Madam Swaps-a-Lot

I'm quite proud of myself. I participated in TWO snail mail food swaps in August, AND I sent out my packages BEFORE the shipping deadline, and now I'm posting about the packages I received BEFORE the end of the month! Sometimes I astound myself.

First up: The vegan food swap via The Verdant Life. I received a package from Denise from A Family of Foodies.

After reading Denise's lovely letter, I dove into the bulging Trader Joe's bag.

Denise sent a nice variety of goodies! I plan to share the candies with some of my kiddos at work. I'm going to follow Denise's suggestions and use the Tajin spice mix on jicama and cucumbers with lime juice. (Gosh, that sounds good.) She also suggested crushing the Sea Tangle and adding it to chickpea (not-tuna) salad. I've never added seaweed to chickpea salad before, but I've been known to be a bit adventurous. The tea is a welcome addition to my tea stash. I love all things chai! And any and all vegan bars are super appreciated, as they are great to eat on the go.

THANK YOU, DENISE!

Next up, I received a "breakfast box" from Martha via the Lean Green Bean's Foodie Pen Pals swap!

Martha said she was thrown for a "minor loop" when she learned that I'm gluten-free and vegan. She said she read on my blog that I missed breakfast during every single day of Vegetarian Summerfest (an early riser, I am not), so she sent me a box of breakfast goodies!

More tea for my tea stash (there's no such thing as too much tea), gluten-free pancake/waffle mix, coconut milk, date paste, and raspberry syrup. This pretty much means that I need to have a brunch party soon.

THANK YOU, MARTHA!

If you're interested in participating in any of these swaps, be sure to check out their respective links up above. Happy swapping!

Women's Equality Day

This is not a political blog, but with today being Women's Equality Day and the Republican National Convention kicking off here in my beloved city, I can't help but feel a little political.

It was on this day, in 1920, that women were finally given their right to vote. Less than 100 years later, we are still fighting for ALL of our rights. We've come a long way, but we cannot forget the hard battle fought by those who came before us.


And looking ahead, this is totally me in 40-ish years.


Take time today to be thankful - and I mean, truly thankful - for what you have, wherever you are. With that gratitude, stand up and speak up for the rights you still deserve, as well as the rights of others.

Now if you'll excuse me, there are a couple of storms on the way.

Linky-Dinks

LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLLLLLLE!
(And by "rumble," I mean read this installment of Linky-Dinks!)

Ginger.ous shares 6 items to help "ward off travel funk." My day-to-day purse may be the size of a horse's feed bag, but it does NOT contain many of the items she lists here. Also, the one time I tried dry shampoo, it turned my hair grey and no amount of brushing would change that.

7 Tips for Cheap, Long Term Travel: There’s one thing you absolutely must have if you want to hit the road for an extended period of time: a willingness to make it work. It’s most definitely not going to be an easy ride and you will have moments where your plan is nonexistent and your funds are lingering in negative territory. But those moments—the ones that cultivate resourcefulness and resilience—are precisely why travel changes you as a person. They also make for the best stories down the line.

Three decades of selling crap - Happy birthday, Diet Coke!

whatever, gatsby wrote some fun posts about her journey from Boston to Florida for the summer. Check her out. She's adorable!

Jersey City Vegan writes an open letter to Lady Gaga regarding "Furgate."

Sad news: Vegan Treats in Bethlehem, PA, was burglarized. Link includes contact # for anyone with info.

Triple-Decker Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge? Um, YES PLEASE.

How ALL animal shelters should be:


What has rocked your e-socks this weekend?

What a Crock!

Last month I dusted off the ol' Crock Pot for the first time in several months. Crock Pots are really great. They're perfect for super-busy and/or lazy people, and for people who like mysteries or surprises. When trying out recipes for the first time, you never know until 6-8 hours later how it will turn out! I tried a few different recipes for the first time last month, all yielding different results.

breakfast quinoa (recipe from The Vegan Slow Cooker)

Verdict: Disgusting. The texture was AWFUL. It was mushier than mush. I added cinnamon and maple syrup, but that didn't get around that awful, regurgitated-like mouth feel. I ended up tossing this out.

I failed to photograph the other Crock Pot dishes I tried out that week (I was dog-sitting at the time, pooches win), but here's a breakdown of the rest of that week's experiments:

Caribbean Mango Black Beans from The Vegan Slow Cooker: AWESOME! I love this recipe! I actually had to go out and buy specific spices for this, which was exciting!

Spicy Black Bean Chili from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker: Not at all spicy, but still very good. Freezes well.

Hominy-White Bean Chili from Fresh From the Vegetarian Slow Cooker: AWESOME!! I'd made this before, but it had been awhile. Love this recipe! Also freezes well.

Stepping away from the Crock Pot for a moment, I want to share with you another recipe that I tried out. Remember when Dr. Oz had That Vegan Episode awhile back? Jasmine from Our Hen House made a (much-too-brief) appearance. (Seriously, why didn't Dr. Oz interview her?!) Anyway, one of the women who appeared on the show was talking about her black bean brownie recipe. Vegan, flour-free, no added sugar, blah blah blah. It sounded promising.

I have a terrible tendency to NOT read recipes all the way through. Most of the time, things end up okay, but in this case, it was a horrible experience. I was pleased to discover that I had ALL of the ingredients on hand that the recipe called for. Perfect! So, I set to work, dumping all the ingredients into my friend's Vitamix.

Now I'm about to share an opinion that I know is greatly debatable, but just remember that it is simply my opinion: Vitamix sucks. I was "raised" on Blendtec. Blendtecs have hella convenient programmed settings, it has a higher horsepower, they're easier to use, and in my opinion, they just work better, plain and simple. It took me FOR-F*CKING-EVER to blend all of these ingredients in the Vitamix. After about an hour (only a slight exaggeration), I poured the mixture into the pan, which was a super messy experience. (Another observation: Vitamixes are too damn deep and narrow!)

Once it was all nice and neat in the pan, it looked pretty good!

Now time for another horrible step in this hellish recipe: It "bakes" in the oven at 200* for AN HOUR AND A HALF.

WHO THE HELL HAS THAT KIND OF TIME?! Did I also mention that, by the time the Vitamix finally blended everything, it was nearly midnight?! I was none too happen with this recipe, and ya best believe I was cursing Dr. Oz's name. How could he endorse such an inconvenient recipe?! Clearly, he had never made it himself.

I guess it worked out, though, since it would take me another hour (another slight exaggeration) to clean out that God-forsaken Vitamix. (Blendtec or go home, people.)

After an hour and a half, the brownies were not brownies. It was still pudding. I upped the temp slightly and let them bake for another half hour. After the additional 30 minutes, there was a nice cooked-looking "crust" on top, but it was 2am and I was deliriously tired, so I pulled the pan out of the oven and let it set on top of the stove.

The only thing this recipe does right is in calling the brownies "fudgy." But really, this was more like FUDGE than BROWNIES.

Look at this mess.

The flavor was...okay. Nothing amazing. For a vegan, no-sugar, no-flour FUDGE, this would be okay, but I KNOW that there are easier and simpler recipes out there for a such a treat.

Hooray for kitchen adventures!

June 2012 Vegan Swap Reveal

Holy guacamole, I did it again: waited too darn long to update this blog. I've actually had a pretty big, honest blog post on my mind grapes, but that's not happening today.

Today I'm going to FINALLY post about the goodies I received from Adriana from Vegan Corner, via The Verdant Life's vegan package swap!

Shiny, happy goodies (holding hands?)

These bars were chewy-tastic, like bars of nougat!

This cactus jerky was interesting! I loved its salty, smoky flavor, and it wasn't as tough as, say, Stonewall's Jerquee. Still, jerky is TOUGH. Is that why they call it jerky? Because you look like a jerk(y) when you're eating it?

I love little snacks like these because they're perfect for taking along with me to work. Just toss it in my bag and go.

Apple chips (yum!), agar agar (gotta do something fun with that! Adriana's flan, perhaps?), and more random teas for my tea stash. I love having a wide variety of teas on hand.

Thank you, Adriana!

**The Vegan Corner currently has an indiegogo fundraiser happening. They're trying to create the ultimate, worldwide vegan guide. Check it out HERE.**

I took July off from online swaps, but I'm back in swapping action in August. Hopefully it won't take me as long to post my goodies. Life, man, I'm tellin' ya!

Linky-Dinks & What-Nots

Roll out the red carpet because it's time for some LINKS!


Vegetarian Summerfest, according to other people...

Dreena Burton was one of the presenters at VS, but that didn't mean she missed out on ANY of the fun. Check out her experience on her site, Plant-Powered Kitchen.

Heather of Healthy Eating Starts Here focused her recap on the healthier side of VS. She created a cute video, too!

Speaking of videos, here's another GREAT visual recap:


I met the gal behind Beans Not Bambi at the Summerfest tweet-up (Hi Christin!) She summarizes a very touching story that Victoria Moran (the vegan pixie, as I like to call her) shared during one of the plenaries.

I also had the utmost pleasure of meeting and hanging out with Jaime of Save the Kales! What an absolute doll! She's blogged some bits and pieces of her Summerfest experience as well.

And now onto the other goods!



How to Travel Alone via Persephone Magazine

How to Travel the World also via Persephone Magazine

Less than three months until the 3rd Annual Tampa Bay Veg Fest! Keep up with all the hub bub on the TBVF Facebook page.

Avoiding illness while traveling via Go Overseas. Do you have any terrible sick-while-overseas stories (that you're willing to share)?

Writer's block? Oy, do I feel ya. This post from A Beautiful Mess gives some nice, cozy suggestions of places to get inspired.

My darling blogger buddy, Adjoa, recently left Tampa for Minneapolis (SAD FACE!). One night we were chatting about all the greatness that will happen when I head up to visit her next year, and I said, "I wonder if there's a Veg Fest up there." She said she didn't know. Then, I swear to you, the very next day, I stumbled upon a link for the Twin Cities Veg Fest, which I promptly forwarded to Adjoa. She went and wrote this very nice recap post on her own blog. Check it out!

A Decade of Advice from Hobo Siren.

What rocked your Internet socks this week?

Vegetarian Summerfest 2012: Tips & Lessons Learned

Since I had never been to Vegetarian Summerfest before, I did not know the ins and outs or what to expect, especially as far as prices and lodging. The full registration (5 days), plus airfare, added up to almost a thousand dollars. It's a hefty price tag for sure, even if it's an "all-inclusive" trip. (Hell, I could stay at an all-inclusive in the Bahamas for cheaper!) But ya gotta figure it's not just a room and a ton of food, it's also entertainment and workshops and non-stop learning. I think it all evens out.

But now that I've "been there, done that," I have some tips and perspective to share with you.

There are hotels within a few minutes of the campus. If you split a room with a few people, that would save you some cash. However, now that I know how jam-packed the days of VS are, I would lean more toward staying on-campus. The days are long and they start early and run late. Staying on campus would be far more convenient, even with a couple of hotels being a few miles away. But, if you're trying to save some cash, hotels are certainly an option, as well as camping.

And let's talk about the dorm rooms. I shared an air-conditioned room with my friend, Amber, in the Living Learning Center ("the LLC"), which is where 99% of the sessions/workshops take place. This was hella convenient and would be my #1 choice as far as buildings to stay in. All of the rooms in all the buildings, though, have linen service. Linen service, in this case, means bedding and tiny, tiny towels. The VS registration desk gives you a bar of soap upon arrival. That's it. If you're picky about your bedding situation, bring whatever makes you more comfortable. I can manage to sleep under most circumstances, so I was fine. The towels, though, made me crazy. Amber and I laughed when we realized that what we thought were hand towels, were actually bath towels, as in, for your whole body. Between that and the tissue paper-thin toilet paper, we made a late-night run to the nearby Wal*Mart and bought cheap (but large) bath towels and better quality toilet paper. Those two things made our stay much more comfortable.

Depending on where you stay, you may or may not have a private bathroom. If this bothers you, take that into consideration when you book your room. If you book a non-air conditioned room, you may want to bring or obtain a fan at some point.

But really, you'll spend very little time in your room. It's essentially only for sleeping and bathing. The rooms aren't glamorous, but that's okay. You're not here for 5-star lodging. You're here to get inspired.

There are two different registration packages to choose from: full registration (all 5 days of the event) or the weekend registration (Friday through Sunday). ALWAYS GO FOR THE FULL REGISTRATION. You'll definitely get "more bang for your buck." I am so glad I sprung for the full 5 days because those 5 days FLEW BY so fast, I can't even imagine how just 3 days would feel. Probably like I blinked and missed it. The three days will be even shorter if you fly in later in the day on Friday. Plus, because people are catching flights at all different times on Sundays - presenters included - many sessions get canceled. Sunday hardly counts as a day of activity. As a matter of fact, I didn't attend a single session on Sunday (because Jenny Brown canceled, and because we had a flight to catch). We had time to grab a to-go lunch from the cafeteria and jet out. So, make it worth your while and go for the full five days.

The food is EXPENSIVE and there's so dang much of it. If you can work out an a la carte deal, do it. Whenever I return to VS, I would be fine with ONLY paying for dinners.

I'm terrible at packing for a trip. This is a fact about me, it's something I cannot seem to change, but I really overpacked for this trip.

What you're seeing in that picture are all of the clothes that I packed, but never wore. They include:
two swimsuits - I was excited to learn that we had access to the campus pool, but learned upon arrival that it was not near our dorm building, nor did we have time to swim while the pool was open. It was either swim, or get inspired at a workshop. The choice is obvious.
work-out clothes - extra t-shirts and tank tops, sports bras, yoga pants, 1 pair of sneakers... Who was I kidding?! Yoga sessions started around 5 or 6am (HA!), and there were other fitness classes sprinkled throughout the day, but again: I could either do a yoga session, or go to a workshop with an awesome vegan activist. Gonna go with the activist! We also had access to the school's fitness center, but that was in the same building as the pool. It was inconveniently located, plus there was NO TIME! I got plenty of exercise walking from session to session every day.
"nicer" clothes - I packed nicer tops and a dress (as well as a pair of "nicer" sandals), in case I felt I needed to classy it up a notch. Pfft. No one was dressing up! It's super casual. Anyone is certainly welcome to dress up if they want, but the majority of attendees were wearing jeans and t-shirts. Wear whatever makes you comfortable (always). With the seemingly endless feedings at VS, I recommend loose-fitting clothes and stretchy pants. Leave the skinny jeans at home!
A hoodie and two cardigans - Oh, Florida people. "We're going up north! It might get cold!" I wasn't cold for one single moment! In fact, it was shweaty-balls hot most days at VS. Considering most activities take place indoors, you're protected from all elements. If you naturally run a little cooler than most people, are sensitive to air conditioning, or whatever, then yes, bring a light jacket or something so you're comfortable. I did not run into this problem one single time.

Despite the extra shoes, I wore flip-flops every day of VS, except our arrival day. Since I overslept so often, it was quicker to just slip on some flippy-floppies, plus it was too damn hot to put on socks and shoes. I love flip-flops, anyway, but hitting the pavement hard every day, schlepping from session to session, was no treat for my feet. Oh well.

Some of you may recall, either from the blog or Facebook, that I've started bringing veg starter kits with me on flights to leave in the seat-back pockets. For this trip, I decided to up the outreach a notch. I brought three different kinds of starter kits, as well as stickers, which my traveling friends and I had fun placing in the in-flight magazines. (I wish I had pictures of Joan's strategic sticker placement. She was good at this!)