NYC or Bust (your pants from all the eating)

This blog's grand adventure was a another big fat vegan roadtrip! We had the incredible luck of travelling just days before Hurricane Sandy hit. When writing this, I still can barely believe the destruction and devastation that's happen in the short time since we've been there.

Since April 2011, I've been living the nerdy dream by working my way through Vegnew's "99 things you must do: A vegan bucket list". Given my love for trying new things, eating, travel and checking things off lists-I couldn't love this challenge any more. So far, I've done 45 of 99 and travelling to NYC would let me get multiple checks into one trip! Woot!

My journey began with a very long drive. Technically it started before the really long drive with a rental car who's alarm was broken. Do you know what's awesome? Driving 20 minutes through town with your alarm going off! After a switch, I was now one person driving a big mini van over 7 hours!Environmentalist fail. First stop was Strong Hearts Cafe, a vegan cafe tucked away in a historic building in Syracuse, NY that came highly recommended. To be totally honest, my "chicken" Caesar was pretty meh but I took a menu and planned to visit on my return anyways-they had freakin cupcakes *and* milkshakes.

Here begins the portion of this journey that I call "4 hours in hell". Original plan was as such: Drive rental to airport. Park at airport, public transport into and around city. Easy right? Yuhuh. So my gas light goes on about 40 minutes from the airport. I figured there would be gas stations right on the road further into the city, and didn't want to risk getting lost. Ha. So I get to the bridge that goes over to the airport, and the sign tells me 60 minutes of traffic until I get there! As I'm sitting in the middle of 8 lanes of gridlock traffic- the last exit before the bridge 100 metres from my vehicle. AHH! After numerous middle fingers, I was off the road and in the Bronx. Isn't this where drive bys happen? *small city girl in a rental minivan hyperventilating*. From here, my GPS kept taking me in the same loop for an hour. FML. With our dinner reservations looming closer, and her flight having arrived three hours prior, Kristi (who you might recognize from our previous adventures in Las Angeles and Las Vegas) suggested I meet her at the hotel. Perfect. Well, except that it was in Manhattan, three blocks from Times Square at Friday rush hour. I've got this. Except I didn't, and almost imploded from stress. Once I finally arrived (shaking and nauseous), it was a failed subway attempt (times two) and we were *finally* eating at Blossom Cafe. Bucket list check one. My dinner was amazing,

Vegetable crepes with a bunch of fancy delicious accroudements.

But by far the winner was Butterfinger milkshakes for dessert. ZOMG.

Get used to my crazy dessert face, you're going to see it a lot.

The other great thing we got there was insider info on the best places to visit on an NYC vegan pilgrimage. Score! Our first stop the next morning was the highly recommended Champs Cafe in Brooklyn.

Scones.Scones.Scones.

It was hipster heaven with tattooed servers, interesting crap on the walls,

That's what she said.

A whole case of baked heaven, and VEGAN EGGS BENEDICT. Ahhhh, delicious!

I wish we lived in the future, where I'm sure we'll have the technology for you to be able to taste this on the screen.
 Pictures don't adequately capture it's heart stopping deliciousness.

 1.5 hours into the day and I was already overloaded with happiness. A few cake pops for the journey and we were off.

Flags! People! Buildings! Adventure!

We explored some funk-tastic vintage stores, people watched, and took lame pictures wherever we could.

Anyone that says vegans are unattractive, or don't wear aviator sunglasses clearly hasn't seen this photo.

I also happened to find more Vegan baked goods. How does this always happen to me? Most likely  because I never stop thinking about them.

This is my red velvet crazy face.

We also spent a good portion of time trying to find parking in Chinatown. $46 later, it was getting close to dinner at Candle 79! Number 21 on Vegnews bucket list "Dine at Candle 79 in New York. Go with people whom you truly adore, and feast on appetizers, salads, entrees and desserts." My pen was freakin ready to check this one off. And my tummy was ready for it's endurance test. First, we had to get ready for our big night out, which also included a trip to Pine Box Rock Shop-vegan bars don't just happen every day for this girl!

Vintage shop find. "Oh this old thing?"

Dinner was amazing, and we were so absorbed in great conversation, ambiance and wine that it's hard to recall exactly what we ate. Most like because it was one of those fancy meals that has 20 different elaborate sauces and frou frou names for things.

I know somewhere in there were glazed brussel sprouts, pomegranate seeds, sweet potato gratin and seitan something or other. It was amaaaazing. The rest of the night whizzed by in a blur of fancy drinks at a vegan bar that had both a Big Shot hunter game (oooh the irony) and Jamaican jerk Empanadas, late night subway rides, and an $84 trip through the Times Scare haunted house (perfect idea at 2 am).

The next morning didn't hurt as much as it could have, so we got up and went to foodie heaven. a.k.a. A Food Tuck rally. For those of you that don't know about Food Trucks other than ones that sell french fries; food trucks are making a comeback as gourmet eateries on wheels. In large centers like NYC, Las Angeles and others, food trucks have devoted followers who follow them from location to location with tips from facebook and twitter. My big fat hairy dream is to one day have my own mobile gourmet restaurant! A food truck rally is when many get together to set up food courts on wheels! Our choices were curried shitake Empanadas (you know it's a great trip when it's all Empanadas all the time), Kimchi Tacos made with falafel (Sounds totally weird, and it is! Pickled cabbage, spicy sauce and falafel. Weirdly delicious that is.)

Sesame noodle salad with dumplings and a carrot cake ice cream sandwich with lychee champagne sorbet in the middle. All from different trucks! *siiiiiigh* It was awesome.

This is my ice cream sandwich happiness face.

After this, our whirlwind trip wrapped up so Kristi could return to LaLaland, and I could return to the great white(or in this case multicoloured fall splendor) North. I got lost no less than 7 different times trying to leave the city and the state. Once I got to Pennsylvania, I had to pull over to sleep so my soul didn't cave in on itself. In short, travelling to NYC is a grand adventure, but for the love of yourself, do NOT drive there. I'm sure you could have told me that, just as everyone else has. Though if you *really* know me, you'll know I like to learn things the way that teaches the most concrete lesson and tells the best story. Check. Mark.



Vegan picnic in paradise (Who would have thought Wolfe Island?)

New adventures abound! My English friend Sally invited me to spend the day with her family at their cabin/mansion on Wolfe Island. If you're anywhere near Kingston, Ontario-Wolfe Island is a perfect day trip on a free ferry!

When travelling with children, you should consider hiring a sherpa to carry all the junk you need to get them happy throughout the day.

Unintentional product placement.

I was unable to locate one for this trip and instead looked like I was on a backpacking trip through Europe. Totally worth it for the good times about to unfold. Their beautiful house is right on the water, and is the perfect place for both epic fun and random yoga bombs.

This is what triangle post on Wolfe Island looks like.

Sal doing the prerequisite "what will you do to be on my blog" shot.

Sucker. Taking pictures and doing yoga is hard work. This meant it was time to refuel. Though it's almost always time for me to refuel. Feed me! Today was no ordinary lunch. We had a vegan(though they aren't) FEAST on their private island! I got to prepare it in the kitchen of my dreams overlooking the water. It even has my dream gas stove. In their cabin. I like to stand over it and weep. Despite the fact that I don't get to keep the kitchen, I still feel fortunate to even get to use it. My contribution to this potluck was portobello mushroom fajitas with cilantro sour creme (just sub the chipotle for 2 tbs of minced cilantro that you'll add after everything is blended) and avocado (the weird looking thing in plastic wrap.)

Christina's F-Bomb Fajitas

4 portobello mushrooms
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
2 tbs olive oil
1 tbs meat rub (I like Costco's sweet mesquite)
2 tbs coconut oil
1/8-1/4 cup dry white wine (red also works, just with a bit different flavour.)
Juice of one lemon
1 tbs mesquite seasoning (failing that, a mix of salt, cumin, chili powder and cayenne works well)

Drizzle washed mushrooms with olive oil, and use your hands to get into the nooks and crannies. Sprinkle first portion of rub, and massage into your shrooms. Set aside for about 30 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients and heat your BBQ. Cook until tender and not charred to death. Set aside. Once cool, slice. In the meantime, heat your pan and melt coconut oil. Cook onions until they're about halfway done (not quite translucent)and then add your minced garlic. Saute for another minute, and add the peppers. Once your veggies are about 5 minutes from tender-add the portobellos back to the pan, in addition with the remaining ingredients. Cook until everything is tender, taste and adjust seasonings.

Also featured were artisan PB and J sandwiches, homemade pickles, tomato salad, and garden salad. Oh baby!

From there we watched huge cargo ships pass by and tried not to get epically sunburned. Mini practiced her skills on the water, which clearly involved being fancy. For those getting picky about the irony of  fishing during vegan lunch, you'll be happy to know that vegans don't fish-we weed :D

The only thing about Wolfe Island is that the ferry fills up quickly in the summer, so catching it back is always 30 panicked minutes rounding up your junk and hauling ass to get in line. Our hustle paid off, because it gave me time to enjoy the view and take random pictures.

Yuhuh. And then look who I got to make friends with!

Awesome. If your day doesn't end with a turtle, then it can't really can't be "the best day ever". So thanks to Sal for the good times and to Wolfe Island for being a pretty fabulous place to spend a gorgeous summer day. Go check it out for yourself, and remember that Kingston is waiting right where you left it.

Thanks for the gorgeous photo Shannon!

Pina Colada muffins and other shit that goes down in hotel rooms

Another road trip, another excuse to make muffins. This time it was back to Toronto. I was out of all the basic ingredients for my sweet potato muffins, so I whipped up something new! I'm really trying to pull together a blog for you that is both hilarious and entertaining, but after sitting on it for four days I've got nothing. Read it and shut up. I'll do better next time when I'm not cranky from quitting smoking. Highlights from this trip includes vegan dim sum and hotel yoga/dance parties. First, dim sum. I somehow managed to convince my omnivorous companions that a vegetarian restaurant was a good idea. We choose King's Cafe, as it was the closest to where we were. I went a *little* bit overboard.

Yep, all mine. I took it down like a boss.

Surprisingly, my travel buddies loved it but I was a little underwhelmed. It was good, just not amazing. Just like Thai food, I've got pretty high standards for dim sum. See below for after dinner hotel yoga bomb.

And now for muffins! If you make this recipe, please tell me how it turns out-I'm a non measurer by nature, and would love to know that it's duplicatable.

Goooooood Morning!

Hotel breakfast pina colada muffins

2 cups diced pineapple
2 cups flour (preferable unbleached)
1 cup oats
1 tbs baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 apple and 1 orange blended with water to a consistency that resembles applesauce
3/4 cup maple syrup
2/3 cup coconut oil(melted) or equivalent in canola oil
1 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/8 cup unsalted sunflower seeds

Set oven at 410. Combine flour, oats, baking powder and soda, cinnamon and salt. Add dates, and mix them in so that each piece is coated in flour. Pour in apple/orange mixture, maple syrup and coconut oil. Mix until just combined. Add pineapple and remaining ingredients. Bake in muffin tins for 25-28 minutes. Best enjoyed sitting on a hotel bedspread that may or may not ever be washed, while reading a free Globe and Mail.

Have muscles, will travel.

So this week in the world of "what the hell does a vegan eat", we add another challenge! What does a vegan eat on an athletic adventure in another city? This weekend was training to become an instructor for a barbell weightlifting class(Bodypump) in Burlington, On. Training requires you to do 5 classes and then another super challenge-lift 50-150% of the weight you normally do! No big deal right? So on top of just doing it, I had to find a way to keep my body fueled for two days of intense physical activity. This road trip required epic planning! Here is what my food pile looked like before I walked out the door.

Bananas, orange, apple, avocado, 7 lbs of almonds, walnuts with chocolate chips, 5 pb and j sanwiches and
vegan power muffins.

So for your eating pleasure, I'm posting the recipe for Sweet Potato Date muffins which I make for nearly every road trip I've ever been on. They contain only good things and offer outstanding sustained energy, whole food nutrition and packability. They have gone with me to Toronto, Las Vegas, New York and anywhere else my little wandering feet take me. I even contacted the author, Jae Steele, to get permission to use the recipe. Talking to her on messanger made me feel like a VIP! Make these and all will be right in your world (and intestines too). Its from "Ripe from around here" which you should go get right now! Now! One of my favorite cookbooks eva!

Sweet Potato Date Muffins

2.5 cups peeled and cubed sw. potatoes, steemed to perfection
2 cups Spelt flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup oat bran
1 Tbs baking powder
1tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp sea salt
1 cup chopped dates
1 cup applesauce(or 2 apples blitzed in the vitamix if you forget to buy applesauce like I always do)
3/4 cup maple syrup
2/3 cup sunflower oil or coconut oil (I've only ever tried this with coconut oil)
Set your oven to 410 and get busy! Whisk together flour, bran, oats, baking soda and powder, cinnamon and salt. Add the dates and stir to coat. Pour in applesauce, maple syrup and oil (if using coconut oil, melt it first). Mix until just combines and stir in the sweet potatoes. Bake around 28 minutes.

So we hit the road, and started playing "what can I convince a near stranger to do just to get on my blog". The answer was, yoga poses in public! Rebecca chose to show off her mad yoga skillz in the middle of a cobblestone alley in front of our restaurant. Woot! Spirit of adventure=check!

She makes it look easy, but I dare you to try to do it right now!

As soon as we hit town we hauled ass to Kindfood, a gluten free vegan restaurant that's won best cupcake four years in a row. It was closed :( After I shed some tears and licked the door, our search continued for something delicious. Persion eatery won this round!

A beautiful night meant outdoor eating! I usually hate beer, but it said "local, microbrewery and organic" which I tend to be a sucker for.

Company was good, beer was bad. I maintain it only tastes good if it's free.

Dinner didn't meet my standards for beauty, but the service was awesome and it tasted wonderful!

The next day brought hard core training and a quick lunch break that meant speeding across town to get in some vegan eats. Kindfood, finally you're mine! R and I both got the intensely awesome "Gene Baur" green smoothie and $20 worth of cupcakes LOL! Fitness inspiration right there folks.

Kindfood was filled with all of the things that make for a Christina happy place. Vegans, cupcakes, vitamixes, and signs that say things to make me smile.

Check.

This is what $20 worth of cupcakes looks like.

From top left, mint chocolate, dulce de leche, pina colada and cookies and creme.

After our day ended, down time meant wandering around industrial Burlington. It was highway-arific. Hidden among industrial supply buildings and freeways, I found a field of wildflowers. Happiness! So, I "bought" myself some flowers. First because I just finished something really challenging and second because I'm worth it damn it.

Worth it!

Then it was time for  my sub par food court dinner. Just so you know, cute takeaway boxes does not equal culinary magic. Though to be fair, my mom is a Thai food rockstar so my standards are pretty high.

Dinner sucked but dessert was awesome! Four cupcakes. That's right, four.

Here's Rebecca, enjoying her Kindfood brownie after our intense day 2. She'll most likely hate me forever for posting this photo, but I feel it captures the essence of brownie bliss perfectly. She's a doctor, so you can pretty much take that as medical advice to eat brownies as recovery food ha!

That's about it. It was a pretty awesome trip, filled with my favorite things-sweating, new friends, yummy vegan food, cupcakes AND muffins, and accomplishment! Huzzah!

Foodie adventures in Brockville take 2

Getting out of town! Stay cool Kingston.

There's nothing like the thrill of the open road to get your blood pumping, hey? What kind of adventure awaits this time? Some people travel to all kinds of exciting destinations on their long weekends, but not me-I go to Brockville (or Brockvegas as it's sometimes called ha!) Anyone who's been to Brockville is aware that this ain't no vegan utopia. It's rural Ontario at it's finest/most stereotypical. Mandy and Rob's house is, however like my very own vegan food laboratory. They are always ready to cook with a freakishly well stocked fridge. Any fruit or vegetable you could want and they've got it! I've been told this is solely for my cooking purposes-they sure know how to make a girl feel loved. They even get treats just for me like dark chocolate almond milk and alcohol (lots). For the long weekend we had lofty plans for fun, frolic and food. Let's start with food! I need three things to cook a great meal: A cute apron, good music and a drink in my hand. Check check and see below. Double check. Who says vegans say goodbye to delicious boozy fun? We had exactly that with strawberries and creme daiquiris out of crystal glasses. It made me feel both classy and sloppy at the same time, which doesn't tend to happen very often.

Cheers!

To make your own "As healthy as alcohol gets Daiquiris", combine 3/4 cup of cashews covered with water and blended  with 3 1/2 shots of Rum in a blender. Then add strawberries, raspberries, pineapple (or whatever fruit you like), 10 dates, 2 tbs agave syrup, 2 Tbs Salba and lots of ice. Blend and try to drink slowly enough that you actually taste it-so AWESOME.
Since I've been told that my fajitas are the bomb, that's what we choose for dinner. Pictured here is our tasty supper, which I was *thisclose* to messing up with overzealous seasoning. Note to self: drinks after dinner. On the plus side, the more you drink the better things taste!

So our fajitas consisted of spinach tortillas, daiya cheese, mesquite portobellos in white wine, Mexican spiced veggies, salsa, avocado, cashew sour creme and of course hot sauce. You know it's good when you're practically wearing dinner as a mask and don't care. Mmmm. Speaking of masks, here I am indulging in my fifth favorite hobby, mustaches. 

My son says this picture "isn't funny, it's too weird". Whatever,
like it's the first time I've heard that one.

For dessert, summer means raw! Hoo-ey do I love me some raw sweets! Since their fruit selection was way more bountiful than mine ever is, I went crazy with our raw pie filling and had banana, pineapple, strawberry, raspberry, mango and peach. Yes! The top was made with dates, cashews, a pinch of salt and some agave in a food processor. I'm not going to write out a recipe both because I'm too lazy and because you essentially just mix those things until it tastes nice and has the consistency you desire. Tada!

The leftovers didn't make it until daylight. Just so you know, it tastes amazing with vegan vanilla ice cream.
Not like I'd know from having six servings or anything.

Rob and Mandy even have a fire pit! For roasting stuff and warmth! I love the country!

Fire pit excitement! Veggie dogs abound.

After a couple hours of staring at the fire, we started thinking up ways to get into trouble. We were going to go toilet papering, but realized it wouldn't be an environmentally friendly prank and therefore would bring shame to my blog. We settled for letting our designated driver take us into town to see what kind of fun we could find. Turns out the answer is "not much". We spent a good amount of time trying get a picture under this airplane so it looked like an overhead attack.

Overhead attack simulation=Fail.

Then we found some cool graffiti in the park-this is what rebellion looks like in Brockville. Someone said this picture makes us look like hookers. I disagree.

Losers maybe.

So after an embarrassingly early bed time, we woke up ready for round two! This time it was breakfast nachos! This may be pretty much the best idea ever. We mixed our fajita leftovers with ground round, coconut oil and salsa. We then piled it on top of nacho chips, topped with daiya cheese and broiled to melty deliciousness. To serve-more avocado and pickled jalapenos. We paired it with Mexican spiced potatoes with onions and strawberries with sweet cashew creme. Perfect!

I get to eat this! Squeeeee!

I left Brockville yet again with a happy heart and wishing I was wearing stretchy pants.

In conclusion, life is what you make it! Go near or go far but just go.....