It is so absolutely refreshing here!  Went to the Library bookstore and snatched another Isabel Allende novel for $2 and it is her hardcover new bestseller.  It is called Ripper and looks like a murder mystery based in San Francisco.  Also came home with seventeen other books, all worthwhile, from classics to non-fiction.  I am especially keen about reading Flying without Fear by Duane Brown, Phd.  This incredible phobia is keeping me grounded and I do not like to be limited.  Hopefully, I will get some courage to even read it.

It is time for a fire, as it is getting colder now in the afternoon.

I made a delicious vegan stew like dish in one big pot.  Mushrooms, carrots and onions chopped up and sizzling in hot tarragon infused olive oil.  Then I added canned diced tomatoes, veggie paste, pasta seasoning, water, soy spaghetti, garbanzos and vegan ground meat.  Once it cooked up a bit, I tossed in some artichoke hearts from a jar and a few kalamata olives.  Yum.  Cooking with Altitude is inspirational.

It’s Friday!  Last day for the girls in their Berkeley abode.  They are on their way home!  Then one whole day with V and off to Germany and environs she goes!  One whole week with E and back to school for her.

It’s that time of year again when kids are coming and going in every family.  Back to school soon and the last few hurrahs of summer for most.  Teachers are revving up, books are being sold, classes are hopefully getting cleaned and the stores are stocked with stationery items.

 As I hug and hold and snuggle with my little chickadees again, I will cherish the precious, few moments and bless the tops of their sweet little heads.

I can count on one hand and name four places I frequent that are strictly vegan:  Native Foods, Veggie Grill, Free Soul Cafe and The Loving Hut.  Now I can add another.

Yesterday we found Healthy Junk, an eatery located at the Anaheim Promenade, a centrally located street that is closed down for pedestrians on weekends.

I was able to meet the owner, congratulate and thank her.  Her name is Lydna Santos and after personal cheffing over in Europe, she recently opened up her first dining spot in a bustling, busy, young and up and coming area.  Her parents were in the culinary international restaurant business and she credits them for influencing her aesthetics, dedication and standards of excellence.  She’s been vegan since 2004.

It’s great to find a place that caters to vegans but it’s even better to find a place so fabulously delicious too.

I began with a huge appetite, not having my usual breakfast and ordered a Caesar Salad, flatbread pizza with fresh tomatoes and basil and carrot cake.  Of course, I took most of it home, but also, I finished it all off by today.

I picked the Caeser out of 7 (seven) choices because it is rarely available to a vegan in a regular establishment.  It was dressed perfectly with a generous half avocado, sliced and fanned on top.  The croutons were crispy and the ‘cheez’ was a combo of nuts and nutritional yeast.

The flatbread pizza was so good, that it made me call over the owner and thank her.  The only other vegan pizza that was better, was the one at Gather in Berkeley (put it in Search Box and read about it).  But this place is closer to home and I cannot wait to eat my way through the menu.  All the pizzas are topped with house made Marinara and Mozzarella ‘Cheez”.

The Bunny Love moist cake was frosted and layered with a sweet vanilla filling and generously sprinkled with chopped nuts.  It was delightful and I just had a few bites, put it back into its carton for travel, and I tried to save it, but I ended up eating it all up, five minutes after we arrived home.

How wonderful for people to re-unite and begin again.  Like in the airport scenes from the movie, Love Actually, all three of my grown children will be meeting up at San Francisco Airport tonight and I truly wish I could be a fly on the wall.

May their summer days be filled with learning, growing, sharing and laughing.  I know it will be filled with commuting, walking, eating and reading.  I know we have lived an intense, event filled and quality life, thus far.  How exciting for us as parents to behold our very own future in such good-hearted, intelligent, interesting and honest hands.

The beauty of old, mature, green trees never ceases to amaze me.  They enhance neighborhoods, they enrich our environment and they enliven the scenery.Martin Luther King Ave. in North Berkeley.

“Let him who would enjoy a good future waste none of his present.” – Roger Babson

Well, it wasn’t enough to overindulge in Berkeley, it seems.  Last night, the love of my life and I dined at Fitness Grill in Yorba Linda where everything can become vegan and they even have a separate vegan menu with TEN items!! Lucky me.  Lucky for Cindi they had a patio and we packaged up some kibbles in a baggie and took her out to dinner too.

I started with an appetizer called Avocado Cocktail.  It could have used more lime/lemon/acid and salt.  Presentation was an 8 but chips were stale and seemed like they were from the bottom of a bag.  I have had this version of guacamole before, both out and made by ourselves and it could have used more care and soul but I was hungry so finish it, I did.My entree was a Stuffed Portobello with risotto, summer squash, onion, fresh tomatoes, green peas, olives and corn sitting on a light hummus sauce and sprinkled with chopped fresh cilantro and roasted slivered almonds.  The saffron was a bit overpowering which made it bitter but then you get used to the strength and it was fine.  The Portobello mushroom is a notorious meaty substitute for vegetarians.  The “risotto” looked more like a couscous.  It was creative and presented well though and was actually very tasty.

All things considered, we will be coming again to try out other dishes, perhaps their vegan pizza (I know I know – I seem to be on a roll).

Having the patio makes it welcoming to our party of two plus Cindi and piping out good ‘ole eighties music like The Cure, Morrissey, Depeche Mode and New Order on a continuous loop of hits and obscurities, didn’t hurt either.  Not to mention the availability of vegan fare.