Cricket, Hair, and Such

TGIF!  Just doing a quick post for today as I plan to switch gears starting next week post-Vegan MoFo.  Remember you can still sign up for the MoFo Off Season Community just click on the first graphic at the top of my sidebar for full details.  Today I thought I would share some photos of Cricket.  These were taken a few weeks ago when we are camping.  I brought her the one day and she really loved hanging out!

That first photo - I swear she's going to start speaking English or something - look at the LOOK on her face!  In the 2nd and 3rd photos she was looking out the window.  And the 4th one was one of the days I took her to work.  She walks around the office like she owns the place - I swear!  I will have near future posts and updates on the other furkids very soon!  Thanks to those of you who always ask about Paco (who has ongoing immune issues)

Here's a silly photo of me - a selfie - after getting my hair done.  It was LONG overdue.

Tonight is my husband's 25th High School Reunion.  I have some ideas as to how the events might go down but I will save it for a post next week!

It's sure to be a brew-haha!

The weather is REALLY cooling down RAPIDLY.  I will for-sure have to wear layers tonight to the reunion.

This week has been a week of QUICK MEALS, Convenience Items, and Comfort Foods.  Next week I will be changing that.  My goal is to start in with more warming soups next week and I want to get back to veganizing world foods, too!

This last photo is of one of the vegan white sauces I made for pasta this week.  Its base is Pine Nuts.  It was quite good but still me I don't think I wrote down the recipe!  Eeeeek!

Question of the Day: Tell me about the last sauce you made from scratch!

End of Vegan MoFo '15 & Off Season Community

I'm starting a separate post for this.  Check out THIS POST for more info.

Vegan MoFo 2015 "Off Season" Community Blog Roll

Jennifer @ MyBlissfulJourney

Vegan Power/Vegan Peace @ My Cat Loves Daiya

Tea and Sympatico @ Tea and Sympatico
Emma @ Walks, Talks and Eats
Christine @ The Raw Project
Deborah @ Urban Naturale
Rose @ Dandelion Vegan
Julie @ My Apologies For The Novel
Sal @ Alien On Toast
Ditte Gad @ Green Madness (gront galskab)
Mary Ellen @ V Nutrition
Spécialiste de l'éphémère @ L'éphémère quotidienneté des repas et autres trucs de magie
Michelle Lee @ Boards & Knives
Bianca @ Vegan Crunk
Elyse @ 403 Kitchen
Kyra @ Vie De La Vegan
Susan @ Kittens Gone Lentil
Herbivores'Heaven @ Herbivores'Heaven
Shaheen @ Allotment 2 Kitchen
Ana @ Ana's Rocket Ship
Tracy @ Tracy's Living Cookbook
Jill @ Evolution of Jill
Chunky on Chia @ Chunky on Chia
Kimmy @ Rock My Vegan Socks

Add Your OWN:

An InLinkz Link-up

Last Day of Vegan MoFo '15 ~ Fusion & More

Today is the last day of the 2015 Vegan MoFo.

I'm sad it's ending.  This has been my favorite year YET!  I want us all to keep in touch year-round!  I've been thinking about this for half of the month!  And I hope you will join me!  I will be making a personal blog roll of those of us who would like to A) Keep in touch year-round B) Visit and comment on each others posts on a regular or semi-regular basis.  Those are the only two things to consider prior to signing up for this blog roll!

Let me know in comments if you are interested and I will try and maintain this on going list and blog roll.  Feel free to tell others about this and grab these little graphics to post on your blog and link back to this post.  After today I will have the list at least started.  Feel free to copy and post that list if you wish! (Building and maintaining Blog Roll at the end of this post or see side bar.)  I had some thoughts of doing once a month blog hops with this list, too, but could use some help with it as I do have some time constraints.  Let me know if you would like to help.

Yes...this is going to be a very long post for several reasons.  One because of my little 'pity party' over MoFo ending and how I will 'miss everyone' and because I'm following suit with my fickleness and couldn't post just one thing based on today's prompt which was "Fusion".  I goofed earlier in the month when these were swapped out for seasonal foods but I figured I would post a little bit more of potential fusion dishes today from my archives or more specifically WORLD FOODS that I have done in the past and want to try and do again in the very near future!

First up...

Foods from Vietnam!  THIS POST featured the photo you see here which was Vegan Vietnamese Peanut Dipping Sauce next to Vegan Store Bought Spring Rolls.  Oddly the original post was from the 2013 MoFo.

In that same post you will see my attempt at West African Sweet Potato Peanut Bisque, too!

Next up was my first attempt at Panelle and you can check that original post out HERE.

This Vegan Panelle was inspired by and LOOSELY based on a Sicilian recipe I saw years ago!

I have to say that the Garlic Dijon Aoili really completed this!

Another country I featured was Turkey with this Turkish Red Lentil Soup.

From Denmark I tried to veganize a Parsley Sauce HERE.

Check out this Casablanca Cous Cous I did a while back, too!  I will have to do another Cous Cous very soon!  I've been HUNGRY for it - that's for sure!  And it's SO versatile!

During this years Vegan MoFo I blogged about some of the Irish Foods and Norwegian Foods I have tried to veganize and I want to do more of that in the near future, too!  If you have ideas of dishes and/or countries you want me to try let me know!

Another 'first attempt' I was pretty tickled with was the first time I tried to make Vegan Fried Green Tomatoes!

Check that out HERE.

I didn't have a lot of Fried Green Tomatoes growing up because I was very much a 'Yankee'.  My husband, on the other hand spent a few years of his childhood in the south and often tells me about the foods from that region.

Friend Green Tomatoes being one of them.

Black Eyed Peas being another.  But I will get to that in a moment.

Also in the Friend Green Tomato Post you will find this next photo for Veggie Fried Rice!

This turned out YUMMY and it was when I was using the VEGG product that was sent over to me.  That is a neat product if you can find it!

I really LOVE all of the color in this dish!

I have to give a special 'shout out' to the one and only time I made a recipe from Moldova, too!  It was a soup!

Check that out HERE.

Now...back to the Black Eyed Peas...

I rarely ate them when I was young.  Again - because I was from the north and my family wasn't really 'into' them.  I have since tried incorporating them into some recipes and foods I have eaten.  They aren't my favorite bean.  But I'm ok with them either way...just not one I would reach for first if you know what I mean.

But this dish could just be the FUSION recipe this post needs?  It's a Boston Black Eyed Peas Variation I did a while back.  It's something from the New England States.  North AND South...FUSION.  What do you think?  A stretch?

Vegan MoFo 2015 "Off Season" Community Blog Roll

Jennifer @ MyBlissfulJourney

Vegan Power/Vegan Peace @ My Cat Loves Daiya

Tea and Sympatico @ Tea and Sympatico
Emma @ Walks, Talks and Eats

Add Your OWN:

An InLinkz Link-up

Vegan MoFo ~ Snacks on a Vegan Road Trip!

Today's Vegan MoFo Prompt is 'what snacks would I take on a vegan road trip'.  Well...are you in for a post!
But first I want to tell you about part of my weekend!

I'll start with Sunday and go back to Saturday!  These two days produced snacks I would probably take on my road trip, too, so it's kind of fitting!

Sunday - we attended the Busti Apple Festival in Busti, NY.  Here's a picture of my dad with one of the apples I bought to take home.  It's almost as big as his face!  The type of apple is a 20-ounce Pippen...isn't it CRAZY HUGE?  I bet it was more than 20 ounces!  I ended up getting a smaller bag full of an assortment of NY State grown apples.  This is the first time I've gotten the Pippens, tho!

Saturday we winterized our camper.  I can't believe it's that time of year already.  After we did that I started collecting Hickory Nuts that have naturally fallen from the trees at the Warren County Fair.  The wildlife already started collecting them so I was 'choosy' which ones I took for myself.  Before I knew it I had about 10 pounds of them!  WOWZA!  So...know I have all these Hickory Nuts so if anyone reading is in the US and would like some I can probably flat rate ship some to you!  Let me know if you are interested!  I've asked at work and with family and friends if anyone wanted any and they ask what they would do with them.  Basically you can use them in place of Pecans!  I am thinking a roasted Brussels Sprouts and Hickory Nut dish is in order for myself!  They ARE a LOT of work, tho, I will warn you!

Another vegan snack I would bring on a road trip would have to be this sprouted trail mix.  Specifically the Thai Chili Pineapple flavor!  OMG!

Amazing!  You can find this HERE.

Basically ANY kind of DRIED FRUIT would be a great choice!  There are too many wonderful options to choose just a few.

Of course...NUTS and SEEDS is another thing on my list!

KALE CHIPS...need I say more about Kale Chips?

Another 'specific' I want to point out that is GREAT for traveling are these 'bad boys'!  They are meals in a cup and they only need WATER added to complete.  Either hot or cold water is fine.

Vigilant Eats is the brand.  Find them HERE.

The flavors I have tried and enjoyed are: Coconut Maple Vanilla Oat, Maca Double Chocolate, Goji Cacao, and Espresso Maca Mulberry Oat.

NUT BUTTERS...just about any kind!  But today I need to sing the praises of a few of Jem Organics, specifically!  Like this Cinnamon Red Maca Almond Butter, for example!  OMG - it's the LIVE for!  It's INSANELY GOOD and I'm a bit addicted to it!  Another one from them I have discovered as of late is their Cashew Cardamom Sprouted Cashew Almond Spread!  MY GOODNESS!

BUT...you also have to check out the offerings from Rawmio, too!  I mean how can you pass up options like...Almond Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Spread...among others?  So those are just a few items I would bring on MY Vegan Road trip!

Vegan MoFo ~ Tacos OR Burritos?

I can't believe that Vegan MoFo is on it's last 3 days!  This makes me sad and also makes me wonder if anyone else will be suffering from MoFo Withdrawals?  If that's the case let me know in comments because I am in the process of putting something together for those of us who want to keep in touch YEAR ROUND!

Having said that...these prompts that are trying to 'force' me to make a decision are KILLING me! I'm a VERY Fickle Pickle, you see!

It's funny - tho - I have been saying "You're Killing Me Smalls" just for FUN and a throw back and pop culture reference.  Does anyone else remember it?  If so leave your thoughts in comments, too!

I suppose I should actually BLOG about today's prompt, eh!?  Well, following suit to my 'fickle-pickle-ness' I can't make up my mind I LOVE both Taco's AND Burritos!  But what about Enchiladas?  Quesadillas?  Basically ANYTHING Vegan AND Mexican...I'm THERE!

This past weekend hubby and I went to Mad Mex in Erie.  I've blogged about my trips before and I have been trying to get something different each time I go!  This time around it was a Veggie Enchilada but I veganized it with Daiya Cheese and Tofutti Sour Cream!  The plate was HUGE and I couldn't eat all of it.  It was served with rice and black beans.

Vegan MoFo ~ Fave Herbs & Spices

Just a quick post today but still sticking with the Vegan MoFo prompts...today's being...my favorite herbs and spices!  This one is probably going to be non-climatic because I pretty much like them all for different reasons.  So I guess I will point out a few individual ones to keep this months posts consistent!

Basil

I LOVE the way it looks, smells, tastes, and grows!

We've had a LOT of luck with Basil - both indoors, outdoors, in a rooftop garden, and on a window sill garden!

Turmeric 

One of the healthiest things you can consume - some say!  And my favorite Turmeric to buy by far is from The Raw Food World!  Turmeric is one of the most powerful therapeutic herbs on the planet – it is highly regarded in the ancient Ayurvedic healing tradition of India and one of the most popular spices in the world. Turmeric is used in traditional Indian medicine as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antiviral*. This Raw Wildcrafted Turmeric extract is made of pure turmeric root harvested by local farmers in the wetlands of India, low temperature dehydrated and cold water extracted to a standard of 95% Curcuminoids.

Dill

Helps Digestion.  A teaspoon a day can reduce 80 percent of bloating in only three days.  Its antibacterial oils not only kill any possible stomach bugs but also help in the breakdown of carbohydrates and proteins.  Plus I love the smell and taste!

Cayenne

It has thermogentic properties that increase your blood flow and metabolism. Individuals who only use cayenne infrequently also find it reduces hunger.  I just like to give my foods a KICK every once and a while and Cayenne certainly makes that easy!  I think the BEST quality Cayenne can be found online...HERE.

Curry

And you can't go wrong with Curry!  I mean...want can't you do with curry!  Check out some of the curry flavored products you can easily find online!  And of course with fall and winter near Curry is the perfect addition to many dishes!

Vegan MoFo ~ I'm Snowed In!

"It’s cold and rainy and there’s a snow drift outside your door! What are you going to make using the ingredients you have?"  That's the prompt for today's Vegan MoFo!  No, I'm not REALLY snowed in...YET...but that is certainly what's around the corner for me as I live in the snow belt!  BLAH!

Most of the Vegan MoFo posts you have seen from me this year are based off the ingredients I had on hand so this won't be that much of a departure!

Having said that...

You can see in the first photo above that I could pretty much do a smoothie or smoothie bowl with the items I have on hand.  If not fresh - frozen.  It's rare if I don't have at least frozen whole foods in my possession!

Dips, Spreads, Sauces, Dressings, and Salsas!  Not to mention anything I can make into a vegan cheese and/or sour cream!  Here you will see what I mean!  Maybe I won't have store-bought vegan cheese or sour cream (or fresh avocados for that matter) on hand for something like the nachos but you get the idea!

Beans, Rices (and other grains), and Pastas (and other noodles) have to be on that list, too!  It's rare if I don't have a rice/grain/noodle/pasta on hand to use in case of emergencies!  Here you will see past dishes I have blogged about as examples such as the Buffalo Chickpea Pasta, Valencia Rice & Beans, Kelp Noodles with Spicy Thai Sauce, and Sprouts with Rice & Spice!

Vegan MoFo ~ Favorite Cuisine

What do you mean by that?

Today's Vegan MoFo prompt is "What is your favorite cuisine?"  Or "Share your favorite cuisine".  Well, what do you mean by that!?

I guess I could say I enjoy just about ANYTHING vegan because I am grateful for the options and opportunities of those foods.

Or I could say that my faves are Vegan Italian, Vegan Mexican, or Vegan Indian because I could pretty much LIVE on those 3 types of world foods as long as they are vegan.

OR...are you talking about a meal?  A dish?  If that is case...let me tell you what I have in mind.

Dreena Burton's Quinoa Hummus Casserole HAS to be near the very top of this list!  I've said this before and I will say it again I LOVE THIS MEAL!  This is one of the few cookbook recipes I have done time and time again and it seems I do it different each time I prepare it.

Whether I swap out the veggies on top, switch it up with a different flavor hummus for the middle layer, or try do a different color Quinoa on the bottom.  Sometimes I even use a different grain in place of Quinoa, too, like various rices!

This reminds me that I need to make this casserole again and SOON these are old photos and now I'm craving it!  The leftovers are even better than right-out-of-the-oven!

Vegan MoFo ~ Gambit (& Strong Hearts Cafe)

Sometimes blog posts just write themselves, don't they?  Well, yesterday I was lucky enough to visit a place that has been on my bucket list for YEARS.  That place was Strong Hearts Cafe in Syracuse, NY.  It's a 100% Vegan Restaurant.  And YES my sister and I drove almost 4 hours just to have lunch.  Okay - Okay...maybe we did a few other things to but Strong Hearts was the main reason for this trip!  I'm so blessed that I have a sister who would go with me on this journey.  As I have said before she's not vegan or vegetarian just a really wonderful sister!  So get ready because not only will this be a LONG post but I will incorporate both a review of my experiences at Strong Hearts Cafe AS WELL AS tie it into today's Vegan MoFo prompt which is "What [insert well known person] would eat if they were vegan."


Here's how I'm taking this Vegan MoFo prompt challenge...

Here's what Gambit would eat if he was vegan.  First I will start of by explaining who Gambit is.  For those of you who don't know he's an X-Men Character.

Gambit is also known as The Ragin' Cajun at times.  His powers are: Kinetic energy control and manipulation, Static generation, and he's a Skilled card-thrower.  Being a skilled Card Thrower I had to point out one of the nice touches while visiting Strong Hearts Cafe.  Once you order they hand you a card as seen above to determine your order and table for delivering your food.  (Keep reading to see how I connected the dots with the Ragin' Cajun reference, too!)

Taylor Kitsch has played Gambit in a few movies already and when I read THIS ARTICLE I knew I had to include him in this post.  If you don't know Taylor Kitsch he's also starred in the movie John Carter AND Friday Night Lights!  I also have to confess that X-Men is my favorite "Superhero" and/or "Comic Book" series that has been made into movies!  I LOVE the characters and make it a point to watch the movies when a new one comes out!  So for today's Vegan MoFo Challenge I would say Gambit and/or Taylor Kitsch would be my choice to blog about.  I think if he were a vegan he would like what I had for my MASSIVE meal while visiting Strong Hearts Cafe which was a Caramel Cookie Dough Milkshake, Cajun Seitan Sandwich, and Pumpkin Spice Walnut Cheesecake!

First up...the sandwich!  Take a look at this bad boy!  Cajun Seitan Sandwich!  I was lucky enough to meet one of the owners/founders of Strong Hearts Cafe JOEL.  He was super nice and I chatted with him a bit as well as one of the other employees.  Both were great!  I knew I wanted to try one of their Seitan sandwiches because I don't really eat a lot of Seitan.  When I asked both Joel and the other girl working which of their Seitan Sandwiches they thought I should get they both quickly said CAJUN.  That settled it for me!  Cajun it was!  

I'm so glad they suggested it - the sandwich was AMAZING!  It had just the right amount of heat to it!  And they certainly do NOT skimp on ingredients!  Their sandwiches were jam-packed with healthy contents!  I mean LOOK at these photos!  YUM!  The Cajun Seitan Sandwich had Cucumbers, Lettuce, Tomato, Cajun Seitan, Cheddar Cheese (I think they use Daiya), and I believe it was on a rye panini type bread!  Because this was a fantastic Cajun flavor I think the Ragin' Cajun himself would appreciate this vegan sandwich!

Next up...is this wonderful Milkshake!  It seemed like Strong Hearts Cafe had about a billion different flavors of vegan milkshakes - okay - that might be an exaggeration - but - they did have A LOT!  It made it difficult to decide but I did it!  I went with the one call Farm Sanctuary which is of course named after the farmed animal sanctuary in Watkins Glen, NY.  It was Caramel Cookie Dough flavor.  And is was out-of-this-world!  My sister had a Peanut Butter/Chocolate flavor and I had a sip of that, too, and it was amazing!  My sister LOVED her milkshake AND sandwich.  She opted for the Roasted Vegetable Hummus Sandwich.

As you can see we both chose the "greens" as our side but you could choose 'chips' if you wanted to as an alternative.  My sister said that the hummus they used for her sandwich was a Cilantro flavored and she thought it was terrific!  The greens had a light Italian Dressing flare to it, too!  I wanted to make sure that I pointed out the MASSIVE size of these sandwiches.  Now...I didn't take a tape measure to them but they were comparable to the size of an iPad.  And not the newer, smaller iPads...the earlier version that were larger.  Just to give you a visual!  But that's NOT ALL...we still haven't talked about the impressive cheesecake...don't worry...I will...keep scrolling!

As for the Vegan Cheesecake I KNEW I had to have at least one piece!  After all I LOVED cheesecake before dropping dairy and it seemed the one place I knew of in the region (Pizza Plant in Buffalo) never seemed to have it available the few times I have dropped by!  Anyhow...check OUT this large slab of Vegan Cheesecake GOODNESS from Strong Hearts Cafe!  When I order a slice I thought it was just going to be regular cheesecake but vegan but BOY was I wrong!  Apparently depending on the time of year they may do different types of cheesecake.  This one was a Pumpkin Spice topped with a few large Walnuts!  WOWZA!  And YUMMO!

So YES my sister and I had a wonderful time at Strong Hearts and everything was AMAZING.  I was going to try and grab some stuff to go but after we were done eating I was so stuffed I couldn't even think about eating anything else so instead I bought one of their t-shirts!  Everything was affordable.  Everyone was so nice.  This place is a Utopia of sorts and I would urge everyone to go if they can!  Gambit/Taylor Kitsch if you are out there - GO - GO to Strong Hearts Cafe!  You'll thank me later!

Vegan MoFo ~ Fusion Challenge!

I'm STILL plugging along with Vegan MoFo and the pre-determined prompts!  Today's is...the Fusion Challenge!  I'm not sure how much of a fusion dish this is but I *think* it would or could qualify!

COLESLAW!

First up is the more traditional vinegar based type of Coleslaw.  I took about a pound of red cabbage, carrots, and broccoli stalks that were pre-packaged and added the sauce which was made up of 1/3 C Tahini, 1/3 C Maple Syrup, 1/3 C Vegan Mayo, 1/3 C Apple Cider Vinegar, 1/3 C Ground Pumpkin Seeds

Here's where the FUSION part comes in...

I made a 2nd slaw.  Both of which I took to an omni pot luck.  This 2nd one is a Curried Coleslaw.  I used the same pre-packaged julienned/match-sticks and added a sauce made up of...1 C Golden Hunza Raisins, 1/4 C Pumpkin Seeds, 1/3 C Tahini, 1/4 C Lemon Juice, 2 T Maple Syrup, 1 T Curry Powder, 1/2 t Garlic Powder, 1 T Nutritional Yeast.

I enjoyed both.  The more I ate the more I liked the curry one.  It seems the more traditional type people at the potluck enjoyed the first one more - including my husband.

Not that these are FUSION but I also brought these Raw Vegan Lemon Balls to the Potluck.  The flavor was good but they were a little dry.  I suspect the Almond Flour was to blame.  I need to tweak this recipe before posting.

As you can see here there are 3 different looking "balls".  One I rolled in Shredded Coconut, the one is left as-is, and the one in the back I rolled in Coconut Sugar.

Question of the day: would you classify my Curried Coleslaw as a FUSION dish?

Vegan MoFo ~ Seasonal Produce

Guess how much I paid for this produce?  I bought 3 peppers are they are HUGE...2 mini eggplants, 2 smaller zucchinis, 2 large sweet banana peppers, and a pint of potatoes.  I only paid $6.75 total!  I bought them locally at one of my favorite produce stands...Lindell's Hatch Patch!

Today for Vegan MoFo we were challenged with using all seasonal produce in a dish.  Take a look at some of the dishes that I was able to create using seasonal produce.  I will note if there are any other ingredients that come from different produce stands that aren't pictured in the Hatch Patch haul!

First up...is Vegetable Curry!  Curries never seem to photograph very well but I will tell you that this was tasty.  I tried a sample of if when it was complete but I actually pre-made this for my dinner tonight.

In this dish is...1 C Green Beans (frozen from fresh obtained thru a friend), 1 Carrot (from previous Hatch Patch haul), 1/2 Zucchini (above), 1 Mini Eggplant (above), 1/2 T Wildtree Garlic Galore, 1 Frozen Ginger Cube (can use 1 T Fresh Ginger), 1 T Grapeseed Oil, 1 t Turmeric, 1 t Cumin, 1 t Curry, 3/4 C Coconut Milk, 1/2 t Black Himalayan Sea Salt (or to taste).

Last night for dinner I wanted to throw something together SUPER FAST and I literally did just that.

I pan fried the following...2 Potatoes (above), 1/2 Zucchini, 1 C Corn (Frozen from fresh given to me by my sister who got it at a local produce auction), Earth Balance & Grapeseed Oil combo for flavor and pan frying, and I topped it with the Pine Nut Parmesan I blogged about HERE.

This was TASTY!

Now for this last dish you are probably thinking 'there is no produce in that dish' and you would be mistaken...there IS!  Sure...this is a recipe for Vegan Mac & Cheese but it DOES have local produce in it to create it!  Here's what I did...

4 Small Potatoes (above)
1 Carrot (Mentioned above)
1 Small Onion (From Papa's Produce - another local stand)

*at this point I boiled the above until soft.  I then put 1 and 1/2 C of the boiling water into my Vitamix along with the softened produce above.  I also added 1/2 C Cashews, 1/2 T Wildtree Garlic Galore, 1 t Onion Powder, pinch or to taste of Black Himalayan Sea Salt, 2 T Nutritional Yeast.

I originally was sent this recipe by my husband on Facebook.  I tried it the way it was suggested but HAD to add some things because it was lacking flavorful.  Most notably the Nutritional Yeast and Garlic.  It certainly has potential.  I will be doing this again and probably a different way each time.  Yes...I should have used macaroni noodles but didn't have any...I used what I had on hand and that was spaghetti noodles.  I will say that I think by using the potato in this recipe that it certainly helps with the texture and starchiness of the dish.  I'm sure you will be seeing variations of this dish in the future from me.

Vegan MoFo ~ Bonus Items!

Today's Vegan MoFo prompt is..."What 3 endless food supplies would you take if you were going to be stranded on an island?  Imagine your nutritional needs have been met - these are a bonus'.

Well, this one really has me stumped because nearly everything I initially came up with were fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, grains, etc.  The only thing I could come up with would be luxury items or supplies of packaged items, I guess.  But before I get to those I thought I would talk about a few things that could probably be on the fringe.  I mean...Nutritional Yeast!  But...since all my nutritional needs have been met I would assume that would also include Nutritional Yeast, right?  B Vitamins and all!

And another one would be Grapeseed Oil.  Sure I could take a variety of over 30 grapes and cold press the seeds on the island but it would be pretty difficult.  The other oils would be more accessible and easier to put into oil form such as coconut oil, avocado oil, etc.  Since I showed a picture of Wildtree Grapeseed Oil I figured that would be a good segue into my actual 3 items that I would choose.  Instead of doing 3 individual items I have chosen 3 endless supplies of items from the following companies.

I know that is kind of cheating - but oh well!  The Vegan items from Wildtree would be on that list.  And I would probably say Earth Balance would have to be in there, too!  They are coming up with some pretty good products.  The 3rd company that I would have endless supplies of their products would be Daiya.  Where I live they have only scratched the surface of their offerings so I think by living on an island with an endless supply would certainly be a step up!

Sure I know I could MAKE my own vegan cheeses on the island from the ingredients already there but sometimes I just like the convenience of these items, ya know?

Oh...I almost forgot to mention BALSAMIC VINEGAR!  Sure I like just about any type of vinegar but Balsamic is in a class of it's own...and HEY, guess what?  Wildtree has various Balsamic Vinegar products, LUCKY ME!

And on MY island...

Daiya is the distributor of Chao!  So...I'm clustering in Chao Vegan Cheeses with Daiya Vegan Products!

It's my dream world and Island, right, so I can do anything I want...haha!

I know - I know...I cheated!  This was a HARD prompt but it ended up being a FUN one, too!

Vegan MoFo ~ Veganize A Family Recipe

Growing up there were not many recipes that I had that I veganized but here is one of them and it's VERY simple with the added twist of Hemp Seeds!

Marinated Cucumbers & Tomatoes

1 Tomato, Diced
1 Cucumber, Diced
3 T Balsamic Vinegar
(or Apple Cider Vinegar or Red Wine Vinegar)
2 T Vegan/Organic Sugar
2 T Hemp Seeds

Since I have a lot of Norwegian in my family tree I did some research a while back and tried to veganize some Norwegian Inspired Foods!

Pictured here is a side dish I did a while back which is called Grønn ertestuing or "Creamed Peas".  That recipe is found HERE.

I also have done a Norwegian Potato Salad which is pictured below and originally posted HERE.

I'm also part Irish...and you check out my Vegan Irish Stew HERE.  Or my Irish Tomatoes HERE.

On my Mom's mom's side I have a bit of German, too!  I almost forgot that I had posted about Sauerkraut Potatoes in the past.  Another German INFUSION type recipe I posted about a while ago was the Sauerkraut Stuffed Mushrooms.

I'm also part French and English.  Every few months I revisit the Genealogy Studies and Family Tree and try and find out more about my ancestors.  It's fun but also frustrating at times!  But WORTH it!