some people are pretty lucky if they live in a huge metro area where vegan luxuries are a plenty. there are even luckier people that have it made and live in portland where the rivers flow with soymilk, the streets are paved with nooch, the trees grow vegan doughnuts, and bob barker personally wakes you up each morning. i'm not one of those lucky duckies, but i'm grateful to live in the coolest oasis in the midwest: bloomington, in. i love living in this town. she's such a beautiful gem in a junk drawer. if you've never been here, may i suggest a road trip? as long as you don't come during little 500 or hilly hundred, you should be good. if you are a bicycle enthusiast, then those two festivals would be right up your alley. i don't really consider little 500 to be a celebration of bikes, but as an excuse for the students and townsfolk to engage in acute alcohol poisoning all week. summer is the best time to visit because all the students are gone.we have a volunteer run bookstore and community center: boxcar books. they had their 7th birthday party and there was a massive vegan dessert bounty. i didn't think to bring my camera with me so all photos were taken with my camera phone. here are some of my favorite highlights from the spread: pictured above are vegan buckeyes, YES vegan buckeyes.
i'm usually not a fan of putting balls in my mouth-((((giggling like butthead)))), but these raw junior chocolate coconut balls were to die for!
this photo doesn't do this dessert justice. these lemony strawberry cupcakes were absolutely adorable. the chick that baked them was even cuter. of course i didn't openly flirt with her. just in my brain.
my plate: a wrapped choco-peanut butter chip bar for vinnie, a vegan buckeye, chocolate pudding cake (sweetened with some kind of fruit, very good), and some vegan carrot cake with cream cheez frosting. NOT pictured, but lounging in my belleh were bites of the following: lemon bars, and a chocolate chip cookie.
well, it sounds like a lovely town and a super awesome bookstore! i may just have to make a visit someday! (and vegan buckeyes... what!?)
ReplyDeleteOooh fun! The man and I watched a short film on Boxcar Books just the other day. I love Microcosm Publishing which I think is still located in Bloomington as well. Zine love! And the snacks look great!
ReplyDeleteI love your description of Portland. That's how I imagine it is too...lucky bastards.
ReplyDeleteBut it sounds like Bloomington is pretty cool! I love indie book stores, and how neat that they celebrated with a vegan dessert potluck! I am also not a huge fan of balls in my mouth, but I'd put those coconut balls in my mouth and swish them around.
Man, I've been scouring the office looking for stashed candy or something sweet. Now you've kicked up my sweet tooth another notch! :)
ReplyDeleteIn regard to the grilling of tofu, I use my cast iron grill pan and lay the marinated blocks on it. I make sure to get it good and pre-heated, but not too hot, as the fu has the tendency to stick. A little oil can help the stickiness too. I do it for about 3 min per side. My grill pan was pretty cheap at BBB, $20.
Love the cute little cupcakes, strawberries...mmm!
ReplyDeleteI had to de-lurk just to tell you how much I laughed at your Portland comments. As a fellow midwesterner (St. Louis) I try not to seethe with jealousy when I read those lucky bastards's blogs! :)
ReplyDeleteHaha... that's pretty much Portland! We went to the Vagina Monologues for Valentine's Day last year, and happened to be seated between two vegan couples!
ReplyDeleteBut really, you all just need to move here! And open a vegan pizzeria. Then it would be perfect :)
P.S. I've never heard of a Buckeye... time for Google!