Bethlehem VegFest 2019

Hi everyone! Last Saturday was Bethlehem VegFest, so I have plenty of pictures to share! Upon arrival, we headed straight to the Vegan Treats stall; it was early enough that there wasn’t a line and we were able to place our orders quickly. 

(My Vegan Treats haul! The chocolate mousse cake with a “succulent” on top got a bit bumped in transit, but it was still good. Also pictured are a red velvet donut, a lemon cookie sandwich, and a cinnamon roll.)

After dropping off our goodies in a cooler in the car, we got lunch; my sister and I joined the line for Freakin’ Vegan – I got the buffalo chicken mac & cheese (as is my tradition now haha), and she got the mac & cheese with an empanada. (Zach got a grilled cheese and lemonade from Bees Knees Grill, but I didn’t manage to get a picture.) 

After lunch we went to see the pigs of Pig Placement Network, and then walked around the rest of the festival. 

Once we’d seen everything we’d come to see and made our other purchases at non-food vendors, we decided to stop at the actual Vegan Treats on the way home for some ice cream – black raspberry – which was delicious! 

And unrelated to the vegfest (but what's a post without a kitty, after all?), here’s Rogue lounging in the (empty) bathtub… 

Peace. :)

Bethlehem VegFest, Vegan Treats, and More

Hi everyone! Bethlehem VegFest took place on July 14; I was totally out of the loop and only found out the night before. With such late notice and plans later that day, I figured I’d skip this year, but Zach made sure we got there on Saturday for a bit. For lunch, I had the buffalo chick’n mac & cheese from Freakin’ Vegan – there was a long line but it was definitely worth the wait – and Zach had a grilled cheese & pineapple guava lemonade. 

Then we picked up some desserts at Vegan Treats; I got the triple berry cheesecake and Zach chose the s’mores cheesecake. 

In other news, I harvested my first ears of corn on Sunday!

And then on Wednesday, after we made a delicious batch of lemon spinach pasta, my sister Alena gave me the grand tour of the new Aldi near her, so of course I grabbed some fun vegan stuff – hashbrowns, two types of meatballs, and chicken patties. 

I also sketched some more fruit…

nectarine (original photo)

pear (original photo)

And here's Cringer; she takes the most dramatic cat naps... 

Peace. :)

August MiniMoFo: Outdoor Eats

Hi everyone! Zach and I went on a roadtrip to St. Louis, Missouri, so we could be in the path of totality for the solar eclipse. The day before the eclipse, we had both lunch and dinner outside, so it was perfect for August’s MiniMoFo!

We arrived in St. Louis around lunchtime on Sunday, so we stopped at the all-vegan Seedz Cafe.

I ordered the rice & beans, and Zach got the last BBQ black bean burger. It was such a good lunch, but so filling that I could only eat half, so I had the leftovers for dinner the next night. Zach enjoyed his burger, but he said it was a bit spicy; I tried a bite & it was good.

Rice & beans, with a spicy, cheesy sauce, as well as salsa and avocado and greens.

BBQ black bean burger, with tortilla chips and salad.

For dinner, we went to the Bike Stop Cafe in St. Charles; the menu is mostly vegetarian.
 

I ordered the vegan hummus sandwich (“Hummina-Hummina” as it’s called on the menu, haha!), and it was really good. It was served with veggie straws.

On Monday, we watched the eclipse in a field at Cliff Cave Park. It was a really hot day, and at the beginning of the eclipse, in between taking peeks through the telescope, I hid under my umbrella to keep out of the sun. Once it got nearer totality, however, it started to cool off so I didn't need the umbrella anymore. The shadows began to look all weird, and then it got darker until it looked like sunset all around us; at the moment of totality, we could look directly at the eclipse. It was so neat, and everyone in the park was cheering, and then just like that, it was done. The sunlight returned; we looked through the telescope a bit more as the eclipse tapered off, and then we packed up. It was such an incredible experience, and I’m so glad we went!

Bonus outdoor eats: Today we went to the Bethlehem VegFest, and I got the buffalo chik’n & mac-n-cheese bowl from Freakin’ Vegan. The buffalo chik’n was a bit spicy, but it was so, so good!

Here’s Buttons sharing the bed with Leela and Daisy...

Peace. :)

Bethlehem Vegfest 2016

Hi everyone! Today was the Bethlehem Vegfest, and it was lots of fun, though really hot! We had a nice group this year: me, Zach, Zach's brother Ben, my sister Alena, and Alena's boyfriend Alex. When we first got there, we did a loop through the vendors to scope everything out (it definitely seemed like there were fewer vendors compared to past years), and then decided it was time for food. At Freakin' Vegan, I got mac & cheese and a broccoli & cheddar empanada. The mac & cheese was the best (I'd gotten it last year, too!) and the empanada was good, though the broccoli was a bit overcooked/soft for my liking.

my view from where we sat under a tree to eat lunch :)

At the Grape Cat stall I bought this cute Herbivore shirt and got a free little button.

After that, we got free samples of veggie chips; this year they had a new sriracha variety. Next stop was the Franklin Hill Vineyards stall, where I tried a sample of the Crush (pomegranate peach) wine; it was really good, so Zach & I bought a bottle of that, as well as a bottle of the Fainting Goat wine (the one I liked last time). 

After that, we got in (the long, long!) line for Vegan Treats, where I eventually got a peanut butter cup brownie and a chocolate peanut butter drizzle donut to bring home.

Then I got a strawberry lemonade ice pop from Mompops, and we visited the pigs from the Pig Placement Network and the beagles from the Beagle Freedom Project one last time. On the way back to the car, someone from Beyond Juice mentioned that they were giving out free samples, and since the store was right across from where we'd parked, we stopped in. They made a fresh "yellow juice" (carrots, orange, pineapple, and apple) for us; I'm not big on juices, but I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was!

happy little vegan, post-vegfest :)

For the cute cat pic of today's post, here's Blu, Alena's kitty. She just had surgery yesterday to remove a few teeth that were causing her pain, and she's already bounced back; she was chirping and rolling around on the floor like her silly little self when we stopped by after the vegfest!

This was the only picture I could get of her standing still, all the rest turned out super blurry, haha!

Peace. :)

VegFest Food

This year I made it to three vegfests in PA: Philly VegFest (June 6), Chester County Vegan Festival (August 8), and Bethlehem VegFest (August 22).

Philly VegFest

Philly VegFest was really exciting because it was my first time going. I took the train in with Alena and we enjoyed a bunch of free food samples (including cookies, tahini, maple syrup, bread, coconut fries, and pickles all from various vendors, as well as other goodies in a reusable grocery bag). For our lunch, we got BBQ seitan tacos ($4 each) from Vstreet, which we enjoyed while sitting at the fountain. They were really good, even if they were a bit messy, haha! 

We'd hoped to get something from Blackbird Pizzeria and Dottie's Donuts, but the lines were long; next year we'll be sure to stick it out! Philly VegFest wins for best food samples!

Chester County Vegan Festival

This was my second time going to the Chester County Vegan Festival, and Alena made it this year for her first time, so we had a lot of fun and made sure to pile up our plates at the picnic buffet. My plate included a hot dog, portobello mushroom, rice, potato salad, green beans, spicy cabbage, vegetable skewer, and sausage on a hamburger bun. 

Alena's plate.

While the smallest of the three events, Chester County Vegan Festival wins for best value for the most food ($10 entry, $9 if you brought your own place setting, which we did). It also has a really nice and relaxed atmosphere since it takes place in a park.

We bought ice pops at the end from Mompops (2 for $5). 

Alena got the mint chocolate chip.

I got the orange coconut, which was like a creamsicle.

The blogger as seen in the wild! Hehehe!

Bethlehem VegFest

Alena, Zach, and I went to the Bethlehem VegFest today (our second time going). Alena and I got some free samples of veggie chips (a small bag, not pictured, which we ate right away, and a larger bag which we got later in the day, seen below).

After walking around for a bit, we decided to get lunch from Freakin' Vegan, sharing an order of mac & cheese and a cheesesteak empanada. Both were delicious ($5 each).

I later bought two cupcakes from Mo'Pweeze Bakery; they got a bit bumped along the way home ($3.50 each). 

double vanilla delight

moo's choco choc, which has now been devoured, was so good, especially the icing

And then of course we made our way over to Vegan Treats' tent for more goodies to bring back with us. We stood in line for around 20 minutes but it was worth the wait and we placed our order quickly. I got a "chicken" and waffles donut and an almond pretzel donut; Alena got a cannoli and a chocolate chip cookie ($18 total). 

almond pretzel donut

"chicken" and waffles donut

Bethlehem VegFest wins for best variety of food and baked goods, but it was definitely the most expensive one for me, haha!

Well, that's it for this year's vegfests; thanks to Alena for taking lots of photos! And of course, I'm already looking forward to next year's vegfests!

Finally, here's Leela in her cat tent and Buttons being silly.

Peace. :)