[Vegan Mofo] Speaking of Soda + A Crafty Project

Here is the deal - when I was 15 (almost 16 - the week of my birthday) I was hospitalized for like four days - they wanted to keep me more I wanted to get out for my birthday. I had a really bad case of pneumonia - and spent those days in the hospital out of it...
During my sickness and recovery I developed a dislike of soda. We were a soda family - not that we drank a lot of soda we just always had it around. I could not drink soda and did not like any form of soda until recently. I started drinking a few natural root beer brands - but did not like them - plus some of them even contained chemical sweeteners - ick! I discovered Zevia - they even have a vegan logo on the side and was hooked with my first grape soda. I think I have tried every flavor and my favorite has to be grape and then black cherry. I only drink one a day or every other day, a six pack costs me $4.99 and I don't want to go in debt over soda (add this to my Star Bucks addiction and I might have to start selling things off to get more drinks!)...
I know a lot of people are not crazy about the 0 calorie sweetener that comes from a leaf - I find the taste of it in the soda not offensive. I have had it in other drinks and I gag but I think the carbonation mellows it out. I don't think these sodas could replace a hard core soda drinkers daily habit but the flavors are really top notch and worth a try!

Here is a crafty project that uses recycled materials. These are jazzed up recipe cards - you can use them to pass on recipes or hole punch the corners and tie them with ribbon and make a lil recipe book! I am using loteria boards - feel free to use interesting food packaging (anything light cardboard will work - think cereal box weight).



Step 1: Cut your cardboard into pices that are like 4 1/2" by 3 1/2".


Step 2: Do this with printer paper to (I only had white - feel free to use colored paper!). Write down your recipes on this paper.

Step 3: Use a glue stick to glue your recipe onto the ugly (not the decorative side) of the cardboard. To get everything to stick - place the cards between books or under something flat and heavy for a few hours so the glue bonds the paper.

Finished product: You can take these a step further if you print out your recipes or you can glitter them up if that is your thing. I just have a load of sharpies that I like to get crazy with!

[Vegan Mofo] Good Enough To Eat - Crazy Rumors Lip Balm & DIY Lip Scrub

Ever since I was little I remember loving lip balms and glosses. From the tins that slide open to getting the sticky sweet roller ball variety that was to glossy for elementary school! Commercial based lip balm is far from vegan friendly often loaded with beeswax and lanolin, not to mention a host of other crappy things you do not want to have near your mouth.

Enter Crazy Rumors - vegan lip balm that comes in a ton of flavors. I have scooped a handful up over the last few months and like some kind of lip balm hoarder I keep them all in my purse. Maybe I need lip balm rehab!

I bought the soda pop collection because it was on sale and I got it for like $3! I go to this collection a lot - my favorites are the root beer and cola - both have a really classic flavor that makes you want to apply more. They are so good you may just feel like your lips are carbonated!

DIY Lip Scrub
1/8 teaspoon of brown sugar or sugar in the raw
1/4 teaspoon of olive oil
mixing bowl - spoon

Mix the two ingredients together. Apply to clean (non glossed lips) in a circular motion. Wipe off the sugar mix and follow up with your fave lip balm! Easy and I bet you have the ingredients on hand right now?

[Vegan Mofo] Buffalo Tempeh Fingers

I am not a huge fan of tempeh - I find it OK as a bacon substitute in sandwiches but for the most part the texture is just funky. I was looking for a easy dinner with an alternate protein source for dinner and came up with this easy recipe!


Buffalo Tempeh Fingers

1 package of tempeh cut into strips (fingers)
2 tablespoons of Earth Balance
1/4 of a cup of hot sauce (I mixed Frank's RedHot & Sriracha)
a bit of oil for frying
vegan ranch and sweet potato fries (optional)

Fry tempeh strips in oil (medium heat) till each side is browned - do not burn them. While they brown up combine EB and hot sauce together in a saucepan - cook till EB is melted - stir. Lower temperature and poor hot sauce mix over tempeh - coating it, let it cook this way for 5 minutes. Then turn the heat up and let it cook for a minute or two to get the sauce to really stick. Serve it with vegan ranch and sweet potato fries - like I did or in a sandwich!

[Vegan Mofo] Weekend Adeventures

I was not expecting to go back up to the mountains so soon, however Matt's work had a group day up at Black Oak Casino and I decided to play stowaway in hopes of a great meal.


This was my first time at a casino and I was smitten with all the lights and fun machines. I picked out anything cat related and go sucked in. Matt pulled me away so we could go eat.



Through the winding roads (battling car sickness) we headed to Murphy's again and had lunch at Mineral - both of us had the burgers and peanut butter truffles! Bought more tea at Tea an' Tiques, did some wine tasting at Black Sheep Vintners (the sparkling wine was so tasty - I am kicking myself for not buying a bottle - next time for sure!). Then drove through the mountains and on our way home.

Saturday we planned on going shopping and going out to eat an hour away but after the mountain roads, Matt's car acting up and just wanting to stay around we decided to keep it in town with a movie and shopping.

I decided to try and recreate a dish Matt was planning on having. It is barbequed seitan over mashed potatoes. This is really easy and you could get more hands on - using homemade seitan (I cannot find wheat gluten here!). I also used boxed mashed potatoes - another short cut!

2 packages of seitan chunks
1/2 spicy sweet BBQ sauce
a bit of olive oil
prepared mashed potatoes

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, add seitan chunks, fry for a few minutes, tossing to brown each side. Add BBQ sauce, reduce the heat to a medium low setting and cook till the sauce becomes bubbly. Plate the mashed potatoes creating a bowl shape and scoop in seitan - serve and say yummy (and easy!)...

[Vegan Mofo] Barbara's Bakery Multigrain Cereal Bars

My friend sent me a box of these last month and I was hooked after one bite. I cannot find them locally - the closest is a store an hour away. Last week I found them online at drugstore.com and stocked up!
These bars remind me of being a kid and the Nutrigrain bars we had at home. Sweet but not artificial and hearty. These are like comfort food in a snack size bar. Matt and I love all the flavors that we have tried.


Are there any vegan versions of classics you like? Things that take you back to your childhood?

[Vegan Mofo] Vegan On Etsy

I created this Etsy treasury full of awesome vegan finds! Pick up a few things to treat yourself or a friend! Enjoy!

'A Cruelty Free Treasury Inspired by Vegan Mofo ' by missmuffcake

Vegan mofo is one full month of vegan blogging about food (and more). Seeing so many awesome blogs and food out there really inspires me - just like the wonderful picks from the people in this grouping!

Vegan BOLD cereal bowl in pu... VeganDish $20.00	NEW Vegan Organic Halloween ... feedyourface $10.00	Vegan Necklace - Sterling Si... LoveInfinitely $20.00	Veganistan: Vegan food from ... projectbridget $2.50
Strawberry Kisses Kiss This ... funkoffbrand $3.00	Halloween Pin - Candy Corn B... Vegancraftasti... $2.00	skull lollipops sweetniks $10.00	Scott Pilgrim Vegan Police C... PaladinAnderso... $3.75
Meg's Seitan Mix (Vegeta... TwoVeggies $11.00	Original Tofu Watercolor Pai... myzoetrope $25.00	I Only Drink Vegan Beer (Mi... shopnotmadeinc... $3.50	Vegan Cookie Gift Basket SweetVConfecti... $25.00
Flesh Is For Zombies Tee - W... SickOnSin $27.00	Pinback Button - Everyone Lo... EatYourVegTees $2.00	Sunny Days in Texas - An all... LazySmurf $10.00	Peace to All Creatures zine ... gingercardco $8.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

[Vegan Mofo] Pomegranates - Eating & Crafting

When we bought the house we live in a few years back it was during September, we noticed green bulbs on a tree in the back, not sure what they will be. The next month we had beautiful pomegranates and envious friends!
Growing up my sister loved pomegranates - I tried them, not really a fan. Each year since we have had this house Matt and I try them and just share one and give the rest away. Yesterday I sat down to a organic apple for a snack - the apple was not tasty and I wanted fruit. So I went to the backyard and picked a pomegranate off the tree, washed it, cut in a munched on the seeds. It was tasty - sweet and sour and just what my body was craving. Maybe this year I will eat two!

After I munched away I cleaned up the juices and loved the burgundy wine color. I know the juice stains - the white napkin I used took the color in well. So I did some research - you can dye fabric using pom juice! Here are some links about dyeing fabric with the juice. I kinda want to tie dye or dip dye fabric for bows now!

Easy step by step instructions:
http://julieskeepsakes.blogspot.com/2008/12/pomegranate-fabric.html

This video mostly talks about wool - but I think it would work on organic cotton just as well. It shows how different pots bring out different colors. Really pretty!