[Vegan MOFO Day 12] Tea Time: Pumpkin Ginger

I bought this tea recently on a trip to Cost Plus. They had a variety of fall teas and I always like The Republic of Teas selection.  I tried this tea a variety of ways, it is very subtle, I pick up hints of flavor, I wanted something a bit bolder but it makes a great fall drink. I brewed up a cup of coffee, let the tea bag infuse for a few minutes and added soy creamer! It was pretty tasty and a perfect fall spice drink! 

[Vegan MOFO Day 11] Weekend Round Up: Busy In 2 Cities

OK, so 2 cities is a lie...it was more like 4 but whatever!

Friday night Matt and I just chilled at home, after shopping for a bit. Matt updated his PS3, I read and we went to bed early...but with our porch light being repaired, a meow-y Mar and the PS3 needing attention my sleep was not all that great.

Saturday we got up early - for a weekend, but decided to be lazy in bed. So our plans kept changing. We decided to go up to Oakland and grab a light lunch-snack since we were having an early dinner.

 

Once in Oakland we headed to Whole Foods, we grabbed vegan taquitos from the hot case and a Blue Print Juice. Normally I would not spend $8 on one bottle of juice but I was curious about all the hype. I picked out the lemon cayenne agave - since I like sweet and hot. It was not really sweet but it had a kick. Would I spend $8 on it again? Most likely not! I will just get some lemonade and add a pinch of cayenne! 

We scored vegan samples of some yummy food demos that day. Some rad products that I will blog about later this week! 

We tried to do some shopping and it did not really work out. So we headed to Berkeley along the ocean route to meet up with GiGi  from Veganville and her husband at Nature's Express for dinner. We were on a tight sceduale because we had to drive back to Emeryville for Matt's film night...

GiGi interviewed me for her blog - she will post it later for MOFO and made us sinfully rich cake in jars - well, that is what I called them! Yummy chocolate parfaits with light airy coconut cream...I was so happy meeting her and her husband! Super nice people who made my night right!

So we love Nature's Express. The food is awesome, the service is fast and I like everything I have tried! 

Stellar burrito - spicy, sweet and comforting!

I ate it with a side of chili.

Matt got busy with a chik-un melt and fries!

We headed back to Emeryville and watched movies, including Matt's...Hung out and then decided to head back over to Whole Foods to get some perishables before going home. We found Beyond Meat in the hot case - in the form of a green chile sauce base, so good, Matt and I wished we got more. We saw a few people go for it while we were packing our box up - it is popular and I hope to see it out on the market full force!

What is rad about WF Oakland is they have vegan pizza by the slice...When you are going close to closing and the slices are getting small - you might get lucky and get a free slice like we did! Score! We had food in the parking lot, went across the street to 7-11 and got coffee to take on the road and headed home.

Fun times! We will be back in the East Bay soon enough! We love it there!!!

[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!

[Vegan MOFO Day 9] Good Enough To Eat: Satrbucks Freebies

Next time you are at Starbucks picking up your coffee with a splash of soy milk - hit up the bar area for free beauty booty.

Sugar in the raw packets: there is enough sugar in one lil packet to get your lips or elbows smooth. Take it home, add a bit of olive oil or coconut oil in a bowl with the sugar and massage onto you lips or a dry spot (avoid your face - the sugar is to course for the face area). Brush off of your lips or wash it off your dry spot. Sugary and soft!

Napkins: Recently I read that the napkins from Starbucks make great face blotters...I have oily skin and a few hours after putting on my makeup and running errands I can be pretty shiny. So I tried using the napkin to remove oil...It worked! It worked just as well as my pricey lil blotting sheets!

Now if only the chain would reverse their new gold card ruling and give us gold card users free soy milk again...

[Vegan Mofo Day 8] Trying Out More Sandwiches

 I guess breaking out of my food patterns has put me into another food pattern: sandwiches. Maybe next "something new Wednesday" I will pass up on sandwiches.

First off a pita pocket sandwich with organic green mix, organic avocados, organic tomatoes, baked savory tofu, hot sauce and hummus dressing. So I have never picked up a bottle of Trader Joe's hummus dressing before - it is good. Actually I think it is the same stuff that comes with the lentil wraps that I get on occasion.

Second sandwich Boca vegan nuggets (those on the side were for Mar to eat and Matt to try!) with organic sprouts and the same ingredients above (minus the tofu)...

I was craving comfort food so I made BBQ pulled 'pork' using jack fruit and mixed it with mac and cheeze. I made Matt a pulled jack fruit sandwich to try out...I just ate mine with vegan-buttered toast! I have been in a toast mood...

[Vegan MOFO Day 7] Tea Time: Orange Red Carrot

I am a fan of Republic of Teas blends and this one stood out when I was at the store. I like orange carrot juice so I thought a tea form of it would be interesting. The rich orange color is nice, the scent is sunny and the taste is very citrus, clean and warming. I drink mine hot without sweetener. The citrus notes add sweetness and a flavor that I believe does not need anything added to it. Even though it is caffeine free it picks you up first thing in the morning!

[Vegan MOFO day 6] Weekend Roundup: I Rather Be In Bed

This weekend was spent doing not much of anything. Maybe the cold weather is getting under my skin or I am just PMS-y.

Friday I went to the DMV since Matt got out early. He had a team building day at work - his work even picked him up a vegan lunch from our fave Thai place down the street! I had to renew my license.It was so crowded and I hate being jammed into a room with a bunch of people. Not the best way to start off the weekend! I needed a new ID though and got to wear my gently used $12 jeggings I bought at Plato's closet - the same pair I was looking at online for $58...Score right?

I started reading Catcher in the Rye - because you know it was banned book week...Matt recommended it to me...I spent Friday night reading while Matt broke in his new Resident Evil game! In between chapters I put up a new zine in my Etsy shop! Ohh and mending a burnt mouth - my plate of nachos tempted me way to much for me to check the temp before I took a bite!

 

How does one fix a burned mouth the next day? An ice cold Slurpee! After Matt and I ran around looking for props for his next project and doing errands we went to 7-11. I was armed with this list hoping to score some vegan snacks. I only found the mint cookies which I shared with Matt that night. They were good - thicker square thin mint type cookies! Oh - if you are wondering, the Slurpree flavor is cherry with a splash of banana at the top!

Grocery shopping was another weekend event - my favorite part was getting a new rewards card with pink doughnuts all over it...Oh and I got a handful of Seventh Generation laundry soap samples at the store...I like free stuff! 

Maybe it is the fall weather but I am craving Speculoos spread on toasted wheat bread. I pulled out a jar this weekend and have been using it on toast...It is about lunch time now, I think I need some toast with Speculoos spread as part of my lunch! Maybe that will perk me up!

A bonus pic of Mar - we spent time playing in the yard this Saturday! I think he kinda has an eggplant shape!