Sweet Avenue Bake Shop, Rutherford NJ's vegan bakery!

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Sweet Berlin; Ice Cream Galore & a Cupcake Video!

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

As if the savory selections of Berlin weren't enough, there's plenty of sweet treats to be found in Berlin as well! When I wasn't loading up on candy from the local bio markets, you could find me consuming sweet treats all over the city!

ufa Bäckerei is an organic bakery with everything from breads, pastries, & cakes available in Natural Food Shops & markets throughout Berlin. Not everything is vegan, but some items are labeled & the staff is knowledgeable. The "Walnuss-Birne" was delicious with chunks of sweet pears laced with walnut pieces, wrapped in a flaky, sweet pie-crust like pastry. I found ufa Bäckerei stands at two separate weekend markets, as well as in Viv, my favorite bio market, so I had to have this treat more than once!

ufa Bäckerei is located throughout Berlin, for a list of locations, go to their webpage.

One thing I consumed a whole lot of was Eis, aka ice cream! Having missed out on Caramello Eis last time I was in Berlin, I made a point to make it there this time around. Imagine by surprise when it was closed for the season on my 1st attempt to visit! Luckily, by the end of my time there they had re-opened & I snagged some strawberry & chocolate soy ice cream. While the strawberry was a bit seedy for my taste, the chocolate was rich & decadent, some of the best I've had!

Caramello Eis is located at Wühlischstr. 31, 10245.

Finding myself in Prenzlauer Berg after brunch, I had to make a return to the darling Maja's Deli, home of 100% vegan goodies! If the adorable cow logo doesn't bring you in, the hot meals & full range of desserts will. I opted for the super tall Citron Cake which I found to be a bit bready & the large pieces of lemon rind were a bit off putting, but the lemony glaze was downright delicious! Next time I'll just have to opt for something else.

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

Tanne B is the home of delicious vegan ice cream & treats, so delicious that I went there no less than 3 times! They have daily rotating flavors of vegan soy ice cream, as well as sorbet, & crepe-like vegan waffles, made to order, with various topping options! While the vanilla, strawberry, hazelnut, & chocolate ice creams I tried were good, my heart was stolen by a little gem named Limetta! You see, I was a major Rainbow Sherbet fan my whole life. I battled my mother often for scoop at the local Thrifty's & when I struck out on my own I was known to polish off a multi-gallon bucket in a week. Being a fan of lime, I decided to try Limetta & it was L-O-V-E at 1st.. lick? Over the course of a few trips, I had 6 scoops, & I would eat one every day for the rest of my life, if you let me!

Tanne B is located at Eisenbahnstraße 48, 10997.

Der Eisbärliner is a a new shop in Friedrichshain serving ice cream made by Tanne B. While they don't quite have the same selection, they're a nice little spot to hit if you find yourself in the area. They actually opened while I was in town, so they may have expanded vegan options in the future. I grabbed a scoop of vanilla to go & ate it at the Sunday 2nd hand market in Boxhagener Platz.

Der Eisbärliner is located at Gärtnerstraße 11, 10245.

Of course, no trip to Berlin would be complete without a visit to Germany's 1st cupcake shop, Cupcake Berlin! Home of daily vegan selections, you never know what yummy treat you're going to get when you pop in to this 50's Americana styled shop! I took some carrot cupcakes to my ladies in Copenhagen, but every day in the shop I saw something new from Chocolate Mint to Raspberry, all beautifully piled high with frosting. In celebration of this cute shop with a bit of rock & roll edge, I had to make a video. Enjoy!

Cupcake Berlin is located at Krossener Straße 12, 10245.

Whether you like sweet or savory, Berlin is the place to be! It remains to be one of my favorite cities in the world, go check it out!

Farm Sanctuary FOR the Turkeys (with video) & a Sweets Swap!

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

Recently, friends & I attend the 9th annual FOR the Turkeys Celebration at Farm Sanctuary in Orland. It's always an amazing time being surrounded by like-minded people, but the best part is always the animals! It was a bright beautiful day, despite previous day being less than stellar. I had been looking forward to feeding turkeys ever since my last visit to the farm for the Hoe Down & I was not disappointed.

In addition to shelter time, we had a Thanksgiving inspired meal with hundreds of other animal lovers in the People Barn. Tofurkey & gravy, cranberry sauce, apple kale salad, & sweet potatoes, were just some of the dishes available, plus a choice of Apple or Pumpkin pie. I chose the apple & was very happy with my sweet selection!

The speakers included Gene Baur of Farm Sanctuary, Emily Deschanel of Bones, & Josh Hooten of Herbivore Clothing Company & Store in Portland, OR. I found myself especially inspired by Josh's talk on activism & it was the push I needed to stop resting on the laurels of Prop 2 passing & get back to action for the animals!


Lately, I've been having fun taking video at events, so I threw together a little segment on the day. This was shot with my little Canon Powershot & edited in Windows Movie Maker, so please bear with my amateur status. Enjoy!


This weekend we had the 2nd annual PPK Cookie Swap, although this time it included a few other sweets. I made a crazy layered dessert that was most recently called a "Peanut Butter Mousse, Custard, Whipped Cream, Chick-O-Stick, Brownie Trifle", so I'll roll with that. Yes, it was as insane & rich as it sounds! I also made an option for our gluten free attendees, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip, with both white & dark chips. They were very cakey & fluffy, not something I had expected for my 1st foray in to gluten free baking!

There were lots of treats to choose from like Crunchy Oat Cookies & Snickerdoodles from the Sisters Vegan, Fudge, Peanut Butter Cups, White Chocolate Macadamia cookies, Rum Balls, Caramel Popcorn Balls, Truffles, Butterscotch Oatmeal cookies sandwiched with Rum ice cream, Rice Krispie treats- oof! I have to stop, my tummy hurts all over again thinking about it! Needless to say, I consumed FAR too much & now find myself on a sugar detox. That being said, I'll always look forward to next year!