Nit Noi Thai - Midtown, Houston, TX

After the concert, my friend and I headed to Nit Noi Thai in Midtown. It's a popular Thai place and I've been there before on a date. I knew the food would be good and comforting after a day outside in the sun. My friend enjoyed his plate too. I'd recommend this place to anyone looking for a low-key atmosphere, but good food.

Tacos A Go-Go - Midtown, Houston, TX

When I saw Everclear and Live a few weeks ago, I went out to eat in Midtown. I had lunch at Tacos A Go-Go. After asking lots of questions, I got the veggie tamale plate. The fat in the tamales is Crisco, the black beans are vegetarian, and the potatoes are sauteed in oil. I enjoyed having a warm plate of food and a pleasant vibe while having lunch with a friend. :)

Red Beans & Collards

I made another recipe from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker. The temperature has been very high lately, plus I'm busy at work and trying to have a life. The crockpot allows me to eat well without working too hard. I did not steam the collards, I washed them and added them to the crockpot. I did add a little balsamic vinegar to the pot, since the recipe said to steam the collards and toss them in oil and balsamic vinegar. I made the quinoa in the rice cooker to simplify things. Can you tell it's summertime and I'm full of daydreams? :)

Cajun Tomatoes, Okra, & Fried Tofu

I saw this recipe in Vegetarian Slow Cooker. The photo was calling my name! I made the veggies in my small crockpot during the day. I added a couple tablespoons of water to prevent it from burning. The recipe said to cook on low for 6 hours, but I knew I'd be at work for ~7 hours today. I came home to finish up the recipe - add final veggies to the crockpot, cook the rice, press tofu and fry it. I loved this meal. It hit the spot! I had a day of computer work and was looking forward to this meal. So good! I've received some very good news this evening, but I'm not ready to divulge all the details yet. That and my blossoming social life are why I've been away from the blog for a bit. I've been keeping busy with my friends and this weekend will be another jam-packed weekend of FUN! :)

Weekend Fun

On Saturday, I went to protest the circus with Houston Animal Rights Team (read more about why here) and attended the VSOP potluck party. I made mojito chocolate chip cookies from Chloe's Vegan Desserts, but I didn't snap a photo. I forgot to add the baking powder and they still turned out well. I was also preparing cinnamon rolls from Chloe's Kitchen for a friend's housewarming party. The housewarming party was in the suburbs, so a bunch of people crashed at the friend's house. I made the cinnamon rolls because I thought it was like a grown-up slumber party. We played outdoor games like bean bag toss and giant Jenga, and then headed to a country bar. I can cross that off my Texas bucket list. Overall, a great Saturday night with friends. Yesterday, I went to Midtown for a concert. I went with a friend from the medical school that has similar taste in music. We saw Sponge, Filter, Live, and Everclear for just $10! We did get a little too much sun though because the show started late. Oh well, overall, it was a great show because Live rocked it. They sounded so much like they do on their albums, which is really impressive. My friend and I went to Tacos A Go Go for lunch and Nit Noi Thai in Midtown for dinner. By the time I got home, it was too late to go volunteer with Food Not Bombs or attend the Justice for Trayvon rally. I wish I could have done all three things on Sunday, but there are plenty of other opportunities for activism in the near future. I'm happy to be in a city with an active animal rights group again! :)

Red Lasagna

I had the ingredients in the pantry for the Red Lasagna from Hearty Vegan Meals for Monster Appetites. I had some leftover lasagna noodles, TVP, cashews, tofu, and canned tomato products. All I really needed was the onion. I only had 9 noodles instead of the 12 listed in the recipe, so I don't have a top layer of noodles like you'd normally have in lasagna. The recipe calls for sprinkling nutritional yeast and chopped nuts on top, but I used some leftover Daiya cheese in the fridge. I served a couple slices with some frozen broccoli and So Delicious PB zig zag soy ice cream. I love making a lasagna or casserole on the weekend, because I have good food ready for kickball nights. I can come home from work, microwave the leftovers, and take care of the cats before I have to leave for my game. Our sponsor bar doesn't have much that I'd want to eat.

Field of Greens - Houston, TX

As this post makes clear, I haven't been cooking much over the last week. I went to Field of Greens twice in the last week. The first time I had a falafel burger with fries and the green smoothie. The second time I had the spicy tamales and the same green smoothie. I also got a tiny mint chocolate cupcake from Zibble the second time. Yum! I have tried Zibble cakes at vegan events because they're a local business. I even met the daughter of the mother-daughter pair behind the business at my friend's pizza party. Field of Greens is mostly vegan. There's a raw menu and a tiny non-vegan menu. My friends like that there is a tea place next door. It's in a very convenient location, so I'm surprised that I haven't been before this past week.

Doshi House - Houston, TX

I recently went to Doshi House in Houston's Third Ward with a friend for dinner. We went on a Friday night, so the dinner was vegan fajitas. The meal included tortillas, black beans, deliciously seasoned soy chick'n, avocado, fajita veggies, and lettuce. My friend is not vegan, but he enjoyed his meal. I loved the vibe of this place. I also think it's really cool that it's in a "rough" area of Houston where you wouldn't expect a vegetarian business to thrive. It's not all vegan, but they do have one vegan dessert option. We passed on dessert and went out for a drink after dinner.

Vegan Pizza Day

One of my vegan friends hosted Vegan Pizza Day at her house this past weekend. I volunteered to bring desserts, of course! I loved meeting more vegan people and getting to try so many different pizza combinations. There was tofu ricotta, cashew cheese filled pizza cups, cashew cheese and pesto mushrooms, polenta pizzas with Field Roast Mexican chipotle sausages, chard salad, margherita pizza with cashew cheese, potato and pesto pizza, cauliflower crust pizzas with peach + onions and mushrooms + blue cheese style tofu, vegan pizzas from Ruggles Green (a local place), and my mom's strawberry pizza and cashew cream cheese filled strawberries. This was an incredible spread. I ate quite a bit and we discussed some really interesting topics. Love a good conversation! Quite different from hitting up a Midtown bar afterwards with my kickball friends celebrating someone's birthday.

Taco Salads

I cooked some dried beans, a mix of red, black, and pinto beans that I seasoned with homemade taco seasoning. I sauteed a tiny onion, a tomato, a jalapeno, a yellow bell pepper, shredded carrots, and spinach. I served all of this in tortilla bowls. My mom bought me these little tortilla bowl bakers while I was home. I topped it with some shredded lettuce and smashed avocado. A fun twist on taco salad!