Opening Day

From our visit to the Bourbon Trail last year.

The morning was still a bit chilly, so Tommy and I went to Panera for breakfast.  We sat inside without any dogs.  I had a bagel and peanut butter and a large cup of green tea.  It was nice to sit and talk and not be badgered by moochie dogs. We would have stayed longer, but the gym was calling.

For lunch, it was the alternative to burger and fries.  I fried some endame in grapeseed oil with some minced ginger. I sprinkled some crispy kale on top.  For the 'burger', I cooked a large portobello in earth balance with some worchestershire sauce.  It makes a mess in the pan, but once the mushroom is cooked through, it is awesome. I served the burger on olive bread with lettuce, hoisin sauce and sriracha.

Today was the at home opening day for the Orioles. We walked down to the Tiki Hut at Bo Brooks with the dogs to watch the game outside.  The temperature finally reached a pleasant point.  The menu is not a vegan friendly one.  I choose the crab guacamole.  The crab in just sprinkled on the top, so I asked them to put it on the side.  Tommy added the crab to his fish tacos.  The guacamole is good and filled with tomato, onion and bell pepper.  It is served with homemade pita chips.  This was sort of a late afternoon snack, early dinner.  O's win with a grand slam!!!

 Later in the evening, I was hungry and made a small  burrito. I used kidney beans, tofu scramble, and BBQ sauce on a wheat tortilla.   Saturday morning was another visit to Panera.  This time I tried the steel cut oatmeal with strawberries, pecans and brown sugar.  How do they get the oats to be such perfect little round  circles?  Mine is always mushy.

Lunch was a veggie burger without the bun.  This was the same mix I used earlier in the week of TVP, garbanzo flour and oatmeal. I seasoned it with Bragg's Aminos and broiled it in the oven.  I like the texture better when it is cooked this way.  It did not get crispy why I pan fried them last time. I served it over a bed on black rice with some plum sauce.  The side salad is mixed greens, carrots and the everyday vinaigrette.  The garnish is green olives with garlic.

I made dinner in a parchment pocket.  I layer tofu, shallots, and tomatoes and seasoned them with fresh oregano, salt and pepper.  I surrounded it fresh green beans and pour some olive oil over everything. I sealed the parchment and baked in the oven for 20 minutes.  Everything was tendered and well seasoned.  I served some wild rice on the side. The dessert was a mix of blueberries, blackberries and strawberries.  I poured some Wild Turkey American Honey over the fruit.