Prague Veg Life, Berlin blunders, & Testing time!

Please head over to my new blog at TheUrbanHousewife.com, where you'll find this post & more!

The final phase of our European holiday brought us to the Czech Republic to explore Prague, known by the locals as Praha. One would think vegan food would be nonexistent in a city that's specialty is "Roasted Pork Knees", but once again, many vegan options are available. In fact, we didn't get a chance to go to all of them!

The most common place people mention is Country Life, a restaurant & grocery store run by Seventh Day Adventists. With two locations, one eat-in & one take-out, it's likely you'll find yourself nearby one of them at some point. We opted for the eat-in location & were greeted with a large vegan buffet of salads, soup, pre-packaged sandwiches, hot dishes, & desserts. I opted for a little bit of everything on my plate, while Ryan tried a tofu burger & a salad. Nothing here is amazing, but it's certainly nice to have a large selection of items to choose from.

After our meals, we headed in to the grocery shop to check out the goods & buy some items to take back to our place. While I found quite a few interesting things, I was surprised to find not everything was vegan; lots of honey & milk powder to be found! Luckily, all of the food is in the restaurant is vegan, but it makes you wonder, doesn't it?!

On another day, we popped in to Country Life again for a quick snack. Ryan went crazy for the goulash, while I opted for soup &.. you guessed it, a dessert!

Fruit Tart- A nice, lightly sweetened, slightly flaky crust with a sweet jelly-like filling, topped with fruit. Despite the seeded grapes canned pineapple, unrecognizable berries, this was nice & refreshing! 4 stars

Country Life is located at Melantrichova 15, Praha 1 (dine-in) & Jungmannova 1, Praha 1 (take-out).

A far less known place for vegan food just happened to be right down the street from the apartment we rented. Veganka is easily missed when walking by & even once you enter the building, it's a bit confusing to figure out where to go! This tiny little teahouse serves a rotating all vegan menu, as well as a selection of baked goods & in addition to the extensive tea options. There's no English menu, so hopefully you'll have the same luck we did & have someone at a nearby table give you some guidance! We both ended up with soy schnitzel, as we couldn't quite figure out our other options. While it was a bit greasy for our tastes, the side of potato salad was downright delicious! I decided to try an assortment of their dessert options, not knowing what any of them were in advance; you only live once, right?!

Black Currant Pastry- A bland bread base with an interesting, but mushy & seemingly flavorless topping, the center was nice & sweet from what I thought were dates, but turned out to be black currants. 2 stars


Apple & Blueberry Muffin- Still a bit warm from the oven, this wheaty muffin filled with apple & blueberries bits was surprisingly unsweetened, except for the confectioners sugar on top. 2 ½ stars



"Banán steplou ćoko-polevou"- Who knew this meant banana slices with warm chocolate sauce?! Surely not I! After a bit of a laugh, we dug in & were pleasantly surprised that something so simple could be so delicious. 4 stars

Veganka is located at Hálkova 8, Praha 2.

Another place to dine with vegan options is Clear Head, also known as Lehka Hlava. Down a side street in Prague's "Old Town" is where you'll find this dimly lit oasis with faux starry sky ceilings. It's a nice place to have an evening out, as the atmosphere is bit fancier than the other veg offerings we experienced. Menus are available in English & everything is vegetarian with the vegan items clearly marked & not lacking in selection. We opted to share two entrees & very much enjoyed them both; a bulgar risotto with fresh vegetables & smoky tempeh strips & an Asian inspired stir fry with peanut sauce & fluffy rice. Another thing we shared was a dessert, the carrot cake is made vegan by removing the chocolate sauce & adding caramel flavored soy pudding.

Carrot cake- This was chewy & nutty, filled with coconut, ginger, raisins, & crunchy seeds, we wondered if it was a raw dessert, as we were expecting cake! The flavors in this were far too overpowering & we found it to be overly moist & have a strange texture. 1½ stars

Clear Head / Lehka Hlava is located at Boršov 2/280, Praha 1.

Still in Prague & having been away for so long, we were a bit sick of dining out, so we opted to stay in our rented apartment for a few meals. Mornings started with a fresh fruit salad of apples, oranges, pears, & pineapple were amazingly refreshing after weeks of restaurant food. We found rice cakes covered in carob at Country Life & inspired by VeggieGirl, we picked them up & ended up loving them! I also stowed a can of Heinz Beans from Germany, so we had beans over toast as we hid from the falling snow outside. Overall, Prague was gorgeous, but a bit tourist heavy for our tastes. It's worth exploring at some point in your travels, but is easily completed in just a few days, so is best as a place to pass through on a larger trip.

Based on my previous post, I noticed many people's shock at the veg friendliness of Berlin. While there's plenty of vegan foods to eat there, it's not all Vöner & Cupcakes! Check out these two vehicles I saw packed on the street & was less than impressed by. You can't get much clearer than "CARNIVORE", especially when it has a knife right through it & somehow I don't think this pig wants to be pimping herself out?! That being said, Berlin is an awesome city & I highly recommend going there if given the chance. Like I've mentioned, I've been dreaming of moving there or at least spending the summer riding bikes & having veg picnics in the park!

While that concludes our European vegan coverage, there's plenty more I'll be writing about in the coming weeks. My list of things to share with you has been growing daily, especially having been back for a month now. I've been tasting & testing a lot, including a Lemon Vinaigrette for a new book from Joanna Vaught of Yellow Rose Recipes. I drizzled the tangy vinaigrette over Asparagus laying on a bed of Celeriac Puree, yum yum! Also, Isa Chandra Moskowitz has been throwing down Indian inspired brunch fare such as Samosa Mashed Potato Pancakes & a Curried Cauliflower Frittata that converted my tofu-for-breakfast hating husband in to a lover, not a fighter! Until next time!

Berlin; from Sweets to Seitan Döner!

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After a fabulous 6 days of food & fun in London, it was time to move on to Berlin. I had only spent one day in Berlin a few years ago & even in that short time could see it was a cool city, so I was anxious to return. In the back of my mind there was a bit of concern about the language barrier & my vegan diet, but that concern was quickly laid to rest!

We started by hitting everyone's favorite veg*n fast food joint, Yellow Sunshine in Kreutzberg. Burgers, dogs, & snacks are the name of the game here with a hefty helping of fries or a salad on the side. While the vegan options are clearly marked, they also have an English menu for those not interested in guessing games. Ryan went with the masses & had one of the many burger options & I went for the Seitan Currywurst, as currywurst is everywhere in Germany & I was curious! Let's just say, curiosity killed the cat & I was less than thrilled to have a giant hot dog slathered in cold ketchup & sprinkled with curry powder on my plate. yikes! Ryan fared a bit better with his burger, but ultimately we're not the "vegan fast food" type. We also wanted the vegan tiramisu, but sadly it was not ready yet.

Yellow Sunshine is located at Wiener Straße 19, 10999.

After our fast food excursion, we headed the vegan grocery store Veni Vidi Vegi! It was comforting to have a safe place where I could buy as much as I wanted & not have to decipher a label in German! Needless to say, I went crazy & bought a plethora of items such as Streich sunflower seed pate, gummy bears, Wheaty spacebars, Oat Cream, two types of Chocoreale, & even a vegan white chocolate bar!

Veni Vidi Vegi is located at Pücklerstr. 32, 10997.

On the super adorable front, Maja's Deli is an all vegan cafe that has both takeaway & dine-in food options, plus a large selection of cakes, cookies, & other desserts. The decor alone is worth going there for; sunny yellow walls contain large banners with cows declaring, "Go Vegan!" & "Holy Cow, it's Vegan" & bottles top every table with a single tulip sticking out of them. This cafe would make anyone feel at home! They carry multiple hot dishes daily with a choice of grains or pasta to go on the side. I had a wonderfully creamy "cheesy" sauce over broccoli, cauliflower, peas, carrots, seeds & nuts with a side of couscous. Ryan had his dish of beans, TVP & mixed vegetables in a thick tomato sauce over pasta with a side of freshly squeezed orange juice. They were both very filling & hearty! Of course, we couldn't pass up some items from the extensive dessert options, aka it's review time!

Apple Raspberry Cake- A bit of a breakfast feel, this cake had a crumbly biscuit bottom & was topped with apple & raspberry chunks in a soft base & a sweet crumb top. Overall it was nice, doughy, & not too sweet. 3¾ stars


Chocolate Cheesecake- The nice, crunchy chocolate bottom layer & delicious chocolate crumb & melted chocolate drizzle top were unfortunately filled with a with firm center that tasted far too much like tofu. I can't say I would order this again. 2 ½ stars

Maja's Deli is located at Pappelallee 11, 10437.

Another great vegan option is Hans Wurst Vegancafe in Prenzlauer Berg. Based on their strange webpage & myspace profile, I wasn't sure what to expect here, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a gorgeous 100% organic, 100% vegan cafe with a lovely atmosphere. Unfortunately at this point my camera died, so you'll have to bare with horrible iPhone photos taken in a candlelit room! We shared a delicious pizza topped with pineapple, tofu, tomato sauce, & garlic olive oil. Ryan also had a large fresh salad & I opted for dessert.

Chocolate Mousse- Smooth & not too heavy, this lightly chocolate flavored pudding topped with cocoa & flanked with fruit slices was refreshing, especially after a dense meal. That being said, it was nothing spectacular & I could take it or leave it. 3 stars

Hans Wurst Vegancafe is located at Dunckerstrasse 2a, 10437.


Now you know I love a good cupcake, so it's no shock that I had to go to Cupcake, the 1st shop of its kind in Berlin! It's always nice when a bakery has vegan options & Cupcake carries a rotating selection of vegan cupcakes & the occasional vegan pie, along with soy milk & coffee with soy options! Dawn, the owner is just as sweet as her selection & we started to use this beautiful shop as our shelter from the falling snow outside. I have seen a lot of cupcake shops & bakeries in my day, but Cupcake is one of the most gorgeous ones out there with its retro 50's feel & mismatched vintage plates & cups. I was able to try 3 different cupcakes here, but that doesn't mean I only ate 3 cupcakes!

Chocolate Strawberry- A soft & sweet cocoa flavored cupcake, it was dense, but not heavy, moist with a chewy top & had a nice texture. The strawberry buttercream had a sweet berry flavor & this nice little morsel reminded me of a child's birthday cake. 3½ stars


Vanilla Lemon aka Blondie- A bit muffin-like, this vanilla cupcake was topped with a mild lemon buttercream that had a tinge of vanilla aftertaste. The flavors made a nice combination, but I'd stick to the chocolate! 3 stars


Chocolate Peanut Butter- Needless to say, Ryan was all about this & we actually put in a request for this flavor & Dawn graciously complied! Another soft & sweet chocolate cupcake topped with a sugary sweet peanut butter buttercream, it was nutty with a wonderful smoky roasted aftertaste! 4 stars

Cupcake is located at Krossener Strasse 12, 10245.


While that concludes the sweets of Berlin, I have to end with a place that blew our minds! We had heard rumors of seitan döner & with some internet research, Vöner was discovered. Vöner is a tiny little veg*n cafe in Friedrichshain with a simple menu of 2 burger options, pommes, & "vöner". Ignore those burgers & grab yourself seitan cut right from a rotating spit & placed in to fresh bread, pressed & filled with fresh vegetables, plus garlic & spicy sauces! They do have a non-vegan sauce option, so be sure to specify vegan. We loved this place so much, we managed to squeeze in a 2nd trip on our way out of town. We also mention it in conversation far more often than what is healthy. We tried to convince the purveyor to open a location in San Francisco & he said he'd love to so he can come surf here! Let's hope that happens. By the way, Cupcake & Vöner are not too far from each other & make for a perfect food adventure & a nice walk.

Vöner is located at Boxhagenerstr. 56, 10245.


As you can see, Berlin has a lot of vegan options in all corners of the city. I fell in love with Berlin & have been daydreaming of moving there ever since. If you have a chance, I highly suggest you take a trip to this vibrant city full of beautiful art, beautiful people, & wonderful food!

Rebecca's Cakes; the Vegan Cake Girl & an Jaffa Orange Drizzle Cake recipe!

Please head over to my new blog at TheUrbanHousewife.com, where you'll find this post & more!

Before departing for London, I was surprised to receive a note on Flickr asking if I'd like to sample some vegan baked goods while overseas. Being a gal with an intense sweet tooth & a love for reviewing what the vegan world has to offer, how could I say no?! Enter Rebecca; the Vegan Cake Girl. Shortly after I arrived in London, I received a notice that a box was waiting for me at the post office. My jaw dropped when I spied the large box she had sent to me; it contained a selection of baked goods from breakfast items to cakes, not to mention candies, cute little pins, & suggestions on where to find tasty vegan goods in the UK.

When looking at her website you'll see this is just a small sampling of what Rebecca does. Cupcakes, cakes, trifles, puddings, brownies, cheesecakes, & even Petit Fours are on the menu! Additionally, she does cake mixes for the less baking inclined & catering for events. Here are my thoughts on what I sampled by Rebecca's Cakes, once again using my dessert rating system.

Jaffa Orange Drizzle Cake- This sweet, fluffy, moist cake was just a bit bready & had wonderful marbled gooey parts. The orange zest throughout was lovely & it was topped with a delicious chocolate shell. It had a great flavor & my friends raved about it so much, I sent them one as a thank you for letting us stay with them! 4 ½ stars

Plum & Pine Nut Muffins- A fluffy & not-too-sweet muffin with soft pieces of plum baked in & toothsome pine nuts on top. It made for an interesting combination & the sweetness seemed to mainly come from the plums. I can't say this is a flavor combination I would pick out for myself, but nonetheless, it was not a bad muffin at all. 3 stars


Sticky Toffee Pudding- This bready, not super sweet cake contained dates & was spongy & soft. The butterscotch sauce was very sweet & had a nice burnt sugar taste. I couldn't help but steal a bit of the topping to put on Swedish Glace ice cream & it was great! I found the cake tasted best when covered in the sauce & soaked through, which made it pretty addictive! 3¾ stars

Croissants- "Buttery" & a bit wheaty & mild with a nice outer flakiness & fluffiness, while the inside was a bit more bready & savory tasting. It was nice, but I'm not sure I was ever a croissant person, so I wasn't bowled over. They reminded me a bit of the flaky dinner rolls that come in tubes. 3 stars

Maple Pecan Danish Pastry- A nice, hearty wheat, yet sweet & fluffy pastry with great maple flavor & a tasty drizzle over the top. The center contained whole pecans which Ryan loved & wished for more of. This would be very nice warmed up! 3¾ stars

Blueberry Waffles- These hearty, but still light blueberry laced waffles were perfect reheated in the toaster to start my mornings off. They had a nice wheat taste, almost like a digestive biscuit, & inspired me to make some waffles for freezing at home for a quick breakfast! 4 stars

Rebecca was kind enough to share the Jaffa Orange Drizzle cake recipe for my readers, so now you can enjoy it as much as I did! The measurements are in grams or ounces, so break out those kitchen scales or use a conversion calculator. Trust me, it's worth it!

Rebecca's Cakes Vegan Jaffa Orange Drizzle Cake
Ingredients:
140g / 5oz Vegan Margarine or Shortening, softened.
200g / 7oz Self Rising Flour (If you can't find this, use all purpose flour & increase the baking powder by 2 tsp.)
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
200g Sugar
Ener-G Egg Replacer equivalent to 3 eggs (4 1/2 tsp Ener-G with 6 Tbsp water, blended)
6 Tbsp Soy or Rice Milk
Zest of 1 Big Juicy Orange

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees (160 degrees centigrade).

Mix all of the ingredients using an electric mixer until they're light & fluffy.
When you lift the paddle the batter should drop easily, if it's a little stiff, add a bit more milk.

Pour the batter into a greased & lined loaf tin.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes.

When the cake is cooked take it out of the oven & pierce all over with a skewer or cake tester & immediately make the Orange Syrup.

Orange Syrup
the Juice of 1 Big Juicy Orange
50g/2oz sugar

Bring the juice of the orange & the sugar to a boil in a small pan.

Pour over the cake immediately & leave to cool completely. If you try & cut it while warm the syrup will make the cake fall apart!!

Once the cake has completely cooled, melt 50g/2oz of the finest, darkest chocolate you can find & drizzle it over the cake! Et Voilà!

Overall, I was thrilled with my chance to taste test this array of lovely baked goods. If you live in UK, have a friend there, or are taking a trip there, do yourself a favor & order some vegan desserts from Rebecca. She ships within the UK, has pick up available in North London, & is as sweet as her treats!

London Calling; the eats & the treats!

Please head over to my new blog at TheUrbanHousewife.com, where you'll find this post & more!

As a lover of London, I was excited to go back after two years away. I am lucky to have a close friend who lives there, so a place to stay as well as access to a kitchen was all sorted. When deciding on my dining, I made a point to sample both the local veg options in restaurants & cafes, as well as supermarket & health food store fare. It was quite a food adventure with lots of overeating, but many delicious dishes.

Something I noticed when perusing menus of vegan & vegetarian restaurants, was they were a bit uninspiring; salads, a veggie burger, & some sort of curry seemed to be standards. With the current state of the US dollar, I was not about to spend a ton on things I can easily make at home, so I set out to find exciting or interesting places to report on & only the best of the bunch is what you'll see here.

One of those places was Bonnington Café, a co-operatively run vegetarian & vegan restaurant in South London. This small café in a community centre tucked down a side street amidst community gardens, started in the 80's as squat, providing affordable meals to the community. It boasts a different chef & menu every night, plus always has a three course meal for £10 or the items can be ordered ala carte. Another unique feature is reservations are required via phone or email directly with each night's chef, so diners must plan ahead. We went on a Thursday night, as it's a vegan night, & instantly fell in love with the ambiance. Mismatched tables & chairs were scattered between two candlelit rooms with happy patrons laughing & browsing the night's menu written on the large hanging chalkboard. By the time we had arrived, one of the two entrees was out, but many options were still available. Some of us opted for the 3 course menu while others went ala carte, but we all enjoyed lentil soup & a delicious mix of Moroccan spiced vegetables & mung beans over wild rice. Of course, I had to have a dessert to review with my dessert rating system & I opted for the Spicy Cheesecake.

Spicy Cheesecake- a chocolate cheesecake with a biscuit crust & milk poured on top. I found it to be a bit bland, most likely due to the tofu cheesecake portion. The chocolate flavor was mild, with a spicy kick that was a bit too much for me. Overall, it was decent, but not amazing. 2 ½ stars.

Bonnington Café is located at 11 Vauxhall Grove SW8 1TD in South London.

It seems I enjoy a good co-operatively run space, as another place I enjoyed was Pogo Café, an all vegan, mainly organic café & art space in East London. A bit off the beaten path, but well worth the trek, the café has a menu of standard snacks & starters, burgers, daily main course specials, plus many dessert options & even food items for sale, such as Cheezly, soya drinks, & more. It's a cute little space with rotating art on the walls & free wi-fi where veg activists & local families come together.

Ryan had the Punk Burger, which was served with Cheezly, mayo, rashers (aka veg bacon), tomato & lettuce on a bun with a side of potato wedges & salad. I had one of the daily specials which was an Eggplant, Tomato, & Potato moussaka with veg meat crumbles & a creamy, delicious baked "cheesy" topping, plus two refreshing salads. While the food was lovely, I was anticipating dessert & found it quite hard to decide what to get. I opted to take a slice of Mango Cake home & have a "Knickerbocker Glory" on site, at the suggestion of the friendly staff.

Knickerbocker Glory- Let me start by saying WOW, I had never heard of a Knickerbocker Glory, but feel I am better off knowing of them now! This sundae had a blueberry jam base under three types of Swedish Glace ice cream, with dollops of custard topped with crumbled biscuits, date syrup, whipped cream, & nuts! YES, you read that right. This sundae set me on a wild goose chase for date syrup, as it was like gooey caramel! I also came home with vegan custard, so I can make my own version of this amazing sundae at home! 4 ½ stars

Triple Mango Cake- I had such high hopes for this mango flavored cake filled with mango mousse filling & topped mango glaze frosting. Sadly, the cake was a dense, bland mess with a flavorless mousse filling, but an amazingly tasty mango glaze on top. 1½ stars

Pogo Café is located at 76 Clarence Road E5 8HB in East London.

My trip to Pogo also yielded some Cheezly, a vegan cheese substitute that has created much buzz due to it's tangy taste & melting capabilities. Sadly, it's not available in the US, unless mail ordered & even then it's over twice the price you'd pay in the UK. With all the hype, I had to try it for myself & opted for the Mature Cheddar slices to utilize in a grilled Cheezly sandwich. Between two pieces of freshly baked bread from Marks & Spencer coated with Pure soya margarine & pressed into a sandwich maker, the Cheezly had no problem melting in to a perfectly gooey & delicious treat! The flavor was nice & reminded myself & Ryan of Mac & Cheese, that's right, the "mac" as well! While I'm not much of a cheese substitute person normally, I would be more than happy to have Cheezly around the States for a nice melty sandwich from time to time.

There were many other delicious products I tried; Alpro or Provamel caramel dessert puddings are a tasty treat, Swedish Glace soft caramel ice cream is what dreams are made of & I'm always down for Heinz beans on toast, especially when there's variants like Curry with mango chutney & sultanas to be had! Ultimately, the one item I fell in love with & can't stop talking about is Alpro soya Smooth peach & pear yogurt! Creamy, smooth, & sweet with peach & pear pieces throughout, it's everything you want in a soy yogurt! I ate the little cups of joy as often as possible & marveled at how they were so much better than anything in the States AND have half the calories. I wish they could be shipped, as I'd love to start every morning with one; I suppose I have yet another reason to go back!

London is a lovely veg friendly city & although it's expensive, I'd recommend a trip there to anyone who has the means to do so. Next up, Rebecca the Vegan Cake Girl's sweet treats will be reviewed, plus she'll share her recipe for Jaffa Orange Drizzle Cake!

The return of the Urban Housewife, vegan airline food, & the Vegan Brunch Cartel.

Please head over to my new blog at TheUrbanHousewife.com, where you'll find this post & more!

I'm back! Has it really been almost a month since my last post?! It's been just over a week since I returned from my holiday & I'm still swamped with a million things to do, but I can't help but get the ball rolling on the details of my adventure. I have so much to share; the good, the bad, & the inedible! Of course I have to start with the inedible; AIRLINE FOOD!

Our trip began with a flight from San Francisco to Frankfurt on United on which two meals were served, dinner & breakfast. The dinner consisted of some sort of grain with vegetables & an oily sauce, a salad, random bread in a bag, & a chocolate chip cookie. I tossed the bread, as it had no ingredients listed & when I moved on to the salad I found that the dressing had MILK SOLIDS in it! I quickly asked the flight attendant, if this was in fact the vegetarian non-dairy meal, but she could only confirm it was vegetarian. The code on the meal was correct, VGML, so I suspiciously continued to pick at my meal. I felt a bit better to see the cookie emblazoned with VEGAN on the packaging, but sadly, it the cookie downright inedible!

Breakfast fared a bit better & while corn syrup filled applesauce is not to my liking & I could take or leave raisins, I was happy to see the other option on my tray, A DONUT! A Nutrilicious Cinnamon Glazed Donut, no less. I've not had one of these before & I am a huge fan of Mighty O & making my own donuts, so I was excited to have a shot at trying one. I found the cake donut to be a bit dense, but it had a nice flavor & was topped with a delicious cinnamon glaze. Not bad!

The trip from Frankfurt to San Francisco consisted of lunch & a snack being provided & turned out to be yet another meal of mystery foods. Suspicious from my earlier discovery of milk solids, I asked questions, read labels, sniffed & poked at everything, & was downright frustrated! The lunch provided condiments of "non dairy" creamer with milk solids & margarine of undetermined origin, so those were out right away. The salad dressing was actually suitable for vegans this time, but not anyone with actual tastebuds! The roll was once again tossed as it was a brick & had no information with it. The entree was a sort of saffron rice with mushrooms, a raw tomato wedge, romanesco broccoli, & a suspicious sort of creamy sauce. The vegetables were surprisingly decent & the little tray of fruit also included was very much appreciated.

Snack time came around & what a disaster! A Muesly bar with multiple milk varieties in it, as well as honey, wasn't even a option. The baguette contained limp lettuce, cucumber slices, & tomato with a suspicious spread that seemed to be an herbed cream cheese. Additionally, a mostly green banana was included. Needless to say, it all went untouched, which is sad when there's plenty of people out there who could use a meal.

All in all United's vegan options are sad & they don't seem to grasp that many "non dairy" products have milk solids in them. It is unfortunate that waste is created due to their choice to not accommodate people with dietary needs or choices & I made sure to write them a letter to express this. I shudder to think how many people with allergies or religious food practices have consumed products unfit for them as well. I highly advise you pack options for yourself when taking a long flight or trip. Not to worry, I had a gallon sized bag with bars, jerky, dried fruit, nuts, chocolate, crackers, & other treats in it in case we were stuck at any point on the trip!

I was lucky enough to come home to the March installation of the Vegan Brunch Cartel. Not quite ready to take on any major dishes, I made Maple Ginger Tempeh Strips, a tester recipe for the next cookbook by Joanna of Yellow Rose Recipes. These strips were easy to make & very flavorful; perfect as a side for our many brunch dishes some which included a frittata, potato & white bean casserole, fried plantains, french toast, a south Indian vermicelli dish, & a beautiful pear clafoutis, inspired by Hezbollah Tofu!

While I miss exploring Europe, I'm happy to be home in my own surroundings & already have new projects brewing! I've been doing some baking in the past week & plan to be doing much more in the future; more on that later. In the meantime, I'll be here enjoying the Alpro soya dessert I brought home for myself.

In the coming weeks I'll be posting dessert reviews & restaurant round ups from London, Berlin, & Prague. Additionally there will be a special review of Rebecca's Cakes in the UK, complete with a recipe from Rebecca herself! The recipe she's provided is for a fabulous cake I think you'll all enjoy. Stay tuned!