Road Trip Pics, Part 2

I think my husband is getting annoyed with me.  I research health food stores like crazy and I want to try ALL of them!!  Is that so wrong?  Ok, he hates shopping, so I guess that's understandable.  Sorry S.  Thanks for putting up with me :)

I've found some really cool stores on our travels though.

Knoxville, TN: Three Rivers Market.  Awesome store.  They have TONS of vegan stuff, including Daiya cheese, several different yoghurts and non-dairy milks.  They also carry bulk grains, although the one grain I wanted, they didn't carry....sniff.....my whole oat groats.

Cool stuff I got:

Cincinnati, OH: I stopped at Jungle Jim's.  I LOVE that place.  I used to shop there regularly when we lived there.  I so miss it.  Their beer selection is to die for.  I picked up several.....Wheach (a peach wheat from the St. Louis area), BBC Nut Brown Ale, and several others in single bottles.  They have a huge selection of natural/vegetarian foods as well as international foods galore.  This store is measured in acres...

One of the beer's I purchased...it even says it's vegan friendly on the back! A bit too sweet, but not bad:

A farmer's market in an undisclosed location:

They even had a table with tons of vegan goodies (I had to try them!)

(fresh pickles out of the barrel, broccoli, peaches, blueberries & vegan baked goods...all local!)

An awesome natural food store in an undisclosed location:

Falafel chips...amazing!

No-fat Hummus (that's hard to find....it's just like I make it at home!):

And other stuff I made:

Cold Cucumber soup (cucumbers, coconut milk yoghurt, lemon juice, salt, and dill):

Cold pasta with peanut sauce (a little peanut butter, agave, apple cider vinegar, ginger, soy sauce, & water):

In Cincinnati at the hotel restaurant (a vegetarian special, couscous with tomatoes, basil and balsamic glaze):

Cincinnati, OH: Emanu, an East African restaurant.  Excellent! The veg. combo has no dairy or animal fats and the injera is awesome :)

Ok, that's about it for part 2.  Stay tuned for part 3.....

Eat smart,
T.

Road Trip Pics, Part 1

This post will be mostly pictures of all the great food we've been having!

First off, Knoxville, TN:

The TomatoHead restaurant.....really great place to eat. They will veganize for you, but a lot of the food is already vegetarian and they DO have vegan cheese. They have some great local/regional beer on tap.  And a daily vegan cupcake! (oh and cookies, haha).

The Kepner melt w/soup of the day (vegan):

The vegan cupcake of the day:

Veg-O-Rama. New vegetarian restaurant near our friend's house.  They also have local beer on tap:

Noodle Salad (vegan):

Chili Dog w/soup of the day(chili dog is vegan, soup was not):

Special of the Day SO TASTY! (sweet potato/bl. bean tacos, vegan):

Then off to Cincinnati, OH:

Myra's  Dionysus(near the university).  WAY too many choices. We ate there twice in one day! Excellent for vegans:

Sample menu pages:

LUNCH at Myra's:

Gazpacho Soup & Green Pea Soup (vegan):

Spicy Black Beans & Gado Gado (both vegan):

Hummus plate (vegan):

Mocha Mousse (vegan) w/local coffee and soymilk:

DINNER at Myra's:

Gypsy Soup (vegan):

Imam Bialdi (eggplant dish, vegan) & sampler plate w/edamame, falafel, & sesame noodles (vegan):

Chocolate PeanutButter Cheesecake (vegan):

That should keep you drooling for a while, until I post the next batch :)

All three of these restaurants were delicious....so if you're ever in those areas, definitely give them a try!

Eat smart,
T.

Catching up and lots of pics

Hey everyone! So sorry for not having posted in over a week.  And just to let you know, there won't be much posting over the next month.....but hopefully I'll be able to at least post some pics from various travels and eats.

First let's start off with the latest produce from the farmer's market: pattypan squash, peaches, blueberries, yellow grape tomatoes, corn, tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, hot peppers, horticulture beans (cranberry, maybe??), cucumbers, golden zucchini, yellow crookneck squash, fairytale eggplant, and green peppers.

I was a bit angry, as I noticed that the poster for my blog had been taken down at the market.  Grrrrr......not too happy about that. At first, I gave them several copies, to put on the table so people could just take them.  They decided it would be better to hang just ONE on the wall. I didn't think so....who's gonna remember the website? Anyway, now there's nothing and I know they still have several copies, unless they threw them away.  I don't think I'll say anything though......usually I would, but since I shop there every week....probably not the best idea. What do you think?

I made some of the pattypan squash from the previous week into that stuffed pattypan I'd made before.  You can find it here.  This time I used up the rest of my Teese mozzarella. Didn't melt as well on top, but melted really nicely when mixed into the hot stuffing. Still tasty though :)

Still have a ton of yellow crookneck squash, even though I've tried to sneak it into whatever I can (husband doesn't like it).  Can I puree it and freeze it? Maybe to make salad dressing out of it later? Any ideas?

Chocolate spread on matzoh! When you're craving sweets, you gotta do whatcha gotta do! Take a handful or more of vegan chocolate chips and put them in a bowl, into the microwave.  Heat them on high for 30 seconds at a time, mixing after each.  Add in a few drops of non-dairy milk and nuke another 30 seconds.  Make sure it's nice and smooth.  Work quickly and spread it onto your matzoh.  Put it in the fridge for several minutes to let the chocolate harden and there you have a nice quick dessert!

Cucumber noodles with raw marinara (my husband preferred the zucchini, but I found cucumber pretty refreshing):

I made Averie's Raw Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls, although to me they were more like oatmeal chocolate chip.  They are incredible!  I made them twice and the second time, I actually did 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 cup cashews and only about 1 Tbsp of sweetener.  Still incredible! Thanks, Averie :)

I made some Golden Zucchini Bread again. See my original post about it here. This time I added raisins, used all spelt flour, and it was REALLY good!

Here's a picture of my new steamer that I got for over 50% off at Dillards! And of course, a picture of my colorful steamed vegetables :)

Made some guacamole: 2 avocados, 1 chopped tomato, some cilantro, salt, and lemon juice, all mashed up together.

My guacamole, mixed with cooked brown rice, taco seasoning, and broccoli slaw for a great cold power lunch:

Made Choosing Raw's Zucchini Dressing (with golden zukes, since that's all I had) and it's really delicious! (her Tomato Curry Dressing is great too)

Cooked up some red quinoa and mixed it with a ton of chopped vegetables, added some balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and garlic for a great dressing.

And last, but not least, I made up some of that great Tempeh Barbecue (used shiitakes this time):

Ok, I think I'm mostly caught up. It's been really hot here...in the mid 90's with high humidity.  Still trying to get my walking in, though.

Still contemplating the blender vs. food processor situation.  But...I think I've decided to wait on the Vita-Mix because it's so dang expensive.  I'm going to get a large food processor and get some sort of small cheaper blender. Any suggestions? Something good for salad dressings, smoothies (that can handle frozen fruit) and sauces.

Blogger of the Week: FatFreeVegan.  She's got TONS of recipes that are right up my alley: fat free (or lowfat) and vegan, yay! Check her out. This was one of the first blogs I ever started following.

Giveaway: CSN stores $40 gift card giveaway at OperaSingerInTheKitchen!

Eat smart,
T.