my first encounter with Seitan

   Hello Rehabbers! So today I had the rare luxury of an evening off from work, which really never happens on a glorious Wednesday. This opportunity was taken advantage of by high tailing it to the Turkey Lake Whole Foods here in O-Town. What is so special about this Whole Foods at this time? It is a time of great exploitation and celebration, it is the Block party. This party consists of bounteous free samples as far as the eye can see. As Grandma treated this bounteous blessing with finesse, a.k.a tried as many free samples as she could, I partook of some of the vegan options.
   First on my list of limited samples was a raw apple crisp that made my taste buds have a Jersey Shore-esque dance party in my mouth. This was washed down with some organic apple cider, and man was it delicious. After walking around the store shopping for essentials, and the g-mizzle on a sample rampage, I arrived at the only other vegan options for the evening. The first was a dark chocolate truffle that made my toes curl, and I swear is the answer to world peace. The other was a gazpacho made from tomatoes and peppers and utter deliciousness.

   My favorite part of this outing was trying something new. It was the first time I tried Seitan. It was a prepared in a mexican cuisine style with black beans and some yummy peppers and veggies. To complement my selection I piled on some yucca [sooo good!] and platino. All I can say is this is my new favorite from whole foods. It was just the right amount of chewy and spice. Washing it down with a nice ginger pear kombucha left me feeling satisfied and happy to finally try another veg mainstay. All in all it was a great evening, well pre home work at least. Any suggestions on what I should try next or your first encounters with a strange or new vegan food? Please leave all suggestions/ experiences in the comments section and I will definitely use or mention them in the next post. Lots of Rehab Lurve - L

VegFestasticness in O-town

        Hello Rehabbers! This past weekend was one of the biggest Vegan events to hit Orlando, VegFest 2010! As my first year going I was amazed at all the vendors and community support. There were some of the local vegan/vegetarian restaurants such as Ethos, Dandelion Communitea Cafe, and the Loving Hut along with Rhapsodic Cooperative Company. There were also places that I had never heard of such as Hoover's Health Market, The Health Nut and many others (and those were just food related).
        Other attractions at this cornucopia of vegan-y goodness were multiple pet rescues with dogs that were ready to be adopted. There was also yoga, and messages being dolled out as well. Due to the sheer volume of vendors and different happenings going on around the festival, and the unfortunateness of no camera, I am not able to name everyone and everything. On that note however, I am able to give my perspective on how the experience is for a first timer, and relatively new Vegan.
      One of the greatest things I observed was the atmosphere. From the vendors to the partakers everyone looked like they were having a great time. Almost everyone was smiling, with the excepting being those eating and that is in my opinion a huge factor on the smile-o-meter. Heck I was surrounded by food and that's what was making me smile.
    Another highlight was the diversity of the event. It was not just one group of people eating one type of food. There was a great many people from various backgrounds munching on some excellent eats. I myself wanted some fresh veggies so I got a wrap, but that was after almost 30 minutes of trying to decide what I wanted. So Much food! This diversity is also seen in the musical acts and artist at the event. Music ranging from a jazzy blues vibe to a laid back feel the music had it going on. As for the artists works they ranged from cute and whimsical to abstract. This diversity in the fest really was the icing on the cuppycake for me and I enjoyed every second I spent there, and I know that next year's will be even better. Now after typing all this goodness with a hefty portion of it being about good eats, I must bid you adieu, and my breakfast bonjour. - L