It’s officially October! I already busted out my Halloween gear and thinking about where to hang all my vintage paper decorations. I cleaned my witch glasses, so I might think of an alcohol free cocktail that is a little spooky to serve with them. I’ve been thinking, but falling a little short. Hard decisions. This year we got invited to a Halloween party, so I might even get dressed up. We’ve even already watched one horror film, so I will probably do my film reviews for the month again. I hope people like them because I at least enjoy making them. XD
Aside from Halloween I’ve been brainstorming some ideas for posts for Vegan Mofo 2016. I am hoping to post each day of the month, though I will obviously not keep to each prompt. Especially with the pregnancy. And I will be crossing my fingers there will be no early delivery that would cut my blogging short. If any readers have already signed up leave a comment! I will make sure I add you to my feedly log so we can all interact.
Seitan is My Motor: Santana Apple Cake
I saw this recipe and thought it might be a good thing to make. Our local orchard is starting to get some good produce in (AMAZING Asian peas BTW) after a horrible season. I asked my husband if he wanted to make this… and he gave a very weird “uh… I don’t know.” Usually he get pretty excited about recipes with apples. Maybe it is because it isn’t a pie. *rolls eyes* But I thought she had a cool technique with cutting the apples to make them look pretty.
The Tonka Bean: An Ingredient So Good It Has to Be Illegal
And the cake recipe made me interested in trying to find information on one of the ingredients- the tonka bean. This article was really interesting since it explains why it is illegal in the United States, and REALLY makes me want to try it. Apparently according to the article, there are some blackmarkets that sell the bean, so maybe I can get lucky trying to find a source but probably better not the break the law. XD
Food By Mars: Pumpkin Spice Turmeric Latte
I love lattes, or rather warm milk based drinks. I have a bunch on the blog and I am always interested in making new ones. Heck I will hopefully have a new one posted this week even! So I might give this guy a try when I roast another pumpkin. I think the turmeric can help balance out the sweetness that most people get from Pumpkin Spice Syrups.
Tooth Be Told: Do Natural Toothpastes Keep Your Breath Fresh?
There are lots of vegan toothpastes on the market, but many are very er… hippie dippie. I have been SLOWLY trying to move our toiletries to all vegan, but my husband is a loyalist to certain brands. He loves his soap that sucks out all the moisture in his body, mouth numbing toothpastes, and gelled shaving creams. But some of the brands that he liked made it on this list. No, this isn’t a list of vegan toothpastes- just natural ones.
Vegan Brands in Review: Desert Essence Natural Toothpaste, Earthpaste, Jason NutriSmile Toothpaste, Nature’s Gate Natural Toothpaste, The Honest Co. Toothpaste, Kiss My Face Gel Toothpaste
Unknown for Animal Testing: Himalaya Neem and Pomegranate Toothpaste, Spry Toothpaste, Weleda Natural Salt Toothpaste
Keepin It Kind: Not About Food- A Real Character
Kristi from Keeping It Kind wrote a post recently about her issues with trying to come up with her three fictional character that characterize her. I had a similar experience where I had hard time picking out the third character then regretting it almost immediately. I ended up thinking about it, and the third character still represents me, but I only to a certain degree. So who did I pick? Susan from Bringing Up Baby. She has a great sense of fashion, a love of animals, and doesn’t take much very seriously. I also love how direct she was with men, which I think I was fairly direct with boys in high school.
I then picked Daria because I think she was my idol in high school. I wore boots with a pleated skirt and a quirky t-shirt almost every single day. I kept my hair largely un-styled. I also had the same attitude of making jokes, even if the people I knew didn’t get them. I think I still would have that attitude, but it seems that I am surrounded by more educated people. Maybe? I do think I am a little less cynical now than I was in high school though.
My third person was originally Elaine Bennett from Seinfeld because I think deep down inside I have a lot of similar qualities as her. Mostly the I’m secretly a terrible person part. XD I have a few issues with how Seinfeld presents Elaine (the cool girl who is a guy’s type of girl- essentially not REALLY a woman) but ignoring that, she is such a fabulous character. And at the time it was very different representation of females.
But I then I then remembered I am totally Linda Belcher from Bob’s Burgers. My husband always jokes how I am really Linda. I sing made up songs, I love a good drink, I’m loud, tacky, and secretly I think I am the cool mom (or will be.) Is it a little odd that I picked all character that are brunettes? And three of them wear glasses (or occasionally in Elaine’s case)? I think all are pretty educated (except Linda) but are constantly making an ass of themselves. Yup, sounds like me.
Sarah
I love the Jason toothpaste, because it’s minty as hell. And uses calcium carbonate as the main ingredient!
And yay for turmeric lattes, but lol that ppl in your area are so “pumpkin” based. It’s weird, but cute, because pumpkin isn’t really used in sweet stuff here, though I know it can be OK. Pumpkin pie? Weird! haha.
And dude, you’ll be a cool mum! Or mom. Bob’s Burgers is such a good show, though I’ve seen some vegans won’t watch it, because of the whole meat burger bla bla. You’ve chosen super neurotic characters, which is interesting. I totally wouldn’t have picked you as those brash characters! So it was illuminating đ
Jennifer
It is funny since Americans pretty much only eat it sweet. I get some weird looks when I talk about using it in savory recipes. Everyone pretty much knows pumpkin = sweet, butternut/other squashes = savory.
I guess my online personality/speech doesn’t reflect how I normally talk. I guess I also picked those characters because I am from New Jersey, with lots of family in New York City. People in this area are known to be very neurotic. Bob’s Burger’s is suppose to take place at a New Jersey beach town, and Seinfeld is in NYC. My husband loves how New York Seinfeld is, much more than some other shows that take place there (like Sex in the City and Friends)
Mary Ellen @ VNutrition
I need to come up with my own fictional characters! That’s so fun! I’ll try to do that soon and put it in one of my posts. đ
I’m excited to see all your ideas for MoFo!
kimmythevegan
Yay Halloween!! I’m getting excited. I have my costume already – we’re hosting a party. And we’ve already started our scary movie month marathon. I look forward to seeing more of your reviews. I’ll check the older ones out for ideas.
And double yay MoFo! I’m trying to get ready for it too. Especially since my in-laws are visiting the first week of November…
I wonder why the bean is illegal in the States? Strange. And obviously makes me want to try it too.
“I have been SLOWLY trying to move our toiletries to all vegan, but my husband is a loyalist to certain brands.” We had this problem too – my husband’s not vegan. It ended up being that I buy my own toothpaste, soap & deodorant & he buys his own. Kind of silly, but it works.
I like the A Real Character challenge. I think Elaine Bennett is also a fabulous character – I’ll be honest though, I’m not familiar with the other characters. I may try this out on my blog. I can only think of one so far though… Hmmmm.
Jennifer
Yeah it is crazy that the bean is illegal. It is because it contains Coumarin which, I think showed testing that cause mice to get cancer or something of that nature. But the problem is that it contains the same levels at other spices like vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. It just kind-of never got taken off the banned list, or rather never got used enough for the government to justify it’s safety.
I would be excited to see who you pick for your three characters!