Emily's Cruelty Free Kitchen

My India Travels and Eats, Day 5

2014-04-21T15:10:00.002-07:00

On day 5 in India, we woke up at our hotel in Khajuraho and headed out fairly early to see some temples. We were hooked up with a guide which we thought was weird since Veejay was showing us around the day before.

Michael was ready to go!

We took a car to some of the sights and I was able to get a quick photo of the colorful city of Khajuraho.

We arrived at the western group of temples, which turns out is protected and cared for by UNESCO and the Indian government. We had no idea we'd be arriving in such a pristine looking place. I'm glad we had a guide, otherwise we wouldn't have had a clue where to go or where to buy tickets.

Our guide showed us around some of the more popular temples, pointing to carvings and making comments like "There is loving couple", referring to a man and a woman having 1-on-1 sex. Of course there was also "This is what we call 'self service.'" and "This is a very acrobatic pose.". He was a pretty funny guy. The temples here in the western group are pretty graphic, as you can see in the photos below. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable, pointing out individual carvings and explaining what was going on in each scene.

This next photo is of a carving that our guide couldn't get enough of. He was laughing while telling us the backstory. Out of all the elephants lining the temples, this is the only one with his head turned. Distinguished by the smile lines, you can see that the elephant is laughing at the couple to his left. Turns out the builders and carvers of the temples wanted to spice things up a bit and added humor to some areas, like this.

As old as these temples are, I couldn't believe the details.

Our guide made sure to point out the carvings in this next photo. He said "During war, there were no women. However, they DID have horses..." and then giggled while we snapped some photos.

We couldn't believe the enormity of these temples and the surrounding land. The structure of the temples was interesting, too. The monuments were built of sandstone and used no mortar but rather a locking system. We were told that if you were to take one of the discs off of a pillar that the entire pillar would come crumbling down. Crazy. This western group of temples are protected and maintained which is why they're in such great shape.

We had to take our shoes off every time we stepped into a temple. I always love a chance to take my shoes off.

I don't know what it is with Indian girls but they always seem so enamored with me. This group of girls came up to me, shook my hand, and asked me to take their picture. They each spoke pretty good English, telling me "Nice to meet you!". It was sweet.

We took a drive through Khajuraho then ended up at a local shop that is family owned and operated. Everyone in Khajuraho is extremely kind. They served us Coca Cola, of course, and gave us a tour of their shop. We ended up buying a few small items. One of the gentlemen there said to me, "I don't even care if you buy anything! I just appreciate people looking at the items we make. We are very proud of our work.". We ended up back at the hotel and ate a quick breakfast. Michael had sweet paratha and I had poori masala.

We went back to the teeny tiny airport in Khajuraho and guess who we ran into! THE CHINESE COUPLE! First Agra, then Khajuraho, and it turns out they were headed for Varanasi as well. Too funny! We couldn't believe we were running into them again! Anyway, we ended up catching a flight to Varanasi. I think we ate a snack in the airport but I don't have any photos. When we arrived in Varanasi, we took a car into the city to reach the Ganga. Wow, we were finally seeing Varanasi for the first time. It was exciting but overwhelming. I have never heard so many car horns or seen so many people, animals, shops, and homes crammed into one place. This is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world so people live in very tight quarters. Varanasi has a VERY distinct smell to it which we noticed immediately -- spice, feces, and urine. The spice smell in the other places we were smelled quite pleasing but this was different. This was Varanasi. I learned to deal with the smell after sometime but the first day was hard. I also couldn't believe the lack of roads! Varanasi, at least by the river, is mainly made up of alleys with a few main roads weaving through them. A man picked us up from our car when we were dropped off and walked us through the alleys to reach the house we were staying in. We couldn't believe how tightly everything was packed. These small alleys lined with shops were filled with people, animals, and motorcycles. Yeah, motorcycles were driving through! There was hardly any room for pedestrians let alone motorcycles. It was so much to take in. I loved seeing all the different vendors. It was also interesting and cute to see the numerous children running some of these shops. We were noticing all of these things and we had only been in Varanasi for a few minutes. We couldn't wait to see more of it. We checked into the house we were staying in and went out to the river. Luckily we stayed in close proximity to the main ghat so it was a short walk.

We found a random restaurant (out of MANY) and got some dosas. We obviously didn't eat the chutney with milk in it. This was GOOD. We ate a lot of fried foods in India.

We went back to the main ghat just in time for the nightly ceremony. It was beautiful. I couldn't believe how many people there were!

This woman had tried over and over to sell us some cheap items she had. We weren't having it but she kept insisting. Eventually I let her draw on my hand and fingernails. She talked to us a little bit -- she said she had children and that her husband was deceased. We also noticed she had been burned by acid on most of her body. She was sweet and we ended up buying a book of Varanasi photos from her.

After the nightly ceremony we went back to the house and relaxed before falling asleep. There were so many noises surrounding us but somehow we were able to fall asleep. Next up, catch us on day 6 in India where we get lost in Varanasi, run into some very nice people, and I have an emotional breakdown.

My India Travels and Eats, Day 4

2014-04-15T17:21:00.001-07:00

On day 4 in India, we woke up before sunrise to see the Taj Mahal. The easten gate was maybe 1km, if that, from our hotel. We sunscreened up, ate a small snack from our bag, and left. We walked out and followed another group of white people. That must mean we're headed in the right direction, right? We had a rickshaw driver tell us over and over that the ticketing office was in the opposite direction. We didn't believe him. We kept walking and he kept telling us. We just figured he was trying to sell us his services. Turns out we were both right -- he was trying to sell us his services but the ticketing office WAS in the opposite direction. We sure felt stupid! He walked his rickshaw alongside us, trying to get us to ride the entire way to the ticketing office. You know who else talked to us during the walk to the ticketing office? A LOT Indian vendors. Every shop wanted to sell us their "high quality but inexpensive" marble. Yeah, right. Every guy came up to us and told us to come into his shop after our visit to the Taj Mahal. Everyone tried to sell us clothing, shoes, food. The homeless begged for money. This was NON STOP. The persistence of the rickshaw driver combined with the nagging of every vendor near the eastern gate made us feeling like we wanted to punch someone. We were hating Agra and we had only been out in it for maybe 30 minutes.

When we came out after purchasing tickets, he was still there waiting for us. Ok, we'll take it. The guy was persistent after all. And nice! We talked him down and paid him equivalent to maybe $2 so it wasn't too bad.

Rickshaws are tiiiiny. Michael didn't fit.

We arrived at the eastern gate, again, but this time with tickets in hand. Unfortunately the line into the Taj was no different than any other place in India -- the men and women had separate lines. Michael waved goodbye and headed to his short line.

After going through metal detectors, we were in!

The sun was rising beautifully over the exterior walls of the compound.

Our first glimpse of the Taj Mahal from inside the estate. It blended right into the sky, didn't it? Almost looked like a backdrop.

We've seen pictures, obviously, of the Taj Mahal but we never imagined how it would look in person. Honestly, it's majestic. It's just so... grand. We couldn't believe its beauty. We walked around and hung out in the garden for a while. We couldn't take pictures inside the Taj Mahal but it was stunning. Shah Jahan and Mumatz Mahal are buried inside and surrounded by such ornate details in marble and various gemstones. The exterior walls and land were perfectly built around the Taj Mahal -- everything was made with precision (the Taj Mahal is actually as wide as it tall). There are mausoleums surrounding the Taj Mahal so it took us a while to get through everything.

During our exploration, we ran into an Austrian photographer who was intrigued by me and my "art", as he referred to my tattoos. He kept calling me beautiful and even took a few photos of me in front of the Taj. I just sent him an email and am hoping to get copies soon!

I'm standing next to it for scale.

Sitting on the backside of the Taj Mahal, looking out over the river.

Michael standing next to the entrance to the Taj Mahal for scale.

We took one last photo before we left to see the variation in color of the sky. Didn't look so much like a backdrop here.

After sightseeing, we head back to our hotel. Of course we were hassled and followed on the way back as well. Damn you, Agra. Since it's still morning we head for the free buffet breakfast before we check out. Luckily almost all of the Indian options are vegan. Score! We stocked up on vada, rice, and some dish that I can't remember. This breakfast was delicious. We ate a LOT of it. We were hungry and about to fly out to Khajuraho so we made sure to stuff our bellies.

As we are checking out, we run into a young Chinese couple. We don't think anything about it until we get into the Agra airport and see them there as well. Hm, coincidence I guess. We fly into Khajuraho and are greeted at the airport by our "hotel representative" and our driver. We were wondering what the heck a hotel representative was. He's almost like a concierge, always keeping in contact with us and helping us with our travels. He takes us back to the hotel, hands us flowers, and checks us in. He shows us to our room and tells us he plans on showing us around Khajuraho (for a price, of course). Temples and folk dancing at night and in the morning go see some more temples! Sounds great! The prices weren't too bad (I think everything was around $20 total) so we agreed to it.

Our room was beautiful. We had a balcony leading out to a grove of papaya and mango trees. We were overlooking one of the villages, too, which was neat.

Here is us on our balcony with the flowers.

Our bed was adorned with flower petals!

Doors leading out to balcony.

This was by far the nicest place we stayed during our entire trip. The entire hotel smelled of fresh flowers (they kept fresh picked flowers in the lobby at all times) and it was made of marble. We hung out for about an hour or so in the room before we headed out with our hotel representative, Veejay. He took us around to see the southern temples. These were neat -- most were located just randomly in the middle of some of the villages. The detail on these temples were incredible, as you can see below. Some of these dated as far back as 10th century.

We ran into this little puppy in one of the villages. He wanted to play with my skirt. I didn't want to touch him, though. I wasn't sure what was crawling on him.

Michael and VJ at one of the southern temples.

I thought these girls looked so cute and took a photo. They ran over to me and hugged me like crazy after I took it.

Chaturbhuj Temple - Lord Vishnu with 3 different bodies (head, torso, legs)

Seeing the temples and getting glimpses of Khajuraho was neat. This city smelled GOOD, unlike Agra. There were villages situated among the temples. Kids played in large grassy areas, women hung up laundry, and most locals waved at us. It was a neat little city and we couldn't wait to see more.

We headed back to the hotel and ran into the CHINESE COUPLE! Say what? Their room was next to ours! That's weird. They were at our hotel in Agra and now Khajuraho! Too funny. We talked with them a bit and discussed what a weird coincidence this was. It gets even weirder later. Trust me. We all leave for the local folk dancing at night. Uh, this was no local folk dancing. Turns out a group of professional Indian dancers were in Khajuraho and that's the show we ended up seeing. The auditorium was located right in the center of Khajuraho. This place was weird. There was astroturf and statues replicating the carvings on the temples EVERYWHERE. It was like we had walked onto a movie set or something. It didn't look real, honestly. The inside of the auditorium was small but cute. We were seated in the front row, by the way. Before the dancing started some weird voice came over the speakers and started to describe what we were about to see -- different styles of dance from all over India! Seemed pretty interesting The dancing started and we were already feeling a little skeptical. One of the guys wouldn't stop making eye contact with all of us in the theater. We ended up moving back a few rows because we couldn't handle being in the front with all the awkwardness of the staring going on. They were also fake playing drums as well as lip syncing the entire performance. In between each style of dance, after the slowest curtain closing I've ever experienced, that voice would come over the speakers and explain the next dance. The whole experience was... odd. There were a few talented dancers that stuck out to us, though. Luckily the tickets only cost us a few bucks so we at least have good stories to tell I guess.

We had dinner on the rooftop of the hotel but we were eating by candlelight so I couldn't get any photos. Seriously, it was by candlelight. I could barely see my own hands let alone my food. It was beautiful up there, though. I still can't believe the stars in India -- the sky is so visible at night there. Anyway, I got baingan bharta and I can't remember what Michael got, both served with roti. My food was sort of bland but Michael seemed to really like his. We headed for bed feeling pretty great about the day and ready to experience more of Khajuraho the next morning.

My India Travels and Eats, Day 3

2014-04-14T13:13:00.001-07:00

Day 3 in India started off an early one. We woke up at 3:30am in Kanha to get ready for our cab ride leaving at 4am for the Jabalpur airport. We were headed to Agra! Woohoo! We head up to the main building with our bags packed and no one is there. Uh oh. After calling the main guy at our resort a bunch of times, finally someone showed up, checked us out, and woke up the driver who was sleeping in the parking lot. We head out for a 4 1/2 hour cab ride in another direction from when we came in. We were able to sleep a little in the cab but it was so hard staying asleep when we passed so many neat looking villages.

We make it to the Jabalpur airport and I am huuungry at this point. Luckily we bring snacks -- fig bars, granola bars, and of course Starbursts. Let me just say a little about this airport. Oh man, this is the sketchiest airport I've ever been to. It's TINY with only one or two airlines leaving out of it. There was one gate with a set of double doors leading out to the runway.... that were left open. Security seemed a bit lax here but no one was acting out of line or anything. We end up boarding our flight right out on the runway (this was common for us in India) and left for Mumbai. Here we have a little bit of a layover before we leave for Agra so we have a little snack in the airport. Airport food isn't always the greatest but this was fairly good.

Masala dosa, samosas, and a vegetable puff.

We arrived in Agra around 6:00pm and took a cab to our hotel which is located right down the street from the eastern gate to the Taj Mahal. We finally got a glimpse of Agra! It's busy and some buildings are a bit modern which was nice to see. So much was going on in the city so it was a fun little ride to the hotel. We checked in, headed up to our room, and relaxed a bit. We had planned on seeing the city a little bit but went against it when we realized how tired we were. You'll see on the next post how we were definitely glad we didn't go out into the city.

I don't know what the deal was with that window but we sure had fun with it! We ended up on the rooftop of our hotel for dinner. It was lovely up there -- a view of the Taj with sitar and tabla players serenading the diners.

Honestly I can't even remember what we ordered. We ordered two different dishes off their vegetarian menu with roti and I also got a cup of daal on the side.

Both dishes were super tasty! Michael's had cashews and pineapple. Yum. We ate these pretty fast and headed to sleep. This was a very busy day of traveling and we were going to get up early to see the Taj the next morning. We couldn't wait! Not much action going on on day 3 here in India but day 4 is much more action packed. Keep an eye out for the next post!

My India Travels and Eats, Day 2

2014-04-11T14:20:00.000-07:00

We woke up before the sunrise on the second day in India to make sure we were able to get into the park by sunrise. We hopped in a jeep (which they called a gypsy) at our resort and headed out. We expected another few people to get in our car with us but it turned out everyone got their own. Awesome! We stopped at the entrance of Kanha to make sure we were cleared to go in. Since this is a tiger reserve they had to check our passports and put us with a guide.

We were put with a very sweet girl whose name I can't remember. She didn't speak very good English so we only got some bits of information out of her. We drove around and were introduced to the different animals in the park and got to see the landscaping there. So beautiful!

Asian elephant. These guys are not wild - they're actually used by locals to clear out trees to build roads.

Langur monkeys were all over the place. How cute are these two?

We also saw a lot of these spotted deer. This guy had a bleeding wound.

This park, Kanha, is known for having one of the most populations of Bengal Tigers per capita. We were hoping to see one but at this point we didn't have any luck. We stopped somewhere in the middle of the jungle and our guide and driver set up a lunch for us. It was so nice of them and so unexpected! We ate a bunch and realized... oh crap! They weren't eating! We invited them in and shared our meal with them. We got vegetable sandwiches (with cucumber and tomatoes) as well as savory paratha, water, tea (with milk, which we didn't drink), bananas, and apples (which we also didn't eat). This is where I had my first experience with a bidet (without toilet paper!). Good thing I only had to go #1.

We had a nice chat with some older English folks during lunch then headed out. Our guide told us we were headed to a spot where a tiger was spotted. Awesome! When we arrived, there were probably 15 other vehicles there. They were all staring into this brush very patiently. We waited there for a while. And waited some more. It felt like forever! Finally everyone sees a tiger way out in the distance. Of course Michael and I are completely oblivious at this point. Honestly all we can see is brush. Another guide lends us his binoculars and I see an ear! YEAH, AN EAR! The tiger stands up for a split second and I hand Michael the binoculars and he says he sees it (after the trip he told me he only saw the shadow, ha). Really, it wasn't a very climatic part of our day. We had more excitement seeing the monkeys!

The sleeping tiger everyone was waiting on was out there, somewhere...

Since we waited at this brush area for so long, we had to get back (this safari ended up being 5 1/2 hours, actually). The drive back to the lodge was a bumpy one. The villagers had started digging up rice paddies for the day. Turns out when they dig up the ground, they dump the remains in the street. This isn't so terrible in a car but in a jeep without seat belts it's especially bumpy. It was neat to see how they worked, though. The women would dig into the ground with large bowls, carry the heavy bowls on their head to spots with piles of dirt, and dump the contents there.

Of course we saw more cows on the way back.

We got back to the lodge pretty exhausted but hungry.

We ate lunch at the lodge and it was SO GOOD. They served us aloo gobi, more daal (oh man, that daal), papadum, roti, and rice.

We took a short rest in our room then went back out for the nighttime safari. We surprisingly got the same driver who was great but were assigned a different guide. This guy spoke perfect English and was extremely knowledgeable. Right away he started tracking the tiger tracks and assured us that we'd see a tiger. He said a few people had spotted a tiger in this specific area, and since he knew which way the tiger was headed, we might be able to catch it before anyone else. We waited at this particular for maybe 5 minutes when we hear a whistle. Our driver takes off like CRAZY and we're swerving, dodging trees, and inhaling dirt kicked up from multiple jeeps. Our guide tells us that the tiger is close!

We are stopped behind a multitude of jeeps. Now before I tell you about the tiger, let me tell you about that Englishman in the teal. See him? He's standing on his seat. He's one of the people we had a conversation with at lunch. Nice guy. Anyway, all of the cars were trying to get a better view of the tiger. I am telling you again, the driving here is INSANE, even in the jungle. Everyone wants a better view of the tiger so the drivers are going into ravines, driving off the trail, and almost hitting each other. It's quite funny. Ok, back to the Englishman. His jeep sees an opening and wants to take it, FAST. Without checking to see how his passengers are doing, the driver just TAKES OFF. Poor Englishman fell backwards, almost out of the jeep. As Michael likes to put it, "his feet went one way and his head went the other.". As soon as this happens, we hear a very English "ooooooh!!!" so loudly everyone forgets about the tiger. Our guide keeps a pretty straight face, as he is a professional after all. Of course I lose my shit. I can't stop laughing. I know this isn't really a laughing matter but with the "oooooh" and the crazy driving, I couldn't help myself. I look over at the guide while laughing and he continues to lose his shit. Oh crap, I'm a bad influence. Our guide and I had a moment there. Ok, Englishman is ok now and there's another spot opening up with enough space for our jeep. Our driver makes sure to check on us and since we're sitting down he dashes to that spot. Well turns out he drove RIGHT over a giant tree root, because next thing I know I am bouncing in the air, no longer touching the car at all, and almost land on Michael. The guide and I are still laughing at what happened moments before and now we are crying from laughter because of how high I just bounced. Good thing I didn't bounce the other way or I would've most definitely landed outside the jeep.

Ok, Englishman and I are both fine now and the tiger comes out from the trees! There he is!

What a big guy. I couldn't believe how close this tiger was. We got a few good looks at him, watched him walk down the trail like we weren't even there, and turned around. Our guide said "ok, we saw male tiger, time to see another one!". Really, dude? We're going to see another tiger? I doubted him. Why did I doubt him? This guy was awesome. Turns out only minutes later, we did see another tiger -- a sleepy girl in a ravine just enjoying herself. We were lucky as there was only one other jeep in this spot. We were able to enjoy the sight of her without worrying about trying to find a front row seat.

She stretched, yawned, and headed out. Girl got some good rest.

We left her and drove through the jungle. We got more glimpses of animals and beautiful landscaping.

After this 3 hour safari, we went back to the lodge. I tried getting a good picture of the cottage our room was in but it turned out blurry. Cute, isn't it?

Dinner was Chinese this tonight. We wanted Indian but understood that not everyone wants Indian food all the time so we sucked it up.

We were served tomato soup (not pictured), fried rice (without egg! woohoo!), rice balls in some kind of sweet and spicy sauce, and some noodle dish. Surprising to us this food was absolutely delicious. We ate many plates of this, especially the rice balls.

We went to sleep with our bellies full, ready to wake up at 3:30am to head out for another cab ride. Stay tuned for day 3 where we head to Agra!

My India Travels and Eats, Day 1

2014-04-10T15:53:00.000-07:00

Hello there! Wow, it's been over a year since I posted. I got through Cosmetology school, lots of work, got my license, and traveled to India. I've been having so many people ask me about my travels and what I ate in India and I figured this is the best place to post it. Let's start with day 1!

Our first day was mainly traveling. We left out of San Diego with an 8 hour layover in London about halfway there.

It's our plane! This is getting real.

Us on said plane! Michael is so excited he's glowing!

British Airways has an option when booking tickets for vegan meals, which we of course chose. We were skeptical about the food. I had done some research on airline food and found mostly negative reviews in regards to vegan options. Here is what we received over the Pacific Ocean for dinner...

They actually gave us the vegetarian meal, which some sort of cheesy dish. They felt bad and said they'd give us extra fruit. They didn't. We didn't eat the bread because we were unsure of the ingredients inside, especially considering when I looked around I noticed everyone had the same bread. The margarine and coffee creamer were vegan, though, which was pretty cool. Lame dinner though. So far, British Airways was letting me down on the food options (however not the movies. Those selections were awesome). So glad we brought some snacks.

Donut Panic for the win!

After many... many... MANY... hours, we landed in London. Our first priority was to track down some Starbursts. Let me tell you. Starbursts are VEGAN in the UK! Go, England! We stocked up and continued to eat way too many.

We were able to get out and walk around a bit. We didn't have enough time to go inside any of these cool sites but they were neat to see nonetheless.

10 hours of flying does not do well on my appearance.

When we got back to the airport we made sure to eat a decent meal. We ended up at Wagamama in the Heathrow airport. Luckily they had some pretty good options for vegans and even listed which noodles had egg in them. Score!

Michael's dish was the mushroom ramen.

I got the yasai chilli men with udon noodles.

We hopped back on the plane and slept a lot. Luckily we had an extra seat that no one was occupying so we made use of the space...

...well, I at least did.

Time for breakfast (yeah, the time change really messed us up with eating on the trip)! We received a cup of fruit, bread, vegan margarine and coffee creamer, and orange juice. I ate the bread this time. I looked around and everyone on the flight had a different piece of bread so I figured we were fine since ours was different. I'm glad I ate it because I was so hungry. I'm pretty sure this "checked out" (as we say) since neither of us felt sick or anything after eating it.

For dinner we got this cous cous meal. Sorry for the horrible blurry photo. I couldn't get a good shot without turning on the flash and I didn't want to wake everyone up on the flight.

We got this meal on the way home too. It was SO GOOD. The cous cous came with veggies (tomatoes, squash, zucchini) and on the side it came with a cold potato salad, fresh fruit with a raspberry compote, and a roll with margarine. I followed to same rule as before with the bread -- I looked around, saw that everyone else had a different kind of bread, and decided to go for it. This meal was absolutely delicious. The cous cous was so flavorful! I was pissed about the dinner before but this totally made up for it. Thanks, British Airways!

We slept more, watched more movies, and FINALLY arrived in India. Oh crap, we still had ANOTHER plane to catch and then a 6 HOUR cab ride into the jungle. Ugh, I was dreading this trip at this point. You know what though, going into the jungle was so worth it.

Leaving the Nagpur airport to get to Kanha.

The cab ride wasn't so bad. We got to see so many colors and so much culture.

We were getting to see India for the first time and boy was it different. The driving is craaazy. Everyone drives in the middle of the street and swerves around each other, letting out a honk to let everyone else know you're coming. It's the loudest place I've ever been. The cows and dogs in the streets surprised the crap out of me at first but I got used to that really quickly. Cows are everywhere -- sleeping in the street, standing still in the street, hanging out outside someone's home, inside someone's shop, etc. You really can't avoid the cows. I can't even begin to describe the smell of India. We noticed it the second we stepped off the plane (we literally stepped off. Almost every airport had us walk onto the runway). It was a spicy smell with a slight smell of poop. Honestly. Some places had more of a poop smell than others, but it was lingering everywhere. I think this must have to do with all of the animals roaming around. The smell in Nagpur, the airport we landed in, wasn't terrible but it was enough for me to notice it. Ever walk into an Indian market? The country smells like that. Even the jungle smells like that! It bothered me a little at first but I sort of miss it now. We also noticed that India seems to have ongoing construction everywhere. I knew it was a fairly dusty country in some areas but I didn't really know the extent of it. There are piles of rocks, dust, and trash all over the place. It's like someone started to dig a hole to build something and just left the remains on the street. Actually, that IS what happens. Finally, I couldn't get over how colorful this strange and new place was. So many houses and businesses here in the States are so... bland. This place is so full of color and I was loving it. The clothes, buildings, shops, items for sale, EVERYTHING, was so full of color. I couldn't wait to explore more.

The jungle is located really in the middle of nowhere and the last hour or so of our drive into Kanha was through very bumpy and very dusty roads. It was neat to see the small villages positioned randomly through where we were driving. We arrived in Kanha around 10pm or so after that long drive through nothing. The guys working there served us dinner with freshly made daal, roti, chana masala, and bindi masala. This meal was SO. GOOD. I am still thinking about that daal. I can't seem to find a photo at the moment but if I come across one I'll add it in.

Wow, what a long day. Stay tuned for an exciting day 2 in the jungle!

2013-02-04T16:38:00.002-08:00

40 hours of cosmetology school + 25-30 at work = no free time. New recipes will be up soon!

Raw German Chocolate Fudge

2012-12-11T18:57:00.000-08:00

German chocolate + fudge = best idea ever. I wasn't specifically going for german chocolate but I'm not complaining that I ended up where I did. This does require a bit of prep and refrigerator wait time. The end result is amazing, though, so I recommend being patient! This recipe makes around 12 small fudge pieces depending on your pan size.

Fudge
Ingredients:
2 c. dry cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours
1/2 c. cocoa powder
1/4 c. coconut oil, liquified
1/4 c. dates, pitted
1/4 c. liquid sweetener (I used maple syrup)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Instructions:
- Place all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth, scraping the sides down every minute or so. Also, feel free to add your liquid sweetener in slowly and taste as you go. I like a richer fudge taste but everyone has different preferences!
- Place parchment paper in a pan of any size. The smaller you go, the thicker your fudge will be. I chose an odd shaped pan that I have that's slightly larger than a bread loaf pan.
- Spoon thick mixture into pan. It will be hard to spread at this point. Spread as much as you can and pop mixture into freezer.

- Place used food processor to the side. Do not wash it just yet!

German Chocolate Topping
Ingredients:
1/2 c. liquid sweetener (I, again, used maple syrup)
1/4 c. coconut oil, liquified
1/4 c. cocoa powder
1/2 c. walnuts or pecans (I used a mixture of both)

Instructions:
- Using the same food processor you just used, place all ingredients inside. Having a little bit of the leftover fudge inside your bowl is a good thing!
- Blend until mixture is just mixed and nuts are just barely broken down. This should only take a few seconds.

- Take your fudge out of the freezer. This should have hardened up slightly and will be much easier to spread. Use your hands or a clean spatula and spread it out evenly and smoothly.
- Spoon your topping onto your fudge and smooth this out as well.

- Pop into the freezer for at least 30 minutes then in the refrigerator for at least an hour until eaten. This is actually best after sitting chilled overnight, but I suppose an hour will do if you just can't wait!

This recipe is nice because it's easy to play around with. Next time, I may try adding an avocado or two and making a thicker fudge. I didn't want to add in shredded coconut to the topping because of all the coconut oil but feel free to do so if you don't mind all that coconut! This fudge is also very decadent so eat slowly and enjoy every bite.

I'm actually eating a piece as I type this. Mmm.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2012-11-26T16:23:00.001-08:00

Michael and I contintued with our previous tradition of heading up to Native Foods for Thanksgiving since they serve a huge buffet every year. The Native Wellington, pictured below, is a puff pastry filled with seitan, kale, portobellos, orange-glazed yams, stuffing, and carmelized onions. This is always the highlight of their Thanksgiving meal I think I was able to stuff two of these bad boys into my belly. Also pictured -- green bean casserole, polenta butternut squash terrine, corn bread, stuffing, and mashed potatoes. They also served a mushroom gravy, wheatberry waldorf salad, and a green salad with maple glazed pecans.

For dessert, they served pumpkin pie, pumpkin cheesecake, and double chocolate brownies. On the side was some sort of pecan sauce as well as a ginger sauce (I'm not entirely sure of these because they weren't labeled). The pies were AWESOME. The brownies had some strange taste that I wasn't fond of. Not sure what it was but at least I was able to down around 6 pieces of pie.

In the previous years, before dinner, we visited Downtown Disney. We have annual passes now so we decided to not only go to Downtown Disney but also Disneyland and California Adventure. The park was so beautiful and luckily not too busy. I can't wait to go back for Christmas!

How was your Thanksgiving?

2012-11-08T14:05:00.002-08:00

I swear I'm still here! With a lot going on with Michael's schedule, me getting sick, and us going out of town tomorrow, I've been slacking on the recipes.

In the meantime, go make some raw chocolate pudding pie. Yum.

Healthy Oatmeal Cookies

2012-10-09T16:36:00.000-07:00

I love making variations of healthy cookies. I eat them for breakfast, as a snack, or just when I am craving something sweet. I really like these because they're sweetened with dates and taste absolutely delicious. This batch is super easy to make in a food processor. I forgot to write down how many this recipe makes, though! Duh! I think it was around 18 small cookies.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 c. old fashioned rolled oats
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
8 - 10 medjool dates, pitted and soaked for at least an hour
4 tbsp. almond milk
1 tbsp. molasses (I used blackstrap)
3 tbsp. oil or melted margarine
add-ins (I added chocolate chips)

Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Grind up your oats, baking soda, and salt in your food processor. I like my oats somewhat whole so I only processed this mixture for a few seconds.
- Add in your dates, milk alternative, molasses, and oil. Blend this until it becomes a sticky mixture.
- Stir in your add-ins until mixture is well incorporated.

- Place cookie-sized discs onto a greased cookie sheet. These won't spread when baking so shape accordingly.
- Bake for 10 minutes, leave on cookie sheet for 2 minutes while cooling, then transfer to a cooling rack.

- Eat 'em plain, dunk 'em in milk, spread some peanut butter on top... the possibilites are endless. These things are pretty addicting.

Chewy Granola Bars

2012-09-20T13:08:00.001-07:00

We've really been trying to make more food items at home rather than buying them. I've been making a lot of burritos, soups, bread, salsa, etc. I thought today I could try something that I haven't done before -- granola bars. These were my first attempt and they turned out quite nicely I must say. This recipe makes enough bars to fit in a 9 x 13 pan (I cut 18 bars).

Ingredients:
3 c. old fashioned oats (or 2 c. oats and 1 c. puffed cereal)*
1 c. nuts or seeds (I used a combination of chopped almonds, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds)
1 c. chopped dried fruit (I used only dates)
1 c. liquid sweetener (I used 1/2 c. coconut nectar and 1/2 c. maple syrup)
1/2 c. nut butter (I used all natural chunky peanut butter)
2 tbsp. Earth Balance
1 tsp. vanilla extract

optional toppings (I used chocolate chips)

*if making gluten-free, make sure your oats are certified GF.

Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a 9 x 13 pan, toss in your oats and nuts and mix thoroughly. Heat this in the oven, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. If using puffed cereal, you'll add this in at the end with the dried fruit.

- Meanwhile, using a small pot, heat your liquid sweetener, nut butter, and Earth Balance on medium heat until just melted. Add in your vanilla extract. Make sure to stir this occasionally as well.
- When your oats and liquids are ready, mix them together in a large mixing bowl. Add in your dried fruits and stir in. You can just use a spoon for this.
- Lower heat to 300 degrees.
- Place parchment paper in your 9 x 13 pan and spoon in your mixture. You'll want to flatten your mixture down to make even bars. It was easiest for me to use another piece of parchment paper on top and press down with my hands.

- Press in your optional toppings now. You can use a variety of things -- chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, coconut, etc. The possibilities are endless! I only used a small amount of chocolate chips since the dates are sweet enough as is.

- Bake for 15 minutes and then let cool in pan completely.
- When everything is cooled, take your parchment paper with the mixture out. If you find that your parchment paper is sticking, heat up your pan for about a minute and place your mixture back into the pan. Let sit for a minute or so and your paper should come right off! I find that this happens with unbleached parchment paper sometimes.

- Cut bars into whatever size you prefer. I cut 18 bars -- 6 x 3.

- Individually wrap each bar in plastic wrap or just keep them in an air tight container. Be aware that these may stick to each other! I am storing mine in the refrigerator since I used chocolate chips; however, this isn't necessary.

- Eat up!

These things are great for school or work lunches or just a lazy snack at home. They are perfectly sweetened with a touch of saltiness from the peanut butter. These would taste great with almond butter, too. The great thing about granola bars is that you can make so many combinations! This will definitely be my go-to recipe from now on.

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

2012-09-13T08:38:00.000-07:00

This dish is perfect for a cool fall day. For us living in San Diego, however, we just have to deal with eating delicious fall dishes on super hot days. The days have been very warm recently. I am hoping it cools off a bit so I can bust out my fall clothes!

This soup is very easy to make. This serves 2 very large portions or 4 small ones.

Ingredients:
1 large butternut squash, sliced, seeded, and chopped into 1" chunks
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1/2 large onion, roughly chopped
6 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp. ginger
salt, to taste
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 c. - 1 c. milk alternative (I used unsweetened almond milk)

Instructions:
- Toss all ingredients except for the milk into a large pot. Cover your pot and heat on medium heat until your squash and carrots become soft and your onions turn translucent. You may want to stir every so often so your ingredients are evenly cooked.
- When your squash looks like it's breaking down quite a bit, add in your almond milk. I would start at 1/2 c. Depending on your own personal taste, you may want a thicker or thinner soup.
- Use a hand blender and blend your soup until it's super creamy. If you want to add in more milk, do it here.
- Keeping soup covered, let simmer for 10 minutes or until ready to serve.

This soup is awesome. Butternut squash has such an amazing flavor that you don't need much else. Serve with crackers, freshly made whole wheat bread, or as is. In any case, you'll most likely inhale this soup like I did.

Raw Strawberry Cream Pie

2012-09-07T12:13:00.001-07:00

When strawberries go on sale for $0.99/carton, I can't help myself but to buy some! That is normally how my cooking and baking go... I find fruits or vegetables that are on sale or that just look really delicious there in the store, bring them home, and experiment away. It seems to work for me!

This pie is awesome. There is some prep work involved before you start anything. Make sure you soak your cashews and dates in cold water for at least 2 hours (I used the same bowl for this). You'll also want to dice your strawberries and freeze them. You can buy frozen but they probably won't taste as pleasant.

Crust

Ingredients:

1 c. raw almonds

1/2 c. raw walnuts

1/2 c. unsweetened shredded coconut

2 tbsp. raw coconut nectar (or any liquid sweetener)

1 tbsp. coconut oil, melted (plus about a tsp. more for the pie pan)

Instructions:

- Using your fingers or a pastry brush, spread a little bit of melted coconut oil on the bottom and sides of your pie pan.

- Place all ingredients into food processor. Blend this until it becomes a crumbly mixture.

- Push crust mixture into pie pan. It won't be the same consistency as a regular pie crust -- you'll want to press it in and up the sides to form the crust.

- Pop the crust in the freezer while you prepare your pie filling.

Pie
Ingredients:
2 1/2 c. strawberries, frozen
1 1/2 c. cashews, soaked
3 large dates, soaked and pitted
1/4 c. melted coconut oil
1 tbsp. raw coconut nectar (or other liquid sweetener)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Instructions:
- Place all ingredients into food processor. Let this run for a few minutes, scraping down the sides every minute or so. You'll want this to be perfectly creamy so be patient!

- Spread pie mixture into your prepared pie pan and top with fresh strawberries.

- Pop in freezer for at least an hour then keep stored in the refrigerator.

Holy crap, this pie was awesome! It has the consistency of a mix between a pudding pie and a cheesecake. The strawberry flavor is so strong and so amazing that it hardly needs any sweetener! The crust turned out a bit more crumbly than I thought it would and I would probably add 1 tbsp. extra of coconut oil next time. Otherwise, this was perfection in a pie pan!

Chocolate Almond Cupcakes

2012-08-29T13:25:00.001-07:00

I made these cupcakes the other day. It was one of my coworkers last day at work and a friend moved in next door. What a bittersweet day! I decided to make cupcakes for both of them. I used the above recipe for the cupcakes and sort of winged the icing. I used that icing recipe as a base but added things as I saw fit (I like to taste and add accordingly). I also used half shortening and half margarine for a stiffer icing. Mmm.

These cupcakes were perfectly moist with just a hint of almond behind the chocolate flavor. I think that the almond icing complimented them perfectly. I recommend not topping these with a bunch of icing because they're rich enough as is. I just spread a tablespoon or so on top of each.

I love cupcakes, especially when there's chocolate and almond involved.

Bacon/Tomato/Avocado Pizza

2012-08-02T11:40:00.001-07:00

Wow, it's been almost a month since the last time I posted! I've just been busy gettin' married. I wanted to make this post about all the awesome vegan food we had at our wedding, but the photos aren't ready yet. In the meantime, I'll share with you all this awesome pizza Michael and I made the other day. We occasionally get BLTA (bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado) sandwiches at local eateries so I thought I'd make it into a pizza instead! This is without the lettuce and with added onions and red peppers. It was awesome. I used the avocados from the centerpieces from the wedding (yes, our centerpieces were all veggies!). We don't usually eat fake meat products but this bacon doesn't really taste like the real thing. It's actually pretty darn good! I can't remember the brand but it's the kind in the red box.

Here's a preview of our wedding photos. Chuk Nowak is such an awesome friend and photographer. I recommend checking out his work.

I hope everyone is having a fantastic day! I know I am!

Baked Polenta Fries

2012-07-05T14:28:00.002-07:00

It's been taking me a while to post due to me chopping off a chunk of my own finger and also wedding plans. Well, good news! My finger is almost all healed and the wedding is next Saturday! I'll be back in the kitchen before I know it.

Anyway...

Polenta fries are a great alternative to good 'ol potato french fries. Michael and I are huge french fry lovers and we've been looking to try something a bit different (and healthier!). I've been eyeing this polenta from Trader Joe's for sometime now and bought it on a whim.

Ok, I guess you could try making your own polenta, but this stuff is only $2 or something. When you don't have too much free time, like me, it's ok to use pre-packaged polenta (but only if it's TJ's). This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients:
1 package polenta
1-2 tbsp. olive oil
seasonings of your choice

Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Slice up your polenta! I sliced ours pretty thing but if you prefer the creaminess of polenta, I'd recommend leaving them a bit thicker.
- Spread out on a cookie sheet.

- Drizzle in olive oil and seasonings. I added salt, pepper, oregano, parsley, and garlic powder.

- Bake for around 18-25 minutes or until nice and golden. This bake time range is fairly large because yours could take longer depending on the thickness of your polenta fries. Ours only took about 18 minutes.
- Let your fries dry a little on a brown paper bag. The polenta plus oil leaves a bit of moisture on the outside.
- Plate and serve!

These things are AWESOME! I may actually try slicing them a little thicker next time, though.

Cinnamon Swirl Cheesecake

2012-06-18T14:43:00.001-07:00

Happy 25th Birthday to me! To celebrate, I made myself a cheesecake. Luckily Michael doesn't like cheesecake so I got to eat almost this whole thing by myself. My Birthday is the only time I allow myself to eat a whole cake. Awesome.

I used Hannah's recipe since I love her desserts so much. I omitted the chocolate chips which I sort of regret doing. I think that messed with the consistency of the crust -- it sort of caramelized on the bottom. The crust tasted delicious but it was very hard to cut and bite through. Oh well, at least the cheesecake itself was amazing. I also measured out 1/2 cup of the batter and mixed in 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. I swirled this cinnamon mixture on the top of the cheesecake. Feel free to add a little bit of this cinnamon mixture in layers throughout your batter for a more swirled effect throughout the whole cake.

So excited about this cheesecake...

Ok, ok, back to the swirl.

Ooooh this cheesecake was so good. Next time, though, I think I'll stick with a graham cracker crust. Even though I screwed up the crust, I recommend making this. Hannah makes some awesome desserts and, in my opinion, this one tops the list.

Healthy and Flourless Black Bean Brownies

2012-05-23T21:13:00.000-07:00

Yes, you read the title right. These are black bean brownies! They are moist, decadent, rich, and made with no flour!

This recipe makes enough for a 9 x 13 pan of brownies. You could be like Michael and I and cut them so large you only get 12 brownies out of the whole pan. Either way, it makes a whole pan's worth.

Ingredients:
4 c. black beans, cooked, rinsed, and drained (you can use canned or dried. I used dried)
8 medjool dates, soaked for at least an hour and pitted*
1/2 c. nut butter of your choice (I used tahini)
1 1/4 c. almond milk
1/2 c. unsweetened natural applesauce
1 c. cocoa powder
1/4 c. flaxseed meal
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
optional add-ins: chocolate chips, dried fruit, chopped nuts, etc.

* You may want to add in more dates depending on your personal preference. Since we like our brownies pretty rich and tasting like dark chocolate, I only added 5 plus a scoop of stevia. Feel free to taste your batter and add in more sweetener or dates if you prefer.

Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Puree your black beans and dates in your food processor until it becomes a thick and creamy consistency. You may need to add a little almond milk to help this process along.
- Once your beans and dates are blended, add in all ingredients except any add-ins you may have. Process until mixed.
- Using a spoon or spatula, fold in your add-ins. I used chocolate chips.
- Spread batter into a greased 9 x 13 pan. I pressed a few chocolate chips on top as well.

- Bake for around 25 minutes, making sure to test with a toothpick. This may take longer depending on your pan.
- Let cool completely before cutting. You don't want these falling apart!

I can't believe how good these were! I've been experimenting with healthy desserts and I think I have a winner here. Michael pretty much inhaled a brownie when he came home earlier. When I asked him what he thought these were made from, he couldn't even guess. He was shocked to find out these are made mainly from black beans. Awesome!

Lavender Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream

2012-05-17T11:17:00.000-07:00

I made these yummy cupcakes for a work meeting. We were having a coffee tasting and I wanted to make sure that I had something to eat during that tasting. I chose these specific flavors because of what paired well with the coffee we were tasting. Turns out they were perfect! I used this recipe for the cupcakes and this recipe for the lemon buttercream. I ended up making two dozen regular-sized cupcakes and baked them for around 22 minutes.

The lemon buttercream was the best I've ever had. It was SO GOOD! The lavender cupcakes were great, too. They definitely had a unique floral taste that paired well with the citrus icing. The cupcakes were perfectly fluffy and moist. Mmm.

Peanut Butter Filled Chocolate Cookies, again

2012-05-01T17:39:00.000-07:00

Remember these peanut butter filled chocolate cookies? Yeah, I made them again. This time, though, I sprinkled a little bit of sea salt and sugar on top. They were requested by my brother, a bodybuilder, who was finally done with his prep and could eat sweets again.

If you mail goodies out to family or friends, I recommend choosing these. They held up nicely in the 2000 mile journey! If you don't mail goodies out, I recommend just making these. Make a lot and eat them all by yourself. Seriously, go.

Healthy Breakfast Cookies

2012-04-06T10:20:00.001-07:00

You all are very aware that I need sweets in my life. I've been craving vegan cheesecake, tiramisu, chocolate chip cookies, etc. Of course, since I am getting married in July, I can't eat all of these things. I need to look good for my wedding, after all! I made these healthy cookies a while back and thought I'd try to revamp them. I've had these pure fig bars in my pantry for some time now and thought maybe I could try using them in these cookies. Turns out I had a pretty good idea because figs give these babies a nice little crunch! This recipe makes 36 cookies.

Ingredients:
2 c. gluten-free flour (I used Bob's all purpose)
2 c. rolled old-fashioned oats
1 c. raw almonds
4 tbsp. flaxseed meal
2 tsp. baking soda
dash of salt and cinnamon
2 scoops pure stevia (featured in this recipe)*

1/2 c. all natural unsweetened applesauce, room temperature
1 1/4c. almond milk, room temperature
3 tbsp. liquified coconut oil
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tsp. pure almond extract
mix-ins of choice (I chose 1 c. chocolate chips and 2 of these fig bars)

*If you don't have pure stevia, don't fret! Use any sweetener you prefer -- just make sure you reduce the liquid or the dry ingredients, depending on your sweetener.

Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Using a food processor, grind up your oats and almonds until it becomes a flour-like consistency. Add in other dry ingredients and process until just mixed.
- In your stand mixer bowl, mix your liquid ingredients. Make sure your almond milk is room temperature or warm or else your coconut oil will solidify!
- Slowly incorporate your dry into your wet ingredients, mixing it until just combined.

- Drop spoonfuls of dough onto a greased cookie sheet. Keep in mind these don't spread out so you can place them fairly close together!

- Bake for 8 minutes, let sit on cookie sheet for 1 minute, then transfer to cooling racks.

These aren't as sweet as your average chocolate chip cookie, but they're still sweet enough to fulfill my cravings! They're denser, too, so a little goes a long way. Keep these stored in your freezer and pop one in your lunch bag or eat it on your way to work. It can't get any easier!

French Toast

2012-03-11T12:02:00.000-07:00

I miss the days of going out to eat and getting a delicious batch of french toast. Not many places around where we live have vegan breakfast so I tend to make my own. I normally make waffles or scrambled tofu but decided to venture out and make some french toast! This recipe makes around 8 slices, depending on how thick your slices of bread is. I used some cinnamon apple bread that we got from a local health foods store and the slices were pretty thin.

Ingredients:
1 banana
1/4 c. tahini
1 c. almond milk
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. oil

Instructions:
- Blend all of your ingredients until it is a thick and smooth consistency. I used my food processor but you can use a hand blender or even a fork. Just make sure to get your banana completely mashed up.
- Dip each slice of bread into your batter and cook on a greased pan on medium-high heat.
- Flip each slice after a few minutes. Your bread should be nice and browned.

- Serve with maple syrup, powdered sugar, jam, or whatever topping you prefer.

Best vegan french toast ever. That's all I can say about this.

Boston Cream Pie

2012-03-06T12:08:00.001-08:00

I know it's been almost a month, but I guess I forgot to post this! Since Michael and I only eat sweets on the holidays, I decided to make a Boston Cream Pie for Valentine's Day. I've never even made a regular Boston Cream Pie back when I wasn't vegan, so I made sure to really scope out a good recipe. I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out wonderfully!

My cake didn't rise as much as the original poster's did, but that's ok. This tasted exactly like those dairy-filled Boston Cream Pies I used to eat back in the day. The cake was light and fluffy, the filling sweet and creamy, and the ganache so rich and decadent. It took a bit of time making this but it was definitely worth every minute.

Raw Mini "Cheesecakes"

2012-02-28T21:09:00.000-08:00

Michael and I got some new toys with our wedding shower gift cards...

We haven't busted out the new juicer yet but I wasted no time on the food processor. My old one didn't get every little grain pulverized like food processors should. The thing was free, though, and I never complained. We got a new one that comes with a mini bowl (which I can't wait to use!!). After making these mini cheesecakes, I am so happy that I chose this food processor. It's awesome! Anyway, on to the food. This recipe makes around 12-15 mini cheesecakes, or 1 whole pie. I recommend making the filling first and then the crust. I'll explain below.

Ingredients for pie filling:
2 c. dry cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours
1 zucchini, shredded and de-seeded (yes, a zucchini!)
1 lemon, juiced and zested (is "zested" a word?)
1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract
3/4 . coconut oil, liquified
1 scoop pure stevia*

*This isn't technically raw but is still an awesome product. I high recommend this stuff, however, feel free to use any liquid sweetener if you prefer. Make sure to cut back on your coconut oil or up your zucchini or cashews if you go the liquid route.

Ingredients for crust:
1 1/4 c. raw almonds
1/4 c. raw pecans
2 tbsp. shredded unsweetened coconut
1 tbsp. water
1 tsp. raw coconut nectar (or any other liquid sweetener of your choice)

Instructions:
- Blend all of your filling ingredients in your food processor until it is very creamy. This will take quite a few minutes and a lot of wiping the sides down. Be patient!

- Place your filling into a bowl. Set aside. Don't clean out food processor!

- Place crust ingredients into your food processor, with the leftover filling, and blend until it becomes crumbly. The reason I do it this way is because having a bit of the filling in the crust makes for a very delicious cheesecake. The crust also holds up better this way.

- Ball up some of the crust and pat down into lined muffin tins. I actually used a tiny bit more than what is pictured. You'll probably have a little bit of leftover crust.

- Spoon your filling into each muffin tin.

- Place into your freezer for at least 30 minutes and then your refrigerator until your ready to eat. Peel away the liners and top with whatever you choose. I actually whipped up a mixture of blackberries, blueberries, coconut nectar, and lemon juice.

This was just so...

... so good. Seriously, this is the best version of a raw "cheesecake" I think I have ever made. There were no bits of cashews like in my previous versions which made for a super creamy filling. The crust was the perfect texture and taste and the topping just made it all come together perfectly. I might add a bit more lemon juice next time, but of course I can never keep recipes the way they were the first (or second) time :)

Carne Asada Fries

2012-02-13T17:12:00.000-08:00

Oooh, carne asada fries. These are a popular dish down here in San Diego, and after eating some vegan carne asada at a local restaurant, I knew I was going to have to try making it. I picked up this jar of spices at Sprouts to make my carne asada fries endeavor a little easier.

Ingredients:

1/4 c. white vinegar

1/4 c. olive oil

juice from 1 orange (around 1/4 c.)

2 tbsp. lemon juice

2 tbsp. lime juice

2 1/2 tbsp. carne asada spice mixture

Instructions:

- Mix all ingredients in a bowl.

- Pour into a baggie with 1 package of tempeh, cubed. Try to squeeze as much of the air out as you can before sealing.

- Let your mixture marinate overnight.
- When tempeh is done marinating, cook a bag of french fries (we cooked Whole Foods crinkle cut).
- While fries are cooking, sauté tempeh over medium-high heat until browned on all sides.
- Place tempeh on top of almost cooked french fries. Sprinkle with vegan cheese (I recommend Daiya) and sprinkle a tiny bit of carne asada spices on top.
- Let cook until cheese is melted slightly, around 10 minutes.

- Spoon fries into a bowl and top with salsa, guacamole, and vegan sour cream. I only had salsa so that's all I used.

This obviously isn't the healthiest of meals, but it sure is one of the most delicious. It usually works that way though, doesn't it? I made a Boston Cream Pie yesterday (recipe will be posted soon), which is pretty much all sugar and flour, and is one of the most delicious cakes I have made. Ok, back to carne asada fries. Go make these.