But here’s the hard part: how can I truly convey the amazingness of this book? Because if you’re like me, maybe you’re used to “healthy” deserts and maybe you’re familiar with raw foods, and maybe you know that things can taste totally wonderful and fantastic in their own right, but maybe not *actually* like the thing they’re supposed to be modeled after. Do you know what I mean? Maybe?

Like, a raw burger is great and a raw taco is delicious, but . . . you’re not fooling anyone, really. Y know?

Except, then there are these cupcakes. THESE CUPCAKES! And I know you’re like, “But really, cupcakes? No way, of all the things that wouldn’t work raw, there’s just no way . . . ” And friends, I know. Except, YES!

Miniature lemon cupcakes with raspberry jam and lemon cream frosting.

Let me tell you about my friend Katie. She’s a foodie just like me, and we often share our treats and test recipes with one another. A few weeks back she came over for a walk, and as she left I gave her a couple of raw lemon poppyseed cupcakes I’d whipped up.

A few hours later I got a text: “OMG Those cupcakes are amazing!” The next day, she ordered the book, and the next time I saw her she brought some mini cupcakes of her own (pictured above). She’s made multiple recipes from the book and everybody she gives them to just can’t believe that they’re raw. They ALWAYS get rave reviews.

And of course, I’ve had just the same experience.

Blueberry cupcakes with cinnamon crumble, a huge hit at a toddler b-day party.

Guys, this book is seriously fantastic. It’s colorful and adorable and obviously crafted with love. It boasts 25 fun and creative cupcake recipes – everything from the classic chocolate chip cupcakes with chocolate frosting, to the exotic vanilla orange cupcakes with goji cream frosting. No dehydrator required! Everything I’ve tried has been spot on. And of course, it’s all gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan!

Natalia is a great writer and is nice enough to include a thorough introduction, with kitchen tips and a shopping list. Every single recipe includes a gorgeous photo, and if I’m going to be perfectly honest, I’d say the investment is worth it for the food porn alone! But best of all, Natalia is a wonderful woman who is forging her own path, following her own truth, and doing things her own way. She is self published and self funded and incredibly inspiring. I’ve had the pleasure of spending time with her on more than one occasion, and I’m always left wishing I could pick her brain just a little bit longer.

In other words, she’s super rad and deserves your support!

Dark chocolate mimi cupcakes with chocolate almond frosting. My favorites!

Cupcake Heaven would make an awesome gift for any aspiring raw foodist or health-conscious chef. You can buy it on Amazon or directly through Natalia’s site (ebook available). I just can’t recommend it enough, and I’m sure you’ll love it too.

Anyone out there tried these recipes? I’d love to hear from you!

Thanksgiving has always, always been my favorite holiday. It’s one of the few that’s not steeped in religion, that’s not hyped with commercialism. Thanksgiving is just about good people coming together, and good food on the table, and stopping to give a little gratitude. Of course it’s my favorite!

But as a vegan, Thanksgiving – as most people celebrate it – can also be difficult. It can be a sad season, for sure. This year I’m looking forward to exploring some of these issues here on Bonzai, and this, my friends, is a spectacular place to start.




You may remember from past reviews (omg, I forgot about those pictures of Waits! dying!), that I’m a super huge fan of Nathalie VanBalen (author of Garlic-Onion-Beet-Spinach-Mango-Carrot-Grapefruit Juice). So when Nathalie emailed me about her new coloring zine, you better believe I was excited! Nathalie wrote:

Last week I had one of those cartoon light bulbs appear above my head: “Aha! The world needs a vegan Thanksgiving coloring zine!” So I wrote a celebratory, rhyming poem called Happy Thanksliving!, cancelled my weekend plans, and have been drawing drawing drawing . . . The zine is lively and upbeat, while raising some good questions about turkeys, American Indians, and more. It celebrates fall produce in all of its glory. Here’s an excerpt:


There isn’t a turkey on our table
and we’re happy to tell you why-
because turkeys are friends (like cats and dogs)
and feathered friends must fly!

Potatoes, pumpkins, carrots, CRUNCH!
Greens & beans, oh my-
Thank you thank you apple tree,
tonight we’re having pie!




LOVE! So good, right?!

I’ve read this to Waits over and over, and he just adores it. The rhymes are clever, the message is subtle and sweet and totally positive, and the whole thing reads like a true celebration of compassion.

Plus, you know, COLORING! So fun.

My little turkey . . .

The details:

-zines cost $5 each (this includes shipping within the U.S.)
-20 pages, black and white, printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper
-bound with thread rather than staples for the safety of little ones
-coloring fun for people of all ages! (Sayward’s note – I can attest to this!)


You can order your copy of Happy Thanksliving here, and I really hope that you will! You’ll be supporting an incredible self-funded artist and an all-around wonderful lady. And of course, you’ll also be helping to spread a message of compassion for this holiday season!

And with that, I leave you with an outtake. What a turkey! (and I mean that as the highest of compliments, of course!)

• Recipes! That tahini dip I’m addicted to? yup. Those pulp crackers I’m always on about. Uh-huh. xGFx sugar-free pumpkin muffins??? err, not yet . . .
• Photos from the Farmer’s Market (done and done)
• Photos from my garden & the 2011 micro-farm (check!)
• A series of essays explaining the food experiments I’ve been conducting on myself this year, as well as a discussion of self-experimentation in general, and potentially touching on disordered eating/orthorexia in the food blogging world. (off to a great start, and excited to continue!)
• Answering your questions – so please ask them! Are you curious about anything vegan- or raw-related? Lay it on me, and I may just feature it in a post! (This didn’t really go as planned; no “question posts”)
• Pictures of vegan kids enjoying vegan eats. (yes, lots and lots and birthdays even!)

Plus there was so much more! So now I’d love to hear from YOU! What did you think of MoFo? Which topics did you like best, and which were not your cup of tea? Did you enjoy the daily posting, or too much? Any complaints? Suggestions? Lay it on me!

I’m going to take it reeeal easy on blogging this week, as I try to catch my breath and work to tame this mountain of email. Oof . . . wish me luck!

And eggs? What of them?

In vegan cookbooks everywhere, and all across the Internetz, you’ll find recipes referencing “flax eggs”. Sometimes they’re actually even written as components, for example “1 tbsp flax meal + 3 tbsp water”. Which seems pretty self explanatory, right? You’d think!

But nope, if you want your flax to really approximate eggs – to really achieve that gelatinous, goopy goodness that works so very well as a binder (especially important in gluten-free recipes!) – then it helps to have a few tricks hidden in your pastry case. I’ve been baking exclusively vegan for a while now, and this is how I guarantee the perfect flax egg, every time:



1.
Begin with whole flax seeds. Buying pre-ground flax is a dangerous game, as the oil is very unstable, and once released (via grinding) it will turn rancid pretty quickly. So buy your flax seeds whole and grind them yourself, to spec. It’s easy enough; you can use a coffee grinder, a hand-crank spice grinder, a mortar and pestle, or a high-speed blender. Process into a very fine powder.

Store whole flax seeds in the refrigerator or freezer.



2.
Make egg/s. One egg equals [1 tablespoon flax meal plus 3 tablespoons water], and you do not need to make each one individually. In a small bowl, add flax meal followed by water (not water followed by flax), stirring as you go. I use a miniature whisk because it’s adorable, but a fork works just as well.



3.
Refrigerate. This is key! Place the bowl of eggs in the refrigerator for a minimum of 15 minutes, but up to an hour is best. This will allow your egg to “set up”. Don’t skip this important step!

I always make my eggs at the start of a recipe. That way, I can get them in the fridge, and then work through the other steps while the eggs set.



4.
When the eggs come out of the fridge they’ll have formed a thick sticky goo, just the consistency of egg whites. There’s your binder! Add it to the recipe and proceed as instructed.


Note: Flax has a nutty, somewhat distinctive flavor. It’s pretty well masked in recipes such as whole wheat breads, spice loafs, and other “full-bodied” treats. But for something like white cake or sugar cookies, you may notice the flavor. If this bothers you, try using chia seeds instead! They work just the same and don’t add any flavor (though admittedly, they cost about four times as much).

Happy vegan baking!

Except here’s the thing: Waits is an incredibly active kid. He burns a bunch of fuel and he’s just not so interested in eating much, which means he’s a pretty skinny dude. And that’s okay – his parents are both slender and obviously, he’s inherited our ectomorphic body type. However as the momma, I have to figure out some creative ways of getting extra calories into him.

Which brought me right back to milk. Okay! No problem, I was already making my own plant milk all the time, and I began giving it to Waits as well.



But then, my overactive brain got to thinking. “WELL“, I thought, “If I’m already giving him the milk, am I wasting an opportunity to slip him some extra nutrients? Should I start buying the packaged stuff, since it’s all enriched and full of extra vitamins and minerals?”

I wasn’t sure, and for a while I would go back and forth; one week I’d buy some boxed coconut milk, and the next week I’d make my own almond-walnut-hemp blend. And on. But . . . every time I made my own, I wondered if he was missing out. Conversely, every time I bought the pre-made products, I couldn’t help but grimace at the ingredients list: sweeteners, stabilizers, additives and more. Either way seemed like a compromise, until I realized . . .

HEY WAIT A MINUTE!

And now I just make my own fortified milks. Really, what the hell took me so long, right?!




These days I make my plant milks exactly as instructed here. I usually add a few Brazil nuts for extra selenium, one medjool date to sweeten it up a bit, and a splash of vanilla for flavor. Waits loves it like this.

HOWEVER. Before I blend, I also add a number of supplements. If you’re using a high-speed blender, you can toss pressed pills right into the mix. If you’ve got an older blender or a food processor, then I suggest emptying the powder out of capsules. Make sure you get vegan ones! Most gel-caps are made from gelatin. You can also buy vitamins/minerals in powdered form, such as dolomite.


We all know that calcium is key for bone health, but calcium works in a synergistic relationship with magnesium and vitamin D. Vitamin K2 and zinc are also important for proper development, but can be a bit tricky for vegans to obtain . . . especially for picky toddlers!

So these are the micronutrients that I focus on. I use various products to meet my needs, but I’ve found Deva’s Cal-Mag Plus and NOW Vitamin K2 Vcaps to be especially helpful. Vegan versions of zinc and vitamin D are not as hard to come by. (try: zinc and D)


Here are the stats for a 1-cup serving (these Daily Values percentages are for adults, and I should note that Waits would never drink even close to a full cup in a day):

Calcium: 333 mg / 33% DV
Magnesium: 133 mg / 33% DV
Vitamin D2: 633 IU / 105% recommended
Vitamin K2: 50 mcg / 62% DV
Zinc: 17.5 mg / 116% DV

You could also add B12, or anything else you feel is important.



Also, I feel the need to remind you that I am neither a nutritionist nor a food manufacturer, and this method has not been laboratory-tested, and this recipe certainly should not take the place of proper diet OR professional advisement. Okay?


So there ya go – I hope you like it as much as we have!

I made raw blueberry cupcakes with cinnamon crumble:

There was raw cashew cheese with raw crackers:

Kids cake made with date sugar (vegan, gluten-free):

And raw raspberry cacao cake (amazing!):

Hope your Saturday was delightful!

This year I’m going with a general theme, the playful and not-to-be-taken-so-seriously RAWK-toberfest. Yes, there will be lots of raw food! Also some cooked. Also some text-heavy articles. Probably lots of adorable baby pictures. Here’s an idea of what you can look forward to in October:

• Recipes! Raw and cooked, but mostly raw. That tahini dip I’m addicted to? Yup. Those pulp crackers I’m always on about. You betchya. xGFx sugar-free pumpkin muffins??? Ohhhh yes.
• Photos from the Farmer’s Market (such abundance this time of year!)
• Photos from my garden & the 2011 micro-farm
• A series of essays explaining the food experiments I’ve been conducting on myself this year, as well as a discussion of self-experimentation in general, and potentially touching on disordered eating/orthorexia in the food blogging world.
• Answering your questions – so please ask them! Are you curious about anything vegan- or raw-related? Lay it on me, and I may just feature it in a post!
• Pictures of vegan kids enjoying vegan eats. Because come on, who doesn’t love the little veg cuties?
• Plus all the normal Bonzai stuff, like the Book Club, “What I” Wednesdays, and Friday’s Le Love List.

I don’t know about you, but I can hardly wait! As for now, I leave you with a picture of my breakfast this morning: RAW chocolate-chili cheesecake from Divine Pie at the Portland Farmer’s Market. Word.

Long-time Bonzai readers have probably noticed that I don’t do a whole lot of reviews around here. There’s a few reasons for this, like that I’m really super duper selective about the products that I use, and that in general I don’t want Bonzai to center around consumerism, and most of all, that I only have a limited amount of time and energy to devote to blogging, so I prefer to focus on my own material. But that being said, I’m not totally opposed to reviews! We all use (and need to use!) products, and as I’ve expressed time and time again, I firmly believe that PRO-cott is as powerful a form of activism as BOYcott.

So anyways, I get lots and lots of emails asking me to try out lots and lots of products, and most of them I just kindly decline. But a few weeks back I received an note from LightLife, makers of Smart Dogs and Tofu Pups, various chik’ns and bacons and burgers (all vegetarian, not all vegan), and a gourmet line of organic tempeh. I usually pass on the processed plant meats, but this particular email gave me pause . . .

Organic tempeh, you say?

Tempeh is my all-time favorite soy product, just pressed and fermented soybeans. This means it’s a “whole” food (minimally processed), and it’s got those good bacteria I love (probiotic power!) And of course, the flavor is totally unique. I couldn’t resist the siren song of this super-healthy, super delicious treat. I emailed back with an enthusiastic “Yes! I would love to try your tempeh!”



Well, at some point some wires must have gotten crossed. They are wires, after all, and so they’re prone to doing that. The box that I ended up with did in fact contain some tempeh . . . as well as some vegan sausage . . . and some non-vegan chick’n. Ah well. The chick’n went to a vegetarian friend, and the sausage got stashed in the fridge.

So yes, it’s true that I don’t eat many “omni sub” products any more, but that’s mostly just my own preference. Damian enjoys them, and I certainly recognize the important role they can play in certain situations. I’m thinking about a recent comment from longtime Bonzai reader Melisa, who said:

“Going vegan. FINALLY. Could have done it a LOT sooner if I’d only admitted to myself that the key is MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF VEGAN JUNK FOOD. Eventually, I’ll move to a healthier diet, but allowing myself to eat as many pumpkin oatmeal cookies as I want has made this transition possible.”

First of all, congratulations Melisa! And secondly, thanks for bringing up such a great point. The truth is, when I first when vegan I *also* ate a lot of the pre-made products. They’re fun and new and exciting, and they can also provide that familiar feeling you might be needing to stay on the ol’ veg wagon. One of my favorite blogs, The Vegan RD, has an interesting article relating to this: Healthy Vegan Diets Can Include Meat Analogues

So, anyway, Hi! Tangent! Nice to meet you! Was I supposed to be reviewing food here? Okay, you get my point, moving on . . .




Gimme Lean Ground Sausage

I’d actually tried this product before – years ago when we were working on The Vegan Cheese Report, we used it to make some truly incredible Vegan McMuffins. On of my biggest complaints about most veg meats is that they don’t use enough fat, and it ruins the authenticity. Animal products have FAT, and it makes for a rich flavor that a lot of the alternatives are lacking. So here’s the thing: apparently this sausage is completely fat-free. BUT, I only just found that out when I went to check on the fat content, because I was certain from the taste that this was a high-fat product. In case that sounds convoluted or unclear, that’s is a good thing. The flavor is savory and full-bodied and perfectly sausage-y.


But this time around, the sausage sat in my fridge for weeks (that’s another benefit of plant meats over animal meats, ha!), as I waited for an opportunity to arise. And then one day, it did. Hello in-laws!

I brought this sausage along when we went to visit Damian’s parents. They’re omni but they’re very open-minded, always interested in trying my strange concoctions. So I whipped this out for Sunday brunch, which was a delightful spread of fruit and homemade gluten-free biscuits. And of course, the sausage.

Omni approved! And a great reminder to me, that plant meats definitely have their place. Still . . . I think I’ll mostly stick to tempeh.

BBQ tempeh on a cool ranch and avocado salad. This was so good I’m seriously drooling all over my keyboard just remembering it.

Organic Tempeh

LightLife offers a variety of tempeh “styles”, including flax, garden veggie, soy, three-grain, and wild rice. They’re all quite similar, with that nutty, earthy tempeh flavor, that certain “je ne sais quoi” that results from fabulous fermentation and makes tempeh so damn special. I love it because it’s a bit firmer than tofu, so it holds together well in recipes. This time I cubed, marinated, and grilled it, but it’s also great in stir fry or as a “ground meat” in chili or tacos. Really, tempeh is super versatile and I adore it!

As with any soy product, buying organic is really important, which is why the LightLife stuff is so awesome. If you don’t have access to LightLife anywhere in your town, but you do have a Trader Joe’s, I’m almost certain the TJ’s “house brand” tempeh is actually the LightLife three-grain variety. So give that a try! (I’m really just totally guessing here, I have no “insider knowledge” or anything, but I know TJ’s buys their house brand products from popular, established companies, and the shape/style/flavor is the same, so it makes sense)




Smoky Tempeh Strips

This was a product that was new to me, and, um, I APPROVE. It’s basically a bacon sub, all sweet and savory and smokey and full of amazing deliciousness. But I love it because it’s not actually trying to be bacon – it’s just trying to hit the same spot. And it does! But it does so with it’s own awesome tempeh undertones, an earthy base that’s so hearty and grounding. Yeah, I love this product, and I’ll definitely buy it again. Damian, who is not a huge tempeh fan, loved this as well, which I consider a major win. Yay!


So what are your thoughts on tempeh – yay or nay?

Have you tried any of the LightLife products? What do you think?

What a weekend! And what an experience. This was my 3rd visit to VegFest, and I can still remember my very first, as a relative novice (just over a year into my veganism) – and secretly pregnant! Flash forward just 2 short years, and I find myself at VegFest once again, but this time selling and signing books! Life is such an amazing adventure, no?

Veg babies represent! Ain’t he a cutie?

This year’s festival saw the highest attendance ever, and spanned 2 full days. I was there for both of them: Saturday, with Waits along for the ride (Damian was away for work all day), and Sunday, sans baby and tabling for The Vegan Pregnancy Survival Guide at the Herbivore booth.



Saturday
Saturday was my day to play, and Waits and I took the exhibit hall by storm. As always, the product representation was impressive, and included:

Amy’s Kitchen
Back to the Roots
The Better Bean Company
Blossom Vinegars
Blossoming Lotus
Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods
Book Publishing Company
Butler’s Soy Curls
Chicago Soydairy
Dave’s Killer Bread
Dr. Kracker
Earth Balance
Earthly Gourmet
ECOlunchboxes
Equal Exchange
Flamous Brands’ Falafel Chips
Food Fight! Grocery
Food For Life
Foods Alive
Garden Protein International
GladRags
Green Wok
Herbivore Clothing
Living Harvest Foods
Mama Nano’s
Mary’s Gone Crackers
Masterpeace Hemp
Oregon Ice Works
Papa G’s Vegan Organic’s
Petunia’s Pies & Pastries
Prasad
Solstice Bars
So Delicious Dairy Free
Steve Meyerowitz, Sproutman®
Sweet Lemon Vegan Bistro
Theo Chocolate
Toby’s Family Foods
Turtle Island Foods
Upton’s Naturals
V-dog Food
Vega
Vegan Body Building
Vege Thai
VegNews Magazine
Vitacrisp Crackers
Vitamix
Wilderness Poets



However, some prominent players (and some my favorites!) from past years were conspicuously missing. I’m looking at you, Field Roast, Wayfare, Luna and Larry’s, SunWarrior, Gardenburger, Bragg Live Food, Galaxy Nutritional, and many others. What happened guys??!

In the morning we ran into a friend, and Waits commandeered her stroller (we don’t own one so he totally thinks they’re just the greatest toys ever).

. . . and he stole a kiss from this lovely little lady. Casanova!

The food scene definitely follows trends, and the vegan niche is no different. If 2009 was the year of ice cream, and 2010 was the year of cheese, then I’d have to dub 2011 the year of . . . fish? There were actually a few new faux fish products, none of which I was able to try (gluten). But Damian dropped by on Sunday for a while, and was able to sample them. He gave one of them an enthusiastic two-thumbs-down, but another had him interested and wishing he’d gotten a second taste. Personally, fish is not something I miss at all, except for tuna salad sammies and there’s plenty of recipes for mock tuna that satisfy me quite nicely.

To be totally honest, I was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t more in the way of “revolutionary new products.” Okay, so maybe I’ve just been spoiled, with coconut ice cream swooping in and changing everything a few years back, and then vegan cheese taking a giant leap forward with last year’s Daiya and Wayfare and the Teese reformulation. This time around, I was hoping for something fun and fresh to really knock my socks off.


And those guys ^^^ are the only ones who really delivered on that hope. But boy, did they ever! Sorta Sausage is literally exactly what I’ve been waiting for. Because soy is getting demonized from all sides, and gluten intolerance is on the rise (Waits seems to be sensitive to it, which means I can’t eat gluten anymore, either!), and those are the two single sources of almost all faux meat products. But, BUT, there are so many other options out there! If Daiya can make cheese out of tapioca, and Wayfare can create a nacho spread from oatmeal (yes!), then surely the industry can come up with a gluten-free, soy-free plant-based protein!

I’ve had my sights set on hemp for a few years now, and finally, finally someone came through. Sorta Sausage makes a burger patty and a breakfast patty, both from a hemp/polenta blend, and both absolutely delicious. These are beautifully spiced, toothsome and hearty, and much to Damian’s delight, they had nary a hint of that “hemp-y” aftertaste (I’ve grown to dislike that flavor as well, so I was thrilled that it was absent). This is my top pick for best new product, hands down. Has anyone else out there tried them??!



The kids area was a nice relief, though it was mostly geared towards older tykes. It sure would have been nice to have an enclosed play area for the younger ones. However, props to the “life-sized” unicorn with a person inside and robotic parts (I think?) which was pretty spectacular. Alas, Waits was afraid of it!

So all in all the first day was a lot of fun. I kept running into all my friends, I reconnected with a bunch of VVC-ers, I got to meet a few Bonzai readers (!!!), I hung out with my favorite little man all day, and of course, I ate a ton of yummy food (Tempt hemp ice cream bars in coffee cream swirl! The glory and the goodness that is the soy curl of wonder! Oregon Ice Works handcrafted gelato and sorbetto!). Yeah, it was a good day.



Sunday
On Sunday Damian was on baby duty, and I returned to the convention center flying solo. My day was off to a rough start, however, when I was told that I would have to purchase an entirely new ticket in order to re-enter the exhibit hall. What what?? This was really surprising to me and to be totally honest, it kinda pissed me off. Ha! I’m by no means a stingy gal, in fact I specifically hadn’t printed out the online coupon because I’d rather pay full price and help fund an organization that I support. But, I thought that ticket was good for the whole shebang! Paying double, in my opinion, made the price tag simply too high. Especially since, hate to say it, but inside the exhibit hall (ie, aside form the speakers and demos going on) the second day was nothing compared to the first. I feel bad for people who only attended on Sunday, because booths kept running out of samples, and a number of them just closed up early and left! So VegFest organizers, if you are reading this, I adore your event and this amazing community, but there were definitely some issues this year! Just my constructive criticism.

Salad rolls and yellow curry and brown rice from VegeThai restaurant. With peanut sauce, sweet sauce, and sriracha of course!

I was starving by the time I got inside, so I hurried over to the food-for-sale area and grabbed some Thai food. After my belly was full and happy, I was ready to sign some books. And oh maaaaan, it was so fun! And SO STRANGE! In the first book I signed, I think I wrote something like, “yay, my first!” or some equally dorky sentiment. Such a trip!



Over the course of the day I talked to so many people, met so many pregnant ladies and veggie mommas, heard so many stories and commiserated with so many women. This experience meant so much to me. I was saddened (though totally sympathetic) to hear the same story from so many – that they had started their pregnancies vegan, but had been pressured from concerned family members and misinformed doctors, until they found themselves so full of doubt that they finally caved and started eating animals again. My heart goes out to these women and I am just so, so grateful that good information will now be available for others, in the future. I’m honored to be a part of making that possible, more than I could ever express.

To the ladies I spoke with: Thank You! You are all mama rockstars and I loved meeting every one of you!

The view from behind the herbivore table – I loved helping out!

And this was the booth right across the way from us. SO CUTE!

I had a blast hanging out in Herbivore’s corner, right next to Food Fight! and their dangerous supply of Go Max Go candy bars. We pretty much just goofed off all day, and talked to nice people, and ate lots of yummy crap. For a work-from-home recluse like myself, it was really fun to get a taste of the ol’ super-social retail thing. And of course, the fact that all the Herbivore/Food Fight! folks are super awesome doesn’t hurt either.

Me and Miss Michelle Herbivore, at the end of a looooong day. (it was freezing so I bought the new turquoise sweatshirt – um, SO SOFT! I think I found my fall uniform!)

By 5:15 on Sunday evening, vendors were packing up shop and the last of the stragglers were filtering out. I bid my adieu and happily returned to my little family. Goodbye VegFest! See you next year!

~~~

In other news, we’re having a party! It’s “ask me anything” week over on the Bonzai Facebook page, so pop on over and join the fun. Nothing is off limits! (though I do reserve the right to pass)

Let’s party!