My last two days in Lynden were borderline horrible. Friday’s migraine sidelined me like a shot to the liver. The worst is when you know it’s coming…and (unfortunately) I’m very familiar with the onset of migraines. I used to get them all the time in high school – and I mean the whole she-bang – aura, nausea, pounding head.
So yeah, the I second the halo appeared, I knew I was in for it. What I didn’t count on was being out for so long! Bummer. Thank you all for your advice and kind words.
In the midst of it all, Kyle and I left for Seattle, and so I have a bunch of random pictures than never made their way to a post.
Which is sad when they are beauties like this!
Kyle’s mom found this vegan chocolate & almond butter cupcake at their local co-op. It was massive and had me utterly hypnotized with it’s decadent chocolate and almond buttery exterior.
I had half of it; and although it was good, it wasn’t quite as awesome as I was expecting (or as good as other vegan desserts I’ve had). Not to be picky, but it was a bit dry. I still ate it, but if I’m going to indulge in a rich nutty dessert, it better be a damn good one. I’m a simple girl and a dessert in my opinion may even be an extra tub of hummus. Or a few (dozen) medjools stuffed with nut butter. You know? Or maybe I’m just not a chocolate person…I do prefer carob.
Kyle had the second half and he thought it was so-so, but nothing to write home about. He agreed that it was dry…and that’s coming from a chocolate lover.
I bet if the almond butter had been woven throughout the cupcake it would have been more moist and delicious. It’s quite a photogenic treat though 🙂
There were also a few random fruit bowls full of apricots and a pound or two of grapes.
It took the flat of apricots from Costco a while to ripen, but once they did, I was pounding them at an alarming rate.
In addition to the above sweets, there are a few random salad pics that I never had time to show:
Snap peas and celery provide the perfect crunch in salads. And bell peppers are just plain tasty.
The “meat” in there is Quorn. Oh, and by the way, eating that salad was virtually impossible because of how high I piled the ingredients. I ended up transferring it into a bigger bowl. Can’t have anything spilling out!
Dave’s Killer Bread has mini-baguettes! I know I’ve gone on and on and on about DKB’s delicious bread, but this was the first non-sandwich bread I tried. Ok, that’s a lie. I just remembered this cinnamon roll (that was so good it made it’s way into a few posts).
Dave has such clever names for his bread too. The above is called a Sin Dawg, and it tastes as sinfully delicious as it’s name implies. The below is called a Peace Bomb.
It is jam packed with seeds, nuts, and whole grains. I had it plain, I had it with hummus, and I had it with fresh berry preserves. There is no wrong way to eat this bread.
It’s so fluffy and moist, with 5g of fiber, 8g of protein, and 480mg Omega-3s (ALA) in each serving. But be sure to heed the warning: May cause overwhelming sense of peace, love, and happiness. Use of peace bomb around strangers may cause spontaneous friendliness, leading to good vibes and lifelong pals. Do not use if allergic to serenity, relaxation, and peace of mind.
Now that’s a risk I’m willing to take.
To round out this completely random post, I have one last dish that somehow dodged all my previous Washington posts. I only realized this when I posted photos of the leftovers yesterday.
So here are the pictures of the OG dish (it was delicious and shouldn’t be slighted because I’m scatterbrained my computer eats jpg files without rhyme or reason).
I made a hummus-y sauce to top a few pounds of steamed broccoli with dried cranberries. Part garlic, part roasted red pepper hummus, part rice wine vinegar, and entirely delicious.
I will definitely be repeating this “recipe” because it was such a surprise success. Without even intending to, I made a topping that replicated a cheese sauce so closely, it was pretty shocking. Sauce, broccoli, and cranz – that’s all. A very simple dish that turned into new flavor combination that I never saw coming. Non-dairy cheesy broccoli? Why not!
I had it alongside a massive avocado/bell pepper creation that somehow evaded the camera. Hmmm…something fishy is going on with my computer.
These past couple of days Kyle and I have been in Seattle having a total blast. Expect posts filled with great eats to come!
In the past two months I’ve been to Portland and Idaho, so I had the pleasure of sampling Dave’s Killer Bread. So frickin good! I had it at every carb opportunity I could. Dave needs to come to the east coast! It may be worth moving to the West coast simply for Dave. Maybe.
Enjoy Seattle!
I’m glad you and Kyle are having a great time in Seattle! The Upper West Side misses you already though:(
I’m sorry about the migraine, I get them really badly too and know how horrible they can be. Glad you are recovering though!
So sorry about the migraine girl, I get them too. And I’ve been getting them OFTEN lately, I don’t know if it’s the heat or what, but I could definitely do without. I don’t get the aura thing, but I can’t stand light, and a few times I haven’t been able to see straight. Ugh.
The background in that last pic of you and Kyle looks fake! Is it real?!? How beautiful! I am going to feel really dumb, but IS it a backdrop?!??
Courtney
I so desperately want to try some DKB! Especially the Sin Dawg.
BTW, I’ve already had two apples today, which naturally made me think of you.
I’m so sorry that you have been feeling icky lately! I can’t believe the return of migraines! No good at all!
Your high-raw, high-fresh, highly healthy and delicious diet has been v. inspiring lately.
Almost everytime I have a salad, I photograph it, then transfer it to a big mixing bowl where I can really go for it without it flying all over the place. I feel ya.
Glad Seattle is fun – I love that city!
Hey Elise!
I live in Seattle and am hoping you are having a great time 🙂 Where are you staying? Are you in town long? You lucked out on the weather…its so beautiful this week.
I really hope you are starting to feel better – my mom has horrible migraines and I have bore witness to many a bad bouts. 🙁 Its a horrible thing…
In any case – hope you guys are well and if you want to go grab coffee or a bite let me know! I’m a long time reader of the blog and would love to meet you guys in person. 🙂
Best,
Carly
Hello! I’ve been reading your blog for a while now and I really enjoy it. It went to a new level this morning when I read that you’re a DKB lover. Me too! His breads are so delicious! I noticed you like the peace bomb, that was actually my first introduction to DKB. I got it at a farmers market a couple years back along with a jar of local honey. We poured some delicious honey onto a plate and dipped the bread in it. Oh my goodness. My good friend and I ate the entire loaf in one sitting. The next weekend I went back, got another (huge) jar of honey, and consider that loaf to be a major treat. I don’t buy it too often anymore because I’m worried I’ll eat the whole thing again. You have to try it dipped in honey. Mmm….
mmm i love making hummus into sawces! my fav involves red pepps & red wine vinegar but i’m feeling that rice wine action you’ve got goin on thur.
hope you’re finding time to hit up starbucks in the place of its birth!
Glad you’ve recovered from the migraine. I have been loving hummus dressings lately, mixed with mustard, vinegar, etc. The broc, cran and hummus sauce sound awesome – I may have to try it later this week as I have both cauli and broc hanging around my produce drawer.
Beautiful close up fotos! Bueno bueno!
p.s. the space needle from 6yrs ago, is the last time I ever had clam chowder…let’s re-create a lactose-free version of it sometime, ya?
Hi Carly! We aren’t in seattle anymore but we def had a great time – and yes we lucked out on the weather 🙂 we stayed in downtown (pioneer square area). Loved it. Ill hit you up next time we are back visiting.
girl so sorry bout the migraine. My mother and grandma are classic migraine sufferers. I was the child of a migraine mom and it sounds a bit funny but honestly, my mom would be out of it for days some times…incapacitated. I am so sorry you have them!
Vegan baked goods being dry…MOST are. That’s why I never follow recipes and make my own b/c most of them produce dry, tasteless baked goods. Except raw uncooking..that’s my speed 🙂
Oh, so disappointing about the vegan cupcake! It looks beautiful, but I suppose looks can be deceiving. 😉 Your fresh fruit and “sin dawg” also look absolutely delicious, and I’m glad they lived up to standard!
Enjoy more of Seattle!
That cupcake looks kind of phenomenal. Vegan desserts continue to amaze me!
ahhh the seattle trip! so much fun! esp when eating clam chowder in a spinning tower!! hehe. i could be down w/ a lactose free version of it- as long as i had cheese on the side lol! xoxo
Pingback: Seattle continued: Carbzilla and car rides « hungry hungry hippie