Weekend Recap (Monday)

WOW! What a family filled weekend!

This weekend I spent time with my sister and the lovely German exchange student Laura. My sister and Laura met up at the flea market at Hell's Kitchen, and I was supposed to meet them in the afternoon. Words of advice: Do NOT drive to the area of Hell's Kitchen and expect to find parking on a Saturday! Let's just say, I missed the flea market and headed back to Brooklyn defeated.

My sister and Laura showed up with sushi ingredients and Laura taught us how to make sushi! (Which was surprisingly easy: sushi making post to come!)

They also bought us dessert from Teany, which was super yummy! I had the Peanut Butter Bomb Cake: delish!

SATURDAY:

We went on a walk at Prospect Park, and I strapped on my rollerskates (per my goals for the week!) and had a great time, it was a beautiful walk and I love living so close to a park!

After dinner and dessert we watched Parks and Recreation, which is HILARIOUS, and then had a sleepover!

SUNDAY:
My dad and stepmom came up from Lancaster and we went to ABC Carpet and IKEA to get inspired and shop around. We ate lunch at ABC Kitchen, which uses local and sustainable ingredients to make beautiful and exciting dishes. It was a bit pricey, but my basil tomato pizza (hold the cheese) was really good!

Check out this cool lucite chair from ABC Carpet! So fun to sit over a cactus, I love it!

If I have kids: this is the type of rocking chair I would want! Ha, sure this thing would not last through little ones in the house, but man is it beautiful!

I got these gorgeous tumblers at ABC Carpet. They are so awesome! When I do my makeover post, I will show all of the tumblers, they rule!

My dad's favorite cookie is a Malomar (hence my dog's name), and he was SO excited when we went into a bodega and Malomars were on the shelf. Too bad they were empty boxes used to just fill up the store! Hahaha! I watched my poor dad's heart break when we picked up the box and it was light as a feather!

A totally family filled weekend, and NOW I have lots of work to do in my house with my new finds and my new sushi making obsession!

I ate (cheese) pizza and wasn't struck by lightening!

Nor did I get sick....

I have been grappling with the idea of vegan versus local versus what the heck do I eat and why do I eat it?

After completing October Unprocessed, I got to thinking a lot about what processed foods I put into my system as a result of being vegan. One of the things that I am concerned about is vegan cheese.

Let's for a minute take a look at the ingredients:

organic soy base (filtered water, organic soymilk powder)
organic rice malodextrin
organic soybean oil
organic rice flour
pea protein
calcium and sodium phosphates
contains 2% or less of: sea salt, carrageenan, mono & diclycerides, natural flavors, lactic acid (non-dairy).

Okay, so it is vegan, but could I make it myself? NOPE! This ingredient list screams made in a lab. Not to mention, it is distributed in Florida, so the fossil fuels it takes to get to Brooklyn contribute to my questioning of it.

Yes Yes I know, "But D you are not a locavore anyway!" I mean, if you check out what is in my fridge you will see that I have tomatoes out of season, avocado, bananas, and a pineapple for gosh sakes! But I DO try to think about what I eat and try to eat and support a lot of local agriculture.

Now, the next thing. I disagree with the way animals are treated and kept in factory farms. Disagree is way nicer than how I feel but for all intents and purposes, I disagree with it. So how can I support farmers who are keeping animals the correct way? How do I support my local farmers that are competing with big factory farms; my local farmers who have higher prices but also higher ethical standards, and less face it, better products.

I support these farmers by going to the farmer's market, by looking for locally sourced goods at my neighborhood stores, and I support them with my money, by things like joining a co-op or a CSA.

This day, I supported them by eating cheese.

I still am not completely decided on what way to swing. I doubt I will find myself being a regular cheese maker or eater, but for this one time, I didn't feel so terrible about what I was consuming. I think it is up to each and every person to make their own decisions that are best for them and their beliefs....but the most important thing I think, is to be an educated consumer. Think about where your food comes from, and let that guide you.

Some books that I recommend on the subject:

These are absolute MUST READS:

An awesome (un)cookbook with great benefits inside on eating vegan and raw:

If you have some extra time and are interested, these are good resources: