englandsword

I went to Bloomington for my brother's 21st birthday last week, and I'm really glad I went. There was a bad part, though. He got in a motorcycle accident on the morning of his birthday and hurt his ankle, so he had to spend some time at the doctor and then use crutches. He's OK, and more concerned about his motorcycle than his own health. Thank God he always wears a helmet. We went to an IU football game -- and IU won! Here's a picture of the tailgate: I had a black bean burger and grilled onions. I ate grilled onions with a fork. Don't judge me. Then we came home for dinner and presents. My mom made a vegan quiche! I don't have the exact recipe, but she said she just searched for a quiche recipe using silken tofu, because that's all she had on hand. She used pre-made pie crust and sprinkled bread crumbs on top. The bottom layer had TVP crumbles and vegan sausage, veggie layer had spinach and onions, and top layer had tofu mixture of silken tofu, Parm, sunfl...

I'm home! I had a great trip to Bloomington and I'll write more about it tomorrow and include pictures. To break it up I figured I'd just post about my travel food today. Before I left, Mom and I had lunch at Bloomingfoods. I got a big salad with spinach, mixed greens, mushrooms, carrots, onions, tofu, crazy delicious slaw (on the left) and sun-dried tomato hummus (on the right). Tasty. Mom packed me a bunch of food for the trip. What a sweetie she is! Fresh CSA watermelon. Brussels sprouts from Bloomingfoods. I missed these! Bloomingfoods makes the best brussels sprouts. Magic tofu! A big delicious salad. Greens, carrots, celery, cucumbers, and a Boca spicy chik patty. And a cookie! I haven't had a cookie in a long time, and there definitely is a good thing about keeping cookies special treats, as God intended -- I was so freaking excited about eating this cookie. And it was delicious. And just so that this entire post doesn't only feature pictures of food, here...

Lovely day in Bloomington today. But it was cold -- I had to wear three shirts! I walked to and around campus, went to my mom's class, and then a panel with the 9/11 Commission for the 10-year anniversary, where they talked about how America is different now and how many of their recommendations have been heeded. It was remarkable to see a bipartisan commission work together so well, and I only wish we had more of that type of bipartisanship in Washington. Mom and I walked around downtown and Kirkwood and then to a new vegan restaurant in Bloomington called the Owlery . It was great! Can you believe that Bloomington has a vegan restaurant? They do offer the option of dairy cheese on some items, so they aren't 100% vegan, though all menu items are vegan by default. I got the seitan skewers with a side of collard greens. It was delicious, with a great teriyaki flavor. My step-dad enjoyed his "fried chicken," my mom really liked her dill tempeh, and my friend loved the p...

Happy New Year! All my travel yesterday went fine and I got home in time to partay. I was supposed to meet some friends at a bar but when I got there I realized I had the WRONG ID!! I accidentally brought my student ID instead of my driver's license, because they're both tan and I guess I didn't look close. But my friend found me a way in. :O Shhh... don't alert the authorities. But I'm legal, I swear! The night was fun and I got some good dancing done. I spent today being productive - doing Pilates, unpacking, cleaning, blog reading, grocery shopping. I roasted up some veggies, made fruit salad, and have been watching season 4 of The Tudors all afternoon. It's such a good show but I do get really stressed out watching it sometimes! I figured I'd take this time to highlight a couple recipes and meals I enjoyed over winter break that I hadn't gotten a chance to share yet. Today I'm writing about a delicious Vitamix soup and tomorrow I'm g...

I went bar-hopping with my mom last night. But let's back-track a little. First I accompanied my friend Christmas shopping. I tried on this hat at Urban Outfitters and felt very hipster. Then I tried to use the 3D video games at Best Buy. The glasses are huge! My friend figured it out. Then for dinner, I went with my family to my faaaaavorite Bloomington restaurant, Roots! Roots is Bloomington's only all-vegetarian restaurant (though I did see a salmon dish on their specials yesterday but I've never seen fish there before and I hope they aren't going that direction!). It's not easy to get vegan food in Indiana but at Roots, they know what vegan means. Just don't let them give you honey mustard, because some of them don't seem to realize that honey isn't vegan. We got a Mediterranean Sampler for an appetizer - veggies, pita, thick hummus, baba ghanoush, tasty falafel, and olives. There was also some feta that obviously I did not eat. I got the g...

On Saturday night I went with my mom and step-dad to see Guster at the Bluebird. It was a great concert! We left on Sunday morning along with my brother and his girlfriend (all crammed in one car) for North Manchester, Indiana, where my step-dad's family lives. We go there to celebrate Christmas every year. We picked up some provisions at Bloomingfoods. I got the brussels sprouts and magic tofu - a delicious creation (that some have compared favorably to chicken nuggets, surprisingly) with garlic and onion powder, pepper, and nutritional yeast. I snagged a bite of my mom's breakfast sandwich, which had a slice of vegan cheese, a vegan sausage, and a polenta circle in an English muffin. It's really good! I love the addition of polenta to a breakfast sandwich, and it kind of looks like eggs without trying to impersonate them. First, we opened presents. I didn't request many presents so I got a couple little things, plus money. I really need money. =) Here I am wit...