Uno, Dos, Tres Pupusas

If I've learned one thing, it is that a wonderful way to start your Sunday is with sunshine and Tres Pupusas. A pupusa is a thick, fried corn disks filled with delights, such as black beans and sweet corn, which is the vegan (and gluten-free) option at Tres Pupusas. It comes with side of cabbage salad and I always order it with guacamole and add a healthy does of hot sauce. Hot, crunchy on the outside and a surprisingly hearty meal, I love starting out my week by people-watching and eating my Tres Pupusas. Tres Pupusas are sold at select Whole Foods and have a permanent location in Boulder.

Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary

Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary is one of my favorite places on Earth. Located about 45 minutes outside of Denver, this place is a must-see. Full of rescued farm animals, Peaceful Prairie allows you to see animals as they were meant to be: content, safe and free. From Justice the cow to Lucas the pig, each animal has their own story and Michelle, one of the owners, knows every one by heart. They are a small organization, so each donation counts, and you can donate by clicking on the link to their home page- even five dollars helps. It's so amazing to watch llamas rolling casually on the ground while feeding a goat by hand. Below are some pictures from a recent visit to Peaceful Prairie, please consider donating to help out a small non-profit doing a great thing!

Wednesday Round Up: True Blood Edition

PITA Vegan's Mofo Banner

While I normally do round ups from several blogs, this round up will focus on just one: That Pain in the Ass Vegan. Jen is awesome for doing a theme (True Blood) for the month of Mofo, but even more so because she is donating the money she receives for page views to local charities. All you have to do to help out is click on the links to her amazing creations to help her help local food bank and local humane association. Without further ado:

Sheriff Bellefleur's Beignets: Fried baked goods? Don't mind if I do.

Jason Stackhouse Po' Boy: I have a hard time saying no to a sandwich and this one looks unbelievable.

Debbie is on V Again: Chocolate, bananas, I'm clearly craving sugar today and these bars make that okay.

Vegan Milestone: Loving Hut

 I've been fascinated with Loving Hut since my discovery of this vegan restaurant chain. Not only was I intrigued by the fact that a 100% vegan chain existed, I was also interested in trying a restaurant that offered both Asian cuisine and spaghetti. My experience with Loving Hut took place at the Seattle location, a sparkling clean restaurant located in the International District. For my inaugural order, I selected the spring rolls, lucky drumsticks and pad thai. I have no idea why I ordered so much food, but it was worth stuffing myself. The spring rolls were fresh with a side of peanut sauce and the drumsticks were the perfect, slightly greasy appetizer I've been searching for. I also enjoyed how the pad thai featured every type of fake meat the restaurant offers- no skipping the vegan ham or fish for me! My one caveat with Loving Hut was that my dining companion asked for her meal to be extra spicy, which was interpreted as "please cover it liberally with black pepper". Other than that, my meal was lovely, and I will definitely be checking out other locations in the future.

On My Shelf: Vegan Books

There are an immense amount of vegan resources available today, with different ones being the best for different people, but here are my favorites:

The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone: This book outlines the reasons for becoming vegan, as well as outlines a three step process for becoming vegan, from flirt to superstar.

Vegan for Life by Jack Norris and Virginia Messina and Becoming Vegan by Brenda Davis: Knowing the reasons for your veganism is important, but knowing the nutrition to being vegan successfully is just as important and these are great resources.

Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero: This is my fancy pants cookbook, considering I'm not too fancy. The enchiladas and bread pudding are favorites.

Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz: My go-to cookbook for everyday cooking with quick and simple recipe utilizing easy to find ingredients.

What are your favorite vegan books?

Check me out being lazy over at Laziest Vegans in the World!

Vegan Flash Mob!

It's Vegan Hump Day! Halfway through this year's mofo and the incomparable Leslie Hall is helping us celebrate! Leslie is not only super cool but also a vegan and wrote this song (mp3 at link) to celebrate veganism:

I eat the finest cuisines, in the finest of places  Stuff my mouth full and always say thank you.  But if it's raised in a cage, and it can't even move, if it's hormone filled and in a bad mood.  I'm gonna pass on that.  Reach for something better.  The only milk I'll drink comes from the nipple of a soy bean. Veggies make you live forever, and they seem to taste much better. when they're cooked and grown with love.  So give a chef who knows what's up a hug. Momma just can't seem to get it, Papa he just rolls his eyes. When I tell them I'm much healthier, they just say that it's all lies.  But beans, nuts, fruits and veggies can really fill the belly.  Get you vitamins you need, shiny hair and extra speed.  Don't take that meat-wich any further, I want a marinated, deep fried, hand-tied mushroom burger.  I like it!  We gotta stand strong for our feathered furry sometimes scaly animal friends and their little babies.  'Cuz I wouldn't want to live in a cage in a dark warehouse killed at an early age.  Pumped full of hormones, sleeping in my feces.  Never met my mother, raised by machines.  Never get sunshine never get green, but that's just me.  [That girl loves fruit leather.]  So ask us what we're eating.  Delicious and repeating, fruits and veggies are so nice.  With a slice of tempeh,  yes, I'll have that twice.  Don't forget the legumes!

Love veganism. Love Leslie. Word.

Big ups to Kittee for organizing a virtual flashmob!

Feline Fridays: Give Chance a chance!

If there is one thing I am grateful for, it is my cat Puddleglum (as discussed last week). I adopted Puddleglum from Town and Country Humane Society, a no-kill shelter just outside of Omaha, NE. Ever since I adopted him, I've kept an eye on the T & C website, and the incredibly handsome Chance has been at the shelter since I adopted Pudds over two years ago. He was a mercy boarding for a homeless woman who never returned for him, so he more than deserves a happy home. Look at his little face! If you live in Omaha, the surrounding area or know someone who does, send them in Chance's direction and let's get him to a forever home!

As always, if you would like me to feature your cats/kittens, shoot me an email or comment below!

Fried Food Festival: Highline Seattle

FYI: I'm giving away a case of Larabars over at Vegan Coloradical today! Come on down!

One of my favorite reality stars is best selling author Snooki of Jersey Shore. From the pouf to the slippers to the deep love for pickles, Snooki is a girl I could hang with. When I saw Snooki try fried pickles for the first time, I felt both joy and longing: joy for the enhancement Snooki's life had just received and longing, for where would I find a vegan fried pickle?





In an answer to my prayers, Highline in Seattle has an amazing,
100% vegan menu featuring all your favorite bar foods, including fried pickles. To celebrate this glorious occasion, Kelly and I ordered the fried pickles, seitan wings (buffalo wings with a cooler name) and a sandwich each, with my choice being a Reuben. I would like to note that neither of us was actually hungry when this order was placed.

The food arrived and, honestly, everything was wonderful. You can't really go wrong with fried vegan food, right? However, the fried pickles were the crowning glory of our meal. Round disks of crispy heaven with the delicate balance of salty and savory and juicy perfectly matched. Oh, little fried pickle disks, I shall dream of you until my return to your glorious home.

Best tofu scramble ever and I didn't take a picture

Before my recent trip to Seattle, I can't say I had ever heard of Cafe Flora. Sure, maybe a blip mention here or there but nothing that engaged my attention enough to give it a second thought or drool over the menu online. Lucky for me, my dear friend Chelsea had heard of it and wanted to give it a try. Since I had had my Mighty-O Donuts at this point, I was game for anything. Thank goodness.

Cafe Flora blessed me with some of the greatest food I've ever had. The
tofu scramble was crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, noochy crumbles of perfection that I didn't take a picture of and a bowl of fresh fruit accompanied it perfectly. There was also a cinnamon roll. An amazing cinnamon roll. A cinnamon roll with a delicate glaze and caramelized pecans on top. Easily split between two (with a possibility of more), this trio of dishes constituted an amazing brunch.

To make it even better, the actual restaurant is stunning. We ate in the atrium and enjoyed both fresh air and our napkins staying put, along with the sounds of a gentle fountain. Highly recommended for any occasion, except perhaps the Juggalo Gathering. That might not go so well.

Round 'Em Up: My favorite posts so far!

Hey party people, I'm blogging about Denver's amazing South Broadway area over at Vegan Coloradical today. Come for the vegan salted butterscotch ice cream, stay for the all vegan shoe store.

Confession: I find Vegan Mofo overwhelming. Whether you're a blogger, writing every day, or reader, waking up can to over 300 new posts in your feed, Mofo can definitely be a media overload waiting to happen. But you know what? It is absolutely worth it, especially when gems like these show up:

Fried Buffy Foods!

Spike's Onion Blossom: when you combine fried food and Buffy, you win my friendship forever. BFF charms are being sent to Veganarium as we speak. Plus, how amazing does that vegan onion blossom look?

Vegan is Reasonable's Meal Planning Guide: Sometimes I need things spelled out for me. Vegan is Reasonable does that for me in an area I desperately need to improve on.

Cheesy Jalapeno Wafers: Cheesy and spicy are two of my favorite taste sensations. Big ups to Left Coast Vegan for combining the two and making it easy and delicious.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Poisoned Caramel Apples: Vegan CineGrub made caramel apples and created themes for them based on each dwarf and on Snow White. Dying of both the adorable idea and execution and of jealously that Vegan CineGrub had eight caramel apples in her possession.

What have your favorites been so far?

Seattle's Finest Non-Coffee/Grunge Offerings: Mighty-O Donuts and Wayward Cafe

If there is one thing that I learned on my recent trip to Seattle, it is that my life is substantially better when there are donuts present. This theory was proven to be true by none other than the revered Mighty-O. When all was said and done, I had eaten five donuts in a 72 hour period, which is definitely above average. What sets Mighty-O apart is the fact that all of their donuts are vegan, organic and they carry both cake and yeasted donuts. Not willing to stop there, they include apple fritters, creme filled donuts, jelly donuts and awesome flavors like French toast and Grasshopper donuts. The donuts pictured are a chocolate creme filled yeast donut (think Nutella in a donut) and the cocoloco donut, which is a chocolate cake donut covered with cinnamon and sugar. The cocoloco was fantastic but my dreams will be haunted (in a good way) by that delightfully gooey chocolate creme filled masterpiece.

Another staple on the Seattle vegan scene is Wayward Vegan Cafe, an all vegan breakfast, brunch and lunch joint, located by Pizza Pi and Sidecar Pigs for Peace. I was lured in by the promise of a chiggen wrap, and won over by the nutritional yeast shakers and incredibly friendly service. I ordered the chiggen wrap made with seitan, while my friend ordered the Pull No Pork sandwich. Portions were, to put it mildly, generous and delicious. The chiggen wrap was taken to an even higher level of taste bud satisfaction by a hearty slathering of house made hot sauce and my friend raved about her pork-free sandwich through the whole meal. I would absolutely love to go back to Wayward for their breakfast offerings and to give their lemon meringue pie a whirl.

Believe it or not, donuts and wraps were just the beginning...to be continued.

What are your favorite Seattle stops?

Vegan Mofo: It has begun. Kind of.

Vegan Mofo has begun and I am doing it again this year. However, I am doing it in the sense that blogging every day actually means blogging Monday through Friday. Stay tuned for adventures of the greatest kind (maybe, but there will for sure be pictures of my cat)!