Summer Soup

 Ok so I know its like 80 some degrees out but i have been craving soup. Today it was miso tonight it was tomato. So I used a variation of Susans from fatfreevegan.com. My own Summer Tomato corn soup. Well i guess it could be served cold too.

Summer Soltice

I know the official summer solstice was at 759 pm last night but today is the official start of Summer. Today is being the full first day. Sol + stice derives from a combination of Latin words meaning "sun" + "to stand still." As the days lengthen, the sun rises higher and higher until it seems to stand still in the sky.

As a major celestial event, the Summer Solstice results in the longest day and the shortest night of the year. The Northern Hemisphere celebrates in June, but the people on the Southern half of the earth have their longest summer day in December.
Here is how some cultures celebrate it:

Awed by the great power of the sun, civilizations in the northern areas have for centuries celebrated the Summer Solstice, otherwise known as Midsummer (see Shakespeare), the Christian St. John's Day, or the Wiccan Litha.


The Celts & Slavs celebrated with dancing & bonfires to help increase the sun's energy. The Chinese marked the day by honoring Li, the Chinese Goddess of Light.

Perhaps the most enduring modern ties with Summer Solstice were the Druids' celebration of the day as the "wedding of Heaven and Earth", resulting in the present day belief of a "lucky" wedding in June.
Today, the day is still celebrated around the world - most notably in England at Stonehenge and Avebury, where thousands still gather to welcome the sunrise on the Summer Solstice.

Pagan spirit gatherings or festivals are also common in June, when groups gather to light a sacred fire, and stay up all night to welcome the dawn.


For me and alot of Americans it means Hotter weather, Going to the beach, and barbeques...with teh good weather forecast for today it means I am off to they beach---------HAPPY SUMMER!!!

Vegan definition

Maybe i should have started my blog with this:
Vegan (pronounced vē'-gan):
A person who is against needlessly killing or harming living, feeling beings;
and who therefore does not use (ie. eat, buy, cook) meat, eggs or dairy products.
Vegans also avoid using other animal products as much as possible.

Club Veg and Vietnamese Rolls

Once a month Club veg of philadelphia has a cooking class held at Wholefoods both in Callowhill and on South street. Convientently I live 1 block from the Callowhill store and as a member it is free. Check out www.clubveg.org/philly and join to support our community in the philadelphia region. There are quite a few other events they hold including potlucks, dinners in the area, and other exhibits. As I said the classes are free as a member with a new topic every month and free dinner. Tonight we made Vietnamese Rolls aka Summer Rolls or Spring Rolls or Goi Cuon. Made with rice paper- filled with lettuce, bean sprouts, tofu, cucumber, mint and cilantro.
We also had 3 dipping sauces- 1 with Hoisen, Nuoc Cham, and Vinegar Sauce. I would reccomend the Hoisen one with peanuts and sesame oil.

2 Desserts

Holy Crepes! I made crepes for the first time on tuesday for dessert with Amy. They turned out amazing. I used Veganomicon's recipe with the whole wheat version. I let the batter sit overnight. It was the perfect consistency and they browned just right in a heavy duty nonstick pan. Folded with some strawberries.


I got some figs at the produce store. To me figs are very exotic- ripe they are just the right amount of sweetness. They have to be slightly soft. I decided to carmelize mine with a little Succanat and stuck them under the broiler for a few minutes. I made sme banana ice cream to go with it. My favorite dessert- which is just frozen bananas blended to a smooth consistency.

Vegan diet-Yoga-Exercise and CANCER

They have found a link between a vegan diet with yoga and exercise to decrease the risk of cancer and possibly reverse the effects. People are curious about the vegan lifestyle and often don't understand. This new research backs up my former beliefs, I just hadn't had proof of its effectiveness. Dr. Dean Ornish shows that a low fat (10% of calories from fat) vegan diet can halt and possibly reverse prostrate and other cancers including breast cancer for females. He showed that genetics is not the prime cause and lifestyle can play a large role in the incurable dreaded cancer. Here is the link to the article http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/earth/2008/06/16/scidiet116.xml

India Potluck

Since the travelers to India have not all met Jill hosted a Indian potluck at her home in East Falls. There are 14 of us traveling 12 girls and 2 guys- Corina husband (who is only there half the time) and Doug! We have such a great crew of people from all ages and races who have so much to bring with 2 things in common a love of Yoga and a desire to travel halfway around the world to India.
The potluck inspired me to do some Vegan Indian cooking so i created a Chana Masala( spicey chickpeas) with Spinach and Gobhi (cauliflower) Curry. Both turned out great. But i especially loved the masala with the Gram Masala spice- my new favorite. There was other great food- 2 dals, tofu cakes, naan, rice, carrot salad, chickpea snacks. This was my plate. The food was great. Jill gave us some great travel tips when traveling to India- the Highlights- get a faux wedding ring, wear dark sunglasses, cover up, bring toys or pennies for the kids, remember the 5 Ps when eating. I am so excited.

Fathers Day- I love Dad!

We have a tradition of food and golf for Mother and Fathers day-- I make the favorites vegan style for the Family followed by a round of golf. This time it was Black Bean burgers from Veganomicon with lots of toppings...red onions, avacodo, tomatoes( minus the samonella), lettuce, salsa with black bean chips. My Dad loves black beans. Followed by dessert of Margarita cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes take over the World. And a round of golf at Pitman Golf Course in Pitman NJ. Great weather, great food, great fun with the family could I ask for more.

I'm not sure exactly what this was but it said keep off- We called it the Graveyard! Happy Fathers Day!

My vegan treat- Homemade ice cream

I usually don't indulge in too many sweets but......Well I think i deserve this treat after a quite aweful week. Homemade caramel ice cream from the ice cream make with a caramel sauce that was just delicious. This is it in my bowl ready to be eaten. And boy was it delicious YUM! It brought a little smile to my face.

Here is the recipe for the Caramel Sauce
3/4 cup soy milk, rice milk, or other non-dairy milk of choice3/4 cup Sucanat1/3 cup maple syrup or brown rice syrup1 T. water1 T. arrowroot2 T. vegan margarine 1 t. vanilla

In a small saucepan, place the soy milk, Sucanat, and maple syrup, and whisk well to combine. Cook over medium heat, while whisking occasionally, for 3 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk together the water and arrowroot, and then whisk the mixture into the saucepan. Cook the mixture, while whisking constantly, an additional 2-3 minutes or until it thickens. Remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk in the remaining ingredients. Serve warm as a topping for cakes, desserts, non-dairy ice cream or sorbet, or as a dipping sauce for fruit. Store in an airtight container, in the refrigerator, and reheat as needed.
Yield: 1 1/2 cups

I left out the margarine to make it FAT FREE!

Vegan Treats

Vegan Treats in Bethlemhem has amazing looking Vegan desserts! Look at them. This segment was on FOX on friday. They serve their products at Govindas on South street. Gotta check it out.
http://www.myfoxphilly.com/myfox/pages/InsideFox/Detail?contentId=6713548&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=5.2.1

This is the other places you can find them.

Benna’s Café at the Corner of 8th and Wharton South Philadelphia, PA

The Cantina 1651 East Passyunk Ave Philadelphia, PA 19148 215-755-3550

Govinda’s Café 1408 South Street (at Broad Street) Philadelphia, PA 215-985-9303

Infusion Coffee and Tea Gallery 7133 Germantown Ave Philadelphia, PA 19144
215-248-1718 www.infusioncoffeeandtea.com

Infusion Coffee and Tea Gallery 1001 S. 10th Street Philadelphia, PA 19144
215-413-0504 https://www.ftsmail.com/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.infusioncoffeeandtea.com/

Last Drop Coffeehouse 1300 Pine Street Philadelphia, PA 19107 215-893-9262

Mariposa Co-Op 4726 Baltimore Ave Philadelphia, PA 19143
215-729-2121 https://www.ftsmail.com/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.mariposa.coop/

Milkboy Coffee 2 East Lancaster Ave Ardmore, PA 19003 610-645-5269 www.milkboycoffee.com

Mugshots Coffeehouse and Juicebar 2100 Fairmount Ave Philadelphia, PA 19130 267-514-7145

Mugshots Coffeehouse Manayunk 110 Cotton Street (Between Main and Cresson) Philadelphia, PA 19127 215-482-3964

New Harmony Chinese Vegetarian 135 North 9th Street Philadelphia, PA 19107 215-627-4520

Red Hook Coffee Shop 765 South 4th Street Philadelphia, PA 19176 215-923-0178

The Royal Tavern 937 East Passyunk Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19147 215-389-6694
www.royaltavern.com

Satellite Café 701 South 50th Street (and Baltimore) Philadelphia, PA 19101 215-222-2220

Vegan stars!

Show case of past and present vegans and vegetarians.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkhNN-SSlgs