No-new groceries check-in

I’m still three days away from pay day and I have bought zero new groceries, true to my goal.

Gotta say, I’m quite impressed with my own pantry-stocking skills. And the beginning of CSA season was admittedly a great help.

I cheated financially and went to dinner with a friend and got drinks with more friends last Friday night, but those were plans made before I knew I’d be strapped for cash. But because I’m using some creativity in the kitchen, I’ve still been spending very little.

Here are some highlights:

Making it work

Traveling/being on the go/dining out with friends must be navigated more conscientiously as a veghead.

But I’ve come across some nice options and accommodations during my recent hectic few weeks.

First: Safeway is actually pretty all right.

I don’t often shop at Safeway anymore except for its gas station. I feel I find more options that fit my needs at local chain markets. But maybe I haven’t looked in the right places.

Portland: still awesome

A few weeks ago, my boyfriend and I both had separate work things going on in Portland, so we got an extra field trip there.

Seattle’s my city, but Portland is pretty fabulous. It contains elements of my two favorite towns – Seattle and Olympia – in one. Some of the sleekness, bigger-city advantages and pop culture influence of Seattle, with more of the hominess and hippie-ness of Oly.

I continued to find fabulous plant-based food there. Probably my favorite thing about Portland. We herbies are truly at home there.

Take a look at some highlights:

My first lunch took place at Proper Eats in the St. Johns neighborhood. Market and eat-in cafe in one!

So adorable. Reminded me of Olympia.

Look at all the fresh noms!

I love an expansive menu where I can have EVERYTHING. And affordably!

Stone fruit lemonade that day. Nectar of the gods, let me tell you. So fresh and tart.

I have a really hard time turning down a burrito.

It was good.

Mike and I went to Verde Cocina in the Pearl District for dinner that night. So many vegan options! I wanted one of everything.

Margarita with blueberry-inflused tequila. Sooooo delicious.

I had the tofu mole with fresh corn tortillas. Bomb.com.

Lunch the next day was at Sizzle Pie in Burnside. They sell by the slice for omnis, vegetarians and vegans.

They have BRUNCH SLICES (as seen on the left). That’s a Drugs Benedict with white bean and shallot spread, hash browns, tofu scramble and baco bits. At right is the Spiral Tap with caramelized onion spread, marinara and nooch. Washed down with a glass of local Laurelhurst brew.

Breakfast next day was at Vita Cafe in the Alberta hood. Somewhat long wait to get a seat, but so worth it! Here’s a vegan huevos rancheros piled with tofu.

Such friendly service. I also took home a slice of key lime pie, but it was smashed and not-so-pretty when I got home. But wonderfully creamy and delicious!

Not pictured is the wonderful beer I had at Burnside Brewing Company. Plant-based grub AND excellent beer make Portland heaven.

Dispatch from the CSA rabbit hole

Well hello there. I hope you’ve had a lovely summer. I’ve continued to cook away in a constant struggle to keep up with all the beautiful goods coming through my kitchen via CSA.

Let’s review what I’ve come up with in the past several weeks.

First: Pickling!

I’m a pickle whore, no joke. My whole life. So it’s been fun to work up some quick pickles with the pickling cucumbers that I’ve received and especially the radishes when I don’t have time or ideas for anything special for them. The radishes are perfect to have on hand for salad fixins.

Quick pickles!

Pickled radishes. Amazing in salads.

Next: Pastas!

Brunch in my belly

Brunch is probably the best thing ever invented. A few times a month, Mike and I try to make it out to The Dish or Five-Point Cafe for brunch, or I like to meet a girlfriend somewhere.

As I’ve said before, weekday breakfast is a challenge for this sleepyhead. I can’t muster effort to do anything in the morning. Often I give up on trying to do my hair.

But on weekends or days off when I’m not out brunching or running around, I’ve taken to my own eat-in brunch. It’s nice. I’m cleaning out my fridge, I’m brewing up some coffee and there is no rush. And then there are leftovers, meaning I have a treat to take with me to work and get a good start to my day. (Boom.)

Everyday Happy Herbivore cheesy cauliflower hash and a tofu scramble. Top with hot sauce.

CSA OMG

Gorgeous and incredibly daunting all at once.

I have been busy in the kitchen, now more than ever.

And it’s because of my CSA.

I’ve never had a CSA subscription before. Too expensive for my miniscule salary, all that.

But now that I make a lil’ more money this year, I decided to subscribe to the cheapest farm subscription I could find in Seattle. A half-share. Because, you know, I’m a single person who can’t consume a whole share.

For the past month-and-a-half, I’ve been drowning in vegetables.

Portland!

After some tough weeks at work for the both of us, my boyfriend and I went to Portland for the weekend.

My main experience with Portland is my mom taking my brother and me to the Clackamas Mall (quite outside of Portland) for sales tax-free back-to-school shopping. Of course I’ve been to Portland proper, the metropolitan neighbor to the south, but I hadn’t explored it on my own.

Seattle is an easy city in which to be vegan, but in Portland they totally cater to you. I had a waiter volunteer to check on the veganness of a salad, went to places with special vegan menus and you can just say “make it vegan, please” and they know what to do (too many people don’t know what that means, so I always have to specify no mayo/sour cream/cheese/aioli, etc.). Portland is particularly vegan-savvy.

Now eating out with the man friend means seeking out omni restaurants that have something I can eat. Homeboy doesn’t quite get that it’s possible to have a meal without meat.

But it was so easy!

Oh and we drank lots of craft beer. So happy beer is vegan.

Fantastic rice bowl from Laughing Planet. Brown rice, green beans, broccoli, tofu, carrots and red cabbage, topped with peanut sauce. I added sriracha.

Boyfriend enjoying the chips and salsa and his burrito at Laughing Planet. He raved about his braised beef burrito.

Quinoa cashew burger at Deschutes Brewery and Pub. Boyfriend and I are Deschutes conoisseurs. Quinoa and cashew patty was dry by itself, but together with all the sandwich fixins and sauce it was so, so good. Salad dressed with Mirror Pond vinaigrette.

Austin scramble made vegan at Byways Cafe. Boyfriend and I loved this place. They replace eggs with tofu for any scramble. And the toast, of all things, was divine, sourced from Fleur de Lis in Portland.

Yes we went to Powell’s. I set out to buy a new vegan cookbook. I wanted to try something from an author I don’t have like Brian L. Patton’s The Sexy Vegan or Angela Liddon’s new Oh She Glows. But I had to get the modern day vegan Bible, Veganomicon by Isa and Terry. Because by now I should own the vegan Bible.

Scrambled tofu with olive oil and parsley at Bijou Cafe. I seriously thought these were eggs when I tried them. Pretty tasty. This was the only vegan option on the menu.

Regular vegan burrito from Las Gorditas. They had a meat, vegetarian and vegan menu. Much appreciated! The burrito was a little bland, but huge and filling.

Boyfriend waiting for the train home wearing my shades.

Now I’m kind of lightening up post-vacation with Happy Herbivore Light and Lean. But this skinny mac and cheese is no joke.

Not pictured: a grilled PB and J from the famous Bunk Sandwiches. Yeah I’m gonna make those at home now.

Recommended brewery: Pints.

Maybe next time I’ll go to Portland with girlfriends who will eat at the vegan joints with me.

What vegans eat

I always love vegan food porn where I can peep what other people eat, like what Bianca at Vegan Crunk does now and then.

So I’ll offer up my own food porn. Captured by my crappy cell phone camera. Sexxxxxi.

I’ve had so much fun with my new cast iron skillet. My first dish was Isa’s Ohama yakisoba. My new love in life is udon noodles. So chewy and satisfying.

I’m still trying to stay on the breakfast train, with varied results. I’m not the most consistent. But I tested out the Isa Does it chickpea scramble for something new. Thumbs up!

My parents helped me celebrate my first vegan birthday with a delicious cake from Bearded Ladies in Olympia. Funfetti with blackberry frosting. Sweet, but not too cloying. Dense yet moist. Such a perfect cake.

For my birthday with my family I asked to go to Darby’s Cafe in downtown Olympia so that I would have hippie stuff to eat and the rest of my family could have an omni dinner. I love this place! This is the Spice World burger with a blackened vegan patty, avocado, jalapeno, Daiya and other veggies. Complete with a heap of shoestring fries.

I typically forsake three-course meals for something that all goes together in a bowl or on a plate. But this one, courtesy of Happy Herbivore Light and Lean, was so easy! Lemony asparagus, mashed potatoes (which I topped with barbecue sauce) and meatloaf bites covered in marinara.

Kale and tofu rice bowl with curry peanut sauce from Isa Does It. I could have straight drank up this sauce.

Got to use my new toy I got for my birthday! Blasted Isa’s cheddary broccoli soup from Isa Does It.

Cheddary! With Happy Herbivore Light and Lean drop biscuits.

I spent a few days in Darrington for work, near the site of the Oso landslide that killed dozens. Clif bars and veggie burgers got old, so I stopped by the Mount Vernon Safeway to grab veggies and hummus to eat in the car during the final hour of my trip home.

Boyfriend and I discovered Razzi’s Pizzeria in the Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle, which is omni but has separate menus for those who are vegan and gluten-free. I got a calzone with Daiya mozzarella, pesto and sundried tomatoes. It was actually good! New place for the man and I to go and both be fulfilled.

I’ve been pinching pennies here and there with baked potatoes. I like to top mine with salsa, hot sauce, homemade vegan sour cream and plenty of nooch. Scallions if I have fresh ones handy.

Breakfast: Still on the wagon!

Just chillin.

Pictured is the tofu scramble I made Sunday night and brought to work for morning breakfast burrito assembly. I’ve been keeping it in the break room fridge.

Breakfast is still not a habit for me. While making my grocery shopping list, I had to remind myself that I needed a breakfast idea for the week and opened Isa Does It to the breakfast section. Since I loved the Happy Herbivore tofu scramble I made earlier in the month, I wanted to try Isa’s Mediterranean scramble. (I subbed in black beans for kalamatas, which I know isn’t Mediterranean, but olives are one of the few things I just can’t do.)

I brought the container and a new package of whole wheat tortillas to work. While assembling burritos in the break room yesterday morning, a co-worker observed me and said, “Now that’s a breakfast!”

I’m quite sure he didn’t know it was tofu when he added, “You’ve got the perfect protein, there.”

“Yeah,” I agreed, knowing he and I were talking about two different things.

Breakfast is making me so much less cranky in the mornings. It’s pretty great.

Next idea: tofu scramble freezer burritos.

Breakfast!

I dig a good weekend brunch, which I seek out once every couple weeks.

Breakfast on a weekday, however? I want to spend whatever 10 minutes it takes to prepare and eat breakfast SLEEPING.

Sleep in warm bed > everything

Sometimes I swipe a Clif Bar or two from the boyfriend. Sometimes I manage to make overnight oats to bring to work. Maybe oatmeal.

But the only thing I really bother with ingesting in the morning is coffee. With the combination of jitters and an empty stomach, lunch can’t come soon enough. Even when I do bring a small breakfast to work, I metabolize it so quickly that I’m still starving for lunch, anyway.