Crescent Mummy Wraps - Cute & Easy

Sometimes the most simplest food is the best. In this case mummy roll ups made with Pillsbury Crescent Roll dough, veggie dogs and a strip of Daiya cheeze tucked in. As you bake these you make a big ol' pot of vegan mac & cheeze, toss is some broccoli and get out the Sriracha and ketchup to make a dipping sauce. Once the mummy wraps are baked let them cool for a minute and dot Sriracha eyes onto them.
This meal has been so popular here and all the ingredients are on sale so we have been munching on mummies a lot lately. Plus it is a cute meal made without mad bento box skills. These do not take much time and effort. Wrapping is the hardest part and once you do one or two you get into a groove. A tip is to make sure you cut the strips right as you pop the can open. If the dough starts to loose it's refrigerated chill it becomes a bit gummy and harder to work with.


Inspiration came from here: www.pillsbury.com/.../crescent-mummy

Oakland VegFest Food

Last Saturday Matt and I headed to the East Bay for our anniversary. We decided since the weather was nice why not head over and check out VegFest at Lake Merritt.

First thing  I wanted to try was No Worries, I have wanted to try their food for years plus their truck was set up across the street away from the crowed.

Photo taken by Matt - I was to busy looking at food!

I was hoping they would have lumpia and they did! So I ordered us both a order (2 rolls per order). Nice and crunchy! I should have grabbed some Sriracha but I wanted to eat!

Once across the street we walked around and sampled food. There was food I wanted to try/buy but I was sticking to my budget so I passed on the $6 bar of chocolate and the $9 bottle of juice.

I am a sucker for good falafel.So when I saw the Flying Falafel tent I new I had to get a pita sandwich.

Packed full of veggies, falafel and sauce it was a hit. Everything tasted really fresh - not always the falafel case in my experience. I would totally buy falafel here again.

We sampled a few Miyoko's Kitchen cheeze - Matt really liked the 02 sundried tomato with garlic. At Whole Foods Berkeley I bought him a wedge to share with me (of course!). So good!

It was a nice event. The Jesus church folk did ruin it a bit, screaming about being saved, coming up and trying to proselytize. Ugh!

Cheezey Pasta Bake & Garlic Bread

Last week I picked up I Love Trader Joe's Vegetarian Cook Book because the recipes looked great and each recipe had a vegan version. When I got home I spent some time with the book and decided to go for the Spaghetti and Meatballs Bake. However I did not pick up the vegan meatballs when I was in the store and made do with Tofurky Italian Sausage cut up into pieces. I tried the vegan mozzarella they started carrying for the first time, I have been hesitant to try it because besides Daiya, I really do not care for other cheese subs.I scaled the recipe down to a 8X8 baking dish from a 9X13 -  as always I cook for two (with a bit for Mar thrown in of course!) not a family.
With the pasta bake I made the garlic bread recipe featured in the new Everyday (with Rachele Ray) magazine, veganized of course. I used garlic powder instead of minced garlic because I had it on hand. This meal was a huge hit! Matt hates lasagna - I loved it growing up and missed it. Anything pasta-y is pure comfort food for me. So when I asked Matt if he wanted seconds as I was going for mine he said "yes - it is so good"...Mar even dug it but then again that cat loves pasta and pizza - well anything Italian. Mar is a real Meow-rio Catali! This pasta bake is easy to put together and reminds of lasagna but is friendly to those that hate it. The garlic bread was super good too, buttery and warm! We never really had garlic bread growing up, I remember seeing the plastic wrapped loaves in the frozen section but I was spoiled with grandma's fresh baked bread or a loaf from the bakery. Garlic bread is good!

The meal was around $12 for two people and a cat who love pasta, I used a fresh loaf of bread and the Tofurky - which made it under $10. Still budget friendly compared to going out to dinner.

[Vegan MOFO Day 10] Fast Food Friday: Locos Tacos

We have all seen the commercial by now for the locos tacos from Taco Bell. It is a Dorito shell with the usual taco stuff inside. It is easy to be grossed out and want one at the same time.

I attempted making my own version seen here on Matt's plate. I served it with a little bowl of refried pinto beans with hot sauce and cheeze like Taco Bells makes. Well, my Dorito spice mix needs to be adjusted the chip - taco combo was there but it needs more kick. The tacos were a bit darker in person - but not as red as the ones on the TB commercial.

Basically I made a seasoning of nutritional yeast, paprika, salt and garlic powder. I tossed the shells in the oven - since they contained coconut oil I waited a few minutes for the oil to release, pulled them out and sprinkled them with seasoning on one side.After putting them in the oven for another few minutes I pulled them out, flipped them and sprinkled more seasoning on the 'naked' side and baked another minute. The shells turned a golden color.
I am sure you can spray cooking spray/oil on the shells, sprinkle/dunk the shells in the spice mix and then bake. However I did not want to get super oily here and tried this method...It worked!
The filling was soy crumbles cooked in a bit of vegetable oil, lettuce, Daiya shreds, hot sauce! Next time I will play around with the seasoning to get a more vibrant color and kickier taste. I assume Doritos get their color from food dye and MSG!

[day 16] Product Reviews

Last week we got a order in from Vegan Essentials of some much needed and not so needed products. I tried to get some things that seemed interesting and a few things that looked good. Here are a few hits and misses including what Matt thought.


We love queso around here, we just plop it over tortilla chips and call it a day. I was curious to see what a jar version tastes like. Nacho Mom's Ultimate Vegan Queso called out to me - who can resist cheezy flavor in a jar! I found it tasty, it had a slight kick and it is super healthy. For the price I am happy making my own though!
Matt says: Not high on the cheese factor, thick though and overall good.


Dark Angell Organic Candy Bar has a nice chocolaty taste and I love the addition of the nuts, it reminds me of a old school in your lunchbox Kudos bar!
Matt says: The candy bar was good, but not the best I've ever eaten. It had a nice chewy chocolate bite.


Cheese Crackers by Eco Planet are so tasty. The reminded me or cheesy crackers, a cross between the fish shaped ones and the ones that ended with it!I opened the box when we had company and we munched away happily. I am just a bit disappointed that a third of the box was crumbs.
Matt says: The cheese crackers have a great after taste. At first it tastes bland but then it the "cheese" kicks in and it's good.


The only disappointment with the products we tried was the gumballs by Dylan and Delaney . We tried the sour apple flavor wich was not really flavorful. The big complaint though was the texture of the gum. It was just mush and never really formed into something you could chew, so after a minute we spit it out.
Matt says: The gum balls were gross, they had absolutely no taste and they were not chewy.