Happy ThanksLiving

Organic raw vegan pumpkin pie
Organic raw vegan thick sweet cashew cream
NOM!

Happy ThanksLiving to each and every one of you observing this magnificent day! Here in the Keys we had a cool day full of blazing sunshine, and VERY brisk winds to clear the cobwebs from even the most hidden nook and cranny. The bay side was exceptionally windy and cool (right where I run), while the oceanside was calm and warm (perfect place to sit in a chair and have a beverage).

I had today "off" for the first time in ten years. I've been told that I'm "lucky," that I have the "most perfect" life, that I'm living the life some people want to live, and more. It startles me that people say those things, or think those things. Trust me, sacrifices have been made, there has been a price to pay, and it is not perfect. Despite the trade off  I'm right where I belong, doing what I should be doing. For now.

I thought about a lot of things today, but didn't do too much. I slept until 8am, caught up on newspapers from when I was gone, spent some time with the cats, and did some cleaning. I went for a run, made a couple phone calls, and took inventory of my kitchen to submit a bulk order to one of our suppliers later tonight.

Dinner was not quite an afterthought, but here it's just not a super decorated, big huge solid week of cooking, no not at all. I made an organic vegan (of course) raw pumpkin pie (from the Present Moment Cafe Cookbook, woot!) with my organic vegan sweet thick vanilla cashew cream. I tossed together a massaged kale salad, roasted some veggies, and plopped bagged organic vegan "dressing" into a pan with some olive oil and poof, instant dressing. I stirred up some organic vegan brown gravy, unwrapped a Field Roast en croute, roasted that, and then looked up a recipe for cranberry sauce. The magical PPK site again saved the day with their perfect 3-ingredient cranberry sauce.

Our table was simple, with a couple candles, and a beautiful piece of fossilized coral that Pop gave to me quite a while ago. I wanted something representing him on our table. When all was said and done, we two happy vegans sat down together, toasted with some (vegan) wine, and ate. Princess paced across the floor trying to figure out how to get onto the table, while Peri snoozed nearby.

My Facebook feed was littered with photos of carcasses and dead throughout the day, but on a bright spot, I know for a fact that there was more than 1 friend who specifically did not post photos of their dead things as a nod to my anguish. I have gratitude for that, although I'd be more thankful if they'd simply take it vegan, you know?

Essentially this was a perfect day here, whatever perfect is anymore. I had a pretty long list of things "to do," which did not get accomplished. Ask me if I care. No, I don't.

I have great abundance in my life, and yes it has come at a price. I have very few, if any, regrets, and for now that's a good place to be in. I hope that you had a blessed day no matter where you are, and whether you celebrate this American holiday. In this country, tomorrow is "Black Friday" which I do my best to avoid, and consider almost obscene. For me, tomorrow I work, I run, and I will again give thanks for the abundance in my life.

I hope you had a compassionate plate, and peace in your heart.

ROAD TRIP! POP!

So many of us are still adjusting to Pop having moved, including Pop himself. It seems like yesterday he was here, yet forever that he's moved. How's that all possible I have no idea, but it is what it is.

On relatively short notice, we had personal reasons to go up to mainland Florida. As long as we were headed up, we sort of figured, why not make a road trip to see Pop….. what's a few extra hundred miles between friends?

On a recent morning, I got up extra early and made a couple batches of muffins and some cookies for Pop, wrapped them individually (of course in my biodegradable compostable bags) for Pop's freezer, piled them into a large bakery box, then hastily tossed some mismatched semi-warm clothing into a case. Immediately after checkouts we headed up to the mainland for our personal business. After that was all said and done, Part B of the road trip began, off to see Pop.

Note: NO food was packed or prepared for ourselves on the road due to severe time constraints. This was unfortunate, and a VERY bad move.

After completing said personal business on the mainland, we got driving from Point A on the way to see Pop about 8:45pm that evening. Food was on our minds, as there had been VERY little of that for us the entire day. Being that it was so late, we could find nothing…. until we saw a Panera sign, YAY, or so we thought. Driving up to Panera at 9:06pm, the lock clicked on the door from the inside as they closed at 9pm. 

*#%@#(*

The road trip continued. Still no food.

We drove looking for anything open, anything at all, with no luck. Finally, we found a Winn Dixie. With 5 minutes to spare before they closed at 10pm we burst into the store like mad demons. We managed to grab some peanut butter, jelly, pitas and a bag of rice chips before they closed. As I sat in the back seat of the car hastily slathering peanut butter on a pita, doing my best not to drop jelly onto the carpeting, I actually considered shooting a video for you. Hunger won out, you got no video, but I got a PBJ pita.

We drove until 3am, crashed for a few hours at a hotel and then hit the road again.

We drove straight through for about another 8 hours (rain, rain, rain and more rain) with nothing but PJB pitas to sustain us. All we had on our minds was getting to Pop at a decent hour.

We arrived at his new location just before 5pm. We parked, grabbed the muffins and a couple other items we had brought for him from his house to surprise him, and made a beeline for his apartment. The door was open….. just like the Keys! I heard some laughter drifting out into the hallway, and then the familiar "come oooooooooo in!"

Poof, there he was!

Surrounded by his son, a grandson and his grandson's wife, we entered the apartment. I honestly thought I could hold my composure. I was wrong. Huge hugs were exchanged, and I just held him so tight. He did the same to me. Kisses. Kind words. Hug. Hug. Hug. Tears. Happy HAPPY tears.

He showed us around his new apartment. He has a nice full kitchen where his food is stashed, and his food is prepared. He has a huge closet, with his clothing labeled by day, and a couple warm sweaters tucked in. He has a full living room with a big TV so he can watch his usual programs despite his failing eyesight. He has a cute little alcove off his bedroom which he has set up just like his space in the Keys…. table, chairs, pencil cup & note pad, pictures of family, his little "golf man" all of which is next to 3 large windows overlooking a garden courtyard.

Tears, tears, happy tears.

His grandson has found the local library for him, and is bringing him his large print western books. His Bible is tucked by his bedside, and he has photos of the family through the space.

Tears, tears, happy tears.

We sat and talked. Then talked more, and more and more. We talked about the Keys, we talked about life up there. We talked about family, we talked about sports. We talked about food. We talked about his recipes, and he was tickled I'm veganized his baking recipes one by one (starting with his famous shoo fly pie, as you already know!) He wanted to know how his house was ("perfect Pop, it's just perfect" and yes, it really is). We talked about the ocean. We talked about the water, we talked about the sky. We talked about clothing, we talked about music. We talked about next year's birthday stickers (yes, he's doing them!), and talked about the chocolate cake I will make for his 106th birthday and promised to deliver.

Tears, tears, happy tears. I couldn't stop.

I asked if we were overstaying our welcome (he IS 105, and it was NOT early morning!) and he replied "NO WAY, are you KIDDING me?! All the way from BIG PINE KEY?!!!" 

We made a little list of things we want to send him to make it more like it was in the Keys for him (he likes a calendar on his table…. he is very religious so I asked about a particular cross on his wall "oh yes! I'd love that!"…) and I announced I'm putting him on a "baking schedule" so he will get a small box of my baked goods at least once a month that he can have as snacks, just like it was here ("oh, THANK YOU!")

He kept saying how thankful he was for us coming up to see him. Tears, tears, happy tears.

When I think about what feeds my soul, moments like that visit are what does it for me. 100% pure feeding of the soul.

I didn't take a single picture, not one. Honestly the visit was so full of raw emotion it wasn't really meant for photos, instead it was meant for memories. Memories accomplished.

We all knew we had to go. The time we spent with him were some VERY great hours. He was talkative, engaged fully, and happy. He misses the Keys, we talked about that too. I honestly think that it was hugely important for him to hear about the SO very many people who are asking about him, who miss him, and care dearly for him even though he's far away. That's a really long list, and we didn't miss anyone (hopefully) all the way to the cashier at Publix who asked me a couple weeks ago why I didn't have the "special order" I usually do for "the sweet man you shop for." We promised we'd be back to visit, and we mean it.

Part of me thinks that when I saw him getting on to the airplane in Key West it would be the last time I'd ever see him. He's 105, and hundreds of miles away… we run a business that doesn't really stop, and have no employees to speak of. There's not many opportunities to "run away from home" and do a spur of the moment road trip, no matter how badly we want to.

Universe brings what we need. Universe feeds our soul.

We kissed goodbye. We hugged mad crazy. I cried and told him how I didn't want to leave, but promised we'll be back. He knows its true, but he needed to hear it anyway.

Pop has a message for all of you out there who love him…. "thank you, I love you." His exact words.

The other happy vegan's parting words were "see you soon you rascal!" which Pop shot right back "I love you, you rascal!" and my parting words were simply "I love you."

Close your eyes. Can you see Pop in a vivid color golf shirt, with his trademark smile? Can you hear his voice "you rascal!!!!!" "keep on keeping on!" "I love you SO much!" I hear him. I see him. I hope you can too.

He's still adjusting, and needs more things to fill his days. Remember… here in the Keys, he had golf matches twice weekly, laundry day, his golf cart where he'd sit outside for hours every morning waving to passersby and talking with anyone who'd stop, and more. It's all still new for him, and 105 is a remarkable age to consider reinventing yourself, no?

Whatever the future holds, he knows we're still connected, and we know we're still connected. We're drained emotionally, sad, and strangely satisfied.

Mission accomplished, you rascal.

Nommy Nom Nom! JB Master Grill - Medford, NJ

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A month or so ago, while we were roaming around the not-yet frozen tundra up north, we cruised through Jersey a couple times. I think New Jersey gets far too bad a rap on what it's like. Jersey bashers fall into 2 categories in my opinion… 1) those who have never been there, and just make the jokes to fit in with others, and 2) people who actually do live there, but are unhappy for any reason other than living in Jersey. I cannot vouch for either, yet I can say I have lived there, and for a long time loved it. New Jersey has the shore (ahhhhhhhhh), mountains, lakes, farms (yup, they still exist), shopping (too much for me these days), rural towns, big cities and urban areas, theatre, galleries, vegan food trucks (Cinnamon Snail!), I could go on and on. I've got very few negative things to say about Jersey besides my opinion that it's just too crowded for me (where I used to live) and it gets too cold (same can be said about Northern Florida, don't take it personally Jersey peeps).  So, Viva New Jersey!

Now, about our time roaming around Jersey. I staked the Cinnamon Snail like crazy on line, but their schedule was always in NYC, and we weren't going that way. So, another trip ended with me saying "I've still never eating at Cinnamon Snail." Sigh. We found ourselves a little more Southern, and of course out popped the other happy vegan's fancy phone and the Happy Cow app. Up came JB Master Grill in Medford. This little restaurant is in a strip mall tucked in a town called Medford Lakes. I don't know much history about the area, I know there IS some history, I think it used to be a vacation town for people to escape the city of Philadelphia in the summertime. Not completely sure about that, but there's lakes, trees, and some really cute streets. Exceptionally close by are shopping areas galore, including food. We heading right over to JB Master Grill and checked them out. Happily, this is what we found!!!! Oh hell yeah, after feeding our faces, we made a take-out purchase large enough to get us all the way to South of the Border!

And, then there was the stop at South of the Border……

xo til next time!

Brace Yourself

I've started this post a thousand times in my head, there's no happy or easy way to do this.

Our dear friend Pop has moved far away.

He has made a video for you, scroll to end of post to watch.

The details don't really matter, do they? Know that Pop is ok and the decision was his. At 105 and completely lucid, it's amazing to think that he is still making sacrifices for the people he loves. Sure he'd rather stay in his beautiful Florida Keys, but the reality isn't romantic. Health care down here is lacking. People are spread out, and many people work 2-3 jobs so finding help isn't always easy. Although he does have family down here, he has even more numbers of immediate and extended family to the area he has gone. And much better health care. He will be embraced wholly in this next chapter of his.

I haven't had much time to adjust to this, it was very sudden. Surrounded by "my people" and the bliss of farm animals in upstate New York, we got the news. I don't want to be selfish, this is about Pop, but he was a huge part of both of us happy vegans lives for the past 10 years. I saw that man practically every day for 10 years, sometimes several times a day. Everyone loved him, and loved hearing stories about him. Remember the post about how I met him? Hil-freaking-arious!

It took a lot of planning in a very short time for all the preparations to be made. We were asked to drive him to the airport in the predawn hours on departure day. We were very honored. On the last night Pop was in his house, I drove by, parked outside and looked at his house under the star splashed sky. Pop's sky. I saw the ocean shimmering, the water was so calm. Pop's bed was as close as it possibly could be to the his giant bedroom window, which looks out over a giant panorama of ocean. I knew he was in there safely tucked in bed under that sky, next to the ocean. The last time, for the last night. I sat there for a while, feeling numb and overwhelmed.

The next morning I walked down to his house alone in the pitch dark with a flashlight to guide me. The sky was still completely covered with stars. It was so beautiful. I walked up, knocked and heard his familiar "come onnnnnnnnn in!" for the last time.

We went to the airport, they let us be with him up to the moment he had to be taken on the tarmac. In one pocket a vegan vanilla blueberry muffin was tucked safely inside, in the other pocket, a boarding pass.

Famous smile for everyone at the airport!

We watched as he was helped onto the plane until we could no longer see him. Then we left, heading for the beach in Key West to wait for his plane to take off. As we waited, the sun rose. How is it possible for the sun to rise every single time there has been such grief in my life I have no idea, but it's true, the sun has always risen. Even on that very sad morning.

The sun did rise.

At the beach, we heard the engines and knew it was the one. First plane out. It went right over our heads, precious cargo and all. We sat and watched until it was out of sight, and then drove home. We passed his house. He wasn't there.

Precious cargo within.

On the day before he left, we had a talk. In that talk he gave me his recipe box. It's sitting on one of my counters.  There's little notes written on some of the recipes, mostly from his departed beloved wife… notes like "George likes this with chocolate chips!" really got me smiling. Chocolate. Pop loves chocolate. At different times, Pop gifted me with a vegan version of his famous shoo fly pie, as well as a vegan version of his tomato soup cake. Can you imagine? He was over 100 at the time. Pop and I had very different thoughts on many topics including sports, religion and politics. Despite this, he accepted me for who I am and loved me anyway. In a society where skin deep beauty and mediocrity is the order of the day, where chaos and violence rules freely, where people who disagree can't allow each other to disagree…. Pop accepted me for the very flawed person that I am, and loved me. He's from the greatest generation. Could there be any better, or more humbling, compliment?

I could write forever about Pop, our experiences together, our talks, just everything. Pop was my touchstone for many things, but especially when it comes to balance. He often counseled me on finding balance in my life, and sometimes was pensive when it came to both of us happy vegans… Pop is nobody's fool, and he realized how hard we work, and how much both of us happy vegans take on. That would give him pause for concern, the subject that we weren't having enough fun. That seems so trivial, those words, what I'm trying to say.  Everything I write seems to fall far short of what I feel, what I want to convey to you.

While I think the human experience is at the same time very simple and very complicated, I also feel it is very cruel. Anyone can realize this is the right thing, as well as being a bold and brave decision by Pop to empower himself. But spare me the platitudes, for now I just need to sit with my own sadness.

I'm not the only one sitting with sadness today, this I know. I'm also aware I'm not the only one who is wishing away platitudes either.

I am a better person for having him in my life such as it was. I will miss him terribly.

Video:

Pop, you rascal. xo forever.

Vegan MoFo 2014: Deer Run B&B (vegan, organic nirvana), Liebster Award Nomination, and Farewell MoFo til next year

Here's my last video for Vegan MoFo 2014. This was shot tonight after sunset, the ocean was like glass. Look at the reflection of the sky in the ocean! The beauty in our world moves me to tears at times

Here, we strive to nurture and protect the gift that is called Earth, as well as all that depends upon it. We believe being vegan is integral to the survival of humanity as a species, and to be blunt, we see no reason for the cruelty that humans inflict on animals in this world. As usual, there's so much I could say, and my video tonight just scratches the surface of what we are at Deer Run, what we stand for, and what our goals are. If I were to die tomorrow, I would be very ok with Deer Run as my legacy. I've never wanted anything as badly in my life as I did when I initially had my vision of what we would be creating here. To look back and study what we've done, I feel immense pride. This is my "happy place," this is where I live, where I love, where I belong. It is the culmination of a lot of sacrifice, hard work, time, money, and sometimes even blood (so far I still haven't lost a digit in the kitchen, although there was one REALLY close call!) Not everyone who comes through here is vegan, but for those who are not, it's often an eye-opening food-for-thought experience.  For those who ARE vegan, it's a safe haven where you don't have to ask if anything is vegan, because EVERYTHING is vegan. Our linens are organic and vegan, we don't have feather pillows, we don't use products that have been tested on animals. We do support organic food, we do immerse ourselves in the community, we do our best to put ourselves "out there" to the world by teaching, mentoring, and not sitting back doing nothing in the face of violence. If that's not your thing, then don't come here.

I am grateful to be here, and both of us will continue to strive very hard to always do our best. As a point of fact, we work harder now than we did when we started, how is that possible I don't know, but my point is, we continue to strive to do more, and do better.

Hey there…. LIEBSTER NOMINATION!

Thank you Tiffany of the blog AJourneywithTiffany.com for nominating me for a Liebster Award! I am honored, and also grateful for the opportunity you have given me for more people to find my blog. You can find Tiffany's blog at www.ajourneywithtiffany.com. I read quite a few posts from her… good recipes, Southern-style. Also, she's juicing right now, which I'm doing way more of, and I'll be experimenting with her combos. Here's the Rules on the Liebster nominations:

Once nominated, you receive a list of 10 questions from she/he who has placed the nomination, which the nominee must answer. Then, the nominee must nominate 8 other blogs, let them know you have nominated them, and put a link to their blog in your post (no tag backs). Nominees must have under 200 followers. You must tell the blogs that you nominate them.

These are the 10 questions I received, with my answers:

Q: What is your all-time favorite meal that you could eat every day without fail?

A: Tempeh Reuben!

Q: What is your favorite holiday?

A: Summer Solstice.

Q: Since going vegan, is there a dish that you would love to make vegan?

A: Angel food cake.

Q: Why did you decide to become vegan?

A: Ethical reasons. I opened my eyes to the reality of animal suffering.

Q: Do you like coffee or tea?

A: I drink coffee, but I am MAD for tea!

Q: What do you like to do for fun?

A: Nothing gives me peace and comfort like spending time with my companion animals, or in nature with wild animals.

Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you travel and why?

A: Thailand. I've seen so many beautiful photos, and met so many people who have been there who shared their experiences with me. The beaches look gorgeous, vegan food seems abundant, and as a licensed massage therapist (you didn't know that about me, did you?) I want to experience authentic Thai massage where it originated.

Q: What do you like to do on rainy days?

A: Retreat to my bed, pile in with all the kitties, worship them and watch TV.

Q: Do you have a speciality dish? If so, what is it?

A: I own a vegan bed and breakfast, and honestly we have become known for our vegan organic flax pancakes. A really close runner up is my organic vegan frittata.

I'm not as tech savvy as so many bloggers, this you know. I have provided accurate links to all the blogs, these are the ones I nominate. For some reason, they won't highlight as I type in, so PLEASE cut and paste them, these are great bloggers! I nominate:

www.madhatterspantry.co.uk

www.thesilverthreadsofaliceb.blogspot.com

www.downrightvegan.blogspot.com

www.good-good-things.com

www.ayearofgoingvegan.com

www.afruitylife.com

www.brandnewvegan.com

www.detroit-made.blogspot.com

I spent a lot of time looking at blogs for this, and I made every effort not to be duplicitous with a nomination. Also, I made great efforts to see that followers were under 200, why is it so hard to find this information on so many blogs I don't know, but it is and I do hope I got that part right too. On the above blogs, I read posts from you new and older, thank you for the great content, and your hard work.

Now, bloggers above, here's your questions:

1. How long have you been vegan?

2. Have you ever "fallen off the vegan" wagon, why, and what brought you back to being vegan?

3. Do you have many vegan family/friends?

4. What kind of music do you like to cook and bake to?

5. Have you ever been to a VegFest, and if so, which one… did you have a favorite?

6. What one piece of advice would you give to someone who wants to go vegan, but cannot find their way?

7. Do you share your life with any companion animals, if so, who are they?

8. Where you live, is it relatively easy to get a nutritious, creative vegan meal while eating out?

9. Sweet or savory?

10. What would your "dream job" be?

I'd like to have a fancy gadget here, showing Liebster Award graphics, but heck, you know better than that from me…. I still haven't even gotten my MoFo gadgets up yet, um…. oops.

Thank you for reading my blog, for watching my videos, and for doing your part to bring compassion into your life and the lives of others. Big love from me here at Deer Run. Vegan MoFo 2015 countdown is on! xo

Vegan MoFo 2014: VEGAN BLACK METAL CHEF EVENT!

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Vegan. Black. Metal. Chef. HERE AT DEER RUN!

This video is the first we're announcing this for March 2015. It's on, it is SO on.

xo

Vegan MoFo 2014: The Floridian, St. Augustine & a Quick Update

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First allow me to say Vegan MoFo 2014 is going so fast my head is spinning. I have about five products I've yet to review, a few videos from vacation I've yet to post, and I've already got an important video planned that will be the finale for the event. There's no way I'm going to get this all in, considering there's 3 days left. The only days I missed were 2, maybe 3, in the beginning when all the hospital stuff was starting. On top of all that, while we were away, a couple of the videos got messed up, and I mean messed up BIG. The biggest "oops" is the night we ate at Sublime, and the video got deleted. I have no idea how that happened, but it vanished. I'm still upset about that. I'll do a post about Sublime after MoFo, you will still be my friend after this is all over, won't you?

While we were in St. Augustine, we ate dinner at a place called The Floridian. It was exceptionally casual, and exceptionally busy. When we called to see if we needed a reservation, we were told no because they weren't busy. By the time we got there, we waited 40 minutes for a table. We didn't know where else to go, I believe this was just an hour or 2 after we'd rolled into town. We were both tired and didn't really feel like driving. This place was within walking distance to where we were staying, and I found through the wonder of the internet that they had tempeh and tofu on the menu, hooray.

As we sat by the door waiting, I watched the kitchen and waitstaff work. They worked their butts off, and really seemed to be working very well together. There was laughter in the kitchen, and they all seemed to be helping each other out, as I said this place was BUSY. I actually didn't video the dinners. It was really dark because we were sitting outside (it was truly a glorious late summer evening), and it was late by the time we got there. Actually, we closed the place out, being last, or second to last, to leave for the night, yikes. I had a summer salad which was absolutely huge, with quinoa, veggies, lettuce, I think it also had chick peas, maybe lentils, and blackened tempeh (which was absolutely excellent, and made by a local tempeh shop!) The other happy vegan had a house made vegan black bean burger, he loved it.

I have very few suggestions for a place like this, beyond first and foremost always saying please take it ALL vegan. Beyond that, I'd simply have liked a little more salad dressing (only because the salad I ordered was HUGE and what they supplied was so tiny for all those veggies and tempeh), and I would have liked to see a non-dairy milk choice available so I could've had coffee or tea. Beyond that, this place seems to be a neighborhood place with pretty decent food, modest prices, very attentive service, kind people working through the place, and also happens to be vegan friendly.  All that, and it was a beautiful night for a walk through the city of St. Augustine. I'm in love with the city, I really am.

Enjoy the video, see you tomorrow!

xo