Catch Up: What I've Been Eating, Thinking and Doing

Bonsoir, mes amies! Yesterday I realized that I completely dropped the ball on blogging, and for that, I apologize. I'm especially sorry because there are SO many things that I've wanted to discuss! First things first: let's chat briefly about what I've been eating.

Despite a few hiccups in the road (I'm looking at your apple pie a la mode at work!), I've been doing pretty well with the vegan eating.  And, unsurprisingly (and yet it always still manages to surprise me a little), I'm starting to get that inner and outer vegan glow.  I'm feeling good, y'all, and the fact that I've dropped a few pounds is the icing on the already moist and delicious cake!

Peacefood Cafe
Friday night I had a dinner date avec a dear friend from work, and she took me to Peacefood Cafe where I had a FANTASTIC meal.  We got the dumplings to start, and holy crap, they were some of the best dumplings I've ever had.  And let me tell you something - my mother makes some pretty killer (and pork-filled) dumplings.  And these?  These vegan dumplings?  They were just as good.  I'm kind of obsessed with them and can't WAIT to go back for more.  We also split the caesar salad (who knew tempeh bacon could be so good??) and the mushroom panini (ummm heavenly).

To be honest, the part of the meal I was looking forward to the most was dessert, as I'd heard so much about their delectable offerings.  Unfortunately, we didn't have as good of an experience there.  We got the peanut butter cheesecake (the peeps on Yelp love that stuff) and the raw key lime pie.  I'll give the key lime pie (pictured below) a solid B.  It had great flavor and an excellent balance of sweet and tart, but I couldn't get past the texture.  It had the texture of butter which, depending on who you are, could be a good thing.  But it just wasn't doing it for me (my friend loved it though).

Now, the peanut butter cheesecake was straight up NOT good.  There was some flavor going on in there that I couldn't get past (maybe the silken tofu??).  I decided to give the desserts one last try and snagged the last slice of ginger spice bread to-go and was barely 3 steps into my apartment before busting it out.  It was INSANE GOOD, y'all.  Peacefood Cafe definitely redeemed its dessert reputation there.  I need that recipe!!

Taim
Definitely some of the best falafel I've had.  Tucked away on a quiet street in the West Village, this place is a gem.  It's a bit pricey, but 99.9% of their menu is vegan and absurdly delicious so I'm okay with it.  Get the date, lime & banana smoothie!!

Baking Treats
On Sunday, I was feeling particular Fall-esque and wanted to bake some Fall treats to celebrate.  First things first, my roomie and I roasted the pumpkin seeds we gathered from a pumpkin carving party the day prior.  I'd never roasted pumpkin seeds before - they took forever, but were well worth the wait.  They filled our apartment with a warm, Autumn and comforting aroma and are tres tasty.

I also made Alicia Silverstone's chocolate peanut butter cups (a HUGE hit at the office today) and pumpkin chocolate chip muffins (I'm not sharing the recipe for that one b/c I'm not a huge fan).  I heart baking!

Colleen, Gabby and Kimberly
I went to Colleen Patrick Goudreau's presentation of Animal and the Arts at the Alexander Gray gallery last week, and it was one of the best nights I've had since moving to NYC.  I plan to devote an entire blog post to this, but suffice it to say that Colleen is warm, endearing and inspirational, and I kind of love her.

I had my last group coaching session with Gabby Bernstein tonight.  I've definitely learned some valuable tools from her, but overall I'd have to say I'm a little disappointed.  More on this later as well.

Thursday night I take the train to D.C. for the National Conference to End Factory Farming where I'll be selling TranquiliT with Kimberly - I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!

Have a BEAUTIFUL week, friends.  Gros bisous!