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.

Closing Up Christmas, Movin' Toward Baby

I wrote on my family blog (when I finally updated the other day) that I have a bad habit of starting posts, then getting sidetracked. I've slowly been catching up on everyone else's blogs (which takes me awhile because I don't want to miss anything). I hadn't been in a blogging mood lately, but I think I'm back. Here is the post I started at the beginning of January.

 

On Christmas Day, Ryan requested fondue. I tried to add a few things this time we don't usually eat with fondue. Here we have: romaine, crusty bread, roasted brussels sprouts, ravioli, roasted potato fingers, Brazil nuts, garlic-stuffed olives, Tofurky kielbasas, and tofu cubes.

We also had our bell pepper/edamame/broccoli, tomato, almond tree to use for dipping.

I used a recipe from The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook. We love it.

I can't get enough of roasted brussels sprouts.

I had told my mother we were absolutely not leaving our home on Christmas Day. I was staying put to relax. If she could just remember clearly, this is how she always was when we were growing up. She would not visit any relatives on Christmas Day; it was a day for my parents, siblings, and me. Of course, now she can't stand the thought of us doing the same, ha! (We celebrated Christmas with them and my siblings the weekend before.)

So she goes to Whole Foods and buys A TON of vegan food and prepares it just to try to lure us over (and my youngest vegan sister was going to be there, too). Not that I can be bought or swayed by food (well, sometimes I can), but we did end up going over there for supper. (You're not going to sway me with food again, Mommy! Don't even try it!)

I took this picture only because she had such a overwhelmed, dissatisfied look on her face while asking what she was supposed to do with "the Tofurky." I told her to just cut it like she would anything else, and the "non-vegan" that my mother is, she just kind of hacked into it with her "I can't believe I'm doing this." face. My Mom is funny - she's so sweet to always buy us special food, and if someone criticizes our diet, she turns into Momma Bear in our defense. But I know she can't imagine how she ended up with 3 vegan/vegetarian daughters, a veg son-in-law, and 6 veg grandchildren.

This was my supper plate: Tofurky, homemade apples, brown beans, sweet potato casserole with nut topping, homemade cranberry sauce, a roll, mashed potatoes, and brussels sprouts.

After supper, we had our usual Happy Birthday, Jesus! party.

So...I started this post before baby was here. This was me two days before I went to the hospital. If you blow up this picture, it might show how huge my ankles (along with everything else) had gotten.

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And that's where my post was going to end, but...something came along before I finished typing it...

Introducing Baby Vegan and So Forth! We are having a total blast with this new little guy. I'm seriously in love. I'll give ya more details in my next post!

Merry Christmas!

Can't believe there's only one card left on the Advent Garland. We've enjoyed having a couple of extra days with Daddy at home. (That's Ryan, to you.)

Tonight, for supper, I made Pizza Bagel Wreaths. My sister Cary sent me this link for the idea.


For tomorrow, Ryan has requested cheeze fondue, and we'll eat up our veggie tree tradition, as well.

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I hope that everyone has a wonderful December 25th, whether you celebrate the holiday of Christmas or not! Those of you who do celebrate Christmas, may it be very merry. I hope you all feel very blessed today and every day. 

Christmas Cookies Round 1

This weekend, my 18-member immediate family (parents, siblings, etc.) got together to celebrate Christmas. My Mom worked hard making different versions of lasagna, manicotti, and ravioli, etc. that would suit the wide-range needs of her particular clan (vegetarians, vegans, vegetable-fearing, etc.). I contributed the desserts above.

Veggies and Tofu Lasagna with Squash & Spinach

part of my plate with manicotti and lasagna

 

I tried a new recipe for Chocolate Macadamia Meltaways. I call them a success!

Since this Taste of Home non-vegan recipe is posted online anyway, I can give you my veganized version:

Chocolate Macadamia Meltaways

1/2 cup Earth Balance, softened

1/4 cup organic powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups organic white flour

3 1/2 oz. macadamia nuts, finely chopped

Filling: 

1 cup vegan chocolate chips

1/2 coarsely chopped macadamia nuts

additional powdered sugar

Cream Earth Balance and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Gradually add flour and mix well. Stir in nuts. Dough will be stiff; set aside.

For filling, in a microwave, melt chocolate chips; stir. Stir in nuts; cool slightly. Drop by 1/2 teaspoonfuls onto parchment or wax paper-covered pan or plate. Put in fridge for 30 minutes or until hardened.

Shape dough around chocolate mounds; completely cover. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees. (Recipe says 12-14 minutes. I think the key to good cookies is not overcooking, so I probably set my timer to 9 minutes first to see if they're already browning.) Roll warm cookies in additional powdered sugar. 

I made my very-important-for-the-holidays Vegan Buckeyes. I always use a recipe from Kids' Christmas Cookbook, but it is similar to other buckeyes recipes online, such as this one. However, the recipe I use has a higher ratio of peanut butter to sugar and Earth Balance to others I've seen, which makes them a little healthier, I suppose. I think all you need to do is mix in enough powdered sugar to make the peanut butter roll into balls, freeze the balls, then dip them in melted chocolate chips, then let them harden again in the fridge or freezer.

I haven't figured out how to make my buckeyes prettier without the toothpick (for dipping) hole. And I actually prefer mine completely covered in chocolate (since I believe chocolate is better than peanut butter) so most of them were made that way.

Thumbprint Cookies

This recipe can be found at thekitchn. We had enjoyed the batch my sister made for us last year, and I needed a non-chocolate dessert. I used three different fruit spreads: 365 Fruits of the Forest, Organic Peach, and Organic Sicilian Orange.

Magic Cookie Bars

I veganize a recipe my mom used when we were growing up. I still use the recipe card written in my childhood handwriting. It's fairly similar to this one. I can't imagine too many desserts better than Magic Cookie Bars.

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Enjoying a relaxing day in pj's! I was feeling very slow (pregnant) and very swollen last week, but this week I've been feeling a lot better. It has been a very nice December for us, so far. I will try to post one more time before Christmas, but I hope all of you who celebrate are enjoying this time. 

Gingerbread House Pancakes

One of our Advent Activities this week was reading Gingerbread Friends by Jan Brett and making gingerbread house pancakes. I've had the mold for many years, so it is a tradition to use sometime around Christmas.

This is part of the Advent Garland I made. Everyday the kids rush downstairs to unclip the next Christmas activity for the day.

Mimic Creme Healthy Top, maple syrup, and melted fruit spread

kiwi, strawberries, walnuts, chocolate chips, bananas, blueberries, organic wheat squares cereal, raisins

I can't always get my pancakes to turn out as well when I use the molds, but they taste the same. Part of my problem was that I didn't have any nonstick cooking spray, and the olive oil in my Misto wasn't working as well.

We ended up with all sorts of gingerbread houses.

The tongue sticking out means serious concentration.

We were pretty impressed with the Mimic Creme, which is made primarily from coconut oil and nuts. It definitely has a different taste than Soyatoo or Rice Whip. The package is pretty firm out of the fridge, then it whips up very thick. Ryan says he prefers it to the other canned varieties. I don't know if I have a preference. But I do like that it doesn't "melt" like the canned whips. I haven't seen this at our stores, but I picked it up on a recent trip to Missouri.

The kids also had some Creme in their hot chocolate the next day (along with crushed candy canes). Bonus for them was that it even snowed in Arkansas (but melted off by noon, of course) this week!