Unknown's avatar

Vegan treats in Chelsea

I visited New York City with my parents a few weeks ago. We had a blast! Between walking the neighborhoods, eating in amazing vegan restaurants, and exercising our wallets, we made full advantage of the city that never sleeps.

Chelsea was no exception. In fact, we found it to be very vegan friendly.

We spent one morning in the Chelsea Market, a multi-story building that used to be occupied by the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco) commercial bakery. When production methods changes required a single-floor layout, the bakery moved out. It’s here, where the Oreo (an accidentally vegan treat) was first created.

Chelsea Market

Inside the market, we found One Lucky Duck. They offer all-vegan, raw organic juices and take-away, and happen to have amazing desserts. It’s part of the Pure Food and Wine establishment so you know you’re going to be wowed.

lemon bar

Next door, Beyond Sushi truly satisfied. This all plant-based sushi establishment incorporated flavor, color and presentation like no other sushi place I’ve seen. Their rolls were scrumptious and fueled us as well.

vegan sushi

I was thrilled to stumble into a popup shop in the market, where several vendors had set up their wares. One of them was designer Lois Eastlund.

Lois Eastlund

While I was trying on a dress, my mom and Lois struck up a conversation and they discovered they’re both vegan! Lois even shared some of her home-baked vegan cookies with us! (And yes, I bought that amazing blue and black zigzag dress.)

Lois and Jean

There’s more to Chelsea than just the market. One evening we met my friend Shannon, a recent New York transplant, at Blossom vegan restaurant. We ate delicious food and even had authentic (and dairy-free) New York Cheesecake!

vegan cheesecake

Another Chelsea gem is the popular High Line, an elevated former rail line that was transformed into a greenway. The rail line used to bring animals into the city for slaughter. I prefer its use as a park!

Mom and Jean on the High Line

New York is such a fun place. Have you ever been to Chelsea?

Unknown's avatar

Craving grilled cheese

There’s a saying, “Anything you can eat, I can eat vegan.”

I like that expression. It shows that vegan eating doesn’t equal deprivation. It’s also a fun challenge. Case in point: grilled cheese. Cheese is probably the hardest thing to give up–at least it was for me. But you don’t have to give up anything. Well, you might still be addicted to casomorphins, but you won’t be missing comfort foods like grilled cheese sandwiches!

I recently made a deliciously melty grilled cheese using a cheddar-style wedge of Daiya. You can also buy cheddar-style slices if you prefer.

Daiya

I used a hearty bread by Dave’s Killer Bread, and “buttered” it with Earth Balance vegan margarine. Grill it up like you would with regular grilled cheese. Daiya melts like real cheese and is a delicious gooey treat. It’s gluten-free and soy-free so it’s a great choice for people with common allergies.

grilled cheese

Slice and serve with your favorite soup. I made butternut squash but it would be equally delicious with minestrone or tomato. Yum! It’s a great lunch for kids and adults alike.

soup and a sandwich

Unknown's avatar

A Plum good vegan blogger brunch

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of meeting Celeste from Honk if You’re vegan, and her husband Paul. I’d know of them only online but suggested a get together when I found out they were coming to Seattle.

Luckily Celeste chose to meet me at Plum Bistro, one of my favorite vegan restaurants. I invited a couple of other local vegan bloggers, Megan and Molly, and we turned brunch into an impromptu blogger meetup!

Jean, celeste, Megan and Molly

Celeste and her husband were so wonderful. It felt like we’d known each other for years. We chatted about blogging, vegan things, travels, and had a great time.

Our food was amazing too. Plum never disappoints, whether you get banana hotcakes…

banana hotcakes

tofu benedict…

tofu benedict

portobello cake tartine…

portobello cake tartine

or a spinach asparagus crepe.

spinach asparagus crepe

Time flew by and it was time for Celeste and Paul to head out. I really appreciated that they took time from their busy travel schedule to meet virtual strangers! I’ll repay the favor by visiting them next time I’m in SoCal!

Unknown's avatar

Vida Vegan Con 2013

I already wrote about the nine-hour Portland bloggers pre-funk, but what about the actual event?

Well, it began unofficially with a supermodel scramble at one of Portland’s original vegetarian restaurants, Paradox Café. I had breakfast there with Vegan Score before heading to registration.paradox cafe

The conference was at the Portland Art Museum. Registration was all morning long, which gave people time to check in without long lines, grab a latté, explore the museum, and find long-lost friends. We grabbed swag bags and checked out the exhibitors hall, both of which were filled with vegan goodies.

swag

merch

On Friday I attended the following sessions: Blogging as Writing, Monetizing Your Blog, Expanding Your Message to Include Animal Rights, and the MoFo (Month of Food) Workshop. All the sessions were helpful and I gained the most from the animal rights one. I learned that through gentle suggestions, reminders–even humor–I can let people know about how to eliminate cruelty. Jasmin Singer from Our Hen House said something as simple as, “I made this recipe without eggs because I don’t like how hens are mistreated” goes a long way to getting people to think about their impact on the world.

After the sessions, Veggie Grill hosted a delicious reception and then a lot of us headed over to the world’s only vegan mini mall. I met up with Vegan Moxie, Vegtastic, Vegans Don’t Bite, and whole bunch of others. I am in the habit of calling bloggers by their blog names, but I assure you, they all have proper names too! We had vegan gorditos at Food Fight, vegan s’mores at Herbivore Clothing, and lattés at Sweet Pea vegan bakery. After filling our bellies I went to Hungry Tiger, a vegan-friendly bar, for a drink with the Fat Gay Vegan, Vegan Score, and The Messy Vegetarian Cook.

vegan mini mall

Saturday started with a scrumptious breakfast buffet at the conference, followed by these sessions: Ethics Beyond the Plate, Vegan Invasion, Finding Balance, and International activism. Mind you, these are only the sessions I attended. There were three going on at any given time–from iPhone Photography to Vegan Parenting. There was something for everyone.

snacks by Peanut Butter & Company

We broke for lunch halfway through the day and I was still full by the time I got to the gala. We had lots to choose from: a vegan sundae bar, vegan artisanal cheese table, drinks, dancing, and of course, the silent auction to benefit Chimpanzee Sanctuary NW. We raised over $4000 for them!

gala

sundae bar

Sunday began with another great breakfast. I attended four sessions: Publishing, Body Image, Social Media, and Interdietary Co-habitation. Of course we had another great lunch–a sandwich bar!

sandwich

I was sad when things wrapped up for the day, weekend, year. I’d made new friends, got to know acquaintances from online and in Seattle, and reveled in the company of kind and compassionate people. Everyone had a different story. There were 20-year-old bloggers and 60-year-old ones. We came from all walks of life, but we were united in our love of animals, health, the earth, and of course food.

I’m excited for the next event and I have a lot of blogs to read in the meantime.