I'm baaaaaa-aaaaaacccckkkkkk!

Hello everyone! Jeez, I have been gone for a long time! My computer died, so I've been using the laptop and took a long time to figure out how to download pictures on it (did you know that you can stick your memory card right into most laptops? I had no idea...) and then I hurt my back, got the flu, and had a really intense (but in a good way!) couple weeks at work, and somehow just got out of the habit of even logging into blogger. How have you all been? I hope life has been treating you all well! Happy Spring! Please enjoy some food porn!

Vegan Crunk's tester Sweet Potato Pecan bread

Inside shot! This stuff was so yummy and easy to make!

Pizza with Trader Joe's herby crust, FYH mozzarella, and lots of veggies (and don't forget the walnuts!)

Potato tofu veggie scramble and my cute little tea cup!

Voodoo Doughnut expanded their vegan offerings! I will never eat another cake doughnut again!!!

After drooling over dairy spinach dip at a potluck, I went home and made my own!

Jesse asked me what I wanted for dinner, and of course I replied with, "NACHOS!" Here's what I got - my own friggin' nacho bar!

Delicious!

Lemon Gem cupcakes from Vegan with a Vengeance

Reubeny sammich - tempeh, sauerkraut, grilled onions, and a Vegenaise/ketchup/hot sauce blend

Mac and cheeze and kale and shallots

And what's a blog post without some cute kitties???

Zoey and Cookie sleeping in the top of their cat tree

Cookie loves to give me baths :)

Next up, my first attempt at sushi! Woohoo! xoxo Chelsea

Recent tasty eats

I had to stay too late at work, and now I'm too tired to attempt to be witty for a blog post. Blah! But, I do have some food porn that's been collecting since I haven't been posting much... Enjoy!

You know I love nachos! With black beans, cheesy sauce, Tofutti, guacamole, and mango salsa

Polenta and Rising Moon ravioli with marinara and a salad


Tempeh fajitas with refried beans, quinoa, and the fixin's

Stuffed acorn squash and mashed potatoes

I have to say a little about that one... it was really good! I think the flavors would have gone a little better with a butternut squash, though. I sauteed apples, garbanzo beans, celery, mushrooms, walnuts, tomatoes, and quinoa in tomato paste and wine and added a bunch of spices. I didn't even consult a recipe for this one (I'm a novice!), and it was totally edible! haha

Enjoy your Friday, everyone! There's a possibility we could get some snow and maybe even a snow day tomorrow... cross your fingers for me! xoxo Chelsea

P.S. Interested in stopping puppy mills? Check out the Radical Cheerleaders for AR blog...

The Melting Pot update, and SantaCon!

So...I forgot to bring my camera to The Melting Pot. Whoops! Though I didn't get any faux fondue, the meal was definitely filling and pretty good, though the price was pretty outrageous (still full price of $50 something for me); luckily I wasn't paying!

We were a group of 11, seated around a large table with 4 fondue pots in the middle. The first course was 4 different kinds of fondue accompanied by bread, tortilla chips, apples, carrots, and broccoli. The server thought there was some vegan mushroom pate for me, but it sadly had sour cream in it. Next up were our salads, mine was a mix of baby greens, walnuts, and raspberry vinaigrette. It was pretty tasty. My parents in law ordered a different salad which came with a shallot vinaigrette and was served in a gravy boat, which I stole and used to dip the leftover bread in. I wish I would have thought to ask for oil or something while everyone else was eating fondue!

Next was the entree course. The server was really nice and always asking, "how's my vegan friend? Getting enough to eat?" and made sure everyone at the table knew not to dip meat in the pot in front of me. Each pot had a different broth in it, and I got a huge platter of good stuff to cook in mine. Tofu (frozen and thawed), mushrooms, eggplant, potato, broccoli, asparagus, and Jesse had the vegetarian plate which also included some cheese ravioli. It was a LOT of food and I was totally stuffed. And then there was the final course... dessert!

There was a large menu of chocolate fondues, and many of them included dark chocolate. I was very hopeful that I would get to chow down, but sadly, all of the chocolate fondue had dairy in it. The server made me a beautiful bowl of fruit, though, which pretty much made up for it. Bananas, strawberries, and blackberries, tossed in a sugar glaze and garnished with mint leaves and powdered sugar. Everyone was jealous of my blackberries! Overall, it was a very nice (3 hour!) meal, and they went out of their way to accommodate my veganness. I would definitely not recommend seeking it out for a special vegan dinner, but if friends or family invite you there, have no fear - you will leave stuffed like everyone else!

SANTACON PDX 2008

Santacon is a worldwide event that has many different incarnations depending on locale and culture. Here in Portland, it's a fun-filled day where thousands of Santas take to the streets, interact with strangers, do crazy (but legal) things, and get drunk. I went to a baby shower that afternoon, so I could only go out for the evening, but it was fun! I went with my girlfriend who it took a few drinks to even get a Santa hat on, and we started out at the Holiday Ale Festival. I had already been with Jesse on Thursday, so we didn't need to buy new mugs, and I ended up not having to spend any money at all! How is that possible, you wonder? While we were waiting in line to get in, 3 different people came up and gave me their extra tickets as they were leaving. At first I was kinda shocked and just said, "thanks, uh, ho ho ho!" but after a few people I became more comfortable with my alter ego. More people gave me tickets inside, and I had so many I even gave my friend some! I took lots of pictures with tourists, started a few Christmas carols, and had quite a jolly time. Yay Santacon!

My last minute Santa costume!

Mmmm Barleywine!

All that beer made us hungry, so we ventured to the Tube for nachos, tacos, and ham and cheese sandwiches (all vegan, of course!). Oh, and whiskey. :)

Cheesy sauce - delicious and nutritious!

Do you love you some cheesy sauce? I know I do! I originally found this recipe from vegweb, but I think it may be from a cookbook, or at least a variation of a cookbook recipe. Cheesy sauce is awesome on nachos (especially if you add some spice to it), but also great as a topping for baked potatoes, on broccoli, or mixed with pasta for some good old mac and cheese. Here's how I do it:

1/4 cup nooch, 1/4 cup flour, whisked together with 3/4 cups water on medium heat
stir often as it thickens quickly!

Once it's thickened, add a dash of olive oil, a good squirt of mustard, and 1 t. garlic powder
I also added some cayenne pepper

Mix it together and use it asap! It will over-thicken if you're not careful

Put it on some nachos! Or whatever. Add deliciousness AND vitamins and minerals! I actually just had a lot of bloodwork done, and my B12 level was great. I totally think it's all the nooch!