Friday, October 25, 2013

Vacation time...

As of 4:30PM today, I was officially on vacation.  We're not going anywhere, but I'm pretty stoked anyways.  Ten days to relax, cook, go to thrift stores, and blog more than usual...sounds ideal to me!  Kyle's birthday is also next weekend, so there will be some celebrating! 

Lately, I have felt so bogged down, that I have been completely forgetting to take pictures of what's going on in my life.  So, I'm tapping into the archives!  A couple of weeks ago, I posted about some local businesses, and I mentioned Nooch Vegan Market.  Well, I am finally gonna talk about them!

 
Whenever I read an issue of VegNews magazine, I always notice products that I can never find in any grocery store here, including Whole Foods.  Nooch has it all!  I was like a kid in a candy store, oohing and aahing over all of the things I never thought I would try.
 
First up, Daiya cream cheese.  This was probably what I was most excited to find.  They come in a variety of flavors, including plain, strawberry, and chive & onion.  I'm pretty traditional when it comes to cream cheese, so plain was my pick.  I have to say, it did not live up to my expectations.  I have been spoiled by their cheese shreds, cheese slices, and cheese wedges.  Kyle and I both found this to be rather salty.  Tofutti definitely wins the cream cheese battle in my book.
 
 
Next up, Match Meat Mediterranean Stuffed Vegan Chicken.  This was pretty darned good.  It reminded me of the Barber Foods stuffed chicken breasts that we ate in the old days.  For sure, it was more chicken-ey than most other frozen chicken substitutes.  What I enjoyed most, was the filling.  It was full of flavor, and they were a snap to prepare.
 
 
And lastly, Gardein "Sausage and Cheese" Breakfast Sandwiches.  I have to be completely honest about these.  Gardein is another brand that I hold to a high standard.  I love most of their products.  This one, not so much!  The sausage kind of grossed me out.  It was really mushy, and had a strange aftertaste to me.  Kyle wasn't crazy about them either.  I'd rather just make a breakfast sandwich from scratch.  Their stuffed turkey breasts will still be making their way into my cart though!  :)
 
 
That was it for this trip to Nooch.  I don't care if I don't enjoy everything I try.  I just love being able to actually try new things, and supporting an awesome local business!  I was so happy to hear that they are actually moving into a larger storefront in January!  On that note, I'm going to watch some Shark Tank.  I hope you're ready to see more of me in the next week and a half!

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Just as I promised...


Remember when I said there would be another pizza post?  Well, I didn't lie, and here it is.  Whenever we find a pizza place that offers vegan pizza, we just have to try it!  Luckily, it seems as though we have a smorgasbord of places around us that have plenty to offer.  I was so excited when I discovered Hops and Pie.

 
We ordered it to go, because that place is BUSY!  I ordered a pan pizza with Daiya, housemade seitan sausage, green peppers, and onions.

 
You better believe that when I saw a vegan English style mac and cheese on their menu, it was going to be ordered.  I feel as though it is my duty to test every vegan mac and cheese that I find.  It had peas, mushrooms, and was topped with breadcrumbs!

 
This meal was sooooo delicious!  The pizza crust was perfect to me...I don't know how it was soft, chewy, and crunchy all at the same time.  And the mac and cheese...AYE AYE AYE!  It was quite possibly my favorite that I have ever tasted.

 
I have a special place in my heart for any kind of mac and cheese.  My Uncle Dick, who is no longer with us, shared the same love.  It may sound so silly, but that was OUR thing.  I would always make it, and we would just sit and talk about how much we loved macaroni and cheese.  It's the little things in life, right?  He was one of the sweetest people that I have ever known and I miss him like crazy!  Lately, I have really been missing my family, like ALOT.  It's a weird year for me, being the first year away from my family, especially around the Holidays.  But it will be that much more special when I do see them!  I was going to say that I promise, no more pizza posts for awhile, but I'm not sure that will happen.  :)

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

A little slice of home...

Last Saturday, the hubby and I decided to stop by the mall.  I needed to get my wedding ring cleaned, and pick up a couple things.  Can I just say that I really dislike shopping malls?!?!?  I can't even bear the thought of the upcoming Holiday madness!  Anywho, when we left the mall, we were both starving!  The mall that we went to is surrounded, and I mean surrounded, by places to eat.  Nothing sounded very good though.  One thing that I hate wasting money on, is mediocre food.  Despite our hunger, we drove and drove until we stumbled upon...
MELLOW MUSHROOM!!!

 
If my memory serves me correctly, I think we both squealed when we saw it!  When we lived in Florida, this was pretty much the only place we could really eat out at, as vegans.  And we used to do some serious work there!  :)
 
 
Kyle enjoyed a Dry Dock Apricot Ale.
 
 
Then we devoured some hummus with garlic toast points.  Yep, this was as good as I remember.  Of course we saved the leftover hummus for our pizza crust!

 
And last but certainly not least, the mega veggie pizza!  They loaded this thing with green peppers, tomatoes, banana peppers, artichokes, broccoli, mushrooms, onions, olives, tofu, and Daiya.  Oh. Em. Gee.  We were both stuffed after one piece!  Not to worry, the leftovers didn't last past dinnertime! 
 
My next post is going to be another pizza post.  It was pizza that we tried a few weeks ago, but I forgot to post about!  We really don't eat as much pizza as it looks like, I promise!  :)

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Time to experiment...

During the last week of Vegan MoFo, there was a post about some free samples of a newer product, The Vegg. If you haven't heard about it yet, it is a vegan egg yolk substitute.  I read some user feedback and I was super excited about trying it!  I love samples, especially of something that I haven't seen in any stores yet.  A couple of days after emailing the company, I received an envelope with a packet of The Vegg and a cookbook which explained how to use it.

 
I was surprised when I looked through some of the recipes.  Many of them called for ingredients such as calcium chloride beads or soy protein isolate.  The one thing I was willing to try was the tofu scramble, as there were no foreign ingredients to me.  I basically made my normal tofu scramble, and just added in The Vegg, mixed with some water. 

 
It definitely gave it more of an eggy consistency, but overall, I wasn't really digging it.  Kyle said that he also preferred my normal tofu scramble over this new version. 

 
I will say this...I do think it is awesome that more vegan alternatives are making their way into the market.  This one just doesn't do it for this girl. 
 
 
In Corningware news...my girlfriend, Devon surprised me with this new casserole dish, in their Blue Cornflower pattern.  Looks like I'll be making some Goodwill stops to find some matching pieces!!!  I love that girl!  :) 

Thursday, October 10, 2013

The good, the bad, and the ugly...

Tonight, I got to catch up with my good friend, Jayme, who recently moved to Colorado.  I was super excited for her to experience Sputnik, which I recently blogged about, two days ago to be exact!  Well, this time around didn't go so well.  The service was probably the worst that I have ever experienced, and the food was not on par.  I'm not going into great detail, because maybe they were just having an off night.  I was just bummed, because I totally hyped this place up to Jayme.

Alright, now that I have the negative out of the way, let's talk about the positive! 

How about we start with Sweet Action Ice Cream ?  Another local fave that always offers at least two different vegan flavors!  Tonight they were offering...

 
 
I went with the chocolate in a sugar cone, and it was the bomb!  Jayme was feeling a bit more adventurous and went with the maple pale ale.  I recall her saying, "I don't want this to end, but I know it's going to", all with a sad face.  I'm so glad she moved to Colorado! :)

 
Now on a totally unrelated topic, I have to share a few things I love, and they were all part of my dinner last night.  With the weather getting quite chilly, I needed a nice comforting meal.  I whipped up a batch of Oh She Glow's spiced red lentil, tomato, and kale soup.  This soup took about ten minutes to throw together and is bursting with flavor.

 
Next, what goes better with a hearty soup, than a grilled cheese?  I recently picked up some of the new Daiya cheese slices, which melt like a dream!  Combine the Daiya with some freshly baked French bread, and it is a match made in Heaven!
 






And lastly, I found this little pot clip at Target for 49 cents!  It holds your utensil, while clipped on the pot, and collects all of the drippings!  I have always had a spoon rest, but have never really used it, but this idea is genius!  Goodbye spoon rest!


Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Local love...

I have to start by saying that I love local businesses!  I love what they do and love supporting them!  Food trucks are pretty big, here in Denver.  We have one, called the Vegan Van.  Kyle and I have been meaning to try it out, but just haven't been able to find the time.  Finally, we did!!!  We went for their Sunday brunch.  They were parked outside of Nooch Vegan Market, another local business that I adore!
 
We both ordered the croissanwich and some tots.  The croissanwich was served on a croissant, from Beet Box, a local bakery in Denver.  Inside was a tofu scramble, chia seed cheese, and some vegan ham slices.  
 
 
 
 
First off, I think it is so awesome to have a food truck that is completely vegan!  Our brunch was really good.  The croissant was like no other that I have tasted, it was actually a bit crunchy, great flavor though .  I wish that I knew what kind of ham was inside, because it was crazy delicious.  The tots were your standard tots, tasty nonetheless.  I am just so glad that we finally had the opportunity to check this food truck out. 
 
While we were waiting in line, there were a couple of people in line behind us.  This is how their conversation went...
 
Guy-"The other day at work, this girl that I work with came in wearing a leather jacket and Doc Martens.  I wanted to confront her and tell her that she shouldn't be wearing those things if she is vegan."
 
Girl-"You know that they make vegan Doc Martens, right?"
 
Guy-"Well, I'm glad that I didn't say anything.  But she totally should not be wearing a leather jacket.  And I bet that her doc Martens were not vegan."
 
Girl-"You really shouldn't judge other people like that.  People do the best that they can.  Maybe she had them before she went vegan, and didn't want to get rid of them.  Anyhow, don't be that type of vegan.  That's why people often have a bad perception of us."
 
I was so happy to hear that girl say what she said.  Often, people do have the wrong idea or perception of what a vegan is, and what we stand for.  I can't tell you how many times I have been in the break room at work, eating my lunch, with omnivore coworkers, and they'll say, "I'm sorry for eating this meat right in front of you", or something to that effect.  Why would I ever judge someone else for what they are putting in their body?  It is their decision, and I can only hope that they reciprocate that acceptance. 
 
With that said, I will be posting more about Nooch very soon!  I can't wait, how about you?!?!?

My old life...

Before venturing down the vegan path, I was a "couponer".  That's right...I would go to Publix, fill up a cart with food, and usually save at least 75%!!!  There were times, when I would actually leave with a cart full and they would pay me, after applying all of my coupons.  I'm not going to lie, it was awesome having a $75-$100 a month budget for groceries!  But, if you look in the pictures below, we got what we paid for.  I really wish that I had more pictures of my pantry once it was fully stocked, but these are the only pictures I could find.  We were overloaded with sugary cereals, pop-tarts, turkey bacon, and cheese, just to name a few things.  
 
My first couponing haul.
 
 
In this pic, there are some cat treats, which may seem odd, seeing as though we don't have a cat!  I used to buy animal products and donate them to the Humane Society.  I'm not crazy! LOL
 
By no means, do I eat a perfect diet.  And I still definitely indulge!  But I feel as though I make much smarter choices now.  When I go to the grocery store, I start with produce, and load my cart to the brim.  I can fit a lot less junk this way. :) Of course, I spend a lot more on groceries than I did two years ago, but I also feel way different than I did two years ago.  Is it worth it?  Totally!  I thought going vegan was going to be the hardest thing ever, but it turns out, it isn't!  I have also come to realize that it is an ongoing transition and journey.  It's all about doing the best that we can!


Sputnik...

Last night, I met up with my good friend Devon, for some food and thrifting.  We went to a small restaurant in downtown Denver, called Sputnik.  Almost everything on their menu is vegan or has a vegan option, and it is really reasonably priced!  When we got there, it was still "happy hour".  This meant $2.00 hushpuppies...

 
That's right...little corn fritters with a roasted jalapeno sauce on the side!  We also split the $1.00 hand-dipped "zucchini dog". 

 
Now, I never said that this was the healthiest meal!  :)  But it sure was scrumptious!  Devon got the Vietnamese lettuce wraps, and really enjoyed them.  I was too busy stuffing my face to even try a bite!

 
And of course, I had to get the mac and cheese.  I seriously love their rendition!  It always has an abundance of green onion, and the creamiest texture.  I don't even know how they do it.


After this super filling meal, we headed over to Goodwill to searh for hidden gems. I found another little Corningware dish that matches some that I purchased recently. 
 
 
I also found this little statue that I am going to send to my mom.  My dad has a larger statue like this, that he uses as a door stop.  He has had it since the 70's, and I have always loved it.  I was so excited to see a "mom version". 
 
 
I love Goodwill!  I always find something!  I'm actually meeting up with another friend, Jayme, tomorrow.  We're doing Sputnik and Goodwill too.  She has not been to Sputnik yet.  I'm gonna try and go for a lighter dinner option this time!  I'll let you know how that goes on Friday.

 

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Leaves are a changing...

Everywhere I look around me, I see signs of Fall making its entrance.  I went out on my porch yesterday and this is what I found...

 
Not green anymore!  Unfortunately this change in weather brought sickness with it.  Everyone at my work has been getting sick and I knew that it was only a matter of time.  Sure enough, Friday night, I started getting a fever and sore throat.  I ended up going to bed without even eating dinner.  By dinnertime on Saturday, I was starving.  I needed some simple comfort food.  This is where some fellow blogger inspiration, and Kyle come into play.  I found this recipe for Garlic Noodles on Vegan Eats and Treats, and asked Kyle if he was up for the challenge. 
 
 
He made the garlic noodles, steamed broccoli with Daiya, and some fresh ciabatta toast.  It was so good!  And to my surprise, the garlic noodle leftovers were super delicious straight out of the fridge today.  I'm thinking a pasta salad is in my future!
 
 
He made me some hot chocolate for dessert, and even photographed it for me.  Nothing like a nice hot cup of cocoa to warm a sore throat!



Thursday, October 3, 2013

National Kale Day...

For those who may not have known, yesterday was National Kale Day!  I didn't even know that this existed, but it may be my favorite holiday now!  Yes, my kale obsession lives on, and I don't think it's going anywhere.  Can you guess what we had for dinner last night?


Yep, kale, with a side of veggie burger.  :)  I have started steaming two big bunches of curly kale at one time, so Kyle and I can each have our own.  My theory is that I could have much worse addictions!  I have to talk about this veggie burger for a second.

 
 
These Hilary's Eat Well burgers were on sale at Whole Foods, so I picked up a couple of different flavors.  This is their original veggie burger, and I also bought the hemp and greens burger.  I have to say, I was shocked at how flavorful these were.  It is definitely not your traditional faux burger...it is almost a cross between a burger and a hashbrown.  That may sound super weird, but I promise, it was delicious!  Kyle even said that they were his favorite faux burger ever.
 
 
I had one for lunch the other day as well, and it was tasty!  I forgot to take a picture of the hemp and greens burger, but that was also just as amazing!  I'll definitely start keeping some in the freezer for the dreaded "lazy night".  


Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Breakfast, the most important meal of the day...

I feel like everyone is always talking about how important breakfast is.  I have never been a "breakfast person".  Still to this day, I need some time to wake up and adjust before even thinking about eating anything!  I guess you could say that I am more of a "brunch type".  Lately, I have been making some delicious scrambles though, and it's making me want a real breakfast every day!

Here is one of my faves so far.  Oven roasted broccoli and some Daiya mozzarella style shreds.  I tried to recreate the amazing scramble that I had at Watercourse.  It was pretty darn close in deliciousness! 

 
Next up...I used some Upton's seitan bacon, Daiya cheddar style shreds, and fresh chives.  O.M.G.  And those are the leftover crescent rolls from our early Thanksgiving dinner. 
 
 
 
Michael, constantly creeping.
 
 
 
Now, I'm about to show you a picture of me in all my morning glory!  HAHAHA!!!  Don't mind my pajamas or bed head!  I have to say something first...Michael really doesn't beg a whole lot, even though my pictures may tell you otherwise!  He usually sits quietly, and patiently waits for any crumbs that may fall of my plate.  In this picture, you will see the result of Kyle getting Michael all excited about my food!  When he begs, he BEGS!!!  :)
 
 
 Back to my scrambles, I use the same basic tofu scramble recipe every time.  I think I found it in the Skinny Bitch cookbook.  It's nice to change it up though, with the mix-ins.  Who knows what I'll throw in there next time?!?