Weekend Re-Cap in Photos!

Saturday I decided to take a short drive up to Kinzua Dam.  I didn't go to the actual Dam but the Big Bend Area. 

If I were to actually make a stop at the Dam I would be in a Parking Lot or at the Bridge going over top of the Dam that you see here. 

I wanted to do some thinking.  I also wanted to take some photos.  It's been a while since my last stop up there.  It's one of those places that people from far away visit often but the locals don't usually frequent.

If you visit my Instagram Account you can see more photos and even a short video, too!

The weather was gorgeous that day!  It seemed like it was the perfect temperature.  It wasn't muggy (like it has been most of the time the last couple years in the summertime) and it had just the right amount of breeze.  As you can see from the photos...the skies were blue and had some lovely, light clouds.

This photo is looking down 'water' from the Dam from the same spot.  One of these days I might go up to the Dam and the Bridge area and take some more photos to post here.

I wanted to go over to a small waterfall that is tucked off the road into the Allegheny National Forest a bit but ran out of time.

We left our house to make a quick trip up to the Buffalo area and stopped at The Pizza Plant for an early dinner.  Of course, I'm always excited because they not only have Vegan Pizza - they have Vegan Cheese for their Vegan Pizza!  I wanted to do a different topping for it this time around, tho.  Usually, I opt for Tomatoes or Mushrooms.  This time I went with the Artichokes.  It was fantastic!  I ate it for 4 meals!

Driving back wasn't fun.  There was a lot of construction.  We made a mistake with a detour and went about a half hour out of our way.  Oops!

Here's a close-up of an individual piece in case you're interested.

In other news...I've decided to take on another volunteering project.  This past month The Dyslexic Advantage eNewsletter was asking for volunteers to voice certain articles of their monthly online magazine.  I figured since I'm in radio full-time and have access to the equipment both at work and at home, I thought it was something I could easily do.  Plus, I have been wanting to get more involved in advocating for Dyslexics (since I, too, am one).

This past Thursday, there was a chair meeting for our Zonta Club.  It was a real eye-opener about just how much we do in our area.  I hope to help get the word out more about the efforts.  In the meantime, I was asked to chair the Service Committee so I'm looking forward to that, too!

Another thing we did this past weekend was stop in to our some-what-new, local Ollie's Bargain Outlet and we found some extra large fuzzy blankets for cheap.  We bought them and some other stuff for the house and I have to say that the blankets are a HIT with the dogs!  They LOVE them!

Here is a photo of Cricket sleeping on my lap...on the new blanket, of course.

What did you do over the weekend!?

Thrown Together Vegan Pizzas!

Another busy week is to blame for my lack of posts but I do have some things to share with you - I'm just a bit behind - that's all!

Last week I found this pizza crust at my local Tops Market that just happened to be VEGAN.  It's also Non-GMO and Organic, too!  They are long and rectangular and they come in two packs!

I was super stoked about these!  I'm NOT a baker - it doesn't matter if it's sweets or bakey type things like crusts - I screw it up EVERY TIME...guaranteed!  So finding these was like the sky parting and the heavens singing!  Even better I was able to use what I had on hand to make the pizzas!  Take a look at the additional photos below!

Starting with the first one...plan and simple...Vegan Cheese Pizza!  Yup!  That's shredded Daiya you are seeing!  I used a simple pizza sauce that was also vegan.  I liked that it only had just a couple ingredients in there, too!  I probably put these in the oven about 2 minutes too long.  They were really crunchy but that's ok because I like them that way.
Oddly - the leftover the 2nd day were even better and actually not as crunchy!

This was the 2nd pizza I did!  I threw leftover spinach, corn, and 2 Daiya Cheeses on there.  You can't really see the last bit of Jack Shreds I used but they are in there.  I was going for more of a Mexican Pizza here and you will see in the next photo how I topped it off!  I also sprinkled some minced garlic over top of this one, too!  It was totally YUMMY!  I enjoyed both but have to say I think this 2nd one was my favorite of the two!

All cut up and ready to eat!  Yup!  That is vegan sour cream you see there!  It was SUPER YUMMY with the Vegan Mexican Pizza!  And the corn really gave it that extra sweetness, too!  I think next time I am going to add some Chipotle Ranch from Wildtree to the Vegan Sour Cream.  I bet that would kick it up a notch, too!

So...what do you think about my thrown together - while using mostly leftovers - Vegan Pizzas - with new-to-me vegan crusts?

I was pretty giddy over all of this to me honest!  It was a nice treat and I was able to eat it for a few meals!

Daiya Fire Roasted Vegetable Pizza

As you know - Today is Wednesday - and that means it's time for MidWeek Munchies! I hope you will participate! This is actually my 2nd post of the day and 2nd post of this weeks' MWM.  CLICK HERE to check out the first post AND to LINK UP to this weeks MWM!  If you have anything VEGAN you would like to share and link up with we welcome you and your posts! It can be a grocery store haul, garden or farmers market trip, online purchase, or anything you made and munched on that happens to be vegan!

Eventho I didn't do much grocery shopping this past week I did run into Wegman's in Lakewood, NY, and picked up this vegan pizza!  I'm sure many of you have already tried this offering from Daiya but it's a first for me.  I have tried a few of their other vegan pizzas but it seems this one really spoke to me.

I think it had something to do with me wondering why veggie vegan frozen pizzas tend to skimp on the veggies!  This one didn't.  It didn't disappoint!  It had a good amount of veggies on top of the vegan cheese and it what exactly what I was looking for!  In addition - the sauce was 'kick ass', too!

I hope Daiya continues to come out with additional products quickly!  I would love to try them!

Vegan Pizza Party & LATE Weekend Giveaway

What happened to the weekend giveaway? Keep reading!  I am including this past week's giveaway at the bottom of this post!  Before we get to that I figured I would show you my vegan pizza I made on Saturday Night!  Hubby went to Pittsburgh for the Steelers game and I went to Buffalo for the Bills game.  More on that in a near future post.  Hubby left for Erie to meet up with his brother on Saturday afternoon and headed for Wegman's in Lakewood and grabbed some Daiya Cheese.  I then went over to my parents and made some of the Wildtree Pizza Dough that happens to be vegan and then added Sauce, Daiya, Onions, Peppers, and spices to it.  My parents had some of the vegan pizza and enjoyed it, too!

The first photo is before I baked it and this 2nd photo is after it came out of the oven.  We added some more spices to the top, too!  It was tasty!  I ate 3 pieces.  BUT...it was VERY thin and I hadn't eaten much on Saturday...a little but of grits but that's it.  We put the onions and peppers in between the sauce and the Daiya!

After making and eating the Vegan Pizza my mom and I made 3 different raw vegan desserts and I will be sharing those with you in future posts as well!  It was fun spending time with my parents this weekend and then on Sunday when we went to the game I got to see my sister, too!

I wish I had more veggies to add to the top of this but it still turned out yummy!

And here's a close up of a slice.  In case you were wondering I used a Wegman's Marinara that also happened to be vegan.  The spices were Wildtree Spices.  We sprinkled a little bit of the California Garlic Pepper and a bit of the Spicy Chipotle Ranch...yes...both vegan!

I've been hungry for soups so I will have soups on tap this week at some point among other things.

Sometimes when I indulge in vegan packaged convenience foods or vegan junk foods I sometimes will take a supplement...or if I am on the road for a few days to fill in any holes I may put upon myself.  I really like some of the Garden of Life Products that I have seen come across me lately - more specifically their sister company MyKind Organics which is a Certified Organic Whole Food Vitamin Company which is also vegan.  This is the company that Alicia Silverstone is the spokesperson for.  Today I am posting about their Women's Multi 40+ Vitamins.  They are allowing me to give a bottle of them away.  If you are a US Resident and would like to win these please leave me a comment along with your email addy.  I will choose a winner sometime Wednesday!  A little disclaimer...I was not paid to post this offer, however, Garden of Life allows me to do giveaways on my blog in exchange for honest reviews, recipes, and link-backs.

Vegan MoFo ~ Vegan Foods Inspired By 3 Films

The Vegan MoFo Prompt for today was to make or eat something inspired by a book or film.  I went back thru some of my faves and decided to do a collaboration!

First up...remember Gopher's Succotash from Winnie The Pooh?  I vaguely remember it since it's been so long since I have seen that movie but I do like Vegan Succotash so why not?  Here's a photo of one of the Vegan Succotash dishes I have done in the past.  I think my secret ingredient is a splash of Balsamic it seems to make everything better!

Next up is the Porridge mentioned in Beauty & The Beast.  I always 'assumed' that Porridge was like Oatmeal.  Well, when I traveled to The Breakers in West Palm Beach, Florida, earlier this year they featured this Vegan Porridge on one of their menus and it was one of the most memorial meals I've ever had while traveling!

The Porridge was made up of lentils and spices.

What you see on top is a single apple crisp with a dab of salsa.  I really must make some of this very soon.  Of course it will be my own version but something is better than nothing, right!?

And FINALLY...I chose the movie...Home Alone.

Remember when he gets the Little Nero's Cheese Pizza?

Well, here are a few vegan cheese pizzas I have enjoyed over the last few years!

First up...is the vegan pizza from Pizza Plant in Williamsville, NY.  YUMMO!  I love The Pizza Plant because of all of the veggie options they offer.

I also love their PODS and their Vegan Nachos!

I think I will have visit there again, soon!

Last year around this time hubby and I traveled to Tennessee and one of the places we went to eat was Mellow Mushroom.  It was my first time ever being to a Mellow Mushroom and I was completely stoked they had vegan options including this pizza!  They didn't skimp on the veggies either!

Comparing the two I think I liked the Pizza Plant Pizza better than Mellow Mushrooms but I do like them both and was so appreciative that both places had options!

And speaking of Vegan Pizza options...

I couldn't pass up another chance to plug The WNY VegFest!

This photo is a picture of the Vegan Taco Pizza that I had last year while visiting WNY's first annual VegFest in Buffalo!  We had so much fun that my sister and I went back this year.  If all goes well we are thinking about making it an annual tradition!

AND...a heads up...2016 I just might be going to TWO VegFests! I heard from organizers in Erie, PA, that they will start holding VegFest in the upcoming year!  YAY!

Since this Taco Pizza shown here was more 'fake meat' than cheese and veggies I have to say I like the other two options better but again am pleased they offered this at VegFest, too!

And, FINALLY...a Vegan Pizza that I have made all by myself!

If you have visited my blog before this might look familiar from a few months back.

It's the Vegan Mac & Cheese Pizza I tried making.

Sure...it needed a little work on the dough but I am always up front about my LACK of baking skills...this INCLUDES dough!    But they flavor was wonderful and I felt like I accomplished something because I did do it by myself!

So what do you think about my food?  And the films?

Mellow Mushroom ~ Pigeon Forge, TN

***There is still time to enter to win Organic Chia Seeds from Garden of Life***  CLICK HERE I will choose a winner BEFORE 5pm est today!

This first photo isn't mine...it's from the Mellow Mushroom Website.  But the other photos I took while on vacation.  This is the Mellow Mushroom location in Pigeon Forge, TN, and we stopped by while on vacation last week.  I think they had 3 locations in the area...this one, one in Gatlinburg next to Ole Smoky Moonshine, and one at The Island in Pigeon Forge, too!

First...I have to talk about the decor in this place.  It's so cool!  There are lights, mushrooms, tye dye stuff, hippie stuff - pretty much everywhere. 

These are some of the lighted tree decorations they had in the middle of our section.  I took some pics of the walls but they didn't turn out that great.  There was a HUGE painted wall that went from one end of the booth seating area to the other that was hippie and groovy but still a tribute to Pigeon Forge and the Smoky Mountains. 

They had this crazy stone fireplace that had some sort of mystical cartoon character mounted on it (thank GOD it wasn't a real deer - blah!) and candles and trinkets on the shelf below and then...look at the fireplace!!!  Instead of 'fire' it's a slew of Lava Lamps!  How groovy is that!?

There was plenty of parking outside, a lot of seating inside, a bunch of eye candy to look at inside and out and we haven't even talked about the food yet!

We will get to that in a moment...but first...I just had to show you another shot of this 'fireplace' of Lava Lamps...

I'm pretty sure that The Mellow Mushroom has 3 locations in the area of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.  At least that is how many I saw while we were out and about.  This one was in Pigeon Forge - stand alone.  There is another one in Pigeon Forge within The Island that I wrote about on my Travel Blog...then there is another one over by Ole Smoky Moonshine in Gatlinburg.

 Here's a photo of some of the mushrooms that were throughout the restaurant, too!  Of course when I added this to my InstaGram I had a few funny yet crude comments about what they looked like!

But...Mellow Mushroom's InstaGram 'liked' them so that's cool.  It was actually really neat because a lot of the pics I took and put on InstaGram I had the official place 'like' my photos!

Anyways...on to the food, right?  Dale ended up getting wings that were twice baked (not fried).  For those of you who are new to my blog - my husband is NOT vegan/vegetarian.

I, however, found out that they do vegan pizzas!  YAY!  They use Daiya Cheese!  They make their own vegan and gluten free crust from ancient grains.  I'm not Gluten Free but I enjoy eating Gluten Free foods from time to time.  There were other vegan options on the menu but I didn't really want to think about it and wanted to take some of the pizza back to the Cabin for later so this is what I went with.

It was the Veggie Pizza with the Vegan AND Gluten Free Crust.  Yes..Vegan Daiya Cheese.  The sauce was pretty good...but my favorite part of the pizza was the tomatoes!  They were AWESOME! 

The pizza - overall - was quite good.  I'm glad I was able to get it.  Very happy they offer it!  I do like the Vegan Pizza at Pizza Plant in Williamsville (Buffalo, NY, area) better, tho.  If you are veg - where is your favorite vegan pizza located?  Which eating establishment outside of the home, that is!?

Random Vegan Creations & Pear Walnut Balsamic PIZZA

I had a message from a reader of the site that checks-in often but rarely-if-ever-comments asking if I could post more of my vegan food creations.  She mentioned that she enjoys the other daily living posts but missed the vegan foods I use to post.  No Problemo!  The reason I haven't been adding as many to the site is because I haven't been all that creative in the kitchen as of late.  I have been throwing together a bunch of things or referring back to old favorites.  BUT...here are some random foods I haven't posted about yet.  First up is this Vegan Cheese Sauce.  It turned out WONDERFULLY!  I can't wait to make more!  And YES...I poured it over top of Grits!  

Here's the Recipe:

2 C Raw Cashews

1/2 C Nutritional Yeast

1/2 tea Garlic Powder
1/2 C Almond Milk
1 T SeaClear (Fermented Kelp Chlorella Miso)*

To purchase SeaClear CLICK HERE.  The ingredients include: Organic non-GMO soy and barley miso, raw apple cider vinegar, fermented kelp (Kombu), Chlorella, Tumeric, Black pepper.  But you could also just use your favorite Miso, too!

Not too long ago I made some Chickpea Sandwich Spread...with a twist!  Here's that recipe:

2 C Chickpeas

1/2 C Dried Cranberries

1/4 C Chopped Walnuts

1/2 T Wildtree Garlic Garlore (or Minced Garlic)

This was tasty, too, and I have found myself craving more.  I wasn't sure if I would like the walnuts and cranberries in there but they were REALLY great!

And finally...we had to go to Erie for my husband to see a Crohn's Specialist...afterwards we went for lunch at a place called The Public House.  They had some veganizable foods on their menu which was very neat and I opted for this.  It's one of their pizzas that I had them 'hold' the cheese on.  The other ingredients I kept on were the baked pears, onions, walnuts, and balsamic and it was pretty darn awesome!  I've never had anything quite like it but I would LOVE to have it again!

Vegan Pizza - Pizza Plant - Williamsville, NY

One of the places we stopped on Sunday was The Pizza Plant on Transit Road in Williamsville, NY, for my Birthday.  They have an AMAZING selection of Vegetarian Options.  They have a great deal of Vegan Options as well.  We've been to the Pizza Plant a few times...they have two locations.  The other is in Walker Center.  I was born in Buffalo and raised in a few towns and cities around Buffalo.  My Mother's Father owned part of Transit Road back in the day.  Of course that was probably 50 years ago or more, but still...we have history there.  I'm always excited to visit.  We didn't meet up with any of my family members - such as cousins, uncles, aunts, etc...we just went for the day and didn't really know where we were going other than Trader Joe's, Guitar Center, and a few others stops.  We ended up at Pizza Plant. 

I noticed they had not only Vegan Pizza - but Vegan Pizza - WITH Vegan Cheese!  I have to confess - this is the very first time I have had Vegan Pizza with Vegan Cheese - eating at an establishment.  You just don't usually find that around much.  So...it was my birthday and I splurged!  They make their own sauces, their own crusts, and use very fresh ingredients.  On this pizza I had Tomatoes, Zucchini, and Artichokes...with herbs!  The crust was their Garlic Crust.  It was AMAZING!  I had plenty to take home...that's for sure!

There are so many things you can veganize on their menu in addition to the already vegan items they clearly mark on their HUGE menu!  PLUS our waitress was WONDERFUL.  As soon as I said "vegan" she lit right up and started raddling off a bunch of additional info!  She said ALL of their doughs were vegan except for their Whole Wheat.  Good to know!  In the past I have opted for the "Pods" that they are famous for MINUS the cheese.  Which would be various veggies and sometimes a sauce inside of a "Pod" which is basically a Stromboli but better!  It opens slightly on the top and they aren't greasy like you would see in stromboli's plus they have over 30-some different combos!  YAY!  Anyhow...I really like this place...perhaps it's because I'm not able to go there often...or maybe it's because of the vegan options....heck...it's probably BOTH...but I'm even HAPPIER after our last visit!  YUM!

Pizza, Chi, and Me

 Another wicked crazy week is coming to a close.  It's been another Doo-Zee but I have been enjoying trying new things in the kitchen with foods!  I will be continuing Vegan Foods From Around The World Next Week, too!  A friend of mine suggested Thailand for my next Country.  Perhaps I will accept that challenge.  I do enjoy Thai Food when I have been able to have it. 

Here I am sporting one of my many hats.  I LOVE hats!  This one was made by a local artisan.  I bought it from her well over a year now.  I love the purple color.

 The little Chi Man has been a little terror lately.  I think it's his way of staying warmer, tho.  That - and - he LOVES to play!  Last night I snapped a photo of him FINALLY laying down...on a blanket on top of my legs while watching a few episodes of The Office on Netflix.  There are certain shows he LOVES.  Apparently The Office is one of them.  He does have sweaters but I usually only put them on while we go to visit someone or go outside.  He doesn't really like going outside much - so it's usually out to go and right back in.

As far a food is concerned from last night...I was LAZY and did a Vegan Pizza.  I used Daiya Cheese that I had open and HAD to use and sprinkled a few Wildtree Spices on top.  I used the Hot Chili Pepper and Garlic Blend as well as the Spaghetti Blend...and maybe even a little Onion and Chive.  Inbetween the "cheese" and the "dough" I brushed Basil Pesto Grapeseed Oil on it.  I did brush Agave Nectar on the crust, too.  I found this single serving 'dough' in BigLots and for the life of me I can't remember the brand but it did NOT have dairy/eggs in it.  It certainly did the trick for dinner last night tho.

Just a recap for this week's food for Healthy Vegan Fridays!

Ethiopian Peppers & Portabellas 

Ethopian Peppers & Bella on top of Couscous

Granola Mix
Radish Sprouts

Ethiopian Potato Salad

Spicy Avocado Mash & Radish Sprouts on a Bagel

Snack & Sprouts

And that sums up my food for this week so far!

Participating Post in:

• Aloha Friday
• Find + Follow Friday
• Foodie Friday
• Foodtastic Fridays
• Freakin' Friday
• Freaky Friday Follow
• Freedom Fridays
• Friday Chaos
• Friday Flash Blog
• Friday Food Fight
• Friendship Fridays
• Healthy Vegan Fridays
• Hop Along Friday
• Orange You Glad It's Friday
• Strange But Good
• Color Connection