Lets start where all great road trips start. Packing and making a picnic lunch. There are several traditions that we always so when we make a road trip to North Carolina. The first is that we always leave late. The second is that we always make sandwiches and deviled eggs. I no longer eat eggs, so I didn't partake, but I will post my dad's recipe so you can make them if you still eat them. I have yet to make egg salad with tofu, but when I do, you will be getting a post about it because it will be very exciting.
My brother and I used to get really excited when we got to cook in the kitchen when we were little. I was tall enough that I could reach the counter, but my brother couldn't and he had to stand on a chair. This is one of those recipes that we made every time we took a car trip and I have many very good memories of late nights and early mornings making these eggs.
Deviled Egg Recipe (NON-VEGAN)
6 hard boiled eggs
1 to 1 1/2 cups Hellman's mayonnaise
(It has to be Hellman's. That is the only mayo that my dad likes and the only mayo that he will put on his deviled eggs.)
1-3 Tablespoons of yellow mustard
salt
pepper
Hard boil the eggs, then let them cool in ice water.
After they are completely cooled, peel them and cut them in half lengthwise.
Take the yolks out carefully so you don't tear the whites.
Mash the yolks with a fork and mix in the mayonnaise and mustard until you have a creamy, bright yellow mixture.
Add a tiny bit of salt and pepper to taste and carefully spoon the mixture into each egg white.
Chill and serve.
So what did I have if I didn't eat the eggs?
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| Picnic food at its finest. The pink stuff in the water bottle is watered down watermelon lemonade. |
I made roasted red pepper hummus, lettuce, cucumber, and olive sandwiches. I was trying to use up the fresh produce we had in the fridge, so this is what I came up with. I packed some Campari tomatoes, watermelon, apricots, cantaloupe, and black pepper pop-corn to go along with my sandwiches. I also brought along several Larabars, dried apricots, dried mango, and dried kiwi for snacks in the car. It was a really fantastic picnic lunch at an Alabama rest area.
I ended up listening to my Oldies and New Age playlists on my ipod as well as reading The Return of Sherlock Holmes for a majority of the drive. I slept a few times when I couldn't keep my eyes open, but not more than 1.5 hours of the trip saw me with my eyes closed. I really love these Sherlock Holmes short stories. I have been slowly reading them over the past year. I love the way Doyle introduces new characters and the descriptive adjectives he utilizes in nearly every sentence. A few of my favorite words he has used: Meretricious and Crepuscular. Also my new favorite quote from The Adventure of the Empty House is: “My dear Watson,” said the well-remembered voice, “I owe you a thousand apologies. I had no idea that you would be so affected.”
We arrived in 11 hour and 30 minutes, exhausted, hungry, and ready for bed.
On Thursday, the next day, we did what everyone does when they arrive for the summer: go grocery shopping. The only things we had in the house were some foods my aunt had brought over the day before: a few cartons of vegan soup (yay!), a roasted chicken (not for me!), several different types of mustard, tomato sauce, bagels, cream cheese, and some dressings and sauces for salads and cooking.
My mom and I spent over 2 hours shopping. We had to get all the staples like bread, onions, lettuce as well as my vegan staples like tofu, beans, rice, and pasta. We also had to buy detergent and charcoal and foil, so we were there for a long, long time. After two loads of laundry, a wonderful lunch, and a nap, we traveled to Brevard and saw the music center's Opera's Greatest Hits. It was a spectacular performance. I really wanted to leave by the end because I was so tired of sitting.
Breakfast was Angel Hair with a really fantastic jarred sauce from Muir Glenn. It was heavily mushroom flavored and thick with chunks of veggies. It tasted exactly like the sauce from Chef Boyardee Beef Ravioli, but without the beefiness. I don't usually use premade sauces, but this one was really fantastic, organic, and vegan!
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| This mix of refried beans, sour cream, and cheese was delightful to eat with my quesadillas. |
Lunch and dinner consisted of homemade vegan quesadillas using Gardein Beefless Tips, La Preferrida Vegetarian Refried Beans, Follow Your Heart Vegan Sour Cream, Go Veggie Vegan Mozzarella Shreds, Mild Salsa, Kalamata Olives, Flour soft tacos, and olive oil. I adore the sour cream. This was the first time I used it and I wish they sold it at stores at home. I am on the fence about the mozzarella shreds though. They taste fine when I eat them right out of the bag, but once they melt, they have a really oily and drippy consistency that I don't really care for.
On Friday, my dad and I went for a hike. I tried to take some pictures of the beautiful rhododendron blossoms, but the dim lighting from the overcast sky make all the pictures too blurry. My dad and I walked about three miles before we rand into my mom and I continued back to the house to make a phone call and my parents continued hiking. It was a much harder hike than I was expecting. My left leg was cramping and being a nuisance as we climbed up the hill, and the bugs kept dive-bombing my head because of the floral scent from my conditioner, but it was a really fantastic hike. I sweated completely through my clothes by the time I got back (it was only an hour and 10 minutes that I actually hiked, so we went at a pretty good pace). I had forgotten how much thinner the air is in the mountains compared to below sea level. In the end, I think I did well and I can't wait to do more hiking in the coming weeks.
Breakfast was leftovers from dinner yesterday. I really loved that sour cream with the refried beans. So yummy!
I tried a new Tasty Bite pouch for lunch and did not like it very much. It was the Thai Basil Noodle pouch and it was really spicy and didn't taste like basil at all. It was also very oily and it make my stomach a little upset, so I won't be repurchasing that flavor.
I also had a few apricots and watermelon that I split with my mom. Some of the apricots were super ripe and others were super not.
I stumbled upon an awesome "accidentally vegan" junk food at Ingles: Barbeque Flavored Mini Rice Cakes. They are ridiculously good. I've really been craving crunchy things recently, but most of the chips at the store are either covered in dairy or they are ridiculously oily. These Ingles brand snacks were the perfect balance of sweet and salty with that wonderful crunch and none of that nasty oily aftertaste. I highly recommend them if you are in an area with Ingles stores.
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| Lilies in the garden. |
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| A new hairstyle I tried. I'm sorry it is so blurry! It is done with two rope braids pinned together. Look at the little curl by my ear. They always happen when I don't want them, but when I do, they never show up. |
This is the video I used to do my hair. Hers looks so much better, but I tried.
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| Our little bat friend that lives on our porch. |
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