Vegan MoFo Day 22: Delmarette & Dal!

So today was our last day in Santa Cruz before Thanksgiving break. We're heading up to Oregon quite early tomorrow morning to go visit J's family. I took the Emperor into town for a bit of fun today... he's got a loooong day of car riding ahead of him tomorrow.

Here's what we ate!



What is it: Tofurky on whole grain bread with leftover eggplant-dill spread. Plus a coffee (with almond milk) and a Pippin apple.
My thoughts: Tasty! Filling! It's better than bad, it's good! This eggplant spread is actually a really nice sandwich condiment, and somewhat healthier than Vegenaise (my number one condiment of choice).
Emperor's reaction: He ate a nibble of the crust, then greedily snatched a bit of tofurky out of the side. Which is really funny, because he mostly doesn't care for tofurky.




He was also very greedy about the apple. Lately I have to more or less wrestle him to get a bite of the apple. He doesn't really want to eat much of it, but he wants to carry it around, biting it and sucking on it. He had a bit of a temper tantrum re:sharing this one with me. Sad, but kind of hilarious and cute at the same time. (As hilarious and cute as a tantrum can be.)



What is it: Whole Soy cherry soy yogurt.
My thoughts: I've said it before. This is more or less the only soy yogurt I like, and I really freaking like it.
Emperor's reaction: He loves it too. I was only going to buy one-- to eat in the car tomorrow-- but he got SO excited when he saw this in the store that I ended up buying two and splitting one with him right away.



What is it: Soy latte with house-made pumpkin spice syrup at the Delmarette in Santa Cruz
My thoughts: Oh so good. Sorry the picture's kind of bad... the table was wobbly and the boy was delighting in shaking it while I tried to take the picture.
Emperor's reaction: He loved the tiny spoon.



What is it: Sea salt-vinegar kale chips.
My thoughts: A lot of people recommended these to me after hearing how much the Emperor likes kale. They were on sale so I decided to take a gamble. And I am sorry to tell you, these are every bit as horrible as I thought they would be. They are everything I don't like about kale, all in one spot. The stems are like ROCKS and are absolutely the worst part. Yuck.
Emperor's reaction: Um, he loves them. REALLY loves them. I think he thinks I'm letting him eat wood chips or something. He kept going back for me. There's no accounting for taste...



What is it: The "Ichabod" sandwich at the Delmarette. Pumpkin-walnut pate with avocado and pea shoots (I think?) on a delicious grainy bread.
My thoughts: Too bad I'm taken, I'd marry this sandwich. It is VERY rich between the walnut and the avocado... but really, really, really good.
Emperor's reaction: He loved it as much as I did, except for the sprouts. He ate 90% of the avocado off of one slice and about a third of the rest of the slice (bread and pate).



What is it: Urad dal with an onion-mirasol pepper-cumin seed tarka on top of a bed of brown rice.
My thoughts: Simple, flavorful, amazing dinner. I love dal + tarkas so much.
Emperor's reaction: He loved it! I think this is the first time he's had urad dal. He kept stealing bites of mine and got pretty mad when he realized my bowl was empty. That's my kid!


And last but not least, here's your bonus picture for the day.



Q: How can you tell the Emperor is my son?
A: He drinks sriracha out of the bottle, just like mom.