Sakura Bana

When it comes to going out for sushi in Omaha, my friends and I can narrow down our choices quickly and it always comes down to Matsu Sushi or Sakura Bana. What tips the scale in favor of Sakura Bana is when we want the carrot ginger dressing served with their side salad. I always start my meals there with a side salad topped with this outstanding dressing. I will even confess that sometimes I am gross and dip my avocado rolls in the leftover dressing. Delicious.

 While they don't have the selection of rolls that Matsu presents, they don't exactly slouch in that area either. On the platter pictured, we have an avocado roll, a yasai (veggie) roll, a kanpyo (cooked gourd) roll and a seaweed salad roll. There are a few other options, including inari. The sushi always tastes fresh and is rolled perfectly. One of my pet peeves is when sushi is rolled poorly, making it difficult to eat.

 

The final part of my meal at Sakura Bana always includes a sasadango. Sasadangos are made of mochi rice on the outside and sweet red bean paste on the inside. They come wrapped in a bamboo leaf and while they aren't much to look at, they are a delectable and rich way to finish your meal at Sakura Bana.

Aside from the food, Sakura Bana is a great place to enjoy a quiet meal. They start your meal out with hot towels and you have the option of sitting in a private tea room where you get to take your shoes off- great for a group!

I might be psychic: Bieber for PETA

Remember when I said that the one person I wanted to go vegan was Justin Bieber for all the Vegan Bieber Fever? Look what he's doing now:

 

Picture from Popcrunch

Eerie, right? I know it isn't veganism and that PETA isn't really my thing, but still. I am going to go buy a lottery ticket.

Christmas Morning

I recognize that it has been a week since I've posted on here. I could say that I've been busy, but, really, it's mostly that I've been lazy and had a bit of a cold. However, I am now only slightly under the haze of Benadryl, so it seems that this is the perfect time to show off my Christmas morning breakfast.

Christmas was a simple affair for my family. On Christmas eve, I drove down to my parents' home and we ate Chinese food, opened gifts and watched old Christmas specials on their giant TV. Seriously, the thing is almost as wide as I am tall.

The next morning, we made Fast and Fabulous French Toast from The Vegan Table, as well as fried up some potato slices that I cut up with my new mandoline. All of the french toast was topped off with powdered sugar, I chose to cover mine with some fruit salsa my mom made. Very tasty.

 

All in all, it was a wonderful holiday. Perhaps the best gift I got was this picture of my dad photobombing the french toast when I tried to take a picture of it. Thanks dad.

So much for simple....

It's amazing what a few days, some Christmas shopping and a couple bags of decor from mom can do.

Cella's Chocolate Covered Cherries

Growing up, one of my favorite treats were chocolate covered cherries. Finding them as a vegan has been a little challenging but, this season, Walgreen's has come through for me and made my dreams come true. In their holiday aisle, you can find Cella's Dark Chocolate Covered Cherries, which are vegan and delicious! They do have a milk chocolate variation, so double check that you've grabbed the right one because you are going to want to tear straight into these. Individually wrapped, you get 22 for $3.99 and they are a wonderful holiday treat. Definitely worth a stop into Walgreen's, and it's a perfect gift for you last minute shoppers to pick up, since Walgreen's is always open.

Here We Come A Wassailing: My Favorite Christmas Albums

To be honest, most Christmas music makes me less than pleased. I've been known to use the phrase 'drive me to kill' in regard to "We Need A Little Christmas". However, I would like to focus on the good and talk about what Christmas music doesn't make me shudder. If you want the bad stuff, head on over to Everything Is Terrible, because they have it covered.

XO For The Holidays: Some classics, some new songs and all for free! You can download every album at the link, but my favorite is album II, which features Drew Grow's cover of "Tennessee Christmas". I'm actually pretty into these and will even listen to these in November.

Picture from Paste Magazine

Christmas in the Heart by Bob Dylan: Sometimes the holidays make me feel disoriented. When I want to whip that disorientation and confusion into a frenzy, I turn to Bob Dylan's Christmas album. Also, the cover reminds me of when the Russian couple were thrown to the wolves in My Antonia.

White Christmas by Bing Crosby: Ignoring the fact that this album contains several gold standards for many Christmas songs, this album contains both Christmas in Killarney and Mele Kalikimaka, which are two Christmas I really, really enjoy.

Snowed In by Hanson: Duh. Really. I listen to this in July. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) has been my favorite Christmas song since 1997. It isn't Christmas without Snowed In. As a bonus, the song I linked to is the soundtrack for an excellent Power Rangers montage. As a side note, if you go to Hanson's website, you can listen to all of Snowed In for free using their media player. Seriously, this one is good. Do it.

Deck The Halls, Simply

My roommate and I have a few decorations up in the holiday spirit. I'm hoping to get more up before the big day- stockings are a must since we now have a fireplace. Another necessity? The collection of nutcrackers I've amassed over the years.