That I keep saying I’ll be back soon with more posts and I swear it’s true. The new posts just won’t be on this site.
That’s right boys and girls and everyone in between – the vagabond is moving to her own site. A real .com. I’m doing the move myself and am about half way through right now, so I’ll update again when it’s complete which should be by the end of this week. So re-bookmark me at VegnVagabond.com.
I’m excited, how about you?
In the mean time I have finished my best of summer recipe book so make sure to grab a copy of that while the good weather is still here and you can try out some new recipes in your last hurrah of summer.
Just email me at VegnVagbond@comcast.net, comment with your email or send me a direct message on twitter and for only $2.00 25 recipes (5 appetizers, 5 snacks, 5 entrees, 5 side dishes, 5 desserts) with a full course inspired by India, the Mediterranean, Asia, America, and the Carribean will be sent out to all subscribers to the magazine.
So excited to grow with you guys. Thanks so much for all your support! See you in my .com days.
Updates
Hey all – I haven’t been posting regularly, but it’s all for a good reason I swear. I’ve been finishing up work on my best of summer recipe book! 25 recipes inspired by 5 different places around the world – Asia, America, the Caribbean, India and the Mediterranean – with 5 different full meals from each place. (Snack, Appetizer, Entree, Side dish, and Dessert) It’ll be on sale for $5 on my etsy shop along with my first ever issue of Veg*n Vagabond for only $2. Hope you guys like it as much as I enjoyed making book and all the recipes inside!
dirty talk with the doctor
Being vegan or cruelty free doesn’t stop short where the realm of food ends and the rest of the world begins. Animals now are treated like test dummies and scraps in the cosmetic, clothing, and almost every other consumer industry. An easy way to help is abstaining from products that look to profit off an animals involvement, but once you start looking you’d be surprised at just how hard it is to find vegan items on shelves. Before anything intended for humans gets to the intended customer, the product goes through rigorous tests which are performed on animals most of the time. The results often are injured animals and eventually a sellable item.
But there is another way. A better way some would say. A “road less traveled” Frost would say.
Companies that do choose this path are far and few between, spotted like the random assortment of trees in the woods. Aptly named as the one who takes care of the trees and all the creatures that makes a home of them, is Dr. Woods a “system of health and beauty.”
I was graciously sent two products and have been waiting for the perfect time to break them out. I haven’t had any break outs, but after spending the past week in Ocean City on the beach and under the sun my skin was a little less than just sun-kissed. It was more like sun-charred. Though the sun only found its way from behind clouds once, I managed to soak it all up and was burnt making my skin flakey and dry.
In need of some assistance I turned to the Dr.
I opened the small cardboard box that wrapped itself around my new bar of soap and felt better just from the smell of my new little yellow friend.
It smelled kind-of of caramel, but if caramel was being made out in the middle of a flower filled field.
I have never used a soap that actually held onto its smell where ever it went. A couple days later I took a shower again and as soon as I turned the water on the soaps smell filled the bathroom and I felt like I was in a spa since thats the only place I know would scent the air for extra pampering. I moved from my body, which was now coated in a sweet smell and thin layer of some moisturizing oil, up to my hair.
A thick syrupy smell wafted from the small spout after I unhinged the top of the all purpose cleaner. First I went for my hair. I cupped a little pool of the thin clear liquid and slathered it into my scalp , rubbing until I saw a slight foam. It didn’t bubble as much as conventional shampoo would, but the sweet honey-like smell distracted me from caring too much. It only took a small amount of the cleaner to coat my very thick, very long hair and after I washed it out each strand was squeaky clean. Literally. If you use a lot of product or have problems with greasy hair than this would be perfect. Since I barely brush my hair let alone use any product my hair was stripped of moisture that was natural and needed. I had to rehydrate with coconut oil and conditioner, but at least I know my hair is clean now. No chance of a drop of salt water from the ocean hiding out here.
I have yet to use the cleaner in any other ways, but am confident that the way it sucked everything out of my hair it would pull any stain or spill out of any fabric.
After my pampering shower, I had to use product for the first time in years to moisturize my hair, but my skin was so happy. I’m still pealing from the sunburn, but this soap made the shedding process so much easier. Instead of flaking the dead skin came off much easier to reveal the super soft and tan skin underneath. I’m glad I waited to use these cleaners since I don’t know if anyone, BUT the dr. could have brought my skin back from its crispy state. And my hair does need a deep cleaning every once in awhile.
And who said Dr.s don’t make house-calls anymore.
a vacation from vacation
After being on vacation for a weeks needed a vacation from the beach. I missed my house, my privacy, and most of all my animals. So even though this morning came a little too early for me (first 6 then 9am) I knew the earlier we left the earlier we would home.
First we decided to spend the drizzling day on the boardwalk attempting to extract as much fun from our last day as possible. For the first time the weather cooperated and the sun held the clouds off just long enough for my mother, father, and myself to play some games, win some prizes, and ride some rides.
All this excitement required a proper breakfast though.
Coffee, comics, and games of chance. The breakfast of champions.
Now I am ready for more.
The coffee kept me going long enough to do laps on the pier lined with fast food and booths with vendors yelling to try their games. This is what we left.
It took a little over 2 hours to reach the house, but it was one well rewarded. I got kisses from my dog, two of my three cats found me right away for a reunion full of petting while my other cat found me on his own time, and my two ferrets popped their heads up from a deep sleep.
For the past week, a service came in to keep the family left at home company and especially to take Daisy, my dog, Folly and Esi, my ferrets, out to play.
They also brought in mail and behold, like a prize for making the long journey home this sat on the kitchen counter with my name on it.
Any guesses what’s inside? I’ll give you a hint: Yum.
the last supper
…in ocean city before we leave early tomorrow morning is always a special one. Whether its like last years fare-thee-well of a large Greek gathering of the entire family for a potluck of home-made (hotel-made really) or the previous year’s splurge at a restaurant the last time my family dines in OC is an important time to reconnect.
This year we went to our favorite restaurant in the city and my mother’s favorite restaurant period. This was the same restaurant we capped our vacation with two years ago and the only reason it didn’t make the last day of last year’s vacation agenda is because we had already went earlier in the week.
Our top eating out option is Fausto’s a rustic and very authentic Italian eatery.
For veg eaters, meat eaters and health minded folks a like the small menu offers just enough options that everyone can be satisfied and the kitchen can execute each dish without being overwhelmed. Plus with the owner, who seems to have just walked onto American soil from his home in the boot shaped country, always in house he’ll tailor anything to your specifications.
In the past I’ve tried pastas. Simple noodles in a sweet red sauce creamy in texture without the cream and angel hair in garlic olive oil with veggies, but tonight I wanted light.
Drinks were ordered first of course and as the waiter came to the table with wine and coffee he left with each of our orders. My father, mother, godmother, and myself.
After the appetizers came – all of which were seafood – side salads were served. I was more than happy to wait for my dinner salad and side of broccoli rabe sautéed in garlic and olive oil since I was able to snack on whole roasted cloves of garlic.
Olive oil pooled around the garlic and airy hard crusted bread for dipping came with the garlic, but to me it needed nothing. It’s so rare that a restaurant has enough confidence in simple flavors to serve roasted garlic which is the equivalent of an edible addictive drug. It’s that good.
Next came dinner and my salad that had the best tomatoes I’ve had in a restaurant in longer than I can remember. Tomatoes are telling. An extra sprig of basil tucked in between frise, baby arugula, butter leaf lettuce and spinach popped unexpected flavor that brought the greens back to Italy.
My side of broccoli rabe was dressed with olive oil and minced garlic and while I could have done with more garlic and less oil it wasn’t greasy in the least. The earthy flavor of the greens wilted into a pile of flavor and strung together as whole stems needed something extra and in keeping with Italian tradition I asked for red pepper flakes to spice it up. It did just that and helped cut through the rich oil and fresh crunch of three-fourths cooked greens.
To round the meal out and keep it fresh peach sorbet served in a fresh hollowed out peach was on the restaurant’s dinner menu for the night and so it was on my dinner menu for the night too. Cold and crisp in flavor like a freshly cooled peach just picked at its peak the sorbet was a cleansing way to end the vacation in OC and get me refreshed for the not-so-long journey home.
I still am amazed that through the staff, who know an immense amount about the food they serve, to the waiters of whom include owner Fausto’s son, and the rich ambiance take diners out of the flashy and trashy main road. The merlot colored curtains cover windows, which are the only portals to the city that we try to forget and the same time celebrate for a wonderful week.
I have three cups of coffee though so I’ll be up long enough into the night to appreciate it enough to not feel guilty to not remember that the Jolly Roger amusement park and a go-cart racing track sandwich the small piece of Italy.
sand and salt pt. 2
The lone gardener braving the odds in the backyard of my hotel is not alone.
The farmers market in OC is proof. I love how everywhere I go I can find people who enjoy food as much as I do. So after racking my vacation-hazed brain I remembered what I wanted to do this morning. Take my first trip to the parking lot of a random chain restaurant, try to avoid the greasy fried smell it radiated as if to smoke out the healthy eaters, and enjoy the randomly placed farmer’s market.
As always first on the list was tomatoes, and boy did we find them.
That and cucumbers. I find the smaller ones to have thinner skin, be a little more crisp and taste extra fresh compared to bigger ones that sometimes require the seeds and skin to be removed.
Besides these two ingredients, nothing else was on the list.
So naturally we ended up leaving with an agave plant, three bunches of rainbow chard, a small watermelon, green bell peppers, and even more tomatoes.
My mother and I got engulfed in the fresh food frenzy and an hour later returned with our haul to an empty hotel room. We didn’t mind, that just meant our spoils would be a surprise to the rest of the visiting family.
Our secret I thought, until I reached the beach after sticking the fridge only to answer questions about what they had, what we bought, and where it was.
What can I say good food is good food no matter what. And fresh food is almost always good food.
Down on the boardwalk…
…down by the sea…under the boardwalk…just you and me...
And 5,000 other people.
That’s right, my family and I took a trip to OC’s boardwalk for some off the beach excitement and found ourselves addicted to games amid the salty smelling fries from Thrashers, sweet cool smell of Dumsers soft serve ice cream, and thick caramel coated wafts of fresh popped caramel corn from Fishers.
As the sun tried its hardest to burst through clouds the layer covering the sky was too thick and though the air was thick and wet we decided walking on the boardwalk without sunlight and with all these strong smells wasn’t the best way to go. The new plan was to go back to the original plan and play games.
Wack-a-mole was first on the list. This is the only time I condone beating small and helpless animals. After all I was rescuing a cat (a Meowth nonetheless!)from hanging on the backboard of the game for the rest of his plush filled life.
Next was the game that I spent at least $5 on, only to end up with nothing. The thin metal arm that was supposed to push my prize into a hole just would not follow through when it connected. So I missed my chance at whatever was inside the bejeweled blue cupcake jewelry box I was going for. That means you miss a chance at seeing my sought after prize since the cupcake showed itself to not be vegan by refusing to cooperate. A vegan one would have jumped into my arms.
Next was air hockey, which has no relation to veggies, except that I like both.
Then we liberated several south park characters for my cousins and extra x-men for me.
We had to go on the oh-so famously horrible Haunted house to cap off the day. The chipped neon paint and 20-year-old fake mechanical bats still manage to scare me somehow though. I do have a soft spot for the headless man that is alway so welcoming.
Before my cousins left the beach for home, they wanted to fill there stomachs and there gas tank. On the boardwalk I had one of the worst salads I have had in a long time, but redeemed the good name of salads by making my own when we returned to our hotel home.
Nothing’s better than a cold fresh salad during summer.
Olympic sized appitites
We’ve heard about the crazy calorie consumption of Olympians who need to nourish the bodies that carry them through all kinds of grueling physical feats. How about this new fangled diet trend of not eating any meat. At all.
Crazy, I know right? Well here are some Olympic athletes that are taking this new fad to a whole new level by fueling there superpowered bodies with only beans, grains, and greens.
Where there’s sand and salty water
…there are farmers?
Yes even here people bitten by the bug of growing there own food won’t let the ample sun and heat go to waste here on the beach. For years now my family has been vacationing in certain spots down ocean city including one hotel that has an incredible view of the water. It also has an incredible view of one residents backyard garden and this year we have the perfect vantage point.
Right now a large unripened pumpkin is one of the only veg you can see, but the man must be hauling in a profit of produce since he has been at it for years. Determined as he was to bring out his inner farmer the mystery man built a small box next to the fence which separates his backyard from the native grasses and the rest of the beach, filled it with dirt and went to work.
Not much can be seen growing, besides some flowers and the green pumpkin, but there is a tomato plant and an unidentified bright green ball growing too, showing signs of a good future haul. It’s nice to know that people who live in one of the most relaxing places still find the work that goes into a food garden a worthwhile vacation from grocery stores. At least in the summer.
We couldn’t bare to leave our garden either do instead of returning to a garden of over-ripe tomatoes strewn across the ground, fresh from falling off the vine, we gave some green ones a vacation too. Worst come to worst – fried green tomatoes. Not bad for a plan B.
After only a couple of hours, green tomatoes started to turn orange in spots and the next day wore a pink hue on the side turned toward the sun. They still aren’t quite at their eating peak, so they may be an end if the week snack, but I’ll let you know if they were worth the wait. I’d still have a decent homegrown tomato than a good store bought one. There is just something about them.
too much fun in the sun
Even the best of things can turn sinister in excess. So turn on your ominous music and dim the lights for the dark side of the sun.
Yes this is my leg. And yes it does hurt.
The sun decided to play hard ball today and sear my skin, giving me these wonderful tan lines. After the beach was left behind and I was in the hotel room the burn really started to set in and the usual candidates to help just weren’t making the cut. Aloe vera, Solarcaine, and moisturizing creams helped for a second, but thats only a second out of a whole week of vacation and I don’t have unlimited access to gallons of cream.
Luckily a vegan cooking ingredient, often a substitute for butter, seeps into any skin to bring life back to my crispy top layer.
Coconut oil congeals into a thick paste that is often used in cooking, but this natural ingredient is good for you on both the inside and outside.
Now I can take a seat to write and relax, instead of standing hoping that a stray breeze won’t pass by and scrape against my skin. Its the little things in life that count and this certainly is a a trick that counts.
