Hi again, for the last time. I’m not sure how you guys feel, but this year went pretty quickly to me. I did a quick Wegmans run when I got back to school and I decided to try vegan garbanzo bean burgers. They were Wegmans brand and premade but not frozen. They actually changed shape in the grocery bag on the way home. I do not have a grill at my apartment, so I had to cook them on the stove in a pan. I sprayed the can with some Smart Balance cooking spray, and then heated it on medium heat.

While the stove heated, I prepped some asparagus tips to roast. I personally love asparagus and it is so easy to roast. First, I washed and dried the asparagus. Next, I chopped a clove of garlic. Then, I laid the asparagus on a baking sheet with parchment paper, spread the garlic out on top, and drizzled some olive oil on. I then tossed around the asparagus a little so they were each thinly coated in olive oil and the garlic was spread evenly. Finally, I put some lemon pepper on and popped them in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until tender (test with a fork). 

Once the pan was heated, I placed the garbanzo bean burger on and then covered it. My dad said I should cover it because sometimes when you cook burgers on the stove the tops/bottoms (the parts touching the pan) will get cooked but the middle will still be kind of raw. Luckily I was not cooking a meat burger so it would not be a huge deal if the burger was not fully cooked; however, I still would like my food fully hot not chilly in the middle. 

While the burger cooked, I prepped my buns and toppings. I like to toast my buns beforehand. I put tomato, lettuce, and red onion on. I would really have liked to add cheese but I could not find vegan cheese at Wegmans (to be honest I probably did not look hard enough) and I did not want to ruin the whole vegan theme. 

I had to split the burger into two pieces and make it into sliders because it was too big to fit on the buns I bought. The burger was actually huge. It was hard to flip. I wish I had taken a picture of it before I got it prepped so you guys could see. Also I should have taken a picture of the wrapper just in case any of you wanted to try it. Sorry 🙁

The first time I ate the burger (it came in a pack of two so I ate the second one on Monday) I really enjoyed it. I was also really hungry so maybe my opinion was slightly skewed. The second time I ate it I was not a fan. I am not really sure why, but for some reason it just did not sit right with me. I did not get sick or anything, but I could not finish it and I almost always finish my food, especially if I only have one or two bites left, which I did in this case. Maybe I just was not as hungry. Overall I would give these burgers like a 6/10. Maybe if I had some cheese they would have been better. 

I hope you guys have enjoyed reading my blog this semester! I really liked reading all of yours! Best of luck!

Hi guys! This week I did things a little differently. I was home, and on Tuesday morning my mom got notified that there were openings for vaccines in my county and that I was eligible to get one. I got the vaccine, and within a few hours I was very tired. Today (Wednesday) I woke up and my arm was in so much pain. By 12 noon, I was already ready to go back to sleep and was feeling very achy. I was originally supposed to cook veggie burgers today from the same list of vegan recipes, but I definitely did not have the energy. I decided to keep it simple and order out from a vegan restaurant in my area called Simply Green Cafe. I am not sure where you all are from but if you are ever near Ramsey, New Jersey and want to try some really good but also not super fringe vegan food then I highly recommend going here. 

My two cousins who are vegan (I mentioned them in a previous post) brought me food from this cafe the last time they came to visit. I got french toast sticks and let me tell you, I would definitely not have known they were vegan if nobody told me. They were absolutely delicious! My cousins are no joke obsessed with this place, they order food from it at least three times a visit, sometimes two times a day. 

I did not have the energy to go out, so I paid my little brother to go and pick up the food for me. Today I tried one of their specials: a buffalo chick’n sandwich. The sandwich came on a bun with lettuce, tomato, blue cheese, buffalo sauce, and fries on the side. Let me just remind you, everything is vegan! I honestly could not tell the difference between this chick’n (chicken spelled ‘chick’n’ usually means that it is a vegan “meat” patty) and regular chicken. I am not sure what the exact ingredients of the patty are, but if I had to guess I would say soy. I was also pleasantly surprised with the blue cheese sauce. Once again, I do not know the ingredients, but I would not know it was vegan unless someone told me. It really amazes me how so many things can be made vegan with little to no impact on the flavor and texture of the meal. It makes me realize that maybe going vegan is not so hard after all. If I can still eat my buffalo chicken sandwiches then what is the big deal!

This cafe’s menu has many good options that I want to try. I might have to make ordering out from this place a bi-weekly thing. The next thing I want to try is their eggplant parmesan. My cousin had it when we ordered out and she said it was delicious. I feel like an eggplant parm is relatively easy to make vegan because all you have to do is swap regular mozzarella cheese for a non-dairy mozzarella. I am also now interested in finding more vegan restaurants in my area!

This week I cooked another vegan meal from the list of 85 Vegan Meals from Love and Lemons that I mentioned in my last post. I made the first recipe: Creamy Vegan Pasta. The recipe is linked here. Overall I was very pleased with this dish. It was a little irritating that I had to buy a food processor (I was at my apartment at school not at home so I did not have one), but I bought a little one for 10 dollars at Walmart and it worked perfectly. At first I thought it might be too small but I was halving the recipe because I was only cooking for myself and it worked out. 

Even though this recipe looks like mac and cheese, it is not. The sauce is made of white beans, vegetable broth, olive oil, and some spices including red pepper flakes. I like spice, so I think the red pepper flakes add a nice flavor and give the sauce some much needed spice. Without the red pepper flakes I think the sauce would have been too plain. 

I would recommend cooking the broccoli for a little longer than the recipe says. I personally am not a big fan of the trunk part of the broccoli tree (I do not know what it is actually called), and if I do eat them I need them to be on the softer side. The broccoli was a little undercooked for my liking so I would adjust as you see fit. 

I used whole wheat elbows for my pasta. I wanted to try the vegetable pasta but I was nervous because I have never had it before. If you are a fan of zoodles (zucchini noodles), I think this recipe would work well with them. 

My one issue with this recipe is that it does not reheat well. I made two servings so that I could put half of it in the refrigerator for during the week to save myself the time and struggle of cooking again. I like to be able to just heat up leftovers during the week so I can manage work and school without having to worry about cooking. I was really excited to have this recipe again because I enjoyed it the first time, but I was disappointed. The sauce reheated is not even a sauce, it is like a paste that just got stuck to the pasta and broccoli. It was not creamy at all, it was pasty. Obviously this is not the website’s fault, this is just a natural occurrence with certain foods I guess. It is like how I personally think burgers are never the same when you reheat them, but pizza can be just as good or even better depending on the pizza. If you want to try this recipe for yourselves, eat it when you first make it. Also, add red pepper flakes! It is a must trust me. Here is a picture of the creamy vegan pasta when I first made it: