Raw Pizza and Good Karma

The Good Karma Cafe recently opened up in Red Bank, NJ.  Here's what I've had there so far.

A bacon cheese Earth Burger.  The burger itself was made with tofu, sunflower seeds,  and brown rice. The whole wheat bun was so good.  Of course, it came with vegan mayo, tempeh bacon (which was next level good), and vegan cheese.  I will definitely get it again.

 

The first time I had raw pizza, I thought it was weird.  It really does not taste like pizza, but over the years I've come to love its distinctive crunchy goodness.  Good Karma's raw pizza has sun dried tomato sauce, cashew nut cheese, marinated kale, shredded zucchini and raw parmesan (probably walnuts and nutritional yeast) on raw crackers.  So weird, but so good!

Vegan Fast Food in Brooklyn

Recently, I found myself in Brooklyn with an empty stomach and very little time before I had to be somewhere.  Thanks to my little VegOut app, I decided on vegan fast food at Food Swings.  I ate at Food Swings years ago, and I thought it didn't live up to the hype.  Well, I've changed my mind.  Everything was filling and tasty and fun.  The food came out quick, it filled me up, and I was happy VegOut told me to go there.

The Chick'n Caesar Salad was pretty filling, but I still made room for half of these potato skins and a Latte milkshake (coffee ice cream and vanilla soy milk).

Vegan Melbourne-Yummy Soy Lattes, Buddha Food, and Records

When we were in Melbourne, we'd wake up, take the bus into the CBD (Central Business District), and begin our quest for caffeine.  Brother Baba Budan is located at 359 Little Bourke Street.  Starting the day with one of Brother Baba Budan's lattes was always a treat.  Though we had a LOT of great coffee in Australia, this place was the best.  The cafe is small, often crowded, but well worth the effort.  The lattes were strong and whipped up with BonSoy, the best, creamiest, most delicious soy milk offered in Australia's best coffee shops.  We looked forward to seeing the designs made in the froth, this leafy one was one of my faves. 

After getting caffeinated, we were ready for record shopping.  One of the best places to do that in Australia is Missing Link, conveniently located near the best lattes at 405 Bourke Street.  When we needed a juice fix after, we'd head to Tropicana Juice Bar at 213 Elizabeth Street.  When we needed lunch in the CBD, we liked to go to a little Buddhist art gallery.

The Fo Guang Yuan Art Gallery can be found at 141 Queen Street.  We walked by it at least twice because there really wasn't any sign indicating that it served food.  When we finally did walk in searching for food, I felt silly because I'd obviously walked into a super zen, Buddhist art gallery.  My hunger kept my feet moving, and I'm glad I did because tucked in the back was a tea room/vegetarian restaurant. 

The waitress was always very good about pointing out the vegan options on the menu.  These light and fluffy dumplings did not disappoint.

Crispy soy-something (their name totally escapes me) were a crunchy and filling protein source.

This dish included fresh bok choy, bean sprouts, noodles, tofu, and some veggie/soy mince mixture.  Their food left me feeling warm, full, and ready for our next adventure.

Coffee and Cake and Vanilla Soy Delicious

I love coffee.  I also have a bit of a sweet tooth and love coffee cake.  In my opinion, a hint of nutmeg or cinnamon goes perfectly with strong black coffee.

I have two go-to recipes for coffee cake.  I go back and forth between Vegan Brunch's coffee cake (with nutmeg) and The Joy of Vegan Baking's cinnamon coffee cake.  Last night, I chose to whip up some cinnamon cake.  I've made it so many times, I find it doesn't take long to get a piece on my plate.  In fact, I think it's pretty easy.

 

Here are my bowls and measuring cups, all ready to go with dry ingredients seperated from wet.  Once the oven is ready, I combine the whole wheat pastry flour cake mixture with oil, vinegar, and soy milk.  As soon as it's mixed, it goes directly in an 8 inch square glass baking dish.  Then, I add some canola oil to the crumb topping that includes brown sugar and walnuts.  I pat that on the top of the cake mixture, put it in the oven, and 35 minutes later, it's done!

Instead of enjoying this piece of cake with coffee, I treated it like dessert and added a scoop of vanilla Soy Delicious.  Yum!

The Search for a Vegan Winter Coat

The days are getting colder, the nights are growing longer...sigh, winter's coming.  Definitely not my favorite season!  I'm always on the search for cute, warm, vegan clothing to stay comfortable.  Here's what my search turned up:

Vaute Couture's Kinder coat is TOO CUTE, but at $365, the price gave me pause...even with a 25% off VegNews offer ($273.75, plus shipping).

This faux fur trimmed Betsey Johnson coat is awesome ($119 at Bluefly.com), but will it be warm enough for east coast January? It's described as "mid-weight" with a polyester fill.  Not sure if that will do.

From what I've read, primaloft is a vegan coat's best friend.  It's a synthetic alternative to down.  Have you ever seen a cheap coat filled with down?  It spews feathers and pokes at you.  So gross.

Patagonia's Women's Micro Puffed Hooded Jacket uses primaloft, and is covered with recycled polyester.  Eco-friendly and $229.

This LL Bean Rugged Ridge Parka also uses primaloft.  I like how the LL Bean website offers you three categories for viewing their coats: warm, warmer, and warmest.  This one is considered warmest with a range of comfort from 10 degrees to -40.  Realistically, I'm not going to be exposed to that kind of temperature range in New Jersey, $159.

This LL Bean Snowfield jacket has a comfort range of 30 degrees to -20.  It's filled with polyester ThermaTEK.  That should do nicely, and at $99 with free shipping, the price is right.

The North Face offers a three in one jacket at $249. The Kira Triclimate jacket has Heatseeker Eco insulation.  There are a few variations of this coat, one for $199.

This North Face Whitby Deluxe jacket also has Heatseeker Eco insulation, priced at $349 (ouch!).

This fab Sparkle and Fade Faux Leopard Coat sure looks warm, though I'm guessing it  doesn't do well in wet weather.  $168 from Urban Outfitters.

I'm not sure what I'm going to buy yet, but it's nice to know they are so many vegan options out there!