Vegan Essentials Winner and New Product Review!

Thanks to all of you who entered the Vegan Essentials giveaway. The entries were pouring in during my long car ride, and reading them provided much entertainment! Since I'm still traveling, I haven't replied to all of my emails and blog comments yet...oh, but I will eventually! I loved them all! I still have some new blogs to visit, as well.


I know Vegan Essentials also appreciates the love you threw their way. So thanks from them! And keep supporting them and all of our other fun vegan companies.


THE WINNING NUMBER belonged to: THE GOOD LUCK DUCK who said she was so hungry that even the soy candles looked good. So apparently this gift certificate is going to a worthy recipient. :) Enjoy your Angell bar or Kringle or queso sin queso while riding around in your RV!



Those of you who haven't tired of entering giveaways or can't stand the thought of leaving MoFo without winning SOMETHING, I have ONE MORE PRIZE to hand out. I'll post it tomorrow: there's a hint in THIS POST. (And no, it's not a trip to NYC...)

IN OTHER NEWS:

While milling around the Whole Foods at Columbus Circle, my eyes (bright and happy) settled upon these little treasures I'd never seen before.

Justin's (have you tried all of their chocolate nut butters?) organic dark chocolate peanut butter cups: organic dark chocolate (evap. cane sugar, organic chocolate liquor, organic cocoa butter, organic soy lecithin, organic vanilla), organic peanut butter (organic dry roasted peanuts, organic palm fruit oil), evaporated cane sugar, organic cocoa butter, organic vanilla flavor, sea salt.

They also sell a milk chocolate version; don't get them confused.

Delicious! I've had other peanut butter cups (homemade or from companies) but had yet to ever find any locally. These were closer in size and texture to (insert that mainstream brand of peanut butter cups)than some of the other (yummy) nut butter cups I've ordered. As much as I long to be a pure, very raw, fresh foodie, I receive great joy from buying fun, new vegan treats in packages!!!


I went back and bought another package the next day. There was also $1 off Justin's nut butter coupons inside. We'll use those!

Vegan MoFo: the one where we arrived in nyc

Although Wednesday started out with my family and I enjoying the fun sights in Philadelphia, soaking in the wonderful experience of an ACTUAL northeastern autumn...the day somehow eventually went very, very wrong. Our trip seemed to take many wrong turns, literally and metaphorically.

Things like running over our stroller because we both thought the other one had put it in the car...

And just lots of other things...I won't air our dirty laundry or spend time complaining...no one was sick or hurt so in that case, I always know that it was "just a bad day," and life goes on. I'm a "look on the bright side," kind of person, and even I felt hopeless by the end of the night. I was feeling like, "WHERE IS THE BRIGHT SIDE?" I burst into tears several times over the course of the evening...

It was entirely too late to drag our kids out for supper by the time we got situated in our apartment.

However, I felt the only thing that could save our night was a visit to

Candle Cafe.

I can't emphatically say that Candle Cafe is the absolute best vegan restaurant in NYC. (It's too hard to choose! There are a few, including Candle, that are in a tie with me. Ryan did just say that it IS his favorite.) It was the first really amazing vegan restaurant Ryan and I had ever went to together (9 years ago on our first trip to the city). It has special meaning to us for that reason; I had faith it might brighten our moods.


Above: Seitan Chimichurri appetizer (citrus herb marined seitan skewers)...the kids split these as a part of their meal, along with the fruit and a grilled tapioca cheese sandwich. I taste tested everything they had; it was all great!

I knew before he picked up the menu what Ryan was going to order: the Cajun Seitan Sandwich. We've had these a few times before, and we just loooove 'em. In fact, "Cajun Seitan Sandwich" has become a utopian metaphor between us.

As in, if he was having a bad day at work a few weeks ago, I probably said, "Just think...you're going to be eating a Cajun Seitan Sandwich soon." Or if we're somewhere hungry, we might toss out, "Don't you wish we had a Cajun Seitan Sandwich right now?"

Yes, "Cajun Seitan Sandwich" is a phrase that gets brought up in our house regularly. Strange but true.

It is "pan-seared seitan" with "steamed greens, onion, and avocado. Served on toasted focaccia with an ancho chili aioli and coleslaw."

Shockingly, I did not order the Cajun Seitan Sandwich. The theme of this trip for me is "trying new things." I am so predictable when I order from a vegan restaurant, my sister Cary will even guess correctly what I would ultimately order. (Does anyone else just look up vegan menus online to decide what you would order...just for fun? We do...)

I ordered a daily special, the Lemon Basil Grilled Tofu with couscous and vegetables with a light tomato type gravy. I liked it; it was flavorful and felt very healthy.

All five of us split this one piece of cheesecake with chocolate crust and berry topping. That's my only bone with Candle Cafe: it doesn't have MY favorite desserts. I mean, they all LOOK good, and every dessert I've ever ordered there WAS good. There are just other places that have choices I prefer. I have no complaints about this cheesecake (although I prefer the fluffier, lighter, whipped kind of vegan cheesecake...okay, now Ryan is saying he likes the desserts here, and THIS cheesecake is his ideal kind of cheesecake so there you go.), and it was downed in about one minute by five greedy forks.

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I can't say that I went to bed with a smile on my face after my disastrous evening...but Candle Cafe definitely took a little bit of the sting out. I can't wait to head back there another time or two this week.

Vegan MoFo: Blackbird Pizzeria...part 3...and softserve!

Sooo...have you read enough vegan pizzeria accolades yet? You're going to have to sit through just one more.


Truly, Philadelphia is such a vegan-friendly city, and there is no reason to get stuck going to the same place three meals in a row. It's just that sometimes when you're tired, hungry, and you don't feel like wandering off into bad-traffic parts unknown, it's easier to stick with what you know. I wondered if the employees would recognize us and question whether we ever feed our children any other food groups. Even though I changed Sissy's hairdo and added a cap to my head, lo and behold, the jig was up; we were declared "their best customers." If only they knew they how generous I am with free advertising.

I learned that Blackbird has only been open for about "a month and a half" claimed the cashier.

Let's look at this potato pizza close up. We are all just raving about this stuff.

I will say that the 2nd time we came, the potato pizza wasn't quite as tasty as the 1st and 3rd times. Almost, just not entirely. Maybe it wasn't as fresh, or maybe there weren't as many spices the 2nd time.

Clearly, I'm going to attempt a potato pizza when I get home.

Here is one I think is lovely with different colored potatoes.

The actual main reason we sojourned back to Blackbird was Ryan's feelings that a Philly Cheesesteak was imperative for celebrating our visit. (I actually had a "duh!" moment when I made the connection of Philadelphia with its cheesey successor.)

I've ordered cheesesteak sandwiches from a few different vegetarian restaurants, and I've yet to find one I didn't like. This one was heavier on the bread than I may have preferred - and light on the seitan, but I liked it and would order one again. (Well...if they were all out of pizza that day, then I would.). Also, this was just one sandwich; I definitely don't think I could have eaten both halves by myself.

I wasn't pleased with myself for all of that flour running through my veins, so I shared my sandwich and ordered a caesar salad, as well. This one had onions, artichokes, and crouton, among other things.

Later, we stopped by B2 because I had heard they served "vegan softserve." It's a small, eclectic coffee house. They aren't entirely vegan, but there are many vegan simple sandwiches and vegan desserts.

We all liked the ice cream. It tasted like homemade icecream. Ryan said it definitely had a soymilk taste to it, which wasn't a bad thing.

They were very nice because when my 3 year old dropped her icecream cone on the ground, they replaced it for free. I offered to pay, but they refused.

Some preferred their softserve in a cone.

And the rest of us ordered ours in cups.

I would have chosen cone if it had been chocolate.

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Tomorrow, I'll try to write about my afternoon/evening from "you know where" which was at least pleasantly topped off with a visit to one of my all-time favorite restaurants, Candle Cafe.

Vegan MoFo: Philadelphia

The next leg of our journey took us to a cute, small town in Pennsylvania, amidst Amish country. We actually stayed with a blogging friend (from my family/homeschool blog) I'd never "met." It was a great experience, and I loved her as much as I knew I already did. I think I may have freaked her out after she came over here and read my vegan story. (She knew I was vegan but maybe didn't realize how deeply and for how long.)

She was incredibly gracious and accomodating. (And she's weird herself, anyway because she doesn't like vegetables or fruits so we're kind of even. Right, Annette? ;) ) She sent me a dozen emails beforehand, checking and rechecking ingredients, to make sure she fed us "correctly." We had oatmeal for breakfast, pb&j's and carrots and apples for lunch, and spaghetti with sauce and black beans + salad for supper. She did great! She had even made vegan fudge for us, using this recipe.

Onto Philadelphia...I love Philadelphia!

And I love it when I see signs like this one.

I saw the all-vegan Blackbird Pizzeria on Happy Cow but was bummed because it appeared to be closed during lunch. We just happened to wander upon it as we were looking for something else, and it was open. (From what I understand, it's now located in the spot Gianna's Grill was formerly located.) It has a bit of a "hole in the wall" type atmosphere (but seemingly clean). The employees were all very friendly and helpful.

They had several pizzas ready to order by the slice, or you can place a special order, as well. It was sooo exciting. Maybe this was only my second all-vegan pizza place (also Cruzers in L.A.) I've ever been to?


My oldest son immediately zoomed in on the potato pizza. It was so intriguing and delicious. I've never had anything like it. I really want to try this at home. We all loved it.

We also ordered pepperoni, cheese, and a vegetable type.

I'm probably not the best reviewer because I'm excited enough just to be eating at the place with "All Items are Vegan" written on the wall, that my taste buds may or may not be thinking clearly. I'm pretty certain this was a great place, though. (Ryan says yes, it was.) I can, of course, make a vegan pizza any ol' day, but I have never made a crust so fluffy and crispy at the same time. And I just walked up to a counter and ordered it, ate, and left my dirty dishes behind...I love vacation. Definitely 10 thumbs up from the whole family.

They have many other items on their menu: sandwiches, garlic bread, etc.

They also sell desserts. I knew just by looking at them, they had to be from Vegan Treats, and I was right. Leave it to my funny 10 year old to pick out the kooky pretzel brownie. We all kind of shared everything.


So...I so wanted to love all of these because I always drool over the Vegan Treats pics. They were fine, but I didn't moan, "These are sooo good," with a mouthful of food, like a might if they really blew me away. I think this is why I only thought they were fine: I prefer my desserts chilled. Especially if the frosting isn't overly sweet. I'm not a huge cake-at-room-temperature person. I know that when you chill chake, it can dry it out, which is why they don't do it. It just feels like these luscious looking frostings would taste better chilled. My favorite part of all of these was the brownie at the bottom of the pretzel concoction. It was good!


There were, however, 3 other little mouths that weren't as discriminating as mine. And that's all that really matters. I felt very happy for them since they only get desserts a few times a year at restaurants, during our trips and travels.

We walked around the area surrounding Blackbird in South Philly (fun area but maybe not so kid-friendly; we had to avert their eyes away from a few different stores). We also made it to see The Liberty Bell.

Just because our hotel was so close, and we knew the route, we decided we might as well go back to Blackbird. We thought it seemed necessary to order a Philly Cheesesteak sandwich while we were in town. However, they had just used their last two pieces of bread when we walked in. Therefore...we ordered pizza again. Apparently, we were subconsciously fine with that since we plowed through it with no problem.

Tomorrow night, I might insist on a raw dinner in NYC to balance things out a bit.

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I'm behind on blog reading and replying because it's harder to comment while on my phone. And I'm often needed in the car to open packages, locate missing Leapster cartridges & blankies, etc., and watch out for exits. I'll get caught up soon. I appreciate all of your trip well-wishes, and I enjoyed all of your Vegan Essential entry comments. (I will get your extra entries posted soon, as well.) Vegan MoFo has been fun, and I don't want to miss out on the "party" one bit.

Vegan MoFo: Road Trip Begins

How does the vegan and so forth family take a road trip?

We have to take plenty of car snacks. Not just because we can't buy them readily in gas stations, etc.; they're also important to have around to keep the kids happy and quiet.

My Mom actually put this huge snack bag together for us. She started out buying a "few" things, and she kept adding to it until the bag was stuffed full of vegan goodness. My Mom isn't a vegan by any means, but by nature, she doesn't like to see anybody go hungry. (She also bought us more than enough gloves and hats, etc. because just as much as she wouldn't want us to be hungry...she also doesn't want us to be cold.)

There are nut butters, raisins, freeze-dried fruit crisps, boom CHOCO boom bars (This was the first time I'd had these; they're good! And there's a 75 cents on 2 coupon on the link.), Clif twists, other fruit leather, gogo Squeez applesauce, Snackimals, Tofurky Jerky, dried mango, Annie's bunny fruit snacks, and granola bars, etc. Thank you, Momma!

We also brought baby carrots, broccoli, carob chips, oranges, Brazil nuts, apples, trail mix, grapes, and sandwich fixings.

We stopped at The Wild Cow in Nashville for lunch (review forthcoming) and planned on eating our sandwich stuff that evening. I'm glad our GPS wasn't right! Even though I knew we were on a road at this point, it still kind of freaked me out a little bit.


We got a little bit off "schedule," (Ryan got off work late Fri. night and then our car started acting a little funny Saturday...took it to the auto shop in Nashville - long story short: we are now void of car air conditioning) and we weren't able to make it to any of the Virginia attractions we'd planned on visiting (so hopefully we will on the way back!). The kids needed to get out of the car somewhere so we pulled off around the Great Smoky Mountains and found a little place by Douglas Lake. They ran, threw rocks, etc., and...

we ate a "picnic," standing by the car: Tofurky deli slices on Men's Bread with mustard (purchased at a local gas station because we forgot to bring ours), rice cheese, and salad mix plus broccoli on the side.

A little shout out to my pink knife. I love it because it has the blade cover, so I can just throw it in the food bag. And it's pink!

Vegan MoFo: Vegan Essentials Giveaway!

The winner of my $40 CSN giveaway is...#7: Heather from Where's the Beach?. Congrats; hope you get something fun! If you didn't win, here's another chance for ya...

Don't you just love getting fun packages in the mail?

It's especially a good day when "vegan" or "veg" is written on the box.

Remember this picture I showed you yesterday?

It's a Vegan Danish Kringle by Lars Bakery. (Sorry, Andrea - WISH I had a recipe!) They come in cherry, raspberry, almond, apple, pecan, and apricot and sell for $6.95. We've ordered them a few times from Vegan Essentials - just on special occasions like for Christmas morning. I keep them in the freezer until we are ready to eat them. To help you understand how big these are, that's my largest dinner plate. I warmed it in the oven for a few minutes. But I might like it cold even better.

They are sooo delicious. I am very fond of them because they are different than anything else (vegan) I've ever had. (The ingredients aren't the healthiest; that's why we only eat them a few times a year.)

You have a chance to win a Kringle (or anything else that Vegan Essentials carries). They are a great, friendly 8-employee run business in Wisconsin. I always receive excellent customer service and speedy delivery. They are teaming up with me to offer you a $40 gift certificate.

I'm going to try one of these candy bars on my next order.

Candy bar ingredients: Organic and fair-trade dark chocolate (organic and fair trade chocolate, organic and fair trade vegan sugar, organic and fair trade cocoa butter, organic soy lecithin, organic natural vanilla), organic tapioca syrup, organic oats, organic almonds, organic Dutch cocoa powder, sea salt, organic almond extract

If sweets aren't your thing, there is so much variety. They sell Daiya, Teese...you name it.

There are 16 pages of gluten and wheat free products.

I've heard this is good.

Vegan Essentials also sells shoes, clothing, vitamins, supplements, books, cosmetics, candles, pet supplies, ETC...they offer "the largest selection of cruelty-free items in one location."

*Sidenote: You will have to pay for 2 day shipping and icepacks when you order cold items.

*Tip: Vegan Essentials offers monthly discounts for their email subscribers/customers.

soy wax candles

To enter this giveaway:

Mandatory entry: Tell me about something you've ordered from Vegan Essentials. Or tell me about something you'd like to try. (Stop by their website if you need some ideas!)

For an extra entry, become a google connect friend "follower" (over on the right side) or remind me that you already are.

Blog (or tweet or facebook) about this giveaway for 3 extra entries. You can just leave one comment (I know you're busy!); I'll fill in the other two entries for ya.

BTW: Vegan Essentials will ship almost anywhere in the world.

Contest ends a week from tonight!

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Headin' out on a little (well, big actually) road trip. Have a great weekend, everyone. I'm sure I'll be doing lots of MoFo reading in the car!

Vegan MoFo: the one where I got an award

I got an award! To accept this award, I need to list 7 strange or obscure facts about myself. I received this award from Michelle, who has a great list. She's indeed strange (in a good way!)...I mean, she has a duck...and a pig. And other things just running and flying around her house. And she wants to get a moped for her and her husband, with a sidecar for her duck. She is altogether endearing for more reasons than just her choice of pets.

So this is what she said about me: a vegan girl with a VEGAN husband!!! if not for anything else, go check out her husband...you won't be disappointed. i think she is raising her kids vegan also, so that's neat to read about. i enjoy her sense of humor. :)

She's totally after my husband. And then it suddenly dawned on me, as I was looking back through her blog...our husbands are very similar looking. We apparently must have the same taste. Which is funny because she and I aren't exactly opposite-looking either.

I'm really happy for my husband when he gets female attention. I think he's a babe, and it's good for people to receive positive feedback, ya know? He doesn't think he's a babe...especially since the declination of his hair. (Bless his heart...that "bless your heart" was especially for you, Michelle.)

So I hearby dedicate this award to my herbivore husband. Ryan.

And his hair.

God rest its soul.

Did you come by my blog to read about food today? I apologize for the shift in conversation. Here are a couple of food pictures to tide you over.

Here is the salad I had for supper one night this week: greens, chickpeas, zucchini, quinoa, carrot strips, celery strips, grated beets, and pumpkin seeds. For the dressing, I used a mixture of vegan caesar (light on this) and salsa.

And "What little piece of vegan heaven is that?" you might be asking...you'll have to come back tomorrow to find out.

Onto my list (maybe not all strange but hopefully a little bit interesting):

1. The coolest places I've ever visited are the Egyptian pyramids and the biblical holy land spots in Jerusalem.

2. I've actually peed on the Sinai desert. I couldn't hold it any longer, and...we were in the desert. I had to pee so bad I was actually crying. I ran off the bus to the desert, and a group of girls followed me because I think they had to pee (urinate? which is better to say?), too, or just wanted to protect me out in the wild or something. I was so annoyed that they came with me because I like to have a little privacy. So I got stage fright and couldn't go; it just wouldn't come out. I got back on the bus, nearly panicked at this point, wondering if I could die from holding it in that long. Fortunately, the bus made another stop after awhile, at a check-point or something, and I immediately darted back off for a sec on my own.

3. I left my friends (including my date) at a Nelson concert in highschool to sneak through the crowd toward the stage. I touched one of their hands.

Here's a picture of them, in case any of you young ones don't know who I'm talking about. I'm sure they were much cooler, you know - dressed much cooler, posing much cooler - the night I saw them...or else I couldn't possibly have been screaming as loud or as long as I was...right?

4. I stuck a raisin up my nose when I was really young, and my mom had to take me to the doctor to get it removed. I still remember the shine of the light in my eyes and the doctor looking down over me.

5. I don't like the taste of alcohol. At all. I've never had more than a few sips at a time. I can't really understand how so many people enjoy it. I sometimes think everyone must be pretending to like it because of peer pressure. :) Don't even get me started about coffee; blech. I occasionally do wish I enjoyed these liquids; I feel like I'm missing out on this big party going on.

6. I sometimes believe (Okay, I don't really believe this; my behavior just seems to indicate that I believe this.) that inanimate objects have feelings. I often turn a stuffed animal upside down because I think it can't breathe. Or if I choose the second jar of pasta sauce in the store, I'm afraid I hurt the first jar's feelings. Please don't stop reading my blog.

7. I went to the same high school as Don Johnson. Not at the same time, of course. But he's related to practically all of my friends in some way and comes back regularly to visit. Maybe more impressive than that: Brad Pitt grew up in our nearby town, the "bigger" town in our area, where we hung out. And I think...deep down, I know we could have been friends had we met. I think we would have connected. I just KNOW it. I can feel it.

I was going to pass this award on to blogs I've newly discovered through Vegan MoFo...but it was really too hard to narrow it down. And I wouldn't want to leave anyone out and hurt anyone's feelings...I mean, did you read the part where I can't even hurt inanimate objects' feelings? If you are reading this right now, that means you're one of my favorite bloggers (of course) so consider yourself awarded. I would love for you to post 7 obscure facts about yourself.

gratuitous vegan husband parting shot