costa rica

arenal volcano

our very own porch/diorama

family eating breakfast.
beans & rice, fried plantains, potatoes, fresh fruit

enjoying some cacique sours in the hot pool


manuel antonio

dinner at la hacienda

coconut milk curry

pasta with basil, pine nuts, and sundried tomatoes

salsipuedes

peter, owen, mom, dad, anne, grandma, meenum, joe, and dirk waiting for lunch
they have no idea it's going to be their best lunch ever

what a chalupa!

evening view from the salsipuedes deck

imperial on the beach - pura vida!

summer pies

rhubarb banana pie

mom arens modified a rhubarb pie recipe to veganize it, substituting banana for the eggs.  it worked like a charm.  she gave me the recipe, so i'll find it and post it here soon.

strawberry pie

we went strawberry picking with dad and owen in montague and turned many strawberries into jam, but we saved some to make a vegan strawberry pie.  this recipe uses cornstarch to thicken up a strawberry and sugar glaze.  add a little soyatoo and you're all set.

let him eat cake

what's the best part about graduating after working hard for your bfa for 5 years? cake, of course! in honor of the event, dad put the calvin knight atop a vegan cake. it was delish!

new york bagels

bagel world was one of our favorites. saturday morning bagels became our brooklyn tradition. i even learned to like the vegan cream cheeses!

our typical route, along the residential streets

choices, choices

thrilled to have a bagel (and no coat in november)

vegan junk

now that i have a camera again, i was able to get my old pictures loaded. here is some vegan junk food from foodswings in brooklyn. vegans, too, need our occasional fast food fix.

"chicken" wings with fries and vegan bleu cheese dressing

chick'n bac'n ranch salad

butterfinger shake - chocolate soy ice cream with chico-stick candies

cupcake in a pod!

i haven't even eaten this yet, but it's too cute to not love. it's such a sweet little cupcake pod. it's from 'snice in brooklyn (where we also enjoyed a triple decker club and sesame chicken wrap).

philly (minus the cheesesteak)

while we were waiting for our chinatown bus to take us from philadelphia to new york, we went into a large market and found a vegetarian cafe, the basic 4.  needless to say, we were thrilled to have an opportunity for a vegan fast-food style breakfast.  we had a tofu scramble sandwich, home fries, and a mango smoothie.

our food came wrapped in newsprint!  that's rare for vegan fare.

tofu scramble sandwich

home fries with onions, peppers, and cayenne

mango smoothie

country hermitage

after a great wedding with a vegan feast, joe and i headed up to the country hermitage b&b in traverse city.  not only were we the only ones staying for the weekend, we were treated to fabulous vegan breakfasts both mornings.

day one

fruit parfait with apples, kiwi, walnuts, dried fruits, in a sweet glaze topped with vanilla soy yogurt and cranberry granola

fluffy blueberry pancakes with soy sausage and melon

day two

vanilla soy and banana smoothie that tasted like liquified banana bread (in the best possible way)

pan-fried tofu topped with portobellos and bell peppers with hash browns and warm cornbread muffins

if you're looking for a great place to stay, pat and lynn will make you completely comfortable and cater to your dietary desires.

ethiopian night

wash your hands in the rose petal water.

grab some injera.

dig into some ethiopian food.

(disclaimer: it helps if you've got people like juan, laura, joe, and karis manning/womanning the kitchens, so maybe you should locate them before you try to enjoy this delicious food.)

fEASTER

i love to use a holiday to show off the abundance of the vegan diet (and enjoy some delicious food).  joe's masterfully prepared plate, in clockwise order from 12:00, shows off bread spread with earth balance, chickpea cutlets from veganomicon, roasted roots (made by grandma judy), corn, bean salad, and garlic mashed potatoes with cashew gravy.