Passover fun & frolic with 89

I have to warn you, the holidays are coming up fast and furious these days. First Easter, now Passover, and Mother's Day is right around the corner. I promise there are more reviews to come after all these recaps. In fact...spoiler alert: some are from DC! But, for now- the vegan Passover recap:

The cup of Elijah, which 89 mistook as hers.

The charoseth, which she hoped would be hers.

 

And VM's famous matzoh ball soup with the world's fluffiest balls this time around. 89 actually had some of this; she loves carrots and matzoh balls (note: (she will share her soup, but not her recipe).

 

The main course was: roasted string beans/ asparagus/ Brussels sprouts surrounding fingerling potatoes and onions with beet horseradish. I couldn't get my act together to contribute chickpea cutlets. Perhaps at Thanksgiving?

Passover is tricky in the dessert department. When it falls right alongside Easter, there are plenty of desserts to go around. But when it stands alone, there are- regretfully, no associated baskets of candy. Thankfully, when I learned at a recent Vegan Shop-up that Sweet Maresa's wouldn't have rainbow cookies again until Christmas, I did not miss the opportunity. I bought a coveted box and it remained well-wrapped in my freezer for a few weeks explicitly for this occasion. Insert heart-eyed emoji here.

And, finally, the afikomen. Here's 89 alerting everyone that she found it. For the full (7 second) video, click here.

Since she didn't need a fiver, 89 got a new Puff the Magic Dragon toy for her trouble. The most recently desecrated one lies discarded below; 89 does not suffer from IKEA sentimentality like some of us.

Happy Passover!

Easter (candy and bunnies)!

Easter is another one of those holidays that is all about candy (don't ruin the illusion) and my aim is always to prove that vegans do not have to be left out of the fray. Also, to eat as much candy as possible.

 

I do also go along with all of the bunny symbolism because, who doesn't like bunnies? 89, that's who. I knew as soon as we arrived at the Easter Bunny that she was not into it. So, I did what any self-respecting human bent on getting a photo would do: I tossed 89 at the bunny, he caught her, and the rest is history. Note: there was a fan blowing to cool off the bunny, so that's the reason for the supermodel hair affect on 89's ears.

It turns out that she prefers bunny symbolism in the comfort of her own home.

Anyhoo, I assembled an Easter basket for her, per usual.

She barely feigned interest, just stared at the bunny swag while I humored myself taking photos of and, ultimately, meming her.

She was significantly more interested in the Gone Pie candy I'd gotten for VM- sticking her face in the shot while I used her basket for photographs.

And she really wanted the macarons from Sweet Maresa. Here's why.

We've had threats of snow since, but on Easter my hyacinth were in bloom.

We passed them as we left to go to my parents' house, which was positively decked out in bunnies.

So many photo-ops.

Homemade treats from a pal finally made 89 happier than the contents of her basket.

Aaaaaand, CANDY FOR ME!

Vegan Treats: peanut butter cups, peanut butter and caramel twix, butterfinger bars, chocolate-covered rice krispy treat, and cookie dough balls.

89 was under the impression that a place had been set for her at the table.

And this is the precise moment she snagged on of my artichoke leaves.

But the real fun began when she got her VM/OD swag.

Their gifts went over much better than mine; I wasn't able to get a single non-blurry shot of 89 playing with them.

The humans ended the day with rummikub.

Stay tuned because we're going to do this all again shortly for Passover- only with different gifts and goodies.

Upton's Jackfruit: Bar-B-Que and Chili Lime Carnitas

I was so excited when Kittee shared her win of Upton's jackfruit from a contest on The Sexy Vegan with me, and even moreso when I received the fun care package from the company.

I was a bit trepidatious because of my last run-in with jackfruit, so I tucked it in the fridge for the time being (although refrigeration isn't required). Then one day when leaving work I was craving a hardy dinner. I remembered the bar-B-que jackfruit, so I stopped off to pick up a beauteaous roll on my way home. While I was in the HFS it occurred to me that I needed slaw. I'll be honest, from the prepared section I glanced over at the produce: cabbage, carrots, etc, and then I turned my back on them. I knew I needed slaw, I just didn't want to actually make it. So, I picked up some prepared kale slaw and was on my way.

The seasoned and sauced BBQ jackfruit come in a neat pouch and the directions on the box say you need only to heat it on the stovetop for 1-2 minutes to warm; that's my kind of lazy ass cooking. So, in the time it took to cut and dress my roll, the jackfruit was ready.

Success! The sammie looked and tasted great.

Next up: chili lime carnitas jackfruit. I knew I had to eat the them in tacos, but when I went food shopping I remembered everything...except the tacos. Argh. Luckily I was able to steal tortilla chips from VM, so what I made up in saving myself from a trip back to the supermarket, I lost in making my taco dreams come true. Not to say that the nachos weren't terrific in their own right- they just weren't tacos. I really enjoyed that you could taste the lime in the carnitas and that they were bite-size pieces instead of the unruly ones you usually find in canned jackfruit. Next time, though, I think I'll try them in a 7-layer dip.

Needless to say, given that Upton's jackfruit is so much better (not to mention easier) than my own, I will never bother trying to make it myself again. I'm a believer!

Oh, and in case you were wondering if I made good use of those adhesive 'staches from the Upton's care package...

We sure did :-)