Goodbye, 101 Eckford Street!

A couple 'lounging' on a typical summer day in Mc Carren Park

 

Ahhhh, Brooklyn! I'd say farewell, but I'll probably still be around. In fact, I already still am around! Even so..I wanted to say some goodbyes during my last days as an actual resident. I've moved to (gasp!) Jersey City, and I decided to do some last rituals;hit up some spots once more before leaving. I'm going to miss the middle-aged man who drives around Driggs and Bedford, blasting music, singing along on nice sunny days! I'm even gonna miss seeing the man who lives across the street from my old apartment always stick his feet up to the window. I told the roomie Lauren that and she said, "Eww, don't!"

 

Anyway...

 

One last morning, I went to Brooklyn Standard to order their amazing Cali Bagel on a toasted whole wheat bagel. This deli is great. Their Jerked Seitan sandwiches and Portobello Mushroom sandwiches (ask for it vegan!) are also very good.

 

Their Cali Bagel is made with tofutti cream cheese, 'sausage', jalapeno peppers,

 roasted tomatoes, and basil. 

 

 

Since my good friend Shaliga is only two stops away on the G train, we'd periodically have sleepovers. We met for one more Brooklyn sleepover/hangout.We headed to Paulie Gee's for some pizzas. While waiting for a seat ('cause it's always busy there), we had some fantastic pumpkin beer at nearby Brouwerij Lane.

 

When we were seated, we started with their The Gates of Eden salad. I like to sub their gorgonzola cheese with their house-made cashew ricotta cheese. It's so delish!

 

We shared their Vegan Shmoogula (italian tomatoes, baby arugula, olive oil, post oven nutritional yeast and mild aleppo chili oil)...

 

..and their In Ricotta da Vegan (italian tomatoes, house made vegan fennel sausage, post oven house made cashew ricotta dollops, baby arugula and extra virgin olive oil).

 

 

We then headed back to my place, stopping at a store for some Steve's Ice Cream.

 

Their stuff is so amazing! We got the Cinnamon Coffee flavored one, which is one of my favorites.

 

 

We watched a silly movie before passing out, then made brunch in the morning...

With some leftover pizza, we had some tofu scramble with broccoli, and a mesclun green salad.

 

 

 

 

 

That was how I kicked off my last weekend in Brooklyn, followed by a Halloween outing, then one last open mike at Pete's Candy Store (as a local), then...the hurricane. I plan to cover more vegan details about all those events in continuing posts very soon.

 

Stay warm everyone!

xo,

Ellie

'Treat-Myself' French Toast from Bliss Cafe~Watermelon Frosty/Watermelon Basil Smoothie

When you're feeling down, what do you do? There was a particular day earlier, in the summer, when I was feeling sad. So I did what I could to take care of myself. I talked with close friends who were there for me, and I treated myself to foods I liked. That meant I allowed myself to indulge a bit in the sweet stuff!

I walked over to Bliss Cafe on Bedford Ave. for their Vegan French Toast. Now, Bliss is, as friends of mine have called it, a bit old school with their vegan fare- but I can rely on them for healthy eats, and the place is cozy. And their french toast is awesome.

Bliss generally serves whole wheat bread, but if you ask, they can alternatively give you spelt bread. That's what I went for. They also give you the option of having some maple whip with your toast. Since I was in the mood for some decadence, when they asked if I wanted some I replied, "Yes, please!"

Their maple syrup and maple whip

 

 

Back at home, I made myself a watermelon frosty and enjoyed it on my fire escape.

 

I followed this video's recipe, posted on one of my favorite blogs: Watermelon Frosty Video

 

 

The ingredients are very simple. Just some banana, lemon/lime, frozen watermelon, and maple syrup. Watermelon is currently still in the farmer's markets, so grab them while you can! And enjoy them on a lingering warm day while we transition into fall. My friend Bud and I actually made

our own version of this recipe recently, a Watermelon Basil Smoothie-with basil from his garden, and it came out fantastic!! I highly recommend making one of these for yourself. It's a real treat.

 

Here are the ingredients we used:

 

Watermelon

Handful of Basil

Banana

Lemon Juice

Ice

 

No agave/maple syrup/sugar necessary. A bit of banana (not too much) adds a nice sweetness, and it's all you need. I hope you will try the smoothie. I guarantee you wouldn't regret it!

 

xoxo,

Ellie

 

 

Labor Day Weekend~Farm Sanctuary

Hey everyone! Yes, that's me getting my stomach licked by a cow at Farm Sanctuary. He was an eager little fella! I spent my Labor Day Weekend there with David, Sophia and Shaliga. It was my first visit!

But let me backtrack, and start from the beginning: We began our weekend by rallying at Sophia's place, and having some of her famous pancakes before hitting the road. She made blueberry ones. As usual, they were amazing!

On our first night, we went to a vineyard in the area and enjoyed their event that had live music and fireworks. Yes, I was dancing to retro 50's tunes with the older folks!

The next day, we met the animals at Farm Sanctuary...

The pigs look so happy when they sleep! And some of them are HUGE! They love to get their bellies rubbed...

Turkey lurkey! I caught a candid of this gal mid-gobble.

 

This is Antoinette. She's a unique girl, because she's the only one at the sanctuary who likes to be massaged. See? She's spreading herself out, getting comfy for some more rubbing!

 

Piglets!

 

 

Hello, beautiful!

 

This guy was my favorite of all the animals in the sanctuary. I loved his eyes, and his energy. As Shaliga said, sheeps are so chill. She liked hanging with them, too.

 

 

 

At the gift shop (where they give out free vegan ice cream!).

The tee-shirt says 'Factory Farming Hurts Everyone'.

 

One of the adorable cats at the sanctuary, dozing on a haystack.

 

We later hiked in Watkins Glen State Park, then had dinner at Stonecat Cafe. The food there was amazing! And their wine selection was great, too.

 

We started our meal sharing their Olivada appetizer-olive tapenade with slices of fresh foccacia bread. It was delicious! For dinner, we had their Smoked Maple Cured Tofu, and it was amazing! Highly recommended...

 

For breakfast, we had bagels, pastries, oatmeal and fruit that is offered to guests at Farm Sanctuary. One of the things I loved was the raisin oat bars from their local spot, Glen Mountain Bakery & Market.

 

Glen Market was our go-to for lunch. They have great seitan sandwiches, but I got their Jackson's Revenge-housemade tofu burger with lettuce, tomato, sprouts, mustard and toast...

 

My friends got the Healthy Hoagie (made with flavored seitan, bacon mushroom, and sundried tomato...

 

And the Sanctuary Special (seitan, l.t.s., olive oil and vinegar, spicy mustard, on a fresh baguette).

 

 

 

 

We spent one day in Ithaca. We swam and hiked a gorgeous trail at Robert H.Treman State Park.

 But before that, we ate lunch at Viva Taqueria. We had tacos and burritos there vegan-style. The staff was so friendly!

 

After our hike, we were ravenous! So back to the town of Ithaca we went! We grabbed some Mediterranean eats at Aladdin's...

 

A huge Babaganoush Pita that Sophia ordered!

 

I ordered their Veggie Combo-I chose their babaganoush,hummus, taboulee salad, and sauteed spinach with whole wheat pita. And I ate it all!

 

We then went to Purity to top off our evening with some ice cream..

They carry delicious vegan ice cream from Chicago Soy. We got their Cookie Dough. It was delish! 

Whew! I think that about covers all the things we enjoyed during our trip! I leave you all now with  some pics from our hiking excursions-and Lake Seneca! Enjoy!

At Robert Treman State Park

Swimming at Robert Treman. The water was so cold!

With all the peeps on our hike.

Lake Seneca

Watkins Glen State Park

xo,
Ellie
 

Friday Night Vegan Frolic in the Lower East Side: An Choi~Babycakes NYC

Friday night Lower East Side vegan frolic! Actually, this pic is taken later in the night when I went back to Brooklyn for a show-but before then..I had a Friday night Lower East Side vegan frolic! So, back to that..Was that a mouthful? Well speaking of mouthfuls..on this hot, sweaty Friday (among the many we've been having lately), Kristy, Michelle and I headed to An Choi in the Lower East Side for some Vietnamese eats at this vegan-friendly spot. Michelle likes to go here for her fix, and it was my first time trying the place...

Here's what we had!

To start: Vegetarian Crispy Spring Rolls with Tofu and Taro...

Vegetarian Pho with thin rice noodles, tofu, mushrooms and bok choy.

The mushroom broth was aromatic and delicious!

A pic of the ladies.

The night wasn't over!

Afterwards, we strolled over to...

Babycakes NYC

I got the Gluten-Free Carrot Cupcake, made with chickpea and rice flour...

We brought our spoils indoors and enjoyed them while sharing more laughs.

A good evening, I'd say!

That's all for now;
more updates to come!
xo,
Ellie