Wednesday Already?

Is it Wednesday already!?  WOW!  Time is flying by - that's for sure! 

This past weekend the fairgrounds housed the Wild Wind Festival which is a large folk art fall fest of sorts here in our region.  It's a Juried Show and has vendors from over 20-some states that attend.  It was said that about 7,000 people were there on Saturday.  Sunday's weather was awful.  But since I was on the grounds anyways...and EARLY...I was able to FINALLY eat the Artichokes from the one vendor that comes each year that I never was able to try up until now.

Fried Artichokes!  The photo above was the sample they had out so the sample showed it with mayo and hot sauce.  The vendor just gave me the hot sauce and I went back to my camper and mixed it with JUST MAYO Garlic Mayo and it was FAB!  They use Peanut Oil and the only thing on the artichokes was a cornmeal so it was vegan!  YAY!

I told you about me looking forward to seeing more goats and I did just that.  The guy who brings them had a few new additions.  These lil guys were only 3 weeks old and they didn't get too far away from their parents!  There was another one that was tan and brown that was about 8 weeks old and he was a bit more outgoing than these two.  Regardless, they were adorable!

He also brought a bunch of turtles he had rescued throughout the years.  Here was the biggest one of the bunch.

I was able to spend quite a bit of time with my parents over the weekend which was nice.  It has been wonderful having them at the fairgrounds this summer.  They have been working their butts off, too!

I recently ordered from VeganEssentials so I will be having LOTS of new-to-me things to share once I get them in and sampled so stay tuned for that!

As for my contribution for Vegan MoFo today - it's a bit of a stretch - but here goes...Spicy without the Chillies was the prompt.  Doubt I achieved it but thought this find was worth the mention.

It was pretty sweet but had some nice spices mixed in.  I added a teaspoon or so of Just Mayo Garlic Mayo to it for a little something different.  Yup!  You got it!  I ate this at 'camp'.  I still had some vegan convenience foods on hand that I wanted to finish up before cleaning out the camper for winter storage.  I also had some corn chips with this and it scooped up nicely.

I believe I found this new-to-me Sweet Earth product at the Wegmans in Lakewood.

What's In My Kitchen For December

Thanks to a few of my blogging buddies for reminding me to hurry up and post my 'What's In My Kitchen' for December!  I'm going to TRY not to repeat too much here, but, this first one I MUST!  The first item on my Top Ten for this month is Grapeseed Oil.  I recently stocked up on the Natural, Garlic, and Basil Pesto Grapeseed Oils from Wildtree as we will no longer be reps but I still LOVE the product!

#2 on my list for this month is Organic Liquid Smoke which also happens to be raw vegan!  I have had this in my pantry for a while and I seem to go in spurts when I use it but for the past month, I have been tossing a dribble or two in many of my dips!  A little bit goes a long way!  This is my FAVORITE brand!

I've blogged about this before.  This is my #3 for this month.  It's Sesame King's Tahini but more specifically their Garlic flavor. 

As many of you know I'm garlic obsessed and will try just about anything that is vegan that also has garlic in it! 

Not shocking that 2 out of my top 3 contain garlic, eh!? 

This is also my secret weapon when it comes to my most recent vegan cheese sauce!

#4 is Dill.  I have been adding a dash of dill in almost everything for the past month or so.  I LOVE the aroma of dill and the taste.

#5 is Chickpeas.  This really isn't a surprise, I realize that but when I don't know what else to eat I bust out a can of chickpeas and throw something together - real quick and easy!

Plus I thought this graphic was a wonderful comparison!  Less Fat, More Fiber, ZERO Cholesterol, Less Sodium, WAY MORE Potassium and Calcium, and More Iron than chicken!  Knowledge is POWER!

#6 is Justo Mayo.  I realize this is a convenience item but it's pretty darn good.  The price is right.  And it seems to be more and more available in my area than any other vegan mayo.  That and if you have followed their battles in the last couple of years I have had a soft spot in my heart for their company and how hard they fought their competitors to stay afloat and get where they are today!  They have been able to educate a lot of people along the way about plant-based foods not having to be more expensive, too!

#7 on my list is Amy's Kitchen VEGAN Soups.  I have to admit that I'm not sure if all 6 pictured are vegan because I have never come across a few of them but I LOVE they have as many vegan options as they do!  And those few days I was sick and didn't feel like making anything or even moving - I was grateful I could find them locally.

#8 on this months list is Potatoes!  Plain and Simple.  Potatoes!  Hillary got me on the bandwagon, finally!  Thanks, girl!

#9 is Bragg's Liquid Aminos and/or Coconut Secret Coconut Aminos!  Since I'm not much of a sea person I like to add these two items to my sauces, dips, vegan cheeses, etc to give it a little more savory flavor while still incorporating more aminos into my foods! 

#10 has to be these Bare Coconut Chips.  They have moved out of my kitchen and into my office.  I like to snack on them while at work!  Yum!

Scroll down for a 2nd post today and swing by the Kitchen Link-Up, too!


 

Blabbing About Bottled Finds!

I almost wasn't sure what to blog about today but then I quickly remembered I was lucky enough to go on a 2 day shopping spree for food so I thought back about some of the things I was able to find and thought about my TOP 3 bottled finds and thought I would share them with you.

First...Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar Drink - specifically their Apple Cinnamon Flavor.  WHY?  Well, some of you might know that DH has Crohn's and each day is a different experience.  Because of his Crohn's he has had other issues and we are finding out all go hand-in-hand in his case.  He was lucky enough to talk to a local doctor about his sinus infections and come to find out this same doctor also has Crohn's and seems to have many of the same problems as DH.  Long story short he needs to increase his intake of fermented foods.  Some of which he has already been doing.  DH doesn't seem to have a problem with ACV which I think is AWESOME.  This past weekend he tried this Apple Cinnamon flavor for the first time and LOVES it!  Problem?  It's hella expensive.  I'm going to try and make it myself soon!  I will keep you posted!  Something else I wanted to mention about this ACV Apple Cinnamon Drink is that I have now seen a vegan and an non-vegan version.  One version has honey in it so it's not technically vegan.  However, the one I bought for him had Stevia in it and no honey.  Interesting.  I wasn't aware of this until now!  Tricky, tho!  So keep your eyes peeled.  Unless you are a Apia(n) Vegan or Beegan that is.

Next up...Tahini from Trader Joe's!  I have yet to try TJ's Tahini but I'm certain it will be a winner!  Tahini was one of the many staples I have been out of in my pantry lately.  When I took that trip to TJ's I was able to find a FRESH and refrigerated version of it but I was looking for the self version.  When I got up to the check out there was a YOUNG looking 75 year old in front of me claiming that she was a first time shopper to TJ's and the WONDERFUL cashier let her in on some of their secrets.  Secrets?  I have been to 3 different TJ's thus far and I didn't even know about their secrets!  So I listened.  He was telling her that if you wanted to try/sample anything in the store that wasn't already prepared that they would OPEN IT for you and let you try it right there in the store!  Heck!  I didn't know that!  Then he was saying that if you bought something and didn't like it they would give you your money back.  That's always a good thing, eh!?  He even said that with their wine if you didn't like it to bring back the empty bottle and they would refund you!  NICE!  When I stepped up to check out I had a nice conversation with the cashier, too!  I was telling him that I was having a hard time finding this Tahini so the cashier-assistant ran back and grabbed one for me!  AWESOME!  In the meantime I was telling him I was from out of town.  I jokingly asked him if it was always so CRAZY at this TJ's and he said YES especially on Saturdays and Sundays.  He said the BEST TIME to shop was right when they opened.  I told him I noticed that the one time I shopped at the one near Buffalo.  When I was paying him for what I bought I noticed he put something in my cart that I didn't buy.  I looked up and he said 'There you go - sorry it was so busy in here today"...MY GAWD...it was a bouquet of FLOWERS!  How sweet!!!!!  What a wonderful store AND guy, eh!?

So this blog post was a complete blab-fest, eh?  Sorry about that!  I'm not quite finished...teehee!  Another bottled YUMMY I found this past weekend was Just Thousand!  It was available at Target in Erie.  This was yet another first for me.  I know Just Mayo is my most favorite vegan mayo to date and I like their flavored vegan mayos, too!  I know that my buddy Hillary is pretty obsessed with a few of the Hampton Creek Dressings and rightfully-so!  I tried the Ranch before and it was pretty good!  I thought it was more of a Peppercorn Ranch than a Buttermilk Ranch but that's ok!  This Thousand Island was pretty spot-on!  I have to say that I make a pretty awesome vegan Thousand Island Dressing, too, if I do say so myself.  I think the main difference is the consistency.  Mine is thicker than Hampton Creek's.  So they have me there!

Anyhow...I'm pretty excited about these 3 finds for one reason or another.  Now I just have to find the ACV for CHEAP in BULK or make my own...which is probably what will happen at some point.

MidWeek Munchies Vegan Garlic Galore Wildtree Recipe Dip (***CONTEST***)

Happy MidWeek Munchies to ya!

Be sure to link up below!  Anything Vegan is welcome!

For my quick post today...

Garlic Galore Vegan Dip

You may or may not know that I (along with my mom, dad, and sister) have been Wildtree Representatives for a while now.  It works well because I can speak on the vegetarian and vegan products, my mom and sister can talk about more Standard American Diet type things, and my dad can talk about his personal experiences about how some of the products has helped his overall health, too! 

As a vegan foodie - I can eat the majority of offerings in the catalog.  Heck!  I'm just stoked they have so many options!  And MOST of the products are not only organic but many of them gluten free, too!

Having said that...here is my take on the Garlic Galore Dip VEGANIZED!

1/2 C Just Mayo

1/2 C (many a little more) Tofutti Sour Cream

1 1/2 T Wildtree Garlic Galore Blend

That's all!  And it's WONDERFUL if you LOVE garlic like I do!  But that isn't all I do with this product...I basically use it almost everyday!  Every time you need garlic!  

Before we get to the LINK UP...I'm going to do a spur of the moment CONTEST!  If you LINK UP to this weeks MWM - as well as - LEAVE A COMMENT on this post with your email addy - I will choose a winner to receive one of these Garlic Galore's in the near future!  I will choose the winner Wednesday, May 28th!  WHO WANTS TO WIN?

An InLinkz Link-up

Random Foods Without Appropriate Recipes!

Last week I was notified that one of my writing gigs has come to an end.  This was one of my FAVES.  It's because of this that I have been in a funk.  I spent a lot of time writing for this place and eventho I understand the need to end it at the moment I am missing it very much!  I have been a little 'off' because of it I guess.  So today I thought I would post a few random vegan dishes I have eaten the last few weeks and have yet to blog about here.

First up is this lil diddy!  It's Multi-Colored CousCous topped with a Veggie Burger cubed up.  I added Wildtree Golden BBQ Sauce to the CousCous and on top is a blop of Garlic Just Mayo!

An interesting tidbit about this pic...Shannon Elizabeth LIKED it on Instagram. You remember Shannon Elizabeth from the American Pie Movie?  Yup!  Her!  She's a Vegan!!!  AND she LIKED my photo!  Woot!

Next up is one of the many attempts at a vegan mac and cheese.  This wasn't my best work but it was still edible.  It was VERY cheesy and I added vegan bread crumbs but it made it a bit salty and a strange texture.

Another side note...I have been putting a sprinkle of nutmeg on just about everything these days!

These are some of the Cacao Balls my mom and I made a while back and I will probably be blogging about them more in length in the future because I used the Indigo Herbs Cacao Powder and they turned out yummers but I don't have the recipe with me at the moment.

We rolled some of them in Cacao Powder some of them in a combo of Coconut Shreds, Red Pepper Flakes, and Sea Salt.

This was a great base recipe and I'm looking forward to trying out more toppings!

And last but not least...a simple pasta with vegan marinara!  I got the sauce from Wegmans and sprinkled - you guessed it - Marinara on top!

So sorry I don't have the recipes for these dishes at the moment but I will have some soon!

And don't forget tomorrow is a NEW MidWeek Munchies Week!  Tomorrow I will be featuring my haul from Dollar Tree!  I couldn't believe everything I found there!