Recent Restaurant Eats

When I was looking back through my recent pictures, I sort of surprised myself that we've actually traveled so much the past few months. We had promised ourselves we were going to lie low for the first 6 months or so of having four kids. I haven't slowed down too much, though, actually. When Baby was 2 1/2 months old, we headed to Missouri to visit my brother in the southern part and my sister in St. Louis.

My favorite place to eat in St. Louis (beyond my sister's because she is a vegetarian and always has my kind of food around) is Sweet Art on 39th street. I've mentioned going there before. It's a cute little place with great sandwiches, among other things. They are also known for their cupcakes. (Some are vegan; some are not.)

I also made it a point to stop by Trader Joe's since we do not have one in Arkansas. I always think about going after seeing all of your scores. I LOVED these burgers. I think they are similar to Wildwood's version of tofu burgers. Among other things, I also bought the Trader Joe's brand of Hummus Salad Dressing (which I finally found in the refrigerated section) that I had seen on my friend Pam's blog. I really liked it.

About a month ago, we also headed over to Dallas for one night. We were motivated to make some purchases from Ikea to get our life & home organized. (It's a little crazy, folks!) Once I get everything straightened officially, I'll post pictures of our new stuff. Until then, feast your eyes on the desserts we got to share at Spiral Diner: a cinnamon roll, which I would never pass up...

...and bread pudding, also a rare find and so delicious.

I didn't mean to post the dessert pictures first. I meant no disrespect to my Mitch. My beloved Mitch that I order almost everytime I go to Spiral. I asked Ryan if he thought I should order something else, and he said he didn't really think I should. I actually also ordered the Chef Salad to share with everyone, but they never brought it.

One kid ordered the Nachos, even though he won't eat guacamole. His siblings and father helped clear it off of there.

One kid ordered the Tofu Scramble. And another kid ordered Spaghetti & Meatballs.

And Ryan - the Chipotle Quesadillas.

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If you are interested, I am hosting a giveaway on my family blog for 2 loaves of FREE RUDI'S BREAD!!! There are also free art supplies and other items included. Head on over here to sign up. All that is required is a comment/entry - nothing else. You can even enter without having a blog log-in; just comment as Anonymous, but make sure to leave a way I can get a hold of you.

Rudi's is currently offering some fun promotions, so check out their website (where there is a 75 cent off coupon) or facebook page. They are offering a free sandwich box that features your child's own artwork; these look fun!

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I might be blogging more this week, so check back. Also, I'm going to be in NYC next week (I changed my blog background in honor.) so if any of my NY pals are going to be in Manhattan, (or at Dun-Well Donuts because that's where you might find me) let me know!

Frozen Casseroles & the New Man in My Life

I can't show you any new exciting meals I've made recently. I've got nothin'! I'm too busy playing with this little man:

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways!

In the weeks leading up to his birth, I stocked the freezer with as much food as I could. I got some inspiration from one of my Mom's non-vegetarian casserole cookbooks.

Pizza Pasta
(pre-frozen/pre-cooked)

Elbow macaroni with everything I might top a pizza with: garlic stuffed green olives, black olives, tomatoes, bell peppers, chopped soy pepperoni, ground up veggie burgers (Amy's), Italian seasoning, Daiya cheese, and onions. If I would have had shiitakes on hand, I would have added those, as well.

Tater Tot Casserole

First, I made chili using several kinds of beans and carrots, bell peppers, tomatoes, etc. I'm lovin' the Eden brand of tomato products minus BPA.

I topped the chili with Daiya and frozen tater tots. 

It was every bit as delicious as I had hoped for.

Kale Tofu Lasagna
(pre-frozen/pre-cooked)

Apparently nothing says casserole to me better than Daiya.

Enchiladas

(pre-frozen/pre-cooked)

Beans, rice, kale, corn tortillas, homemade enchilada suace (using more of Eden's tomato products), and cheezey sauce. I actually made the cheezey sauce primarily because by this point I was thinking, "I can't put Daiya on every one of them!"

And I also made about 16 garbanzo bean/sweet potato/oat/sesame seed veggie burgers to freeze. And finally - a big pot of lentils divided into different containers were added to my frozen stash. I was lucky to be able to spread my loot out a little bit because my mom was super nice about bringing lots of food over, like quinoa, beans, pasta, etc. One of my sweet friends brought over 3 different kinds of salad one night, and another sweet friend made us some healthy muffins. I'm also fortunate that I have a husband who knows his way around the kitchen and doesn't huff if dinner isn't on the table when he walks into the house.

I'm getting nostalgic thinking back to the time I had all of this food ready to eat in my freezer. 

Those were the days.

Pregnant Eats One Day

BREAKFAST

pomegranate arils and a grapefruit

SNACK

carrot sticks

SNACK

Banana Split Cake: This is cake #2 of the month. After the first one (recipe here), the kids had been begging me to make another one. There was no way my current girth could justify another one in the same month.

So I made some fat/sugar cutting changes, and we hardly noticed a difference (but if you're making it for a non-vegan, non-health conscious person, I'd just leave the ingredients as is). Bottom layer: Instead of 1/2 cup of melted Earth Balance, I used 1/4 with enough organic applesauce to blend in with the graham cracker crumbs. 2nd layer: Rather than 2 cups of powdered sugar and 1 cup of Earth Balance, I cut those amounts in half, so that layer was half as thick.

I also added chocolate syrup this time, especially for Rose and Zoa! We have been enjoying our Chocagave.

Ingredients: Organic Nectars Raw Agave Syrup, Organic Nectars Raw Cacao Powder, Organic Vanilla Powder and Extract, Pink Crystal Salt

LUNCH

Tofu Kale Lasagna, using rice lasagna noodles, tofu blended in mixer with nutritional yeast, garlic, soymilk, and spices. Marinara and Daiya on top. Garlic bread on the side.

Snack: Sun Warrior Chocolate Hemp Protein Powder Smoothie with almond milk, frozen bananas, and frozen strawberries.

SUPPER

Caesar Salad, which I could eat every day, every meal, I think. (Dressing: mustard, lemon juice, garlic cloves, Bragg's, almonds, water, nutritional yeast.) Sunshine Burger, my favorite kind of packaged burger on French Meadow Bakery Hemp Bread with miso spread, mustard, Daiya (Do I eat too much Daiya? Probably so.), and avocado.

Giveaway Winner and Other Random Stuff

I'm sorry I haven't announced the Candle Cafe Cookbook giveaway winner. I'm surrounded in my post-vacation MESS that's put me into some sort of funky denial. I don't want to come to terms with the mile long list of things I have to do right now. I have no idea how a Christmas tree or our many tubs of decorations would even fit into my home right now.

So, instead I turned off those thoughts and turned on my DVRed episodes of Life Unexpected and Guliana and Bill, etc. that I missed while I was gone. I have no choice now but to get back to real life.

The winner is: Seglare. The cookbook is going to be making its way to Copenhagen! Enjoy, Seglare.

One nagging concern of mine right now is my camera battery charger that I left plugged into the outlet at my apartment in NYC. Sigh. I haven't been able to use my camera since we left Hardy, Virginia...I have only my phone to use, therefore I have been taking my plates of food outside for pictures. I have to decide whether to wait any longer to see if the apartment people will actually mail it to me (they haven't returned my email) - or shell out $40 for a new charger.

Anyway, I made a batch of White Bean & Sweet Potato Burgers like I wrote about a few posts ago. This time I paid attention to quantities, and this is how it played out:

1 cup of white beans (this time they were canned cannelini)

1 cup of microwaved sweet potato (about a half of a large one)

1/2 cup sesame seeds

1/2 cup organic wheat Panko crumbs

This mix definitely needs spices of some sort, but I'll let you spice experts figure that one out. It held up again really well. I overcooked it a bit as I was trying to do 5 things at once, as usual.

Here is the prettier picture from the other day.

I also tried making Sweet Potato Bites because my friend Lori had made them for my kids recently. I thought they were so cute, different than sweet potato fries. AND my 5 year old, who "doesn't like" sweet potatoes liked them!

I thought mine were good, and he did eat them with the promise of dessert. (Yes, I bribe my children.) However, he informed me that they were "too soft," and I realized I didn't chop them into tiny enough pieces like she had. And maybe I didn't turn the oven up high enough. I'll try again later.

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Here is a random, funny story you may appreciate. My sister Cary, who lives in St. Louis, recently drove by a "restaurant" called Village Vegetarian. Well, I can imagine MY excitement over finding such a place, and she was equally intrigued. She was headed to a get-together with her friends one night, and she decided to go early to grab a bite at Village Vegetarian. She has two small kids (who were at home with their dad); this would be a rare type of indulgence for most moms. She pulls into Village Vegetarian all excited about the vegetarian treats of which she was about to partake...and realized it actually said Village Veterinarian....hahaha...I'm chuckling again as I type this. Poor sister.