A few weeks ago I found myself in Sacramento, once again informing people about circus cruelty, & took the chance to check out some local vegan dining options!
that are clearly marked, including the elusive vegan Naan! I opted to share two combo platters with friends, which contain your any choice of two items with rice & naan, for only $5. We had the Channa Masala, Mix Veggie Curry, Aloo Gobhi, & Eggplant Curry, which all hit the spot. While it's not the most epic Indian food I've had, I would totally grab a bite here again if I was in the area.
After hearing about Sunflower Natural Restaurant, the vegetarian drive in that's been around since 1978, I had to check it out. People warned me it was far off the beaten path in Fair Oaks, but I ignored them & pressed on. With the very awesome Honor by my side, we rolled up to this little stand & ordered the classic Nutburger. Dang, not bad! A flavorful patty in a whole wheat bun smothered in creamy sauce 
with lots of veggies is likely not what you would expect from a natural foods joint, but it is certainly what I got! In addition to the tasty food, there's chickens hanging out while you eat! Apparently, they live in the neighborhood & come over to eat people's scraps. After my meal, I headed over to the park where they hang out & even made a friend when I saw kids harrassing a little chicken & brought her back to hang with her chicken homies. Too cute!
so I was thrilled to find Here's The Scoop! has a fair amount of vegan options. They serve up 4 flavors of Soy Cream by Double Rainbow, one of my favorite vegan ice creams out there, as well as soy bon bons & Gunther's Fruit Freezes. With Soy Cream being readily available in my area, I opted for a Fruit Freeze with Strawberry Banana & Orange flavors. Oh MAN, I could eat these everyday! Made from fruit juice, they totally quench your thirst & quell your ice cream cravings at the same time. I hope I get a chance to have them again soon!
The Farm Sanctuary Walk for Farm Animals is coming to a town near you! This event is a great way to raise money for the animals, but it's also an opportunity to inform the public about animal cruelty. San Francisco's Walk is on October 24th, which I'll sadly be out of town for, but Megan & Kelly from The Sisters Vegan will be there walking & Sugar Beat Sweets has donated a prize, so I I suppose I'll be there in spirit. Participants get a rad shirt, designed by Herbivore Clothing! If you can't walk, consider making a donation to someone walking! (maybe Megan & Kelly?!)
Here I go again, missing my weekly blog post! I almost missed this one as well, but I thought I'd throw in a mini update, until I have time to make a proper post next week.
Charlotte's Bakery serves up rotating vegan cupcake options daily. We tried 5 flavors when we were there; Red Velvet, Coconut, Raspberry, & Chocolate. While they weren't the best cupcakes I've had, I have to hand to them for serving up cruelty free confections! We also snagged a couple vegan paninis with eggplant, mushroom, red bell pepper, & pesto that were tasty & were told some of the grain salads are vegan as well. If you're in the area, I would recommend checking them out!
Over Labor Day weekend, I attended a potluck picnic in Dolores Park with a large group of PPKers. Despite having made giant, gooey cinnamon rolls & having my camera, I managed to forget to take food pictures! We had a pretty amazing food spread from pies & baklava to BBQ black eyed peas & tempeh sliders, yet I managed to miss it all. Instead, I was overjoyed that Strummer made a new friend & dare I say, love connection with a 
3lb male chihuahua named Mango. They were friendly, to say the least & the photo says a bit more! I'm just thrilled that Strummer could finally frolic in the grass with someone close to her size & hope that there will be many future doggy dates.
Life has been busy lately & it seems like I've been everywhere but home! Last week, I headed down to Palo Alto to have a meetup at Fraiche, home of my favorite vegan frozen yogurt. It was a small group of Ladybros, but the attendees included Megan from Say It's Not Soy, Jordan from Too Vegan to Function, Erika from Strange & Violent Creations, & Jennifer who may be the only vegan on earth without a blog! You may also recognize Jordan & Erika from their podcast The Cosmopolitan Hour! I can be heard babbling on Episode 21 & a few other episodes, so you should listen in! Back to the frozen yogurt, did I mention I'm obsessed? 
It's plain & tangy yogurt topped in your choice of toppings. I went with Mango & Apricot this time & was saddened to find out they've discontinued Pineapple, my topping of choice. Rumor has it, San Francisco gets a Fraiche location a mere 6 blocks from my house in 2 weeks. Oh man, I'm in trouble! Delicious, delicious trouble.
to pass out fliers to circus-goers to let them know Ringling Circus abuses their animals & animals should not be used for entertainment. It's always an interesting time, as reactions vary wildly, but ultimately if you change the minds of a few people, it is completely worthwhile. If you're in the Sacramento area, Born Free USA will be at the Arco Arena leafleting Thursday, August 27th through Sunday, August 30th & volunteers are always welcome. I'm going to try to make it out there Friday & Saturday. Not in the area? Born Free USA has circus & other animal related literature to hand out in your own area.
While in the South Bay, I had the chance to check out Psycho Donuts in Campbell & bring back some donuts for the circus volunteers. While I'm not the biggest fan of their shtick (mental illness isn't funny), I AM a big fan of their "We Been Vegan" donut. A donut covered in Cinnamon & Sugar may not sound like much with all their other over-the-top offerings, but this old fashioned cake donut was fluffy & moist with just the right amount of sweetness & spice from the coating. There's rumor of the vegan options expanding & I hope that's the case!
Over the weekend, I went to a housewarming party for two of my favorite gals, Meg & Kelly from The Sisters Vegan. It was a potluck, of course, & the theme was Middle School Foods. I made some Coconut Cake Balls, which didn't quite fit the theme, but I also made mini Bagel Pizzas, ala Bagel Bites! I took the highbrow route & made them Garlic & Heirloom Tomato with a blend of Italian & Cheddar Daiya Cheese. I have to say, they were pretty darn good & I wouldn't turn down another chance to eat them! 
The potluck spread was pretty tasty, Erin from Vegan Homemade made an awesome Potato Salad & there was everything from TWO types of Corn Dogs to Peanut Butter Cups, Cookies, & Box-style frosted Brownies. Do I even need to say we were stuffed?!
While this weekend was hardly a relaxing getaway having done 14+ hours of driving in less than 3 days, we always take the time on trips to find delicious vegan options along the way! Our first stop was halfway between San Francisco & Los Angeles in San Luis Obispo, our former home & the current home to our good friend Josh. Josh is always kind enough to let us crash at his place, any hour of the night, any day of the week, seriously ANY time, so I decided to surprise him with a delivery from Amy Bakes Cupcakes!
A popular Central Coast special order bakery, Amy Bakes Cupcakes has options for the vegan & gluten free folks & will deliver right to you! With Josh being a lover of Peanut Butter & Chocolate, I opted for a dozen of the "PB Kiss" cupcakes, a moist, flavorful peanut butter cupcake, topped in sweet chocolate frosting! He was completely surprised & they disappeared quickly! We can't wait to pass through & place another order, I have my eye on the S'mores cupcakes next!
Another sweet treat in San Luis Obispo is the newly opened chocolate shop, Sweet Earth Chocolates. Formerly housed in Splash Cafe, this company making organic, fair trade confections has opened their own storefront location & seems to have more vegan options than ever! While my favorite will always be the rice crispie & cashew flecked caramels coated in 
dark chocolate they call Turtles, I certainly would not turn down their other chocolates! I opted for an assortment for myself & friends, including Vanilla Caramels, Chili Orange Walnut & Almond Clusters, plus Cherry Almond & Peppermint Bark. They also have Truffles, Fruit Gellies, & Peanut Butter Cups! Luckily, you can order online if you won't be making it to San Luis Obispo any time soon.
Well, even though we only made it to Thousand Oaks & not the vast locations further south, we were pretty well impressed. Signs declared that we were in the midst of vegan options & we found everything from organic cotton candy to Gardein Curry Salads & even a vegan friendly taco bar. Sure, those all sound great, but we were there for the "Surfboard Pizza"! Whole Foods in Southern California offer large, surfboard shaped pizzas with the soy free, non-dairy cheese Daiya, 
that has been taking the vegan world by storm. We opted for a Garlic, Tomato, & Spinach pie which was topped in Cheddar Daiya, baked to perfection in a wood fired oven, & set us back a mere $13.99! While I prefer my pizza topped in Cheezly, this was a pizza definately worth eating & sharing with friends!
For those of you in the Bay Area, there's a benefit coming up on August 28th at 8pm to support the AETA 4. "Sweet Justice" will be a night of vegan desserts with a silent auction, raffle, & more to benefit 4 activists currently jailed due to the Animal Enterprise Terrorist Act. Please see the AETA 4 blog post for more information! For those of you who can't be there, please sign this petition to repeal the Animal Enterprise Terrorist Act!
Thank you everyone for the well wishes on my last post. I am finally feeling better, I'm back in the kitchen & ready to share my culinary adventures! Lately, I have been devoting time to recipe testing for two of my favorite people, superstar cookbook authors, Isa & Terry! I've mentioned the upcoming Vegan Latina book from Terry before & trust me, it's going to be phenomenal (check out The Sisters Vegan post), but did you know Isa has another book coming up as well? Hot off the heels of Vegan Brunch, will be a whole foods, weight conscious cookbook, low on fat, but high on flavor!
I've made quite a few dishes already like the Caribbean Black Eyed Pea Curry with Plantains, a Potato & Corn Salad that gets a kick from Chipotle Peppers & other dishes all varied & delicious! In the photos are a Quinoa Salad with beans, veggies, & toasted Cumin Seeds, plus some chewy & delicious Scarlet Barley topped in Mushroom & Cannelini Paprikas! Trust me, you would never know this was a low-fat book, everything has been fabulous!
Vegan Ambrosia Salad
In uber exciting news.. we're going (back) to JAPAN! Ryan & I recently celebrated 11 years as a couple & to reward ourselves, we booked a flight to Tokyo in October. Calling all vegans in Japan! We want to meet you! Of course, suggestions on where to go are very much welcome. We went to Japan on our honeymoon 4 years ago in October, as you can see in the photo from a Purikura booth, but we'd like to see new things this time. We will likely be in Tokyo, Kyoto, & Nara, but are open to suggestions! Bring 'em on!
I'm a bit under the weather at the moment with a monster of a cold. Aches, pains, sore throat, swollen glands, you name it, I've got it! Rather than attempt to write a big long entry, I thought I'd inundate you with sugary goodness, so here are some cakes & cupcakes I've been making in the past few months...
First up is some good old classic chocolate cupcakes! Chocolate cupcake, chocolate frosting, & chocolate sprinkles, for the ultimate chocoholic.
German Chocolate is a common request in my household, especially from my husband & father who insist on it every single birthday. While I'm used to making German Chocolate Cakes
for people, I decided I needed to make a cupcake version as well. After a few thoughts on how to approach it, I ended up with a Coconut-Pecan "bomb" on top of a chocolate cupcake & drizzled it with chocolate ganache. Works for me!
Finally, a big cupcake tower! How fun is that?! The flavors pictured are Chocolate Snowball, Snickerdoodle, & Orange Dreamsicle, yum!
& although San Francisco's temperatures are their typically chilly selves, we're still celebrating with all sorts of food & fun! It seems like my social calendar has an Eat-A-Thon scheduled for just about every weekend until the end of time, but I don't mind, it gives me more to share with others!
A few weeks ago, Ryan, Strummer, & myself headed down to sunny Santa Cruz for a PPK potluck hosted by Amey from Vegan Eats & Treats. The weather was perfect & we stuffed ourselves with savories like Empanadas, Stuffed Mushrooms, homemade Bagels, Broccoli Quiche, Spring Rolls, Macaroni Salad, & more! Avocado Key Lime Pie, Rice Krispie Treats, Coffee Cake, & 
Banana Pudding made up some of the sweets, plus I made a Chocolate Butterscotch Chip Cookie Cinnamon Swirl Cake Pie with toasted Marshmallow Meringue. Yes, you read that right. Inspired by Jessie at Cakespy, I made a pie crust, chocolate butterscotch chip cookie dough, & cinnamon swirl cake batter, layered & baked them together, then topped it with Julie Hasson's Marshmallow Meringue from Everyday Dish TV. The most fun of this dish was busting out the kitchen torch & toasting the delicious fluffy topping, yum!
City from New Zealand, aka the NZ Cupcake Queen recently made her way through the United States & we were lucky enough to have her here in San Francisco! We had a great time showing her & husband Chris the sights of the city, but we also had to have a proper American cookout (all vegan, of course), as they were here for the 4th of July! We deemed the day the "Sausage Fest", as we had at least 6 types of veggie dogs & sausages to grill up. Erika made adorable Onigiri with Nori faces, while the rest of us seemed to fill the table with sugary confections from cookies to Lemon Bars. Thanks to Dandies Marshmallows, I was able to make a proper Ambrosia Salad, so the Kiwis could taste the classic potluck dish loved & feared by many!
Speaking of sausages, inspiration struck recently & I decided to make Pretzel Dogs! I started with a homemade seitan hot dog recipe, then made soft pretzel dough. After the dogs were steamed, I wrapped them in the pretzel dough, baked them golden, & boy, was this gluten wrapped gluten delish, ha! I made some classic soft pretzels as well, which were also a hit, & I can see these being a repeat offender in our household.
This weekend a milestone birthday occurred & friends Gina & Adam from the PPK were in town, so of course, an epic celebration with lots of food was in order. Since our friend Nate turned 40, his wife Jen threw the party, which was a surprise for the birthday boy! We had a good potluck assortment with dishes like Quinoa Salad & Pav Bhaji, then also fired up my chocolate fountain with an awesome spread of dippables like fresh fruit, Dandies Vegan Marshmallows, Chocolate Cake Truffles, Pound Cake & pretzels. As if that wasn't enough sweetness, Jen, Jordan, Erika, & I 
decided to construct the most metal cake around! Chocolate cake & chocolate frosting with oozing strawberry "blood" inside & out, we wrapped the cake in over-the-top marzipan decor & a decapitated groom to honor "40 Years of Brutality"! Not a bad way to celebrate a birthday, eh?!
It always seems I'm on the go these days & a few weeks ago I found myself on a weekend trip to Southern California to visit family & have another round of tattooing done on my arm. Never one to turn down an opportunity to find delicious vegan dining options, I set out in search of places I hadn't been before, but also visited an old favorite.
The vibe is a bit hippie, they have many raw food options, & while we found our dining companions, four omni family members, to be a bit perplexed by the place, everyone was willing to try it out. I started with a salad that wasn't even on the menu! A couple dining at the next table over had a large salad that looked amazing, so I had to ask what it was. It turns out it's a salad that the regulars know about & Mary prepares especially for people "in the know". Well, I'm glad I found out about it, 
as the salad with kalamata olives, chopped nuts, & a tangy dressing on a bed of heirloom tomatoes topped in nut based cheese was fabulous! Next up were the entrees & I decided to go with the "Rawvolis". Sheets of jicama made up what would typically be pasta & they were filled with more of the delicious housemade nut cheese with a butternut squash sauce, pesto, kalamata olives, & pistachios. Ryan had a burger, Mary style, with a side of raw slaw & was happy with his selection.
For dessert, we split two options, the strawberry shortcake, & a raw apple pie. The strawberry shortcake didn't do it for me, as it was quite dense, likely from the use of whole wheat flour. The nut based ice creams on the other hand were a tasty treat! The raw apple pie was a bit hard to eat, but a lovely, flavorful selection we both enjoyed! I would certainly return to Mary's Secret Garden again, especially as we have family in the area & it's a great dining option!
Of course, I needed savory food as well, so I hit the Hollywood Farmers Market in search of some grub & hit the jackpot! I started out at A Taste of Life & loaded up on all the soul food staples; Mac & Cheese, Pot Roast, Black Eyed Peas, Kale Greens, Cornbread, & some not-so-traditional Lasagna. We loved the sweet, fluffy cornbread, as well as the black eyed peas & we love anything kale related! Next up, I was told to check out Dave's Gourmet Korean Food, a booth with two sweet, smiling girls who were happy to dish out the samples. While the spicy veggies we bought certainly lived up to their name, we fell in love with the smooth & chewy Black Bean & Rice Tempeh! Seriously, delicious soy free Tempeh! 
Another stop was at Corn Maiden Tamales for a savory Vegetable tamale & a Green Corn with Sweet Yellow Corn tamale for dessert. These hit the spot late at night when our appetites kicked back in!
(soy) cheese, pickles, onion.. & sprouts, on a whole wheat bun. While I believe he prefers the Bigger Maque at Madeleine Bistro, this still hit the spot, especially with a side of the wonderful Kale in Spicy Peanut Sauce! I opted for a salad trio, with the Broccolini Pepperoncini I tried last time, plus the Scarlet Quinoa, & a Curried Cauliflower salad with lots of tasty vegetables & cashews. I wish San Francisco had a similar place to M Cafe with delicious, healthy fare!
After another 6 hour session of tattooing with Hannah Aitchison, I was ready for some serious eating. Enter Purgatory Pizza! We met up with the brains behind To Live and Eat In LA, plus other friends Natalie, Michael, & Scott, so we could throw down on 3 pizzas! We had an Olive, Garlic, & Pineapple with the new vegan cheese Daiya on top, another Daiya topped pie with Field Roast Italian Sausage & Olives, & an "Armagarden" with Teese. The Daiya is VERY creamy & sticks to the roof of your mouth, something I wasn't ready for! 
I think I may prefer the Cheddar style as something to use in quesadillas, but I may have to get my hands on some & start experimenting to really find out! Teese is always a good melty standby, so of course that pie was tasty as well. Once again, Los Angeles proves it has a ton of great vegan options for people with palates of any sort!
