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!

Hummus Pods & Main Street Vegan Academy Cookbook

A little teaser to start things off today!  But I can't tease you for long...so...here's what you are looking at...

These are new-to-me and I have to say I fell in LOVE with them at first bite!  They are Hummus Pods!  I found them on one of my recent road trips.  I hope they become more readily available because I want to stock up on them!  They are YUMMY as-is and on their own but you know me...I need to make dips and sauces for stuff, too, so I did!  I used homemade leftover Vegan Sriracha Aioli.

And speaking of recents...here is another recent cookbook I added to my collection!  I can't wait to dive in!  I randomly opened the book today and immediately wanted to try the Pistachio Mustard!  OMG!  I need to try it and ASAP!

This is a short post today but I have a lot going on - good - but busy - and I hope to share more of that with you SOON!

In the meantime...have you seen or tried these Hummus Pods yet?  Do you have the new Main Street Vegan Academy Cookbook?  If so - what are your fave recipes or at least ones that intrigue you!?

2 New Vegan Finds at Aldi

Happy World Vegan Day everyone! 

I almost wasn't sure what to blog about today until I realized I never told you about these two new-to-me products I found at Aldi's!

First up is their new Vegan Quinoa Crunch Veggie Burger!  Not too shabby!  I've actually bought these twice now and I enjoy them in wraps or plan with no bun since I have been shying away from bread this month. 

I LOVE that VEGAN is mentioned in TWO places - one with the label and logo we all know and love at the bottom and again at the TOP in a nice colorful and fun font!

Next up is their Hummus.  I should do an "Evolution of Aldi Hummus" post at some point because they keep getting more choices, more brands, and more packaging.

This what fairly unique in that it was layered with full chickpeas and other veggies and spices on the bottom.  And that's in addition to the yumminess on top, too! 

Normally I like my hummus creamy and smooth but there was something about this one that made it more like a full meal!  Very impressive!

Tabouli Mediterranean Snack Bar & Cafe

I will have multiple posts today so be sure to check back!  First up I'm VERY EXCITED to tell you that there is a NEW restaurant in town!  Yup!  In the small town where I live there is a new eating establishment that opened on Monday called Tabouli.  It's a Mediterranean Snack Bar and Cafe.  They have MANY vegetarian and vegan options available and they are clearly marked on their menu as such!  None of my co-workers have ever had Mediterranean Food (other than Greek Mediterranean Food, that is) so I brought a few things back for them to try!

In the first photo above is their Falafel made with Chickpeas, Onions, Parsley, and seasoning.  Some of you know I'm a HUGE fan of Falafel so of course I adored this!  I will note...their Tahini Sauce is made with Yogurt so I offered that to a co-worker as it isn't vegan.  Their Hummus is the vegan option for this.  Both are shown.

The other photo is of their Lentil Soup.  It's a thinner soup and the Lentils appeared to be ground and not whole.  The caramelized onions kicked the flavor up a notch!  YUM!

I know I will be ordering a LOT from Tabouli so be on the look out for more posts!  It's a block from where I work so I'm sure they will get to know me real well - and I - them!

My Vegan Thanksgiving Plate

Thursday my husband and I went to my parents for Thanksgiving as we normally do to meet with them as well as my sister and her husband.  I've been a vegetarian for almost 20 years and veg*n for almost a year and a half.  Believe it or not - I've never had a vegan turkey alternative until this year.  I decided to FINALLY try one.  I chose the Gardein's Holiday Roast.  It was pretty decent!  I cooked from frozen and it took about an hour or so in the oven.  I really liked the center of it where they had the stuff that was mostly grains, cranberry, and celery.  It came with 2 packets of gravy.  I haven't had gravy in YEARS.  It's not that I don't like it - it's just that I haven't made it in forever...I do like Mushroom Gravies and just might have to start making them again.

Anyhow...here is a photo of my plate.  As you can see I had LOTS to choose from!  All vegan!  You can see the slices of the Holiday Roast at about the 11 o'clock section of the plate.  At the top we did roasted Brussell Sprouts using a little bit of Wildtree's Grapeseed Oil and gently seasoned with California Garlic Pepper.  Next I had a little bit of the Sweet Potatoes.  Then I made a HUGE batch of Tabouli and my sister and I both had large helpings of that.  I was SHOCKED to see my husband tried some and Gold Stars to my Mother for having a spoonful eventho I know she wasn't a fan of it.  I think it's the texture for her as well as the Parsley and Mint...but I just LOVE it!  My sister and I split up the leftovers and took them home.  Then I had a few different flavors of hummus.  Not pictured are the bread/rolls we had.  Everything was yummy!

Earlier last week I posted about the Thanksgiving at my husband's family's gathering.  Between the two families I had completely different plates of food!  I ate real well last week!  That's for sure :)

Holiday Valley, Elicotville, John Harvard's, Sister Time, Scenic Drive

I think this will be the last of my posts for today.  This is 3 of 3 - so please continue to scroll down!

Here's another photo of my sister from over the weekend.  When you read my other posts it will all make sense!  It's a photo of me trying to dry her pants with a hair dryer! LOL

Yeah...so after we were caught in the heavy rain we decided to pay my parents a visit at the resort they were staying at for the weekend.  It was part of a promotion where my Dad works.  He and my mother helped work it and the accommodations were amazing!  They were at Holiday Valley in Elicotville, NY.  Holiday Valley is known as a Skiing Destination in the winter and a get-away in the summer months.  They are also quite busy during the fall.  It's been YEARS since I have been there for any reason.  Since we left our event 2 hours early we decided to swing by.  We saw some 'friends of the family' we haven't really seen in a while - who also worked with my father.  Mom and Dad were on their way to a dinner but Megan and I decided to go to Dinner in one of their restaurants within the Resort.

The name of the restaurant was John Harvard's Brew House and it was a really nice place!  There were a few vegetarian options on the menu and they could easily be veganized by omitting an ingredient or two.  The waitress was really nice and willing to help with this!

My sister - who is NOT a vegetarian - had a flatbread pizza with a Basil Pesto Sauce, Mushrooms, Tomatoes, and Onions.  So technically her meal was vegetarian but not vegan.  She really doesn't eat a lot of meat but still isn't veg.  There are several foods she stays away from because of stomach related issues such as fried foods, red sauces, carbonated beverages, etc.  She really liked her flatbread.  I'm not going to lie - it smelled amazing.  So much so - my next kitchen adventure might have to be a Vegan Basil Pesto Sauce.

We ended up splitting an appetizer.  We got the Mediterranean Platter (minus the Feta) which consisted of: Hummus, Tabbouleh, Roasted Peppers, Kalamata Olives, Tomatoes, Artichokes, and Pita Bread.  It was the first time my sister had Tabbouleh and she really liked it.  I told her next time I make it I would save her some! 

For my Dinner I got the Mediterranean Wrap (Minus the Feta) which was Hummus, Olives, Baby Lettuces, and Diced Tomatoes.  It was HUGE.  I took half of it home.  It was tasty, tho! 

After we were done with dinner we took a stroll around the grounds a little bit.  We came across this Faux Bon Fire out behind the one building!  I thought it was beautiful!  Everything about the place was nice, tho!

This was a photo of the building my parents and their crew stayed in...

My sister and I chatted the whole way home about trying to go back at some point and stay longer and have a girls weekend but I am sure it's very expensive!

Even if you don't STAY there you can go to the restaurants and different things around town which is more of what we are apt to do, I guess.

I also mentioned it to my husband and he was interested in taking a trip out for dinner some evening and/or weekend!

Neat Place!

Black Bean Hummus

It's been a while since my last hummus post and I could seriously eat a form of Hummus EVERY DAY!

Today...Black Bean Hummus!

2 C or 1 Can of Black Beans

1 T Grapeseed Oil (I'm going to make another batch with Jalapeno Grapeseed SOON!)

2 T Tahini

3 Cloves Garlic

1/2 T Cumin

2 T Lime Juice (or lemon if you prefer)

Pinch of Paprika, Sea Salt, Cayenne Pepper

I also saw someone use Banana Pepper Rings to top it off!  I LOVE this idea and might try that soon, too!

Participating Post:

Tasty Tuesdays Party
Tasty Tuesdays

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Vegan Tuesdays

Raw Zucchini Hummus

This is also from Philip's Book - mentioned below - but I left the skin on.  I must say I'm not as jazzed about this one but will be experimenting with it more.  I think if it were IN something...maybe as a topping on a Sandwich it might work but something doesn't really jive stand-alone for me, I guess.

Again, I tweaked it a bit - so it could totally be something on my part and not the original recipe! 

I used Black Sesame Seeds, Grapeseed Oil, Tahini, Sea Salt, Lemon Juice, Zucchini, Water, Garlic

I also found that my mini-grinder decided to bite the dust last night so I have to go find another one.

2 Bean & Peanut Butter Hummus

I have been wanting to make hummus lately but wanted to not only have Chickpeas in it but Black Beans. I started making it earlier today and realized my Tahini was on the verge of turning. So instead of chancing it and ruining the batch of hummus I have been so eager to make I decided to use Peanut Butter instead. Here is what I blended together:

2 cans of Chickpeas
2 cans of Black Beans
2 Tablespoon of Wildtree European Dipping Oil - Garlic
2 Tablespoons of Peanut Butter
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
a little water for consistency/smoothness/taste

EASY! Fun! Healthy! Enjoy!

Garlic Hummus

One of my all-time favorite foods that I will NEVER get sick of is hummus! I also LOVE garlic! Here is one of the Garlic Hummus Recipes I make often...

• 2 cans of chickpeas
• 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
  
• 7-10 cloves of garlic or 2-3 Tablespoons of Minced Garlic
  
• 2 Tablespoons Tahini
• garlic flavored oil (or olive or Grapeseed oil) to taste
  
• spices of choice ***optional