sushi dinner

I’m a little behind here, I have lots of pics to update the blog….I just need to make the time.  Here are a couple pics from our sushi dinner:

soy joy roll w/ tofu, pina roll (avo + pineapple w/ basil & coconut milk drizzled over top), jerk tofu sashimi, shitake & avo nigiri

And dessert:

Chocolate truffles in a raspberry sauce

from Nama Sushi bar

bowtie summer pasta

Bowtie zucchini & tomato summer pasta, this was deliciously fresh!  The sauce was made by simmering red and yellow-orange tomatoes in white wine.  Seasoned with basil, salt, pepper, garlic and red pepper for a touch of heat.

appetizers

Saturday night we had a small UFC party.  Here is the table with a few appetizers.  Hummus and chips, apples and crackers, grapes, and various nuts.

a tip…

I was reading thru the VegCooking blog, and read that Guinness is not vegan. Though I do not drink Guinness, I know others that do, such as my husband…I guess he won’t be anymore. So, I thought I would do a little researching…I try to keep up on all the vegan beer & wines, but it can be difficult. The reason Guinness, for example, is not vegan is because it is filtered with a substance called Isinglass. Most cask ales and beer are not suitable for vegans because of how they are filtered.

Isinglass is a substance obtained from the swimbladders of fish (especially Beluga sturgeon). Used mainly for the clarification of wine and beer, it is a form of collagen.

“Isinglass.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 31 Jan 2008, 09:27 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 12 Mar 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Isinglass&oldid=188118542>.

…something to think about this coming St. Patrick’s day!

*update* I found a great section on the Taste Better! website, the Vegan Beer, Wine, and Spirit guide.

our camping weekend – lots of pics!

Here are a few pics from our camping weekend at Elkmont, in the Smoky Mnts, TN.

for breakfast, i heated up our whole wheat sweet potato pancakes, we also had instant oatmeal (not pictured) and hot chocolate. our friends made egg bagels.

lunch was veggie dogs and vegetarian baked beans

our friend, Jeana, brought these cute bottles of Happy Camper Merlot. for dinner, we had fire-roasted veggies, very filling. i had prepared all the veggies the day we left for the trip, so it was a very easy dinner! i added lemon juice, soy sauce, and fresh basil leaves.

Oh, dessert was delicious, but I don’t have a picture. We made banana boats! A sliced banana with chocolate chips and crushed graham crackers, warmed over the fire. The weekend went great, camping was so much fun. I have so many other camping food ideas, so I hope to go back again soon.

dinner & goodies

last nite we had dinner at my in-laws. my mother-in-law is a wonderful cook and we always love having dinner there b/c she makes great vegan dishes for us. it’s nice to have a nite off from cooking. my SILs brought us (2 of my favorite things) French wine and Swiss chocolate from their trip to Europe.

what: Rachel Ray Fake-Baked Ziti, salad and multi-grain bread, I didn’t get a picture, but the dessert was a blueberry & peach cobbler, delicious!
where: my in-laws…Thank you!

what: goodies from family, Wine & Chocolate
where: France & Switzerland…Thank you!