The Road Home

We found an Indian restaurant in Louisville, KY, on the way home and wanted to give it a try.  But we were worried there wouldn't be enough for a couple vegans.  Well, we were totally and happily wrong!  Everything except a couple of meat dishes and one with dairy yogurt were vegan!  There were noodles, idli, salads, rice of course, and a new one for both of us--upma.  This is a sampling of what I tried.

And of course brought out freshly cooked were the dosas.  Yum.  I need to learn how to make those...

We drove home after lunch and picked up the pups from my mom.  We had a wonderful time at Summerfest, but it felt so good to be back in our own bed that night.

Summerfest Day 5

Our last day.  *Sigh*  We had a great breakfast--rice, corn and quinoa pancakes, lotus rice, Field Roast sausages, and zucchini muffins. 

We attended the morning plenary, listening to Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr, Amie Hamlin, Dr. Greger, Rae Sikora, and Will Tuttle.  After that it was time to pack up and leave.  There were some more sessions, but we needed to get on the road.  Boxed lunches were available, and we packed those up to eat in the car.  I had savory tofu salad, a tofu Reuben, and tabouli salad.   

We stopped outside of Cincinnati that night, and found our dinner at Whole Foods, plus loaded up our cooler with kale and other produce, since we would be home the next day.  Mr. GV shared my burgers with me, but I was still too full to eat the large salad I also made.  It became dinner the next night, after we got home. 



Wrap up:  This was our second year at Summerfest, and even though the friends we made last year did not come this year, it was at least as enjoyable as last year.  I think that was due to knowing what to expect, how everything worked, and feeling more relaxed about trying to get to every session we were interested in.  Mr. GV even got in a couple of bike rides, and I had a rest period once or twice.  When you are going from 6:00 a.m. straight through to 11:00 p.m. or later, you need a rest every now and then. 

Summerfest Day 4

This was the last full day of Summerfest.  First on my agenda was a session about getting rid of your sugar habit.  And then I was lucky enough to get a seat in a packed room to see Melanie Joy, Phd.  speak about communicating, advocating, and living in a meat-eating world. 

Next up was lunch, which for me was 1/2 a baked sweet potato (plain--seriously you don't need brown sugar or butter--they are so sweet and delicious all by themselves), Italian bean something-or-other (ha!), brown rice,

Tuscan vegetable soup, and dessert--a brownie, cookie, and pudding--so sue me, I had to try them all.  lol

But to redeem myself somewhat, I also had a big salad.

 After lunch was another session with Colleen Patrick-Goudreau about how to tackle popular excuses people might give when they say they "want to go vegan, but..." 

We had our farewell dinner that evening, and it was lovely--French onion soup, brown rice, whole wheat pasta with sauce, broccoli raab, chik'n picata,

and an ice cream bar.  Mr. GV and I shared this dessert. 

The plenary that evening included many lovely things, including the induction of Dr. Neal Barnard, founder of PCRM. 

The children of Summerfest performed a few songs for us, and it was lovely to see so many happy faces up on the stage.  Dr. Michael Greger presented his popular "Latest in Nutrition" in a quiz-show format, and we all had a lot of laughs and were able to catch up on some nutrition news.

After the plenary, there was the usual social and dancing, but added on was a drawing for a free package for next year.  I was so happy for the lucky winner!  

Summerfest Day 3

Day 3, and the only pictures I have from this day are a couple of food pics.

I decided to try some of the raw food selections.  I was skeptical, but you know what?  They were delicious!  I am not a fan of either raw cauliflower or raw mushrooms, but I enjoyed both of them.  Here we have cauliflower with olive spread, mushrooms with nori, and a cashew creme. 

And here you see potato strata, brown rice with nutritional yeast, grilled veggies, a corn tortilla, and a soup that I did not like so did not eat. 



As far as other, non-culinary activities went, I attended a session about raw foods, one about vegan sweeteners and fats, and one regarding women's cancers.  They were all interesting, however the last one was frankly below my level, leaving it rather boring to me.  But that wasn't the fault of the presenter, but mine.  That is, after all, what I completed my college degree in, along with an intense 4th year program and clinical rotations.  Mr. GV attended some fitness-based sessions.  In the afternoon, together we attended a session presented by Dr. Milton Mills.  Dr. Mills gave an informed yet humorous presentation about how a plant-based diet protects you from many chronic diseases.  If you are interested in this topic, I recommend you do a search for his presentations.  I believe you can find some of them on YouTube. 

Next for me was a session with Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, cookbook author, public speaker, and owner of one of the best vegan podcasts out there.  Again, if you are interested in the subject, or have some "But why..." type questions, then her podcasts are for you.  I appreciate her compassion and the fact that she is so well-spoken on the subject.  This particular session was about upholding values and honoring tradition, and how to deal with people who try to make you feel guilty or don't understand about not eating certain foods at holidays or other get togethers.

We had another great plenary that night, including an 11th century poem entitled "I No longer Steal from Nature", set to music and sung by an excellent  young singer named Sarah. 

Summerfest Day 2

Day 2 of Summerfest brought our first full day of presentations, demonstations, and all sorts of fun events.  The meals that day were great as usual but I have no pictures, so no need to talk too much about that. 

After the plenary I went to a few sessions while Mr. GV went for a bike ride.  And he found out all about those Pennsylvania hills while he was out and about!

First on my agenda for the day was a session with Dr. Richard Oppenlander, who spoke concerning food choices and how they contribute to global depletion.  I was glad to see more environmental sessions this year.  After that I saw Julieanna Hever again, and she spoke about (and debunked) many of the common myths regarding plant-based nutrition. 

In the afternoon it was time for Lindsay Nixon's food demonstration.  She has a very popular website, Happy Herbivore, and a great cookbook.  I actually took my cookbook along on the trip so I could have her sign it.  :)  The demo was entertaining and the food we got to sample was delicious! 

We had Hawaiian Chickpea Teriyaki with a mango salsa,  Low Fat Peanut Butter Spread, Potato Salad, and Black Bean Brownies, all  yummy!  My camera phone certainly does none of the foods any justice!

After that I skedaddled over to another building to catch the premiere of Vegucated.  To be honest, I almost didn't go because there were other presentations I wanted to attend.  But after randomly having lunch with the director right before, I changed my mind.  And I'm so glad I did.  It was both funny and touching.

This is a small portion of the crowd who filled the auditorium and who gave the writer/director/editor (all one in the same) a standing ovation afterward for the wonderful job she did on this documentary.

Marissa Miller Wolfson, filmmaker.

The day ended with another plenary, including a great presentation by Victoria Moran.  She is such an interesting speaker.  She just knows how to reach out and grab your attention. 

Road trip Day 3, and Summerfest!

Day 3:  We had a leisurely drive from West Virginia to Johnstown, Pennsylvania.  The anticipation was wonderful, because we were almost at Vegetarian Summerfest!  We completed our registration and headed to our room to see our Laura and Rob beds. (That's what I call the twin beds we sleep in.  As in the characters from the Dick Van Dyke Show, who slept in separate twin beds.) 

But first we grabbed some of the free samples that were laid out for us at registration. 

And then it was time to head to our first Summerfest meal! As you can see here, I forgot to snap a picture until we had already chowed down on part of the meal. 

Here you see the tofu Reuben which was excellent. 

And dessert.

After lunch it was time to get started with the classes.  I attended a session where Julieanna Hever spoke about recipes and having a good vegan pantry/kitchen, and some important things to remember regarding plant foods. 

Next was the topic of the myths and science involved in a plant-based diet, given by Dr. Stephan Esser. Mr. GV learned about wild edibles in a different session. 

Next was dinner, which for me was black bean chili, greens, tabouli salad, and brown rice. 

Plus a salad and a piece of garnet yam cake with caramel icing, which was really yummy. 

After dinner was the plenary, where we all meet together in an auditorium.  Rae Sikora spoke, along with a couple of other well-known people.  But to me, Rae is the most inspiring in her work towards a cruelty-free world.  She shared with us the intelligence and emotions found in chimps, chickens, and many other animals. 

After the plenary, it was time for the get acquainted party.  We hung around for a while, enjoyed our snacks, and then moved outside to do a little sky gazing.  We saw Saturn through a high-powered telescope and it was amazing.  It looked....exactly like it looks in illustrations, just perfectly formed with its rings. 

And after that?  It was time to retreat to our room, drop into our Rob and Laura beds, and pass out!

Road trip Day 2

Day 2 of our road trip found us driving from Kentucky to Morgantown, West Virginia.  This was July 4th, so I had planned it where we would be off the road by dark.  I am not a fan of driving after dark on holidays because frankly there are too many people who choose to drink and drive, especially late at night. 

We checked into our hotel, then went in search of somewhere to eat.  We had hoped to try out a local business, but they were closed for the holiday.  (Sad face.)  So we settled for Qdoba, which was our first time there.  We have a handy little app on our Ipods called Vegan Express.  It is a great way to find out what's available for us to eat at chain restaurants, which unfortunately sometimes you have to depend on, especially when you're on the road. 

After eating and driving around town for a while, we headed back to our room and just hung out there for the rest of the night.  We saw more fireworks from our window, plus watched a couple different specials on TV. 

No pictures today.  The only one I have is of my half-eaten wrap at Qdoba.  Pretty sure ya'll don't wanna see that.  lol

Yesterday I stayed home and had an eco-frugal kind of day.  Sometimes being frugal or green feels like a burden, so it's nice to think through the day and see all the things I've done that help out finances and the world around us.

First up I got some (soaked) dried beans going--chickpeas, kidney, and black.

 I spent a few minutes in the early morning sitting outside on the deck.

I hung out a couple loads of clothes (this is just the first one.)

Defrosted some vegan hot dogs for Mr. GV.  Yep they're in plastic so not the *best* thing but they were in the freezer and I'm trying to use up some old things in there.

Rinsed out a couple of plastic bags for reuse later.

I got some cushioned air pockets together for recycling.  I've emailed the place we take our plastics above #2 to see if they will take these.  If not, the company will accept them back for recycling.

Got the cans/jars we had used for the day together, to take for recycling today with the rest.

Saved the end of the onion I was cutting up for a later batch of vegetable broth.

Made up a new batch of vegetable wash.

Had a yummy, nutritious snack of popcorn with nutritional yeast.

Listed to entertaining and informative podcasts while I worked in the kitchen.

Made up a big pot of chili with the aforementioned beans.

Used the soap slivers we've accumulated over the past few months to make up another batch of liquid soap.

Made some more homemade cheeseless parm.

Fixed 8 bottles of tea, per Mr. GV's request.

Walked to the mailbox and pondered what, if any, trees should replace the two we lost to the storms earlier this year.

Wondered if the persimmon tree is EVER going to give us any fruit.

Admired my cucumber plant and how the fencing acts as a great trellis.

And was happy to see at least a couple of tiny baby cukes!

Was grateful to see the broccoli plants are still proving me wrong and sending up small side shoots, which we are enjoying in our salads.



A few other things I managed during the day:

-Made a donation online and printed out the tax receipt on the back of a used sheet of paper, only turning on the printer when needed.
-I washed and dried our sheets later in the day so as not to heat up the house.  Sheets are the one thing I don't like to put out on the line.  Allergens seem to bother us when I do.
-I went through my filing cabinet and pulled out the book for the non-working TV we recycled as e-waste earlier this month.  The book was recycled this morning.
-I paid attention to the dishwasher's cycle so I would know when to cancel it.  I've found that even on eco-wash, a large portion of the last part of the cycle is devoted to heated drying.  There is no way to turn that off as there was on my old dishwasher, so I just listen and stop it when I am able. 
-Paid attention to when the central air was running.  With the current temps, it seems as though it wants to run all the time, even when I have it turned up to 75 or 76.  I kept turning it up yesterday when I was sitting, because being in front of the fan is enough to keep me cool then.

Anybody else want to share some of the eco-frugal things you've been doing lately?

Road trip Day 1

*Note:  Most of the pictures from our road trip/Summerfest were taken with my phone camera.  It does an OK job, but expect a few blurry pictures.*

We headed out on our road trip on July 3rd.  I was upset that we had to miss the 35th annual July 4th celebration put on by one side of my family, but it couldn't be helped.  We spent the night before with my mom, then left our dogs with her.  *Sniff*  That was really tough.  They are both getting up there in age but Max especially is not doing so well right now. 

We ate breakfast on the road.  I made up the nomelet recipe from Happy Herbivore, then added vegan sausage, Tofutti cheese, and Ezekiel muffins, and we had ourselves a homemade, vegan breakfast sandwich.  I made 6 and we had one each morning of the trip to Pennsylvania.

Our first day we made it to the Lexington, KY area, where Mr. GV has family.  But first, we stopped off for a vegan meal at a Chinese restaurant. 

We shared an order of potstickers,

and then I had the sesame Kwachic. I'm not sure what Mr. GV had, but I'd bet money it was General Tso's Kwachic, which looks basically the same as mine, but with a spicy/not sweet sauce.

We ran through a lovely hail storm that eventually caused us to have to pull off under an overpass.  I was a bit nervous, because where there's hail, oftentimes at home there are tornadoes.  But luckily it was just hail and rain, and after several minutes we were able to get back on the road. 

We checked into our hotel, then went to visit family.  There were 2 aunts, an uncle, and a multitude of cousins, including this newest little doll baby.  She is adorable and I loved knowing that she is going to grow up in a house full of multiple generations, plus aunts, uncles, and more cousins living near her.

After spending several hours visiting, we headed back to our hotel room, where we watched fireworks going off in all directions.  Apparently it just became legal in KY to buy fireworks and everyone was so excited, as you can imagine.  

A recent supper

Mr. GV had been asking me to make this meal for a while.  Both recipes are from Veganomicon.  I had canned chickpeas on hand so didn't even have to really plan ahead for this meal. 

Herb-scalloped potatoes.  They are so creamy and...well, just delicious! 

 Chickpea cutlets, a very popular recipe from the cookbook. I thought of making a gravy to go over the cutlets, but when the potatoes first come out of the oven, there is plenty of liquid, and I used it over my cutlet.

Homemade Parm

Back in my omnivorous days, I never was a huge fan of Parmesan cheese.  At least not the kind you buy in a plastic bottle.  Actually I wasn't much of a fan of any kind of cheese, and you would never catch me eating a piece of cold cheese.  Ugh. 

But Mr. GV and I ran across a parm substitute a few years ago when we were visiting Chicago.  We bought a container and enjoyed it as a topping on pasta dishes.  I have since bought it online from a vegan store. 

And then I saw a recipe for it that was exactly like the ingredients on the back of the container, so decided to start making it myself.

 It really doesn't get much easier than that, and the result is a delicious, healthy topping.  You can use other nuts or seeds instead of almonds too.  I used the recipe from Vegan on the Cheap, one of my favorite cookbooks.  I'm using my old Parma bottle for right now, although I'd like to get a glass shaker eventually.