Ventura, CA

February 19, 2013
We arrived Ventura around 1 pm. With a ton of time on our hands, Calum and I took off walking. I checked out Yelp and found a vegan friendly bakery a mile away, so we seized the day and went inside. It was a really cute little pink bakery with coffee and pastries. The owner/pastry chef was working and offered to start us some coffee when we walked in. It was super windy outside and I was cold, so I ordered a soy latte. Calum got a regular coffee, and I was SO excited to see they had agave nectar in a packet as a sweetener option. I'd never ever seen that before and wish desperately that those could be available at more places. They had vegan chocolate orange cupcakes, blueberry hand pies, tarts, and some non vegan stuff...we ordered a chocolate muffin to share. We sat at the single table by the window and had a nice little chat with the owner, Katheryn. She said they'd been open 6 months after earning a following from selling her pastries to coffee shops around town. I was glad to hear they're doing well, and a lot of their business comes from the sale of vegan and gluten free options. The muffin and latte was delicious, and I wish them the best of luck in business.

We continued walking another mile to the Ventura Pier, and found a place called Mary's Secret Garden, which was an all vegan, hippy, kind of raw, kind of spiritual little place. They had inspirational sayings painted all over the ceiling and earthy, canvassed photos on the walls. It was a very expensive place, but we were starving and decided to treat ourselves. Especially since we had walked so far and it had begun to rain. I ordered the Secret Burger "Mary's style" with a salad, while Calum had the curried vegetables. Mine was a bit too big to eat, but had a ton of yummy pickles and avocado on it, so I'm not complaining. Calum's had lots of squash and was delicious. I had a glass of organic Pinot Noir and Calum had an IPA from Oregon. We got a cupcake to save for after the show and it was gigantic. It was an $8 cupcake, so I'm glad it was so big. It was Black Forest with dark cherry filling. We devoured it after the show and it was amazing.
My phone died so I don't have a lot of photos, but I was excited to see my friends KD and Shay that night!!!!

Lake Tahoe, CA

February 21, 2013
We had the most beautiful drive thru the snowy mountains to South Lake Tahoe today. I am dying to run and frolic in the snow, but we drove straight to the club, and a few blocks away found a vegan cafe called Simple Bliss. It's a tiny cafe that opened in July 2012 and is decorated to rustic woodsy perfection. The menu here is huge for a one woman kitchen. They have a ton of desserts, and everything is organic, vegan, soy free, and every item has a gluten free counterpart. I especially like their retail products of all kinds of coconut, gluten free stuff. That part makes it feel like a small grocer too. They have a large breakfast selection, which leads me to believe they are probably super busy for brunch, and a smaller lunch/dinner menu which consisted of lentil burgers, rices bowl, salads, wraps, sandwiches, and paninis. I was bummed they were out of soup, but I ordered the Biscuits and Gravy with roasted red potatoes. Calum order the quiche with a salad. This place is pricey, but organic, whole foods are high in quality and worth the extra cents. All though the portions were small, I was very full. The potatoes were lightly seasoned, and the quiche had a strong herb flavor to it. You could tell everything was made from scratch, and it was the closest to a homemade meal I've had all tour!!

San Diego, CA

February 16, 2013
I was sooo hungry today, which was also my birthday!!! We were stuck in traffic for 3 hours trying to get down to San Diego, in our super crammed rental car. We had to empty boxes we had no room for, and shove a ton of shirts in the back window and little pockets of space in the trunk. I felt claustrophobic, and jammed out to my Lynyrd Skynyrd Pandora station, while dreaming of going to the beach and eating cake the second we got in town. Of course, traffic took so long and we had so much random merch to organize, we ended up stuck at the venue for what felt like hours!! Eventually, I looked on yelp and found a vegan fast food place 3 miles away. It was called Evolution Fast Food and had a drive thru!! It was very cute. Small ordering area, then a huge patio for outdoor seating. The grrrl working said they'd been open for two years, and it looked like they were doing very well. Their drive thru and ordering room had lines the whole time we were there. I ordered a young thai coconut, a Bacon Cheeseburger with their homemade bean patty, fries, and a Boston Creme Cupcake!! I immediately regretted my decision for the bean patty when I read further that it had cilantro in it, so Calum suggested I give it to our singer, Shane, who has been vegetarian over 20 years. I then went back to order my favorite fried sandwich...buffalo chikin!!! We sat outside and I loved my food. The hamburger bun was dark wheat and super fluffy. The fries were super greasy though and I definitely didn't finish them. I saved my cupcake til after our show...and when we arrived at our other guitarist, Dorian's house I ate it with a fork. I was trying to savor it. I loved it, and I am inspired to make a thick chocolate icing that is easy to spread and tastes like ganache. I have to remember to do that!!
At the venue, after we played, we were told there was vegan tacos inside for us. Shane went to check it out and texted me at the merch table that they were yummy snacks. So, Calum and I were very happy to eat after all the equipment was loaded. Over all, it was a great night. Although it did suck sleeping on a wood floor with my towel as a blanket and my jeggings as a pillow that night. #tourlife

West Hollywood, CA

February 14,15, 2013
Traveling is hard sometimes. I hate being hungry, and it makes me very grumpy so I try to make sure I always have snacks on hand. Especially when I'm on tour and have no idea the next chance I'll get to hit up a Whole Foods or vegan restaurant. My bass player, Calum, has been vegan nearly 20 years, and he lives in Brooklyn...aka vegan heaven. Needless to say, he is a spoiled brat when it comes to food. He and I try to seek out the most affordable and innovative restaurants we can while traveling via the HappyCow app, or a quick vegan search on Yelp. 3 shows into this tour, I have only been hungry...like realllllly hungry....once.
I had Valentines day brunch with my best friends Sean and Julia and their baby Mick, at Hugo's in West Hollywood. It's a pricey place, but had great options for vegans and gluten free folks. They handmade all their own pasta in house, and I was ecstatic to have a fresh blended berry mimosa. We split red velvet pancakes infused with beets, strawberries, and walnuts. Then, I had the vegan Mac n cheese with peas, mushrooms, and crispy onions. It was delicious, and I was delighted that the cheese was actually a cashew and sunflower seed cream. Yum.
The next day, when I went to meet up with the rest of my band, we had a last minute transportation problem, and I had to rent a car. I grabbed one from Enterprise on Sunset Blvd, and hit up the Veggie Grill on my way to North Hollywood. Veggie Grill is an awesome chain with a ton of locations all over California and other states. They have burgers, salads, Mac n cheese, tons of gluten free options, buffalo wings, and strawberry lemonade. It is very much a fast food place, where you order at the corner and either sit down or wait for pick up. The food is delicious, but the interior is always so plasticky, and I'm not used to eating a chain places so its kind of a strange atmosphere. I ordered the buffalo chikin sandwich with a side salad. I will admit though, I was a bit bummed because there was cilantro in either the dressing or the corn salsa it's topped with, so I didn't fully enjoy my meal. I was so hungry though, that its all a blur, and after I ate I realized I had no idea where I had parked that damn rental car. I was going up and down the parking garage pushing the panic button while actually panicking to find it for atleast 20 minutes, before I hightailed it out of there and got stuck in typical Los Angeles traffic. Highway 101. Brutal. But at least I was belly full.

Banana Bread

The best bananas for baking are the overripe, brown, mushy ones...Don't throw them away! Bake with them or freeze them and make a smoothie!!!

Banana Bread

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup banana puree
1/3 cup applesauce
1 TBSP canola extract
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup soy or coconut mylk

Pre heat oven to 350°.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together your flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In a small mixing bowl combine, puréed banana, applesauce, oil, and Soymylk and whisk ingredients together. Pour wet ingredients into the bowl with your dry ingredients, and use a spatula or electric hand mixer to combine thoroughly. Scrape the edges of your bowl to ensure there are no dry patches or lumps. If you'd like, fold in half a cup of pecans, semi sweet chocolate chips, or dried cranberries.
Lightly grease a bread or cake pan (these can also be made into muffins) and fill no more than just over an inch high. Bake for 30 minutes or until firm, golden, and a toothpick inserted in the middle, all the way to the bottom, comes out clean. Let cool before cutting. Serve warm.

Seedy Pumpkin Muffins

Last Wednesday, Mike and I taught a vegan cooking for beginners class at our downtown location of Green. I am happy to say it was completely full and we had 40 eager people there to ask us great questions and stuff their faces with our food. We made simple items like, tofu scramble tacos, poblano ranch dressing, lasagna, tofu ricotta, and low fat low sugar seedy pumpkin muffins!!
These muffins are great for breakfast, dessert, and for holiday occasions. They are full of fiber, protein, omega 3's, and love. I recommend serving them warm and fresh. They aren't so satisfactory the day after. Also, if they aren't sweet enough for you, make a little glaze or fold in some dried berries for an extra natural sugary punch.

Makes 2 dozen

2 cups All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 TBSP. Cinnamon
1 2/3 cup Agave Nectar
1 cup Pumpkin Purée
2/3 cup Canola Oil
1 cup Soy or Coconut Mylk
2 TBSP. Vanilla Extract
3 TBSP. whole Flax Seeds
3 TBSP. Chia Seeds

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, whisk or sift together your flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin purée, canola oil, mylk, agave, and vanilla.
Add your mixed wet ingredients to your mixed dry ingredients and use a hand mixer to combine until all lumps are gone. Be sure to scrape the edges of your bowl and thoroughly combine all ingredients.
Finally, add your flax seeds and chia seeds, and use a spatula to fold them into your batter evenly.
Use a spray oil to coat your muffin pan and use an ice cream scoop to divide batter evenly, filling each divider half way full.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden, and toothpick comes out clean.
Serve warm.
Other things to fold into this cupcake that are yummy include: instant oats, chopped apple pieces, chia seeds, pecans or walnuts, or any dried berries.

The following is a photo of one of my bakers, Cici, as we baked cupcakes and muffins together before the cooking class. Baking with friends is fun.