Halloween Vegan Potluck

Had a delightful Halloween vegan potluck at my house this afternoon. It was pretty funny because one of the attendees was heading to volunteer at the cat coalition after the dinner, so she wore the top that she wears to do that with the logo on it. We joked that she came as an animal rights activist. Since I was the hostess, I spent most of my time getting ready, so I just wore a dark straight hair wig and plenty of dark makeup and red lipstick. The head of the animal rights group that organized it came as a hydrofracking protestor. It is always fun to break bread with activists of any kind - there is a bond that can be a source of encouragement and, in this case, fun! There are things in this world scarier and more evil than witches, ghosts and vampires! :-) The food was good too. I made a green bean casserole with soy milk, and still was able to use those fried onions in the can (believe it or not, they are vegan). I also made a cranberry orange relish - a big hit - and an apple pie. Others brought roasted brussell sprouts and sweet potatoes and cranberries, a pasta dish with broccoli, black beans and a sauce; pasta dish with tomatoes, capers and vegan feta cheeze. Vegan peanut butter cups was another favorite. We had candles and lighted pumpkins and a holiday tablescape? - not exactly up to Martha Stewart standards, but festive nonetheless. The talk was sometimes serious - animal rights, politics - or just fun conversation getting to know each other a little better. And now I have some tasty leftovers! Oh yeah - being the hostess has its perks, eh? Happy Halloween to all and to all a good night!

Urban Fall Hike

Today is a beautiful October day of the clear blue sky and sunshine galore variety. My great idea was to go to our favorite vegan eatery, as seen here at the left, for the french toast that is out of this world. The bread is thick, moist and crusty and cinnaminy etc etc all at the same time. We order it with the fruit - today strawberries and bananas. They always serve it with REAL maple syrup - warm and gooey and sweet and satisfying and no animal products. An unbelievably satisfying treat in so many ways. I meant to take a picture of my plate before I destroyed it by voraciously digging in, but I was so overcome by the sight of it - the beauty, the smell - I forgot. By the time I remembered I was half done! True to my ' you can dress them up but you can't take them out' reputation, I found myself practically licking the plate or at least the little maple syrup container. Didn't want to leave a single undigested drop. I was also glad to see that they did have a steady stream of patrons eager to have a delicious and somewhat guilt-free breakfast (except maybe for the sugar content). The other popular breakfast order is the tofu scramble which is kind of like a faux scrambled eggs cooked with lots of onions, peppers etc and is also very delicious. It is always a hard choice for me between the french toast and the tofu scramble, but today was a sweet day! Getting back to the my great idea - I have talked about the final destination, but how we got there was the cool thing. I thought about the fact that it was such a beautiful day for a hike and came up with the idea of taking an "Urban Hike" - leaf peeking and Halloween decoration observing along the way. I brought my camera and shot some lovely fotos of red, yellow and orange leaves, menacing ghosts, smily pumpkin people and corn stalks. I also got the flavor of some of the neighborhoods we passed by and an interesting new 'Green' building going up. So, what a great way to start the day - exercise, sweet sights, photo opportunities and a wonderful vegan breakfast. I am happy to be alive. Peace.