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.