Vegan, Vegan, What do you see?

Vegan, Vegan, What do you see?

I see vegan sausages.
I see vegan pizza.
I see vegan ice cream.
I see vegan food everywhere.

For too long being vegan in paradise meant that food had to be made from scratch all the time! Vegan convenience foods were no where to be found. This is changing, over the past few weeks I have been so pleased to find  the variety improving along with accessibility.

Field Roast Sausages

I first saw this item in Grand Bahama and was overjoyed to see it in my local Solomon's Fresh Market. This was awesome served in gravy over grits for breakfast and then simply fried with Patatas Bravas (a recipe I found on The Minimalist Baker's blog). It is very expensive, but good for an occasional treat.
                                                 

Daiya Pizza

I had taken to ordering a cheese-less pizza from my local pizza place, but never found this particularly satisfying. I then, started making my own pizza (Best Recipe Ever-Deep Dish Pizza in But I Could Never Go Vegan). I love making my own pizza, but there are times when I feel like eating but not cooking. Enter my new favorite, Daiya Pizza from SUPER VALUE Winton. When I saw this in the freezer I did a happy dance and even squealed. I had heard about it, but never had the pleasure. So worth it!! I had the Roasted Vegetable, but will be going back to try the others.


                                               

Now to the best part-- Ice Cream! I love Ice Cream! I have missed Ice Cream! Yes, I bought an ice cream maker and a ice cream cook book. Unfortunately, I have never been successful with this. I had the great fortune to try So Delicious Ice Cream while visiting Florida, so I was happy to celebrate my birthday with the almond chocolate bars. Dinner was made complete with the Mocha Almond Fudge flavor. The items are pricey, think over ten dollars for a pint of ice cream. This will be a rare treat for me. You can find this at Solomon's Fresh Market at Harbour Bay.

                                                    

I have seen some other items that I plan to try as soon as I can. I love cooking at home, but am glad to see the variety of vegan foods expanding.

A Good Food Day

                          

What makes a good food day for you?

On a day when I have been particularly virtuous I feel like I have had a good food day. You know what I mean oats for breakfast, and lots of fruits and vegetables throughout the day. The cookbook, A Good Food Day by Marco Canora seems to have pretty much the same ideas that I have about what good food is.

Good food simply makes you feel good.

Lately, I have been eating only foods that promise to make me feel good, this means that I have slowed down considerably in my consumption of sweets. A Good Food Day is by no means a vegan cookbook, but subconsciously, I think it acknowledges that a plant based diet is the best way to feel good. A good many of the recipes are vegan by chance or design and are pretty good. I veganized the Whole Wheat Rigatoni with Porcini Mushrooms and Baby Spinach (p. 155) by eliminating the cheese and using Earth Balance Butter. The flavors were like nothing I had ever eaten, rich and earthy. I plan to try a few more recipes, veganizing those that need that extra special attention.

The ideas of the author are ones that all of us could pay more attention to. Cook real, quality food and enjoy what you eat. I plan to do this more and have a few more good food days.