USA 2015 Part 15: Honolulu and Home

Heavy sigh. It was a sad, sad time when I woke up at stupid o'clock, after only a few hours sleep, and had to say goodbye to Seattle. I had a quick snack of some So Delicious yoghurt and leftover Field Roast maple breakfast links and said a sad farewell to Helen and Zeno. Then it was off to the airport for my flight from Seattle to Honolulu. I was pretty tired, so I fell asleep almost straight away for a bit, then woke up hungry to crack into my stash. I started with the Wayward Breakfast Sandwich, which even without being heated was extremely yummy. I also got some fruit from the airline, and had a snack bar as well.



I napped a bit more, then had my Wayward TLT. This was OK, though seemed to be mostly wrap and almost no tomato.



I napped a bit more before we landed. I had to spend a night in Honolulu, so I caught a shuttle to my hotel (I was able to check in early, which was nice), and then hopped a bus straight to Downbeat Diner. If you are even in Honolulu this place is a must visit! Almost everything on the menu can be made vegan. I had the breakfast burger with curly fries, which was huge and delicious. I also had a banana milkshake. Unfortunately since I was here last year they must have changed their vegan ice cream to be a heavy coconut one, because I could tell from one sip that this had too much coconut fat for me. But I felt awkward about leaving it, so I drank most of it, and then felt kind of icky. I'm an idiot, but at least I was spared the awkwardness of leaving most of a milkshake... I guess? Next time I will skip the milkshake.





From there it was a bus down to Down To Earth, a great organic/natural food shop that has a lot of vegan goodies. Their range has increased since last year as well! Normally I stock up on vegan meats and cheeses here, then freeze them at the hotel overnight, pack them in an insulated bag and fly them home with me. This visit I got some Daiya, Field Roast, Follow Your Heart, and some Gimme Lean sausage so I can make some recipes from Cookin' Crunk. They have Uptons, Treeline and Heidi Ho and more there as well! It is also just down the road from Peace Foods, where I picked up some sandwiches for plane lunch the next day.

I originally had big plans to go out in the evening for more delicious food, but in truth I was fading fast so I picked up a few things while I was shopping to have at the hotel. To be honest I was so sleepy I could barely make it through the Spongebob movie that I started watching at 6.30pm. My room had a microwave, so I picked up an Amy's frozen meal while I was at Down To Earth, I had the vegan Meatloaf Dinner. The meatloaf itself was meh (though I had a little bit left the next morning and it was much better as a leftover), but the mash was so creamy and tasty and oddly kind of solid. Unfortunately the gravy just kind of evaporated a bit with heating.



I slept early and well, and woke up about 6am. Thankfully I was quite ravenous, as I wasn't able to eat as much as I had thought the night before and I was worried I was going to have to throw some food out. I started my day with the Soba Salad I had picked up from Peace Foods.



I had a couple of hours until I had to check out, so I took a walk down through a park and towards Waikiki. It is quite a beautiful setting, and there are also lots of beautiful birds.









Back at the hotel, I heated up a frozen grain and fruit breakfast bowl I had bought, which was really yummy, and ate my final So Delicious yoghurt of the trip (I love So Delicious yoghurt, but you cannot get it in Australia, vegan yoghurts in Australia suck).



Then it was off to the airport. During my brief stop over on the way to the US, I had grabbed a vegan pizza (no cheese) from the California Pizza Kitchen at the airport (if you remember that long ago), however I had noticed a couple of other options while I was there I was keen to explore. One of these was Umaizushi, a Japanese restaurant. If you are looking for it, it is kind of as you walk towards gates 11 to 6, just before you leave the main terminal and start walking down the side of the road (terrible instructions, sorry). It is NOT the Samurai sushi place in the middle of the airport, which seems to have nothing vegan. As far as I can tell, Umaizushi only has one vegan option (and I did check with the kitchen to make sure it was in fact vegan), but it is lovely (though pricey, airport food!). The Maui Veggie has cucumber, avocado, seaweed salad, pickled burdock, squash and asparagus and is wrapped in green soy paper. It was really nice.



Then it was on the plane for a 10 hour daytime journey home to Brisbane. It was hard to stay awake, because even though it was a day flight they turned off all the lights and made everyone shut their windows. Because of course if you are leaving at 1pm and getting into Brisbane at 7pm, a 10 hour sleep is just the right thing to not screw up your sleep cycles? Thankfully I was able to keep myself awake with free movies and lots of snacks. I had some McDougall Ginger Soy Noodles, BBQ texas primal strip and a couple of snack bars as my first meal. And then a bit later on I had the Hanoi Sandwich I had bought from Peace Foods - tofu, veggies, aioli and peanut sauce. Yum!



And then I was home, and then I was really home, and then I was hugging my kitties in my arms and everything was right with the world. I am happy to report that all my delicious goodies made it home with no issues (I didn't even have to declare anything). And that was the end of USA 2015. If you have read all of these, thank you for indulging me... I didn't realise it would turn into so many posts! I have really been making the effort to get them all up and published quickly, because VeganMoFo is just around the corner and it is time to get prepped for that. Are you doing it? It is going to be so much fun!

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Holidays are fun, and obviously being in Seattle is the most fun, but I always am kind of sad when I am away from my baby girls. Coming home to them makes my heart so happy! Even if the rest of me wishes I could still be in Seattle. Home is always where my cats are.

USA 2015 Part 14: Sleepless in Seattle

Normally I am an early to bed, early to rise kind of person. Though during this trip I often became a late to bed but still early to rise person. Certainly Seattle was keeping me pretty busy late into the night with fun times! And so it was on my final Seattle day. I had decided my last day in Seattle would be my tourist day. This Seattle trip was great because I got to do a lot of things that you might not think about doing in Seattle, but I still love Seattle's cheesy tourist heart. And in Seattle, that means Pike Place Markets.



One of my favourite Seattle rituals is to pick up breakfast from Cinnamon Works and eat in in a small park (Victor Steinbrueck Park if you are looking for it) overlooking the water (and the viaduct, but you can ignore that). ]Cinnamon Works has several vegan options, including cinnamon buns that have way too much icing for my tastes, so I got a delicious banana chocolate chip muffin and a cinnamon chai, as well as a plum I picked up from one of the fruit stalls in the markets. It was a clear, sunny morning, and the view was beautiful. Mount Rainier was visible but a little hazy, like a pretty painting.









After breakfast I took a walk and explore through the markets. To be honest I know most of it by now, but I still love looking at all the beautiful fruit and vegetables, poking around the arcade (a visit to Golden Age Collectables is a must for a geek like me), and the peonies... oh the wonderful peonies! They are my favourite flower, and I am always in Seattle in peony season.





A new stall I found was Marnin Saylor, who sells super cute little handmade plush critters (all non-animal materials), the most famous of which is their Donut Cat (though they also had Eclair Bears there as well). I couldn't resist picking up a super adorable Maple Mini Donut Cat to come with me on my travels.



I also stopped by Britt's Pickles to try one of their famous (and free) pickle brine shots (it is delicious). I was sad I couldn't buy any of their pickles because jarred pickles do not mix well with an international flight the next day. But they sell pickles individually on a stick, so I was able to munch on one as I wandered around.



For the first time in four visits, I also stumbled across the famous gum wall. To be honest I hadn't looked that hard for it in previous visits because I thought it sounded pretty gross. Guess what, it is pretty gross.



The markets get crowded, so a peaceful walk down to the Olympic Sculpture Park seemed in order. I've walked through the park a few times on previous visits, so this time I just stopped at the top for a little rest, some free wifi and to take in the beautiful view before walking up to the Seattle Center.



Obligatory Space Needle shot!



One block behind the Seattle Center is Bamboo Garden, one of the best vegetarian Chinese restaurants ever. This was actually the first place I ate at on my first trip to Seattle in 2011. Pretty much everything is vegan, except for the fortune cookies they hand out with the bill. If you go at lunch, they have huge lunch combination platters that you must order. I ordered Lunch Combination A, which came with soup, a fried potsticker, vegetable chow mein, steamed rice and stir-fried chicken and broccoli. You can pick hot and sour or corn chowder as your soup. I picked hot and sour but it was sad, too much hot, almost no sour. And then I remembered that I had had this soup here before so I already knew not to get it! Oh well, next time it will be the chowder, which is very yummy.



The Seattle Center is home to Plum Pantry, so I stopped in there to have a refreshing drink. I ordered the Wild Yam Juice, which is something that has intrigued me for years. It is orange, yam and carrot juice. It was lovely and cool and sweet, just right!



My original plan had been to go to the U District and pick up some Pizza Pi for dinner, as well as some sandwiches for my flight tomorrow from Vegan Haven. However then I realised it is Monday and Pizza Pi is closed on Monday! Instead I caught a bus to Central Co-op in Capitol Hill, which has a good range of vegan goodies and also stocks sandwiches from Wayward. I was able to pick up a nice little collection for plane snacks the next day.



From there I was able to walk to In The Bowl, a great Thai restaurant. I ordered the Pad See Ew with Fried Tofu and Stir-Fried Vegetables with Fresh Tofu. Originally I ordered the latter with veggie chicken, but thankfully remembered just in time that their veggie chicken has egg in it. Luckily they hadn't made it yet so were able to change it to tofu. Phew! I took these back to Helen's for an early dinner at home. The Pad See Ew was delicious, great sauce and chewy noodles and an excellent noodle to veggie/tofu ratio. The stir-fried had a fun mix of broccoli, pineapple and cashews in a brown sauce. It was all very nice.





After dinner we went to a birthday party for one of Helen's friends, which ended up in a late night karaoke bar. I would have loved to sing a Kylie song (they had a surprisingly large collection available), but I am far too shy and anxious to sing in front of people! For the party Helen had made this beautiful cake. So pretty!



It was a late night, I didn't get to sleep until after 1am and I had a very early start the next day to begin my long trip home. Only one more USA trip posts to go! I know that this post had a lot of Seattle photos in it compared to food photos, but I just love Seattle so much! It is honestly my home away from home. At least for the next 50 years or so until it is completely destroyed in a catastrophic earthquake.

Have you been to Seattle? Did you love it? Do you have a favourite city that you just feel instantly at home in?

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



I am so thankful that during my time in Seattle I was able to have some good kitty times, especially with handsome Zeno. Cats are my number one requirement for life (followed by food, oxygen, then water at the end), and I often struggle when I am travelling. Of course my own cats are my number one number one! Zeno was very generous with his hugs and purrs, even though I helped Helen out by giving him some yucky medication (if you have a cat vet as a guest, make the most of it!). Love you Zeno!

USA 2015 Part 13: Seattle Sunshine

For most of my trip to the US, it was pretty warm and sunny. And Seattle was no exception. I was actually hoping that when I got to Seattle it would be a bit cooler and cloudier, because as a very fair-skinned red-head hot and sunny days mean wearing fully covered clothing (including socks), slathering on sunscreen every 2 hours and carrying my trusty UV repelling umbrella. However the sun and warmth were out in full force!

I woke up early on Saturday, after some serious Zeno snuggle time, and took myself off for an early breakfast at a newish cafe that had opened near Helen's place, 701 Coffee, that has many vegan options. I opted for a Strawberries & Cream Smoothie and a Mighty-O cinnamon sugar doughnut. People who know me know that I am all about the cinnamon sugar doughnut wherever I go.



A bit later, we drove down to Georgetown to explore the Georgetown Festival. And also to go to Georgetown Liquor Company for brunch. I had some the very yummy Benedict, which came with a side of fruit, but I also added a side of potatoes. Because potatoes! It was very yummy. It was quite dark in GLC, so the photos are a bit moody.



Helen had a Bloody Mary (which she decorated herself at the Bloody Mary bar) and a breakfast sandwich with a side of salad, and Clayton had the the breakfast burrito.







Then we emerged out into the sunshine to explore the festival. We saw the stalls at the festival, viewed some power tool races (that didn't seem entirely safe), poked around the cool little shops at the Trailer Park Mall, had a turn at giant Jenga, saw some pirates, did some antiquing, played Jurassic Park Lost World pinball at Flip Flip Ding Ding (turns out I am terrible at pinball, Helen is pretty awesome, they also have vegan sandwiches there), visited an interactive art exhibit made up of discarded items, saw some circus performers and went antiquing. There was a lot going on!







It was pretty warm, so to cool down we got ice cream sandwiches from Cookie Counter, which was at the festival. They rotate through different flavours each day, though I went with the same as the day before. Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cherry. Yes! As we were walking around with these beauties we had so many people ask us where we got them. This was also one of the most popular photos I ever posted in my Instagram. People love ice cream sandwiches!



After the fair they took me to see a cute park that has a giant cowboy hat and giant cowboy boots. You would think you would find this in Austin, not tucked away in Seattle! Unfortunately the boots were locked, so we couldn't play inside and go up the top. The grass was lovely and cool in the shade!



We visited the West Seattle location of Chaco Canyon Cafe. Originally I thought I would get something to eat, but I was so hot and kind of headachy that I ended up just getting a refreshing Peachy Keen Smoothie, which was just peaces, banana and hemp milk. It was so rich and creamy and thick. You can see Helen's veggie juice in the background.



Then we went to roller derby! The Ranier Roller Girls were having their final bout of the season, and we had heard that they had a vegan bake sale there. I had never been to roller derby, but was very keen to see it, and Helen has friends who would be there, so it seemed like a good time. Unfortunately when we got there the bake sale was not vegan at all... there was no Mighty-O as had been suggested... I think maybe some of the cookies may have been vegan from Chaco Canyon, but the person doing the stall had no idea. So that was disappointing. However the roller derby was fun, if a little violent. There were a few injuries! Afterwards we skipped the after party and went to dinner at the nearby Shadowland for their famous vegan burger. It has two Field Roast patties! I surprised myself by demolishing the entire thing, including the fries on the side. So yummy.



On Sunday morning I took Helen for thank you brunch at Plum Bistro. They have a good chai there! I sampled both the regular and the decaf rooibos.



I was very tempted to continue my benedict theme, however I was not in a seitan mood, and the Veggie Slam with cheesy potatoes, roasted portobellos, spinach and asparagus and an English muffin seemed like just the thing. It came with a pesto sauce, which was very oily. Much better for dipping bread in than for pouring over. However I also got a side of the avocado hollondaise that normally came with the benedict, and that was excellent for dousing everything!



Helen had the Butternut and Fennel Scramble, which came with toast and an apple sage sausage.



We split up so that I could go back to Wholefoods and pick up my beloved Herbivore hoodie, which was safe and sound. Thank you Wholefoods South Lake Union! I also used some of the coupons I had from my VVC swag bag to get some free/discounted goodies. Then it was back to Helen's for a fairly low key afternoon. We tried a tin of Toona that came with our swag bags and it was awful. But we had some leftover cheese to cleanse the palate. For dinner we walked to Moonlight Cafe, which I had heard a lot about from Anika. We got Anika's recommendation of the Lemongrass Tofu Vermicelli, which was so amazingly great, as well as a very tasty gluten, cashew and vegetable stir-fry.





After dinner we went to Smash Putt, which is now closed, for hilarious post-apocalyptic mini-golf. Then it was back to Helen's for a vegan ice cream and cheese party. This was my first time trying So Delicious cashew ice cream and Oh. My. God. I could have inhaled the entire tub. So good! Sadly I was pretty underwhelmed with the Heidi Ho chia cheese. I had loved their chevre at VVC, but I just couldn't really get behind the flavour of this. Turns out it has capiscum in it and I found it quite pronounced. Thankfully I had picked this up for free with a coupon.



Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



This glorious little pudding basking in the sun's rays is Chloe, who is Helen's housemate's cat. She is a little shy, but super sweet, with a teeny tiny little voice. And she loves her dad more than anyone in the world.