Amber Eats Veg Presents: This Vegan Lyfe

Fusion Challenge! Yesterday began the worst part of every month - my period. The cramping, the bloated tummy, the food cravings - it's all the same every month, month-after-month. Every month I eat Thai food the first night and Mac-n-Cheeze the second night. There's nothing I can do about it, my cravings are just that strong (and let's face it, if you've been paying attention, Thai food's kind of my favorite thing).

So last night I got home from work about 16 minutes past the time band practice was scheduled to start. Luckily, our drummer was running late, like always; I knew I had a short window to make dinner, a.k.a. my final "official" Vegan MoFo post of 2015. I wanted to go all out for this final post and make some big extravagant fusion feast, but alas time would not allow it and neither would my period cravings. Those cravings were just shouting "Thai!" and "Mac-N-Cheeze!" over and over again in my brain, until the two dishes fu…

What would you bring on a vegan road trip? Last month my band, Sun Blood Stories, went on a two week tour down through California and back up to Seattle.
Below is a list of what we packed for our road trip:  Big Cooler with ice ___ chocolate bars
___ faux meat (veg dogs, burgers, sammich meat)
___ faux cheese slices
___ non-dairy milk
___ vegan mayo
___ salad dressing
___ bagged salad
___ hummus
___ smoked tofu
___ energy bars (recipe below)

Smaller Cooler with ice packs ___ bread
___ condiments (ketchup, mustard)
___ muffins
___ pickles
___ sauerkraut
___ cut up veggies
Beer Cooler with BEER! Dry Storage ___ bananas
___ apples
___ tea and coffee (get hot water from a gas station)
___ peanut butter
___ trail mix
___ pickles
___ canned beans
___ oats (for overnight oats - best breakfast)
___ nuts
___ maple syrup
___ sriracha
___ tortillas
___ boxed wine
___ whiskey

Non Food Items ___ sporks
___ can opener
___ plates
___ baby wipes
___ 1 pairing knife + 1 bread knife
___ french press
…

Tacos vs. Burritos Oh why do I have to choose? According to ChefMom, I don't! When I was discussing this prompt with her, she had the genius idea of lining your plate with a burrito tortilla and holding over it while you consume a taco. When all the delicious taco filling spills out the back, which it most definitely will, it'll land on the burrito tortilla. When you're all done with your taco, wrap up the tortilla that caught all your abandoned filling, and BOOM! burrito. I'm gonna have to try this out soon.

This prompt literally had the best timing. Over the weekend, I had to make a difficult decision (much like this taco vs. burrito sitch). I won tickets to the Vegan Food and Beer Fest in PDX and had every intention of making the short drive and getting crazy with BandMan in the city that has become our second home, but as it turned out a local brewery, Woodland Empire, was hosting a pretty damn fine fest (Taco Beer Taco Fest) the same evening, and was in need of …

Favorite herb or spice? So I dislike licorice candy - strongly - but I love French Tarragon which is weird because "licorice" is def how most describe the flavor of my absolute, hands down, favorite herb. French Tarragon, also known as Dragon Wort, always makes me feel fancy AF when I cook with it. I'm not really sure why, but it might have to do with the fact that I usually use it in fancy French food like this uber romantic Mushroom Pate, or this super sexy Asparagus Potato Stack. It also makes grrrrreat salad dressings (i.e. Tarragon Vinaigrette).  In the winter I like to give my soup a flavor boost using the stuff - check out this Winter Vegetable Soup in a Squash Bowl - and in spring, this Tarragon Egg[less] Salad is my quick-fix, go-to lunch choice.

If you're not in currently in a personal relationship with tarragon, you should probably re-evaluate that, because it's way good for you and in case you ever get bit by a poisonous snake, Tarragon's got y…

It’s cold and rainy and there’s a snow drift outside your door! What are you going to make using the ingredients you have?
My plan for this prompt was to have no plan and I think it really worked in my favor. When it comes to weekend eats we're typically a two meal family: we'll have a low brow brunch and a big dinner. Weekend mornings start with us rolling out of bed whenever we feel like it. I with my cup of tea and BandMan with his french press of black coffee, go our separate ways to consume the life force. He goes down to the basement and reads the news on his computer. I sit in my thinking chair and also read the news.  Snowdrift, or no snowdrift, brunch is compromised of whatever noms we have leftover in the fridge from the week because leaving the house pre-caffeine and food is not a thing we do.

Naturally, I was feeling pretty confident about whatever this post turned out to be, because I think making meals out of a seemingly empty fridge/pantry is kind of my speci…

Share your favorite cuisine. Breaking News: my favorite cuisine is Thai! Anyone who has taken a peek at my insta knows this to be true and not surprised. When the VegFam goes out to eat, Thai is always the first suggestion made. It’s also my go to cuisine in the kitchen. It’s fairly easy to accomplish great Thai flavors, and it usually doesn’t take too long to prepare, but the best part about cooking Thai is all the wiggle room for interpretation.

For instance, I’ve never seen collard greens or kale in an authentic Thai dish, but here we have some spicy greens, on a bed of rice, drizzled with an outstanding Thai peanut sauce. It’s not authentic and it’s probably not considered Thai but the flavors are on point and I'm rolling with it cause lemme tell you: I'M MEAN WITHOUT MY GREENS! Maybe the most P.C. thing for me to say is that this dish is inspired by my favorite cuisine: Thai.

Anywho: here’s a super easy, bombass recipe that creates a flavor explosion in your mouth and …

What [insert well known person] would eat if they were vegan. I'm not gonna waste a lot of breath on the "well known" person I chose to write about, because, truthfully, he's a dick. I don't know anyone who thinks that Trump is a viable candidate for the big seat. I know they're out there, but I just don't associate with the type of person that would support him. Trump (and his hair) have been in the news a lot lately; partly because he's the GOP front-runner (which I don't understand), but mainly because of the stupid ass shit that comes out of his tiny, hateful mouth. He's got some barbaric things to say about immigration, women, opposing GOP candidate, Jeb Bush's wife, President Obama's heritage, Hilary Clinton, and it seems like no topic is sacred, not even The Pope. I could continue on the topic of messed up stuff Trump's done/said but I won't because this dude doesn't deserve the time and effort. 

I will point out t…

Autumn Equinox Eats.