Sheridan's Birthday Fun!

My BFF Sheridan's birthday is August 8, so she and her husband Drew came to Memphis over the weekend to celebrate. They arrived on Friday in time for lunch (they live in Little Rock, about two hours away), and we'd already placed a pre-order for vegan meals from Shroomlicious (an awesome vegan ghost kitchen pop-up!). Shroomlicious doesn't have a place to eat, so we took our food to Grind City Brewing to enjoy with beers. Here's Sheridan and Drew.

Here I am with my sandwich!

I had the Philly Cheesesteak with mushrooms, onions, and vegan cheese. So good!

I thought I wanted to eat lightly because I knew we had fun dinner plans too. And I didn't want to get super full at lunch. But turns out I was still hungry after just a sandwich (should have gotten fries). Luckily, they shared some of their tasty Vegan Eel Wings with me. These were made with fried oyster mushrooms, and they were perfect!

After lunch, we explored the Crystal Shrine Grotto (an awesome crystal cave at Memorial Park Cemetery), and then we went to Soul and Spirits Brewing to drink more beer and play darts. 

Paul joined us when he got off work!

We had dinner plans at Good Fortune Co., but Paul was tired from work, so he went home after the brewery while we went on to dinner. Good Fortune has, hands down, the best vegan food in Memphis!

I ordered some Charred Edamame as an appetizer. This stuff is amazing. It's served with chili salt for dipping, and I can never get enough.

For my entree, I ordered the Coco Curry Ramen with extra tofu. They have three vegan ramen bowls (all with handmade noodles), and I've now tried all three. I think this one is my fave so far. I loved that curry broth!

To drink, I had Sake Masu, which is served in a wooden box. There's a whole ritual around it that's pretty cool.

We ended the night with pinball at Flip Side. And then the next day, we got up super early to grab breakfast at Brother Juniper's before they had to leave.

We all ordered the Spicy Tofu, which is served atop home fries (with more on the side) and is loaded with jalapenos! Nice and spicy!

I love my best friend! We only see each other a few times a year, and we always have so much fun!

A Love Letter to Bread

Dear bread,

You're the best. I want to eat you every day. And I pretty much do, because I have to bake every week with my sourdough starter. Let's never break up, okay? Sorry you have to deal with gluten-haters. I'll never turn my back on you.

Your biggest fan,
Bianca

This is yet another post dedicated to bread. If you don't eat gluten, I'm sorry. But I eat a lot of it because I'm always baking bread these days. Here's some very tasty Eggy Avocado Toast from The Fiber-Fueled Cookbook. Homemade sourdough, eggy tofu, everything bagel seasoning, and homemade pink kraut.

I tried two sandwiches with sourdough from Plant You. The Tempeh TLT has smoky tempeh bacon with hints of cumin. A really solid tempeh bacon recipe! Plus, cashew mayo!

And the Smashed Chickpea Salad Sandwich from Plant You was equally tasty. Rather than a typical mayo-based chickpea salad, this one has a tahini sauce and lots of onions, plus my homegrown broccoli sprouts.

And here's a tasty breakfast from The Fiber-Fueled Cookbook — Veggie Scramble with Sourdough. The veggie scramble is really a tofu scram with local zucchini and spinach. Dr. B recommends eating this with sourdough, and he didn't have to tell me twice. I had some homemade kraut on the side.

Banana Blossom "Fish"

A few months ago, I got a bunch of free product coupons from vegan bodybuilder Robert Cheeke's care packages (he sends out the BEST boxes, check him out). Several were for Upton's Naturals, so I used one to get these Banana Blossoms. 

I had no idea what to do with banana blossoms, but the back of the box had a vegan fish recipe that involved battering and deep-frying the blossoms. I don't deep fry much anymore, but I figured what the heck? The blossoms come packed in brine and look like this. Not terribly appetizing looking.

For the recipe, you marinate the blossoms in lemon and kelp (I used dulce because I didn't have kelp), coat the blossoms in flour and then coat them in a wet batter before dropping into hot oil. Now, I should clarify that, back when I was writing Cookin' Crunk, I used to deep fry quite often. It's very Southern, and let's be honest, nothing tastes as good as deep-fried. But I must have lost those skills when I cut back on oil because my blossoms didn't get super crispy. I don't think my oil was hot enough.

Anyway, I blotted out some oil and tried them. And well, they weren't terrible. But also not great. The texture reminded me a lot of jackfruit, which I'm not crazy about. I've had some really good jackfruit that was super dry, but most jackfruit is too moist and briny for me. And this was quite similar. They also would have been better if I'd fried in hotter oil for maybe a longer time. On the side, I had coleslaw, "chips" (aka fries) with malt vinegar and ketchup, and homemade tartar sauce.

Smash Burger, Mac, & Melons!

Shroomlicious, a Memphis vegan ghost kitchen serving up some very tasty mushroom-y meals, expanded their hours recently, and now they're open Thursdays and Fridays until 6 p.m. That meant I could stop by after my Thursday gym session for a Smash Burger! This Impossible patty melt has onions and mushrooms smashed in to the patty, and it's topped with vegan cheese. SO GOOD! This was only my second time ordering, and I will be trying everything now that it's open later.

Here's a quick, easy weeknight meal of Upton's Bacon Cheesy Mac (which tasted like bacon heaven) and steamed kale.

I picked up this Savory Scone from LuLu's on Saturday, and I ate it in my car after my long run. I can't remember what all was in it, but I know there were jalapenos. And the white stuff is cashew cream. Yum!

And finally, check this out! Paul and I planted one cantaloupe plant back in April, and it's finally made ripe melons. We've picked two this week, and there are two more big one ripening on the vine. Our first time growing melons!

Sourdough Pizza, Mushroom Ramen, & Ice Cream!

Now that I'm officially obsessed with sourdough, I'm constantly needing to make recipes that use up my sourdough discard (the stuff you pour out every day when you feed your starter). Last week, I made the Sourdough Pizza Crust from The Fiber Fueled Cookbook and then used that crust to make Tuscan Flatbread (also in the book). 

It's topped with artichokes, kalamata olives, tomatoes, red onion, chickpeas, fresh basil, and a homemade cashew parm. This was amazing! We had a friend drop by our house on his way back home to Atlanta as the pie was coming out of the oven, and he ate two pieces (and then asked for a third because he loved it that much). 

A while back, Kroger had Wicked Foods products on sale, so I picked up the Shiitake Ramen Broth. The pack just comes with broth and dried veggies, but you have to supply your own noodles and other add-ins. I added Ocean's Halo ramen and some tofu and edamame. The broth was tasty, but it much sweeter than I expected. And I put Bragg's on my tofu as it cooked, so once added to the bowl, this was a little too salty as well. I still ate it all though! But I probably wouldn't buy that broth again.

Last week, on my Raw Girls visit, they finally had the Coconut Stir-fry in stock. This is a cooked dish that it's very tasty eaten cold. It has cauliflower rice with squash, zucchini, and cashews in a tasty coconut sauce. 

And the Sunday before last was National Ice Cream Day, so I had a Nada Moo Birthday Cake Ice Cream Cone! I didn't realize (until I checked the ingredients) that generic storebought waffle cones were vegan. But all the ones that Kroger had were! 

Philly Cheesesteak, a Raw Cheescake, and a Big Ass Salad

Last Friday, I spent the day cleaning and grocery shopping, and by the end of all that, I was hungry and too tired to cook. So I called in a takeout order from Imagine Vegan Cafe on the way home. I got the Chicken Philly Cheesesteak and Collard Greens, and it was just what I needed! A little decadent with the sandwich, a little healthy with the greens.

I picked up this yummy Raw Lemon Cheesecake from the Raw Girls as a work day treat a couple weeks ago. I always grab lunch from there on office days, but I typically overlook the desserts because I'm more of a savory person. But sometimes, you need raw cheesecake.

Last Sunday, I PR'd by 5K at the Memphis Runners Track Club Road Race Series, and the night before, I had my standard pre-race pasta. For this dish, I blistered some cherry tomatoes from my garden in a little olive oil (with added kale) and folded that into some spaghetti. It's all topped with Follow Your Heart parm. It was a winner! Literally with that PR!

And finally, here's a big, tasty salad! This was one of those "throw in every veggie in the fridge" salads. I used Ocean's Halo Maui Onion dressing, and it's topped with Kelly's garlic cheezy croutons (which are the greatest food ever invented). 

Bike Picnic Fun!

I usually do my long runs on Saturdays, but last weekend, I had a 5K race on Sunday (which I PR'ed, by the way!). So I took a "rest day" on Sunday and went on a long bike ride. I ride a cruiser bike and go very slow, so I don't really consider it to be a workout. Or at least that's what I thought! I packed a picnic and took off down the Shelby Farms Greenline for a 25 mile round-trip ride. 

Turns out, it was a bit of a workout. Mostly because it was 100 degrees outside, so it felt harder than it should have. But that said, it was still a great ride, and I enjoyed my picnic in the shade once I got to Shelby Farms. I even saw an owl on the greenline! I've never seen a real live owl in the wild!

I packed a Lulu's Tomato Cashew Cheese Tart, Miyoko's Smoked Farmhouse Cheddar with my homemade sourdough bread, onion/garlic jam, pickles, smoked olives, pickled chile carrots, cherry tomatoes, and grapes. Oh, and a Mason jar of wine! And, of course, plenty of electrolytes for the long, hot ride!

The Lulu's tart was especially tasty! I picked it at the Cooper-Young Farmers Market that morning. It has roasted cherry tomatoes blended into cashew cream in a flaky pastry crust.