Sherbs Across America

Crazy Vegan Meet-up!

2008-10-11T09:45:00.001-07:00

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

2008-09-04T17:37:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-01T18:54:00.000-07:00

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?

2008-09-01T16:35:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-04T02:03:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-27T18:53:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-07-27T16:30:00.000-07:00

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!!

Door County, Wisconsin

2008-07-16T16:37:00.000-07:00

For most of this week, we're in Sturgeon Bay, on the peninsula of Wisconsin. It is a really nice place! A woman we're working with here was nice enough to take us around today and we were able to see the water. It's beautiful, and it's nice being out of the Jersey humidity for a little while.
The food has been decent; I've had some nice veggie wraps and salads so I can't complain. We also went to a famous Door County bakery today and got breaksticks--delish! Good thing there was a farmer's market right outside the hotel today--I picked up some snap peas and some raspberries for the road tomorrow (to Milwaukee).

NJ Vegan Prom!

2008-07-14T17:30:00.000-07:00

We had a prom--just an excuse to dress up, hang out with other vegans, eat some good food, drink some beers, and tear up the dance floor!

lazy Indian dinner

2008-07-11T20:20:00.000-07:00

I had some chopped up veggies so I stir-fried them up with some packaged tava masala fry (spice mix). I also made some rice in the cooker with mustard seeds, cumin seeds, salt, and pepper. It was an easy meal, and tasty!

She's a rainbow

2008-07-11T19:30:00.000-07:00

I saw a rainbow yesterday and I took a picture with my cell phone and it actually came out!

I made something that wasn't a one-pot meal

2008-07-09T04:28:00.000-07:00

And it rocked! I made a curry, cumin-spiced rice, and parathas from scratch! All of these recipes can be found in "La Dolce Vegan!" by Sarah Kramer. I had two dinner guests and all of us were quite satisfied. That's Amy flipping the parathas.

I just really love tofu!

2008-07-07T18:39:00.001-07:00

There's nothing to be done about it! Here's my dinner tonight (and my lunch for the next couple days). It's pretty much this recipe from vegweb.com: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=23087.0
I don't know why I can't hyperlink these days!!
One thing I changed was garnishing with scallions, just cuz I had them around! Anyway, you can't go wrong with peanut sauce, so this recipe was a yes!
Check out the chopsticks. :)
Oh, and I don't believe I've posted this pic of the adorable ones. Sadie is licking Sammy (usually it's the other way around).

Girls weekend and cooking!

2008-07-06T11:09:00.000-07:00

Note: These two topics are wholly unrelated, aside from the fact that they both happened this weekend and I'm very excited about them!
I went down to DC and Annapolis this weekend with my EB girls. It was a blast, from the car ride there all the way to the car ride home. Highlights were seeing fireworks from the rooftop of the EPA building and going on a boat ride--on the same sailboat that was used in the movie "Wedding Crashers." Other highlights were just laughing, eating, drinking, and catching up! We still know how to have a great time together.
Before I left, I got back into cooking and made sushi (recipe loosely based on theppk.com), which was not difficult at all. When I came home, I didn't have much in the house so I pan-fried some tofu (recipe from "Eat, Drink, & Be Vegan!") and served it over some udon noodles, tossed with some sesame oil and soy sauce and sprinked with gomasio--so yum!
And yes, cat hair is a main ingredient in all my dishes!

Cleveland rocks!

2008-07-04T07:47:00.001-07:00

Last week, I got to go to Cleveland on my own. I'm definitely a fan of traveling alone--I don't think I'd ever really done it before. OK, it did help that I had a buddy for the second half of the week! :) But in the first half, I took myself to the Botanical Gardens and to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (most of my work took place at night). I picked the most gorgeous day to see the gardens. My one regret is that I didn't give myself enough time at the Hall of Fame--there is a lot to see there and I kept getting sucked in to the movies they show--it was like I was watching VH1 circa 2004, but better! I also took myself to see "You Don't Mess with the Zohan." In Ohio, I think I was the only one laughing at all the Jewish and Israeli stuff! Food worked out to be pretty good also--I found a vegan place called Web of Life. After I went there once, I kept going back--vegan chicken sandwich, vegan BBQ chicken pizza, vegan donuts! So yummy. I also found a veg-friendly place called Tommy's, which was in the Haight-Ashbury of Cleveland, as I call it. I had a tofu scramble there, which wasn't amazing, but I was happy to be able to go out to breakfast.
I'm off to DC/Annapolis now. Hope everyone has a great holiday weekend!

Happy Graduation to Me!

2008-06-24T21:31:00.000-07:00

As of June 22, 2008, I am a certified Health Counselor! I have a lot of mixed feelings about being done with nutrition school...Here are some pics!!
Sorry for being a delinquent blogger. I will post Cleveland pics next.

Hair today...

2008-06-17T20:11:00.000-07:00

...gone tomorrow!
I chopped my hair off and I'm donating it to Pantene Beautiful Lengths. Hopefully they'll take it, split ends and all. It's been a few hours and I'm getting used to the haircut. It'll be good for summer. Yay!
Mom showed up to watch. We stopped by the mall later and someone asked if we were sisters! I have mixed feelings about this, but mostly, I'm happy for my mom and hopeful that I'll look that good at her age! (age not to be revealed)

And I ran...

2008-06-16T16:54:00.000-07:00

...I ran so far away...
I ran my 5k on Saturday in just under 31 minutes. Not bad!
It was the Matt D'Amico Memorial in Medford, NJ--I ran with some people who knew Matt, who died in a car crash.
Anyway, here are some pics!
I seem to be annoyed with Arpan for some reason in the 2nd pic--it was not posed! :)

Snowshoe Mountain

2008-06-12T21:06:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share some more photos with you all from my last 2 days in WV. We went up to Snowshoe, a ski resort area about a half hour away. We walked around--it was dead in the off-season, but really neat and beautiful. We went out to dinner at a really nice restaurant--the owner, Rico, knew what vegan meant! I ordered "Wok Gone Wild"--veggies with buckwheat noodles in red coconut curry sauce. Unfortunately, I think someone thinks coconut milk isn't vegan, because there was nothing coconut or curry about it! It was, however, an excellent simple stir-fry. For dessert? Free cotton candy. Odd...
The other exciting vegan event took place the next day on the way home in Lewisburg--there were items on the menu marked "vegan"--I got a BLT.
On the way to Lewisburg, we stopped at Beartown State Park, called so because the rocks have formed crevices that looked like bear caves--no, Mom, there were no actual bears! So peaceful and beautiful!
I was supposed to go to South Dakota next week, but I'll be stuck here in Jersey. Stay tuned for non-travel-related posts!

Country Roads, Take me Home

2008-06-04T13:47:00.000-07:00

...West Virginia! We are staying on the outskirts of a tiny little town. Where I'm at now, I can see both ends of Main Street. I'm posting from the Dirt Bean, a surprisingly cool little coffee shop/bike shop, run by women who mountain bike. They have some cool veggie stuff here. Otherwise, my diet has consisted of stuff I brought, iceberg lettuce, and fries. I have been getting some good exercise though, running up and down these hills!
It's definitely beautiful and interesting here. I feel obligated to write about all the things we take for granted in Jersey--cell phone service, malls, movie theaters, tofu...The mountains and the quiet are nice, but I think I do better in less isolated areas. We had to take a nauseating mountain road to get here. Check out the place we got gas--a general store with some pumps out front. It's definitely interesting to be in such a different place. Anyway, here are some pics!

Farm Sanctuary, Watkins Glen, NY

2008-05-30T04:08:00.000-07:00

I took a detour from my business travels and went away to Watkins Glen, NY for Memorial Day weekend. What a great idea. Thanks, James, for putting it together! We stayed in a cabin and had tons of fun.
It's been challenging for me to try to put together a post about Farm Sanctuary. I don't know how to convey how amazing this place is. It is a wonderful haven for farm animals who have been rescued and given the chance to live out their lives peacefully and happily, free from pain and abuse. The need exists for places like this because of the extreme cruelty that goes on in factory farms. Contrary to popular and comfortable belief, all animals are treated poorly when they are viewed as a commodities (see photo of the depiction of a gestation crate and a battery cage). The ones who are killed for meat may even be treated better than those used for eggs and dairy. This applies to "organic" and "free-range," as well. Do you REALLY know what goes on on these farms? It's all worse than you think. For more information, see Farm Sanctuary's website.
We also went to Watkins Glen State Park, where we saw all the gorgeous waterfalls. the sandwich is from ABC Cafe in Ithaca. Good stuff! In other photos, you'll see a depiction of a deer hunting a human--instead of buying it, I photographed it!

Join the Farmy!

2008-05-26T19:06:00.000-07:00

Here I am with Gene Baur, Founder and President of Farm Sanctuary. What an amazing person! Much more blogging and tons of photos to come this week. Right now I am beat!

What a ride!

2008-05-23T18:35:00.000-07:00

I didn't think there'd be anything to post today, but we had quite the ride to the airport. Let's just say it smelled like our driver was having a good time before he picked us up...shady, but made for a funny ride.
While I'm here, I'll share that I found out the name of the bar we went to yesterday--Fric Frac (thanks Joe). We also had a bit of a humorous lunch experience at the airport. There was a sign for a yummy-looking restaurant right before security, indicating that the restaurant was after security. The "restaurant" was a food stand with pre-made salads and stuff. So we went to Quiznos. I actually ended up going through security 3 times. My veggie sub wasn't so great, but it did the trick.
Tomorrow: Farm Sanctuary!

Ants on a Tree

2008-05-23T07:25:00.000-07:00

I went out to dinner last night and I ordered Ants on a Tree. It looks really yummy in the picture but it was way too salty--even for me! I went with two fabulous vegans--Claire and Joe. We had a blast. We also went to a bar after, but I don't remember the name (bad blogger!) It was a total blast. Their food at Blue Koi was awesome--plus we had an awesome tofu appetizer--literally. It was called Crispy Tofu with Spicy Awesome Sauce. Now I'm just relaxing in the hotel, getting ready to catch my flight home. Hope you enjoyed my trip to KC as much as I did!

2008-05-22T06:25:00.000-07:00

Kansas City has been awesome so far! Yesterday was exhausting. We flew out of Philly at 7:45am and then went to lunch at a Mexican place called Baja. Good thing I asked if the rice and beans were vegetarian--they were not! I had some nice (though way too oily) veggie fajitas. We sat outside and I actually got a little bit of a sunburn. We then stopped by Three Dog Bakery, where they make gourmet dog treats. The place was amazing. After our little jaunt around the Plaza, we stopped by a tea shop and a Wild Oats Market that are right by the hotel and then we all completely crashed. After that, it was time to eat again. I managed to convince everyone to try Eden Alley , a very cool veggie cafe. It was good for my food ADD because they had an option to try a soup or salad and smaller versions of two of the specials. I had a chef's choice salad, half an eggplant sandwich, and some pesto pasta. To drink? Kombucha--excellent. I am enjoying the Spanish theme of the Plaza area, as you can see in the pics.

I do not know why the text is bold or how to caption pics! I pledge to become a better blogger when I have time.

Pre-travel cooking

2008-05-19T18:10:00.000-07:00

So I'm vegan. And what do vegans do? We take pictures of our food and post them on the internet! This is going to be partially a cooking blog because when I am not traveling, I'm going to be SO excited about being able to cook! Tonight I cooked something from La Dolce Vegan by Sarah Kramer. I usually get annoyed with this book because it typically only makes enough for about two good meals, but when you're not gonna be around, that is totally perfect. So I made Margo's Veggie Peanut Stew--unbelievably delicious!
I've gotten a lot of response about my adventures and my entrance into the blogosphere. Thanks for the support! To answer everyone's burning question, my first trip is to Kansas City, MO. It's the pilot site so I'll only be there from Wednesday to Friday. Tomorrow: packing...

Testing

2008-05-18T21:29:00.000-07:00

Welcome! I've entered the world of blogging and I'm glad you're here with me. Maybe I'll get really into blogging and do it even when I'm not traveling! I just want to point out that my posting will of course be limited by confidentiality, but I'll get in what I can.
Here is a text pic of my cousin's daughter, Marianna because she is cute.