Tulips from the 2009 PHS Flower Show
Poppies
Pears
Mangoes
Lemons
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Earth Laughs in Flowers
(Ralph Waldo Emerson)
DocDufresne and I went to the Horticultural Society's Flower Show today. On the way we stopped at a soap shop featured in the latest issue of VegNews magazine. The author of the article is actually the local (much more experienced) vegan blogger of the UrbanVegan.
Duross and Langel is a lovely soap/bodycare/candle shop with a ton of great vegan stuff to smell. Soap-obsessed individuals like I could spend hours in olfactory heaven. I spoke with Steve Duross for a while about the ingredients used in their products and learned some valuable information from him. Silk protein is actually not necessarily from silk worms. It can be from the silk of corn or other substances. It requires a bit more research, but at least there are more vegan products out there than I knew about!
Some plants that really don't look like plants. DocDufresne took some of the photos.
Other shots from the Flower Show:
DocDufresne and I went to the Horticultural Society's Flower Show today. On the way we stopped at a soap shop featured in the latest issue of VegNews magazine. The author of the article is actually the local (much more experienced) vegan blogger of the UrbanVegan.
Duross and Langel is a lovely soap/bodycare/candle shop with a ton of great vegan stuff to smell. Soap-obsessed individuals like I could spend hours in olfactory heaven. I spoke with Steve Duross for a while about the ingredients used in their products and learned some valuable information from him. Silk protein is actually not necessarily from silk worms. It can be from the silk of corn or other substances. It requires a bit more research, but at least there are more vegan products out there than I knew about!
Some plants that really don't look like plants. DocDufresne took some of the photos.
Other shots from the Flower Show:
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Dinner at Vientiane
DocDufresne and I went to one of our favorite restaurants in Philadelphia, Vientiane. It's a small Laotian restaurant with a nice atmosphere, beautiful presentation, and great service. The food is also outstanding. They give you a complimentary fruit bowl (made from half an orange) and candies with your bill. The romantic, candle-lit setting makes taking photos of the food difficult, sorry!
We ordered:
-Fresh Spring Rolls w/ plum sauce and sweet peanut sauce
-Tom Yum soup with tofu
-Yum Salad with tofu
-Pad Thai
-Veggie Fried Rice
And to go:
-Thai iced tea (They were out of soymilk so I opted to take this to go and add my own at home.)
-Rice pudding (You get to keep the four teeny ceramic bowls they come in!)
Everything was delicious as usual.
We ordered:
-Fresh Spring Rolls w/ plum sauce and sweet peanut sauce
-Tom Yum soup with tofu
-Yum Salad with tofu
-Pad Thai
-Veggie Fried Rice
And to go:
-Thai iced tea (They were out of soymilk so I opted to take this to go and add my own at home.)
-Rice pudding (You get to keep the four teeny ceramic bowls they come in!)
Everything was delicious as usual.
A day at the park
This morning I led a volunteer session in the Wissahickon. It was a special event where we got to do a wide variety of tasks including invasive plant removal, native plant transplanting, and creating "cages" to protect native seedlings from foot traffic and the mower. It was fun!
Some native hollies that we protected today.
After the restoration work, DocDufresne, Andy, and I went to the unofficial dog park at the Blue Bell Hill Picnic Area. We've been cautiously letting him off his leash in safe areas and we were thrilled to see that he did very well this time. The trick is always having a tennis ball. He's obsessed. We ran into a guy at the park that was also taking pictures of the pooches. He had much fancier equipment. DocDufresne wanted to practice using his fixed-focal length, manual lens, so the pictures didn't come out super great. Andy was poooooooped by the end of our time at the park. So many people to throw the ball for him!
I thought these dogs were very cute.
When we got home, I decided to play with the new lens (and the pooped Andy.)
Some native hollies that we protected today.After the restoration work, DocDufresne, Andy, and I went to the unofficial dog park at the Blue Bell Hill Picnic Area. We've been cautiously letting him off his leash in safe areas and we were thrilled to see that he did very well this time. The trick is always having a tennis ball. He's obsessed. We ran into a guy at the park that was also taking pictures of the pooches. He had much fancier equipment. DocDufresne wanted to practice using his fixed-focal length, manual lens, so the pictures didn't come out super great. Andy was poooooooped by the end of our time at the park. So many people to throw the ball for him!
I thought these dogs were very cute.I always think this one is cute.
When we got home, I decided to play with the new lens (and the pooped Andy.)
Friday, March 6, 2009
New Shoes!
After my everyday shoes tragically fell apart while on my recent adventure in Washington D.C., I decided it would be wise to buy replacements ASAP. I took a trip to Payless, just having missed BOGO a couple of days earlier, and instead of buying one pair, I bought four! Two of them were on sale, and let's face it, the regular prices are pretty cheap anyway. I couldn't resist, but if my former pair is any indication, I'll get a lot of use out of these guys.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Baked Tofu Sandwich Dinner, March 4
Here was last night's dinner:
Baked Tofu Sandwich with Canadian "bacon", spinach, Veganaise, and Cheddar Follow Your Heart. (I prepared the tofu my favorite way: dressed in olive oil, soy sauce, and vinegar, then baked for 25ish minutes. Toward the end, I threw some "cheese" on top.)
Sides included a wild rice/quinoa mixture, tossed southern greens and tomatoes in a tangy nutritional yeast/onion powder/curry powder etc. dressing, and carrot fries.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Powershift in Washington D.C.
I went to D.C. this past weekend to visit some friends, attend Powershift, and eat at some really great restaurants! As you'll be able to tell from the following post, I go a little overboard when on vacation in a great Vegan-friendly city. Sorry for the quality of some of the pics- I didn't want to annoy people with the flash of my camera and some of the places we visited were dark. Here's a breakdown of my eating adventures this weekend:
Friday 2.27.09
Lunch at Sticky Fingers Bakery
*****A MUST-VISIT
Dinner at Nirvana
***PRICEY, BUT GOOD
Late night snack provided mostly by Trader Joes!
Saturday 2.29.09
T and I ate our sticky buns from Sticky Fingers for breakfast!
Lunch at Bus Boys and Poets
****A MUST VISIT
Bus Boys and Poets is a VERY popular establishment with funky decor and a menu full of great vegan options. I shared the Tempeh
Sandwhich and Vegan Eggs Wrap with my friend, T. Both were delicious and came with sides (we opted for the fruit salad and home fries.) To end the meal, T, A, and I ordered all of their available vegan desserts to share: blueberry cheesecake, raspberry cheesecake, fresh-out-of-the-oven-and-still-gooey chocolate 
chip cookie, and brownie a la mode with dark and white chocolate chips. Delish!
Dinner at Ella's Pizza
****A MUST VISIT
This place was crazy busy, but it only took about 15 minutes to be seated. OUTSTANDING vegan pizza! A and I had the Margherita Pizza, while T and C ordered other individual-sized pizzas with veggie toppings. (I think mine was the best and T agreed!) The four of us also shared a small pitcher of Sangria and an appetizer of Lentil Salad with Crispy Eggplant (the chef sauteed our eggplant instead of battering/frying it.) Our server was also very friendly!
Late-night snack at Black Cat
***GOOD (FOR THE ATMOSPHERE OF A BAR)
C, A, T, N, D, and I (okay this is getting a tad confusing!) took the subway to Black Cat. We were thinking of going to Asylum, but it was cold and snowing and the extra walking wasn't appealing! As a group we ordered the Chocolate Cake and the Carrot Cake. Both were dry. We also got 1.5 orders of the Nachos, but they were out of the chili that usually tops the chips. The nachos were good- the "cheese" was made out of tahini and was a bit on the sour side due to the lemon juice. N really, really like them. If they had the chili, I bet I would have liked it a lot more. I also got a coffee with soymilk to stay awake! Others ordered beer.
Sunday 3.01.09
FAILED ATTEMPT at breakfast at Java Green. Waah! We could not fathom why a restaurant serving breakfast all day would be closed on a Sunday morning. We went to Au Bon Pain around the corner. DON'T BOTHER! The only nice thing is that they had a computer readily available for you to look up ingredients lists.
Lunch at California Tortilla
**OKAY IF YOU'RE ON THE RUN
We needed a quick meal. California Tortilla had several options for lunch. I got two soft tacos: black bean (which came with black beans and lettuce...) and veggie and bean. That's all I have to say about this place!
I hope T, A, and C made it to Java Green the following day!
I miss all you guys! Hopefully they will make an appearance in a later posting about Philly dining!
Friday 2.27.09
Lunch at Sticky Fingers Bakery
*****A MUST-VISIT
This was my 3rd time visiting this fabulous place. The folks at Sticky Fingers were great, even offering to open the glass case so that I could get photos of the delicious goodies! I ordered a Veggie Chili and "Cheese" Dog (you must get this when you visit!), a chocolate cupcake, chocolate/vanilla swirl soft-serve, and a sticky roll to go (another must-have!)
Dinner at Nirvana
***PRICEY, BUT GOOD
My friends and I trekked to this vegetarian, Indian restaurant for dinner. The food was delicious, especially my Masala Dosai, which also came with sambar and coconut chutney. I also got Aloo Gobi, which was a small serving and didn't come with rice. Both dishes were the same price. I recommend the dosai over the curry for its taste and value.
Late night snack provided mostly by Trader Joes!
Saturday 2.29.09
T and I ate our sticky buns from Sticky Fingers for breakfast!
Lunch at Bus Boys and Poets****A MUST VISIT
Bus Boys and Poets is a VERY popular establishment with funky decor and a menu full of great vegan options. I shared the Tempeh
Sandwhich and Vegan Eggs Wrap with my friend, T. Both were delicious and came with sides (we opted for the fruit salad and home fries.) To end the meal, T, A, and I ordered all of their available vegan desserts to share: blueberry cheesecake, raspberry cheesecake, fresh-out-of-the-oven-and-still-gooey chocolate 
chip cookie, and brownie a la mode with dark and white chocolate chips. Delish!
Dinner at Ella's Pizza
****A MUST VISIT
This place was crazy busy, but it only took about 15 minutes to be seated. OUTSTANDING vegan pizza! A and I had the Margherita Pizza, while T and C ordered other individual-sized pizzas with veggie toppings. (I think mine was the best and T agreed!) The four of us also shared a small pitcher of Sangria and an appetizer of Lentil Salad with Crispy Eggplant (the chef sauteed our eggplant instead of battering/frying it.) Our server was also very friendly!
Late-night snack at Black Cat
***GOOD (FOR THE ATMOSPHERE OF A BAR)
C, A, T, N, D, and I (okay this is getting a tad confusing!) took the subway to Black Cat. We were thinking of going to Asylum, but it was cold and snowing and the extra walking wasn't appealing! As a group we ordered the Chocolate Cake and the Carrot Cake. Both were dry. We also got 1.5 orders of the Nachos, but they were out of the chili that usually tops the chips. The nachos were good- the "cheese" was made out of tahini and was a bit on the sour side due to the lemon juice. N really, really like them. If they had the chili, I bet I would have liked it a lot more. I also got a coffee with soymilk to stay awake! Others ordered beer.Sunday 3.01.09
FAILED ATTEMPT at breakfast at Java Green. Waah! We could not fathom why a restaurant serving breakfast all day would be closed on a Sunday morning. We went to Au Bon Pain around the corner. DON'T BOTHER! The only nice thing is that they had a computer readily available for you to look up ingredients lists.
Lunch at California Tortilla
**OKAY IF YOU'RE ON THE RUN
We needed a quick meal. California Tortilla had several options for lunch. I got two soft tacos: black bean (which came with black beans and lettuce...) and veggie and bean. That's all I have to say about this place!
I hope T, A, and C made it to Java Green the following day!
I miss all you guys! Hopefully they will make an appearance in a later posting about Philly dining!
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