Fresno Vegan Options, Strummer's Labor Day, & Vegans on TV!

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

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.

Last week, I was in the Fresno area, hence the missing post. Now, Fresno isn't exactly on the list of vegan destinations, but I'm happy to say I found a decent little spot with vegan cupcakes & food options! 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.

This afternoon, I went to a taping of local TV show, View From The Bay to support Colleen Patrick Goudreau, author of The Joy of Vegan Baking & The Vegan Table. Colleen was doing a cooking segment on the show & made her Better Than Tuna Salad & No Queso Quesadillas. I managed to sneak a taste, they were delicious! We were stuck in the back row, so none of us appeared on screen, but regardless, you can check out the segment HERE!

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day Weekend! Until next time!

OnlineShoes.com Contest Winner, new flavors from Purely Decadent, & a new blog!

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

The recent contest for the OnlineShoes.com giveaway was a smashing success! Closing at 150 comments & many tales of the infamous jellies shoes of the 80's, I am glad I let Random.org do the decision making! Without further ado, the winner of the $100 gift certificate to OnlineShoes.com is..
#22- mamafabun, aka Honor! Here's what she had to say..
"Worst shoes? Hand-me-down cowboy boots that were about four sizes too big. I had to wear them to school one day because my other shoes were missing. Oh I was teased."
This is just one of the crazy stories contained in the comments, I encourage you all to go read the entries & have a laugh!

I recently had the chance to try some of the new ice cream flavors from Purely Decadent, which is just one of the many treats made by dairy free darlings, Turtle Mountain. Packed in a cooler filled with dry ice, 5 pints arrived on my doorstep, ready to be consumed. I decided to take them to share with my friends over at Vegansaurus.com, so we could all partake in the fun of taste testing!

Dark & creamy Belgian Chocolate, tangy Key Lime Pie, sweet & fruity Blueberry Cheesecake, cinnamon laced Snickerdoodle, & a coconut milk based Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough were all devoured & discussed by the group. While I favored the soft dough & cinnamon swirls of Snickerdoodle, many preferred the coconut milk concoction, declaring Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough their favorite. One thing that struck most everyone was the Blueberry Cheesecake would have been better received if named differently, as expectations of cheesecake bites were met with only firm crust-like chunks, luckily the blueberry pieces kept us happy.

The great news about many of the new flavors is they take those with allergies in to account. The cookie dough & pie crust additions are gluten free, while the coconut milk flavors are soy free, so no one should feel left out! Speaking of the coconut milk flavors, I recently had the So Delicious Coconut Milk yogurt in Pina Colada & thoroughly enjoyed it! Go try some of the many new products from Turtle Mountain for yourself!


In other news, my 2 lbs of terror, Strummer the chihuahua, appears here from time to time. There's no denying she's a cute one, so to spread the chihuahua cheer, I've created Strummer Calling, a photo & video blog for "The Only Pup That Matters". It won't be heavy on text, but will be drenched in photos & videos for your viewing pleasure. Oh & she's vegan, so technically it's a vegan blog! Check it out at http://strummercalling.blogspot.com/