First Vegan Potluck

Hello sweets! I hope you all had a good 4th of July! or if you don't celebrate...a fun Friday! I'm not going to bore you...let's get on with the food!
After seeing this post, I had to make the Chocolate Coconut Cherry concoction Heather made. Frozen cherries, coconut milk, and 70% dark chocolate are all that this bowl contains yet it manages to taste absolutely spectacular. Sometimes its the simple things in life...

For lunch, I just wanted a bunch of veggies. Naturally, I made a Stir-fry. This is my go-to meal when I have tons of vegetables in the fridge and nothing to do with them. This dish included...

-rutabega

-carrots

-yellow squash

-broccoli

-Homemade Apricot BBQ sauce (recipe from V'con)

-1/2 an avocado

Again, simplicity is beginning to take over my meals. Summertime is a time where I never want to cook much so anything quick and easy are my favorites (TWSS!). I've made the BBQ sauce before last summer and its just as amazing as I remembered it to be. Smokey, sweet, and tangy are the main flavors in this sauce and I feel great knowing I spent way less to make way more BBQ sauce.

Around 5pm I arrived at my boss' house for the 4th of July Potluck Party. The group was so much fun and I met a lot of nice people there. It was raining for most of the night, but that was okay since it was nice and cozy inside the house. We started eating around 6pm and I was hungry! Everything looked so good!

Tomatillo Salsa. This was the best homemade salsa I've ever had! It was not too spicy, not too chunky (I'm not a fan of chunky salsa), and never having green salsa before...very delicious.

There was also a fruity salsa made with either pineapple or mango (I can't remember) which was a huge hit. Served with tortilla chips, it was the perfect appetizer to our meal.

First up, Tamales! I've never had tamales before so I wasn't about to pass these up! Let me just tell you I am so ashamed that I've never tasted one before. They are so good! The filling was just spicy enough and it was cooked to perfection. I had 2 and even brought some home with me.

Someone made Homemade Tempeh Burgers, Black Bean Burgers, and Sausages. I didn't have any of the burgers but I heard they were delicious. I had 2 sausages in lettuce wraps with ketchup. I brought some of these home too, I loved 'em. There were also many salads to choose from. I had the one of the left and it was, of course, delicious.

More salads that just scream summer.

I was too full for dessert but I wanted to bring some Red, White, and Blue Cake home to my little brothers since they didn't get to do anything for the 4th. The fireworks in our town are next week because that's when we have Heritage Days for our town. The cake was layered red and white and the generous blue frosting on the outside made us all feel so patriotic. My brothers had it for breakfast and they absolutely loved it. I don't really enjoy cake or frosting but I had a little nibble and it was so moist fluffy. Yum.

After dinner we all talked and digested, then we went out to the bonfire to make S'mores. Many of you have asked me where I get the vegan marshmallows from. They are called Dandies Vegan Marshmallows and currently you can get them from different vegan online grocers. I'm not sure if they are in Whole Foods yet but I know they should be soon! I work for the company that makes them, Chicago Soy Dairy, so of course we had to enjoy a nice sweet S'more by the fire. A perfect way to end the night.

Skip forward to today's lunch...

Inspired by Polly, I made Seitan Wraps. Inside some green leaf lettuce, I globbed on some Blue Diamond Creamy Almond Butter and topped each with a slice of homemade Seitan (recipe comign soon, I promise!). I was a delightful combination of flavors and full of nutrients. I felt very satisfied after this meal but still had room for a square of dark chocolate. I will admit...I almost started measuring out the AB thinking I didn't want to go overboard...but then I realized, so what?! Its nutritious, yummy, and if Polly can do it, so can I. So worth it.

For dinner I wanted a comforting bowl of Oat bran.

-1/2 cup oatbran + 1 1/4 cups water

-1/4 cup lite coconut milk

-cinnamon

-1/2 Chocolate Brownie Purebar, crumbled in

I totally forgot I had those Purebars in the cabinet! While I do enjoy them, they are a little too sweet for me now. It nice to enjoy a treat once in a while though.

More kitten pictures? Alright.

Butt shot! I thought it was so funny how Bloo was sleeping with his legs behind him like that. He is a sleepy boy but so much fun when he wakes up. He loves to play with my hair, which is okay with me...as long as he doesn't scratch the mug.

Annnnd, who could forget the darling Sweet Potato? She is such a lovie but kind of a brat (what, I didn't say that...). I just love her speckled belly.

Now I'm off to Trader Joe's for some goodies (mainly Almond Butter!), have a great night!