Silk Iced Latte

Ok. I have waited years...years to have a product like this on the market. Is it a sugary caffeinated mess? Absolutely.

When I was younger I was obsessed with This Stuff. That powdered "International Coffee" was a delicious sugar bomb that I loved.

Bottled Frappuccino? You better believe I drank an obscene amount of those in my day.

Alas...none of those drinks (as well as countless other coffee-based premade beverages) are vegan. I thought I would never be able to enjoy a premade coffee drink again. Until....



I enjoy these immensely. They come in vanilla and mocha, and are way sugary, but I don't mind. I love black coffee for the most part, with an occasional flavored coffee drink, but these just hit my nostalgia zone in a satisfying way. I keep seeing commercials for the Almond Breeze Iced Coffee but have yet to see them in real life.

Food Trucks! Hola Arepa & Red Smoker

This is probably the last time of the season I will be able to get an arepa from Hola Arepa. This time, I got guac on the side, and added some hot sauce.

I also hit up the Red Smoker BBQ food truck and got some vegetarian chili with no dairy. It was made with kidney or pinto beans, and topped with green peppers, onion, cilantro, and cucumbers. Not too bad, I added hot sauce, because I always add hot sauce.

DDOW Thai Coconut Farmer's Market Soup

Part two of this week's Delivered Dish...



From the website:

Thai Coconut Farmers Market Soup (V, Paleo, GF, soy-free, no added sugar) Like a vegetable chowder but with Thai flavors and coconut milk. Simmering it with corn cobs add extra sweetness. Expect some chopped collards or kale.

The soup was great. Nice coconut flavor. It had potatoes, corn, greens (collards?), carrots, and tomatoes. I added some spice because I love spicy food, but other than that I ate the soup as-is. Great as always.

Next week for DDOW: ratatouille and polenta!

DDOW Black Lentil Salad

This week from Delivered Dish...

Lentil Salad!



From the website:

Black Beluga Lentil Salad in Sesame Ginger Dressing (V, GF, no added sugar; will contain a little soy) These beautiful organic lentils were another fun special-order from Purcell Mountain Farms (Idaho). I’m hoping they don’t lose their jet black color when cooked.

This was delicious! I really enjoyed the black lentils - the cabbage, celery, and cucumber gave a great texture and the light dressing gave a nice zing to the whole thing. I ate this both warm and cold over greens (spinach & kale). I also added a little chile pepper action because I love spice!

I also got a Thai Coconut vegetable soup, which I will review tomorrow.

Veg Fest 2013!

Very exciting - the second annual Veg Fest is going to happen in Minneapolis at Coffman Union on the UMN - Twin Cities Campus! A fun time of vegan food, animal activist speakers, and great music. And it's all FREE.

Saturday, October 26, 2013
10am - 4pm
Coffman Union
(300 Washington Ave SE Minneapolis, MN, 55455)

SUPER excited for this event. Last year was a blast, and I know that it will be more popular this year since the festival is during the academic year.

Woohoo!

Olive Tapenade w Betta Than Feta - World Vegetarian Day

Happy World Vegetarian Day!

I wanted olives, badly. What to do with them? I completely forgot to add them to a pasta dish I made (Mr. Coconut does not care for olives so I add them to my own dish from time to time). What if....

I took the last kalamata olives (10, max) and 1 big garlic clove, blended in the magic bullet along with lemon juice and a hot pepper. Result was an olive paste.

For the "feta" - I took some high-protein tofu (It's very firm) and crumbled into a small container. Probably 1-2 cups of crumbled tofu, loosely packed. Good dose of lemon juice & salt, stirred tofu. Then a teaspoon of Vegenaise, a teaspoon of nooch, and a tiny, tiny bit (1/8 teaspoon, if that) of black salt (kala namak) to give a hint of cheesey eggy flavor. Seriously, only a TINY bit.

It's best to let this sit for a while and let the flavors meld. I kept adding more lemon juice and more salt until it was about the taste I wanted.

This would have been nice on some fancier bread, but all I had was regular whole wheat bread. Toasted up, sliced into triangles, and coated with the olive spread. I am excited to try this tofu "feta" again soon, and let it hang out even longer to get more flavor.

Spaghetti with Vegan Sausage and Vegetables - Vegan MoFo 2013

Thin spaghetti noodles, Gimme Lean sausage, cherry tomatoes, Organic strained tomatoes (for sauce), and some frozen veggies (carrot, bell peppers, onion, broccoli).

Simple and satisfying.

Mini & Regular Waffle Cinnamon Rolls - Vegan MoFo 2013

I didn't invent these or anything, but WOW they were AWESOME. I used a tube of refrigerated cinnamon roll dough, store brand. Immaculate Baking Company is a brand that makes accidentally vegan cinnamon rolls as well.

For the regular size waffle rolls, I simply placed a roll into the waffle maker and closed the lid until reached desired doneness. For the mini-sized rolls, I broke the dough up into smaller bits before rolling them into their classic shape and placed into the waffle iron. The icing was from the container. Next time I will do the mini size for all the rolls.