You can find vegetarian fare in PA Dutch country!

We recently made a trip to the PA Dutch country. I remember visiting as a child and really enjoying the views of the farmland and the shoefly pie. Now as a vegetarian, I knew that eating out there could prove difficult. We usually can always find salads and have even found enough veggies and side dishes at the buffets. So off we went for lunch in search of a gourmet cafe we heard had hummus wraps and veggie paninis. After travelling up and down Rt 23 in search of such a place, we gave up and ventured into downtown Lancaster since we read about a couple veggie options there. It was also their Arts Tour weekend in the downtown so there was a bit of a festive feel despite the cold and rainy day. We found a lovely little cafe, "Wish You Were Here", 108 W. Orange St, that served breakfast all day and had plenty of veggie options for us. It was warm and cozy inside and the menu was perfect for what we were looking for. I had the vegan chili and my husband had a homemade vegan sausage sandwich. Both were very yummy and gave us the warm fuzzy feeling we needed on a miserable day. For lunch the next day, we really wanted to eat at one of the famous smorgasbords so we went to Miller's in Ronks on Rt 30. We asked the host if he knew if there were many veggie dishes on the buffet and he went to get the chef himself who proceeded to show us each dish and tell us what had chicken broth, butter, cream, etc in it. We felt as though we had a personal tour of the place and we were so thankful that he took the time with us. We found plenty of choices to eat (with butter and cream - vegans might have a tougher time here although they did have a vegan soup, plenty of green salads, baked apples, sauteed squash and breads) and enjoyed sampling many local favorites. Their pies are amazing; shoefly pie, pumpkin pie, apple pie and an oatmeal pie which was sort of like the inside of the shoefly pie but with oatmeal mixed in. And they do not use lard in their crust. So the weekend went well and we were pleasantly surprised that we could find so many great eateries in such a farmy place.

Ladies High Challenge

I just got back from doing this Ladies High Challenge at Thompson Park in Lincroft through the Monmouth County Park System. The daredevil in me seems to always want to sign up for things like this but when the day comes to do it (as it did today), I think "what the hell was I thinking!?" I wished it would get rained out and after calling the weather cancellation number since it was raining where I lived, I learned that yes, it was still on. Shute, sugar, sh*T! So I think, how bad can it be? So off I go. A group of us meets in the park and after introductions and such, we walk in to the woods where this "challenge" is set up. We will be zip lining about 35 feet high in the air which is basically just attaching yourself by a pulley to a telephone type cable line, you stand on a platform up in the air on a telephone pole and once attached, you glide down, James Bond style. I did this in St Lucia last year and it was a blast. I was terrified in St Lucia right before we did it and after my first "zip", I couldn't wait to do it again. I thought this would be the same thing today, most likely much tamer. I mean, how scary can it be for the park system to have put it together? (my palms are beginning to sweat thinking about it now!) So we walk over to the whole set up and the instructors start to tell us how this is going to go down. We first will climb up inside a ropey, round, cable net contraption (about 35 ft high), hoist ourselves up onto 2 wood boards that are about 1 inch thick, attach to another cable, tightrope walk on a (extremely thin) cable while holding on to another cable above you, get to another (haha) platform (yeah right, try more like a sideways telephone pole) and then tightrope walk again with 2 cables to hold on to above you and then you finally get to the platform (this an actual platform a whole 2 feet square) and then you attach to the zip line and away you go sailing along. Piece of cake right? Hah. After seeing the instructor do this whole thing, I decided right then and there, no way was I going to do this. I would climb a bit of the rope thingy and come down and just cheer on the other gals. So after about all of the girls go, (very brave they all were), it was my turn. So up I go on the rope and halfway up, I look down and think, ok, I'm not all that scared, I'm sweating profusely at this point but I think I can go a bit further. After straining every muscle that I didn't even know I had in my legs and arms, I hoist myself up a bit further. Now all of a sudden I am close to the top. How did I get so far?? What am I doing up here? Well now it is time for me to come down but for some strange reason, I continue on. The tricky part is getting yourself up high enough to the top so you can clip into a safety carabiner (those metal thingys that rock climbers use). So before I know it I am clipped in and then you have to grab another one that is on the tightrope cable. So I'm clipping in, unclipping the one that attached me to the telephone pole and now I am tightrope walking 35 ft high in the air. Again I am pushed forward by some unknown force so here I am wobbling like you have no idea but I keep thinking if I just continue forward, I will get to the next platform and then I will be zip lining and I will have done it. The whole time the instructors are telling you what to do from the safety of the nice solid ground below. I couldn't believe they were not up here carrying me! So I make it without falling off the cable to the next platform, hoist myself onto the nice wide sideways telephone pole (oh yeah, I'm feeling real secure on this thing!), hook onto the next carabiner, unhook the last one and off I go again. This time it's walking on a cable with 2 cables on either side above your head to hold on to. Now at this point, I am past sheer terror, my face is dripping wet as if someone has poured water over my head, but forward I go. I need to mention, while on these cables, dear sweet Louise, one of the other gals, was talking me through the entire thing. She had already been through the torture so she knew some strategy to share with me. I don't think I would have made it without her help although there is nowhere to go once you're up there but forward. So I finally make it to the huge 2 foot square platform and breathe for a second and then you're clipped onto the zip line and you sit down in your harness and then just inch off the edge and you're flying away. This is the best part, it's so fun and you feel so deserving at this point to get a nice ride. So you sail forward at a pretty good pace and then the cable turns upward a bit so when you get to the higher part, you just naturally start to glide backwards ( I went with no hands mom at this point!) and then the other gals help you get down by a ladder. The middle of the zip line cable is only about 7 feet high so it's easy to get down here. So what's this got to do with "being geen" or eco-friendly? Absolutely nothing at all, but it was great to be out in the woods, sharing some time with some great gals and if you don't scare the crap out of yourself once in awhile then what's the point of living? Am I glad I did it? More than you know. I feel like I'm walking taller and more confident and no one can touch me. Would I do it again? No way in hell !

The Big Apple

Yesterday we had a wonderful time in the Big Apple. We've always wanted to bike the "Greenway" that runs along the rivers on both sides of the city so we finally made the trip in to do it. We were concerned that our bikes would be too tall on top of the car going through the Lincoln Tunnel but silly us realized huge trucks and buses go through with no problem so we were fine. We parked around 51st street right near the West Side Hwy and then started biking along the bike path. We saw so many cool things, the cruise ships docked with lots of folks coming from and going to their vacations. The USS Intrepid was bustling with sightseers and the helicopter sightseeing launch had many going up. There's a skateboard park and Chelsea Pier with lots of sporting activity (with a very convenient public restroom right along the path too!) Going north a bit, I was amazed at how many beautiful parks there were right along the water. Folks were kayaking (with free rentals!), playing softball and basketball and hanging out listening to live bands in Riverside Park. It was a real treasure to see NY from this vantage point. We then made our way up and over to Central Park and what an experience that was. As many of you might know, Central Park is closed to car traffic on weekends so the roads are all open to bikers, rollerbladers, skateboarders, joggers, walkers, etc. What we didn't realize were how many giant hills there were. It was certainly a workout. We walked our bikes to Strawberry Fields where the memorial to John Lennon is, saw the radio controlled boats in the pond, listened to a violinist play in a lovely shaded area and watched turtles swimming about in the rowboat pond. So back on the park roads, I couldn't believe the serious bikers, we thought we were pretty tough, but some of these fellas and ladies were cruising through at unbelieveable speeds dodging joggers and slower bikers(us). After our ride through the park, we made our way back to the car and then drove over to a new favorite veggie restaurant, Curley's Lunch. It's a tiny little cafe at 328 E. 14th St, between 1st & 2nd Ave. Lots of good ole fashioned veggie burgers, french fries and vegan milkshakes. Yum! We then made our way to Babycakes(248 Broome St, between Orchard & Ludlow-Lower East Side), a vegan bakery, and indulged in some fine vegan cupcakes, gluten free. While strolling about the Lower East Side, we decided to take the Tenement Museum tour which I've been wanting to check out. This was the coolest thing ever, I highly suggest this tour! There's actually quite a few different tours and topics but mostly they take you in to an actual tenement building which dates back to 1870 and tell you about the families who lived there and their struggles, very interesting stuff! And a trip to NY is never complete without a stop at MooShoes, the non-leather alternative shoe store. My hubby bought a new vegan wallet made from recycled bicycle inner tubes. How cool is that?! All in all it was a fine day, can't wait to do it again!

Crust and Crumble - Asbury Park

Crust and Crumble is becoming my new favorite place in town to get a quick, delicious, gourmet bite to eat. They now offer many vegan options which you can create so many yummy dishes with. They have vegan sausage, vegan meatballs and vegan cheese. So you can order a vegan pizza loaded with veggies and some slices of vegan sausage. Or you can get a vegan sausage or vegan meatball parm sandwich. Vegan sausage and peppers and onions. Spaghetti and vegan meatballs….the list goes on and on ! And their salads are just as good. While the Green Goddess dressing isn’t vegan, it sure is yummy for vegetarians. They do offer 2 vegan vinaigrette dressings. They also occasionally do some vegan baking, check them out and see what selections are there! www.crustandcrumble.com

Plastic Cap Recycling

You know those plastic caps on your water bottles, soda bottles and laundry detergent that you never know if you should leave on or not? Do they recycle them if you leave it on? A friend told you that if you leave it on they won’t recycle it. So you throw them in the garbage, right? Well not any more! Clean Ocean Action has partnered with Aveda, the skincare company to recycle them and turn them in to new caps for Aveda’s products. There was a contest that started a few months ago to see who can collect the most caps. There were schools, churches and businesses who participated and over 2 million caps were collected all together! Isn’t it amazing what can happen if a few people group together? We collected here at Organic Style and in just a few weeks, we collected 3000! We had great support from customers and other business owners in the area such as Mike’s Beach House, Twisted Tree, Shelter Home and many others. We even had one young lady who brought in about 500 that she collected at her school. Plastic caps are the number one item found on beaches during clean ups. All too often, birds and other marine animals mistake them for food and often die from not being able to digest them. Now there’s a way to keep them off the beaches and out of the landfills. We will be collecting here at Organic Style as long as they keep taking them. You are welcome to continue bringing them in to us at the store at 621 Cookman Ave, Asbury Park, NJ.

Acceptable caps include shampoo, water, soda, milk and other beverage bottles, flip top caps on tubes and food product bottles (such as ketchup and mayonnaise), laundry detergents and some jar lids such as peanut butter. Softer, flexible lids such as margarine tub lids and yogurt lids are not acceptable. Please be sure not to include metal lids or plastic pumps or sprayers. Happy Recycling!

Su Restaurant - Edgewater, NJ

Su Healthy Cuisine
725 River Rd, Edgewater, NJ ( a few minutes from entrance of Lincoln Tunnel)
201-840-7988

After a short lovely drive up River Rd with wonderful views of New York City, you will find this amazing zen-like restaurant. Don’t let the strip mall location scare you off. Inside you will find an oasis of unbelievable vegan and vegetarian food. This is our all time new favorite veggie restaurant and we tend to think we are veggie connoisseurs. We are the type who will travel an hour or two(as we did for Su) to seek out the new places.
We went to Su for lunch and were able to take advantage of their lunch specials. Their lunch menu is Prix Fixe for $11.99 which included one appetizer or soup and one entrée. We started with the Orange Spiced House Guacamole served with taro chips which was probably the best guacamole we have ever tasted. It was sweet with a hint of spice, extremely fresh, chunky and the subtle citrus flavoring is unique. I would have been happy to order 5 more servings of this and just call it a day. We also had the Grilled Satay Soy Protein Nuggets. The name does not do it justice. These small chunks of mock chicken were delectable, with such a flavorful peanut sauce, it just left you wanting more. The only thing wrong with this dish is that they are gone too fast because you can’t stop eating them. Our main entrees were the Malaysian Curry Stew. This is a very brothy stew that just begs to have something to dip in it. Lucky you, this dish comes with homemade Roti bread which is light, yet oily, but it only makes it more delicious. So back to the curry, the flavors of the broth burst onto your tongue, I really can’t remember eating something this good. The stew consists of softened vegetables and soy nuggets. We really wanted to drink the left over broth and lick the bowl. We also had the Singapore Stir-Fried Rice Noodles with Smoked Soy Protein. This dish was delicious but fairly basic. A large portion of noodles and the soy was similar to veggie ribs in most Chinese styled vegetarian restaurants. Delicious but basic.

After our meal and our hour long drive to get there, we could only wonder how soon we could go back. Any road trip to NYC should include a stop here since it is so convenient to get to. There's also the NY Water Taxi's right along River Road so if you wanted to pop over to the city for awhile, it's a very quick, fun boat ride.