Halloween Post Number 2
I know this is long overdue, but I just have to share a couple of things.
In Dallas, we have a meet up group called Vegan 101 that brings together vegans from the entire DFW area. Eric and I hosted the Halloween meet-up at our house. Most meet-ups have a theme (this one Halloween) like breakfest, desserts, summer foods, etc. It’s always a potluck, so everyone just brings a vegan dish. This was also a dress up party! Fun!!
Here’s Eric and me all dressed up…
I made Dinner in a Pumpkin (from Vegetarian Times Magazine…it was on the cover in the last issue), Roasted Chickpeas (from Eat, Drink, & Be Vegan), and I also put out a wee mix of sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, raisins, and cashews…just a fun party mix. Dinner in a Pumpkin is a holiday tradition for us. Eric started making a vegetarian version probably going on 5 years now. Now, every Halloween we make some form of dinner in a pumpkin (vegan of course). It’s so much fun! On the side in the picture (in the purple bowl) is an avocado salsa that goes on top of the chili. When you scoop it out, you scrape some of the inside of the pumpkin, making sure to get some pumpkin chucks in your stew.
You can see the roasted chickpeas and trail mix in the little bowls in this picture. Also, Esther made this AMAZING cheese dip from the Uncheese Cookbook. Eric’s already ordered it for us I think. It was delicious.
Briggitte made the lovely strawberry chocolate cake you can see. Cassie made these FAB Apple Peanut Butter Caramel Bars from Veganomicon (they’re in the red topped tupperware container). We also had chips, pita bread, and a rice dish.
Cute party dishes!
Drink station
Jessica in costume
The whole group…minus Eric (he’s taking the picture). And look at Scotchy….we let her belong too, even though she’s not a vegan. 
On Halloween, October 31st, Eric and I attended Spiral Diner‘s almost annual Zombie Prom. We went as zombies!! Spiral rented a hall in Fort Worth and had music and food. We ate nachos, hot dogs, cookies, and cupcakes. It was a blast!
Recovery Day
A late breakfast (sort of brunch) was leftovers from yesterday’s meet-up potluck: savory corn pancake with sauteed mushrooms on top, tofu scramble with tortilla strips, and a wee slice of chocolate chip banana cake. Enough to put a smile on anyone’s face!
Around 5:00 or so, Eric and I were starving, so we needed a little fuel, but didn’t want to ruin dinner really. We were out and about so we swung by a place called Juice It Up. I got a non-dairy smoothie which had Lemon-Zinger tea, strawberries, and bananas. Next door was a Quiznos where we shared a regular sub just like the one I ordered on Friday. (Forgot to take a picture, again, so I’ve stuck the one from Friday…same thing.) I’m a slacker on the weekends it seems.
Dinner anoche was the spinach penne pasta from Cafe Express. Ordered with no bacon, no cheese, no croutons, and no dressing. I used my own balsamic vinegar at home on top. We’re in love with the condiments bar at Cafe Express. Tonight I had pickled carrots, chickpeas, pickle spears, garlic, and olives. Perfect Sunday night dinner. Oh and a super-charge me cookie for dessert.
Vegan 101 Meet-up Day…Yay!!
I recently joined a vegan meet-up group here in Dallas that gets together for various potlucks and events. This was only the second time I’ve gone. A couple of weeks ago we had a BBQ which was just as amazing. It’s so exciting going to a vegan potluck because I can eat everything!! That is something that doesn’t happen very often. I brought the Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Cake that I blogged about yesterday. You can see it sitting on the table. Other dishes included tofu scramble with tortilla strips from VWaV, blueberry corn muffins, rosemary potatoes, guacamole, sweet potatoes, fruit salad, rice and potato dish, savory corn pancakes with tomatoes and mushrooms to go on top, and lentil soup (not in the picture). It was AMAZING!!! I remembered to take a picture of the table, but must have been so excited once I filled my plate, that I don’t have a picture of it. But, I had some of everything. Everyone also shares what is left and everyone takes leftovers home, which means I get to eat this again tomorrow! So another picture of this delicious food will be coming soon. Oh what a fun time! I can’t wait for our next meet-up. Later this month I think we are visiting an animal sanctuary in Fort Worth and having a potluck there as well.
For an afternoon snack I had one of the blueberry corn muffins from the meet-up (which I believe was made from the recipe in VWaV). It was awesome!! We were in Fort Worth Saturday evening, so for dinner we headed to the old, original Spiral Diner that we used to always trek to for a delicious vegan meal. As you can tell, I forgot to take a picture until I had already half devoured my plate! 
I had the All Day Lunch Plate which is a serving of black and quinoa, broccoli (which is amazing there), side salad, and choice of dressing (ranch for me). Yummy!! It hit the spot.
