Remember me?

I have been slacking in the blog department, though I have been reading tons of blogs. I don't have the excuse of being busy, because I'm unemployed and no longer a student.

In the no-blogging period, I have been enjoying summer. I love lima beans. They must not be baby limas, but the big suckers. I scooped up some fresh limas at the farmer's market . . .


Fresh is always, ALWAYS better. That's a beanloaf along with the limas. Basically mashed black beans, bread crumbs, roasted red pepper, and seasonings. I put a ketchup top on it--it's a mean beanloaf :)

I also went to Cheeburger, Cheeburger for the first time. Best. Fries. EVER!


They have so many toppings--guac, onion rings, salsa, roasted red pepper, and on & on. You can add as many as you desire. The veggie burger was so amazing, especially with the red pepper & guac :) I went 3 times in one week.


Off to help the boy pack for his boys weekend,

B

Airport Travel

I'm sitting in the Airport loving Wifi. It makes the time more entertaining.

While riding to the airport the Aussie & I "enjoyed" a drink. The Aussie will gag a little when he reads the word enjoy :) The drink was a tad overpowering for us.


We had the green tea flavor the other day and it was much easier to swallow ;)

What is it about airports that make me want to eat my weight in sugar and carbs? Oh yeah, it's the Auntie Anne's in the air. To make matters worse the Aussie had a meeting today, so I was dropped off *really* early (as in 4hrs before I fly out).

Instead of inhaling sugar, I inhaled some California Tortilla in the form of black bean overload! I adore black beans. They are probably my favorite bean.


I would have taken a picture of the inside of the tacos, but they were messy. I exhibited extreme willpower by only eating a handful of the chips :) Their chips aren't worth the calorie bucket they come with.

What is worth the calorie bucket is this fabulous creation . . .



Up close Sticky Fingers brownie goodness . . .


These brownies rocked my world. I brought some to give to my parents, so they can see how awesome vegan brownies can be.

Off to scope up an unsweetened tea from Starbucks for the flight.

Living By The Water

Annapolis is a lovely place to live. There is something to be said about the joy of living close to the water. Earlier this week the Aussie and I shared Chinese overlooking water at a local park. It was so relaxing. The other night we walked around town and snapped lots of pictures.





Sometimes it's fun to just explore your new neighborhood.

Once the Aussie gets back from riding his motorbike we're off to walk a paved 13 mile trail, then to ROOTS for "essentials" :)

I love weekends post-bar prep

**Click, Click**

Just call me Ms. Photographer. I spent the day on a go-kart race track snapping pics of the Aussie and his friends racing. The go-karts were super fast, but karting isn't really my scene so I decided to be the one to capture the moment. After 50 or so pictures, I think I *captured* it.

Here's a picture of the Aussie overtaking someone to claim 2nd place.


We drove out to West Virginia for the racing, so of course I couldn't leave without at least a tiny hike. West Virginia is known for its outdoor beauty, at least in my opinion.


Uhh, wait a minute that didn't capture the beauty. And yes I am always disappointed when a hike crosses over a major road, but I guess it has to happen every now and again.




Ahh that's better.

On the way home we had one of my favorite vegan car ride treats . . .



Alrighty, this wanna-be photographer is exhausted. Off to capture some zzzs now :)

Food Version of Groundhog Day

Remember the Groundhog Day movie, where the guy relives the same day over & over. Raise your hand if you're guilty of falling in love food and then eating over and over and over. **Raises hand** Currently the Aussie and I are eating lots of the beloved FBLTs and smoothies.

Here's the evidence . . .



You know what I find funny, when I started being a veghead I started liking vegan versions of things I never liked--such as mac and cheese and vegenaise. The FBLTs are amazing with a smear of the latter :)

Dinner also included some very, VERY sweet corn on the cob, which was taken off the cob. It's so much easier to eat that way.


And the highlight of the dinner was definitely this . . .


Vegan Raspberry Bread with an icing top. Wow incredible. I heated up a slice and topped it with Earthbalance. Yum-e


The Aussie is riding his motorbike like a bad-a** ;) but once he gets home I'm begging him to entertain me. I went from way too busy with bar studying to way too much free time. Good thing the Farmer's Market is there for me with there endless smoothies and great bread.

Expectations

As time goes on I find myself more attracted to whole foods, as opposed to vegan meat replacements, but I was intrigued by the Gardein buffalo wings. I remember many college nights spent with my roomie at Applebees for the 1/2 price appetizers--boneless buffalo wings were devoured. I had heard mixed reviews, so I did not go in with overly high expectations. The sauce was great with a strong kick of heat, but the "wings" were a weird texture. I wish they were crunchy like their chicken-free nuggets. They weren't too bad on a sandwich though.




No sandwich is complete without a pile, err mountain, of sweet potato fries.


I tracked down a choc chip cookie larabar, and had high expectations. Cookie dough and I have a passionate love affair. Sadly, the larabar version and I do not. It tasted okay, but definitely not life changing.



Off to be productive. Who am I kidding, off to make love to a pineapple/raspberry smoothie. Muahahaha

Treasures

I love finding a good deal, and summer is definitely the time to find fruit deals. I came across a huge container of mixed fruit for . . . wait for it . . . under 3 dollars. I was floored. Usually grocery stores sell a *teeny-tiny* container for the price of your left kidney in the black market. Obviously I plowed over the woman in front of me to make sure that I received this insanely discounted container, but then I saw it. 2.95, 2.95, 2.95 as far as the eye could see :) I was one happy camper with my fruit container in tow.

Here she is in all her glory . . .


I begrudgingly shared this treasure with the Aussie, who attacked it like he hadn't eaten since brekky ;)

Since I had saved so much on the fruit, I had extra funds to give to the Wholefoods money pit (ie hot bar). I debated between the bean tacos and the vegan pizza. Tacos won, but mostly because they came with plantains. This meal rocked! Especially the guac and salsa.




In other news, the invitations have been narrowed down to TWO choices, so hopefully I'll have an environmentally-friendly winner by the end of today. Woot, woot. FYI wedding planning is not fun, really it isn't. Do not believe the brides that said they loved it. They lie.

Off to track down some brekky.

FBLT

Growing up I loved BLTs, but after I read about how wonderfully smart and amazing pigs are I certainly couldn't go on eating BLTs, so what's a girl to do? Enter fake bacon--smoked tempeh. I had my first FBLT with tempeh in May down in Myrtle Beach, so I decided to recreate it yesterday (and today) for the Aussie. He inhaled it and loved every bite. I used sprouted bread, veganaise, spinach, and tomato. I highly recommend trying it for yourself. Vegans and non-vegans alike can appreciate the taste :)

Smokin' tempeh sizzling away . . .


FBLT with homegrown cherry yellow tomatoes. Tasty!


I also inhaled an awesome smoothie--fresh pineapple, raspberries, ice, H2O.



Off to entertain the Aussie :) See ya in the AM

Vegan Curry Chicken Salad

Gardein products are pretty incredible--low in calories and high in taste. During the ROOTS visit the other day I saw some pre-made vegan curry chicken salad, so of course I scooped some up. It made a great sandwich with sprouted bread and carrots on the side. Of course I needed more veggies, so I made an easy flavorful spinach smoothie--spinach, ice, and fresh oj. I think I shall call it GOJ.




Today I *WILL* be productive ;) or at least try to be. Off to save the world or perhaps just scoop up some brekky

A Cow Loving Yogurt Mess

After seeing post after post of adorable bowls filled with yogurts and add-ins, I decided it was time to make one that the cow's would enjoy :) I went to an awesome store in Columbia, MD called ROOTS. They have everything a vegan dreams of--treats from Sticky Fingers, all types of non-dairy ice cream, a whole section devoted to raw treats, and lots of daiya cheese (by the way I had the chedder in my salad and it truly tastes just like chedder minus the guilt). ROOTS also had coconut yogurt, which inspired my yogurt mess. It was simple, but filling and tasty. Chia seeds, raw granola, and coconut yogurt all went into a bowl. I debated adding oats, but decided not to.


The raw granola was amazing. It has a crunchy texture and comes in BIG chunks. I think it would be great in a bowl with rice milk. It's from Living Intentions. I bought the Cacao Crunch flavor, but they had others that I will definitely be trying.

Here's a picture from the drool-feast that is the Sticky Fingers section of ROOTS. The Aussie and I shared the choc chip cookies the size of my face while listening to the girls sing yesterday. Definitely the best way to enjoy a concert.


Time to be productive. This room is still filled with things that need to be put away.

First Famous Encounter

The Lilith Fair was amazing. Missy Higgins, who I have adored for years, played on the smaller stage and I was **this** close to her. She is incredibly talented. After she sang she came down and I was able to get a picture with her.


Before we went to the concert we went to an awesome vegan restraurant. The Aussie and I shared spinach dip, a Mexican-inspired salad, and a slice of peanut butter cheesecake. It was delish. We will definitely be back.






All in all it was a lovely evening. Right now I'm trying to pick out the wedding invitations. I want something environmentally friendly and stylish. Seems easy, right? Hopefully it will be ;)

Freeeeeeeeeeeedom

I'm finally on the otherside of the bar exam, and let's hope I never have to sit for it again. We don't find out if we passed until November, so I have a long wait. I've moved up to Annapolis. It has been interesting attempting to fit all the stuff from our condo into a bedroom. We'll be here until mid Jan. so I'm trying to make the most of it.

The first weekend of freedom included lots of vegan eats from Everlasting Life (but I was too focused on the eating that I forgot to take pictures). We also did a fun 5.5 mile hike





I need to unpack, find amazing wedding invitations, plan the cross country trip for Jan, find a job, find a gym, and the list goes on. At least I don't have studying to do :)

Off to shower then heading to the Lilith Fair. I love rocking out to strong women.