VeganMoFo: Vegan Snacks and a Bean Salad

After our lunch at The Veggie Grill yesterday, we stopped by Cost Plus World Market which was in the same shopping complex as the restaurant. This store sells goods from all over the world, a lot of them handmade and very beautiful. But I didn't go there for the furniture or the baskets or the embroidered pillows (though they are very very lovely). I went there to buy tea and spices and to hunt for vegan snacks that I can't normally find anywhere else. A lot of stuff that looked good were not vegan like English Toffee, Caramels, Butter cookies, Cheese snacks and things like that. But after reading label after label there was plenty that I could have easily filled my shopping basket with. Two of which were these:


Soft Eating Licorice. It's from Australia and they come in flavors like Green Apple, Raspberry, Mango...but I chose Ginger. It's very chewy, sweet and very spicy! I'd like to try the mango next time.


This is A-MA-ZING! Rich dark chocolate with sea salt. I thought that sounded weird at first but I decided to try it. And you know what, it reminds me of eating candy bars that have peanuts in them because you get the creamy chocolatey taste then a hit of salt on your tongue. It's divine. I should have bought more than one bar. Luckily this dark chocolate has no milk, butterfat or butter oil in it. Must go back to get more of this asap!

Other stuff we got: Ginger Chews with Coffee in them (dont' remember the name but they were heavenly), humongous bag of thin pretzel sticks, more ginger candy, and spices for 99 cents a bag.



Saturday night I went to my friend's party and she made this beautiful spread of food with lots of freshly prepared salads and dishes. One of them was a multi-bean salad that she says was easily prepared with olive oil, red wine vinegar and parsley. I made some today for my lunch later. Isn't it beautiful? If there is one thing I love about being vegan, it's beans. Seriously, I love them! There are so many varieties and ways to prepare them, not to mention all that protein you get from them. My salad here has red kidneys, fava beans and great northern white beans with lots and lots of parsley. I added some red onion, minced garlic and lemon juice to brighten it up even more.