includes a whitewater rafting trip in Wenatchee.... whaattt?), the pick-up itself was hilarious and definitely makes me smile!

(Brief recap: we told Court that Taylor had to work so she wouldn't be able to come with me to pick her up. But we lied. Taylor hid in my trunk, and when Court opened the hatch door it was hilarious!)

THREE

My boyfriend's latest Facebook post. (Cheesy, I know.)

But without him even knowing my day wasn't exactly up to par, he sent me a Facebook note saying "Hope yer days goin well shoooga!"

(please ignore the grammatical errors. he sent it from his phone.)

And he's not exactly the Facebook-wall-posting type.

Simply stated, made me smile. 

(Among the many other sweet and hilarious things he entertains me with on the daily.)

four

my dog.

Literally all I have to do is think about his wacky ass, and I'm usually beaming from ear-to-ear, if not completely in stiches. 

Much love.

 Five:

My family, in general.

Not only do I have an intense love for all of my crazy relatives, it makes me smile that I get to see most of them on a pretty regular basis.
From my awesome sister, whom I don't know what  I would do without;

to my sweet and unknowlingly hilarious mom; my goofy, but loving, brother; my even goofier, and equally as loving dad; three impressively adorable/handsome/funny/smart/talented nephews; myriads of unique and enviably talented cousins, aunts and uncles; three out of four grandparents, not to mention all the non-blood-related family members that I hold extremely close - you name it, I got it! 

And I know a lot of people don't. 

Which means I should buck up and smile about it, dammit!

Six:

Nice weather.

Even though we are not experiencing that at the exact moment (see fig. 1 below) when it does pop up (like fig. 1 says it might tomorrow) I know I'll be smiling about it then...

fig. 1

7!

The peanut butter pretzels and chocolate chips I packed for a snack, which I will soon be eating.

AND the hot, homemade soup I am eating currently (I know it's July, but remember, it's RAINING? soup makes sense. and makes smiles).

eight:

the sweet new paint job I gave my bike this weekend

(before)

(after)

nine:

This joke (which I have unofficially dubbed as my 'favorite joke of all time')

What's brown and rhymes with snoop?

scroll to the bottom of this post for the punchline.

10.

It's Thursday, which only means one thing: tomorrow is Friday! 

Which mean's I can bring out the Rebecca Black. 

Saturday comes after that, and then... it's Sunday... and I got no complaints on weekends, people.

So bring it on, pissy mood!

My "things that make me smile list" will totally defeat your sorry ass!

and here's the punchline to number nine:

Doctor Dre, motha effas!

(I know you all wanted to say poop. Don't lie.)

It's PHILLY TIME!

Ever have those days where you just want to come home from work, plop your ass on the couch, and eat something that will put you into an inevitable, yet glorious, food coma?

That's how I felt last night. I will spare you the details, but I was tired, cranky and just plain yearning for some comfort food and snuggles.

This meal was quick, easy and definitely did the trick. 

(At least as far as the need for comfort food goes. Eddie covered the snuggles.)

Philly CheeseFake Sammich, mashed potatoes and gravy, and a classic "salad bar" salad.

So, this probably looks like I put a lot of work into it, but I really didn't.

(Hint: I used instant potatoes and a couple of Bocas from the freezer. Having leftover sliced veggies from the Father's Day Barbecue really sped things up, too).

Here's a loose recipe, if you choose to follow:

Saute some chopped onions and garlic in a little olive oil 'til they are soft.
Add chopped mushrooms and chopped, thawed, Bocas (I used two patties. It served two and had leftovers. Use your best judgment on amounts. It's a Philly Sammich, not rocket science.)
Add a few table spoons of Bragg's Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce/Tamari- whichever you prefer).

Let cook for a few, meanwhile, boil 2 cups water in a pan, add a broth of sorts (veggie bouillon, broth concentrate, pre-made broth - whatevs) season with more Bragg's and some herbs and spices.
I used black pepper, sage and mixed "Herbs De Provence"' (I don't know what the hell that means, but it's a good mix of marjoram, oregano and something else, I think, and it makes a 'mazing gravy flavor).

Add a little bit of that broth to the Philly fixens, then cover and let simmer for a few. Then add some frozen peppers and let it cook till you just can't wait any longer and you want to get your ass on the couch and eat.
Use whatever kind of cheese you like. I slathered two sides of a toasted sesame bun with vegan cream cheese, and it tasted bombdigs.

MEANWHILE, while Philly simmers:

Boil some more water for the instant taters, and then remove from heat and add some instant potato flakes. Stir until it's thick. Add some butter and milk (I use Smart Balance and Almond Milk), stir, and cover 'til your ready to eat.

The gravy is also super easy to make.
I've used this recipe for Thanksgiving a few times, and it always wins over the hearts of all the meat-eaters who prefer mine over the Turkey drippings (can I just say 'ew' to that phrase?) variety.

Heat up a little more oil, throw in some more chopped onions/garlic (If you want. You don't have to). Cook through, then add a table spoon or so of flour. Whisk it up into a roux (clumps of flour) then slowly add the rest of that broth you made earlier to the pot while whisking. It will thicken up.
Too thick? Add more liquid. Not thick enough? Add more thickener (flour.)
Season to taste with Bragg's, salt, pepper, Herbs De Province. WHATEVER you want that will make you some good gravy.

GOOD GRAVAY!

Then grab your fat girl life alert and get your ass on the couch.

(I also recommend saving the dishes for after dessert, but that's totally up to you.)

Viva La Summer!

Today is the first day of summer, people! And it's finally acting like it in Tacoma.


Temperature is in the mid-70s, there's not a cloud in the sky, and tomorrow, it's probably going to rain again, so I am going full force with my celebration of the fair-weather solstice, starting with a series of self portraits I took in my backyard this morning before work.

They clearly exhibit my mixed emotions on what is ultimately a bittersweet tease of a day:


a.) Blind happiness in the ability to soak up a few morning rays.

b.) Jaded disgrutntlement that this beautiful weather will undoubteldy expire by this weekend.

c.) Sheer, unadulterated excitement for what I will do after work to maximize the fun-having capabilities of the final hours of daylight on this longest day of the year. Happy hour on a deck somewhere? Bike ride about town? BOTH?!!?! Who knows?!

Weee!

Happy summer, Tacoma!
Enjoy it while it lasts...

I love lunch.

I love lunch. I guess that makes me a "lady who lunches," (whatever that means. I think it's a reference from before my time?)**

And for those of you who know me, you know Wednesdays at the office are no fun for me. 

I'm stuck at the desk, reading content, editing pages, and scrambling to get last minute things together for a 3 p.m. deadline (which we rarely meet, btw.)

However, since deciding to go/becoming vegan, I have a new obsession with consuming as much info as possible from the millions of vegan food and lifestyle blogs on the web, which I manage to squeeze  between editing and all that other stuff, making Wednesdays a tad more enjoyable.

This fact also makes me much more hungry for an uber delicious vegan fix on Wednesdays, which is ironically the least lunch-friendly workday of the week.

I am usually stuck at a desk, unable to take an actual lunch break,  realizing the food I actually brought to eat sucks and totally pales in comparison to all the crazy delicious sounding recipes I've just read. Sometimes I get sad when the clock strikes lunch on Wednesdays. 

(A lot of times, I don't even bother eating lunch on Wednesdays, especially if we are super busy which is CRAY for me as a devout luncher.)

Anyways, I'm sharing my lunch story today because it was awesome. 

It was a mix of homemade, takeout and a quick, much-needed jaunt from the office, coming together in perfect harmony as a totally classic, simple, (vegan) American lunch:

Soup. Sandwich. Cookie.

So I actually brought the sandwich in for lunch yesterday, but never got around to eating it (because a more exciting lunch option came up... aka lunch buffet @ Gateway to India with my office mom, Kim)

and I was a little skeptical how a day old hummus- tomato-cucumber-radish-spinach sandwich would stand up against my mouthwatering, vegan-blog-reading appetite.  

So, I jumped at the chance to go with coworker Jill down the street to Infinite Soups to pick up a bowl of their tasty, made-daily-from-scratch soups (of which they always have at least four vegan options.)

I couldn't decide between the Jamaican Rice and Bean or the Caribbean Red Bean, so I went nuts and  ordered half and half. 

I do not regret that decision.

AND, on top of everything else,  the lovely, also fresh-and-scratch made vegan-friendly Corina Bakery just happens to be right across the street from Infinite Soups. That's where the double pack of peanut butter cookies (vegan and gluten free) come in*.

*Cue parting clouds and  heavenly music.

As I near the end of writing this post, and take another bite of peanutbuttercookie-y goodness, I am overwhelmed with joy and happiness at the simple, absolutely delicious local lunch that can now join the blogosphere of vegan food write-ups that I will inevitably continue reading once I get done eating and get back to work...










** before posting I decided to go ahead and Google "ladies who lunch"... here's the Wikipedia definition:

"Ladies who lunch is a phrase to describe slim, well-off, old-money, well-dressed women who meet for lunch socially, normally during the working week. Typically, the women involved are married and non-working. Normally the lunch is in a restaurant, perhaps in a department store during shopping. Sometimes there is the pretext of raising money for charity."

Ok, so apparently I'm not one of these "ladies who lunch." Maybe it would be more appropriate to call me "a lady who loves lunch" or "a lunching lady"? The simple term "lunch lady" also briefly popped into my head, but that phrase doesn't really work for the purpose of this post, either. 


Anywhoo - thanks for reading!

Sincerly,


Your Lunch Loving Lady

Naked Sundays - ROUND 11!

Slow yardsale + bored grown-ups = giving mohawks to defenseless 3-year-olds

See, it ended up being fun for everyone! 

I love cat.

I'm linking this photo up to Wordless Wednesday {but with words}, because the words displayed in this photo leave me absolutely speechless (get it?)

This is a  Japanese "fancy lunch bag" "translated" into "English" from Daiso Japan (a Japanese store at Westlake Mall in Seattle.)

I only wish I knew what "they" were really trying to tell me here. 

If you like this, go to Daiso for yourself and read the bevy of hilariously nonsensical translations in their very large "fancy notebook" collections... 

You will be baffled and amazed. 
In a good way.

Random Daily Update.

So, today was a fairly uneventful, run-of-the-mill Tuesday...

However ironically, it happened to be eventful enough for me to feel the need to post something about it here, on my blog.

And here goes my first ever non-picture-including random daily update:

A) Went to work. Pretty normal. Realized I forgot my lunch. Got bummed out. (For those who don't know, lunch is very important to me. I'm not one of those weird people who just doesn't eat lunch.)

B) Got over the lunch thing. Started being highly productive by minimizing time spent on Facebook, and maximizing the amount of content I wrote and posted to the TW website (including our new daily updates blog 'The Daily Mash-Up,' which you should totally check out...especially if you're local).

C) Lunch time. Realized I couldn't "go to lunch" to remedy the "forgot lunch" situation because I was more-or-less tied to my desk waiting for a return phone call from a source (that's deadlines for ya.) 

Got bummed out again. 

Luckily I had a spare orange on hand.

D) Co-workers birthday. There was singing. And Barbie cake. Pretty eventful, right?

E) Got hit-on my a widowed old man. At work.
He came in to the office to submit his handwritten "Letter to the Editor" about his legal struggles of getting his name-plaque installed on his three-year deceased wife's headstone. 

He told me I had "very pretty hair -- eyes," that he has "adopted a new lifestyle since his wife died" and that he also happens to be "driving a convertible Mustang." 

wow. 

For the record, the Mustang did not have the top down, despite the sunny weather. (I asked.)

F) Came home from work. Ate snack to cure rabid no-lunch hunger. Cleaned kitchen. 

G) Rode my NEW BIKE (which I purchased Saturday at the Starlite Drive-In Swapmeet for $30 and since have rode two extensive bike tours of Tacoma, totaling 19 miles over two days... I'm sure I will be posting more/pictures about in the future)  to Grocery Outlet for t.p. but ended up buying more goods than would fit in my backpack, so the 1.2 mile ride home was surely an amusing site for  spectators. 

Full grocery bags were hanging off my handle bars, my wheels were squeaking, there were fly-aways all over the place hair-wise, and I'm pretty sure my fly was down (always seems to happen in these jeans.)

Eventful.

E) Came home and treated myself a tasty, flavor-and nutrient-packed quick and easy bean-quesadilla/brown rice dinner, complete with a perfectly crispy tortilla and a house made chili-lime-cilantro sauce (will share photo in next edition of :  '"what the hell do vegans eat besides nuts and berries?'" related post), red wine and the first 45 pages of "Vegan Living for Dummies."

F) Then I topped the night off with popcorn, chocolate chips, more red wine and an episode or two of "X-Files" season 1 with my two exceedingly hairy male companions.

And there's the random daily update for ya...

Goodnight!

Coming to terms with Rebecca Black.

Today the sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and thanks to long nights at the school board and a work assignment this weekend, I get to skip outta here (work) at 2 p.m.!

It's moments like these, I appreciate Rebbecca Black for what I have finally come to terms with as her poetic genius.

And apparently, so did a bartender in Charleston two Fridays ago...

For those of you who haven't already witnessed this monstrosity, I saw it for the first time about a month ago, and almost died from exposure to stupidity. 

This is possibly the worst song ever produced in the history of the world.

I cringed at the sound of it, I scratched my head wondering how it was even possible for something so bad to exist.

I wondered "Was this for real? This has to be a joke."

I didn't know what to think, but in the end,  I settled on pity for the poor misguided girl who probably had all the best intentions of putting out the "next big party hit" only to fall flat on her face in a sea of pointing and laughter.

Fast forward to about a month later. 

Every damn Friday (as well as other random days of the week for that matter) this song (or variations of it, depending on the day) gets stuck in my head.

And it doesn't drive me crazy, like you might think. 

It actually gets me kinda pumped for the weekend.

Now, I'm wondering, "Was all that pity I channeled toward poor, innocent Rebbecca in vain? Did she really know what the hell she was doing this whole time?"

Hell,  however mind-bogglingly grating her song, it is undeniably catchy.

And she has become an Internet sensation seemingly overnight.

Apparently, this chick is smarter than she looks (and sounds.)

And here's proof:

Happy Friday, erryone!

VEGAN?!?!

So after years of not eating meat (except for fish) due to my strong beliefs in animal rights, I have finally taken the plunge into veganism.

I have never been one to preach my beliefs on others, or even delve into my reasoning for not eating meat (unless specifically asked to do so) because for me, it has always been a personal choice.

I am not necessarily trying to save the world, but I cannot stomach  the factory farming industry (pun wasn't initially intended, but yay for puns!)

I will, however, briefly touch on my philosophy here, to explain my current move into veganism.

I have always known the mistreatment of animals didn't stop at the slaughterhouse, it is just as bad for factory-farmed dairy cows and egg-laying hens.

However, I never felt I was able to "give up" one of my favorite foods: cheese.

Until recently, the idea of going full-fledged vegetarian had entered my mind... but then there was that little voice that said "but you can't live without cheeese!"

And over the past few months, that voice started growing smaller and smaller, until I realized I was ready to jump into a diet-lifestyle that fully reflected my strong disdain for large industry, factory farming practices.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Anywhoo - a change to a vegan diet isn't all that crazy drastic for me, having already cut meat out of my diet (and a good portion of non-cheese dairy) for quite some time.

But in the last month of transition (and close to three weeks of full-fledged non-dairy eating) I have definitely had to adjust.

Asking restaurants to leave the cheese, sour cream, butter etc... off of my veg-centered meals is no biggie. 

Cooking at home even more do-able.

But milk and eggs can sneak their way into even the most unsuspecting of items, which causes me to think twice and read the ingredients much more often than before.

And then there's the people that you "break the news to."

My two carnivorous, food-loving best friends literally cringed when I told them about my decision while on vacation in Charleston.

(They've since warmed up to the idea. One of them going as far as to say "I'm so glad you're a vegan who still eats!!!)

At my "last hurrah" fancy-pants-ed "cheese eating" party for my Aunt's 50th birthday earlier this month (literally like 20 varieties of delicious, gourmet cheeses... it was pretty good timing in my mind) much of my family - several former vegetarians - had a similar reaction.

"But whyyy?!" they wanted to know.

My boyfriend simply said "YOU not eat CHEESE?" and laughed at the idea when I first told him (that's how much I love cheese). 

He has since been very supportive, checking ingredients and eating vegan right along with me.

My brother didn't think twice at the idea, and even seemed to understand when I told him.
Until he asked me if I wanted a snack, and then got completely flabbergasted because: "You can't eat anything!"

Only one of my friends (who isn't a vegan themselves) immediately said "Go for it! You can do it!" without even a second of hesitation, or skepticism. (In all reality, she said it in a text message, so for all I know, she could have been rolling her eyes and scrunching her face all over the place, but I took it as sincere support and appreciate Taylor very much for it.)

But the purpose of this post (other than being a passive attempt to tell my mom about my new dietary restrictions...because her reaction will undoubtedly be a dramatic one)  is to show my brother, and the many other people I have come across in the past few short weeks of my vegan journey who say "Vegan?! What do you eat then?" that a vegan diet is a delicious one, with endless possibilities, room for invention, creativity and extremely satisfying meals that isn't all nuts and berries...

So, here are some of the highlights of my recent home-made vegan masterpieces:

This is one of the first fully vegan meals I made for myself, when I first started seriously thinking about going full force. It's a Reuben. The main difference from my would-be previous vegetarian version: vegan mozzarella, and a home-made vegan thousand island dressing. 

I used Tofurky, cooked up in a zesty meaty combination ( I think it was soy sauce, ketchup, and a dash of liquid smoke) grilled onions, red sauerkraut I picked up on a whim a few weeks prior, and a "thousand island" sauce made with soy-mayo, Catalina dressing, pickles and onions.

This meal is where I first patented the idea for a "Fat Girl Life-Alert." (You know the buttons they have for old people who fall and can't get up? Ya, I need one for food comas.)

This was test number two. Vegan mac and cheese (one of my true loves in life).

I wanted to know: is it doable?

Because I surely couldn't live without this tasty combination.

Well let me tell you, this recipe (an adaptation to my original, real cheese recipe, but with almond milk, vegan cheese, nutritional yeast, turmeric and I'm sure a lot of other seasonings... oh, and some broccoli) was I kid you not - better than than my original recipe by far. 

I am not just saying that. 

Drooling right now just thinking about this shiz.

Delish recipe numba three: a vegan taco salad.
Made with my home-made taco meat leftover from a "taco party" dinner the night before. (Ok, it was just me and Sean, not really a party per se, but we did break out the limes and the Modelo Especial.)  

It doesn't need much explaining, other than the fact that I used TVP for the meat, seasoned up crazy good Mexi-style, and let it simmer.

It was bomb. 

I brought the leftover-leftovers to friends' house that night as part of a Mexican bean/"cheese" dip that pleased the whole darn crowd of meat-eaters and vegetarians alike.
Success.

 Full-on "Italian Dinner" complete with a side ceasar salad (I scored an organic vegan ceasar dressing at GROCERY OUTLET for a DOLLAR!) toasted bread with vegan spread (I'm currently still working on a large tub of Smart Balance - also from Grocery Outlet.) And a hearty red sauce, made with blended olives, carrots, celery and onions, crumbled "Italian" baked WestSoy tofu, red wine, diced onions, and bunches-o-herbs n' spices.

Deliciouso! 

And finally, my latest creation (ate it for dinner last night and the night before) which I officially dub:

"The Fat Vegan Girl's Dream: fried chicken, bacon and cheese sammich!"

Ok, so I realize this isn't the most appealing food picture I've ever taken, but I had to share this.
(Full disclosure:  this photo  was actually taken mid-bite... at least I took the courtesy of cropping out my greasy vegan fingertips...)

But this thing was soooooo goood. Life Alert was on-hand for sure.

Brief rundown:

Chicken-fried tofu (I used WestSoy's "Asian" baked tofu this time, which I got for 99 cents AT GROCERY OUTLET at the same time I bought the Italian flavor. I think I'm going to go back and get more soon because they came in handy...)

I adapted my breaded-then-fried tofu recipe from No Face Plate, using flour, a non-egg wash (milk and a dash of olive oil did the trick), Shake-n-Bake, nutritional yeast and onion powder.

Fried it up in olive oil and placed it on toasted bread: one slice slathered with soy-mayo, hot-n-spicy stone ground mustard, onion, pickles and lettuce; the other slice: Tofutti cream cheese, Daiya cheddar cheese shreds and Bacos.

Excuse the language, but EFF YA.

So in conclusion, you can see there are tons of possibilities for us vegans to enjoy "normal,"  fattening, carb-laden, sodium-packed foods, just like the rest of America!

And all without contributing to needless animal suffering.

:)

Introducing: The Raddest Shirt of All Time

This is possibly the coolest shirt I have ever seen, let alone owned.

And to top it off, it only cost me $2.

 

BE EAZY, foos!

Naked Sundays - Round 4

Happy Easter, errrybody!

Made this delicious batch of quinoa-oatmeal-chocolate chip-coconut-almond-peanut butter cookies first thing this morning after 40 days and 40 nights of absolutely no sweets. 

(Confession: I accidentally sampled a tiny little key-lime wafer while in Charleston. It was totally unintentional, I swear.)

Anyways, if you know me, you know that I have got a wicked sweet tooth.
And chocolate chip cookies, in all their ooey-gooey-simplicity, are my absolute favorite thing in the world.

So whipping up these freshly-baked cookies this morning was a pretty big deal.

Here's the mix, all ready to get balled-up, onto the baking sheet and into my trusty toaster oven:





I will making a similar version of this recipe to share next Sunday at Tacoma's first-ever Vegan Bake Sale at King's Books! (More info at my awesome friend Dawn's Tacoma-veg-blog)

If you're local, check it out - you don't have to be vegan to enjoy the delicious baked-goodness that will be there !






P.S. sorry this is up so late. I was busy eating making cookies all morning, ya know...

Sweet!

My friend Autumn threw together this gorgeous, fresh, bright and beautiful strawberry cake at an overall delicious dinner party this weekend. 

I, the baptized Catholic with an insatiable sweet tooth, decided to participate in Lent this year by not eating sweets (as in candies, chocolate, cookies, cupcakes, shortcakes, pies, tarts, torts, scones, donuts, ice creams, custards, mousses, puddings or any other traditional "dessert" item. Did I mention no cookies?)

YEP.

It's been tough. 

Not "stranded in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights tough," but tough enough for a sugar monger like myself.

Especially when people put absolutely delicious crap like this in front of you.

Needless to say, I took lots of pictures.

And linking up to Sweet Shot Tuesday, because I LOVE puns and I didn't give those up for Lent.

Birthdays, cont...

And while we're on the topic of birthdays, I have been wanting to post this gem I made in honor of my best friend Rianne's birthday, but I had to wait until she actually received it before posting it up on the web for the world to see.

She's my boo, and we're super gangsta, so this card is legit.

(Plus it shows off my mad Photoshop skillz.)

 (Key: Rianne (top, far left) and me (bottom, far right) embedded in a sea of legendary rappers, hip hop royalty and straight up gangstas.)






For the record, she still has not received this card. After weeks of waiting, I finally got the package I sent her returned in the mail. So I emailed it her a jpeg of my creation in the meantime until I can give it to her in person next month when I visit her in Charleston*. Two months after her birthday. Talk about BELATED! I feel like such a wanksta!



*SIDE NOTE, I will be traveling to Charleston, SC middle of next month to spend a lonnnggg weekend with Rianne, as well as Courtnay, 80 degree weather, Palm Trees and beaches for Courtnay's birthday weekend! Yes, you heard right, Mamma's goin' on vacay!

WOO!

I guess this is what teenage rebellion looks like?

Eddie's "clever" alternative to me telling him to "get off the couch."

Linking this up to my sister's Show {off} Your Shot Friday photo challenge.

Here's how I got this shot.

Eddie got on the couch.

I told him to get off.

He jumped on the chair and made himself look rather comfortable.

Took the shot, edited levels for contrast and brightness, upped saturation on chair and background (masked out for the dog- he gets too orange over-saturated) and burned in the ottoman.

365 Day Project - Day 360-361

Cha-Ching!

Whenever I have large amounts of cash, I feel compelled to take pictures of it.

Actually, I should say, both times I have had large amounts of cash - because it's only  been twice. 

And both times have been for purposes of buying cars (not straight ballin', like you might assume.)

This is by far the largest of the two large-cash-having experiences of my life, however. 

The 42 Benjamins I withdrew Thursday bought me a slick new ride Friday afternoon.

Here is the steering wheel (and my mom's favorite part - the "psychedelic dash") of 'Otto:' my freshly purchased 2002 VW Jetta Wagon GL.

It's by far the nicest, newest car I have ever had the pleasure of owning. 

And my first car with key less automatic locking capabilities....

Can you say "BIG LEAGUES?!"

I can. 

Big leagues.

365 Day Project - Day 345

NERD ALERT!

We're watching "Dexter" season 5 in amazing 2-D!

And if this picture creeps you out, I wouldn't be surprised.

After countless hours of serial-killer watching, you'd probably have a sinister look in your eye, too...


muahaha.

Mama Singleton's Apple  Pie Cheese.

Mama Singleton had the right idea. 

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.3

My love for Leopard-print shoes.
On Steroids.

Yes, I purchased these today. 
(How could I not?)
And yes, I wore them. Out. To karaoke. There was dancing  involved.

(Serious dancing. Serious enough for Kat to tear her ACL. Recover soon, Kat!)

Not only are these the most awesomely-over-the-top shoes I've ever owned,  they are also the most comfortable heels I've ever worn...(and I am so not a "heel person.") 

 Platforms take the edge of high-assed heels, I guess. They also make you freaking tall.

I only hope Gaga is as proud of me as I am. I didn't even have to switch to my leopard-print flats I brought along in my purse, just in case.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.3