The Good, The Bad, & The...CUTE!

We'll start with the...CUTE...because it's the easiest and, well, THE CUTEST!  The other day my father sent me this photo of my niece.  Apparently, she has messy hair and doesn't care!

Now...for a little bit of the...GOOD!  I found this a while back and it is darn tasty!  Pumpkin Spice Peanut Butter made with REAL Pumpkin!  I have a few spoonsful for a snack on occasion!

And for another 'nut butter' I am feeling conflicted about this one...while it smells and tastes WONDERFUL the texture is a little hard to deal with!  Sure...I expected the oil to be on top and that I would have to stir but OMG it was SO DRY on the nut butter part that I got oil all over me and couldn't really stir it at all!  YIKES!

The last time I saw this brand I had the spicy queso (I think) and it was ok but really thin and runny.  THIS ONE was MUCH BETTER!  I liked the consistency and the flavor better than the first one!

For the next product...I guess I aimed a little too high with this one.  Perhaps my expectations were too over the top but I have to say I really didn't care for this product.  The noodles were very gummy and a weird slimy texture that didn't jive with my pallet.  Sorry, folks!

This, however, was AMAZING!  The flavor was great and the texture was right on, too!  BUT...locally, speaking, was WAY TOO EXPENSIVE!  I had to try it just once but at $7.99 I can't justify it...no matter how yummy!  Knock 2 to 3 bucks off and I will consider it!

I've had this one other time before but when I found it again I had to grab it not only because I was out of vegan cheese but because it was on sale and I had a craving!

This was the first time I had come across this brand of hummus so I knew I had to try it and was glad I did!  It was great!  And the price was right, too!  I'm looking forward to trying to find it again and trying another flavor!

I did find the new or at least the new-to-me Mexican Classic Blend of Daiya Shreds and I enjoyed them!  YAY!

This was a bit more than I wanted to spend but I rarely find Engine 2 brand items and knew I wouldn't be back to that location for MONTHS.  I gobbled it up rather quickly to say the least!

I tried the Bootleg Bucha Apple Spice and it was pretty good.  Another flavor I had right around that time was a HOPS one and I really liked that one, too!  One of these days I hope to visit a Buffalo Based Booch Place...maybe even Bootleg!  Time will tell!

Laos Style (Cheater) Pumpkin Coconut Soup, Veggie Based Vegan Cheese Sauce, Cashew Sun Dried Tomato Topped Veggie Ravioli, & Tribute to Buffalo Broadcasting Legend!

It was 3 below zero when I left the house this morning on my last 'day off' of the year.  It's beyond cold - it's damn frigid!   I've said it before and I will say it again and again - I hate winter!  The only thing it's good for is SOUP!

This was inspired by Vegan Street Food by Jackie Kearney that I obtained a while back.  It's loosely based on her Laos-Style Roasted Pumpkin, Coconut, and Chili Soup.  But I changed it so much that I thought it would be ok to share my recipe and take on it with you!  I have 2 photos here - one in a bowl and one in a mug!  The one you see here has an added nutmeg sprinkle on top!

My take on the ingredients:

1 Can Pumpkin Puree
1 Can Lite Coconut Milk
1 T Vegan Broth/Powder
1/2 t Minced Garlic
1/2 t Minced Onion
1 T Grapeseed Oil
Sea Salt to taste*
Pinch Cayenne

As many of you know I don't add much sea salt to my foods and when I do it's not even a pinch.  But here I used about 1/2 t or so and it was tasty!

Yet another Vegan Cheese Sauce on this spiral!  Here's what I threw in my blender for this...
2 C Potatoes
1/2 C Water
1/4 C Grapeseed Oil
1 T Lemon Juice
2 Carrots
1 C Corn
1/4 C Nutritional Yeast
Handful of Cashews
1/4 t each of: Onion, Garlic, Turmeric, Paprika, Vegan Stock/Powder, Yellow Mustard, Apple Cider Vinegar, Sea Salt (or to taste)

Check out this super creamy Cashew & Sun Dried Tomato Sauce I made to top the Engine 2 Diet Roasted Veggie Ravioli I found at the Buffalo Whole Foods the last time I went!  I did a basic Cashew Sauce with Cashews, Water, and Lemon Juice.  I added in about 5 Sun Dried Tomatoes and blended.  On top of that you will see that I sprinkled Smoked Paprika and Parsley on it, too!  YUM!  A closer look - see below!

I know I'm jamming a lot in to one post here but I have a lot of catching up to do!  Sorry about that!

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by Engine 2's Roasted Veggie Ravioli.  There was a slight kick to the veggie mixture inside the Rav's which was neat!  This creamy, smoky, tangy sauce accompanied it well, too!

I wasn't able to find a good pic of the packaging but here's a visual for you...

This is the first product I have been able to find other than a package of the wraps which I wasn't thrilled with.  This Roasted Vegetable Whole Wheat Ravioli - on the other hand - was pretty tasty!  Yes...it did have the stereotypical whole wheat ravioli pasta texture but the veggie mixture inside greatly made up for it.  And the sauce was a nice finishing touch - if I do say so myself!

Before I end this post I wanted to insert a video from the other day.  It's about 9 minutes but worth it especially if you are in radio, TV, or from the Buffalo area.  It's a tribute to Irv Weinstein - a Buffalo Broadcasting LEGEND would passed away the day after Christmas from complications of ALS (AKA Lou Gehrig's Disease).  I grew up with this guy!  He was a staple in the Western New York Community and a life-long radio and TV guy!  He had a heart of gold and touched the lives of many.  When he retired back in '98 he was hardly able to make it thru his final broadcast before retiring.  Have 9 minutes?  I would love you to check it out!