It's Time...

Well... After four and a half years, and now 30,000+ views, I am coming out of hiding! The "vegan Banksy" is no more! 

"Hey y'all I'm Kaiti, the creator/writer/designer behind Tasty Kaiti's. I never dreamed that people would actually read this blog let alone keep coming back for more!! It has grown to become not only a place for recipes and stories... but now I've got merchandise, videos, and more coming. Please head over to my website: www.tastykaitis.kitchen for more fun stuff that can't be seen here!"

Thank you for all of the support! I can't wait to come up with what's next!! ~Kaiti

A HUGE THANK YOU for my 15,000 views

I am beyond grateful for all of my viewers! This morning at about 10:30am/EST my blog achieved the greatest milestone I didn't ever think was possible!  Tasty Kaiti's Vegan Blog has hit 15,000 views!

 I started this blog a little over two and a half years ago and never imagined the impact it would have! I have received so many congratulations over Facebook and Twitter... I feel so blessed. 

From the bottom of my heart, I want to say Thank YOU! This blog has served as an outlet for me to do what I love to do despite the hard times I've gone through. 

Cooking has always been my passion, especially cooking to share with other people. And when I can cook something that is a healthy alternative, that anyone will like, and people actually read what I write about my food.... What could get better?
My hopes are that this blog will continue to grow and that my interactions with my readers will continue! That said, please leave comments and/or questions on my facebook page/pictures or the blog page itself. I always respond and would love to hear from you! 

I know I don't alway post often... I'm between jobs and having a hard time coming up with the funds for new ingredients for the recipe ideas I am constantly coming up with... but the fact that you stick around and share the blog with your friends is fantastic.  

If you'd like to help me out, I do have a paypal button where you can donate money, ads are a way for bloggers to make money (though it's not much... I've made $16 in the 2 1/2 years this blog has been running), and I've entered a contest (#0414) on foodfotogallery.com if you search "rainbow" you will see a picture of my rainbow chili, clicking the title of picture counts as a view and the photo with the most views by midnight on April 30, (PST) wins a $25 cash prize.  (It's not much but I promise a new recipe with ingredients bought with the prize money, if I win!)

"Thank you all again for helping me get to this point! I really couldn't do it without you!"

~Kaiti, 

The Owner/Writer of Tasty Kaiti's Vegan Blog

**Special Thanks to my friends at @So_Delicious, #veganfoodchat, #foodiechats, @thefoodduo, @chefsymon, @gardein, @DaiyaFoods, @EarthBalance, @veganchatroom, and all of my followers on twitter and facebook for sharing my blog posts! 

The Big Move

Welp,  I did it.  After 2 years, I've moved back home to my parents house in the DC area.  Most people think I'm crazy for leaving sunny, warm Florida for DC just as the temperatures are starting to drop.  But me, I'm excited.  One of my favorite foods "groups" is... SOUP!  Florida only has soup weather for like a month or two before its back to being unbearably hot. For me, there is something so warm and cozy, and just comforting about cuddling up with a warm bowl of soup...  Not to mention the amazing smells that waft throughout the house as your soup is being made.  For me, I make a HUGE (stock)pot of soup so that I can enjoy it for many days to follow!

I'm excited to bring you all some new soup recipes that will hopefully warm your home, tummy, and soul.  Here's what to look for soon:

• Minestrone Soup
• Veggie Chowder
• Southwestern Veggie Soup
• Veggie Chili
• Tomato Basil Soup
• Potato Soup 
• Lentil Soup 

AND MORE!!! :-) 

**Sorry there haven't been any posts... I've been moving so there was no food and I was living off of ramen, spaghetti, and salad!

What's Coming... GRADUATION PARTIES

Graduations are happening all over the country right now, which means it's time for graduation parties. And for me, graduation parties mean lots of snackable foods, a variety of ages, and a variety of dietary needs.  

The BF's sister graduated yesterday so her graduation party is upon us... Luckily not until late June, but I volunteered to help make some yummies for the party.  Naturally, everything I make will be vegan (so I know I have something to eat at the party!) but on top of that there's family coming that are gluten-free, (pre-, I think) diabetic, dairy-free and nut-free.  So, first it's always good to label what everything is with a little placard to denote any allergens that are in the food!  Also, try out the recipes before the big day so you know how long it takes to prepare them and so you can taste test them first to make any changes and so you're putting out quality food!  I'm going to try to create a few things that will work for anyone, including the carnivores! I'm really excited!!

Here's a few things that I'm looking forward to trying!

• Tapenade- a salty, dip/spread made from olives and capers (GF)
• Mango-Avocado Spring Rolls- fresh, perfect for summer NOT FRIED! (GF)
• Vegetable Sushi Rolls- during the summer these keep better than the fishy kind! (GF)
• Taco Bites- not only are these a super cute idea, one batch makes 3 dozen pieces
• Steamed Vegetable Dumplings- these can be served warm or for a party keep 'em cool
• Not-Crab Rangoon- So yummy! You won't believe there is no crab!

Hope some of these appeal to you too!  Recipes are coming :-)

Thanksgiving Meal with @gardein

Thanksgiving is coming!!!!! I'm SO Excited!!! Thanksgiving is by far my favorite holiday!  This year will be my first full vegan Thanksgiving... But I'm really excited.

My "Normal" Thanksgiving dinner would consist of Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potato casserole, peas with pearl onions, ham, and biscuits.  (Stop laughing... no seriously I may be a ballet dancer but I love Thanksgiving food way to much to limit what goes on my plate.)

This year, will be different... I'm going to be eating gardein's stuffed turk'y for my "meat course" and I am definitely making vegan mashed potatoes, vegan stuffing, and a vegan pecan pie... (Those are my for sure foods... I may try to make some vegan biscuits or peas with pearl onions... maybe a vegan version of mom's sweet potato casserole.... but I know the BF's mom is making sweet potatoes... so we'll see)

Side note:  Last year the BF's birthday fell on Thanksgiving (lucky duck) so I made him a birthday cake... This year it falls on Black Friday and he has requested pecan pie instead of cake.

I need to apologize for not posting in a really long time... I've now got 7 jobs on top of dancing in the Community Nutcracker here in JAX FL so my time is very limited.  I do have some yummy things that I've made that I promise to share with you as soon as Nutcracker is over!  (Lots of soups and other yummy stuff!)

Stay tuned! (I'll try to post recipes for Thanksgiving stuff ahead of time so you can use it too!)

Change of Plans...

Hi hi!  Just want to give a shout out to my 2 new followers and to anyone else reading this and to post a little note.

First things first, at the time that I am writing this my General Tso's Chick'n post has been viewed 170 times!!! OHMIGOODNESS!!! I don't think anything I've ever written has been seen by that many people.  I'm so happy and I want to thank everyone who has viewed my blog and passed it along to friends/family.  That is definitely how that post got so many hits and I really hope my numbers continue to grow.  Who knows, maybe I can land a vegan/vegetarian cooking show on the Food Network, like one of the newest additions to the FN family, "Pioneer Woman".  

This week I had planned to break in my wok and test/post several Asian recipes. But we've had Asian food for dinner for the past three nights! Veggie sushi, Black Pepper Beef-less tips with Lo Mein, and General Tso's Chick'n with Baked Spring Rolls...

That said, I've changed the menu for tonight and will be either be sharing an old recipe for a deep south favorite Hoppin John and kale, or I will be working on a Chicken Taco with Slaw recipe. 

Thanks for reading! Please pass on my blog! Comment on the posts, I want to know if you've tried the recipes and would love to answer any questions you may have about them or the products used. Also, would love to know what you want to see on the blog! 

Thank you ALL for supporting my blog, I hope you will continue to look around, follow me, and give me feedback!  

xoxo~Kaiti

Warning

Just so everyone is aware...

I just (FINALLY) bought myself a wok!!!!!!  That said, this week I will be working on recipes that will help you to make you're own Chinese "Fake Out"!!  Recipes to look forward to are some of my favorite Chinese Take-out orders (all made completely VEGAN!):

• General Tso's Chick'n
• Kung Pao Chick'n
• "Beef" and Broccoli
• Szechuan Green Beans
• Mongolian "Beef"
• Orange Chick'n
• Sweet and Sour Chick'n
• Fried Rice
• "Egg" Rolls

ETC!

If you have a favorite Chinese food that's not listed above, Leave me a comment and I'll work on a recipe!

YUMMM CHINESE FOOD! (I'm a little excited because I haven't eaten Take Out since becoming vegan)