Exploits of a Vegan Wannabe

This week our refrigerator chilled its last piece of kale. The freezer went first without warning, followed by the fridge several hours later. By the time I got home from work it was making a groaning noise not compatible with kitchen appliances. As is usually the case with major appliance malfunction, I had already invited our friend Lisa over for dinner the next day to celebrate her birthday. My first thought was to call and tell Lisa that we would be celebrating at a restaurant. However, Sandy’s Iron Chef kicked in and we decided to salvage as much as we could from the freezer and create a meal fit for a birthday party. This is the menu Sandy made from the food we were able to save:

Edamame appetizer with crispy veg egg rolls and a myriad of dipping sauces. Asian Style Meatballs and Chick’n Lettuce Wraps with bean sprouts and Hoisin drizzle.

Sandy crafted the most exciting meal from the bags of things melting in our fridge as Lisa and I sipped Summer Shandy on the back patio. Lisa would have never known about the  fridge snafu except for the paper towels all over the kitchen floor sopping up the melted  remnants of our freezer. I picked up vegan birthday cupcakes on my way home from work so we celebrated in abundant style.

We are going to look for a new/used fridge today, so I am using this as an opportunity to up-grade. We love food and need a fridge so there you have it.

The thing I am grieving over the most with The Great Meltdown is the loss of an unopened box of Julie’s Organic Vanilla Almond Dipped Bars. I purchased two boxes to dazzle Sandy’s parents with during their visit. The night I had intended to serve them, we scarfed heroic amounts of Thai food and were too full to indulge in ice cream.  The bars stayed in our freezer only to melt a few days later.

Luckily, Sandy and I had taste-tested the first box before the second box perished. I thought it would be reckless to serve an unknown ice cream bar to people I love, so I opened the first box. This non-dairy frozen novelty almost blew my mind. It took all the restraint I had to not to go to the freezer that day and consume all six bars. Looking back, I now know that my insatiable desire had actually been foreshadowing The Great Meltdown. It was my intuition begging me to consume them all. I will never again question a hunch.

The coconut ice cream is enrobed in chocolate so dark it will make the sides of your mouth tingle in that perfect way that only quality chocolate can do. The chocolate is then laced with a generous amount of  roasty, crunchy almonds. The bars are divine, organic and worth a special trip to your local grocery store. Even talking about them is making me want to claim the ice cream loss on our Home Owners Insurance. I think I’ll just go buy more.

Have a delicious holiday Weekend.

Tags: compassionate eating, dairy free, Julies Organic, Julies Organic Vanilla Almond Dipped BArs, plant based diet, vegan dessert, vegan experience, vegan ice cream review, vegan ice cream vegan review, vegan wannabe