Little Weekend Roundup

Mady had her yearly shots on Saturday. My poor little girl - look at those eyes. She was a good girl though even with all the barking dogs waiting around her. She is still not a 100% herself today but little by little she is feeling better.

Spent time in Manteca Union Cemetery - got some shots of 1800s stones that are nicely preserved. A lot of times stones from the 1800s are really worn making them hard to read so I was delighted to find a nice selection with script that photographed well.

After going to the movies and looking at Halloween stuff we had dinner at Freebirds. We learned about the Tempeh Calabacitas - and had to go in to try it out. While I love tofu, it is nice to see a place offering something other than tofu to it's meat free customers. I ordered a salad bowl with Calabacitas, Spanish rice, guac, Death Sauce, jalapeno's, veggies and more hot sauce! It was really good. I love all of the vegan options at Freebirds. Everything tasted fresh and had a authentic kick to it.

It was a pretty chill weekend. I am working on zine stuff like editing cemetery photos and looking up history. I am trying to stay happy and just relax my mind. I hope your weekend was awesome!

[Vegan Mofo] Pantry Essentials - Hot Sauce

It is not a secret - I love, I mean really love hot sauce. My sauce arsenal ranges from 3 - 6 different varieties at any given time. My go to are always the same though: Sriracha, Frank's and Cholula. Target stocks all of them in various sizes perfect for my needs. I like them for all different reasons and usually will mix a few together depending on dish. Hot sauce is a staple part in my diet and a pantry staple for sure!

Sriracha - Ohhhhh how I love theeeeee flavor booster with a rooster perched on your label! I love Sriracha so much that I have a bottle of it tattooed on my leg and the staff at my fave Thai restaurant look on in amazement as I add more and more to my dish. Sriracha makes a boring dish explode! Have you ever bought a crappy container of hummus on a whim? Don't toss it out - Sriracha it up! I love mixing a squirt in with my veggie crumbles when we have Nacho Night Friday to add heat and an extra wow factor. Sriracha on fries or tots - hell ya! So many Sriracha-bilities for every taste bud out there!

Frank's - my nachos would not be complete without Frank's Original. When The Laziest Vegan posted about using Frank's on a Mexican dish way back when, I thought that it was crazy and sacrilegious. After trying it I wanted to add him to the food saint-hood order! It is magical! I also love it on my mac & cheeze to bring some sweet heat to the mix. Soy curls would not be complete without Frank's - a saucy amount of Frank's, a splash of Sriracha and a smidgen of Earth Balance - off the yum factor chart!


Cholula - makes an appearance on tacos. It is not in my daily arsenal but since I discovered it 6 or so years ago at a resturant I always keep a bottle around. I stick to the original and it sticks to any Mexican inspired dish nicely.

Do you love hot sauce as much I do? What are your favorites when it comes to turning up the heat?

Secret Aardvark Habanero Hot Sauce - Perfect Heat - Perfect Treat

I recently bought a bottle of Secret Aardvark Habanero Hot Sauce and have been using it a lot since I got my order in. It has a nice hot taste that kicks in after you take a bite, but the first second or two you are met with a sweetness that adds to the kick at the end. I love hot sauce, some just do not cut it, this does though, nice heat with a nice flavor.

I have been going salad crzy lately. If  you follow me on Instagram (missmuffcake) you will see my love for salads! On Thurday it was corn/wheat tortillas baked into bowl shapes piled with romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, avocado, chili-lime marinated tofu, garbanzo beans (because I had them on hand), a bit of left over Daiya, and habanero ranch dressing. Everything was great but the spicy ranch stood out and it is a cinch to make! Check out my recipe below!

Easy Habanero Ranch

1/2 up of vegan mayo

a squeeze of fresh lime juice

a big plop of  Secret Aardvark sauce

a pinch of dill

a crack of black pepper and pink sea salt

a tiny pinch of onion powder
a tiny pinch of garlic powder

In a small mason jar mix everything together until blended. You can use it right away or let it chill in the fridge to set up and have the flavors come together more.It is yummy!

[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!