Fall

You guys it's fall! I'm so excited. Sorry to have been away. Tony has been traveling a lot since starting his new job in August, and I do not always have the time to post every day. So here I am, catching up, while I love sitting here with the windows open because it's 65 degrees out!

Veganomicon Roasted Fennel and Hazelnut Salad with Shallot Dressing sounded nice and autumnal, so I whipped that up for dinner on the first day of fall. I could not find chicory at two different stores in Austin, so I used endive because they are in the same family. Along with the salad, I made the V'con Curried Carrot Dip, served with some naan bread.

I love the seasonal drinks. Harmless Harvest has introduced cacao and cinnamon clove flavors of their amazing raw coconut water. It is expensive but it's tastiest brand in my opinion. I also picked up a Rebbl hibiscus mint yerba mate tonic. I was excited because it was the first time I have seen any Rebbl drinks around here. I want to try them all!

Sprouts has and entire wall of pumpkin products. Not kidding! 

I came home with pumpkin loops cereal and pumpkin spice kale chips.

At HEB, I picked up pumpkin spice Mini Wheats, apple cinnamon Special K, pumpkin spice latte M&M's, and pumpkin spice baking chips.

I think we have reached Peak Pumpkin Spice, guys! At HEB I got pumpkin spice and rosemary dish soaps.

I also bought a bunch of Snapea Crisps and Lentil Snaps because they were on sale and Olivia absolutely loves them in her lunchbox.

Finally, not autumnal but pretty tasty none the less, a High Country kombucha, wild root flavor. It contained sarsaparilla, licorice root, star anise, yellowdock root, burdock root, wildcherry bark, and dandelion root. How's that for an interesting ingredient list? It tasted very medicinal and herbal, in a good way!

To welcome in this spooooky time of year, we made some cotton ball ghosts.

oooOOOooo! Happy autumn to you!

Two Reviews

Today I have a couple of product reviews, which I like to do from time to time. I'm not compensated financially, but these companies did provide me with free samples of their products.

First, I tried new frozen pupusas made by Tres Pupusas in Boulder.  If you're not familiar with pupusas, they're Salvadoran cakes made from corn masa and stuffed with different fillings. Kind of like a quesadilla, but smaller in circumference and thicker. Tres Pupusas' cakes are made with organic and non-GMO masa, although I don't think the other ingredients are organic. I chose the Green Chile & Cheese and Spinach & Cheese flavors. Two vegan flavors, Black Bean & Sweet Corn and Pinto Bean & Kale are also available.

The pupusas cooked up quickly in a skillet on the stovetop, and Jackson, Olivia and I shared them for lunch. I preferred the green chile and cheese pupusas, with that little added touch of heat from the green chiles. The kids loved the spinach and cheese variety. They had fun stringing out the melted, gooey mozzarella filling. The masa crust was crispy on the outside, but creamy on the inside. 

The Tres Pupusas packaging recommended serving them with curtido, a kind of cole slaw, for authenticity,  but we just ate them plain. I think they would have also been good with some marinara! 

Next, Cocozia has just released a chocolate flavored coconut water. In addition to the hydrating, healthful properties of coconut water, this has the added bonus of tasting just like chocolate milk! I'm not kidding. It is a great electrolyte replacer after a workout, sure, but I've also been drinking a cup as a treat before bed when I'm craving a little something sweet.

Not quite as thick as a chocolate soymilk or almond milk, true, but it's still plenty creamy and chocolaty for about 60 calories per cup.

Have you tried any new products that I should check out?

Chili Time of Year

This morning Olivia and I checked out storytime at the new Whole Foods. They handed out fruit bars and drink boxes, and did crafts afterward, so Olivia gave the whole experience a thumbs up.

After picking up a Red Rabbit Bakery vegan glazed donut and Blue Monkey coconut water, as well as Olivia's free piece of fruit, we moseyed outside and Olivia played on the little playground for a bit.

Tonight I made a big pot of lentil veggie chili. It is October; there should be a pot of chili on the stove. Even if it is still 85 degrees out.

Tony loves cornbread with his chili, so I made the Appetite for Reduction scallion cornbread.

There's supposed to be a cold front coming tonight, so let's hope this chili serves as a good luck charm and we see some actual autumn weather soon!

Vegan MoFo Day 12: Day to Day

6:30 wake-up = bedhead and sleepy Mr. Potato Head play before school. Also, artwork. I think Jackson finds making art calming. Some mornings he will ask for a pen and paper as soon as he gets out of bed. And after a long day at kindergarten, he will come home and tell me he just wants to relax and do some drawing, or build his Legos.

I had some apple butter in the fridge, so I made this Maple Walnut Apple Butter Oatmeal. More of a suggestion than a recipe, a very easy and tasty breakfast.

Olivia and I did our weekly grocery shopping. We picked up a few extra goodies, too. Kombucha, served hot? I haven't tried it yet, but I'm very curious how it will taste. I forgot to bring a snack for Olivia, so we shared a pack of Vega savi seeds in the car. Kind of like peanut M&M's but the savi seeds have an earthier flavor than peanuts, similar to hempseeds.

I had heard about these cotton candy grapes, so I picked up a package. I wouldn't say they taste exactly like cotton candy, but definitely sweeter and less tart than a regular green grape.

I thought I might start sharing some of Olivia's lunches. With just one kid at home, I actually have time to photograph them! Whole wheat bread with peanut butter, cotton candy grapes, cucumber, and grilled corn.

Sauerkraut gazpacho for dinner -- the Pinterest find of the day, in keeping with my somewhat neglected Vegan MoFo theme. Homemade sauerkraut from Tony's coworker added a nice zip to the tomato soup.

Later I sipped on some Cocozia coconut water, which the company very kindly sent me for review. I think it's one of the better coconut waters out of there as it's organic, not from concentrate (some are!) and has no added sugar, resulting in a light, mild flavor. I'm eager to try using it in smoothies, too!

Oklahoma Birthday

Jackson wanted to celebrate his sixth birthday up in Oklahoma at his Grandma Lillie's house, so that is what we did. I picked up some road trip snacks: Late July ranch chips, Hail Merry raw lemon macaroons, Tom's Tabooley hummus falafel wrap, and Harmless Harvest raw coconut water. I have tried many brands of coconut water, but I saw this article about how not all brands are of equal quality, and I decided to try one of the best-rated. It's expensive, but man, it tasted so good!

Our first evening in Oklahoma, my awesome mother-in-law volunteered to watch the kids so Tony and I could have a kid-free get-together with our friends Michelle and Alan. We met them at Whiskey Cake in OKC. The decor made us smile. Fresh sprigs of rosemary in a light bulb vase? Never seen that before. Also, the male wait staff all sort of resembled lumberjacks. White t-shirts, suspenders, beards.

Tony and I decided to share some appetizers, starting with hummus and pita bread and fried green tomatoes. The tomatoes' breading was super light and crisp, as it should be.

I had a sazerac, which featured one large block of ice, instead of ice cubes. Why? I have no idea. I also had a hibiscus gin and tonic, which I liked much better, but I forgot to take a picture of it.

Still hungry, we ordered goat cheese "fondue" with olives and sourdough bread. I wouldn't really call it fondue, since it wasn't melted, but it was good and filling.

The next day, we just hung out around the house. Games were played.

Tony was wrestled into submission.

Garden cherry tomatoes were eaten.

The next day, it was party time! Jackson's cousins came over to celebrate with him.

First duck-duck-goose, then freeze tag.

Thought they were gonna knock me down! Haha.

Sweaty and red-faced, Jackson opened his presents.

He requested a Transformer cake this year. It was my first attempt at making and working with fondant. It turned out a little too thick and goopy. My Transformer looked like he had a rough night.

Jackson didn't mind.

We had to come home the next day. Before we left, we had lunch at Golden Corral. Have you eaten at one of these? We don't like the one in Austin because they do a lot of seafood and it smells like fish. The ones in Oklahoma are pretty good though, as long as you understand that your plate will be heavy on the yellows and browns and lacking the other colors of the rainbow. I had broccoli, mac n cheese, fried okra, roll, corn pudding, and carrot souffle. 

Cotton candy for the birthday boy's dessert.

Sister needed her own.

A great visit as always! We love going to Grandma's house.

Moving In

Hey y'all! Sorry for the summertime sabbatical. It's been a busy time, even for my standards. First, after many years of renting, we purchased a home, which we moved into at the end of June. Then after a couple of days of frantic unpacking, we left to spend a week in Detroit with my brother, sister-in-law, and niece. I'll recap our trip in coming days...for now I just want to say hi!

Some of the last things I cooked at the old place...

Candied pecans, because I am still working on that giant bag of pecans we received.

Yummy on breakfast oats!

Soup with lentils, spinach, and tons of smoked paprika.

Packing...

Moving day...I took the kids to the park while Tony supervised the movers, so we wouldn't be underfoot. Blue Monkey coconut water and Vega coconut cashew bar made an excellent playground snack.

First morning in our new home! I love all the natural light. Our rental was cavelike in comparison. Monster enjoys having all the windows to look out of, since he fancies himself our fierce guard dog.

New kitch! I love the island and tiled backsplash. Pardon the clutter. Our rental had a ton of built-in shelving, so we still need to purchase some storage pieces to accommodate our mess.

First breakfast: classic pancakes from How It All Vegan, supplemented with blueberries.

Green olive hummus with carrot sticks for a quick lunch while I was still locating my pots and pans.

Jackson and Olivia were pleased that the new abode passed the crucial, "Is it big enough for sack races?" test.

Hope you are having a lovely summer!