Healing Rain on a Sunny Day: Trip to NC Summer 2014 Part Five

July 18 - July 29

So, it has been a while since I posted a tip update. After our week at Kanuga, we have been enjoying being back at our house. It rained almost every day for a week, but we have gotten out to hike a few times. The weather has been really fantastic recently and hiking has been enjoyable.

So... Pictures and descriptions!

I've been really loving the Gardein meatless products, including these chicken fingers that I made into a sandwich using Vegenaise, Mustard, and Ketchup with Go Veggie! Cheddar Vegan Cheese on olive bread. I adore olive bread and I eat it all the time!

I did go to the store a few times over the summer and decided to do a haul post. Here's the products I got at the store.

Three Words: Hot Dog Pasta.
I really love making this because it's simple, filling, and satisfying. I have been making versions of this since middle school and the toppings have ranged everywhere from barbeque sauce and green onions to butter and garlic. What remains the same is the hot dog and the pasta. In this version I combined sliced Tofurky dogs with Go Veggie! Cheddar Vegan Cheese, ketchup, mustard, Vegenaise, and garlic dill pickles with angel hair pasta. This lasted me two meals (don't worry! I didn't eat it all at once) and was even better as leftovers.

Next you can see the driveway going through the stream. There is a log stuck at the little drop off of the ford, but it will get knocked down in one of the really hard rains.

Selfie time! I'm horrible at taking selfies, as you can see from the look of intense concentration on my face and the randomness of my ukulele in the background. I wanted to see how my hair looked when I had had it in braids for over 24 hours. This was the result... it frizzed out into a huge tangle by the end of the day, but at first, my hair was gorgeous! I wish it would do this when I wanted it to!

And..... a selfie with my ukuleke. I LOVE my little uke. I bought it a few years ago off Amazon for $26 and I adore it to death. I changed the strings (Aquilla, I think) and the sound is pretty great. The C string doesn't like to stay in tune, but besides that, I love it.

This was a strange meal. Tofurkey dogs on dark rye with Go Veggie! Pepperjack Vegan Cheese, Vegenaise, and Mustard. To go with that? A not very ripe nectarine and an overripe banana. Like I said, strange meal.

My next cooking adventure was much yummier! Vegan Lasagna! This one was made with tomato sauce, daiya cream cheese (this stuff is nasty by itself... almost sweet enough to be cream cheese icing), yellow squash, and spicy tomato paste.

My mom and I went into town and went shopping. While we were out, we went to a Japanese restaurant for lunch. I had fried tofu and vegetable fried rice. My mom had miso soup and vegetable fried rice. Here's an akward picture my mom took.

And an ear selfie so you can see my new earings! I got them at Tribal traditions in Hendersonville for $8. I adore them! I love dream catchers, and own several, so this was exciting to find them as earrings. The first dream catcher I bought was when I was in middle school. My class went to the Natchez burial mounds for a festival and I bought a dream catcher necklace. I still have it hanging on my wall near my bed.

Next looks strange. I bought a frozen Amy's no cheese vegetable pizza at the Fresh Market, then added my own vegan cheese. They are all Daiya and all different. The yellow is cheddar slices. It was the best with a super smooth melty goo. The white blob is cream cheese with basil and garlic powder to make it taste better. It was ok. The last were mozzarella shreds. They were good, but not the best.

When I was at school, my favorite thing to get after midnight for hunger was a Cookout Cheese Dog. This is a hotdog bun with cheese, chili, coleslaw, and onions. No hot dog in sight. They are messy, gooey, and 99 cents. I would buy two, cheese fries, hush puppies and a huge sweet tea for about $8. I was craving some good old comfort food the other day and I made some hot dogs a la Cookout. Here you see tofurkey dogs with daiya cheddar slices, Amy's vegan chili, diced onion, and lots and lots of mustard on whole wheat buns (they were the only vegan buns at the store and they tasted like cardboard... they were disgusting). This was super yummy and I will definitely be making them again in the future.

Here you can see me in front of an observational helicopter used in Vietnam. I went to see Miss Saigon at Flatrock Playhouse and this was part of the exhibit. My mom knew a bunch of people who were in Vietnam and my Uncle was in the Navy, so this was a pretty emotional show. It is a retelling of Madam Butterfly set in Vietnam. I loved the idea, but the music wasn't my favorite.

I made beans on toast, but with cheese and mustard and the beans went everywhere! It was probably the messiest thing I've eaten in weeks. I was spilling beans all over the table... next time I will start off with a fork.