New Growth...Buffalo Style

This past weekend in Buffalo, NY set some record temperatures
The stats for May 20th (according to weather underground) are:Temp. (°F) high avg low
 May 20th    89    74    59

The high on Sunday was 89 degrees, so we broke the existing record and set a new one!
People were out and about. I saw countless kayaks strapped atop car roofs, people were riding their bikes like there was no tomorrow, and I even saw some pools being opened for the season (before Memorial day!)
Jon and I decided to get outside and play, too. We went to Buffalo's Outer Harbor and took our bikes.

This part of town used to be extremely busy and productive in its true hay day (roughly the late 1800s - early 1900s.) The Outer Harbor was a series of slips where boats and ships would dock to unload their goods, to then be loaded onto rail cars that waited near the shore. The trains would then take these goods all across the country.

There were factories and mills set up all along the water to take in the raw materials as soon as they came off the boats.

                                     Source: http://wnyheritagepress.org/index.htm

The Canadian Pool Elevator (pictured above) was a factory that took in grains from ships, sorted and transported it by rail to all parts of the country.
According to wnyheritagepress.org, the Canadian Pool Elevator "was constructed by a co-operative of Canadian farmers whose goal was the achieve fair prices for their grain." This factory did very well - "in May 1926 it set a record by unloading 372,000 bushels in eleven hours while simultaneously loading 164,000 bushels into rail cars (the 4 tracks seen above)."

Here's the same building as I saw it on May 20, 2012:

This building has long been out of commission, but the history behind it is amazing. It basically became obsolete once the St. Lawrence Seaway was opened for commercial transport. Products could be taken to their direct locations instead of having to be brought to Buffalo . . . and that was the beginning of our demise. Soon after companies stopped shipping to Buffalo, factories and mills struggled, people lost their jobs, and times got tough.

Nowadays, however, the city has been working to restore and preserve these historic treasures and the areas where they were placed.

They're making bike paths, nature preserves, they're cleaning up the beaches and making it a clean, safe place to take your family or a date for a nice walk by the water side.

I can see the Outer Harbor becoming really popular once word gets out. It's just minutes away from the heart of the city.

There is even a little restaurant on the water - Dug's Dive.

It was a pretty modest place with a few creepy nautical decorations...

I got their house-made veggie burger, Jon got the Fresh Haddock sandwich, and we both got a side-order of their sweet potato fries. The portions were plentiful and we went home stuffed (sorry, no pictures, we were famished and completely forgot.)

I'm looking forward to spending more time down here this summer...if you're in the area, I recommend you check it out, too!

Spring-Fresh Veggie And Bocca Stir-Fry

Things around here lately have been very spring-like.

The sun has been shining bright and Jon and I have been taking advantage of the warm weather. We visited Buffalo's Delaware park and also, Williamsville's Glenn Falls Park this past weekend.

Paging through National Geographic, people watching, picture taking, and cat naps are a great way to waste away time on a lazy weekend afternoon. We saw a wedding party taking photos, people fishing and riding ATVs in the park (and then getting kicked out), screaming children, and lot and lots of people walking dogs (*sigh* someday I'll have my own dog).

I've also been getting better and I'm slowly making my way back to normal health. Yesterday, I ran 5 miles in 44 minutes before work, and then went to a concert that night!

Jon and I went to see one of my favorite bands, Beats Antique.

They're a funky band that originated making mostly tribal (yet melodic) instrumental belly dance music. More recently, though, they've been delving into the world of electronic music and mixing their traditional sound with synthesized tones and beats.

I still love them just the same, even though their music not as raw and traditional as it was when they first started. In fact, I really dig this new direction in which they're headed.  If a band doesn't experiment with their style/sound, I can't see how they would grow and continue to be inspiring.

The thing that really drew me to this band was Zoe Jakes.

She is one of the best tribal belly dancers I've ever seen. Her style is earthy and gritty...not polished and flashy like traditional belly dance. She moves LIKE music, not WITH the music (if that makes sense; I just got poetic about it). It's been a while since I last belly danced, but I aspire to move like her someday.

Maybe with a healthy stir-fry dinner I can find some energy to train for my half marathon AND practice my long-missed belly dance hobby. . .

Spring-Fresh Veggie And Bocca Stir-Fry
You'll need:
1 C dry whole wheat quinoa
2 C water
1 t garlic powder
1 t onion powder
dash of salt and pepper

1 yellow bell pepper (chopped)
1/2 C mukimame
1/2 C sugar snap peas
1/2 C mushrooms
1 roma tomato (chopped)
3 T chopped sweet onion
2 bocca burgers (optional)
1-2 T olive oil
1-2 T teriyaki sauce

To make:
1. In a sauce pan, combine water with spices. Stir in quinoa.
2. Bring water/quinoa mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and let cook (covered) for about 12-18 minutes. When finished, water will be gone and quinoa will be light and fluffy. Set aside.
3. In a high-sided pan (I use a mock wok-type pan), heat olive oil and saute onion on medium heat.
4. Add all veggies and saute to desired texture (still slightly crunchy, cooked until soft, or basically mush)
5. Cook 2 bocca burgers in the microwave for 2 minutes. Chop into bite-sized bits and add to veggies.
6. Add the teriyaki sauce and stir to combine.
7. Scoop quinoa into a bowl and add the stir-fry on top.

This is a super easy, super fast week night dish. It's light, yet filling and combines a lot of great flavors.

Finally Moving

Welp, last time I posted, little did I know I was on my way down a steep slope of sickness.

For the past week I've been a feverish, snot producing, nose blowing, never-ending cough machine. Yes, lovely, I know. I tried to stay hydrated and eat as many healthy foods as I could, but with my throat being so painfully raw, all I managed to eat was mostly bananas, soup, and Bocca burgers (i.e., anything that could be easily chewed into mush).

I was doing pretty well until Sunday. I even mustered up enough energy to go for a walk in the park with Jon. It was such a nice day, I couldn't pass it up.

The sunshine was great, however after about 2 hours of being outside, I had to sit and gather myself. We went back in the car and I knew we had to go home. I was so exhausted and feeling just terrible. When we got home, I crawled in bed and slept for 3 hours.

Come Monday, I was not healed. That vicious cold virus led into an ear infection. Currently, I cannot hear too well out of my left ear, my ears are constantly ringing, but I have some antibiotics to help.

Needless to say, I was a lump for the past week. I did not cook, I did not train - I slept, medicated, and watched too much TV. Oh well, you have to deal with the things you cannot control and hope for the best. I hope to get back on the treadmill tomorrow morning before work for a few miles.The half marathon is at the end of this month!!! I have to get back on track with my training and make up for my lost time.

Today is the first day I feel half way back to human (cough is subsiding, sniffles have just about vanished), and what luck, I got to bake today, too! Tomorrow is a co-worker's last day, so we're throwing her a farewell breakfast bash.

I volunteered to make . . .

Carrot Cake Breakfast Bites
You'll need:
1 C gluten free flour
1/2 rolled oats
1/2 unsweetened coconut
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
Dash ground clove
1/2 C chopped walnuts
1 C shredded carrots (about 4 medium carrots)
1/2 C raisins (soaked for about an hour)
1/2 C coconut oil (softened in microwave for about 30 seconds)
1/2 C maple syrup
1 t vanilla extract

To make:
1. Preheat oven to 350' and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper
2. In a large bowl combine flour, oats, coconut, baking powder, salt and spices.
3. Add in walnuts and raisins. Stir.
4. In a small bowl, combine softened coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla and carrots. Add mixture to the large bowl of dry ingredients and combine until thoroughly mixed.
5. Roll dough into tablespoon-sized balls and place on to lined cookie sheet.
6. Bake for about 13 minutes. Let cool before removing from sheet.

The cookies are soft, sweet, and very easy to eat...for breakfast! They have a healthy serving of vitamin A, vitamin C, and fiber from the carrots. They're a slow-release carbohydrate (from the oats) which provide a steady source of energy, contain omega-3s, protein, and fiber from the walnuts, and have healthy sugars to satisfy a morning sweet tooth. So go ahead and have one or two to get you through your morning.

Vegan French Toast

So, last I left you, the arches of my feet were starting to hurt badly because I was logging in about 20 miles a week and doing it in trail shoes. Silly girl.

I went to Dick's Sporting Goods and got myself a pair of Asics gel-1170 running shoes. They were written up in Runner's World magazine as being one of the best sneakers for marathons and long training runs.

I tried them out last weekend.

Boy, these babies were great! I could definitely feel a major difference in the arch support when I ran. The rubber on the soles are soft and help with the bounce back after striking the treadmill. The top of the toe and sides of the shoe are very breathable and keep my feel cool, but there is still enough padding in the back by the ankle to keep stability and support.

These were,in my opinion, a great buy and I'd recommend them to any runner looking for a new pair of stability running shoes. I've already logged about 15-20 miles in them since last Friday!

In other news. . .

it snowed this week.

It's almost May.

Just when Buffalo thought it was well on it's way to spring, this happened:

"Issued by The National Weather Service Buffalo, NY 3:53 pm EDT, Sun., Apr. 22, 2012 ... WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING "

Well great. All the buds have sprouted, the animals are making their new homes for the summer, and now the snow is going to come by for one more visit. Oh, well,make the best of it and cook something warm and comforting, right?

How about vegan french toast....perfect.

Vegan French Toast
You'll need:
3-4 slices of whole wheat bread
1/3 C unsweetened almond milk
1 med. banana (preferably ripe)
3 T canola oil
2 t honey
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 t cinnamon
1/16 t nutmeg
1/16 t clove

To make:
1. Mash banana in bowl until smooth
2. Add the almond milk and stir until combined.
3. Add the vanilla, honey, and spices until combined.
4. Soak bread slices individually in mixture for 30 seconds on each side
5. While bread is soaking, heat a small frying pan on the stove at low-medium heat. Once pan is hot, add 1T of the oil and place one piece of saturated bread in the pan.
6. Let bread cook on the one side until you can see the bottom edges are getting golden brown; flip and let brown.
7. Repeat the 1T oil, cook bread sequence until all slices have been used. It is best to cook them one piece at a time because they don't take that long to cook and it's easier to keep an eye on them.

The result was a soft, spongy, spicy, sweet french toast! I was very pleased with the texture - it was just like the real thing. This recipe is a great healthier alternative to a traditional recipe...and if you don't have any more eggs in the house!

What  is your favorite cold-weather breakfast? Has Spring sprung where you are?

Low Fat Banana Maple Oatmeal Cookies

Weekends have been my sanctuary lately.

They've been my crunch-time fun time without a moment to lose. . .

 . . .filled with good company. . .

(Me and my family)

(Me and Jon)

. . .fun adventures . . .

Maple sap collecting in a deer skin pouch at Wolf Maple for Maple Weekend In Western NY

Maple glazed pop corn!

Cows munching on some dinner . . .yum, green tongue.

Jon and I visited Wolf Maple in Middleport, NY for Maple weekend. They had a bluegrass band (which was awesome), a variety of maple treats (including some super tasty soft serve maple ice cream), tours of their maple tree taps, and a bunch of very nice and knowledgeable sap collectors.

We learned about how the trees produce different grades of sap throughout the year (light, amber, medium, and dark), and how much weather factors into the production of good maple sap. The tour guide even let us put our finger under the tap to taste the sap dripping out of the tree. It was watery and slightly sweet!

We visited their gift shop and were surrounded by a plethora of maple flavored/inspired treats. I like to buy locally and support the people who work through a family business, so I picked up a couple items. I bought a ketchup bottle looking container of pure, homemade maple syrup for only $11. It was light in grade, but it was all natural and would have cost a small fortune in my local co-op.

I knew just what to make with my newly purchased maple. . .cookies!

With some help from the Fat Free Vegan Kitchen, I created these:

Banana-Maple Oatmeal Cookies (Gluten free, too!)

You'll need:

1 T ground flaxseed

2 tablespoons water

1 cup rolledolled oats

1 cup gluten free flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup raisins (I used golden raisins)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 banana, mashed

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice To make: 1. Preheat the oven to 375. 2. In a small mixing bowl, combine the ground flaxseed with the water and set aside. 3. Mix the oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a separate medium mixing bowl. Add the raisins. 4. Add the maple syrup, vanilla, mashed banana, and lemon juice to the flax mixture and combine well. Pour into the dry mixture and stir well. 5. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto a baking sheet lined parchment paper. 6. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until bottoms and sides are lightly brown.

These cookies were soft and chewy. They were slightly sweet, but the raisins gave each bite a nice burst of sugar here and there. Also, they are gluten free and virtually fat free so, no guilt! :)

How do you spend your weekends - catching up on chores or making up for lost fun time?
Do you have a favorite maple recipe?

Bright, Bright Sunshiny Day

So, as I briefly mentioned in my last post, Jon and I have booked a trip to San Fransicso, California! We'll be taking a few guided tours during our visit (a morning city tour, a tour through Muir Woods and into Wine Counrty for some wine tasting, and then finally to Yosemite for the day), but we also have a couple days free to do as we please!










This will be our very first time visiting the West coast and seeing the Pacific Ocean. We have a lot of research to do about the city still, but if anyone knows anything cool about San Fransisco, please feel free to share! We're interested in vegan/vegetarian restaurants, old pubs, 60s era hot spots and any little interesting city ditties that are out of the ordinary and not typical for a tourist to do.

To continue with the sunshine theme, here in Buffalo today, we felt a hint of spring! The sun was bright, the skies were blue . . .everyone and their dog was outside (and if we had a dog, he'd be outside, too!) A trip to the park was in order.

We saw waterfalls,

some of the season's first green,

sat on natural stump-chairs and pondered the meaning of life,

. . .and just acted silly in the sunshine.

It was wonderful to be outside.

So, to follow the sunshine theme, I'll give you a bright and happy dessert I experimented with a few weekends ago:

Sweet Peach Upside Down Cake

You'll need:

(for the peach layer)

2 cans of sliced peaches (or 4-5 whole, ripe peaches)

1/2 C white sugar

2 T Earth Balance

(for the cake)

1/2 C almond milk

1 t balsamic vinegar

1 C unbleached all-purpose flour

1 t cinnamon

3/4 C white sugar

3/4 t baking powder

1/2 t baking soda

1/4t salt

2 T canola oil

1/2 C + 4 T applesauce

1 t vanilla extract

To make:

1. Set your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

2. Melt the Earth Balance and evenly spread it onto the bottom of a standard pie dish

3. Evenly sprinkle the first measurement of white sugar (1/2 C) onto the bottom of the pie dish.

4. Lay your sliced peaches in a circular pattern around the bottom of the dish. Make sure you cover as much of the bottom as possible. Set pie dish aside.

4. In a small bowl, combine the almond milk and the balsamic vinegar. Stir together and set aside to curdle for about 5 minutes.

5. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, 2nd measurement of white sugar (3/4 C),  baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

6. In a smaller mixing bowl, combine the canola oil, applesauce, vanilla extract, and 2 T of the curdled milk mixture. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients in the large mixing bowl. Stir.

7. Add the 1/2 C applesauce to the remaining curdled almond milk, stir to combine,and add this to the rest of the ingredients in the large mixing bowl.

8. Stir all cake ingredients until combined and pour batter evenly over the peaches in the pie dish.

9. Bake for about 40 minutes - or until a tooth pick comes clean from the center of the cake.

10. When cake is cooked, take from oven and let cool completely. Once cooled, keep in the fridge until ready to serve.

11. When ready to remove cake from pie pan, put your serving dish face down on the pan, hold onto sides of dish and pie dish,and CAREFULLY flip in one motion. The cake should flip, cake side down-peach side up, onto your serving dish.

*whew* It looks like a lot of work, but it really was not that bad.

The result is a beautiful sunshiny peach layer on top of a light, slightly spongy sweet cake.

I used canned peaches which made the peach layer a little more juicy - I imagine the fresh sliced peaches might make the top layer a little more firm. Nonetheless, it was a tasty vegan treat!

What do you like to do when the spring weather arrives? Do you have any favorite spring-themed recipes?





Take A Moment To Experience Something Beautiful

This video helps me realize how tiny we are in the grand scheme of the workings of the whole world.

It's truly incredible how the Earth works and manages all on its own . . .we're just here, living on it, trying to stay in some kind of harmony with what it does naturally.

All in one, this video is humbling, inspiring, terrifying and so lovely it could make you cry.

Take a minute to experience this: