Hanging Out In Oakland

I had a group therapy meeting in Oakland over weekend. We have not been to Oakland in awhile so we had to hit up a few of our favorite places and walk around as the sun set.

The group meeting I attended was across from a mortuary - I sat across the street and watched the parking lot for any signs of un-life floating around.

After grabbing chocolate and caffeine at Timeless we walked down to Issues and I found a copy of Beyond the Dark Veil and I almost hyperventilated in the small store. Watching online auctions sell the book for hundreds of dollars I was bummed that I never got the first print. I was not even sure if they would reprint it but here it is - I bought it!

Hanging out at the Colton mausoleum with one of the sphinx twins at Mountain View. The sun was setting as we made our way along the cemetery trails. We saw some deer and the twinkle lights go on as we left. It all felt very magical. 

We ended the night with vegan deep dish pizza from Zachary's and a stroll around the neighborhood looking at books and in shop windows.

Ace Hardware has a neat display going on. It is part mad scientist part vampire hunter. It had a very old time-y movie set feel.

The Battle Of The Boxed Vegan Mac & Cheezes

I grew up in the 80s - boxed mac and cheese would make the rounds on our dinner plate. We seemed to get the traditional kind - the small elbow shaped noodles with the electric orange sauce packet. I did not like it! I liked the one with shells and the super creamy sauce.

Over the last few months vegan mac & cheeze has taken over the selves. In the last few weeks Matt and I have dabbled in the boxes we picked up at Whole Foods.

So Delicious: Most like the blue box I remember from childhood. Kinda cheesey, kinda chemically, a bit dry. You add your own spread and non-dairy milk with this one.

Daiya: Winner! This is super creamy, everything comes in the box and has a great taste. It had the creaminess of the shells I remember as a kid.I believe this one was the most pricey on the shelf but it is the one I would buy again!

This is how I used the Daiya mac & cheeze: pan fried bbq Soy Curls, jalapenos and the mac & cheeze between a whole wheat bun. Fries and tots on the side because I only had a handful of each in the freezer. This was super yummy and something I will be making again for sure!

It is not hard to make your own stove top mac & cheeze now that vegan melting cheeze is on the market. Buying it in box form is fun and serves for nostalgic purposes but at the end of the day I like the stove top kind. I like mine topped with hot sauce and Tajin.

Happy First Day Of Fall

Happy first day of Fall. I hope you have many adventures planned and at least one includes jumping into a pile of leaves! Mortis and Mady are planning their Halloween costumes and i am planning on how to get them onto them! Stay tuned!

Little Weekend Roundup

Mady had her yearly shots on Saturday. My poor little girl - look at those eyes. She was a good girl though even with all the barking dogs waiting around her. She is still not a 100% herself today but little by little she is feeling better.

Spent time in Manteca Union Cemetery - got some shots of 1800s stones that are nicely preserved. A lot of times stones from the 1800s are really worn making them hard to read so I was delighted to find a nice selection with script that photographed well.

After going to the movies and looking at Halloween stuff we had dinner at Freebirds. We learned about the Tempeh Calabacitas - and had to go in to try it out. While I love tofu, it is nice to see a place offering something other than tofu to it's meat free customers. I ordered a salad bowl with Calabacitas, Spanish rice, guac, Death Sauce, jalapeno's, veggies and more hot sauce! It was really good. I love all of the vegan options at Freebirds. Everything tasted fresh and had a authentic kick to it.

It was a pretty chill weekend. I am working on zine stuff like editing cemetery photos and looking up history. I am trying to stay happy and just relax my mind. I hope your weekend was awesome!

A Bit Of [VeganMOFO] & Weekend Stuff

I thought I would get some acupuncture done this weekend to see if it would transform my nervous energy to bliss. It did not happen, got to the clinic and it was packed, I even had an appointment and it did not matter. I was rather angry seeing it was a 30+ minute drive. So I asked for a refund and headed over to the Delta Humane Society thrift store and bought a few things, hung out with kittens and people who love cats.

To bust me out of my funk more Matt decided we needed doughnuts at Family Donuts & Deli again. The selection was smaller this time around but there were still some great ones to choose from. We tried a blueberry jelly filled and it was tasty!

Of course cemetery exploring was a must. Though the air quality is bad and everything looks murky and like a yellow bruise outside I had to get out there. The mausoleums were open and the air conditioner was on so Matt hung out in one while I explored. Matt snapped the above picture of me when I went back to get him

We rounded out the day having dinner at El Papagayo. I had green enchiladas - one with fried tofu and the other with chili colorado - both tasty options. This leads me to VeganMOFO - I would totally take Mr. President to eat here. No way am I going to cook and fill myself with anxiety! I would get him stuffed with nachos from the salsa bar, get him a round of Tecate and tell him to try a fried tofu dish!

[VeganMOFO] Where Do You Get Your ____ From?

Random person: Where do you get your protein from?

Me: Your mom!!!!

Honestly that is what I wish I could say to everyone who asks me about protein. 9 out of 10 times they are just asking to poke fun/debate/find flaws in being vegan without any real concern behind the question. I never worry about protein and that is a fact.

I am known for eating mass quantities of PB2 - I eat it everyday! I like that it is not oily. I use it in savory and sweet dishes with good results. Beans are also a staple in the house. Buying organic canned beans is something I always tell people to do. If you have a few different kinds of canned beans in your pantry quick meals thrown together are not hard to do.

Those are just two basic protein options! There are many more without having to eat animal flesh. Word to your mother!

Vegan Beauty Box Round Up For August

Petite Vour  review:

Juara Clove Flower & Tumeric Serum - light weight and it absorbs easy. It needs a moustirizer on top if you are looking to hydrate your skin. On its own it does not moisturize enough.

Modern Minerals Tea Rose Finishing Glow: Most light blushes do not show up on me - no exception here. At least it did not give me a weird shimmery glow.

Mychelle Dermaceuticals Fruit Enzyme Scrub: Nice gentle scrub that does not leave gritty bits behind when you rinse it off.

Yarok Feed Your Shine hair serum - really does not do anything noticeable to my hair.

Vegan Cuts Beauty Box review:

One Love Organics dry shampoo: I like how this absorbs into the dark parts of my hair without making it look grey. However the packaging sucks - no matter what you do it leaks and coats everything with powder.

Gleam by Melanie Mills lipgloss: really sheer, does not really show any color on me when I swatched it.

Kaeng Raeng body scrub - pretty basic scrub. Not overly scratchy on my sensitive skin.

Glamnatural face lotion: nice night cream that is really thick. A bit goes a long way.

Harvey Prince perfume in Hello: I have tried this scent before. I like it because it is clean smelling. My bottle came broken so they are sending out a replacement.

[VeganMOFO] Resturant Meal

Whenever we eat at El Papagayo I crave quesadillas, chips and rice the next day. One never can have to much Mexican food right?

[VeganMOFO] Quick & Easy

Truth be told 95% my meals are fast and easy. I like cooking but I do not like stress so I have a list of meals that I make that take 15-30 minutes to get on the plate. The only time my weeknight meals take longer is when I am making fries or tots in the oven, my oven takes forever to warm up!
I keep canned beans in the pantry as well as rice and noodles, in the freezer I have frozen veggies and fries and in the fridge I always have tofu, nut milk and salsa. I can make multiple meals out of any of the above ingredients quickly.

However you cannot get much more quick or easier with a vegan wrap from Trader Joe's. These are handy lunch staples for us. Matt likes the one above and I like the lentil. They are pretty hearty, good to split for a picnic paired with some chips or eat the whole thing with a side salad or tots if you feel like turning on your oven for dinner.

[VeagnMOFO] We Ate A Lot Of Pasta...

I was trying to think of a childhood meal that I could do a twist on. There are certain meals that transport me to childhood instantly. Food that reminds me of being a child and being comforted. I thought of the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches my mom would make us for school lunches, biscuits and gravy on the Sunday table, mom's potato salad, the milkshakes my dad whipped up for us studded with candy bar pieces we ate as we  battled chickenpox in the summer heat. All those have great memories but I believe one dish stands out the most. It is pasta. 
Pasta - growing up with a dad from Sicily, pasta was a must. It did not matter if the sauce came from a jar on a busy night as long as the sauce was plenty and we had bread from the store bakery. Over the weekend I visited with my parents and pasta came up. Mt dad was going on about vegetable pasta dishes his mom would make him. I started talking about one of my favorite summer time meals.

Zoodles! I have been making zucchini noodles for a few years now. They are light and refreshing and a perfect meal. I like mine full of lemon juice, nooch, garlic and tossed with blistered cherry tomatoes. To add to my meal memories I toasted some naan bread and added a bowl of pasta sauce to use for dipping, something my mom would do for us. I will have the complete recipe in an upcoming zine (I am behind) but till then I think everyone should try zoodles!

[VeganMOFO] Breakfast Time

I have to state I am not a big breakfast person. I like breakfast food but not in the morning. Like bring on pancakes at dinner and I am super happy but before yoga - no thanks! I am just not a morning person to begin with so breakfast should not get all offended.

So today I had a bowl of cinnamon Puffins with cashew milk and some orange spiced tea. I ate while watching the news, saw Matt off to work and then worked out. That is how I typically start my Monday through Friday mornings.