Chi-Town Treats!

I just got back yesterday from Chicago, where I went this weekend for a good friend's bachelorette party!! It was lots of fun, of course, but it was also great because of all the awesome vegan food Chicago has!!!

First and foremost, I got to try Go Max Go! candy bars!!!! The Whole Foods downtown had all sorts of treats that I can't get back in Kansas City, so I stocked up. I tried all the varieties of candy bars, and I just can't decide which is my favorite! Pictured is the Buccaneer bar, which is the Three Musketeers alternative. So. freakin. good. I hadn't eaten a candy bar in soooooo long, so this was quite a treat!Also from the downtown Whole Foods: Jerk Tofu Wrap, made by Soul Vegetarian East, a local veg restaurant that makes some prepared foods for sale at WF. Yum!! I got to try Wildwood's Soyogurt, which was seriously awesome. My second favorite soygurt, only after Whole Soy and Co. This was suuuuper thick, too, which was very nice!Since I really love yogurt as snacks, I also tried the Ricera Rice Yogurt! I've never had rice-based yogurt before, so I had to branch out. It was pretty good! I am definitely more of a soygurt fan, but if you have a soy allergy, this would be a great alternative!

Now for some restaurant food!! I got to go to Karyn's Cooked for the first time ever!! Yay for me :) I am in love with this place! So much that I went there twice over the weekend! haha

Our appetizer: the Mixed Basket...a basket of fried mushrooms, fried BROCCOLI, and fried tofu. Served with Creamy Garlic Sauce and homemade BBQ Sauce for dipping. OMG fried fooooooood! A rare indulgence, sure, but it is just so tasty! Fried broccoli might be my new favorite food!Our entrees: I got the Grilled Steak Wrap....thinly-sliced seitan "steak," grilled onions and peppers, shredded lettuce, and chipotle sauce in a grilled whole wheat tortilla!! Like a Philly cheese steak on steroids. Vegan steroids. (huh?!) It came with Coleslaw--yum!--and Potato Wedges! With more BBQ Sauce! I was so full and happy!A couple of the girls I was with got the Jerk Tofu Wrap...jerk-spiced tofu, jerk sauce, creamy garlic sauce, and shredded lettuce in a spinach tortilla. Also with the slaw and wedges. This was seriously spicy and delicious!!Also ordered: the Taco Salad Bowl!! This salad is not kidding around, guys. It's a deep-fried taco shell bowl filled with lettuce, seitan taco meat, pico de gallo, guacamole, jalapenos, creamy garlic sauce, and chipotle sauce. Holy freakin cow. Just salty, spicy decadence. So good!

We split some desserts, of course! Banana Cake!! Moist as heck! With a carob drizzle.And Coconut Bread Pudding! Warm, gooey, rich, amazing! Another night, I got take-out from Karyn's--I just couldn't get enough!! This time I got the Green Enchiladas: corn tortillas stuffed with garlic mashed potatoes and topped with green tomatillo sauce and soy sour cream, with a side of spanish brown rice and refried black beans, with some tortilla chips. Mex-amazing!!One great thing about Chicago is that they have Trader Joe's stores!! We don't have them in Kansas City, so I loaded up on snacks and such. I wish I could go there every day with those prices!!

Vegan Brown Rice Marshmallow Treats!
Joe-Joe's!!!!!!

Chile Spiced Mango!!

And I just couldn't leave Chicago without going to Chicago Diner!! It's my favorite place ever!!

It was a rainy, snowy, cruddy weather night, so I got to go food and the girls and I all stayed in and watched New Moon. What a great night!!

I got the Radical Reuben with Sweet Potato Fries! This is the best sandwich ever made. Ever!

The reuben going....

Going....Gone.Room for dessert?? Heck yes!! Cookies and Cream Cake. For when you really want a food baby and sugar coma all at once. My favorite cake I've EVER eaten I think I can safely say! Thank you, Chicago Diner!!!

Man, I can't wait to get back to Chicago soon for some more great vegan food!!!!

Biscuits & Gravy!! My new favorite food!

This past weekend was the third installment of my weekly supper club on Sundays! Kind of an underground restaurant kind of thing, I guess you could say. I have been wanting to make breakfast for one of the meals, so I figured this week was better than any! I have also been a little obsessed with biscuits and gravy...so this was the only breakfast food I could even fathom making.

Here are the fluuuuuffy biscuits.....Then they got smothered in a creamy, rich mushroom gravy! Duh. On the side, I made homemade seitan sausage patties, which turned out brilliantly for my first try, and a Local Potato Hash made with local yukon gold and sweet potatoes, homegrown peppers and tomatoes, garlic, and local onions. This was a superb and filling breakfast...I think everyone else was pleased as well!

And for a nice little after-breakfast dessert: Parfaits! The fruit was a mixture of local peaches, watermelon, and pawpaws....mmmm...and on top was vanilla soy yogurt and a sprinkling of my homemade granola! Perfect ending to a perfect breakfast!

Mochi and Yogurt...not together, though.

So my post today isn't really about anything I created or made, but these were some good treats, nonetheless!
First, a product review: So Delicious Coconut Milk yogurt! I know several people have blogged about this stuff already, so I may just be reiterating what they have already said. Anyway, I love this stuff! As far as vegan yogurts go, I still like the So Delicious soy yogurt better in terms of texture and creaminess, but this coconut version has a wonderful flavor and is surprisingly light and refreshing. I also like the nutritional aspect, as it is made with very few ingredients and has the great fatty acids that coconut provides. And it's soy-free if you are sensitive AND it has probiotics! yay! I would eat this everyday if it weren't so pricey :)
Out of the few flavors I have tried, I like this plain (which I guess would be coconut then...) and the Passionate Mango flavors. If you have a place near you that sells these, give them a try!
Another new-to-me treat that I tried last night was this Mochi that Steve brought me back from his trip to Colorado last week! I have had mochi once before, a few years ago, but this particular brand is different than what I have previously eaten. This is Harvest Moon brand, made and sold in Boulder, CO, so it was a local product when he was visiting there! He picked up two different varieties: the one we tried last night was the Sesame and he also got a cinnamon raisin, which will get eaten soon, I'm sure!
Here it is in the package, pre-baked (the label was foil, so it would NOT photograph well! ah!!)

And here it is all baked and puffed up. The directions say to cut it into strips so it would puff up properly, so I sliced it into french fry-like shapes, and it worked great!

I served them with some almond butter for our dipping pleasure...yuuuuuum city, u.s.a, population: me!!

I will tell you how the cinnamon raisin variety is soon! I'm sure it won't disappoint...