Fun With Food, Zines and Cats

Fried open faced tacos inspired by a recipe in the April 2015 Food Network Magazine (The Big Breakfast Issue). Tortillas are fried in Earth Balance, sprinkled with cumin, topped with refried beans and Daiya then covered to melt. Top it off with salsa, soy sour cream and hot sauce. Everything has to be served with Matt's Mamas red rice and lemons from the neighbor as you know!

Post gym stir fry with mixed veggies, extra firm tofu in a red curry paste + soy sauce mix I made up on the spot. Simple stir fry dishes are perfect on gym nights to help with a hungry stomach and a flash to prep. I also find them helpful to use up pantry items sitting around.

A soy iced coffee and Banana Curl Vegan Girl zine. The zine is a must have for those looking for easy and accessible vegan recipes (the best kind!) and a handy FAQ suitable for helping the new vegans & vegan curious out with ingredient replacements. You can also check out Banana Curl on her blog.

A few weeks back we walked into Pet's Mart on adoption day to make a Mar's Memorial Birthday donation. We came across a beast of a fluffy cat and decided to bring him home. We named him Mortis and so far Mady and him are doing well together. So if my zines and blogging have been lagging blame fluffy cats and naps - they go together!

A Handful Of The Stuff I Have Been Eating & Enjoying

Chipolte Corn Chili to use up some remaining soy crumbles Matt brought home from his work's potluck last week. I served it with sweet potato fries and a modified version of Isa's Red Hot Tahini Sauce on top.

Nib More Spicy chocolate. This is a pretty good bar with a nice amount of heat. It has more of a cinnamon sweet heat hotness than a peppery fire hot.

This is a red bean curry I made. I have been trying my hand at curries lately.This has lite coconut milk, red curry paste, some Thai peanut butter, garlic, jalapenos, soy sauce, Thai red pepper flakes, Sriracha, sweet potatoes and kidney beans. I am still working on getting my flavors down and trying to get it just right. I like my curry dishes to come with rice.

 

Beer and chocolate. Matt got the Red Hook and chocolate and on a different night we shared the Speakeasy Payback Porter. I have tried a few Speakeasy beers now and like them.

Small falafel pita from Extreme Pita. More tastier than expected but it cannot compete with my fave falafel pita spot. Matt and I both agreed what the number one offender was: that the pita was not warmed, so it was cold making the sandwich less tasty. 

My Aunt gifted me a Trader Joe's gift card for Valentine's so I gifted myself beer and coffee! The coffee is my go to - it has a darkly rich roasted flavor. The beer was split with Matt and was pretty good, mild and great with dinner (the chili above).

These are just a handful of the things we have been eating and drinking. I have been making and eating a lot of granola. Toast with jam is also on my 'eat it often radar'. What about you?

 

You Must Show ID To Read This - Beer Reviews

For the longest time I did not like beer. I equated all beer to be that of my teen years and cheap 40 oz. You know - not good stuff. Then on a whim I found some interesting sips and put down my margarita glass to try a few out. Here is what I like right now! 

Lagunitas Brown Sugga is a nice beer - not as sweet as I like them but it has a nice flavor and is smooth.
Stockyard Oatmeal Stout - I love this stuff. I like a lot of stouts though - they remind me of baked goods! This has a nice taste, sweet, mild and malty and well rounded. This is from Trader Joe's and a six pack runs you about $6 - wich is decent. Also Trader Joe's sells beer by the bottle/can randomly. Prices range from 50 cents to a $1 - it good for trying things out.

 

My fave beer that I have been back to more than once is the Blue Ridge Coffee Stout by Coronado Brewing Co. It has a nice complex flavor and there is a distinct coffee taste that hits you after you take a sip. Usually when beer or wine say they taste like something I never taste it and end up wondering if my taste buds are broken after to many years of hot sauce eating!

And there is always Tecate - cheap and easy to find it goes well on Friday nacho night!

If you have any favorite vegan beers please let me know! I am always searching for something new to try. Remember to drink responsibly - please do not drink and drive!

All beer was checked via Barnvivore for vegan status!

Bay Area Ladyfest - Zine Fest

Here is my table for the Bay Area Lady Fest Zine fest in Berkley last weekend. I brought all my issues of The Stay At Home Girlfriend including 11 that I printed and stapled the night before. I also had to bring some of my classics like the Easy Vegan to round out my table.My sign markers were construction paper kittens I spent some time cutting out!

We were on time and some may evenn say early! That's a first because I am constantly behind schedule. I set up my table and told Matt that I was going to scope out the coffee place out front. The coffee place was a big deal to me, I searched online beforehand for coffee places nearby but could find nothing.

Not only did Rasa Caffee have almond milk lates that tasted of rose petal and spice, they had vegan doughnuts from Peeples! I was happy to have a warm drink and something sweet to share with Matt to perk my tired bones up.I came to the even not feeling good, allergies and the effects of crappy sleep were effecting me.

I did have a good time staying until 4 when the crowed started to thin. I sold zines, traded zines, made friends and just talked to people - many who inspired me for future projects. I missed out on workshops but I was busy getting my zines out and chatting up people. I left feeling really happy!

 

I took home a phat stack of zines that have been my constant companion as I rest and catch up on sleep.

All in all a good day. I just wish (Matt said this as well) that more people came out. Throughout the day it was a rotating cast of about 20 people, same in, same out. I did make fliers for the event, passed them out - it worked. I also tried hitting up online spots and posting the event. I do not know if it was lack of promoting or lack of zine love. Whatever, again I had fun.

[Vegan MOFO] Target Tuesday - Get Up And Go

Are you a morning person? Both Matt and I are really not the early morning type people that come alive at 6AM. Monday through Friday, we get up at 7:30, have a routine of bathroom, breakfast, sending Matt off to work and me getting a workout in after a few minutes of the news.

I go for tea and either a bowl of cereal with almond milk or a Luna Fiber bar. Matt has adopted this routine as well.Matt usually get chocolate Zico to replace the tea though. We both like the Simply Balanced Fiery Chai tea.

Not a tea person? How about a cup of fair trade coffee? Target has you covered!They have a varirty of non-dairy milks and organi sugar if you do not take your black.

Need more than an fiber or energy bar? Target has lots of vegan and organic cereals to choose from, from kiddie picks to granola! They also have the best prices after price checking a few stores!

Even if you are like me - not a morning person, hopefully this picks help your mornings a little bit easier!

Another Tea Time Tuesday: Teavana JavaVana Maté

 

JavaVana  is a yummy rich maté tea that has a hint of coffee flavor. I pick up the vanilla and nutty tastes right away. I like it as is - to taste the chocolate undertones or with a splash of vanilla almond milk. It is bold without coming on to strong or bitter. This is for coffee lovers who want to try tea or those that like tea and coffee...I have been drinking it a lot and need to go buy some more.

Vegan Weekend Fun

It was a laid back, time changin' weekend around town! Complete with Matt getting an allergy shot, yum food, theater, meeting other veg folks, promoting and computer stress! Matt's computer is getting repaired so that means my zine is not going to be finished on my personal dead line. I print my hard copy on Matt's printer then go from there. It means I can fiddle with it more. Maybe make it a double issue at 40 pages!

I am part of the Veg News street team, I get to promote a magazine I really dig by carrying this cool new bag and handing out copies of the magazine. Last week in my promo pack I got to try the new Go Max Go Tumbs Up bar - ohh yes!  It was good!It reminded me so much of a Butterfinger!

Vegan fashion fact: the shoes I am sportin' are vegan sneakers that contain faux snake skin, faux suede and faux fur. With all of the Beyounce shoe drama lately I feel the need to wear my cool cruelty free kicks! They are by Akademiks and were really cheap with a bunch of mark downs! I know some people think wearing faux is wrong but I am all for faux. I think it comes down to showing people you can celebrate animals cruelty free and educate the clueless or ill informed. Saying racist things about a celebrity or calling her names will not change her mind or anyone's mind for the matter. 

In my Veg News bag I had my usual Target vegan food haul that I stock up on weekly (Rotel, Luna bars, snacks, chips) but I also picked up the new issue of Rachel Ray because it featured the vegan food truck Cinnamon Snail plus a recipe for their fig pancakes! Awesome seeing vegan food in a mainstream non-vegan magazine!

Camp 4 gave us a preview of a upcoming vegan sandwich on their new spring menu. It is a black bean hummus sandwich with black bean hummus, avocado, onion and a potato crisp (sorta like a thick slightly crisp waffle fry). Matt and I split the sandwich and salad (because Saturday is a sleep in day and we had a late lunch to begin with and would be eating dinner shortly). It was really good, fresh! I am glad they are offering something vegan on the menu and hope they will put another vegan option or two on it! Also I ordered a french press of coffee and they had two almond milks to choose from! Matt does not even like coffee but totally dug on my mug and insists we get a french press.

I am cooking up a lot of new food this week and can't wait to share! I hope your week gets off to a great start!

Oakland & Berkeley - Yet Again

On Friday we hit up Oakland and Berkeley for food and fun! We tried some new things out this time around.

After hearing so many good things about Timeless Coffee Roasters we had to go grab a snack and a drink. I did not know everything was vegan, mainly because only some things said vegan and there was no menu. I did know what to get since viewing pictures people have posted around various sources.

We had to get the spicy hot chocolate with almond milk - it was national hot chocolate day and again after seeing it posted I wanted that! We shared that and a piece of carrot cake. I bought coffee and cherry pistachio biscotti to take home.Yummy all around!

Oakland Whole Foods had us searching for eczema cream (did not find) and vegan jelly doughnuts (which we found and were not to impressed with). I bought all of the hickory flavored Primal Strips for Matt's lunch because we hardly find that one here and it is his fave flavor. Oakland Whole Foods has got to be our fave Whole Foods location.

Off to Berkeley - which took us 30 minutes to get to, but we saw some cool houses and such. Why to Berkeley? Natures Express and GiGi of course! I got to have a kale and avocado wrap (which she ordered too) and a side of vegan chat. Our significant other chatted as well and oddly ordered the same meal!

We were in Oakland for a concert, the concert turned out to be not so great - house party and freezing cold. However, we had a great time! We will be back soon!

[Vegan MOFO Day 1] Weekend Roundup - Coffee Day - East Bay

Friday night started off right with Matt buying me a bag of those new coconut chips from Trader Joe's - love them, so good in soy/coconut yogurt...Plus Friday night is always nacho night here!

Saturday was coffee day ( A StarBucks barista told me that SB invented the "holiday"!)- after heading down town and finding the independent places closed I went to my go to StarBucks. I like my coffee with a splash of non-dairy milk and a tad bit of sweetener! Matt said that hot coffee was not good when it was 95 degrees but we were in the air conditioned mall and I was craving it...I get coffee cravings! Oh - and for the record I usually (98%) use my reusable cup - only when I am having a random coffee fix I do not have it on me.
Now for a coffee rant - well a StarBucks rant - I do not like them taking away the soy option for gold card members...All my drinks are custom - either with soy or syrup. I wish SB would put out a soy carafe for those just needing a splash...Pete's & Whole Foods both let you do it! Whole Foods even has almond milk!

Sunday we got up early and headed to Oakland to see Matt's short film in a film festival! I do not think it ever gets old seeing a project that you saw behind the scenes in it's bare state up on a screen. I am very proud of Matt - he even shared some words of wisdom! After he talked we headed out to find some food - we were starving!
We headed to Nature's Express in Berkley. It was pretty crowded - we are used to quite Sundays in town...The food was worth it though!

I ordered the Avo-Kale wrap. I added some sriracha to it (I love creamy avocado with spicy sriracha!) and it was so good. Also it is a really good sized wrap - considering it costs $6.50 - it is a good deal.

Matt got the classic reuben with sweet potato fries (I stole a few!). His sandwich was yummy - we sampled each others food and liked both items.


We then went to Whole Foods in Berkeley - I did not like how cramped it was, or the layout, maybe I am a store snob but I told Matt I wanted to go to the Oakland one...So we went to the Oakland location (more spacious!) and bought everything from local marinated tofu to doughnuts! I have some new products to review in the upcoming week! By then we were tired and needed to head back home...


I had a great weekend and hope you did too!