Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Musty's Bday & Our Trip to Mendocino!

We had a nice celebration for Musty's birthday, followed by a nice trip to Mendocino - to visit with our goddaughter. It was lots of fun.


For Musty's birthday we had two of his favorite things. First: Spaghetti & Meatless Meatballs. This is one of Musty's most favorite meals in the whole world. He was very delighted. You'll be happy to know that there were salads too.


Have you ever seen this page by PETA called "I can't believe it's vegan!" ? Well, I've got one to add to it! Jello brand "Flan" mix is vegan, as best I can tell. I kept reading and re-reading the ingredients and it really appears to be vegan (as long as you make it with non-dairy milk). Musty requested flan for his birthday, so I made a double batch. It's not my favorite thing ever, and it's a bit weird to buy something from a company based entirely on gelatin, but Musty was very pleased indeed.


On our drive up to Mendocino, which is about 5 hours away, we stopped in San Francisco for some lunch. We lucked out big time, and actually found a parking spot. Miracle of miracles! So, we went to "Ali Baba's Cave" for some delicious falafel sandwiches: huge, spicy, tasty, and naturally vegan! Mmmm.


Every time we go to Mendocino, I HAVE to eat breakfast at "The Ravens." The Ravens is the restaurant inside "The Stanford Inn," and is a wonderful, all-vegetarian restaurant. The Inn looks like an amazing place to stay - especially because it's doggie friendly! Apparently the dogs even get little doggie treats in the rooms. The grounds of the Inn are so beautiful, including a big, beautiful veggie garden, beautiful flowering gardens, and a swimming pool inside a plant-filled atrium. The Ravens is a great restaurant, and uses 99% organic and local produce. Cool! So, here's what I got the first day - Vegan Multigrain pancakes with huckleberries ... AND...


... a side order of Sauteed Veggies. YUM! Aren't they beautiful?? I love having a little sweetie and a little healthy savory when I go out for breakfast!

Luckily for me, Musty was happily willing to go back to The Ravens for breakfast again the next day. This time I got the Vegan Waffle with strawberry-pineapple compote... AND...


The Garden Veggie Tofu Scramble! They made it just the way I asked - heavy on the veggies, and light on the tofu. MMMM, perfect! Isn't it beautiful with the flowers from the garden?


On the way home, we stopped in Redwood City and had some great Thai food. It was some of the best Thai food we've ever had. It was fresh, and delicious! Also, across the street was a great little Indian grocery store, where I picked up quite a few goodies (keep your eyes out for an upcoming Indian food post).


Last night I made a modified version of a recipe out of "Vegan Planet." It was called something like "3-way sesame tofu with broccoli" and it wasn't a big success. The flavors were a bit too bland and simple - sesame seeds, soy sauce, and tahini. I added in garlic, ginger, and some more soy sauce... which helped a bit. The brocolli was great, but the tempeh strips were a bit too bland. Of course, that didn't stop me from eating the whole thing! :)


Lastly! Look at my great new baseball hat! It says on it: "Eat Fruits & Vegetables and Be Active" Ha ha! I love it so much. One of the women who comes to my Tuesday night yoga class gave it to me after I commented on her tshirt (with the same message) last week. It was a great surprise. I can't stop wearing it!

16 comments:

  1. That first picture looks so good you've inspired me to have spaghetti for lunch. Yum!

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  2. Anonymous6:04 AM

    what a coincidence i make yesterday the same flan, i did change a bit the taste becouse the first time i make it i found it a little bland!

    this time i add it some vanilla and some cinnamon, much better!

    i will blog about it soon!

    the food looks super good!
    love the hat!

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  3. Yea, flan is vegan, and I love eating it every once in a while! I think it brings back good memories, because my mom used to make it all the time when we were kids.

    All your food looks yummy! I am fascinated by how pretty those garden vegetables and decorations at the Ravens look- it's almost like super saturated color- I love it! I want to work on making my food presentation eye-catching and appealing like that.

    Glad you guys had a good trip.

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  4. Sometimes nothing beats regular ol' spaghetti and meatballs :)

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  5. p.s. Sonbol is my favorite flower! The first thing I did when I moved in to our house is plant a whole bunch of them- too bad they don't come out around Eid here in Syracuse, though! =(

    I also love roses, jasmine, orange blossoms, and wisteria- any highly fragrant flower is good with me!

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  6. Vegan jello? Who would have thought! Lucky for Musty - what a great birthday dinner. I had a huge falafel sandwich today at my favorite place - yummy!

    You found some awesome eating places on your trip. I have got to take a trip out to Cali!

    I can't wait to see your indian food post. I can't seem to get enough of it lately.

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  7. I love the hat and envy you all that great food!

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  8. The Ravens looks like a great restaurant! I like balancing the sweet and savory, too...it means I can eat more sweets without getting a sweet-induced headache! haha

    I also tried that 3-way sesame tofu without much success. It was a little too...sesame for my taste.

    Believe it or not, I don't think I've ever eaten flan. The wiggly/glossiness of it always kind of freaked me out!

    Cute hat with a great message! Looks like you had a good trip - thanks for sharing!

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  9. I love spaghetti and meatballs too, although it’s not something that I ever ate before turning veggie! The Ravens Restaurant sounds excellent! That tofu scramble looks just perfect!

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  10. What a great post! I'm so glad Musty's birthday celebration was nice. And it looks like you ate really well on your trip! I would love to visit The Ravens--that tofu scramble, heavy on the veggies, looks perfect! And pancakes and waffles, a favorite for sure. Oh yes, and that hat is just great!

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  11. Stunning trip food, cute hat and happy birthday, of course, to your musky! What a lovely bday meal from you.

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  12. Beautiful food. What feasting went on!

    I have to agree with a commenter above that flan kind of weirds me out, though I guess vegan flan is less gross.

    Fresh thai food is the best, when all the herbs and veggies are just perfect.

    The tofu scramble does look very good, and artful with the flowers. Cool that they allow dogs, that's so hard to find here--probably why I never travel.

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  13. Anonymous1:35 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  14. Anonymous1:37 PM

    beautiful photos, beautiful food, and what an awesome hat! i was very surprised to know that a jello flan mix is vegan... i shall give it a try! thank you for sharing wonderful things!

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  15. what an amazing trip! i love all the photos. i'll mention that Art's favorite meal is plain spaghetti & i give him a hard time for ordering it at restaurants... and now your musty!! lol. :o)
    the ravens sounds like a great place to stay and we can bring jolie! the flower garnish is such a lovely touch.
    cool hat!!

    xo

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  16. Anonymous7:09 PM

    BEAUTIFULLLLLLL. THIS WAS VERY WELL ENJOYEDD. THANKYOU!! C:

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