This was my first meal back in the States -a fresco bean burrito from Taco Bell. You would not believe how much I missed Taco Bell while I was across the pond. They should definitely try out the T-Bell again in England or at least London. I'm sure that many of you Englanders out there would agree that some fast Mexican food is needed!
After I got home it was time for dinner (travelling from Chicago to central Wisconsin is no easy task amidst construction and traffic!) and I was hungry. I bought this in a health food in Germany and brought it home. It is a vegan ravioli with mushrooms. It was very tasty and since I hadn't had canned pasta for a very long time I was surprised how much I still liked it. There is something oddly satisfying about pasta that doesn't require much chewing. It just brings me back to my childhood and eating Chef Boyardee (so gross!).
Well, here it is with some corn and broccoli on the side. Doesn't it look delish? Nothing like German canned pasta to take away the hunger of travel!
Then, guess what I found at the local grocery store the next day??? A Tofurky pizza with DAIYA cheese on top. I got the 'Italian Sausage & Fire-Roasted Veggie' flavour and it was absolutely delicious.
Here it is before I cooked it - nice and frozen!
Here it is post-pizza oven. Doesn't it look completely yummy? Now I'm not saying that this is as good as if I were to make my own crust with toppings that I chose and then added the daiya, but it is good when you're in a rush. I plan to only buy it then anyhow since it cost between $7 and $8! Oh well, good to try anyhow!
After I got home, I went to Stevens Point (my old college town) and Heidi, Dan, and I went to the Gyro and Kebab House downtown. I love that place so much - such good food. Here is the hummus plate that I ordered as a starter. I also got a falafel pitta, which I forgot to photograph so maybe next time... The hummus is so creamy and delicious. I just wish that it wasn't refrigerated and so cold. I prefer room temperature hummus.
Here is a new product that I haven't had before. I don't usually subscribe to the faux meat foods all the time idea, but I had never seen these before and enjoy other Food for Life products. They were pretty good, but slightly mushy. Even though I made them in the oven the texture wasn't great. I enjoyed them though as part of a main or chopped up on a salad.
Here's how I ate them. I made some sautéed broccoli on the side as well as some chips that I covered with malt vinegar and German pommes seasoning. I also had curry ketchup and HP sauce on the side for dipping. This was definitely a great lunch, if not a bit of a naughty one.
I'm so glad that I was able to get all of these sauces at Woodman's grocery in Appleton. I just love their international foods section. I can get all of these, baked beans, digestives, and everything I need to be able to pretend that I'm in England or Europe in general!
It was recently my mum's birthday and she wanted a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. If that wasn't the case I would've made her a vegan cake, but she asked so I obliged. I made these chocolate-vanilla marble cakes with vegan buttercream for my sister and I. The recipe was from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World of course and of course they were fabulous! I just love cupcakes or just cake in general, or if we're being really honest I just love dessert!
Then it was my brother's birthday. He just turned thirteen and let me make him a vegan chocolate cake for him for his birthday. The recipe was from La Dolce Vegan and was a form of the 'Wacky Cake' and had a fudgy frosting on top with the writing in buttercream. It was good as the wacky cake is always my favourite chocolate cake, but the frosting was too runny and the buttercream was a bit grainy. Good thing I'm the most critical with everyone else just excited by cake!
Here's a picture of my brother, Ethan, and his birthday cake all lit up with his thirteen candles. He looks happy with it, right. His birthday was actually yesterday (we celebrated Sunday) and he got birthday cards, gifts, and a decorated locker from some girls at school. He is already a womanizer in the seventh grade!
Earlier this week I found some more DAIYA cheese in the bag at a local health food store. I knew right away that I needed to make a grilled 'cheese.' It turned out amazing and melty. Can you see the stretching action between the two sides of the sandwich? Mmmm...
I had a salad on the side of romaine, baby spinach, carrots, sautéed tofu, and light Western dressing. Even though I'm sure that Western dressing is horrible for me I haven't found any dressing (besides my grandmother's homemade) that I enjoy as much as this!
My sister went to Liverpool for the semester on Tuesday (lucky!!!) and asked me to make her some muffins. She's vegan too (my doing) so I made her two selections from Vegan Brunch. First is the Zucchini (courgette) Spelt Muffin with Raisins. It was super tasty and tender. I love how huge they are.
Then came lemon poppyseed. I couldn't believe when I made these that I've never used poppyseed before. Does a drug test really come up positive for heroin if you eat poppyseeds??? Does anyone know? Anyways they were super yummy and lemon-y with lemon juice and lemon zest included.
Lastly, I made Seitan-Portabella Stroganoff (I know portobello is spelled wrong, but that's how it is in the book) from Vegan with a Vengeance on Tuesday night. I also made the seitan from the same book for the recipe. It was so, so yummy! It was rather labour intensive, but so worth it and since it made eight servings I will have it around for quite a while. Just looking at the photo brings back all of its savoury memories!
That's all for now and I hope that you enjoy reading all about my lovely eats during my time back at home in the States. I will keep you posted again soon with more adventures in my world of food!
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