Crazy Vegan Meet-up!

OK so I finally uploaded these pics! The meet-up was over the summer. My camera has since died. Sad. So in the next few weeks or so, I'm gonna post about trips that I never posted about!! Not too much detail because yes, it's old news...but there are still some cool pics I want to put up! So, the new format is that I'm just posting directly onto Picasa and linking there. So, click here for the vegan meet-up!

RIP Sgt. Pepper

We had to put Sgt. Pepper to sleep on Tuesday. He was really sick and not eating anything and everyone agreed it was the only thing to be done. He was 11 years old and a really wonderful kitty. Everyone loved him and we all miss him very much.

Polenta and Beans

I'm posting this really crappy cell phone pic of my dinner (and lunch-to-be) just so I can remember it cuz it's so easy and awesome. I had some black beans in the fridge so I refried them: sauteed some garlic in olive oil and added some spices--cumin, coriander, chili powder and salt and then added the beans and some water and let it simmer and smashed them up a little. When they were done I stirred in some cilantro and served over freshly made polenta. I was too lazy to chop up tomatoes at the moment--it would have looked prettier. Wow is this the worst food blog ever?? I hope it's good cold tomorrow. Do I have to get a lunch box for Tuesdays when I have 3 3-hour classes in a row?

Oops where'd my blog go?

Hello and sorry I've been out of touch, if anyone's still reading this!! I haven't posted about Kentucky or KC round two but I'll just skip right to the Jersey Shore! I went to Asbury Park yesterday with Jason and my parents. My mom has been singing the praises of the revitalization and with good reason! Unfortunately my camera is starting to fail and I have no pictures, but it was a great place to spend the Sunday of Labor Day weekend--a lot less crowded than the rest of the Jersey Shore. Also, there are some nice vegan food options--both on and off the boardwalk. We had dinner at Twisted Tree--a cafe with sandwiches and smoothies and stuff and live music. We also checked out an organic store next door, where I bought Ecco Bella lip gloss on sale for $5. It's cool cuz there's a mirror on the bottle!!
Anyway, the pic is of some Indian food I made--the chapati and cumin rice were both repeats, but the potatoes and peas were new to me--all from La Dolce Vegan. Jason and I enjoyed it tremendously!!
I start school tomorrow. I do plan on going back and posting pics from my other trips. Stay tuned...

Douglas, Wyoming

Wyoming was beautiful. It's just a difficult place for a Jersey girl to be by herself. It was a very different place to me, which made it very interesting. I thought it looked like the set of an old western movie. Oddly enough, I did find 2 health food stores where I was in Douglas and a decent Mexican place. When I tell people I'm vegan, often their first response is to comment on how hard it is. It is NOT hard. I really thought I was gonna be packing a suitcase full of food this summer so that I could eat in these out-of-the-way places. Not so! Finding food has been easy, interesting, and enjoyable.
The pics are of the Natural Bridge and then some from the town.
I'm including a pic of Sexy Sadie just because. She was in my dresser, behind my drawer. I'm not sure how she got there.
Right now I am at the airport super early, on my way to Paducah, Kentucky. I'm looking forward to it! I hope I didn't speak too soon about the food! But there are two places listed on Happy Cow. I'm sure it'll be awesome.

Indy

I learned that "Indy" is the city of Indianapolis, not the whole state of Indiana!
Jason showed me the city--here's a bad pic of us on New Jersey Street, and a poorly doctored version--you decide which is better! We took a walk at night and saw one of the many war memorials and the canal. We also went to the nature park in Greencastle, IN. (The pic that looks like just rocks on the ground is a little toad). We did some home cooking too--a potato-onion-vegan sausage hash (La Dolce Vegan) with chips and guac. My first trip to Indiana gets an A!

Milwaukee & Chicago, Vegan Style!

Jason met me in Milwaukee and I decided to do everything vegan that there was! We went out to breakfast at the Riverwest Co-op Cafe--french toast, biscuits & gravy, and shortbread. The french toast was the best, followed by the biscuits and then the shortbread--I kinda want to make a good version of vegan short bread now, but I think I'll put that project on hold.
This huge breakfast enabled us to not really overbuy at Vegan Essentials, an awesome online store based out of Wisconsin (near Milwaukee) that has a warehouse that they open to the public--it was pretty awesome!
We then headed to Chicago to meet up with some vegan friends. Unfortunately, I somehow forgot to photograph our faux chicken parm, mac and cheeze and amazing pb-chocolate chip cookie dough shake (all from the Chicago Diner). I was distracted by all the fun we were having! One of our friends had a pedi-cab--he rode us to the lake on it and it was quite an experience!!