Vegan MoFo Day 2: Good apples, good friends!

Hello again internet! Today the Emperor and I went downtown and picked up my New Glasses!111!!1!! and then we went to see an adult friend and a baby friend... the adult is Suzanne and the baby is her son Owen. They eat a mainly (I think!) vegetarian diet and always seem to have yummy vegan stuff about the house when we show up. We're lucky to have such sweet and accommodating friends.



What is it: a Kerrie's Kookies Coconut Collision! cookie.
My thoughts: Not the healthiest breakfast, I'll admit... but sooo delicious. I love these big cakey cookies with their big generous chunks of chocolate.
Emperor's reaction: He didn't actually eat any of this! We were in the car and I don't generally let him eat in the car. And I'm a mean mama who wants to keep all the cookies to herself, alas.



What is it: Gingersnap granola
My thoughts: I think this tastes kinda weird... like chamomile tea. It's not what I picture when I think "gingersnap." However, I've bought it for the Emperor a couple of times because it has big easy to grab clusters, and I have to admit it's grown on me...
Emperor's reaction: He LOVES this stuff. He ate a good ten clusters... the first five all at once. Then he got bored and started throwing them on the floor and going "uh oh!"



What is it: An apple!
My thoughts: Suzanne told me what they think these apples are, but I almost instantly forgot. Something like "golden butterfly"? Very very sweet and quite crisp. I enjoyed it, which is good, as I ended up eating the lion's share of TWO separate apples that the Emperor got his teeth into.
Emperor's reaction: Again, he chewed and chewed and chewed... and spat a lot of apple out. Looked like he was having a great time, and maybe he swallowed a bit too, but I would like it if he didn't spit tiny apple bits out all over the place.



What is it: Lightly steamed broccoli with peanuts, coral red jasmine rice salad
My thoughts: I had never had coral red jasmine rice before, so this was very exciting for me! The salad left something to be desired-- it had a slight bitter taste (oil? onions?) and just seemed to be a little undercooked. But I was happy to try something new! The broccoli was delicious and I ate a ton of it.
Emperor's reaction: just like mama, he wasn't particularly into the rice. He ate about half a bite of it and let the rest dribble out of his mouth. But he ADORED the broccoli and ate 7 (I counted!) bites of it, each the size of a small floret.



What is it: A pumpkin cookie and a pleasure dome from Staff of Life! And a cup of coffee!
My thoughts: I have wanted to try the pleasure domes for some time, just because it reminds me of... In Xanadu, did Kublai Khan/A stately pleasure dome/Decree. But something else always distracts me at the Staff of Life. Too many goodies! I found the pleasure domes tasty but a little dry. The pumpkin cookies, on the other hand, were lovely, moist, and delicious.
Emperor's reaction: Initially he just wanted to squish the pumpkin cookie in his fingers. Then I put a bit in his mouth, and he ate and enjoyed it. He had about three bites of the pumpkin cookie total. He was busy playing by the time I got to the pleasure dome and didn't have any of that.




What is it: roasted potatoes and silken tofu with rosemary and thyme, boiled kale with lemon and Earth Balance
My thoughts: the kale is actually DELICIOUS. You know I don't say that about kale often! I had this sudden thought while cooking... why don't I make kale the way I liked spinach when I was a kid, with lemon and butter? It was definitely an idea that panned out. The potatoes are also really good (roasted potatoes! how can you go wrong?!) and the silken tofu is as not-bad as silken tofu can be. I would not have used silken tofu but it was the only thing in our fridge!
Emperor's reaction: He loved the kale and ate at least 10 bites of it. Big bites. This kid can eat kale like NOBODY'S business. He also had several bites of potato and seemed to like that too.


And here's a bonus picture of the Emperor in Owen's cart:



And Owen eating his lunch up in his high chair:



Food not pictured: An apple (!) in the car, an apple at Peet's (!), coffee at Peet's, wine at home. The Emperor had bites of the apples and liked them as much as in the picture. He also ate a couple of vegan graham crackers that his grandparents sent for his birthday.