My Type Of Comfort Food

 

We all have our versions of comfort food. Mine is a plate of pasta with bread. It reminds me of being at home. My mom would make a basic Bolognes sauce with a jar of marinara and hamburger and buy a loaf of bread from the grocery store. Sometimes we would have a bowl of sauce and left over sandwich bread toasted as a snack. When I went veg in high school my mom would put aside sauce for me before adding meat. 

I usually grab a jar of Trader Joe's mushroom sauce, a bag of frozen meatless-balls and some organic pasta to make my pasta in a snap. I add toasted garlic bread with Earth Balance and olive oil and a side salad with a basic vinaigrette.One bite and I feel warm inside both from nourishment and memories.

Another classic comfort food is chocolate chip cookies. Yes, homemade is the best but when you are out and about and see a giant vegan chocolate chip cookie you can split with your boyfriend, you best grab it!I remember one year my mom made loads of them for me to share with my class room and surrounding classes in honor of my birthday or something special. Chocolate chip cookies are just a classic that we all have memories of!

What are your comfort food favorites? What memories do you have associated with the dishes/item?

A Few Vegan Zine Reviews

Maude sent me the latest issue of her zine Marmalade Umlaut and a back issue where she talks about her tattoos (inspired by a zine entry I did!). They kept me entertained over last weekend! Zines on the couch with some tea is nice! Both zines focus on what Maude is up to, food she is eating and her love of farmer's markets. She hand writes her zines and includes comic styled panels in each one. You can buy the zines and read her blog at Food Feud. Maude actually will be giving the next issue of my zine some NY love with her take on the best places in NY.

Dishes I like To Eat And Make is a cute lil pocket sized zine packed with flavor. Most of the recipes are vegan, the other 2 vegetarian but could be made vegan if you tried! The clean style and font choices make Brandy's style stand out! $1 gets you this fun zine! You can buy the zine via Brandy's Etsy Shop .

Food Network Fan Zine - Seeking Submissions

It's no lie I love me some Food Network. From Bobby Flay getting his but kicked on his new show to seeing Guy's outrageous dive food, I watch Food network a lot! I know I am not the only one. So I am hoping to put a comp zine together that showcases our likes and dislikes of the popular channel.

Here are some topics/prompts that I would like to explore. Use these if you like or make something up that is not covered. Submissions are due Aug. 30th 2014. If you contribute you get a copy of the zine mailed to your door!


Ideas to get your writing flow on:

-Create your own FN show - what would it be about - who would host it
-FN celebrity crush
-FN recreated recipe
-Fave FN show/why
-FN celeb you would most want to cook for you/why
-FN celeb that gets on your last nerves/why


Contact me at: missmuffcake(a)aol.com

Introducing Mady

On July 18th right after I saw Matt off to work, had my tea and breakfast bar and was about to do 30 minutes of yoga I heard high pitch mewing noises outside. Thinking it was a kid, but realizing that it was to early for children outside I  thought it was one of the feral cats. I went outside and up came this little ball of energy, she ran past me into the house and started purring. I offered her some food but all she wanted was to be petted and held.
I did yoga, fed her and played with her. She was by my side the whole day. I asked around to see if anyone was missing a kitten and no one was. So we went off to Target and bought some supplies, came home and set her up with her own bowls and a litter box (she knew how to use it right away). 

 I searched Craig's List, the lost and found section in the paper, neighborhood fliers...Everything and no report of a missing kitty. I believe with her trusting nature and how she found her way into my backyard someone dumped her. It's not common for my neighbor and I to see cats and kittens just magically show up around here.

I was not wanting a cat or kitten, I love cats, kittens and all animals as many of you know, but my heart still aches for Mar. I miss my big boy kitty and still cry over the loss of him. A few people said that maybe Mar has lead the kitten to us, she came into our lives when we needed to think of what we have to offer and not about problems that come up...I do not know, I just know she is here and I need to learn how to open my heart up and realize that I have love to give even though I still hurt.

Mady Facts

Name: Mady (Matt + Kendy = Mady. My mom came up with it. I was going to name her something to do with yoga but then thought Downward Dog might not cut it).

Breed:  Tortoiseshell or as I like to think of her and her high energy TortoisesHELL. 

Age: Around 8 weeks looking at her teeth.

Favorite food: Coconut oil! I oil pull in the morning and once had some on my finger leftover, she went crazy licking it up. So now she gets a tiny bit in the morning. As soon as she hears the lid unscrew she is climbing up my leg to get some. I caught her trying to drink my cold brew almond milk coffee today - um no Mady!

Bad habit: Climbing and jumping on everything. She has already pulled down the curtains. 

I will be posting more of Mady's progress as the weeks go by. Right now I got to go kitten proof the house! 

BJ's Vegan Friendly Pizza & Drinks

In town my vegan dining out options are limited. Sure I have plenty of options  to choose from at grocery stores to cook my own meals but sometimes you just want to go out, sit down and not worry about cooking timers and clean up. 

Recently Matt and I have been going to BJ's for pizza and drinks. If you order the deep dish vegetarian pizza minus cheese you have a tasty vegan option. Make it clear you want them to make your pizza separate so no cross contamination will happen.  Ask for extra sauce on the pizza & the side - it makes things tasty and if you like heat go for added jalapenos like we did this time around! The crust is really tasty: light and 'buttery' perfect thick crust consistency. It has to be one of my fave pizza crusts! It is the type of crust you can eat on it's own with sauce on the side - childhood memories of toast and marinara sauce come to mind.

If you do go for a drink Matt likes the Oasis beer and I go for a Skinnyrita with agave and fresh squeezed citrus. Barnivore says all draft beers are vegan - just stay away from the cask aged offered at certain locations.

So next time you are in a town with little in the way of vegan dining out options see if a BJ's in nearby. Have a pizza and a drink and be happy you can save that granola bar in your bag for another emergency situation.

Two New Zines Hot Off The Presses!

I added 2 new zines to my Etsy shop this weekend. Hello Kitties and the latest installment of The Stay At Home Girlfriend! Please go check them out and buy a zine or two!

How I Celebrated Turning 35 & Vegan Pizza Day

On Saturday June 28th I turned 35! We headed over to the bay area for fun and food. I had all my plans made and due to traffic, bad timing, a bad Uber ride my plans turned into something else but all is good, I still had good food and celebrated right! 

 

I treated myself to a birthday tattoo! A super cute bottle of Sriracha by Sarah at Royalty Tattoo Collective  in Burlingame, CA. The BART ride out there from Berkeley was long but it was worth it for this super cute tattoo!

Speaking of cute I got to celebrate my birthday on Vegan Pizza Day! Matt got me a cute Hello Kitty pizza plush! One is never too old for Hello Kitty!

Our original plans of eating pizza at a different location fell through as well as other plans. However I had a coupon kicking around for Pizza Moda  and we like the atmosphere and the food is good so we headed there. We got the Smiling Cow + Calabrian chilies, a vegan Caesar salad (I am sad not to see the kale one on the menu now!) and a piece of the vegan fudge-y chocolate cake to split. We were stuffed and our bellies were happy!