Category Archives: Natural Cafe

by | July 13, 2010 · 8:24 am

Lovin’ the Carbs!

     Good evening! I am completely wiped out from a busy day, so let’s get through this before I pass out! The morning monster was huuuuuuge!

Okay, so it doesn’t look any bigger than normal, but this GM had the most spinach ever included! There was probably about 3.5-4 cups in this. Lovely!
     My roommate and I jumped on the trails around 9:30am and headed down our recently discovered trail. We got to the bridge where we usually turn around, but decided to keep walking and see where we ended up. I don’t know where we were. It was awesome.
We were so busy chatting and enjoying the views, that by the time we turned around, we’d added an extra half hour to the hike. 90 minutes of hiking? Sweet!
     When we got back, I refueled with another mug of coffee, and an indian-spiced KSS.
This had 1/3 a bag of chopped baby greens, 1/2 a chopped bell pepper, 1/2 a cup of warmed lentils, and some of last night’s indian-spiced chicken and vegetables reheated and thrown on top. This was so good! The chicken was still incredibly salty, but when it was combined with a plethora of veggies, it fit right in!
     I ran out to the library to pick up a couple of books that had finally come in: Up in the Air by Walter Kirn, and The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Finally I have something easy to read! I love all the beer brewing books and mountain biking books, but sometimes it’s nice just to get drawn into a story and get lost in the book. I’ll be reading The Help first, because that one is a two week loan.
     The Great Harvest Bread Company was next! I stopped in for a free slice of pumpkin-seed bread and bought another loaf of the 9 Grain bread. I’ll be throwing most of it in the freezer since I didn’t get through the last loaf. I made another batch of Chimichurri sauce to spread on top of my new bread :).
I used actual oregano, instead of marjoram like last time (The vendor at the farmers’ market gave me the wrong bunch last time, but the marjoram still worked!).
I love food processors!
I re-used the bottle from the farmers’ market that I based my recipe off of. It fit perfectly and is now chilling in the fridge.
     I pored through the Veganomicon cookbook for awhile trying to find something to make for dinner, but instead opted to go out to The Natural Cafe with my roommate, who was treating.
I got the Local Favorite – my usual. I told myself I would try something new. I knew I was lying…
My roommate got the albacore sandwich and was done with the entire thing before I’d finished my first half. He had to sit patiently while I scraped up every last crumb.
     Since he treated to dinner, I offered up dessert.
Of course we went to Paciugo! Where else would we go? I got a small with peanut butter caramel, chocolate turtle cheesecake and amaretto chocolate chip. The roommate got chocolate. Just chocolate. At a place that has 20 different flavor options. Seriously.
     There happened to be a Vitamix blender on display at Williams-Sonoma, so we dropped by and got a demonstration of the terrifying sound it makes when turned onto high speed. I’ve been obsessing over these for months now and researching everything about them. I WANT ONE!
     It’s now 9pm and we’re still uncomfortably stuffed. Since I can’t fit anymore food into my stomach, I’m going to head over to the Vitamix website and mentally drool a little. 
Are there any amazing books that you’ve read recently?

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Filed under gelato, green monster, hike, kitchen sink salad, Natural Cafe, Paciugo, Vitamix

by | June 25, 2010 · 9:23 am

Sexy Mannequins!

     Ahh, the weekend is so close I can smell it! It’s just too bad I can’t enjoy it – I work six days in a row! It’s going to be painful on my feet, but feel so good on my wallet!

     This beautiful Thursday started with a Monsta.

This sucker had 3 cups of spinach, 3/4 a cup of unsweetened soymilk, the juice of 1/4 of a lemon, 1/4 a cup of frozen cherries, 1 tablespoon of flaxmeal, and half of a frozen banana. I think the frozen banana really makes it smooth for some reason – there were no big chunks or strings today!
     I was all set to go on my morning hike, and then… I didn’t. No reason. I just didn’t. I woke up SUPER late (after 8am!), had a coffee, made my GM, and by the time I looked at the clock again, it was just too late to go. I had a lot of errands to run today and starting after noon just makes me feel unproductive and stressed.
     Instead of hiking, I went with my roommate to The Natural Cafe to use a buy-one-get-one coupon for lunch. I picked my favorite, the Local Favorite :).
This is avocado, alfalfa sprouts, tomatoes, red onions, lettuce and a thin layer of garlic mayonnaise on toasted 9 grain bread.
     My roommate chose the special of the day.
This had grilled chicken, pinto beans, lettuce, sprouts, onions, salsa and cheese in a whole wheat tortilla, topped with more salsa and jicama, and a side of vegan split pea soup.
I demolished mine.
     Next we headed to Barnes and Noble to glance around. I found a book that interests me very muchly – I’ve put it in my favorites to the right –>
It’s called The Flexitarian Diet by Dawn Jackson Blatner. I think I’m going to become a flexitarian. Flexitarians live a mostly vegetarian lifestyle, but still allow themselves the occasional burger or piece of chicken. I’ve wanted to lower my meat intake and focus on veggies, grains and fish, so this seems to fit my lifestyle right now. I haven’t bought the book yet though – I requested it from my library instead – I’m very cheap!
     Menchies just happens to be next door to the bookstore.
I got a SMALL amount of dairy-free mango sorbet and topped it with strawberries, kiwi, blueberries and a spot of marshmallow creme, just because I had to try it once! It was GOOD!
     I stopped by a specialty wine/beer store and picked up some Old Rasputin stout and a beer that’s been brewed like champagne (don’t ask me what that means, I’ll look it up and tell you tomorrow) so I could have a tasting with some friends tomorrow night. When I got home and threw the bottles in the fridge, I remembered that I’d wanted to try a recipe for a sweet omelette that Heather (Heather Eats Almond Butter) had posted about a few days ago. 
     I beat two egg whites with a hand-mixer until they were big and fluffy, then mixed in an egg and two teaspoons of vanilla. I poured the pretty batter into a frying pan that had a thin layer of (gasp!) butter in it.
So fluffy! And it was a LOT bigger than I was expecting!
And very delicate as well. The flipping didn’t work out how I imagined…
I filled it with a berry mixture – I thawed 1/4 a cup of frozen berries then mixed in a little agave-maple syrup, folded them in between the omelette and drizzled more agave-maple on top. Seemingly weird combo, but I was impressed! YUM!
     Work was the usual – lots of reading, walking around, trips to Paciugo…
(I got another blurry soy chocolate. Not picture-worthy)
     There are summer concerts going on in my town now! Tonight was a tropical rock band.
They were okay. I like Black Carl better :).
All the little kids were dancing up a storm! Pretty cute!
     I went to a clothing store to try on a few shirts – I need some more for work since we have to wear all dark colors – boo! 
     Florescent lighting is a horrible invention. I picked a shirt I liked after cursing at all the other ones that looked horrible in the light, and as I turned to walk out of the dressing room, I saw this:
Isn’t that lovely?
     After I paid, I was walking out and saw something that made my day even BETTER!
Teehee, the mannequins are clenching – I’m such a dork!
     There was only one more thing that could make this day absolutely perfect – a sunset.
Okay, it’s just the rays of a sunset shining on a hill, but I’ll take it!
What one thing would make your day perfect?
And now I’m off to crash so I can wake up early enough to make a GM, coffee and attempt to look pretty for the opening shift at work. Wish me luck! I’ll need it!

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Filed under Barnes and Noble, mannequins, Menchie's, Natural Cafe, sunset, work

by | June 15, 2010 · 8:09 am

Libraries and Infomercials

     Is everyone loving their Saturday as much as I am? (I know it isn’t ACTUALLY Saturday, but it is for me!) If you have today and tomorrow off, you’d better be living it up – yay midweek weekends! Today consisted of some of my favorite things: Trader Joe’s, the library, bakeries, Natural Cafe and another library :)!

     I realized this morning that the spinach at the house I’m dogwatching at was spoiled. I put it in a colander and it was all slimy and gross, so I came back to my house to make a big ole GM for myself and the roommates. Lo and behold, I got back and they were finishing up cleaning the blender. That’s right, they couldn’t survive a day without a GM so they MADE THEIR OWN!!!! Look what I’ve created! The only downside to this was that I had to make my own and only had about four blueberries to include. It came out kind of bland and chunky. I chewed my way through the glass.

     I headed out to return some books to the library, get gas in my car, and on the drive back, passed by THIS!!!!
     COMING SOON!!!! NEAR MY HOUSE! SO EXCITED!!!!!
     We have a Great Harvest Bread Company by the house, and I’ve been trying to find time for months to go buy a loaf, but I always end up getting there after they close. Today, I got there and the door was open! Hooray! I sampled some of their cranberry-orange bread with whipped honey, and bought a loaf of 9 Grain bread – first ingredient is 100% whole wheat! Note to everyone: wheat flour and WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR are totally different! Always make sure the first ingredient is 100% whole, or something like oatmeal!
     So pretty!
     And delicious! (One tablespoon of flaxseed peanut butter on top)
     After I’d calmed down from my indian/fresh bread freakout, I went and walked the Little Blurry Monster (who will now be known as LBM), and watched a P90x infomercial. Have you tried P90x? I’m dying to try it out – if their nutrition plan is suited for lactose-intolerant people, I’m going to hunt a copy down! The infomercial really inspired me, but not enough to get on the floor to do crunches. Instead I crunched this:

     Not the smartest thing to eat, but I think I can forgive myself… yes, I definitely forgive myself.

     Lunch was a cup of Progresso lentil soup with fresh spinach and a teaspoon of goat cheese mixed in.

This brand has a little too much sodium for my palate, so I tried to tone in down with a squeeze of fresh lemon. Very delish, but still a tad too salty.
     After two hours of cleaning, reading The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud and rotting my brain with a little Food Network, I met up with one of my best buddies for dinner. We went to Natural Cafe and split “The Locals’ Favorite” which has avocado, lettuce, alfalfa sprouts, tomatoes and onion on 9 grain bread. It’s also supposed to have garlic mayo but they left it off our sandwich :(. Healthier I guess, but I wanted that creamy garlic mayo!!! 
     I polished off my half and realized that I forgot to take a picture, but my dinner date was kind enough to let me photograph his.
     Oh yes, they also included blue chips and fresh salsa. I may have finished them all by myself, AND had a huge chunk out of that piece of bread in the middle.
     Finally, we headed to the library and spent an hour and a half perusing the shelves. I came back with even MORE books on homebrewing. I’m thinking of selling my surfboard in order to pay for some homebrew equipment. Any surfers or homebrewers out there with an opinion on this? 
     Now I have to go back to the house with no internet connection and walk the LBM, so I bid you all a good night. I looked over my day and realized that except for the goat cheese in my lentil soup, and possibly the chocolate chips in the granola bar, I was vegan today! My brother (who’s been a vegan for 10 years and counting) would be proud! Or he’d punch me in the arm just cuz I’m his little sister :P.
Oh yes, and a coconut milk ice cream sandwich and Mission St. Hefeweizen await me. Did I forget to mention that? 😀

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Filed under chips, Dog walking, Hefeweizen, lentils, library, little blurry monster, Natural Cafe, salsa, soup, The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud, Trader Joe's