40th birthday dinner at Shojin

Hello all! Yesterday was my 40th birthday and we went to our fave vegan Japanese restaurant Shojin. I love this place.

Descriptions of the rolls from the website.

Appetizer was the pumpkin croquettes.

My husband had the pumpkin soup.

Then came the Crunchy Tiger roll.

Green Forest roll. My fave.

Ladies Who Crunch roll. So yummy.

For dessert: The ultimate pumpkin pudding which was amazing! I could eat this all day!

Weekend deliciousness.

Veggie taco at Tacomiendo. It's so huge. Totally filling for one taco.

Native Foods chopped salad.

Native Foods chili cheese fries. The best.

Vegan candies!

Homemade cheez pizza made with Trader Joes vegan mozzarella. Enjoyed this while watching Vin Scully's last called game at Dodger stadium. Gonna miss his voice. We love you Vin.

Thirsty. Great sparking lemonade with under 30 g of sugar.

S'mores at home on the stovetop.

Weekend eating.

Another visit to El Arco Iris in Highland Park.

Potato tacos, no cheese.

Donut Friend!!! Top two are Custard Front Drive. Bottom left Panda Berry and bottom right Nutellavision (this one was not vegan for my husband).

C&O Cucina: penne arrabiatta. Yum.

Homemade dessert: whole wheat pancakes layered with berry compote and coco whip. My sweet tooth is outa control! I am 19 weeks pregnant (surprise!) so I must watch my sugar intake!!!

Tater Tot Casserole

Made the recipe from The Snarky Vegan blog. I added mushrooms, onions and Gardein veggie crumbles to the cream sauce and a little Daiya cheese to the frozen veg mix. Came out great! Next time I will up the sauce. 

Construction of the Tater tot topping.

Out of oven!

A little taster. Delicious! Kind of like eating shepherd 's pie. So good and comforting. I love the crispy tater tots on top.

Easy food on Labor Day.

Taking it easy, nothing fancy at all. I made tofu scramble and vegi sausage for breakfast and finished my last donut. Lunch was homemade hummus with tomato salad, Daiya cheese and crostini.

Chili and baked potatoes.

East Coast chili recipe from Vegan Planet using veggie crumbles.

Delicious baked potatoes that were rubbed with olive oil and Maldon salt before baking. Crisp skin and tender insides.

Topped with Daiya cheese. Very yummy!

El Arco Iris, Galco's Grocery and Donut Friend

Went to Highland Park to get Mexican food, sodas and donuts, in that order! El Arco Iris has been there since the 60's I think!

Vegan burrito on the menu filled with rice, beans, calabacitas and guacamole topped with red sauce (sauce was my request.)

Galco's sells a gigantic assortment of retro sodas and also beers and wines. Fab selection!

Donut Friend has mostly vegan donuts in the most exciting flavor combos.

Top: Nutellavision (not vegan- for hubby), Strawberry So Far, S'Morrissey

Bottom: Cinnamineral, Custard Front Drive, Bacon 182