Tofu Tacos, Around The Community, Wegman's Vegan Finds, Nepal Tea

While I am still catching up on blogging and posting pics from my everyday life - here are some other things that have been sitting in my TO BE POSTED File.  First up, is my meal from Mad Mex in Erie.  They have some really wonderful vegan options.  This time around I decided to try something I haven't tried yet which was this plate of Tofu Tacos!  As you can see they were soft tacos with lots of sprouts, vegan sour cream, guac, rice, black beans and it was all sorts of YUM!  That was for my Birthday Dinner back in the middle of March.

March was also Women's History Month and our local library has a very creative and involved staff.  They had a nice display of Women's books and Authors.  They even did little bookmarks and such!  Really nice!

Another thing taking place at our local library last month was the Youth Art display in their gallery!  Here is just one of the pics I took of the walls.

Oddly, March was a REALLY BUSY month!  Yet another thing I participated in was an evening at the Library where we could speak with 3 electronic voting machine vendors to see which ones our county wants to go with moving forward.  It was open house style and you could come and go.  Some people stayed for a few minutes or up to an hour - but I found myself returning to each vendor with more and more questions and I think I was there nearly the whole time (2 or 3 hours).  I was there on behalf of our local League of Women Voters.

In this photo, you will see a really old staircase and wallpapered ceilings.  This was part of a tour I took in our community.  It's a historic home that was purchased by a non-profit that houses women who were just released from prison.  It helps them get back on their feet, find work, find housing, and rehabilitate.  A few of us are trying for some grant money for a Day of Hope we would like to do.

Another community event I attended last month, was our historical society's annual meeting.  It took place in our county courthouse.  This is a photo of the main courtroom.  What's significant about this courtroom is that it's the first (and maybe the only) courtroom where a sitting judge was shot and killed.  That took place in 1954.  The wood is still present and you can see where one of the bullets grazed it and I believe the other bullet might still be in the wood to the right (not shown).  But during this specific community event and annual meeting a speaker talked about a local home that he purchased.  Because it was the recipient of a Pennsylvania Historical Marker he told us what he could and could not do with the property and showed LOTS of photos of the house and land.  I found it very interesting because it's not even a mile from my parents house.  

Here is a tea sampler set I recently received from Nepal Tea and I will be writing reviews over at Sororitea Sisters in the coming months!

A while back I grabbed some Vegan Tofu Ravioli at Wegman's.  It seems like it's been forever since I have tried anything from Soy Boy which is a company in Syracuse, NY.

Another item I found that day was these Oatmeal Raisin Cookies from Cybele's.  I have to say I had not seen them anywhere up until this point.  They were darn tasty!

And...behold...I finally got my hands on the JUST Cookie Dough.  OMG!  I'm eating it right out of the container.  Forget MAKING cookies!  

A Few Days Off, MWM, Inductees

I took a few days off from work!  I needed it!  I was getting burned out!  Hubby and I were able to spend some time on the road with our Abarth!  I slacked on photos except for when it came to Monday when we went to Cleveland.  More on that later in this post and a near future post.

We were able to visit Mad Mex in Erie on the way home and I opted for the Veggie Enchilada which was easily veganized by asking for vegan cheese and sour cream!  It was so YUMMY but not photo friendly so sorry for teasing you!  Here's a snapshot of the guacamole, tho!  I'm LOVING the GREEN theme in this photo!  I want those green plates, too!  'Just sayin".

While in Erie we stopped by the Whole Foods Co-Op.  It's been a while since my last visit.  And I had to restrain myself because I didn't want to spend a lot of money this trip.  I was very pleased with the visit because they are consistently upgrading EVERYTHING in the store!  I'm so happy they are doing so well!  I know someone who is reading this who used to live in Erie and who's cat loves Daiya would be thrilled to see the upgrades!  (hint, hint!)

I'm also happy to see so many new products there!  I grabbed Daiya Slices because they were $1.20 cheaper than Chao Slices.  I still haven't seen the Daiya Gouda and it's driving me CRAZY!  Since finding the last Jackfruit product I posted about I am compelled to buy additional Jackfruit products when I see them.  They had a growing Upton Naturals section and I decided to grab the Jackfruit BBQ.  I noticed Victoria Vegan has new labels and new offerings, too!  When I saw they have an Alfredo Artichoke I couldn't resist! That was my splurge as VV is quite expensive.  You can see the Earth Balance in the right hand corner, too!  Hubby has now converted to EB.  He really likes it!  No...is isn't veg and he never will be but EB he actually likes.  So now it's the only 'butter' found in our (mixed diet) frig.  The Whole Foods Co-Op is the only place I'm able to actually pick up issues of VegNews, too, so I jumped on it.
One of these days I will actually subscribe!  Of course I have been saying that for YEARS!

Here is my first MWM Post of the Week!  Remember to keep reading and link up below to participate!  You can link up as much as you want thru Tuesday!  It can be anything VEGAN...product reviews, grocery store visits, online purchases, produce stands and farmers market hauls, recipes, etc!  LINK UP at the bottom of this post!

I won't post photos in this post from our Monday trip to the RnR HoF but it will be very soon!

YUP!  We dropped by the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame!  Just days before this years induction.  They were getting ready for the festivities!  More on that in a future post!



It's LINK UP Time!!!!  We would LOVE for you to join us during this week's MWM (MidWeek Munchies!)

An InLinkz Link-up

Past Happy Mail, Local Eats with Vegan Options, Paco Update

Hello everyone!  Thanks for all of the kind words, thoughts, emails, notes on Instagram, etc...I appreciate it!  I have so much to share with everyone but so little time! 

I hope to be doing updates more this week to try and catch up!  I have lots of products to share with you - I have reviews I need to catch up on - I have lots of articles and recipes to cross promote and link to over at TRFW and much, MUCH More!  In the meantime...here's a sneak peak at some of the things that have been exciting me lately!  My shipment from last month, actually!


In this first photo you can see Sun Warrior Immune Shield, a new Skin Brush, salted Sacha Inchi Seeds, Kelp Noodles, Shea Butter, and Nutritional Yeast.  Yup!  Had to stock up on some nutritional yeast...I was getting low.  I did get the Kelp Noodles but because of the horribly cold winter weather we have had for MONTHS now they froze.  I contacted the lovely customer service people over at TRFW and they said they could send me another one or credit my account because Kelp Noodles change texture if frozen.  I thought that was pretty amazing that they offered to do that - I mean - it wasn't their fault they froze,  you know?  It's not like THEY control the weather! LOL - but I thought that was wonderful!  I decided to opt for the credit and will re-order in the more fair weathered months since it's still really cold here.

In this photo you will see I stocked up on some snacks!  I couldn't resist!  The prices were awesome when I ordered them!  Plus I LOVE Foods Alive products!  I got two of their Flax Crackers.  I also grabbed a pound of cashews, a few salad boosters, some raisins, pro-biotic almonds, Organic Cayenne Powder, and some Khorasan Wheatgrass Juice Powder (Kamut).

I have to say all of the powders that I have been getting from TRFW have been AMAZINGLY fresh!  The colors and aromas are so VERY vibrant!

I've still been building my Raw/Living Foods and Vegan cookbook area in my house and this was one of the books I grabbed with my last order. 

I have a slew more on order again and hope to get them before the end of this week.  I'm also visiting my local library again since it has been a while.  If anyone is on GoodReads let me know - I have been posting on that app for a while now, too!

Have you gotten any new books as of late?  I'd love to hear about them! 

A couple of weekends ago Hubby and I went to our new favorite place in Erie...Mad Mex...mainly because there are a lot of vegan options there for me!  Here is what I had...it's the Chickpea Chili Burrito.  You can opt for the Daiya Cheese and Tofutti Sour Cream like I did.  We also got a few of their amazing dips!  2 out of the 3 of them were vegan.  Now hubby wants me to try and make Pepita Hummus and Tomatillo Avocado Dip...and I hope to do that soon!  I'm already trying to come up with a few other things I want to try at this place the next time we go!  They have 'home made' vegan salad dressings, too, including a RANCH.

Now...this past weekend we visited a local gem of a place that has been around for decades - and generations!  My husband loves it - always have - of course - he's no where near being a vegetarian - so yes - we are a mixed diet household - anyhow - they had a special salad for March - and I had them do it without what ever meat they had on the menu.  They came up with this for me and it was FABULOUS!  I asked them to add it to their menu full time!  Not sure if they will but it was great!  It was iceberg lettuce and mixed greens, pineapple, green peppers, tomatoes, almonds, roasted coconut, and I choose the grape balsamic dressing made with local grapes!  It was WONDERFUL!

Now for a quick PACO update!

His ITP has been under control for at least 3 months while he's been on a LOT of medication.  While I hate putting all the pills in his body - it's what he needs to stay 'normal' - we tried to take him to a lower dosage with the approval of our vet - he ended up relapsing - so she told us we had to get back on the dosages he was on prior to trying to take him down.  It seems to be working, so that is good.

However, it's been about a week and he had an unrelated issue...he basically threw his kneecap out of place.  This has happened once before about 3 years ago.  But this time was pretty bad.  He's been trying to 'walk it off' and has found some work arounds.  The first two days was rough but he's been getting better since then.  The vet told us she didn't think he was in pain - and she thought he just noticed a 'difference' or it felt 'weird' and it was something that he would have to work out himself.  He hasn't been acting like it's been bothering him but he will pull up on it every once and a while...I think he's trying to pop it back in. All-in-All he's been doing fairly well with it and we do have pain pills but he's only really needed one on that first day.  I hope to have more posts very soon!  There are LOTS of things going on!  It's been CRAZY in my whole lately! How about you!?

Hiatus OVER! Vegan Options at Mad Mex & Trip Planning!

Well...long time...no write, eh!?  It's been a MONTH!?  OMG!  Sorry folks!  LOTS has been happening - so much that I can only share bits at a time.  First off...I have switched or should I say added on more tasks at work.  I'm now in sale in addition to many of my other 'jobs' there.  It's been good so far which makes me smile because the first quarter is the hardest so I am optimistic!

Then last weekend hubby and I went to Mad Mex in Erie and I was told by my brother in law that they had vegetarian options but I was almost overwhelmed by HOW MANY they had and vegan, too!  Woot!  Let's just say this is my new favorite place and I can't wait to go back!  I opted for the Angry Hippie Burrito! Yes!!!!  They have Tofutti Sour Cream and Daiya Cheese to make nearly anything vegan!  DOUBLE YAY!  I don't know why I didn't get a pic of the actual plate but the burrito was HUGE - it was the biggest one I have ever seen, actually!

But the food was just part of the experience!  I just LOVED the atmosphere!  The colors were rich and dark with brighter yellow accents!  The lighting was amazing!  The art work was on the verge of grunge but was totally rockin' it all over the place!  The tin and metal lighting and art was throughout the place as well!  I posted more pics on my instagram if you are interested in more!

I completely fell in love with this place!

Here was one of the lights!  Very cool!

Well, since I am writing this blog post in a hurry and from a 2nd account I will get right to the next part of my post!

I have been writing all along - while I was away!  I have been writing more and more for The Raw Food World News Site more specifically their Recipe Section!  It's been FUN!

Then...Matt has been doing live hang outs on Tuesday Nights so I have been trying to attend those as well!  I've been learning a lot from them!

I should be getting my next shipment next Tuesday so I will be sure to take pics of what I got!  Lots of cool stuff!

I've also been shopping in preparation to our trip for The Breakers that is rapidly approaching!  We will be going in March!

The more I learn about the place the more I feel as tho I will be out of my comfort zone...I mean...I'm NOT a girlie-girl!

So this is one of the outfits I grabbed recently!  I ended up getting a few more and the red/black dress (not pictured) I ended up really liking!  More on that down the road!

I plan on catching up on blog commenting over the next week!  I have missed you all terribly!  Please drop me a note - can't wait to hear from you!

Happy Weekend!