Canadian 'Couv...oh, and Thanksgiving

Across the border, of Oregon that is, there is a town called Vancouver in the lovely state of Washington. My sister lives there in a cute house and i, occasionally, visit her. Most people call Vancouver by it's nickname, the 'Couv. I am one of those people. Kinda how we call Beaverton (a Portland suburb) "Beavertron" and Gresham "Shithole." Heh...i kid on that last one. Seriously, no ill will towards Gresham, i just don't want to live there. 'Cause it's not Portland....

anyhoodles, this is all really just to say i went to the "real" Vancouver this past weekend. Yeah, as Michael from a recent The Office episode says, i went abroad. I have a friend that lives there and i haven't seen him since moving to the Northwest 3 1/2 years ago and i wanted to see Vancouver again. I had a 5 day weekend because of Thanksgiving. It probably would've been better had i used all 5 days, but i really wanted to spend Thanksgiving here with my sister and her in-laws and also with my friends (i had two Thanksgiving meals). 

Short side note on Thanksgiving:

I made my first Pecan Pie!

I had leftover filling so i made some pie dough (i had to make a second batch, the first was with whole wheat flour which is why there's such a color difference in the one to the very right) and smooshed it into some cupcake/muffin tins. I loved these mini pies! i'm sure i'll make them again. I used a premade graham cracker crust that needed to get used for the big pie. I do believe graham cracker crusts aren't the best for pecan pie. The Pecan Pie recipe comes from a PPK thread, it's Toddx's recipe and it was adapted by Jess, which is where you'll have to go to get the recipe b/c i can't seem to copy it from the document i have it on....

But back to Vancouver. The weather was rainy and my feet got wet and cold (wearing Chucks in the rain = ridiculous), but other than that, it was a great trip. I walked around downtown and shopped and ate. I ran across Gorilla Food, which i had heard about, and decided to eat some raw food. I had a kale/seaweed salad that was tasty and a carrot-beet-apple juice that was large in size and kinda tasted like dirt. You know how sometimes carrots have that dirt flavor? yeah, that. I could've used more apple....i left there early b/c there was a strange guy that sat next to me and made me uncomfortable with his words, such as "can i come visit you?" and "will you remember me?"....and also b/c when i shook his hand, he didn't let go and he rubbed it...

i also ate at Naam, which i was excited about. Unfortunately, half way through the meal my stomach became upset. But, this place has big portions and, best of all, open 24 hours! I got a dragon bowl, but i think i should've picked something else...it was good and all, but i have a feeling i would've liked something else more. grass is always greener, eh?

I also had a hot dog at Japadog, a hot dog stand known for its' japanese style toppings. I just had the  holy trinity of toppings: sauerkraut, ketchup and yellow mustard. The grill there dogs, so it takes a little longer than the boiled kind, but it's definitely worth it.

I also picked up a 24 pack of Dr. Pepper. They don't use high fructose syrup there. Or any other country, right? We're the only ones that refuse to give that shit up, i think....

I had a good time in Vancouver and hope to go again when it's sunny out....

Skipping....

Hey, guys!

I forgot to write what i ate and now i can't remember. but for the most part it consisted of:

Yogurt muesli or english muffin toasted with pb & homemade-by-my-roommate j

snack of raw almonds, red hot blues tortilla chips and pretzels

mixed baby lettuce with sunflower seeds and Goddess dressing

Boca Melt without the Melt at East Burn- comes with carmelized onions and mushrooms

French Fries

Beers

Cocktails

Coffee

Glazed Donut

Brussels Sprouts with Garlic from VWAV

Sauteed mushrooms, tofu, leeks and carrots with quinoa, Better Than Sour Cream and Srirachi

 

Yup....

Today was:

Yogurt muesli

Nachos from Hungry Tiger Too

My roommate had the Portland Scramble and declared it the best scramble she's had out and about. And they have hash browns like Jam on Hawthorne, so that's a plus. I tasted the scramble and thought it good, but i thought the portion size of the scramble was quite small for $9. Seriously, i should have leftovers for that much....yeah, i'm having a serious issue with HT2's prices.....

PBR

dinner will probably be the leftovers of the veggie/tofu/quinoa from last night

Food Journal Monday and Tuesday

Monday:

Yogurt muesli- Vanilla yogurt with rolled oats, banana, shredded apple, fresh squeezed orange juice, sunflower seeds, raw pumpkin seeds and flax meal. I love this stuff and make about one large container of it at a time. I started eating it while i was in Germany, they call it "muesli." I usually put some soymilk in it for liquid but i had an orange in the fridge that badly needed to be used. 

Coffee with soy and sugar

Snack: Red Hot Blues chips, spelt pretzels, raw almonds

Tuno Casserole leftover with Srirachi

Pad Thai Woon Sen- yeah, i had it again

Tuesday:

Yogurt muesli (see above)

Roastaroma tea with French Vanilla Silk creamer and honey 

Snack: Red Hot Blues chips, spelt pretzels, raw almonds

Tuno Casserole leftovers with Srirachi

3 (yes, three!!) Vegan Ham & Cheese sandwiches. I was going to stop at 2, but then Jess

just insisted i take one off her hands. So for her sake alone, i did.

1 Greyhound

1 Whiskey Sour

Tonight's America's Next Top Model! It's getting close to the end, which is kinda sad because that means there is an upcoming 3 month break between "cycles." Sad face.

Food Journal 11-8 and 9

I had a great day with my friends Corinn and Philip (he lived here until a couple months ago, but he's currently visiting for 6 days) on Saturday. It was actually quite nice out and the sun was shining most of the afternoon. I actually got to wear just a T-shirt (and jeans) when we sat outside the Gold Dust Meridian for a drink. Well, until the sun sneaked behind the building across the street...then it got cold and we went inside.

I slept in quite late on Saturday so my first meal was lunch.

Pad Thai Woon Sen

Dr. Pepper

Coffee with soy and sugar

Ginger ale and Gin with lime

1/2 Meatball Sub and Brussels Sprouts from Bye & Bye

Nebraska- hot apple cider and apple cinnamon rum

Stockholm- lemon infused vodka with ginger ale

Session

Pad Thai Woon Sen leftovers

By the way, all that alcohol was within an 8 hour period so i wasn't obliterated at the end of the day, if you were wondering. 

Then on Sunday..

Bite of bagel that may or may not be vegan. My roommate was trying not to starve to death (b/c of our friend philip's lack of speed to get ready for breakfast) and was eating one of her Kettleman's bagels that she buys in a mix bag. i took a bite and was like, that's a pizza bagel. that's probably not vegan...

Coffee with soy and sugar- $2.25 a cup at Junior's! yowza! that's almost as bad as Zell's! (i'm pissed at them b/c they charge $2 but 50cents more for soymilk.)

Vegan Potatoes from Junior's- i'm not sure why i get these since i'm not a fan of their potatoes. Ok, actually i do know why i get these, i'm a sucker for corn, mushrooms and their spicy tofu sauce. But, really, their potatoes kinda suck. And the only person that doesn't agree, that was in our party, is my roommate.

Homemade Tuno Casserole- i've had a frozen tube of Tuno (R.I.P.) for at least a year and i've been wanting to make a tuna casserole with it. My roommate and i topped ours with our respective hot sauces, her Aardvark and me Srirachi. It was comforting stuff. I added peas because what's any casserole without peas??

Southern Blend Greens (from Trader Joe's) with garlic and olive oil

Trader Joe's Soy Creamy Very Cherry Chip ice cream

Food journal 11-7-08. Part II

So yesterday. (just assume that anytime i mention "sausage", "yogurt", etc, it's the vegan version of them)

At work i ate:

Tofurkey Smoked Turkey Sandwich with Veganaise, lettuce on Dave's Killer Bread

Spinach hummus (this stuff is so good! it's that brand that you can find in all the fridgerated section of almost every grovery here) with organic blue corn chips

Plain yogurt mixed with rolled oats, the juice of a small blood orange, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, raisins

Chocolate silk milk

I got home and me and my roommate went to Hungry Tiger Too. They have a separate vegan menu now. It's nice to have but they've upped some of the prices *and* they make you pay a $1 (for crinkle french fries) or $2 (tots, salad, or soup) extra with your sandwich. Wtf??? Who do they think they are, McMenamins?? So they prices are technically the same, except you have to pay more for fries or tots.....You're free choices are chips or coleslaw. The secret vegan club sandwich is on the menu, but it's now $10.50 (and, again, you have to pay extra for tots or fries......so you would have to pay $12.50 (!) for a club with tots.......), it was $9.50ish before. They do now have homemade corndogs, which is what i ended up getting. I knew it was bad idea though. It's 2 of the corndogs on a bed of tots for $7. Who can eat all that, i ask? It's too much grease. I about died. The corndogs were good though. I asked the waitress if it's possible to get a half order, b/c i only need one corndog at a time, thanks. She said she didn't think so but she would mention it to someone. The shitty part of our visit was that there was a table of about 12 people and they were kinda drunk (i think) and they were talking so loud and shrill, it hurt me and missy's ears and we could just barely hear each other. 

I also had a PBR to drink there.

I went to a show and i drank a gin and giner ale.

After the show i ran into my lovely friend Philip, who had just gotten into town for a week long visit and we went and had a beer at Squeez. I had a Shock Top Hefeweizen.

And that was my day.....

What i ate...

I've been thinking of doing a food journal of what i eat each day. That would actually get me posting more (because that's what y'all are dying for, right?) b/c it's easy. I thoroughly enjoy looking at what people eat. Not even looking, just reading about it is fun. I work for a naturopathic doctor and sometimes she gives people a diet to follow and i just like reading it. It's not even meals to make, just a list of foods to eat or avoid. And sometimes patients send in what they've been eating each day and i read them. I don't know what it is about them that i like so much.....

So, so far today i've had:

Maple Sausage Waffle from FlavourSpot

Coffee with sugar-in-the-raw and soymilk

Yeah, that's it. I haven't gotten very far today....

The Last VeganMoFo

So this is my 12th post for VeganMoFO. I didn't even do half the month.....but really, i'm not surprised. Or, actually, i should say i am because i didn't think i'd even get through this many.

This is just going to be a spazz post about several different things. Maybe a list of my favorite things...

1. Trader Joe's Very Cherry Chip (actually made by Double Rainbow). This stuff is creamy delicious.

2. Trader Joe's 3 Buck Chuck. Can you beat a $3 bottle of prize winning wine that tastes good? Only if you're in California (where it's $2)

3. Wildwood Garlic Aioli. Currently, you can buy this at the Hollywood Grocery Outlet for $1.29. I like this best when used as a dip for veggies, especially red bell peppers. It's a match made in heaven....

4. Tofutti's Better Than Sour Cream. I put this shit on everything i make. (that is savory...not sweet stuff...) It makes anything i make taste good, magical stuff....

5. Tofu. Gosh, how did i go for so many years without this? Probably because my mom's afraid of it and the first time i tasted it was in Food Prep class in 10th or 11th grade and it was given to me raw.

6. Tube's Vegan Ham and Cheese. It's what my dreams are made of. It's taste is part nostalgia and part hot faux ham and cheese with chipotle vegannaise.

7. Dr. Pepper. I'm a pepper.

8. Vegan Chicken Nuggets from Food Fight! R.I.P. They are no longer available (because they are no longer made), but i still think of them....

9. Sweetpea Baking Co.'s Glazed Donuts. I've mentioned these many times, but there's a reason for that: they're delicious!

10. Apples. Probably my all time favorite fruit. Favorite types being Gala or Honeycrisp. One kind that i won't touch with a 10 foot pole: Red Delicious. Ok, maybe i would if i was tricked and they were baked in something, but damn! the skin of those is drying to the mouth!

11. Chocolate. I'll take it in many forms. My favorite being Missionary truffles, Chocolove Dark Chocolate with Almonds and Cherries, Terra Nostra's Ricemilk Choco with Dark Truffle Center, bits of it in ice cream....

12. Faux sausages. I cut those up and it gives flavor and protein to any veggie saute i make...or pizza....yum....

What are some of yours?

I do hope to blog more than i have. It's been nice having everyone blog so often. There's always something new to read.

Happy Halloween, y'all! Watch out for the poisoned candy!