Vince and I got up super early to have breakfast with our friends before they headed home to LA and Saskatoon. It was so nice to finally meet Asheligh after all the amazing things we had heard about her. Never have I met such a fun, sweet, honest, charming gal. I really liked her and she seems like a great match for our friend Dan. In the 5 years that I have known him, I have never seen him like this about a girl; totally smitten and real. It makes me so happy to see other people enjoying what Vince and I have; true love. Awwww, ok you can all quietly throw up in your mouths now while I get to the real goods. The Food.
I am going to back track a bit here because I realized I haven't yet posted our Thanksgiving feast! Well, it's actually just a realy crappy, dimly lit photo of my plate because I was the only one enjoying a cruelty free me. Let me tell yo, it was flippin' amazing. I out did myself, the seitan was to die for, the onion gravy was super delicious, the stuffing rocked and the roasted squash & rutabaga were seasoned to perfection. You know, not to toot my own horn or anything but I follow directions beautifully. I honsetly cannot take full credit for the meal since most of my recipes were found online, well I guess it was really only two, the
seitan and the
onion gravy (scroll down to Angie V's post). The stuffing I made a while ago and had it frozen in the freezer so I just thawed it for a bit, then cooked it for 30 mins with the seitan and the veggies were super easy, cubed them into 1 inch peices, tossed in some garam masala, garlic salt, extra cinnamon, ground ginger and olive oil and baked for 60 mins. Over all it was a pretty simple dinner but it really hit the spot and I cannot wait until morning because Kelly and I are totally making this for breakfast, smothered in gravy.
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| Turkeyless Thanksgiving Dinner! |
Ok now back to our breakfast with Dan, Asheligh, Dave, Marijane, Myself and Vince. Shine cafe has always had a vegan option but they had changed their menu since I was there last. It was so much better, more to choose from and they all sounded fantastic. I had the Bean&Rice "sausage", sauteed spinach and garlic, sweet chili sesame tofu and hashbrowns. All of the flavours went so well together and aside from the sweet chili sauce it was totally candida friendly; yay! I am trying to get back to my diet since my body is ever so grateful when I follow it.
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| Shine Cafe; Karin's Brunch |
Now for my office Christmas party dinner which we had at the Delta Ocean Pointe Resort. I was kind of dreading going since I haven't been at work in 2.5 months and was really nervous to see everyone. I was also nervous to have to ask for my own special food even though my boss told me ahead of time it would be no problem for me to do so, I just get anxious about silly little things like that. Anyways, I decided to call ahead of time and notify the banquet staff that I would require a seperate meal. I explained to them that I was vegan, have some food allergies and other than that I am really not picky so whatever they could come up with, I would be alright with that.
I was pleasantly surprised with what I was served, it far exceeded my expectations. I thought I would end up with a salad or steamed vegetables. The rest of the party was buffet style so as everyone got up to get their food, I sat and waited for mine to be served to me. Kind of awesome, really. When the waitress came out with a tiny ass salad I had a moment of panic...in my head I am thinking "Are they for real, this is all they are going to serve me" (I have learned to not expect much in these types of situations) but as she set the plate in front of me I heard her say "Here is your appetizer, let me know when you are ready for the main dish". I squeeled inside a little.
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| Springs Green salad atop golden beets with a lemon, olive oil drizzle |
I wanted more of that salad. It was so delicious and I could have eaten 3 or more platefuls. Onto my main dish, as I saw it coming all I could see was a bowl full of what looked like peas and was a little worried. I am not a huge fan of peas but they were sweet peas which I do quite enjoy. The dish had a lot of flavour and was very creamy, I was a tad frightened by that thinking maybe they had put butter or something in it but I think risotto is just like that naturally? At least I am hoping so. ;)
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| Sweet Pea Risotto garnished with Pea Shoots |
Last but not least is my dessert plate. The one thing I forgot to mention on the phone was that I couldn't have any type of sugar, even natural sugars but I didn't want to say anything when they set the plate infront of me filled with fruit. The staff there were amazing, they did everything they could to ensure I enjoyed myself and had plenty to eat. I am so thankful that I was able to eat alongside everyone else and not feel the the weird girl who just drank tea all night ;) Even though I wasn't supposed to have fruit, I did anyway. I have been pretty bad at following my diet lately and figured some fresh fruit wouldn't kill me and I have missed it dearly.
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| Fruit plate with raspberry puree |
There you have it, all this delicious food went in my mouth over that past 2 days. The best part is I only cooked one of the meals. One of my favorite things is when I don't have to cook for myself, I love making food but I hate cleaning up. The other day Vince asked me if I was super rich would I love to have a personal chef? While it does sound tempting, I would much prefer a personal assistant or dishwasher.
With only two more days of MoFo left, I am getting a mild sense of relief but also a wee bit sad. I have quite enjoyed blogging almost daily, acquiring more followers and reading so many other awesome vegan blogs. I even found another vegan blog in my city
MyWholeDeal, so I thought that was pretty neat.
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