seeking simplicity.

The past few months have been quite a challenge for delicate little me. Lots of work, travel, and personal stuff has kept me in the habit of unhealthy food choices, not enough sleep, and lots of nail biting. But I am destined to get back on track, and I'm going to get back to the gym as soon as this lingering cold is gone!

Breakfast doesn't get much simpler than the image above. Store bought soy yogurt topped with some freeze dried pomegranate seeds is sweet, a little sour, and full of probiotics and antioxidants. I need to get with the program and try my hand at making homemade soy yogurt sometime. It is pretty funny that, in order to make your own yogurt, you have to buy some store bought yogurt. We recently saw David Cross live, and he called making yogurt with yogurt cheating. Heh.

So, what are your favorite ways to satisfy a craving simply and healthfully?


Okay, different subject entirely. In fact, Vegan Treats is the opposite of simple and healthy. Other adjectives come to mind, like decadent and crazy. Ken and I were working at the Boston Vegetarian Festival last weekend, and we were surrounded by vegan sweets of all kinds. Pennsylvania-based Vegan Treats is a luxury we rarely get to indulge in, so it almost made me pass out when I walked up on this:



An army of vegan sweets! Donuts! Fancy little cakes! Jeezus, I can hardly stand it. We tried not to go crazy, but we did get some things. Like a Boston Cream donut for Ken:



And a miniature cheesecake, topped with brownie chunks:



A mini Peanut Butter Bomb:



And a lil' Tiramisu:



Whew. Those folks sure know how to rock a vegan's world.

Most of what we did in Boston was work-related. He's a couple of nerds in matching shirts:




But we did manage to get out on our first night in Boston to try the newly remodeled, renamed, and all-around new 100% vegan pizza place called Peace O' Pie. We arrived just in time to this tiny little gem in Allston, as the place was filled elbow to elbow about 20 minutes later. We stared off our meal with the house salad, which was a fresh mix of greens topped with walnuts and cranberries. A balsamic dressing served on the side rounded it all out.



Then came the pie. We chose a pizza called The MD, which was an array of herb-roasted onions, zucchini, and vegan apple sage sausage. We upgraded to Daiya vegan cheese from the default Vegan Gourmet. This pizza was warm, gooey, and oh-so-good!



Our only complaint about the pizza at Peace O' Pie, and this is really just a preference and not a real complaint, is Ken and I both would have preferred a thicker crust. The crust wasn't thin enough to be called thin crust, but not thick enough to really remind us of restaurant-style pizza. But the crust was a great texture and tasted fabulous, so it's still well worth the cost of dinner. Peace O' Pie also had fresh, house-made baked goods available. We purchased several peanut butter topped sweet rolls for breakfast the next day, and they really hit the spot. No pictures of those though, sorry!

Here's the crust up close and personal:



After the fest on Saturday night, we headed out to dinner with friends at Vej Naturals. This place comes highly recommended by our friends who live in Boston, and we were happy to try it for ourselves. The menu was short and sweet, and apparently the selections change frequently. Ken ordered the pot pie with puff pastry crust, which we found to be simple and comforting, without too much fuss:



I decided on the Seitan Daube, a tasty herb-infused seitan in wine sauce, served over mashed potatoes. This dish hit the spot, though the flavors were a bit mild for my taste. However, I was coming down with a cold, so my taste could have been dulled from that, too. I would order this again, for sure:



The staff at Vej Naturals were super friendly and warm, and the company was good. I have to say though, this restaurant is tiny. Not cozy in a nice way, but tiny in an uncomfortable way. Far, far too small for more than two people. Especially if you like privacy when you dine. BUT. According to a sign on their door, Vej Natuarls is moving to a new location soon, so I'm sure that will clear up this one issue. Do check them out if you ever make it to Boston!

Our trip to Boston was short, busy, and full of good times. But now I am ready to chill out for a week or so, before our whirlwind trip to New York City next weekend. We are going to NYC for a friend's wedding, but it's also my birthday weekend! Woo, vegan ice cream parlors, Veggie Conquest, and more! Will somebody get me off this ride? I'm feeling kinda woozy.