New Orleans and Superbowl Sunday

The hubby and went to New Orleans for a work thing a few weekends ago. 

He was excited about the food there, and I was suspicious about what I would eat there.  Boy, was I wrong!  Anyone ever tried a vegan po'boy?  Ah-mazing!  We found them at a bar called Erin Rose Bar in the French Quarter.  The veggies were grilled, and there were two homemade sauces on the sandwich.

We ordered our po'boys to-go and walked to a nearby street where we found some live music.  I was continually impressed with the quality of music all over the city.  Very talented musicians everywhere!  The French Quarter was beautiful.

At night, however, it got a little crazy seeing that it was almost time for Mardi Gras.

I don't have a picture, but for my birthday dinner we ate at The Wandering Buddha.  This was really, really good vegan Korean food.  They have temporarily closed while they are relocating, but are planning on opening soon.  We got homemade Chai, scallion pancakes, tofu stirfry, and homemade sesame ice cream over something like Korean french toast.  The meal was awesome!  We ate with a very nice couple that informed us of a New Orleans birthday tradition.  When it's your birthday, you pin a dollar to your shirt.  Everyone you walk past then wishes you a happy birthday and some pin more money to your shirt.  It made for a very fun night!  We also enjoyed a meal at Carmo while we were there.  The food was delicious and we would highly recommend it.

On our last day, we went to Whole Foods to grab snacks and drinks, and had a picnic in the park near the Audubon Zoo.  Our snacks consisted of carrot cake, my favorite, and a cantaloupe stuffed with fresh raspberries and mint.  The cantaloupe was so simple, delicious, and pretty!  Would definitely bring this on a picnic again.  

Fast forward 2 weekends to Superbowl Sunday.  While we were busy most of the day, we did make it home in time for R to watch the tail end.  In an effort to make something for dinner that was Superbowl-esque, I decided to make grilled cheese sandwiches and soup.  For the sandwich, I spread cashew cheese and dijon mustard on the bread.  I sprinkled a little nutritional yeast, and added a generous layer of sauerkraut.  You could sub marinated artichoke hearts for the sauerkraut. I then toasted the sandwiches in my cast iron skillet with a spray of olive oil.  They looked burned and unappetizing, but were delicious!  R approved :)  It was a perfect balance of toasted outside with a moist and flavorful inside.  Instead of soup, I felt like something a little more refreshing and ended up making a veggie drink instead.  I blended tomatoes, cucumber, cilantro, onion, and water.  This got a mediocre rating from R, but I liked it.