Potluck Goods

I had a going-away party on saturday, in the form of a potluck. It was quite lovely and rather successful if I do say so myself! These are a few things people brought.

Tofu and herb stuffed mushrooms:



"Cheesy" scones, which were probably the tastiest vegan-cheese experience I've ever had. There were also berry scones, pictured in the background.



Lasagne:



Matt, ever the show-off, went all out with the vegan sushi. Yam tempura, deep-fried vegan shrimp and crab all found their way into the rolls, alongside the "usuals" like avocado.



A giant vat of chili:



And then there were desserts, which is where I become the show-off. There was a few things that didn't get photographed (at least by me), including a spice cake (which I didn't make) and a chocolate kahlua pudding layered with nutriwhip. Pictured here, on the other hand, is a strawberry-rhubarb pie:



Tiramisu cupcakes:



And lastly, something not related to the potluck.. I just forgot to post these last time. Kahlua almond cookies (see a theme with the kahlua here?)

Well, I am in Oklahoma and having a great time. My camera can upload to Erin's lappy without problem, so I am updating.

This was the last thing Matt & I ate before I left, crepes with thawed berries and ice cream that got all nice and melty:


I had a couple hours in between at the minneapolis airport, and was very hungry, but could not find anything vegan to eat (nothing substantial, at least). After walking around for a long time, reading random menus and asking if there was eggs/dairy/fish sauce in one thing or another without success, I just walked up to the next restaurant and asked if they had anything without eggs, dairy or meat (saying 'vegan' tends to give confused or snobby responses) and she immediately said "oh! you mean vegan! you should go to ____.." and even recommended a specific dessert, some chocolate raspberry square, which was absolutely amazing. The only filling vegan dish they had was chili, which is what's in the cup:



Eventually I made it to OK, and one of Erin's friends came to pick me up at the airport. He wanted to make fajitas and had cut out the label from a package of morningstar steak strips, to make sure I could eat them, which I thought was really sweet. We headed over to his house and he cooked up some spicy veggies and steak strips, which were actually good even though I'm not big on fake meat..



The next day Erin & I went to T.E.A. Cafe for lunch. I had a stir fry with a big pile of sesame brown rice (though perspective makes it look a lot smaller..)



They also make flavoured teas with non-dairy creamer. I had hazelnut, she had rose. They were amazing and gigantic. These have got to be at LEAST a pint.

Today I went for a trip to a local health food store, which kicks the ass of any winnipeg health food store. A few things I picked up.. especially excited about the vegan parmesan (unavailable in the 'peg to the best of my knowledge), the vegan mini-wheats (I admit it, I miss mini wheats) and the brown rice syrup, which is available at home, but for at least twice the price. In fact, a lot of things were much cheaper here. Earth balance also costs over twice as much at home, and I'm pretty jealous that it's actually affordable here..



I wanted to buy a kiwano today, mostly out of curiousity. So we did.



This is what it looks like, opened up. It was a lot like the middle of a cucumber, but in.. rows.. (I am describing this poorly..)


I liked it, but it's not going to become a staple in my diet, that's for sure.

Camp Cooking

I went camping this weekend. If you know where I live, and think I'm nuts for sleeping in a tent in march, well, you're probably right. The temperature outside right now is -20, though I don't know exactly how cold it was all weekend. Anyways, camp cooking in general, let alone winter camp cooking, is entirely different from what I normally eat.. though you probably can't tell from pictures. Overall, it's simplfied, possibly a little more black and/or full of ash, and generally considered edible as long as it's warm. I kind of cheated by making things ahead of time at home, but whatever. Having the added challenge of only being able to bring things that could freeze narrowed my options, so I did what I could to work around it.

Perogies, with mysterious flecks of blackened something (for added flavour)..


"Death star chili", as it was so lovingly named by the wusses that can't handle my level of spice, and toast:


Peanut yam soup (mmm my favourite) and blackened toast:



These were delicious, but would have been a bit better if the chocolate wasn't frozen, probably. As you can see my first marshmallows didn't melt all the way through either, as vegan marshmallows seem to ignite even faster than the regular kind, and it took me a while to perfect it.. still, it had been ages since I'd eaten a smore, and it was well worth it. I didn't photograph the more successful attempts... some things need to be eaten while they're still hot.


Otherwise it was veggies & hummus, frost-friendly fruit (bananas and apples), and muffins for snacks. And lots and lots of tea.