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
 

Hamptons Weekend, Part II

Finally! I'm getting around to posting about how I capped off the some of the last few weekends of my summer. We are on the brink of autumn, (as was clear to me as I sat in Thompkins Square Park today) and I'm ready to move on! But I just have to share what I did back in August before I can proceed to share some of my early fall shenanigans..or veganigans, if you will.

 

At the end of August, I headed to the Hamptons again with David and Sophia to celebrate Sophia's birthday, and you better believe we cooked up a storm!

We had decadent, delicious pancakes made every morning by Sophia. One morning we had apple cinnamon, the next we had banana chocolate chip...

The birthday girl

David clearly enjoying breakfast

The first night, we made roasted mushrooms stuffed with pesto, and whole grain pasta in a tempeh bolognese sauce...

Before

After-

As you can see, we added barley to the pesto, which was a nice, earthy touch.

 

 

 

 

The next day, for lunch, we fired up the grill and had a Mexican-style feast!

 

Grilled fresh corn, peppers, and avocados...pico de gallo, and spiced black beans for our tacos.

 

 

 

In between all of our eating and cooking, we did some summery, Hamptons things.

 

 

On our last night, we made a risotto with oyster mushrooms, leeks, and peas...

We had it with some roasted fingerling potatoes and asparagus.

 

 

 

This recipe is from Alicia Silverstone's book, 'The Kind Diet'. Not to be cheesy, but this book changed my life! But I can share more about that another time. I'm going to end this post today by sharing the recipe with all of you. I hope you will try it, and enjoy!

 

Here it is:

 

Risotto with Oyster Mushrooms, Leeks, and Peas

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil

3/4-1 cup oyster mushrooms, or 1 cup button mushrooms, sliced

2 pinches sea salt

1/2 cup thinly sliced leeks

1/2 cup fresh or thawed peas

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

3/4-1 cup onion, chopped

1 cup Arborio rice (or short grain brown rice)

1/2 cup mirin or white wine

 

Directions

Bring 5 cups of water just to a boil in a saucepan. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.

 

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a skillet. Add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt and stir until the mushrooms soften. Add the leeks and a pinch of salt and saute for 1 minutes, or until the leeks soften. Add some water to the pan, 1 tablespoon at a time if the vegetables become dry or start to stick to the pan.

 

If you are using fresh peas, blanch them for 1 minutes in a small pot of boiling water, and then add them to the sauteed vegetables. If using thawed just add them. Remove from heat and set aside.

 

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a medium skillet over m edium heat. Add the garlic and onion and, when the onions begins to sizzle, add a dash of salt. Saute until the onions soften, about 1 to 2 minutes. Stif in the rice and toast the grains until they are opaque, about 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the wine and cook until it has evaporated. Reduce the heat to medium low and begin add the warm water by ladelfuls, stirring it into the risotto, and adding more liquid only when the previous addition has been absorbed. After the rice has cooked for 20 minutes, seas to taste with salt. The total cooking time should be 25 to 30 minutes. The risotto will be creamy, but the rice should retain some firmness.

 

Add the sauteed vegetable mixture to the risotto and stir together until hot. Serve warm.

 

 

xo,

Ellie

Italian 'Sausage' with Onions and Peppers~Sauteed Fairy Tale Eggplants

One detail about this vegan's life is that I'm often out and about. Typical, I guess, for the New Yorker that I am. Especially on weeknights. I probably have evening plans more often on weeknights than say, a Saturday night. So unfortunately, that means I don't cook dinner for myself as often as I'd like to. This Monday, though, I had absolutely no plans, and was able to cook myself a meal. My friend Kate actually called later in the day and asked if she could stay over. She needed to be in the city early the next day, and it would've been easier for her to leave from my place than hers. I said of course! It was a pleasant impromptu sleepover. And she kept me company while I had my meal. I decided to go Italian-style for dinner. Here is what I made...

I sauteed some Italian Field Roast sausages with onions and peppers with some grapeseed oil. I've mentioned Field Roast sausages before. If you haven't tried them yet, you must! You will NOT miss meat eating this! Their Italian sausage is made with fresh eggplant, packed with fennel, red wine, garlic and sweet peppers.

I also sauteed some fairy tale eggplants with olive oil, sea salt, pepper, and sprinkled some lemon juice on top. Very simple. Very Mediterranean.

 And I served that with a generous helping of mesclun greens with olive oil, lemon juice, and chopped fresh garlic. I realized after pouring that I didn't have to put olive oil in the salad. Woops!Sometimes just lemon juice does the trick. And it's healthier!

I was pretty hungry, so I definitely had seconds, maybe thirds? I made plenty, though, so I still had some leftover for the next day. Not that Kate didn't help me finish the food by picking on some off the pan and my plate here and there!

 

That's all for now. Enjoy the rest of your week!

Till next time.

 

xo,

Ellie

Vegetarian Dim Sum House~Tofu Scramble with Dandelion and Yukon Gold Potatoes~Raw Zucchini Pasta with Pesto

Vegetarian Dim Sum House
On Saturday afternoon, I headed to Chinatown to go to Vegetarian Dim Sum House with my friend Dylan. I hadn't had dim sum in years, so this was a real treat-especially since I got to do it vegan-style! Dylan said, "You're gonna love this place". And he was right-I did! I really enjoyed getting my Asian fix., like the old days. Here's what we ordered...

Rice Flour Rolls with White Fungus and Golden Mushrooms
Served with a sauce primarily made with soy sauce, this is a vegan version of one of my faves. I used to eat these rolls with beef or shrimp, but this time I got down with the mushrooms. Next time, I'm going to try their vegetarian mock shrimp roll...

Turnip Cakes
Another favorite! When I ordered these babies, the waitress asked if I wanted them steamed or fried. Usually I go healthier and ask for something steamed when given such an option-but I know this dish is better fried, and it's dim sum!-so, I went all out.

Steamed Watercress Dumplings

Something a little on the lighter side to balance out the heaviness of the other dishes-not to mention a source of greens in our meal! I love watercress. And these dumplings may look small, but they are quite a mouthful!

Vegetarian Mock Roast Pork Buns

I'll be honest. This was pretty good, but I probably won't order it again. It was a lot of bun, and not much inside. What little there was inside was composed of a sweet bean paste and cubes of mock roast pork.

Mango Pudding

I hadn't capped a dim sum meal off with a mango pudding dessert in a very long time, so I decided to go for it!

 

After our meal, we wandered Chinatown a bit. I hit up some of the fruit stands and bought one-dollar avocados (one dollar!), some lychees, and some durian to try for the first time. Durian is a tropical fruit notorious for its smell, but some people love it, though the word on the street is that it's an acquired taste. I'm going to bring it to work tomorrow as a snack and see how that goes.

 

They also had a cart where we got a bunch of  (vegan!) "cake balls" for a dollar, and a stand where they crack open coconuts so that people can drink them through a straw. I will definitely be back for that-and more dim sum! There are other things on the menu I plan on trying, for sure...

 

 

 

Sunday Cooking

On Sunday (today), I had a "me-day". I went to Mc Gorlick Park with a tea in hand and read, I stopped in the nearby, awesome farmer's market for some goodies, and I cooked. I made myself a brunch to start off the day. The meal was a tofu scramble, inspired by a Cinnamon Snail Facebook post. The owner of Cinnamon Snail made a scramble with most of these ingredients for his kid, and it seemed so healthy and delicious, I decided to make my own version of it.

 

Tofu Scramble with Dandelion and Fried Yukon Gold Potatoes with Garlic and Shallots



Ingredients:
1 box firm organic tofu
cubed yukon gold potatoes
dandelion leaves
1 shallot, sliced
3 garlic cloves, very coarsely chopped
tumeric
sea salt
black pepper
olive oil or grapeseed oil
(optional: cayenne pepper, or top with sriracha sauce for a kick!)

Instructions:
Fry the potatoes first for a few minutes. Allow to brown.
Take potatoes out of the pan and put aside.
While pan is still heated, put in shallots and garlic and allow to brown.
Stir the potatoes back in.
Add in the tofu. Crush with hands.
Stir in tumeric. Add sea salt and black pepper and cayenne pepper, if using.
Add the dandelion leaves. Allow to wilt a bit.

Et voila!

There you have it! A hearty meal, with some bitterness from the dandelion. By the way, did you know that eating dandelion leaves help clean the liver? It's true! And in Chinese medicine, the liver is the organ that governs female reproduction. Keeping the liver balanced helps with the function of our "woman parts"! Cool, huh?


Speaking of health, in the evening I made myself a raw dinner- a zucchini pasta with pesto and a side salad of mesclun greens. I used my handy dandy spiralizer-or, as my roommate calls it, the "jungle gym"...

I made a pesto sauce with basil (of course), lemon juice, garlic, sunflower seeds, almonds, nutritional yeast, olive oil, and some umeboshi plum vinegar and sea salt.

After dinner, I headed to my neighborhood bar, Matchless, and caught a fantastic comedy show. My friend Kate was in it and it was so good to see her!

 

And with that, I cap off my Sunday. Goodnight everyone! Have a great week!

xo,

Ellie

 

Hiking and Eating Upstate in Cold Spring, NY

 

This past Saturday I headed upstate for some hiking with my friends. It was a gorgeous day, and the trail was beautiful...

 

 

One really cool part of the day was when we came across a stream and found that we could drink the water. It was so pure and refreshing! 

 

 

We collected some to take back home with us.

 

 

After our hike, we rewarded ourselves with some hearty eats in the village of Cold Spring...

 

 

Michelle and I had a Portobello Mushroom Sandwich from Cold Spring Depot. It was served on ciabatta bread with lettuce, tomato, and red onions. We asked for it without cheese. It came with a potato salad, but Michelle got a side of fries instead, and I got a side salad. Not bad, Cold Spring Depot! Not bad.

 

 

After dinner, before catching our train back to the city, we went into Go-Go Pops for some popsicles...

 

 

This cool spot offers juices, vegan bubble tea, gourmet vegan chocolates, and some vegan pops-some of them are even sugar-free/agave sweetened! In the cooler months, they offer soups, some of which are vegan. The owner mentioned that soon they will be serving some red lentil, coconut soup. Mmmmmmm.

 

The owner said the Green Fairie pop (aka The Puck) was really fantastic. She wasn't kidding! This flavor is made with avocado, kiwi, pineapple juice, coconut milk, agave nectar, and guar. It was deliciously fruity and creamy, with some nice crunch from the kiwi. As my non-vegan friend Shaliga said, " Wow, it's nice and creamy even though it doesn't have any dairy!". 

 

 

It was a nice treat to enjoy while waiting for the train, and a great way to cap off the day.

 

Till next time!

xo,

Ellie

 

 

Heirloom Tomato Soup~Black Eyed Pea Hummus with Cilantro~Sauteed Red Wine Maitake Mushrooms

Hey there! So... yes. I have been a naughty blogger. I have been meaning to put up several posts, and I am so behind! So let me try to compensate, and start with the here and now. This vegan's life has been involving going to farmer's markets (particularly the one near Mc Carren Park on Saturdays), trying to eat healthier, and throwing more raw foods into the mix.

Can I just say how much I am loving going to farmer's markets?! And this past summer, as well as now, has been a great time to go! There is a great variety of plant-based goodies available for your picking. You can get corn on the cob, still in their husks, to "steam" in the oven, low at 325, for 30 minutes. Or you could slice up some kabocha squash with shallots or onions and roast 'em up! Or enjoy a peach smoothie, by adding some banana and almonds.

Here are some things  I made recently (besides the examples I just gave) that I've really enjoyed. I've  given up on recording measurements. Well, for the moment. at least. I tend to eyeball portions of spices, etc. that I use. I can only advise that you use your own judgement and taste for figuring out portions, and give you my list of ingredients. I hope that some of these dishes will inspire you to enjoy lots of veggie-goodies yourself!

Raw Heirloom Tomato Soup

 

I am loving on heirloom tomatoes at the moment! They are so juicy and sweet! And they are available in abundance right NOW. If you can't get your hands on heirloom tomatoes, I'm sure regular tomatoes would be delicious, too. This soup is super simple to make. Just take:
1 medium/large heirloom tomato
1/2 a cucumber, peeled
sea salt
oregano

and blend!
It's garden-licious (I know, so corny, but I had to say it) ! And it's also really frothy. Mmmm.


Black-Eyed Pea Hummus with Cilantro

 

I generally find black-eyed peas on the bland side, but spiced up in this hummus, it was a treat! And I love cilantro! Did you know that cilantro helps with detoxification of heavy metals in the body? Yup! I used a lot of cilantro in this dish, and it was not overpowering at all. The herb blends up really nicely, so feel free!

 

Ingredients:

1 can Eden brand black-eyed peas

1 heaping spoonful or more of tahini

umeboshi plum vinegar

lemon juice

2-3 raw garlic cloves

cilantro

paprika

cumin

sea salt

 

 

 

I enjoyed my hummus at work this week with some raw slices of zucchini and peeled cucumber. I love raw zucchini, and when I saw them at the market, I snagged them up! I'm also digging cucumbers lately. They are so refreshing!

 

 

Sauteed Red Wine Maitake Mushrooms

 

Admittedly they are on the pricy side, but I love getting my mushroom fix from the market! This week I went with some maitake mushrooms (aka "hen of the woods"). I took some leftover red wine (a full-bodied one), some tamari (you can also use shoyu aka soy sauce) and sauteed. It was so easy! I placed the mushrooms over a bed of steamed kale.

 

 

To complete the meal, I had the mushrooms and kale with some oven fries, using Purple Viking Potatoes. They are a little sweet, and delicious. I threw in some rosemary and garlic cloves, as well as olive oil, sea salt and black pepper.

 

 

And that's it! Earlier today I went on a hike upstate-so I will update again very soon about that!

xo,

Ellie