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!

BBQ Tempeh Tacos With Sriracha Slaw

 

We like tacos, we like BBQ and I was craving the texture of tempeh (am I the only one who finds comfort in the texture of food?) so the BBQ tempeh taco with Sriracha slaw was born! Served with red rice and lemon and you are good to go. 

I just pan fried the tempeh (cut into long fingers) in olive oil till browned. Added some BBQ sauce to coat, turned the heat down low, covered the pan and steamed the slices in the pan for about 10-15 minutes. The slaw is pretty basic: broccoli slaw mix, a dollop of  Vegenaise, a hefty squirt of Sriracha and a drizzle of lemon juice. Everything was served up in warm corn tortillas.

Taco Time: Soyrizo & Potatoes

I finally got Matt to try Soyrizo! He did not want to (he did not like chorizo growing up), then I made him tacos with it last week, he liked it a lot so they appeared in this weeks menu as well! Simple and cheap, I place a few chopped potatoes in a pan with olive oil, cover and heat on medium-low for 15 minutes till the potatoes are about fork tender. I then add the Soyrizo, stir them and give them another 10 minutes to cook.

I first had chorizo in 7th grade in home economics. It was not a staple in my house or something I saw a lot of so I did not really have lots of experience with it. I do love Soyrizo though, in scrambled tofu, in chili or with fried potatoes! It is tasty! A lot of meat-eaters grab Soyrizo over chorizo, because the health factor and no one wants to eat really crappy-scary processed parts!

When I worked at the mall years ago a taco stand would make me a potato and salsa burrito in the morning. It is something I still love to eat. I grew up with fried potatoes and I cannot eat a baked potato without hot sauce so they just go well together! I am hungry now!!!

Theo Spicy Chile Chocolate Bar

So as we know I am a fan of chocolate and spice. So when I came upon this bar over the weekend you know I had to buy it and try it!

The chocolate is rich and dark, it is the predominant taste, the ones that hits you first and stands out. Then a bit of orange flavor comes in and on its tail a spicy kick! The spicy kick is not overwhelming but it is there and it does warm up your mouth. All the flavors mix well together and compliment each other.

If you are looking for some sweet spice to kick off the new year, then grab this bar! 

Happy Holidays

Mar-y Catmas everyone! I hope your holidays include lots of love and purrs!

Vegan Hawaiian Lunch Plate Special

I was watching Food Network yesterday and Guy F. was visiting Hawaii and talking about the plate lunches that are popular there. I was curios because it is white rice, macaroni salad and a protein. It seemed odd, comforting and carby. A winner!

We have white rice (in this case organic basmati), a basic macaroni salad that has red bell peppers and for our protein portion we have pan grilled BBQ tofu slabs! It was really good and perfect for a rainy, cold, PMSy night in! That was Matt's plate - he approved! I tried keeping the macaroni salad on the plain side because adding onions (I did add onion flakes though) would not make him happy!

Cross Stitch Fun

I made this for a holiday swap last week. It was fun and fast project. The image is before I ioroned it out!

The pattern is here if you want to make it yourself!