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.