Ice Cream and Pups

Some Coconut Toasted Almond Ice Cream was enjoyed this week...

from a little stand in Tillett Gardens...

only one vegan option, but better than none...

it was good but not $12/pint good....

more beigeness at the beach this morning...

Scrat's second time going to the beach with his brother and sister...

no possibility ever of tiring out Calvin...

Molly can do without her little brothers...

but they love their big sis...

Sadie seems more interested in relaxing than getting out of the house (the balcony is supposed to get refinished/painted this week). Lots more to come. Bye for now.

A Care Package From The Mainland

A very sweet friend sent me a surprise Trader Joe's care package a couple weeks ago...

literally all my favorites (no Meatless Meatballs though, shame)...

I had seriously forgotten how great the Speculoos Cookies are...

I am parsing the Cornflakes out very sparingly. Cereal is outrageously priced here and there is nothing I've found that is comparable to these...

the third item that really shocked me was the Popcorn. Again, it was so incredibly flavorful, really well done...

The Dark Chocolate Bar with Raisins and Pecans was exactly how I remembered it, love it...

the Chocolate Almonds pair perfectly with 'The Crown' on Netflix. An explosion of pleasure. (Guess my fingers are permanently pruned)...

The Dark Chocolate Crisps have not been opened yet because the Mr. let it be known that as soon as I open the box, he is eating them all. In summation, incredible thoughtfulness and generosity aside, this Trader Joes gift box totally blew my mind in how I had forgotten how great these products are. Hope all you mainlanders go to your local TJ's now with new found appreciation!

This guy recently decided to make our deck his home. I have christened him 'Genip' to go along with all the other Genips on our deck. He has no problem eating our food, but we dare not touch him. Little does he know, once the critter trap arrives in the mail, Genip will be getting snipped.

A view up our street. A Coconut fell into the gutter and the recent rains caused it to sprout. Lots more to come. Bye for now.

Vegan Food Fair - Day Two

Went back again today and there were a few new vendors in addition to the ones from yesterday...

Stopping at Love Livin for a Smoothie first thing is definitely the best way to approach the festival so as not to get too hungry/thirsty and make poor food choices...

no Kale in todays Smoothie but still awesome...

also got a bag of the Beet Popcorn which had just the right amount of sweetness...

Ras Nashamba owns a farm next to where the festival is held and he is renowned for his Ital Soup. There was news of an exceptionally long line yesterday for the Soup and, based on our experience waiting in very short lines at the festival, it must have been a really slow moving line to say the least...

so we headed to Ras' place around 12:30 in hopes of beating the rush, but people were heading in the opposite direction saying there was a problem with the Soup. We were like, "What could possibly have gone wrong with the Soup???" Turned out, his pot had just cracked apart while he was cooking the Soup this morning. All was lost.

he had food being prepped but we didnt feel like waiting around, the line had already begun forming...

on Ras' farm...

above are some Plaintain Trees being sold bare root which I thought was interesting. Also interesting (to me) was seeing a guy put Ketchup on his Plaintains...

we wandered around some more enjoying the artists...

and food...

Mango Cheesecake. Resisted buying...

Roasted and Stuffed Peppers...

Loofas...

we were told this guy's name is Imani...

I got three huge pieces of his Fried Cauliflower...

and the Mr. got a bowl of Imani's Ital Soup with a piece of Fried Cauliflower on top. Really outstanding. It is too bad these folks only cook for the public once or twice a year (we were told Imani cooks at Carnival as well).

arriving home we found that the Pups had gotten into the paper towels. Bye for now.

20 Pics From The Vegan Food Fair

Today was the first day of the annual Vegan Food Fair...

thankfully, it wasnt too hot out. We are experiencing some windy weather the past few days...

our first stop was the Love Livin stand for some Spirilina Popcorn (they also had Cayenne and Beet flavors)....

and a fresh Smoothie...

they added Kale and Agave as well...

very delicious and satisfying so we could just leisurely wander around...

lots of Sorrel like last year...

there were classes in various types of crafting...

many beautiful crafts for sale...

tons of hot sauces...

great entertainment...

tons of produce....

Moringa was every where. I felt bad cuz I told the woman selling the cookies I would be back to buy some but never actually did. Hopefully tomorrow...

Moringa Hot Sauce...

we wanted some Moringa Soup but they were sold out...

loved watching the traditional dancing...

then we got in line for food...it took 35 minutes to get served. Fortunately, there was an enjoyable speaker on stage that made waiting not so bad...

this is the last piece of Lasagna, sold to the woman in front of me in line...

my plate of Soy Chunks, Stewed Tofu, Rice and Lentils, Mac & Cheese with Sweet Potatoes and Plaintains on top. All outstanding and worth the wait...

on my way out I got two Coconut Rolls...

and a slice of Chocolate Coconut Cake for tonight. Am planning to return tomorrow and to post about it. Bye for now.