Fruit "Pupsicles"

Based on an idea provided by PPKer, birdsonawire, I've started freezing pureed fruit concoctions in baby food jars. Andy and Emerson spend a good 2o minutes enjoying the "pupsicles".

The original idea was to use these treats as a reward for training purposes, allowing the boys a few licks here and there. I may try that soon. I also just like the idea of giving them something as a treat that they can lie down with and enjoy for more than 5 seconds.

Andy and Emerson go gaga over these things.

I'm sure they wouldn't discriminate against veggies, but so far I've used various mixtures of leftover bananas, apple sauce, silken tofu, and soy milk.

I'm still looking for a vegan dog chew that'll last longer than dehydrated sweet potatoes! Found some in the UK, but shipping is astronomical.

Rangoon Burmese Restaurant

This week DocDufresne and I headed over to Rangoon Burmese Restaurant in Chinatown for a Meetup dinner. There were several vegan dishes and a helpful wait person that had our backs when it came to ordering.

What an awesome group of people! Everyone passed around the dishes they ordered so that all at the table could sample.

Appetizers:

Crispy Taro Root


Golden Triangles (Burmese Samoosa)


Firecracker Lentil Fritter


Asian Spring Rolls

Main Dishes:

1. Jungle Tofu

2. Vegetarian Keema
3. Chili Tofu
4. Mango Tofu
5. Eggplant Pin Sein
Monsoon Vegetable (not pictured)

Overall, the dining experience was decent. The appetizers were good and I liked the Jungle Tofu dish the best. I felt the food wasn't quite worth the price. I hear they have a more affordable lunch menu. When in the area, I'll probably just go across the street to Kingdom of Vegetarians, a completely vegan restaurant, which, in my experience, has been a better value (just be prepared for greasy food!).

Also: Spring is almost here! My aunt came for a visit last weekend and brought along these lovely daffodils!

Good Eats and Good Dogs

With all the snow we've had recently, DocDufresne and I have gotten pretty good at "pantry cooking." Last week I was especially happy with two meals we had.

Dinner 1: Mini Ciabatta with Hummus and Veggies
DocDufresne has been experimenting with different recipes from the Bread Baker's Apprentice. He made some mini ciabatta, which we sliced open and filled with homemade hummus and tahini, tomatoes, and arugula. Oh drippy goodness.

BTW: Hummus made from (soaked) dried chick peas is sooo much better than from the canned version. I'll never go back!

Dinner 2: Southern Style Black Eyed Peas with Kale and Cornbread
I had the foresight to soak some black eyed peas during the day. I based the dish off of this recipe, omitting the liquid smoke* and adding diced vegan hot dog. I also used kale instead of collard greens. The cornbread was loosely based off of a recipe on the corn meal package. I added diced jalapenos to Doc's. Isn't the cornbread cute in the individual ramekins? I love when I can bake in the toaster oven.

We love Crystal hot sauce in our house.

I thought of my friend, Ladybeth, as I sipped on my margatini. It's just lemonade with tequila and sliced jalapeno. I also made "Melt in You Mouth Fudge" from Sinfully Vegan. I topped it with pecans.

*Due to an awful liquid smoke overload experience, DocDufresne is forever turned off from the ingredient.

Lastly, as promised in the title of this post: Dogs!

Andy kindly offered to clean the applesauce container, even carrying it back to his bed.

And Emerson. What a Cutie.

DocDufresne and I volunteered at a Cares4Pets adoption event on Saturday, where I got to play with a bunch of cute pups, including an adorably sweet three-legged puppy, and a much-younger Andy-look-alike. Doc took photos!

Paper Victory! I love it!

A while ago I was perusing the wares sold by vegan sellers on Etsy.com . I came across a great shop called MonkeysAlwaysLook. The artist, Allison, sells a variety of succulents in interesting, mostly vintage containers, and even makes garden markers by hand stamping vintage silver spoons. While there, I saw that Allison also has another Etsy shop, Paper Victory.

(Photo from MonkeysAlwaysLook)

I absolutely love the graphic quality of her cards (on recycled paper) and the fact that there are so many gorgeous/adorable/interesting animals to choose from! I've ordered several items from Paper Victory, adoring all of them. This time around, I placed a custom order for three dozen goldfish cards with "Thank You" printed in the caption. With her immaculate attention to detail and awesome customer service, Allison went beyond what we discussed, alternating the goldfish graphics and the font on the cards. My photos don't do the images justice.

You know what else I love? Supporting fellow vegans for their services and/or products. I know that the money I spend will be used in a way that mirrors my own morals, instead of potentially perpetuating animal cruelty.

Thanks, Allison! I think these cards will encourage me to send my "Thank Yous" out in a timely fashion!

PS- With Valentine's Day coming up, how cute is this?

SNOW!

As you may have heard, Philly (along with other places in the mid-Atlantic) has been blasted with a ton of snow this weekend. After trudging through the crowds at the grocery store to stock up on food last night, DocDufresne, Andy, Emerson, and I are camped in for a weekend relaxing in the apartment, watching DVDs, playing board games, and baking. Tomorrow, DocDufresne and I might head out to center city if the trains are running. Perhaps more photos to follow.

A winter wonderland behind our apartment.

Andy wanted to catch snowflakes on his tongue.

Go vegan! Still showing through the gajillion inches of snow on the car.

Watching the snow come down.

Pupsicle.

Broccoli and Rice Casserole and Bread Pudding

This weekend, all plans for Saturday were cancelled when Doc and I realized someone had broken into our car, smashing the passenger side window and throwing the contents of the backseat and glove compartment all around the cab. They didn't take anything, mind you. Not the GPS. Not anything. After that happened, the day was filled with police report filing, (many) calls to our insurance agency, repair shops and leasing company, and driving to Norristown with a towel covering the empty window to get the window fixed. Getting back around dinner time, we decided to have a lazy evening as it continued to lightly snow outside.

On Sunday Doc made the cheese sauce from the Cheesy Bean and Cheese Enchiladas recipe from Vegweb. (Thanks C for introducing us to this dish!) I sauteed some sort of tofu taco filling, and we had a yummy pile o' nachos for lunch. Only using about half the cheese sauce, we had quite a bit left. That's why, last night, I made...

Broccoli and Rice Casserole

Ingredients:
1/2 carrot, grated
1 1/2 cups prepared rice
1 cup cooked split peas (also leftover from another recipe)
1 lg head of broccoli, cut into florets
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 medium onion, diced
garlic powder, paprika, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and nutritional yeast to taste
1/2 Cheese sauce recipe
a few gobs of Earth Balance

Directions:
1. Steam broccoli for 2 minutes.
2. Saute onion with olive oil and spices in a large pot until soft. Turn the heat off. Add everything else to pot. Mix well. Season to taste.
3. Spoon mixture into a casserole dish and top with a few gobs of Earth Balance. Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Out of the oven, this dish looked amazing. It was bubbly and crispy in places. Taste-wise it was pretty good. I added hot sauce to mine and Doc added more red pepper flakes.


Ever since my recent trip to Horizons with my friend, Ladybeth, I've had a hankering for bread pudding. (Photos of our visit will be posted soon!) I decided to try my hand at making bread pudding.

Bread Pudding

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups almond milk (or soy, or whatever)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 and tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp Earth Balance
1/2 apple, cubed
1/2 baguette, cubed

Directions:
1. Warm the almond milk. Add the vanilla, brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and EB.
2. Place the cubed apple and bread in a baking dish and pour the mixture on top. Toss, coating the bread. Let sit for 15 minutes.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Serve hot.

My attempt did not come any where close to equaling Horizons' Sticky Toffee Bread Pudding with caramel apples and eggnog ice cream (drool, right?). In fact, it turned out more like sweet, cinnamon-y stuffing. I guess I needed to add more liquid. Although a caramel and ice cream topping would not hurt.

Dogblogging by DocDufresne

This weekend was pretty fun. Saturday was beautiful and Sunday was um...well, an opportunity to cook dinner while Amanda was attending the annual Cares4Pets board meeting. We took Emerson to Laurel Hill cemetery on Saturday to take some pictures. Andy loves the cemetery also, but taking them both at once doesn't leave any free hands for pictures, so we left Andy to defend the apartment from the mail person.

Emerson playing with his mommy.

I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.

Tonight I made the Hearts of Palm Moqueca from Horizons: New Vegan Cuisine, a birthday gift for Amanda from Ladybeth. Delish! The recipe, like others from the book, is relatively simple, which makes it perfect for me. I highly recommend the book, as well as eating at the restaurant in Philadelphia.