Vegan Mofo 2011

Starting Monday I am blogging Monday through Friday. This is my second year doing MOFO! I hope to get in some big box stores and show you what is vegan, some Halloween/Dia De Los Muertos treats, some food inspired beauty and more! Stay tuned!

I Love Halloween Fabric

I really enjoy fabric shopping - but I love fabric shopping at this time of year. I love finding skull fabric and dia de los muertos fabric! This year not a lot has come out, but I did find some new stuff and raided my massive fabric bin. Here is some creepy cute bows in my shop using some of my fabric finds!

Halloween With The Skelleanimals

Baby Bats In The Night Sky

Red Eyed Skull

And if my bows were not cool enough - check out Ash Costello from the band New Years Day rocking one of my bows! On top of that use coupon code: SPOOKY in my shop for 13% off your order!

SebaMed Face and Body Wash

I picked up a giant bottle of SebaMed at Costco last week - because I needed a new face wash to take off my makeup at night. I am always hunting for vegan products and was happy to score a giant bottle for $15. I will not need face wash for awhile now!

The smell is very clean , like hospital sanitizer clean, the color is Slime green and it leaves my face clean and not dry or filmy feeling. I like that my skin feels clean and not itchy after using it - like some face washes.


Yay for finding vegan things at Costco besides the usual stuff!

Tea Time - What I Have Been Sipping On

I have been going a bit tea crazy these last few weeks. My usual green tea in the morning and night time sleepy blend have been replaced. I blame Cost Plus for having great varities. You go in to look at their retro inspired Halloween stuff and walk out with a bag full of tea and a sugar skull wind chime!

I first saw Red Velvet Chocolate by The Republic of Tea in the current issue of Veg News and wanted to try it right away but was having a hard time finding it...Well, I found it and have been drinking it daily! It is kinda chocolatey, very smooth and tasty. I serve it with a bit of stevia and plain almond milk. This is like hot chocolate for those that like the drink but do not like how rich it is.Zhena's Gypsy Tea has some new chai flavors out - they even say vegan on the tube (I know when I think chai - I think honey which is not vegan - duh!). I like them all, prepared with the same method as above. They are spicy and sweet, comfort in a cup!

What tea are you drinking? Also what can I do with all these tube tins that are stacking up!?!

Cafeteria Flashback - Hamburger Gravy & Mashed Potatoes

In school my lunches usually consisted of a brown bag/lunch box lunch. If I was lucky it meant mom made it - not so lucky my dad made it and my pb&j was more like a pb&j puddle with soggy bread in a baggy. The occasions I did eat a cafeteria meal one thing stuck out over the years and that was hamburger gravy with mashed potatoes. My mom said this was a fave of hers too and Matt never had it - so ya know I had to veganize this classic!

Vegan Hamburger Gravy With Mashed Potatoes

1 package faux ground meat (I use Trader Joe's crumbles)

a bit of oil for the pan

1 package of Simply Organic Vegetarian Gravy Mix

1 package of vegan instant mashed potatoes*

1 tablespoon of soy sour cream

Prepare the gravey mix according to instructions adding an extra 1/4 cup water. Brown crumbles in oil. When the gravy is done add it to the crumbles in the pan on low heat. Make the mashed potatoes via the box instructions then stir in sour cream. Place a big glob of mashed potatoes on your plate, my a dent and fill with hamburger gravy and enjoy! It came pretty close to what I remember from grade school!

*I think that a boxed mix makes the dish more authentic tasting. If you want try making mashed potatoes from scratch - it is up to you!

Shredded "Chicken" nachos

Last night for dinner I made shredded "chicken" nachos - because I am on a nacho kick! Matt really loved them as well as I and if you like spicy comfort food and have 20 minutes you will too!

Shredded "Chicken" Tacos

1 package of Trader Joe's vegan chicken strips (pulled into smaller pieces)

1 15 oz. can of pinto beans drained

1 can of Rotel (original) with juice

1 4 oz can of diced chilies

3/4 of a package of taco seasoning (or make your own blend)
2 teaspoons of lime juice

salsa

corn tortilla chips

guacamole, soy sour cream, cheeze sauce (optional)

Mix the shredded "chicken", beans, Rotel, diced chilies and taco seasoning in a lidded pot over medium heat. When it starts to bubble (10 minutes), stir it again and reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for 15 minutes. You want the moisture to evaporate till the mix becomes thick. Plate it and add salsa and any other toppings you may like and enjoy. I bet this would taste awesome over rice too!

Leftover Magic

The fridge was loaded with leftover miscellaneous stuff : guacamole, soy sour cream, cheeze sauce, soy crumbles. To clean out the fridge and keep money in the bank I decided to make nachos. All that was missing was chips and black beans!

What do you do with leftovers? Do you embrace them or do they get tossed out?

Blogs and Weekend Fun

Last week I was featured on Vegan Craftastic's blog. Check out the interview and stay around for her awesome knitting! Thank you again for featuring me!

My boyfriend Matt started a blog: http://www.alwayswrongfilm.com/ this weekend.Expect more film and music reviews from him!

Speaking of Matt we made a day date to the Stockton and Elk Grove on Saturday. Matt and I stocked up on hard to find movies and music at Rasputin, looked at the Halloween goodies at Home Goods (my mom and aunt love this place so I wanted to check it out), checked out the mall and discovered a 40% off Blue Ray special at Barnes and Noble (our store does not have a movie/music section or a section on film in books!).
We took a different route to Elk Grove and wanted to check out some fancy houses, so we made a U turn in the parking lot of  Nugget Market, I have never been and was curious to what was inside. I found some vegan beauty goods and cereal bars that I cannot find in Modesto. I guess Nugget Marget is like Whole Foods mixed with a traditional store. Further down the road we stopped at Loving Hut and had Thai iced tea, drum sticks and the best ever veggie burger! Matt ordered off their new menu, he had the BBQ soy protein with mashed potatoes, now I want to try to find out what the soy protein was! We packed up some flan and headed home. It was a fun day!

Bento Box Contest Winner

      Congrats to Dee Cahn - the winner of my bento box contest! May you have great lunch fun with them! 

New: Zine and Music Video

Issue 3 of my zine The Easy Vegan is out now! It took awhile to get this one together mostly editorial problems - however the wait is worth it. Everything to get you happy is in this issue from the yellow card stock cover to yummy easy recipes and how to make a DIY spa day at home. Please stop by my Etsy store and pick up a copy today! The first 5 copies are in color as an experiment!

I am looking for contributors for 4. This will focus on fall and winter recipes, crafts, gift ideas and how to stay warm. If you want to contribute, contact me and share your ideas. If you contribute you get a free zine and ad space to plug your blog/shop.



My boyfriend Matt's latest completed music video is up now. Please check it out and leave him a comment, show him some love!

Kawaii Bento Box Set Giveaway [closed]

Last month my boyfriend Matt started a new job! A great paying job that allows him to sleep in! The trade off - he does not get to come home for lunch any longer. I have been packing his lunch and tried to keep it to things we would have at home. Somethings work - others do not. So far plain sandwiches - Tofurky, spread, cheeze seem to work but if you add some veggies things get soggy. Potato salad works as well as hummus and pita chips. Matt is very picky - also he is not a big lunch eater. So coming up with ideas is hard!

While in Japan Town I picked up various bento boxes to make lunch fun! I also picked up a cute set for one lucky reader! You get a small locked bento good for a scoop of pasta salad or hummus, a square kitty box perfect for sandwiches and chop sticks (in case you prefer veggie sushi instead of a sandwich!) - all in a fun pink color!
To enter please give me your favorite vegan lunch combo in the comments section below. This contest is open to everyone - make sure I have a way to contact you left in the comments or a link back to your blog/twitter! Contest ends on September 6th! One winner will be picked by random!
For more chances to win, please do a task below and post a separate comment for each task! Google Friend Connect my blog: www.missmuffcake.com 
Like MissMuffcake on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MissMuffcake 
Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/missmuffcake

If you are new to bento box fun here are some links to get you started (not all of them are vegan - but you can get ideas on what to do to make them vegan):
Vegan Bento: http://veganbento.blogsome.com/
Just Bento: http://justbento.com/
Lunch in a Box: http://lunchinabox.net/
Cute Yummy Time: http://cuteyummytime.wordpress.com/

J-pop Summit Fest 2011

Last Saturday we went up to San Francisco for the J-pop Summit Festival. It was really fun to see so many people dressed up, to buy stuff from vendors, do some shopping at the mall! Here I am standing right in the middle of the action - right as the clouds started to come in!

One of the pictures we took at Pika Pika with Flat Mar! It started getting cold and my arm was aching from a bus incident (I ran/was pushed into a metal rail) we took a town car across town to eat at Source . After we ordered the owner remembered me and came up and chatted - I like this attention - if only other restaurants did this.

Matt ordered the moo skewers - he wanted more skewers and rice (I think there should have been at least 1 more skewer - it looked a bit like a appetizer with just two). He loved the taste - he just wanted more!

I ordered the oink bits burger. I really loved the pita - it was fresh and moist. The burger was really good too - it had a nice purple red color from the beets. I think the toppings were plentiful but the flavor needed something - more spice or something - lots of nice texture - just not so much flavor stand out points. The fries and chocolate smoothie were so divine! We will go back!