We're In Ohio!

Eeek! No, my dear reader, I have not been neglecting you. While I am sorry for the lack of posts lately, Todd and I are on vacation in Ohio! Why Ohio do you ask? Well, that is a very good question. Ohio is where Todd grew up! And we have a wedding to attend! I'm very excited to be here, as you can tell. While I've been neglecting you away we've been enjoying visiting with family, healthy grocery stores that don't exist in Alaska, and seeing fun wildlife like raccoons and deer! Here are a few pictures to tide you over until we get back up to Alaska, because I love you.

Okay, so this may be a strange photo to start a post with but seriously you guys, I found this toilet was in the Chicago airport and I just had to take a picture. What is this?! A little Alaskan like myself was unsure. I can spot an outhouse from a mile away, but this gadget I was unfamiliar with. Did I accidentally board a plane to Tokyo or something?? Now, before you get any ideas, I'm not some uncultured hillbilly okay?

I have traveled a fair amount. My mom worked for a large airlines for most her life so we flew standby and traveled on a whim. I've been to most of the United States, Scotland, England, the Galapagos Islands and I'm heading to Turks and Caicos this fall, but I have never seen one of these guys. I've even been in the Chicago airport before...several times! So, you can imagine my excitement. It took me a minute to figure out how to work the thing. Anyway, I felt I had to share this marvel with the world. Have you seen one of these toilets before? I thought it was pretty neat.

After the visit with the alien toilet, we decided we needed some food. And the Chicago airport lended some tasty fare. After some research, I found that a little stand called Cibo Express had some vegan options. It wasn't great, but I felt blessed to even have an option that didn't involve a packet of oreos or an apple.

I got Todd a Vegan Jerusalem Steak Sandwich and I myself a Vegan Buffalo Tofu Wrap. I was surprised to discover after my first bite that it was not a buffalo wrap but infact their Vegan Southwestern Wrap. It was still good though. I also got some of those Brad's Kale Chips after, the previous week, watching how they were made. This happened to be pure coincidence and as we don't have these kale chips in Alaska and so I just had to buy them. I also bought some fresh fruit and a San Pellegrino Limonata. It cost a small fortune.

My little friend, Cari (if she lived in Alaska, we would be inseparable. In my eyes anyways...in my creepy, creepy eyes), the boys and myself went to the West Side Market in Cleveland. Soooo many animal body parts. Ick. But, you know I love to grocery shop and we found a great bread place, with delicious vegan bread. I bought some fresh and dried fruit and some kale, too.

The seller of the fresh fruit kept calling Cari and myself, "Baby". Such as, "Come on Baby, I'll give you three peaches for price of two. Three for the price of two, Baby." Anyways, Cari, if you're reading this, I love you dearly and if you and Mr. Grumpy ever break up, we'll sure miss Mr. G. Cari is behind the delightfully hilarious food blog, Home With You.

Todd and I always get our picture taken by the Chagrin Falls. The first time I ever visited his hometown we took a picture by the falls and it just stuck. Now it's our little tradition. It's fun to see how we've changed through the years and it always reminds us of our prior visits. Chagrin Falls is a small town in Ohio, about an hour outside of Cleveland. It's a pretty snotty little frou frou town, so of course, I love it. Actually, the popcorn shop in the comic Calvin and Hobbes is the popcorn shop in Chagrin Falls! The Calvin and Hobbes creator, Bill Watterson, is originally from Chagrin Falls. As a fervent reader of Calvin and Hobbes, (as in, I have all the books and I used to read them before bed over and over again) I nearly died when I found this out and I immediately had to go there for myself. 

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We took a kayak trip down the Cuyahoga River. Yes, this is the same "river that caught fire" many years ago. Look how much you're learning? I know, I know. I didn't swim in it, okay! Okay, I did. But not really. See, nature called, so I had to row ashore and while getting out of the kayak I tipped it over like a complete fool and fell into the water. When we completed our 2 hour float trip about 45 minutes later, I realized that my phone was in that tipped kayak. Key word was.

Well, we launched back upriver by a bridge and had to paddle upstream about 20 minutes to find the spot where I had stopped. Well, Todd, myself and his little brother "search-and-rescue" style found my phone in under 2 minutes! It had died so we couldn't use the "Find My iPhone" locator and the water was too murky to actually see through. It was a harrowing experience. Not to mention my poor knee took the brunt of my spill out of the kayak. I had to literally dig a pebble out my knee myself! But my phone is okay. It lives inside a Lifeproof case, thank goodness and I can personally attest to it's function! My phone survived being submerged, at the bottom of a river that had once caught fire, for over one hour. Now that's sayin' something. That case has saved my phone many times. Sometimes I wish I had a Lifeproof case, like, for my body...

Well, that's all for now. Tomorrow we head down to Columbus for a wedding and then we'll be back up to Alaska shortly thereafter. By the way and completely unrelated, I just saw a trailer for a new Wolverine X-Man movie. True story. Whhhaaattt?! Soooo exciting!! 

Cinnamon Bananas On Maple Peanut Butter Toast

Sometimes I don't feel like cooking. I admit, it doesn't happen terribly often. Wednesday night, however, I felt this way. It was heightened by the fact that I was very tired and kind of stressing about packing and cleaning as we leave for Ohio today! And so, I turned to my trusty friend. Cinnamon Bananas On Maple Peanut Butter Toast is my go-to dinner when I just can't bring myself to cook anything. Although, this isn't entirely true as I did make Todd a vegan grilled cheese and avocado sandwich. Does making a fancy grilled cheese sandwich count as cooking? Erm, possibly not... Anyways, this is obviously very simple to make. This recipe, if you can call it that, it's more like a conglomerate of ingredients placed lovingly upon a piece of toast is a fantastic breakfast, a superb snack, and (how I consume it most often) a very quick and satisfying dinner. Yes, I truly do eat this for dinner. On average, probably at least three times every couple of weeks. Some of those instances I didn't have the time to cook, or I didn't want to cook and but usually it ends up that I was just craving Bananas On Maple Peanut Butter Toast!

Cinnamon Bananas On Maple Peanut Butter Toast

Inspired by Myself

Makes 1 open-face sandwich

• 1 piece of quality vegan bread, toasted
• slathering of peanut butter (or nut butter of choice)
• small amount of maple syrup (1 tsp.)
• 1/2 ripe banana, sliced in about 6 rounds
• sprinkling of chia seeds (1 tsp.)
• sprinkling of ground cinnamon (1/4 tsp.)
• dash of salt (optional)
• dash of sugar (optional)

Let me start out by asking for your forgiveness. Not a great way to start but really it's just that I never use any measurements when I make this toast. And I refuse to! You can't make me. This is my easy, quick, simple breakfast/dinner/snack, and gosh darnit you don't need no stinkin' measurements. Yet, I did try to estimate out of respect for crazy recipe followers who shutter at the words "small amount". I used to be one of these people. What the hell's a "small amount" anyways!?

Okay, on to the toast. Get yer most favorite piece of bread and toast it. BTW, I found the most amazing vegan bread, I am in love. Check it out in the picture below! While it's still warm, smear on an amount of peanut butter deemed you appropriate. Don't put on as much as you'd normally use for say a PB&J though. As the peanut butter warms it will become melty and if you put too much on it will just drip off. Same goes with the maple syrup, a little goes a long way on toast. You could use molasses too, if you like. In my pre-vegan days I used honey.

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Next, slice half a banana into about six round slices and arrange on the bread. Again, there isn't rocket science. You're the boss. I like bananas quite a bit and sometimes I make a fun puzzle on the bread to see if I can cover every square inch. This is not necessary and I can see how it may be counter-productive if you're short on time.

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Sprinkle chia seeds and cinnamon on top to your liking. I do the seeds first so they stick to the bananas and then the cinnamon. If you really like cinnamon so I tend to use a lot. Plus it's very high in antioxidants!

Sometimes if I'm feeling super fancy-like, I will add some salt or sugar. Add whatever else you want to it. It's your canvas. A delicious, filling canvas.

Ah, the perfect anytime snack.

Cinnamon Bananas On Maple Peanut Butter Toast

Recipe Type: Breakfast

Author: Katie - Produce On Parade

Serves: 1

A simple little open-face sandwich, great for breakfast, snacking or if you really don't want to cook dinner.

Ingredients

• 1 piece of quality vegan bread, toasted
• slathering of peanut butter (or nut butter of choice)
• small amount of maple syrup (1 tsp.)
• 1/2 ripe banana, sliced in about 6 rounds
• sprinkling of chia seeds (1 tsp.)
• sprinkling of ground cinnamon (1/4 tsp.)
• dash of salt (optional)
• dash of sugar (optional)

Instructions

1. Toast bread, smear on peanut butter and maple syrup.
2. Next, slice half a banana into about six round slices and arrange on the bread.
3. Sprinkle chia seeds and cinnamon on top to your liking. I do the seeds first so they stick to the bananas and then the cinnamon.

3.2.1249

Healthy "Beef" and Broccoli

I've never really been big on using vegan mock products. I know I've briefly touched on this before. They tend to be very processed and why make a “faux” mac and “cheese” when you can make a wonderful macaroni pasta with a sweet potato and nutritional yeast sauce. No, it’s not typical mac and cheese but it’s damn delicious, has no processed ingredients and is a hell of a lot better for you. However, if you're a new vegan, these products can help make the transition a bit easier. O,r for those few truly cherished recipes that are primarily non-vegan, faux products can be very instrumental. Todd almost died when he realized a conventional grilled cheese sandwich would never again grace his lips . Thank you baby Jesus for Daiya! He can now have his beloved grilled cheese sandwich...and eat it too! Beef and broccoli is one of those cherished dishes for me. It may sound kind of silly and what a weird recipe to treasure am I right? Yet, my parents, when they were together, made one bad-ass beef and broccoli stir-fry. It still reminds me of a place and time in my life when my family was all together, happy, and under one roof.

Well, I literally squealed with joy when I found this bag of Gardein Home Style Beefless tips in the freezer section. I had no idea this sort of thing existed! Or, at least not at a small grocery store in Alaska. It was Carrs, if you are from Alaska and in case you live under a rock like me and didn't know this existed. Anyways, I knew exactly what I was going to make with it. "Beef" and Broccoli!

Normal people serve beef and broccoli over rice, but I was just reading about protein deficiencies after spending a small part of my days for the last couple weeks with bouts of nausea...and let me stop you there before the jokes and harassment begin…no, I am definitely NOT pregnant. Great, we can now move on. Anyways, back to protein deficiencies, quinoa happens to have a complete amino acid profile and in general is more nutritionally robust then rice and thus, I opted for quinoa. Besides...rice, quinoa…do they really taste that much different? In my opinion, no, they do not. Yet, if you still want to be all traditional feel free to use rice.

Healthy “Beef” and Broccoli

Inspired by Kimmy's Bake Shop 

Serves 5

• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 Tbsp. water
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 9 oz. package of Gardein Home Style Beefless tips
• 1 tsp. sesame oil
• ½ Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 heads of broccoli, chopped and lightly steamed
• 4 oz. (3/4 cup) of sugar snap peas, cut on a diagonal and lightly steamed
• 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. ginger paste
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
• sprinkling of red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1.5 cups dry quinoa (or rice)
• 3 cups water
• sesame seeds and sliced green onions for garnish

Start by cooking the quinoa or rice. If using rice, cook according to package. If using quinoa, spray a medium pot with cooking spray, rinse quinoa and add to the pot with the water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, turn down to low and simmer, covered for about 15 minutes or until all water has dissipated. When finished cooking, fluff with a fork and cover until ready for use. Dang, quinoa is easy and quick!

Meanwhile, wash and chop the broccoli. Slice the pea pods on a diagonal, in half hot-dog style and steam along with the broccoli until they are just slightly tender.

In a large frying pan, heat the sesame and olive oil over medium. In a small bowl combine the cornstarch and water and pour into the beefless tips bag. Zip the bag back closed and give it a good shake. Pour the tips into the hot pan and fry over medium heat for about 5-10 minutes or until cooked through. A few minutes in, add the garlic and stir occasionally to keep from scorching.

After 5-10 minutes, add the lightly steamed vegetables and continue to stir-fry for about 5 more minutes. Now, add the soy sauce, sugar, ginger and additional cornstarch to a bowl and whisk to combine. Add to the frying pan and cook while continuing to stir for another minute or so.

Serve over quinoa or rice and garnish with sesame seeds and green onions.

A new comfort food favorite in our very vegan home. Maybe yours too?