MoFo: Treats with my Sweet

This past weekend, J and I made Halloween cookies.  This time I already had the dough made ahead of time, which let him help with the best parts---rolling, cutting out, and frosting! 

J using his great-grandmother's rolling pin.  I have other things that belonged to her, but this is probably my favorite.  Granny P was a fantastic cook and baker. 

Cutting out the cookies.

Frosting them after they cooled.

My contribution to this batch. I had already frosted a batch 3 days earlier to take to the library Halloween party.  And yep, I burned a few this time!

A couple of the cookies I had made in the first batch, along with Mr. GV's delicious hot chocolate with Dandies marshmallows. 

I used the cookie recipe from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar.  They are great.

You know, I defy anyone to tell me a vegan can't have the same yummy things that a non-vegan can.  And of course we vegans know the bonus to our cookie dough is you can eat it raw without worrying about the eggs!

And so concludes my very first Vegan MoFo!!  I'll admit I found it a struggle to keep up at times, even writing a few posts ahead.  With my nephew going between my house and my mom's, I find myself on the road 4 days a week and spending the night away from the house at least one night each week due to her work schedule.  When I'm here I just want to spend time with my husband and get some things done around my house.  And of course I like to spend lots of time with my nephew! 

I hope you've enjoyed the time you spent reading my posts!  I'll be getting back to more family-type posts soon, and catching up on what J and I have been doing during the month he's been with us.  If you are so inclined, stick around and get to know my family a bit!  Otherwise, I hope to see you during MoFo 2012!

MoFo: Produce vs Production

Today I'm sharing a simple picture--my latest haul from my garden.  With Halloween upon us, I've been busy with my nephew.  We've been to the pumpkin path, a fall festival, and a party at library story hour.  This morning I had a doctor's appointment as well, and had a painful temporary fix on a leg cyst performed, so I rather doubt there will be any cooking done today! 

The tomatoes have come in very late this year.  There are still many green ones out there, and we will see if they turn or not.  There's just one tomato in this picture, but I've given about 13 to my mom already.  I think we'll have a few more bell peppers after this to freeze for use in chili and other dishes this winter.  And the kale is just getting started, which thrills Mr. GV!

MoFo: Home Cooking Part 2

A delicious dish I made recently, thanks to Mama Pea and her cookbook Peas and Thank You.  Mr. GV absolutely loved this Spicy African Peanut Slow Cooker Soup.  I used the alternate directions and cooked it on the stove since I wanted Mr. GV to have the dish for work that day. 

This is a hearty soup, with chickpeas, sweet potatoes, and peanut butter. This was the first dish I made from the cookbook, and if it's any indication, I will be cooking from this book a lot! 

MoFo: Home Cooking

Although we've been busy, I've been making a homecooked meal every few days.  One of those dishes was Happy Herbivore's 5-Spice Harmony Bowl.  I was just sure I wouldn't find Chinese 5-spice powder around this area, so imagine my surprise when I found not just the spice but an organic version at a little Mennonite store in the next town. 

Mr. GV thought this dish was OK, but he was not a fan of the wild rice.  It just doesn't appeal to him visually, and of course when a food doesn't look good, it's hard to put it in your mouth and enjoy it.    I'll probably make this dish again sometime with some brown rice instead. 

MoFo: A J kind of day

My nephew J and I have been hanging out a lot these last 3 weeks. We have developed our little rituals, and one thing he enjoys is checking out my garden and helping me collect the veggies on our way back up from the mailbox.

He even had a little buddy join him one day.  J reached out to pick a bell pepper, and this cute frog jumped right on his hand.  There was a brief moment of panic as J wasn't sure how he should react, but soon he was enjoying him for a minute, before the frog jumped onto the grass. 

J was so proud of the veggies we picked.  This cucumber had grown a bit too large while we were away on vacation, so I threw it over the fence to let the wild critters that roam around our woods eat it. 

J's dinner that night---vegan nuggets, baby carrots, and a whole cucumber he had picked from the garden just minutes before. 

MoFo: Convenience foods, The Sequel

Continuing on with a few more convenience foods:

Nate's meatballs--We tried these for the first time recently and thought they were very good.  I had bought them for my nephew, J, who is staying with us for a couple of months, (and is neither vegan nor vegetarian, but can easily eat vegan in our household.)  Sadly, he was not a fan, but Mr. GV and I don't think we'll mind finishing the bag for him. 

 Breakfast burrito from Amy's.  These are convenience in the sense that you don't have to make them up from scratch, but they are not quick to cook.  We are not big breakfast eaters but we get these every few months and Mr. GV will heat them up while I am sleeping in.  Ahhhh.....

Mr. GV enjoys this Amy's Indian dish,

and I enjoy the Enchilada meal.



MoFo: Convenience foods

Most all of us have them---a few convenience foods we rely on when we can't or don't want to cook every little thing from scratch.  I thought I'd share a few of the favorites here in the Green Veggies household:

Mr. GV enjoys these Ezekiel Sprouted Whole Grain muffins.  Luckily two of our local (meaning within 30 miles) health food stores carry them, so he doesn't have to go without.  I've made English muffins a time or two, but the recipe I used didn't call for sprouted whole grain flour, and it wasn't all that healthy. 

 Frozen organic orange juice:  I love the Trader Joe's brand because it's a bit cheaper than the other frozen organic orange juice I have tried, and it's *much* cheaper than the organic OJ in a plastic jug. 

 Many of the recipes I make call for garlic.  I really don't enjoy the smell of garlic on my hands, so I sought out a version that was already chopped and was organic.   There's no oil--only garlic, water, citric acid, and a small amount of salt.  This is by far my favorite shortcut in the kitchen!

 Ah, Clif bars.  This is something I like to keep in my purse for those times when you just don't have any other options.  There are lots of flavors, but I like to keep it simple with the peanut butter flavor.  A lot of the others are so sweet and dessert-like that I wind up eating them when I really should be eating something else, so I don't keep them around very often!

MoFo: Vegan Vacation Vittles, Days 9 and 10

Days 9 and 10 found us on the road again, this time headed south towards home.  We had an extra passenger this time, which made things a little more challenging but for 14 hours in a booster seat, he was very well behaved! 

We drove to Knoxville the first day, checked into our hotel, then went down the road to Earth Fare.  They are always reliable in having vegan food in their cold case. 

Included in dinner that night was apple almond quinoa, oriental noodles, and a chick'n curry dish. 

And a nice salad. 

Mr. GV also had some mock crab cakes, and we ended the meal with a slice of vegan carrot cake.  I knew that would be good, because a couple of years ago when we were traveling I picked up a whole carrot cake there for his birthday. 

On Day 10, we stopped at Whole Foods in Nashville and bought some groceries plus lunch.  I love their chick'n fried tofu.  I don't fry at home (very rarely saute in oil) but I do love to splurge on that fried tofu when we occasionally get to a Whole Foods.  There was more to our lunch--earth and sea salad, which I also love, and veggies. 

And then-----we were finally home!!!  Vacation is great, but there is nothing like being in my own kitchen!

MoFo: Vegan Vacation Vittles, Day 8

Our last day in Virginia Beach, and Mr. GV and I really wanted to eat at a vegan or vegetarian restaurant.  So we headed into Norfolk, near ODU, and ate at Path, which is 100% vegan!

Path is located in what I guess is a nightclub (The Edge.)  I have personally never been inside one in my life.  It just never was my thing.  When you look in the door during the day, it appears very dark, so you might think it's closed, but they are in there.  There's a few tables you can eat at, or you can of course get it to go. 

We were sharing our items as we normally do, and we ordered the buffalo chicken on a bun, and potato salad (which was so good!!),

plus the teriyaki wrap and hand-cut fries. 

They also serve breakfast (all day long I believe, but check if that's what you're hankering for) and have homemade cookies. 

MoFo: Vegan Vacation Vittles, Day 7

Day 7 involved a visit to the dentist for J, and later on we all ate lunch at Baker's Crust.    The waitress checked for us when we asked her to make sure there was no dairy or other animal products in the crust.  After assuring us there was none, we ordered the margherita pizza, minus the cheese, and adding caramelized onions and wild mushrooms. 

We also shared the spa veggie sandwich, which was interesting.  It had hummus, grilled eggplant, avocado, red onion, and watercress.  It came with some homemade chips, which I was ready to munch on until I realized the crumbly stuff on top of them was probably Parmesan. 

That evening Mr. GV and I, plus brother-in-law, went to Nawab again, only this time a different location.  The service and food were both still great.  This time we shared some pakoras and Mr. GV had the vegetable jhalfrazie.  I again had the channa masala, because it was just so darn good the first time!

We made a trip into Fresh Market grocery store, where Mr. GV looked and looked and LOOKED, and finally located a vegan wine. 

MoFo: Vegan Vacation Vittles, Day 6

Day 6 had preschool story hour at the library, so mom and I trooped along with J and his mom.  Afterward we hit up good ol' Taco Bell. (Choco Bell according to the 3 1/2 year old.) 

That afternoon we finally made it to the beach, and then for our evening meal we went to the Silver Diner. 

We shared a basket of sweet potato fries (minus the sauces that come with them.)  J had his fair share too! 

Mr. GV and I shared the veggie chili. 

Mr. GV ordered the summer citrus salad.  He said it was a bit on the sweet side, but otherwise was very good.

And I had the mango vegetarian stir fry.  It was a bit too full of mango for my liking, but I shared the last half of the dish with Mr. GV, and he took care of any leftover mango for me.  :) 

Somebody else enjoyed the noodles too.....

MoFo: Vegan Vacation Vittles, Day 5

Day 5 found us at the mall buying a shirt and shoes for Mr. GV.  When it was time to eat from the food court, we consulted the Vegan Express app.  I have an Ipod Touch (not an Iphone) but the nice thing about the Vegan Express app is you don't need an internet connection in order to access it.  Johnny Rockets seemed the best choice for us, so that's where we all ate. 

We had the Streamliner burger and fries.  It was good--nothing too exciting, just a veggie burger, but I want to say thanks to Johnny Rockets for realizing there are those of us who don't always want an animal for lunch! 

That evening we met for dinner with a friend we hadn't seen in over 20 years!  We ate at a nice Indian restaurant called Nawab.  We shared the vegetable samosas, I had the chana masala, and Mr. GV had the eggplant bhartha. 

MoFo: Vegan Vacation Vittles, Day 4

Day 4 started off with vegan pancakes made by my brother-in-law, with maple syrup on top.  They were so light and fluffy, and we found out his secret ingredient was club soda.  I'll be giving that a try in the near future! 

I left a bag of cucumbers at my house for my mother-in-law, who was checking in on Gabby the cat while we were gone.  I also brought a couple along with us, and J decided he'd like to eat one of them. 

That evening we were ready for our first meal out in Virginia Beach, and we chose a Mediterranean cafe called Baladi.  Several things on the menu were marked vegan, and we had plenty of dishes from which to choose. 

Mr. GV of course started with the dolmas. 

We ate outside, and were losing the light, so this dish doesn't look all that appetizing in this picture.  But I swear, it was good!  This was the moussaka, which was a special of the day.  We are not lovers of eggplant in this house, but we enjoyed it cooked this way.

I chose the Falafel Supreme, which was deeeelish! 

There were two vegan desserts on the menu, so even though we were stuffed, we just had to get some of those to go.  Here you have Mamool, made with semolina flour and dates, and Baklava.  The owner has both vegan and non-vegan baklava on the menu.  We had a nice chat with the owner about veganism and how we found his cafe (Happycow.net) and we went away with two complimentary cups of herbal tea and some Turkish Delight. 

Biltmore

On our way to Virginia, we were excited to be able to take my mom to Biltmore for the first time!  Mr. GV and I had been twice before.  Once on our honeymoon (I remember standing on the porch and thinking "Oh, we've been married for 24 hours now!")  The second time was on an anniversary trip a few years ago. 

If I lived near Asheville, I would have a season pass to Biltmore for sure.  I would go at least once each season to admire the gardens.  None of our trips has been exactly the same either, as there are different exhibits set up, new rooms that have been opened to the public, and extra tours you can take. 

Mom had a good time, even if she was worn out (we all were) by the end of the day.

Mr. GV enjoyed himself too, even if I did make him do a lot of posing for my camera.

While were there, a model was posing for a photographer.  The whole thing was kind of fascinating.  She put on her "model face" when the camera started clicking.  If you make the picture bigger, you can better see what she was wearing.

Mr. GV, myself, and my mom posing at the front entrance.

The architecture is really stunning.  If we go back, I would love to take the tour that explores the design more closely. 

After our tour of the house, we went into the gardens and the greenhouse.  If you do it right, you'll be touring the gardens alone for a couple of days. 

Can you tell how big these leaves are?  I have seen some really big ones before, but these are the largest.

We went down the trails (which meant we had to come back UP the steep trails and stairs, and it almost did us in.)  But the beauty of it all was so worth it. 

We met this sweet girl, Smiley, along one of the paths.  She looks almost exactly like my dad's dog, Sparky, only she's a bit smaller and her nose is longer.  She had the same smile and personality though.