In My Kitchen - February

Better Late - than NEVER, eh!?  Yeah...sorry about this In My Kitchen - February being so late!  And I don't know if I am breaking the rules or not but I'm starting this post off with an item that I REALLY enjoyed the past few months and have run out of recently!  This is definitely a restock-able item the next time I get to Trader Joe's!  It's their Vegetable Masala Burger and it's VEGAN.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE the flavor of these.  The first ingredients listed is Potatoes and they are marvelous!  I wasn't even able to eat these as an actual 'burger' - I ate them plain.  I just cooked them in a pan on the stove top with a little bit of Grapeseed Oil and it was spot-on AWESOME!  I think that by putting it between a bun you might lose some of the flavor.  Don't quote me on that but I am FINE with the way I ate it stand-alone!  I already told my husband I will stock up on them next time!

One of the many tea companies I was introduced to this past month was Tea At Sea.  They don't have a HUGE selection of teas (yet) but they are doing a LOT of things RIGHT!  I really LOVE the little "press kit" promotional visual they included in my mailing!  It looks a lot like this...it was a half of a Wine Cork for the base with a tooth pick for the 'body' and a heavy duty paper that you clipped on for the sail!  Very nice!  I was able to sample both their Black Tea as well as their Oolong Tea and both were lovely.

In the past I have shared my Veg*n Findings at Aldi and I am happy to report than their Vegetarian and Vegan offerings are multiplying as well as their Organic offerings!  So exciting!  This month I found a Bean and Corn Salsa/Dip that was not only made with vegan ingredients it was actually LABELED Vegan as well!  AND...I found a Mango Chutney that was labeled vegan, too, YAY!   I also noticed earlier this week that they now have a Vegetarian Section in their Recipe area on their website!

I always have GARLIC in the house...whether it's actual Garlic Cloves and Bulks or Minced Garlic in the Frig or powder even.  I almost always have Lemon Juice in the house, too, but I just ran out of it with the Raw Vegan Burgers I made Sunday Night.  2 flavors I have been using more than usually as of late have been both CURRY and TURMERIC.  Not only the flavors I have been craving but the nutritional benefits of each.  PLUS...with this horribly cold winter we are having it just makes sense to consume them both!

As for Grab-N-Go Convenience Foods this month I have enjoyed a few of the McDougall's Vegan Soups.  I bought them because they were on sale.  They aren't a new-to-me-product but I don't necessarily buy them often either...unless they are on sale.  I especially like the lower sodium offerings because I'm not a salty foods fan - generally speaking.  All of the soups I have tried I have liked.  I see there is a Tamale one that I have tried but want to.  Those are just a few things that have been popular in my kitchen this past month!  How about you!?