vegan

Frankly, I surprise myself that I even pick up anything made by Morning Star and check the ingredients anymore, after the countless disappointments I have had from them. It’s an example of my level of desperation out here in the middle of nowhere that I do, but my life here is not without its small thrills. This was one, looks to be completely vegan, check the info yourselves: Morning Star Farms >>

They’re pretty good, something different, which is always nice.

When I first tasted these Curry Braised Gluten Tidbits, actually I tasted the “sauce” in the can when I opened it to see how it would go with the vegetables I already had cooking in the pan, I thought uh-oh. This is going to be terrible.

The curry was not creamy as I had anticipated, it was rather oily, and both sweet and spicy at the same time. It tasted funny to me. But I tossed them in the pan anyway, threw in some more garlic and some fresh herbs and finished cooking it.

When it was all done and over rice I was pleasantly surprised. It has nice texture and a good spicy kick. It you want something that is very curry realize you’ll need to add some curry elements to it.

But this stuff is good vegan “meat.” Very different and interesting.

Buy it online at FakeMeats.com >>

A Taste of Tai, Pad Thai Noodles caught my eye and I was excited about trying it. I have tried other products from A Taste of Thai and liked them. They make very good coconut milk, etc. Well, I hate to say it, but I was disappointed. Not much in there, some syrupy sauce and noodles and that was about it. The noodles weren’t even that good.
Sorry for the bad news.

I happened upon this item in the international section of my local Wal-Mart. Oh, to go back to shopping at Wal-Mart after Whole Foods Market or even the Publix in Ft. Lauderdale, horrible! That’s why I looked at the international offerings, I thought “Maybe I’ll find something new and different”.

Well I did. It’s Simply Asian Spicy Kung Pao and it is good. The best part is you can order it online. No kidding.

Simply Asian Spicy Kung Pao (Wal-Mart) >>

Careful though, not everything they make is vegan. 3 of 4 of their noodle bowls are, but the Roasted Peanut has anchovy extract in it. They do have nice nutrition facts on each and every product so take a look.

Enjoy.

I love Frieda’s, though it is a bit high-end price-wise, even at Wal-Mart. After shopping at Whole Foods Market, Wal-Mart’s offerings are sorry, but it’s cheap. Very cheap cause there’s not much there to buy.
They do have many Frieda’s products in the produce section, I love Soyrizo and have posted a couple of my fave recipes on almost vegan: Soyrizo Potato Vegetable Saute and Soyrizo Veggies & Yellow Rice.
I have looked at the SoyTaco a million times, but always passed for something else. Well, I was so bored by the limited inventory, I grabbed it the other day just to try something different.
It’s good, it’s Frieda’s. I used it in a kinda different (and lazy) way. I had some cold rice, a few veggies, so I made a Mexican fried rice (no eggs) and the SoyTaco spiced and flavored it up just the amount I was hopping it would.

I found samosas at Whole Foods Market in Boca Raton, they made them fresh there and I purchased them hot with a nice chutney on the side. I got a little hooked on them so when I received my most recent Chicago Tribune, Food and Drink Newsletter with an article about samosas and a recipe so I could make them at home, I was thrilled.
Reading the article is a little frustrating, it’s all about ordering them from any number of take-out and delivery places in Chicago, though she does not mention if a vegan variety is available. No matter, I can get neither take-out or delivery from Chicago, which is 120 miles from me. I am going to make this easily veganized (by me) version myself…as soon as I find the inspiration and the time.

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Thank you all so much for the comments and condolences about my mom. I very much appreciate it.
I’m back home in Michigan… longing for a Whole Foods Market: One of the few things I miss about mall-ville, Boca Raton, Florida. Now I’m driving on dirt roads, hearing about the frost that might effect the fruit trees tonight on the news, and watching the buds on the trees turn to leaves.

More vegan food soon…

It was a tough fight we put up together, she doing all the work of course. It lasted over 6 weeks for her, I was here for over 4 straight. Her heart was just too damaged from the attack to come back.

My mom was a very special person. Not vegan, but she loved Soy Boy ravioli and anything with tofu in it. Even though she was very traditional, she’d try any food I offered with a totally open mind. Just the way she was and a whole lot more I won’t go into.

I will miss her very much.

She loved as well as was… a peach.

Hey, look at this:
Snapea Crisps, by Calbee SNACK SALAD.
I am always looking for alternative snacks, especially vegetable based. These Snap peas that taste fried, but are actually baked, were an interesting find. They don’t taste too much like snap peas (which I love), and that was a bit of a disappointment. They have a very delicate crunch, much less crunchy than fresh snap peas. They come in two flavors, Original and Caesar, the latter I suspect is not vegan.
I happened upon a bag of the Original flavor at the Publix right around the corner from the hospital my mom is in. Not exceptionally crunchy, but I did eat the whole bag in less than half an hour.

It is now. I hope you all don’t mind, but I have placed some Google Ads on the site. Like I said before, I am down in Florida and shopping like mad at Whole Foods Market.
I need the money.
Also, I took a look at the targeted ads they were sending my way. Vegan Chocolate, veganessentials.com, and other interesting vegan links. There was one I saw that had something to do with losing 20 pounds in 3 weeks, and one for cream cheese that I thought was totally inappropriate for a vegan site, but its a keyword oriented computer and there’s bound to be some snafus.
Let me know if you have a problem with it, okay?