89iversary X 4!

We recently celebrated our 89iversary, i.e., the anniversary of when 89 became a part of our family. Some people call it an adoptiversary, or "gotcha day;" we use 89iversary BECAUSE WE CAN.

 

Our celebration consisted of the usual fare. First, cookies!

 

 

From For the Love of Dog Biscuits, I made the summertime blueberry pumpkin biscuits. You can read more about the cookbook on Vegansaurus.

 

89 also had plenty of her other favorite foods, including watermelon. Video here for full chomping effect.

 

Next up: fun!
Because it's summer, we're hot, and we have a lifetime pool membership...we swam.

Ok, she mostly floated and posed, but there's actual swimming footage on IG.

And, finally: presents!

 

Who wouldn't want a box of poop? Come on, they're cute and you know it. Poop emoji toys for days. No, literally: days. 89 eviscerates her toys.

And, some more outfits to add to her collection of duds. That little white dog from The Secret Life of Pets makes very similar facial expressions to 89.

 No one is more deserving of a celebration than 89; I hope she enjoyed as much as I did.

Melt Organic Vegan Butter

Melt contacted me a while back to offer product coupons for their newly vegan buttery spread (aka vegan butter). It took me longer than I'd anticipated to find it in my area, but now it seems to be popping up all over.

The soy free, virgin coconut oil version I found in a tub also comes in a stick version. Their other two butter offerings- honey and chocolate, are not vegan.

The first thing I tried Melt on was a baked potato. I was coming off a gross bout with the stomach flu (not that there's any other kind), after which I ate solely crackers and vegetable broth for a week. As a result, this potato was one of the most glorious things I'd ever eaten and, frankly, didn't need any accoutrements. But, I thought I'd give the Melt a first try. The texture was spot on: appropriately solid and melty when met with outside elements such as heat and fork mashing, there was just one taste that didn't seem to go: the coconut. A few days later I tested it on corn on the cob and had the same opinion.

But, I was not to be deterred; next I made a slice of toast. Again I was impressed with the buttery characteristics, but since the coconut was not competing with any innate sweet or savory element, I enjoyed it much more.

My next step was to make a toasted jalapeno bagel for VM and let her weigh in. She loved it. Kind of more than anyone should love a buttered bagel. In fact, almost as much as she loved this, which was kind of disheartening. Point being- it was a huge hit.

Many more bagels have been had since, but I thought the coconut taste would really soar in a sweet breakfast.

Of course I was right. I didn't love these frozen waffles the first time I'd had them, but the trifecta of the blueberries, maple syrup, and Melt made them pretty darn delicious.

So, I decided that in order to really take advantage of the coconut flavor that I'd found ill-fitting as a savory dish condiment, I needed to use it for sweet. Obviously that meant I should take it one step further and use it in a dessert. I didn't necessarily need any baked goods in my life, but this was for RESEARCH. So, I pulled out the familiar chocolate chip cookie recipe from Chloe's Kitchen and set to work.

 

The butter worked tremendously in the cookies although, rather ironically, it did not have any discernible coconut taste in the finished baked good. Here I'd hoped the cookies would benefit from the coconut flavor and there was none. Still, the Melt offered terrific texture.

VM can use it for toast; I'll be baking with Melt from now on.

Cruelty-Free Holiday BBQ

Because this is America, the Fourth of July has become quite the eating spectacle. Because we are vegan, it's as good a time as any to show that vegan celebrations include everything you need for a fantastic BBQ. 

grill marks courtesy of OD

 Mine also had lots of 89. Or, I don't know, the usual amount.

The whole plate.
I'm all about the Field Roast franks these days.

 

An auxilliary burger because you shouldn't have to choose. This one was Amy's black bean veggie burger and it was not good. At all. No taste, little substance, and looked anemically unappetizing. Not only wouldn't we buy again, but we've agreed to ditch what's left in the box.

Here's my extraordinarily disappointing potato salad. Peacefood used to make my favorite potato salad, but Terri stole the crown a few years ago because they make the best potato salad in all the land. I think this will henceforth fall into the category of not worth trying when others do it so well.

 

Thank goodness VM found me these Deep River sea salt & vinegar chips so that I was able to enjoy one potato product this weekend.

Oh, and cookies: chocolate chip (with pecans) from Chloe's Kitchen.

More 89.

She ate plenty too. Video documentation on our shared IG.

She's smiling on the inside.

Give me all the Screamers Pizza

I rarely get to have fun on weekdays, but last week I got to have lunch at the new, vegan pizzeria in Brooklyn: Screamers!!

 

Brought to you by the folks behind both Champ's (love) and Philly's Blackbird, this true slice pizza joint is located at the former site of Champ's Junior in Greenpoint.

Their website doesn't yet offer a whole hell of a lot of information, but I took a pic of their awesome selections so that you can start dreaming of what slice you'll want to try first. It’s hella hard to read, so why don’t you just head on over and take my word for everything being awesome?

Because we're professionals, my pal and I ordered 4 slices to share. The woman who helped us was kind enough to cut each slice in two, which saved us what surely would have been some messy embarrassment.

 

On the left:
SUPREME seitan pepperoni, bell peppers, seitan sausage, onion, tomato sauce, vegan cheese.

On the right:  
WHITE garlic oil, vegan cheese, almond ricotta, broccoli rabe, carmelized onions.

On the left:  
SCREAMERS garlic oil, vegan cheese, cremini & oyster mushroom, parsley, almond parmesan.

On the right:  
CLEAN SLIDE long hot pesto, broccoli rabe, vegan cheese, seitan sausage, sesame seeds, tomato sauce.

Every bite delivered decadent pizza goodness, but I think the supreme and white were my favorites so far. I've been dreaming about this pizza ever since and I can't wait to go back. Pro tip: ask them to heat your slices extra long so that they're burn-the-roof-of-your-mouth hot.

If you're lucky like us, you'll meet an extremely friendly pooch outside; this one was wearing a cutie purple bow and let me hug her.

If all this isn't enough to convince you to run to Screamers, you should definitely follow them on Instagram in order to keep up with all of their drool-inducing shots.