Martha's Vineyard

Yesterday, my husband and I went to the Vineyard with some close friends for the day. We researched the island beforehand and, while vegan options were scarce, not all was lost!

We took the Wood's Hole Ferry into the Vineyard Haven port. From there is was a short walk to Blissed Out, a vegan smoothie joint I had read about on Pinterest. At Blissed Out they serve smoothies, juices, some pre-packaged sandwiches and salads (made on site) and several desserts. Unfortunately for us, the owners we on vacation (I think) and many of the regular options we not being made. There were some fresh bottled juices, sandwiches and salads, but it really wasn't what we were in the mood for. So, I bought 4 different flavored macaroons (Chocolate, Lemon Turmeric, Aaci Chai, and Spirulina Mint Chip) and we were on our way! The chocolate was my favorite.

Also on Pinterest, I had read about a place called the Scottish Bake House that also served vegan options. It was a little over 2 miles from Blissed Out. Two of our party chose to walk it and two of us tried to take public transportation. In all fairness, this was my first time on the island, there may be some transportation tricks that I know nothing about. However, 2 busses drove away as we were attempting to load and 5 cabs drivers said they were going in a different direction. Luckily, two women overheard our troubles and offered to share their Uber ride with us! We arrived at the Scottish Bake House no worse for the wear. 

The Scottish Bake House looked like someone decided to start serving food out of their home. It was small and cozy with picnic tables and vegetable patches outside and the menu did not disappoint. We chose the Brazilian Plate and a Stir Fry. We also picked up a vegan cheesecake brownie and chocolate cookie. I really enjoyed the Brazilian Plate. It came with beans, rice, tofu and a cold salad. The Stir Fry was tofu, rice and vegetables. The tofu on both dishes was cooker really well and lunch was very filling. 

Truthfully, I enjoyed the cheesecake brownie less than I thought I would. I believe the heat of the day made the cheesecake part a little runny. The chocolate cookie was delicious and had almost a fudge like texture to it! 

 

From the Scottish Bake House, we took another Uber cab to the Lighthouse Beach and enjoyed some R&R in the sand. The weather was perfect and I was able to take a nap in the sand.

Later, we caught the #13 bus over to the Oaks Bluff port and boarded the ferry back to Woods Hole. It was a great day on the island! 

Veggie Fun

This year, James and I went to see the Jack-O-Lantern Sepctacular at the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, Rhode Island with some friends. It was a fantastic event with literally thousands of carved pumpkins. This year they had an alphabet theme. A was for Alice in Wonderland, B was for Bees, C was for Christmas and so on. I couldn't believe the skill and talent that went into these pumpkins. It also got me thinking about who would choose pumpkins as a medium for art... but I digress. I have wanted to go for many years and I am so happy I finally got to experience this. Truthfully, I was able to attend twice, once with the people I work with and once with some of my friends. It was a great time. 

Jack-O-Lantern-Spectacular

On the night I went with James, we decided to do a little research and find a vegan restaurant in Providence. We don't get down there often so we were happy to try something new. After looking at a few places we decided to try a place called Veggie Fun. James picked it out because of his life long love affair with Asian food. The website describes the restaurant as "A Kosher Certified Pan-Asian Vegan Restaurant." And it did not disappoint.

Veggie Fun's Website

 





We both started our meals with some Miso Soup and a cup of tea. 

 We then split two appetizers. We ordered Spring Rolls with a dipping sauce and Crispy Soy Nuggets with Plum Sauce. I am not sure I could pick a favorite between the two. 

I ordered the Sweet and Sour Sesame Soy Protein main course. It was so delicious looking that I forgot to take a picture before I started eating. The picture to the right is a half demolished version of what actually came to my table. The Menu describes it as "Lightly battered fried soy protein, broccoli, cauliflower, pineapple and peppers in sweet and sour source." I am mildly obsessed with pineapple so this was the perfect choice. 

James ordered  the General Tso's Soy Protein. A  dish touted as "Breaded medallions of soy protein with spicy general Tso's sauce over broccoli." It was a little bit spicy for my taste but James enjoyed every bite! 

For dessert we ordered the Chocolate Cake and Brown Rice Pudding. Neither of us had eaten rice pudding and I was pleasantly surprised. Usually I feel a dish has to have chocolate in it in order to call itself dessert but I actually preferred the rice pudding to the chocolate cake. It was warm and had bits of fruit in it. I loved it! the chocolate cake was also a solid choice and the frosting was delicious. 

I am not sure when life will bring us to Rhode Island again, but if we go, I think we will check out Veggie Fun again! 

Veggie Fun

123 Dorrance St, Providence, RI 02903

(401) 270-4700 

Veggie Galaxy

I want to introduce anyone who may not know about it to Veggie Galaxy, an amazing restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A wonderful friend of mine discovered them when I was working through discovering all of my food allergies/intolerances and I was unable to go out to eat. Veggie Galaxy is an entirely vegetarian restaurant with a complete, separate gluten free menu. All items on the menu can be prepared vegan. Plus, there is also a bakery attached that is completely vegan! We are talking cinnamon rolls, cakes, pies and even donuts, all vegan! For someone like me, discovering this place was like having a leprechaun give me all of his gold at the end of a rainbow. Since being introduced to Veggie Galaxy, it has become a restaurant near and dear to my husband and I. In fact, it is where we got engaged. Every time we are up by Cambridge, we make it a point to stop by. 

http://www.veggiegalaxy.com

Last night, James and myself went with a friend to Veggie Galaxy. The following is what we ordered. 

We started with an order of Cheeze Fries with a house made cheese sauce. James also ordered a side salad (boo salad!). I will say this about the salad however. They came with some awesome croutons made out of tofu. I am not sure how they did it, but they were really good. 

For dinner I ordered the Seitan Cutlet Special of the Week: the Spooky Seitan Cutlet. It was a house made seitan cutlet "topped with a swiss chard and rosemary pesto and served with sides of spiced roasted golden beets and a Halloween-ish version of our garlic mash (using purple potatoes)" according to the menu. This was the first time I had ever ordered one of the Seitan Cutlets and I will definitely be ordering one again. I believe this was my first time having seitan and I liked it very much. It was breaded with something and had a great texture to it. After my first bite, I thought it might need gravy, but a few bites in I realized that the pesto was more than enough to keep it moist. I also enjoyed the beets. I thought they tasted a little like cinnamon. 

James ordered the Shepard's Pie. It has to be said that Veggie Galaxy's version puts mine to shame. The Veggie Galaxy Shepard's Pie is described on the menu as a "casserole of quinoa, button mushrooms, peas, carrots, corn and fresh herbs topped with garlic mashed potatoes and cranberry-mint chutney, served with a side of dressed field greens." Yes, my husband ate two salads last night. 

For dessert our table ordered the Banana Cream Pie (which I fully believe to be the best pie I have ever eaten, banana or otherwise) and a slice of Pumpkin Cheese Cake. It took about four minutes for both desserts to disappear :-) 

On Facebook I saw that for Halloween the crew at Veggie Galaxy were making vegan candy corn. I had been searching all season for some candy corn fit for my consumption and grew a little unnecessarily excited. I was able to get in touch with them and have a bag set aside for us to pick up on the day after Halloween. This is the downside of living so far away from your favorite place to eat. Luckily, it all worked out and we got to eat some awesome candy corn. It tasted a little like sugar cookie dough with candy corn flavoring but it was awesome and I was very pleased to be able to take part in the seasonal treat! 

We also picked up a cinnamon bun to take home. The idea was for it to be breakfast the next day, but I would be lying if I told you it lasted that long! 

Finally, the part of Veggie Galaxy that always makes me laugh, is their tip jar. If we have met even once you of course know that my tip went in the Cat Lady side :-) 

I always leave Veggie Galaxy feeling a little bit concerned with the amount of food that we ordered, however; there are hardly any restaurants that I have been to where we can order a appetizers, main course plus treats all at the same place. We hardly ever go out to eat so that eases some of the guilt and the rest of the guilt disappears as soon as I taste the food! 

Thank you Veggie Galaxy! Until we meet again! 

Veggie Galaxy
450 Massachusetts Avenue

Cambridge, MA 02139

(617) 497-1513

Limitless Vegan, In A Veganless World

"What do you eat?" I think this is the question I get asked the most when new people find out I am vegan. In my personal experience, no one is really interested in where I get my protein or how I may manage a balanced diet. For me, it has been more about defending the fact that I eat more than salad. As my husband can attest, I actually hate salad (more on that another time). 

My favorite foods tend to be a lot more traditional- tacos, pizza, burgers, lasagna, sandwiches, anything that includes pasta and all baked goods not including lemon. The kids in my family joke around and make me put the word fake in front of anything. If I ask if they want pizza they ask "the real kind or the fake kind?" No matter the answer, they eat it anyway. In 2013 I hosted an entire ThanksVegan Celebration (including three kinds of stuffing) for about 20 carnivores and no one left hungry! It was honestly a big hit and a tradition we hope to continue!

This is not a health food blog. This isn't really a junk food blog either. This is a place for me to write about my vegan journey and hopefully spread the word for anyone looking for additional information about living vegan. 

Love and Light,

Holly

P.S. The link below is for anyone wondering where the name came from.

Limitless Paper, In A Paperless World