The Tofurky Feast

(Took pictures, they will eventually come!!)

I was excited to get asked to try out the whole Vegetarian Feast from Hood River, Oregon's Turtle Islands Food Company. (I just found out they spell is Tofurky, not Tofurkey...which is kinda weird, no?) I've had the Tofurky Roast before, just not with all the fixin's.

At $15.99 (the price at Fred Meyer), this 2lb stuffed roast feast is supposed to feed 6 people. Included is Giblet Gravy, a wishbone made of jerky, and (new this year!) is Amy's Kitchen Chocolate Cake. Not included: mashed potatoes. Sad face for this girl who didn't have potatoes to make some mashed taters.

I didn't thaw it for the suggested 24 hours, but it was close enough for me to follow the thawed out directions. They give 2 marinade options for those of us who can't think of one ourselves (me!). I picked the olive oil, soy sauce and sage one. I surrounded the roast with some onion, carrots and sweet potato. After about an hour and a half, it was ready to eat.

Right after I put the roast in, I started in on the chocolate cake loaf. (I hadn't eaten breakfast yet!) This moist chocolate cake reminds me of the sheet cake my mom used to make and top with white frosting. It's not a lot of cake, but I guess after eating a large Thanksgiving smorgasboard meal that we're used to here in the States, a small slice of chocolate cake will hit the sweet spot. Final thought on the cake: yuuuuuuum! (gah, I just ate some more of it! yum!)

The first time I had Tofurky Roast I didn't much care for it. I tried it again after I found them on sale for cheap after the holidays. They are LOADED with protein, it's crazy! For real, 1/6 of the roast is 42grams! The roast grew on me though. The texture is a tad bit on the rubbery side, but, if I may say, in a pleasant way. If you're not into realistic fake meat, you may not care for this. It does have a turkey-like consistency. I found the "meat" to be (...for lack of a better word that doesn't gross me out) moist.

The stuffing inside is pretty good as well. It's nice that it's included so that you have one less side to make. If you're looking for something to replace turkey, I think it does a pretty good job. I never was huge on turkey and my family didn't do the turkey-carving-at-the-table thing (they cooked the turkey and took it off the carcass and had it piled onto a plate, so perhaps that's why I don't worry about replacing it on Thanksgiving). I do, however, love fake meat! Give me a Boca burger over a Gardenburger Original any day! The more realistic, the better! My, how I miss the faux chicken pieces that Food Fight! used to sell...sadly, the manufacturer stopped making them...

Oh, the gravy! Hm. It was too salty for my tastes, which is strange since I like salt! Perhaps if it was on top of some mashed potatoes, it would nicely even out the saltiness.

I haven't gotten to try out the wishbone yet, but I love the idea! And that you can eat it after you've pulled it apart!

I'm a big fan of many of Tofurky's products. Trader Joe's carries their italian sausages and their smoked turkey deli slices, so handy. I think these feasts are great for those who want a replacement for the turkey or chicken that is traditionally part of a holiday meal. It does feel weird when you're surrounded by the nonvegetarians and you're not able to partake of, what feels like, the main part of a meal. And if you don't feel like making a roast yourself (if you traveled, don't have time, lazy, procrastinator, etc), this is a great option!

i've decided to be the worst MoFoer ever.

I think I may have decided to quit. Yeah, it's only been 13 days and I'm quitting. See, my camera has decided to hang on to a video I made and now it won't let me even play it (it doesn't even show that it's there, it's only when I connect to my computer does it say it exists) and then it refuses to upload the pictures I have on it. This is the second fucking (sorry, ma) time this has happened to me!!! This is my second memory card. I don't feel like buying a new one. Does anyone know how to fix this?

I just have been really uninspired, foodwise, lately and don't think I want to try and pressure myself into continually blogging for MoFo. I think blogs without pictures aren't as fun and I don't want to continue being unfun.

Most of the reason I feel uninspired is that I've been living with my sister since February and still am not truly comfortable in her kitchen. I never feel like cooking in it. All I ever make is sauteed tofu and vegetables with some grain. I'm also bad at taking pictures of food I eat. This is due to the fact that I feel like every time I load pictures onto my computer I'm bogging it down. It's old and doesn't have much memory...

Yeah, I have lots of excuses. Sorry.

I'm sure I'll post one or two by the end of the month, but I'm going to just take the pressure off myself.

Shoes, how I love thee, let me count the ways...

Sadly, I can't find a pair of boots -that I like and that fit my skinny calves- to save my life! I do own a pair of Rocketdog boots:

They don't really fit like I want them to. I can't wear them with skirts because of how loose they are around my chicken legs. They're not slouchy-cute, they're slouchy-stupid.

But I have better luck with other types of shoes. I own at least 4 pairs of the ubiquitous Chucks. The reason there are 4 pair, by the way, is that 2 pairs of them have holes in the sole so I can't wear them when it's been raining/is raining. As you know, Portland isn't known for it's dryness.

My favorite shoe brand is BC Footwear. They're not all vegan, but they have had a lot of cute shoes. Samples of such that I have had the pleasure of owning:

Michelle C's cute vegan Saucony's on the left, my beloved BC's (RIP) on the right

I love this pair, I'm wearing my brown pair right now...

Yes, I have 2 pair of the same shoes in brown and in black. There's a good reason for this! My sister and I found these shoes on sale in a Delia's catalog and we each got a pair, but hers were too small (and they didn't have the half size larger she needed), therefore I got both. The black ones now have a hole in the sole and so no longer are wearable in the rain...sad face.

Ok, now, I have 2 pairs of another BC shoe...so this might seem like I have a problem. It does sound like it. BUT! These shoes are so cute! I thought I found them in a better color, so I had to get the second pair when I saw them at Buffalo Exchange, a used clothing and shoe store.

They're the ones at the end. Man, I love the red ones even more than the ones I have!

So I initially got them in navy patent pleather...then found them in a white and black striped fabric. Both have the white wedge. I've never worn the white and black stripe pair and have only worn the navy ones once. It's sad, I love them so, but never feel like they go with anything I wear.

I own 2 pairs of the same kind of Vans, one in Citrus (Florida native represent!) and the other in an awesome green (they were on sale!). I easily find tennis shoes, it seems. I also find Chuck's to be really comfortable, so I'm fortunate. I hike and work in them, no problem.

I love checking in at Ross, Marshalls, Payless and the like for vegan shoes. I haven't found any lately, but I it's always the surprise of a good shoe find that keeps me going. I currently have banned myself from buying any black colored flats. I, sadly, lost my favorite pair of flats about 6 months ago. They were red, from Target, and awesome.

Online store:

Lulu's - they even have the vegan shoes tagged

Zappos - I had an expensive experience recently and now don't ever want to buy from an online place that doesn't do free shipping to you and return shipping.

Not just about food.

For most vegans, veganism isn't all about food, it's also about not wearing animal products. For some reason, vegetarians aren't as into this belief. I asked my sister, a pescatarian, aka seafood-eating vegetarian, about this. She buys leather shoes, but wasn't interested in buying a leather couch (I believe that's because the fabric doesn't need to be as sturdy..or something). She says it's because leather shoes last a lot longer than man-made materials and (I think she said this) that the cows were already being killed for their meat. I was once when of those vegetarians that didn't think about leather, but now I wonder why I didn't. What about becoming vegan gets someone thinking more about what they're wearing?

I think your opinion about this matter depends a lot on why you abstain from the animal products you do. If you're eating vegetarian/vegan for health reasons, obviously you're not going to care about wearing leather or not. And if part of the reason is for environmental reasons...well, I'm not sure what the effect of man-made materials are on the Earth. I would say that from I've read, leather doesn't sound that much better.

What has your experience been with this subject matter?

In upcoming posts I will post about where I buy my vegan shoes, etc. But, for now, I must go, my job calls!

My Favorite Vegan Bloggers

I look at a lot of blogs on the regular. Several of them have nothing to do with food, most are about everyday lives. I like those best. I like to see what people are doing and eating.

Here's some of my favorites:

1. Awesome. Vegan. Rad. - she's a fellow PPKer and I wish I could hang out with her. Her blog posts are interesting and funny. They're what I wish mine were.

2. GetSconed - another fellow PPKer and I do hang out with her. She posts many recipes and lots of pictures of her food life. She's a vegan that's involved in several vegan-centered activities, such as Vegan Iron Chef and the upcoming Vida Vegan Conference here in Portland!

3. Joanna Vaught - Yeah, another PPKer...There's not a lot of vegan bloggers who aren't on the PPK, it would seem. Joanna is a friend of mine as well. We bonded over "cycles" of America's Next Top Model and I even landed myself on the cover of her cookbook (headless), Yellow Rose Recipes. On her blog, she talks about her favorite things/books/etc, her adorable son Milo and food. She also has a beautiful yellow rose tattoo on her forearm that I love.

There are just a few, perhaps I'll do another posting of some others a little later.

Ye Olde Vegan MoFo Standby: Questionnaire

If you know me even somewhat well (like, if you were ever my Myspace or Facebook friend...or read this blog), you'll know that I love questionnaires! Perhaps because I am horrible at coming up with things to just write about willy-nilly...

Anyways, I was reading through my Google Reader feed at MoFo posts and came across Singer Eats post that had a questionnaire and decided to do it too.

What is one food you thought you’d miss when you went vegan, but don’t?

Cheese. Usually. I don't think there's anything that I 100% don't miss. I just don't miss it as much as I thought I would. Brie and feta were two of my favorite cheeses and are hard to replace with vegan versions. I'm fine without and I don't spend time all my time thinking about stuff I'm not eating anymore, but, on occasion, it's missed.

What is a food or dish you wouldn’t touch as a child, but enjoy now?

Hm. I don't think I was a very particular child when it came to food. (Mom?) I don't remember ever pushing away food, it's more like I had my favorites and stuck to those. I wasn't exposed to a huge variety of foods growing up. My mom had her repertoire of dishes and didn't experiment much with her cooking. Oh, actually, I do remember making a gross face when my sister and mom would eat asparagus! Surprising since asparagus are such a fun looking veggie.

What vegan dish or food you feel like you “should” like, but don’t?

I dislike flowers in my baked goods and cooked dishes. The idea of lavender or rose disgusts me and they seem to be everywhere!

What beverage do you consume the most of on any given day?

Probably water, but just barely beating out the other stuff I drink on a given day.

What dish are you “famous” for making or bringing to gatherings?

Probably cake/cupcakes, but that's only when it's a birthday. I get really lazy/procrastinator for potlucks and end up bringing alcohol.

Do you have any self-imposed food rules (like no food touching on the plate or no nuts in sweets)?

No raisins in oatmeal cookies, it's a tease! you think they're chocolate chips and then you bite into the cookie...sigh...

What’s one food or dish you tend to eat too much of when you have it in your home?

Dr. Pepper.

What ingredient or food do you prefer to make yourself despite it being widely available prepackaged?

Umm...baked tofu, I guess. It seems hideously overpriced.

What ingredient or food is worth spending the extra money to get “the good stuff”?

Vegenaise.

Are you much of a snacker? What are your favorite snacks?

Lately, I've been getting into prunes, they're so yummy! Dried plums makes them sound so much tastier, no? Also, peanut butter and jelly, apples with peanut butter, soy yogurt with rolled oats-sunflower seeds-pumpkin seeds-flax meal, various baked goods from vegan bakeries here in Portland.

What are your favorite vegan pizza toppings?

nutritional yeast, vegan sausage or faux pepperoni, mushrooms, roasted garlic cloves

What is your favorite vegetable? Fruit?

veggie: kale. fruit: avocado!

What is the best salad dressing?

Goddess- i use it on the grain/bean/greens bowls i make, so yum!

What is your favorite thing to put on toasted bread?

Earth Balance.

What kind of soup do you most often turn to on a chilly day or when you aren’t feeling your best?

Veganomicon's Chickpea Noodle

What is your favorite cupcake flavor? Frosting flavor?

I like plain vanilla. For both really. But not always together...hm...for some reason I can't think of a flavored frosting or cupcake that I like better than vanilla...

What is your favorite kind of cookie?

I really have been diggin' the Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip ones from Vegan Cookies Invade.

What is your most-loved “weeknight meal”?

The aforementions grain/beans/green bowl. So easy, so healthy, so good!

What is one dish or food you enjoy, but can’t get anyone else in your household to eat?

I don't think I have that problem.

How long, in total, do you spend in the kitchen on an average day?

Depends, anywhere from 10 minutes to 1 hour.

Oh, hi, November 3!

Yeah, it's 3 days into Vegan Month of Food and this is my first post. But, hey, it could be worse! So, so much worse...

As ever, I don't have a theme (at the moment) that I'm going with, but it's going be whatever's knocking around my brain. If you have any suggestions, bring it!

I'm going to start with a post about the most beautiful bunch of lacinato -aka dinosaur- kale (which I've been misspelling and, therefore, mispronouncing...I've been saying lacinto...) I ever laid eyes on.

See how beautiful and crisp it is?? Well, perhaps you can't, but I promise you, it was lovely. Also, it was bugless, none of those pesky aphids to convince to rinse off. I got this bunch from the Farmers Market and I don't remember what booth I got them from, so not sure if it was organic, no spray, or what. Most likely not organic though since they normally have little bugs on them...

Anyways, I decided to use some of them for a scramble:

The above is onion, garlic, Anaheim pepper, a little Tamari, thyme, oregano and extra firm tofu. And probably some s&p.

The final product: kale and broccoli added towards the end. A piece of Dave's Killer (and he's not lying, it's the best bread ever!) Bread with some Earth Balance. I always top my tofu sautes with some nutritional yeast and hot sauce (Chalupa and Srirachi being my favorites).

I would love some suggestion for a flavor helper! I like these scrambles of mine, but they're not something I would serve to others because the flavor is a bit...blah.

Today was a sunny, beautiful day in Portland, I hope yours was too! I need to go get ready to hang out with a friend at Tube (vegan ham and cheese!! boozy vegan milkshakes! $2 well drinks!)...

Vegan Month of Food begins...tomorrow!

Every fall Vegan MoFo asks us vegan bloggers to blog the most that we can blog. Every year, I've gotten better at it. As in, I blog more times, not that my posts get better...

But so far, the most I've done is half the month. Let's just see if I can do better this time, shall we?

Click on to the above link for the hundreds of blogs that are participating this year! I love reading tons of blogs! Hopefully I won't be hungry when I do because it makes my stomach make hungry noises...

And a photo of me and my niecepup Matilda. We enjoy spending time together under the warmth of covers.

Hallow's Eve

I'm vegan, so technically this is a "vegan" post, but it's not about food. It's about the costumes I've had the past couple years. I am friends with people who LOVE party themes and getting dressed for said themes. The few years I've gone to a college party, dress-as-your-favorite-christmas-character party, halloween (obvs) parties, and my favorite (possibly because it was my idea and all) Onesie party (this is when you wear something that is a one piece outfit that gathers at the crotch, as in, not a dress! I need to do another one of those because that was fun and I feel like I could've done better with my outfit).

A couple years ago I was going to a Halloween party and my friends balked at the idea of me going costumeless. My friend Kathleen had a wolf mask so I went with it. 

As you can see, all I did was wear all black and then wear my new bright pink plaid shirt I had been wanting to wear. I can't remember what I told people I was. I was, more like, dude, I have a wolf mask on! Obviously, I'm a.....girl wolf. Or something. If I had known about the Twilight series I would've said I was Leah...

Last year was my first Halloween as Missy's roommate and we wanted to go as a duet. We decided on a favorite duet, Popeye and Olive Oyl. 

As you can see, Missy went all out. She whipped this awesome outfit up in one night and I think she did a hell of a job. She helped by sewing on my lace to a red shirt of mine and the yellow ribbon on to my black skirt. I wore some white socks rolled down and a pair of shoes that I had. I wasn't happy with my hair, but I wasn't about to spend money on a wig. What's ridiculous is how long it took me to remove the ribbon and lace from my clothes. Months! And more months! Seriously....I think it was in the spring...

So what are y'all dressing up as tomorrow? I'm not totally sure as of yet. Me, Missy and my friend Corinn were going to go as TLC (I was going to be Left Eye Lopez), but we're no longer doing that.....

The Portland Vegan 100

So these lists have been all over the place. I did the generic vegan one awhile back. Jess has compiled, with the help of friends and fellow vegan bloggers, a list of stuff from Portland.

You're supposed to bolden the ones you've done or cross out the ones you'll never do. Since I don't know how to cross out words HTML style, I'm just going to do it my own way. I'm sure you'll figure it out....

1. Fries with spicy tofu sauce at Dots- yes
2. $1 Corndog from Hungry Tiger Too- oh, hells, yes!
3. Chick-o-Stick doughnut from Voodoo Doughnuts- i think so
4. Tiramisu from Portobello- yes
5. Vegan Mulita from Gorditos or Gorditos II- yup
6. Nanotear Ham and Cheeze sandwich from Tube- oh, hell to the yes!
7. Milkshake from Sip- yup
8. Gnocchi from Portobello- yes
9. Caramel Nut Bar from Sweetpea Baking Co.- yes
10. Soft serve from Blossoming Lotus- yes
11. Local cherry tomatoes from a farmers market-yes
12. Dong Po Tofu from Bay Leaf- i don't think so
13. Jerked chickun from Assase Ital- no
14. A Big Big Lunch Special from an Indian cart- yes
15. Soy latte made with Stumptown espresso- yes
16. A crappy tofu scramble- yes
17. Cornmeal pizza from Dovi Vive.- yes, mmmm
18. Weeping Tiger sandwich from Bye & Bye- no
19. Bye & Bye or Floor Punch from Bye & Bye- yes!
20. A Bowl meal from a cart- yes
21. vegan nutella from freddy's hazelnuts- no
22. soy curls in bulk from food fight or proper eats- yes
23. buffalo wings from Vita- yes
24. the weekday vegan pancakes from Laurelthirst- yes
25. Maple vegan sausage waffle from flavourspot- yes
26. Drunken noodles with pepper steak from Thai Food Cafe- no
27. Macnocheeto from Homegrown Smoker- no 
28. Veggie platter from an Ethiopian restaurant- yes
29. Blackberries picked from a public place- i think...
30. Baba Ganouj from Ya Hala- yes!
31. Coconut Mashed Yams from Papa G’s- yes
32. Butternut Squash Wontons from Hungry Tiger Too- mmmmm, yes
33. Vegan slice from Bella Faccia- yes
34. Apple pie from Whiffies- yes
35. Chili dog from Zach’s Shack- no 
36. Vegan poutine from Potato Champion- yes
37. Missionary Chocolate Truffle- oh, hells yes!
38. Apron Activists 4-Course Dinner- yup!
39. Hot Wok at New Seasons- yeah
40. Che Guevara Burrito from Laughing Planet- yeah
41. Bryan’s Bowl from Por Que No?- yes
42. Pad Thai from Pad Thai Kitchen- yes!!
43. Cupcake from a stand at Last Thursday- no
44. The Giant Pancake at Hungry Tiger Too- yes
45. TLP from Red & Black Cafe- yes
46. Cornmeal tempeh plate from Proper Eats- no
47. Tofu Po Boy at Palm State Gumbo- yes
48. Maple Walnut Scone from Back to Eden- no
49. Vegan Mezza platter from a Lebanese restaurant- yes
50. Crispy eggplant from Fujin- no
51. Lemongrass Tofu Sticks from Van Hanh- no
52. Tofu Salad Bun at Pho PDX- no
53. Cocktail made with local liquor- yes
54. Biscuits and Gravy from Paradox- yes
55. Smoky soy curls from Homegrown Smoker- mm, yes
56. Field Roast sausage- yes
57. Secret Aardvark Hot Sauce- yes, too spicy for me!
58. Toddbot's Triangles- yes
59. Local microbrew- yes
60. Hot Lips soda- yes
61. Herb Crusted Tofu with Mushroom Marsala from The Farm Cafe- yes
62. had a picnic in Laurelhurst Park- yes
63. burrito from Shelley's Honkin Huge Burritos- yes
64. Eggplant tibs from Bete Lukas- no
65. Tator Tots before noon or after midnight- of course!
66. Lone Ranger from Chaos Cafe- no
67. Sunday brunch at Sweetpea!- yes
68. Tofu at a BBQ place (for example Derby Mustard Sauce Tofu at Russel Street BBQ)- no
69. Mint Fava Falafel at Nightlight Lounge- no
70. An unexciting hummus plate at a bar.- yes
71. Vegan meatball sub from Aalto Lounge- no
72. Koi Fusion spicy tofu tacos- yes
73. Veggie dog from the Vegi dog stand- yes
74. Sesame chicken from a vegetarian chinese restaurant- yes
75. Bagel with Bacun Scallion cream cheese from Sweetpea -yes
76. Vegan savoury crepe- yes
77. Veggie kibbeh- maybe, i have a hard time knowing the names of the lebanese things i eat
78. Club Vegan at Backspace- i think
79. ice cream sundae from Back to Eden- yes
80. Raw fudge from Blossoming Lotus- yes
81. Tempeh reuben- yes
82. Pause vegan burger- yes
83. vegan ribs- yes
84. something baked with local marionberries- yes
85. Veggie bento box- yes
86. Dave's Killer Bread- yes
87. Higher Taste Buzzitos- yes
88. Thai food that the server swears is vegan, but you taste fish sauce.- heh...
89. Elephant ear from the Saturday Market- no
90. Dovetail sticky bun- oh, yes!
91. savoury pie from Nicholas restaurant- yes
92. Salad rolls from the Just Thai cart- no
93. Vegan torta from Gorditos II- heck yes!
94. Nutritional yeast on your popcorn at a movie theater- yes
95. Vegan grilled cheese from The Grilled Cheese Grill- yes
96. Pasilla burrito from El Nutri- no
97. Something from the vegetarian menu at Andina- no
98. Vegan Steak and Cheese from D.C. Vegetarian- yes
99. Dragon Noodles at Red & Black Cafe - no
100. Falafel from Wolf & Bears- no

Yeah, i just pretty much answered yes or no...

Stuff I ate

This past Friday I was at Sweetpea and Katie told me that some biscuits and gravy were just about to be ready to eat, so I waited patiently and soon I had some pretty Bacon Chedder Biscuits & Gravy in front of me.

or should I say, Bacun Cheder?

That's some Daiya cheese (well, I assume, I wasn't told, but Daiya has a certain shredded look about it, wouldn't you say?) and some Bac'uns on top. It was also in the biscuits themselves. I do so love a white, peppery Southern gravy. I have yet to really be impressed by Daiya cheese. I don't notice a flavor to it and haven't had it on pizza to see meltiness of it. 

These biscuits and gravy were good, but I think I do prefer sausage rather than bacon in my biscuits and gravy. Also, neither the biscuits or the gravy were hot, more like lukewarm. (Note to Katie who may or may not be reading this: don't roll your eyes at me! I love you and Sweetpea!) 

On Saturday I went to Sweetpea, as per usual, with my beloved roommate Missy. They had apple fritters again so I went with that. Missy got the Glazed. We both ogled the Chai Spice.

mmmm....fried dough with apples in it....

Apple fritters are a bit greasier tasting than the regular donuts. They're delicious!

Today I'm hanging out at the New Cascadia, a gluten free bakery in the SE (near the big Goodwill). My friend Leila works there and she told me I needed to come in and try one of the vegan cupcakes she decorated special for Hallow's Eve. So I did. (I take instruction pretty well. Like when Katie told I had to come to Sweetpea on a Wednesday, a day I normally don't go, and she had made Pigs in a Blanket. So much delicious pastry dough that day....)

I chose the chocolate with vanilla frosting. (Other choice being chocolate frosting)

oooo.....a mummy!

The cupcake itself was good. You could still taste the glutenfreeness of it, but as these go, it was good. The cake was moist and the frosting was tasty. The other vegan option had a spiderweb with a spider on it. Leila says she plans on doing a vegan one with a bleeding brain on it as well.

You know you love Clueless!

But if you don't agree we might not be close friends. (ok, that's not true, two of my good friends, Corinn and Missy, aren't big fans....I find we don't have a lot of the same taste in movies)

Last night at Powell's downtown Alicia Silverstone showed up to speak about her new book, The Kind Diet. Around 5pm I had met up with Maeve, Jess and Maeve's friend Sarah at Blossoming Lotus. We were hoping we would run into Alicia there, as it's only a few blocks away from Powell's and it's an all vegan, very healthy restaurant, but alas, she didn't show. We ended up getting to the speaking area more than an hour early, but we hung out and chatted and before we knew it we were sitting in the front row listening to Alicia talk about her journey to a macrobiotic vegan diet. Prior to her appearance we were all warned not to ask any questions about anything other than the book, no posed pictures with her and she wouldn't sign anything other than the book. I was disappointed, but I suppose it makes sense. 

Alicia had also gone to Portobello (the only all vegan fancy restaurant here in town, it's Italian) for dinner before the event and said she enjoyed it. 

She spoke for about 20 minutes or so and then had a question and answer segment, which I thought she did well on. Jess reminded me that she's probably getting the same questions repeatedly and has them down pat. There was one family (mom and dad -both in their late 40s or so- and a twentysomething son with his girlfriend) that was a self-proclaimed 'meat and taters' family and they asked her how do people like them start making the change. (I can't remembered exactly the question asked) I just thought it was amazing that they were open to it. I think of the meat and potatoes people I know, and I can't imagine. 

I was really glad I went and got to see Cher in person. (That's her character's name in Clueless for all you....clueless people. heh...see what I did there? Yeah...) She was funny and cute and wore shoes I didn't like. 

Maeve getting her book signed

Aww...Jess's classic hand to heart

I like Alicia's facial expression here.

What ruins these pictures: That ugly ass tablecloth and the dude who's watching over the book signing. 

Happy Belated 100th Post to Me!!

Last post was my 100th. Should I buy myself a drink or something to celebrate? I probably should, but it'd be even better if you did the honors. I kid, of course, after all, this blog was my doing, you didn't *ask* for it. Unless you're Jess, and then, yeah, you did ask...I'd say you owe me a drink, but you've more than made up for it. And I owe you $5 right now....

So, guys, this new job as a waitress has been kinda kicking my ass as of late. Today and yesterday I did my first (and second) a.m. shifts. These start at 7:30am and I'm scheduled to 3pm, which I work til (well, technically the a.m. shift person doesn't end up leaving til 3:30) unless the call-in shift person comes in because it's busy and then if it gets slow the a.m. person leaves....which is what happened today. I was happy for it though. I got to leave almost 2 hours early. Last night my feet were totally tired and I pretty much watched tv the rest of the day in my bed. (There's no digital convertor box in the living room) It was nice and lazy and my feet felt much happier by evening time. 

I love working part time like this. I wish I could always do this. The French consider 25 hours a week part time, right? They are so right....

So, let's see....let's talk about vegan stuff....Me and the aforementioned Jess will be doing a joint post soon, so look for that. Maybe Friday?

Actually, I think I will just talk about the restaurant I work at. Just to give it some love, since I didn't include it in my favorite breakfast places. I work at Paradox Cafe. It's been around for years here in Portland, but the current owner has owned it for only a few. Paradox and Vita Cafe were owned by the same people, but sold to different people, which is why they share a lot of the same menu items but now differ in decor and new menu items. Paradox's owner worked there before buying it and she's a nice lady named Bonnie. She seems to be honestly interested in our (employees) welfare and she reminds me a bit of a couple of my other former bosses. This is diner food, but she wants to make it as healthful as possible, which is one of the reasons corndogs are no longer on the menu. She said the corn outside could squeeze out about a 1/2 cup of oil after being fried. 

Before working here, I maybe had eaten there once for lunch or dinner. I always ended up with breakfast food. Usually the #1 (tofu, potatoes, and a wheat biscuit with added side of almond gravy to go atop the biscuit) or I'd split the #5 (biscuits and gravy, vegan sausage, tofu and potatoes) with my sister. The tofu is not the most flavorful, but with ketchup and your choice of 4 hot sauces (Srirachi, Chalula, Green Tabasco, Aardvark), it's good. It is marinated tofu, I just can't really taste it. The seasoned breakfast potatoes are some of the tastiest in town. A few times we ordered them (before I worked there) they were lukewarm, but I think when you go and it's busy they do a whole bunch of them at once instead of per order like they normally do, so you have a chance of getting some that may have been sitting around awhile. 

Their homemade wheat biscuits and almond gravy were the first vegan biscuits and gravy I ever had, so I have a special place in my heart for them. Even when the biscuits aren't soft or even warm,  I can deal. I do wish they would be replaced with a more "buttery", less healthy version. You can get the gravy with their homemade herb and onion bread (cutely called the H.O.G.), which is pretty tasty. 

Their vegan sausages used to be from Morningstar, but they now make their own. I would say they're a lovechild of the Morningstar real-like sausage patty and Laurelthirst's very hippy, not-like-real-sausage-at-all sausage. They have something I don't like in them. I think it's fennel seeds, but it doesn't infect the whole patty and so I can eat still them. 

One other item I used to get on occasion is their corncakes. Those things are damn tasty! I've not seen a person able to eat the two cakes in one setting. They're very filling and wheat free! You can get them solstice style with nuts and....something else. Can't remember what it is...Or you can get them Mexican style (but they're not on the breakfast menu -which doesn't matter since everything on the menu is served all day- and they're called Tamales, but they're not in corn husks or anything, some people get annoyed by that) with salsa, guacamole, sour cream (you can get vegan sour cream!) and jalapenos. So good! Those jalapenos are hot, be warned!

So when I started working there, I started trying various things on the menu so I would know what it was like and since I really hadn't eaten much besides the items above. (Warning- I may forget a couple of ingredients) I really enjoyed the Thai Stick Salad: spinach leaves, almonds, button mushrooms, red peppers, crispy tempeh sticks, all tossed in a spicy thai dressing. I would get it without mushrooms next time. Not a huge fan of uncooked mushrooms. 

The Tempeh Gyro is a favorite among customers (including my friend Jacob-  hi, Jacob!). It's tempeh with lettuce, tomato and a special vegan yogurt sauce in a pita. The Treehugger is Dave's Killer Good Seed, vegan cream cheese, guacamole, tomato, lettuce and Tofurkey slices upon addition. I think I'm missing some ingredients in there....I think next time I would sub hummus for the guacamole. I haven't tried our hummus yet but a customer asked for the recipe, so I assume it's good.

The specials vary morning and evening, it's the chef's choice and sometimes they make dang good choices. Like today. The boss lady was working and she had made a killer good cashew gravy. The herb and onion bread were topped with grilled onions, tofu, spinach and mushroom and then covered in the cashew gravy. So! Good! Y'all! A big plate of that for $6.50. Their specials usually are well priced so make sure you take a peek or ask the server what it is.

Their homemade soup is also tasty. Boss lady's been trying out Soy Curls and she made a real yummy soup with those the other day. It was like a Beef Vegetable and there was one lady that I gave a sample to that actually thought it was beef (the soup was called Rosemary Potato & Love). 

Almost everything on the menu is vegan. What's not vegan: hamburger (duh!  but the veggie burger is vegan even though it doesn't specify that), chicken sausage (another duh), cheddar cheese, real sour cream, Swiss cheese that's on the Reuben and their waffles. Everything else is vegan and there's probably a substitute. They don't have vegan cheese slices, but their two cheese sauces are so good. There's a nacho cheese sauce and another one called Mac & Cheese sauce that's used on the benedicts and on the mac & cheese that's no longer on the menu but can still be ordered. They can do a scramble upon request if so desired but there's none on the menu. 

Remember that green onions come on top of just about everything (and margarine if it's that kind of item, i.e. pancakes and toast) so just request them to leave off if that's not your thing. During the week, before 10am, items called numbers, as in the #3, are $1 off.

The service used to kinda suck, but I feel like it's gotten better (after all, I work there...heh) but because it can be so slow with only bursts of busy, there may be only one server if you're there during the week and the food is cooked to order and can take some time. If you're rushed for time, a good bet is the regular biscuits and gravy (herb and onion bread is thick and can take a long time to toast up, keep that in mind if you order soup b/c it comes with it). 

Go check it out!

Out for a drive

On Saturday I was picked up by Jeff along with Maeve and Jess to go to lunch at Green Wok, a new vegetarian (well, everything's vegan except the cream cheese in the Crab Rangoons, but that's possibly changing to vegan cream cheese- yay!!) Chinese restaurant out on Capitol Highway. I was skeptical since my true love is Thai food and I've never had anything that great at a Chinese restaurant. The menu is quite massive and I hear it's similar to Vegetarian House, for good reason since the cook used to work there. The ambiance is that of any Chinese restaurant I've been to. The music was of the hmm-they're-playing-that-here? variety. Not that we complained, who doesn't like Weezer while they're drinking Chinese-Restaurant-Tea? 

I ordered the Chicken Bird's Nest, which was the dish with the best presentation. A fried shredded potato nest! So cute! The sauce though was not crazy good. It was....ok. Not bad, but this is probably something I wouldn't order again. Jeff got the Orange Chicken, Maeve got the Sesame Chicken and Jess ordered Crispy Bean Curd Pocket with Greens, but instead got what looks like to me Moo Goo Gai Pan with uncrispy bean curd pockets. The breaded and fried pieces of "chicken" were my favorite part. I could definitely eat a whole plate of those, which if you order what Jeff or Maeve did, that's what you get. But since veggies are good for me and I'll eat them (eventually, after picking out the pieces of "meat" first) if they're on my plate, I would prefer them to come with the chicken pieces. Both the Orange and Sesame dishes had a delicious sauce on them. I think they were equally delicious. Jess's was my lease favorite. I was intrigued by the bean curd "pockets" (it's like they had stacked up layers of the tofu pockets used in inari and then cut them into blocks), but the sauce was that weird clear, but slightly opaque-ish gelatinous stuff. The side order of broccoli in tangy sauce was quite good. 

All the plates we could handle...Maeve, Jess, Jeff's tattooed atm

All done! Jeff got into the spirit of things (aka pciture taking)

Bird's Nest in the background, Jess's dish in the foreground

After that delicious meal, we headed over to Sip! cart to pick up a seasonal favorite, Pumpkin Milkshakes! They made it with pumpkin puree, Vanilla soy ice cream and spices. It was good! I didn't take a picture of the shake itself, but Jess did!

Favorite Veg Celebrities

1. Carrie Underwood

I love when someone you wouldn't expect doesn't eat meat. Prime example is people who are in the country music world. Those people (stereotypically of course) love them a good steak! Or at least eat a ton of chicken. You can try to say I'm wrong, but you'd then be wrong. (booya!) The girl doesn't have the best choice in clothes sometimes (as proven here and here), but she's vegetarian! 

2. Bob Barker

You know he wants you to spade and neuter your pets, but did you know he also doesn't think you need to eat animals? He can even cook!

3. Joaquin Phoenix

He won't wear animal products for his movies or any other job and he was the voice for Earthlings, the documentary that deals with the issue of "human independence on animals for pets, food, clothes, and entertainment." I've never seen it because I don't like watching that kind of stuff, especially since I already agree with what they're saying and already eat/live vegan. 

4. Coretta Scott King!!

Oh, man! I just found this out and I think this is so awesome!

5. Ellen DeGeneres (and her wife Portia de Rossi)

I was wondering when she would go veg because she is constantly talking about her love of animals. I think Portia nudged her in that direction, so thanks Portia! (who I heard is coming out with a line of vegan shoes!)

There's tons more celebrities out there that are veg, who's yer favorite?

Today I made...

...a casserole! Oh, and roasted russet and sweet potatoes! I wanted to make use of some deteriorating veggies and thought of the comforting goodness of a casserole. Of course, I don't have pictures...that would be more fun. I hate fun....

But I did end up using this recipe, loosely. I used hempmilk instead of soy, a tad of lime juice instead of any lemon, no celery (I'm a hater), shell pasta (two sizes because I'm crazy like that), added sauteed greens, some jalapeno, and frozen peas. Also instead of chips I made breadcrumbs out of toasted bread, Earth Balance, dried basil and oregano. It turned out....ok. Once I added more salt, nooch, and some hot sauce I thought it was good. Not awesome, but good. 

I had some potatoes that needed using so while the oven was on I thought I would roast 'em up. I tossed them with olive oil, s & p, and some fresh rosemary and thyme. They turned out really yummy. I probably used too much oil, but I figured it's still not as bad french fries....

Do you have a fall back recipe for when you need to use up some aging veggies? What's your favorite website for recipes?

Want to see what's in my fridge?

Yeah, I thought so. 

it's like i'm at the grocery store! the selection!

cutest little muchacho ever!

The kind people at The Higher Taste gave me and Jess a whole bunch of products to review, so look for that upcoming review. They have 2 new products (including the one with the adorable sombreroed fella) that uses soy curls, deli salads I haven't seen before (Curried Rice, (Faux) Chicken Salad, Yakisoba Salad and German Potato Salad), and hummus (not pictured) that I've never seen before in a store. I'm excited to get to try all the other wraps that I've noticed at the store. 

Today Kittee, SisterKim (aka MamaKim) and I went on some errands. We drove out to the Sellwood neighborhood to check out the new location of Sock Dreams and then went on to Bob's Red Mill and Dave's Killer Bread and NatureBake's 'The Healthy Bread Store.' I had coupons for both from the Chinook book. The one for Bob's was for 50% off any of their organic products. Last year my sister bought a 25 lb of all purpose flour and she still had a lot left so we searched around the store looking for something else we would want a lot of. (None of those wussy 1 lb bags for me! You gotta make 'em hurt, as my brother-in-law's friend says...) There wasn't a lot of selection really. No 25 lb bags of organic sugar, nor beans (they get most of their beans from other companies or they're not organic, which the coupon specifies) and, sadly, their Vital Wheat Gluten isn't organic....So after much consideration, we went with the Organic Whole Wheat Pastry Flour. I do a lot of baking and so thought I would go through this faster than, say, a 25 lb bag of Golden Flaxseeds. So the 25lb of pastry flour was only $11, good deal, eh? Well, if it gets all used up.  :o)      

Nothing too exciting about the bread store. I got two frozen loaves for $2.80 (normally frozen loaves are $2.80 a piece. You can also get them 12 for $2.00/each.)

My 25lb bag and an early Christmas present from SisterKim!

5 Favorite Breakfast Spots in Portland

Yup, another favorites...You like these, right? I thought so! 

1. Sweetpea Baking Co- Their doughnuts on Saturdays, danishes on Wednesdays, and Kettleman's bagels with their Tofutti schmears (Bacun Scallion! Chipotle! Veggie! Strawberry! Black Olive!)! It's not always the most nutritious breakfast, but you can't always be looking to eat healthy, right? If you happen to be looking for that though, there's soup! Homemade, yummy soup made by Jesse "I hate you (but not really)" Ives. If you happen to see him (he's the average-height boy with the bandanna on that stays in the middle of the kitchen the whole time), tell him you would love to see piroshkys or vegan ham and cheese sandwiches as options!

mmm...donut....Missy and her sweet love

2. Juniors- First off, let me just put this out here: I dislike their potatoes. Many of my friends, including the girl above with the glazed doughnut, thinks they're great. I don't. I can't really place my finger on what turns me off, but it's somethin'. So I end up asking for the Vegan Potatoes, sub tofu for potatoes. This gets me: scrambled tofu, mushrooms, zucchini, onions covered with spicy tofu sauce. Yum! I remember that Juniors was one of the first places I remember seeing "sub tofu for egg for free" on their menu. This made me a happy girl since all over town I was paying extra. Their eggs there are of the nice free range (and I think it's actually free range, none of that open the barn door for 5 minutes shit that farms can get away with) so I think the cost is more similar than, say, when you go to Holman's....The main reason I love Juniors is the interior. It's very cute! Google it for images if you don't believe me!

3. FlavourSpot- the home of the Dutch taco! aka a waffle sandwich. I have only tried one thing here and it's so good that I dare not try anything else. Another reason being I don't get out to either of the North Portland locations enough. It's usually months in between visits and I'm normally ready for some delectable maple sausage goodness in my piehole. (aka wafflehole) The food cart (one on N. Lombard and the other at Mississippi and Fremont) makes a fresh circular waffle, spreads some maple "butter" on it, puts two vegan sausage patties on it and folds it up in some foil and hands it your eagerly awaiting hands....mmm.....so warm, so tasty....

Me and my sweet love

4. Hungry Tiger Too- I really love this place. I've mentioned them before many times. The only problem I have with them is their prices are somewhat ridiculous. (Except on $1 vegan corn dog Wednesdays!!). The club sandwich, while being big, is around $10 and if you want tots instead of coleslaw, make that $12. Yeah, $2 extra for tots...$1 extra for french fries. If you share it with someone it doesn't sound as ridiculous. But of course I tend to compare prices with what I could be getting...like $5 at Los Gorditos will get me a huge delicious torta. But anyways, we're talking breakfast right now! They have humongous vegan fluffy pancakes for $3 a piece, large plate of biscuits (or you might end up with some of their thick toasted bread, which is good, but yeah, not a biscuit) and gravy for $4, scrambles for around $8 that comes with awesome hashbrowns (think: rectangularly shaped Waffle House hashbrowns...less greasy), and homemade tempeh bacon slabs for around $2. Yum! For reals...I think their gravy is my favorite in town. It's a little too herby for my tastes since I like a peppery sausagey white southern gravy, but there's sausage (I think the last time I got it there wasn't any) and mushrooms and it's good! Please note that they don't open til mid morning during the week. Also, their coffee sucks (and this comes from a girl who sugars and milks her coffee and wouldn't know good coffee if it hit her in the face.).

Katie and her ginormous pancake

Foreground: biscuits and gravy and tempeh bacon slabs

5. It's a tie for 5th! Jam and Tin Shed- I hear Jam's veg gravy is the best in town, but I wouldn't know since it's not vegan. Also, they don't have biscuits to put it on (?!), so I don't care. What I do love about Jam is their Blueberry Chai Pancakes. Chai spice-alicious! Like Hungry Tiger Too, they have delicious hashbrowns. They have a couple vegan scrambles but I'm not terribly crazy about either. This another restaurant where I mainly just love their ambiance with no real explanation. Tin Shed has vegan grits and Earth Balance available and their pesto is made vegan, all things which endears me to them. The grits, however, need salt and more EB because the taste is quite plain. They do have vegan cheese you can get on them but I normally pass since it doesn't really do anything flavorwise. My favorite thing to get here is the pesto tofu scramble (it has a name that I think has the word "goat" in it) with no cheese. 

How about you? Where's your favorite?

The Accidental Awesomeness

There's a lot of items out there that I didn't have to stop eating when I went vegan. And thank goodness for that! It's nice to have a few nostalgic things to nosh on occasionally.

Hot Tamales!!

Gummy! Hot! Delicious!

Junior Mints!

well, the holiday (above) and deluxe (below) versions anyways.

For some reason they won't take out the gelatin in the regular version.

Swedish Fish!

So good!

The little guy makes a tasty vegan crescent roll!

Well, it's arguable if it's *really* vegan. Chemicals can be tricky...

BUT! if you don't mind that, you should bake them with weiners in them for Pigs in a Blanket

or some vegan cheese for Puffers....mmm...

What's some of your favorite accidentally vegan items?

Cakes of my past...

The past two summers I have made lots of yummy cakes. The reason being my two bestest friends, Corinn and Missy, both have birthdays, as well as some other friends! I actually really like making cakes and cupcakes. Especially for my friends and other loved ones. I am not very artistic, only the occasional photograph being something I'm proud of. Baking kinda fulfills that artistic hole in my heart. 

So here's a round up!

My sister's Black Forest Cake from last year

Corinn's S'more cake from this year

Jessica's Cake from last year, Chocolate with Vanilla Buttercream

My roommate Missy's Birthday Cake from last year.

We had a nonvegan VooDoo donut on top!

My first cake! Corinn's birthday cake last year. Probably chocolate with Vanilla.

I look to Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romano's Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World for almost every cake recipe I need (just double the cupcake recipes for cakes) and their Buttercream frosting is freakin' delicious! If you make only one recipe from that book, do the Coconut Lime with Lime Buttercream frosting, unfreakinbelievable delicious!!!