Women Who Love To Travel Solo Vegan

Traveling Solo Vegan

I'm a trailblazer. Exploring new landscapes and terrain is my perfect escape starting in March 2018! This is my year to unplug in the wilderness and clear my mind. It is my chance to see more of the natural beauty this planet has to offer. But 1st I'm going to explore some big cities.

Traveling Solo To Toronto Canada In March 2018

This will be my 3rd time traveling solo and my 1st time traveling solo to another country. I love to travel with my family but sometimes it's difficult to plan our vacations all at the same time. I've worked up the courage to fly and take long road trips alone which to my surprise was enjoyable! I am more cautious of my whereabouts while traveling solo. If I'm traveling on a road trip for instance, I try to refuel where there's a well lite gas station that offers food service and restrooms and plenty of customers. I always have my phone in hand! I'm a member of an auto club that offers road service and a lot of extras, like nearby hotel stay, emergency funds, car rental and cash for food in case of a car accident while I'm away from home. I also use a road trip plan app so I know where to stay and how many fuel stops I need to  make along the way.

 The same goes if I'm planning to fly to another country. I like to plan well in advance (2 Months) I found  that airfare, hotel, hostel or airbnb are much lower in price. There's also a site called couchsurfing but I don't recommend solo travelers to stay  at one of these places alone unless you know a family member or friend who is a member and is offering their place for you to stay.

I've been using expedia for price checking and planning my trips since I took my very first solo trip to Los Angeles, CA in 1985. I like Expedia's user friendly itinerary and if I need a car rental or hotel, hostel, airbnb, they will compare price check with different companies. Expedia will automatically add your itinerary to your google calendar and sync  all your devices with photo's.  You no longer need paper tickets. to check in at the airport, just present your irtenery information from your mobile device.

What am I packing for this 2 day trip?

I've had the same carrying on suitcase I used  on my trip to Dominican Republic in 2002. I want to travel light as possible so with a little research I found a backpack carryon that will fits everything I need to I carry on my person.

Clothes packing cubes

3 personal bags including

I'm going to need to travel with my passport this trip but I was worry about losing it so I searched for something that will hold my passport and protect it. (RFID) protection and it's pretty stylish with a strap to go around my neck

Something to listen to my music while I'm on the plane

                                                                                                                         
















  


I called my mobile provider to make sure that I can receive phone service while visiting Canada, unfortunately they don't provide service towers in order for my phone to work in Canada.. Thank goodness I called my phone service way in advance so that I could do some research.   I did a lot of research on personal mobile hotspot device about the size of a mobile smartphone called Glocalme. It's a mobile wireless hotspot. This device is able to give you wifi service in 100+ countries. You can also use it to charge your phone. I don't believe you can make calls like using your data. I have skype and viber which is an app I can use to make calls using wifi which will allowed me to navigator etc.
I was about to buy a battery pack until I read on the glocalme website that this little device can charge one device at a time.

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Orlando Florida Road Trip June 2015

Before hitting the road it's a good idea to plan out your itinerary, here's a sample

Get a rental car with unlimited miles

You might have make emergency stops or get a bite to eat a little earlier than planned. We made several stops before arriving at our original 1st stop in Delaware. Although I was the only vegan, I was able to find a vegan takeout restaurant on yelp called Candles 79 about 5 minutes from where my non vegan family members order their food. I ordered the seitan burger, fries, with a side of coleslaw and vegan gingerale. Its was delicious and filling!

Our 1st stop in Maple Shades, NJ for fuel

Fuel in VA

South Carolina, Sunday morning. South Of The Boarder

Breakfast/Brunch at Asian Fusion Red Bowl in Florence, SC. Sorry no pictures of my Curry Vegetable Singapore noodle dish. (no comment)

We stopped at Walmart in Georgia and we got caught in a massive rainstorm! Sorry, no pics, but I did get soaked running in and out of Walmart :(

Our final destination ORLANDO FLORIDA!

Orlando Florida Departure

BBQ Cauliflower

1 Head of cauliflower
1 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste
sweet baby ray's hawaiian bbq sauce
1 tbsp vegan mayonnaise
4 chopped green onions

Cut cauliflower with stems attached and place in a large bowl. Add olive oil, salt to taste, and garlic powder, toss until well combine. Bake for 35 or until cauliflower is Al-dente and starts to brown. Take pan out of oven, using a silicone brush, add bbq sauce and bake 15 minutes more.

Optional dip. I use a simple and quick mayo and 1/2 of sriracha with chopped green onions

My Blue Apron

Last week I had an opportunity to try Blue Apron Recipe Meals delivery service. I read reviews about blue apron last year and didn't think this service would work for me because they are not vegan friendly but they do offer vegetarian recipe meals, so I thought I would give it a try.

This is what was delivered to me

They give you everything you need to make the meal (except olive oil) and  8x9" recipe cards with step by step instructions on the back of the cards.


I couldn't wait to get started cooking. My first meal, which was the barley soup in which I took a picture to compare to their photo. lol

The Barley soup was easy to make. My only complaint? They don't tell you to crush the whole spices that they've already included in the bag of Barley soup spice blend mixture. While I eating my soup I crunched on - fennel seeds, aleppo pepper and coriander seeds.  I'm on a vegan diet and couldn't use some of the ingredients they included for this particular recipe, for the instance the parmesan cheese and the cream fraiche. I did how-ever already have a vegan recipe for the cream fraiche and I always have on hand, vegan parmesan cheese.   This soup was plenty and enough to feed at least 5 people.

My next meal was the Stir Fried Rice Noodles, YUM!

I can honestly say that this recipe is vegan friendly! It was so delicious and my friends enjoyed it to! I've never had Gai Lan vegetable before which is included in this recipe. I had to google to find out what it was, only to find out it was just Chinese broccoli. I learn a few things about mixing different ingredients, I would never had thought about using together like, peanut butter with coconut milk which  the recipe called for in order to made a cream base to mix with the noodles. 

The last recipe I made last night was the Ramp & Snap Pea Fregola Sarda

Again there was a couple of food items I couldn't use for this recipe like the butter and parmesan cheese that blue apron included. I substituted some earth balance butter and vegan parmesan. This was an interesting dish, not one of my favorites but it wont go to waste. I found the fregola sarda pasta to be quite chewy.  I didn't care to add the walnuts to this dish that was included. The mint was a good choice for added flavor to this pasta dish, again, I would never thought to add such a combination. I had a lot leftover. This meal was enough to feed at least 4 people.

I wrote to Blue Apron last year, to request if they would create some vegan recipe meals for delivery services and they was kind enough to rely back stating that they will look into it in the near future.

I believe their meal plans are for two people, 3 meals per week $9.99 per person for a total of $59.94 and they have a family plan.

This recipe meal delivery service is good for those who like having their meals to cook delivered and it's good for those who are interested in expanding their cooking techniques in my opinion.

I hope this helps

Yeast Buns

INGREDIENTS

4 cups unbleached flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1(2 1/4  tsp) packet active dry yeast
2 t Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 3/4 cups hot water (about 105 degrees)

DIRECTIONS
in a large bowl mix together flour, salt, and yeast, and form a well in the bottom.
pour in water and add the oil.
with a wooden spoon slowly pull the flour into the liquid until it's fully adsorbed.
work it into a ball with your hands and place on a floured work surface.
the dough should be tacky but not hopelessly sticky. sprinkle flour on the work surface and hands if needed; continue to knead the dough for 5-10 minutes or until the dough becomes elastic.
rinse and grease the large bowl, then place the dough back in it. cover lightly with damp cloth or plastic wrap. let rise in warm place (i usually turn on my oven and place the dough on the stove above it) until double in size (about 1 to 1-1/2 hours).
turn dough back out onto floured surface. punch down and kneed slightly to work out air bubbles.
divide the dough in half, form round loaves and place on lightly oiled pans. preheat oven to 375 and let dough rise 20 more minutes.
bake 30-40 minutes

Strawberry Jam

16 oz. Fresh Strawberries
1 Lemon Juice
1 tbsp Chia Seeds
1/2 cup cane sugar


Instructions
In a medium saucepan over low to medium heat, add the quartered strawberries. Cook on a low heat until softened. Use a potato masher to break them up.
Add the lemon juice and sugar. You might need to add more sugar to your sweetness of taste.This will vary depending on the ripeness and sweetness of the strawberries. Add the chia seeds and cook on low heat until thickened. About 5-10 minutes. It should be thick and gelatinous. Allow to cool and transfer to one of your recycled jar. Refrigerate overnight. This will help the seeds to soften even further. Spread on your morning toast or muffin. This recipe makes about 1cup of jam and can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Tofu Silken Omelet

 

(2 serving)    

6 ounces (1/2 package) frozen Silken tofu (thawed)
1/3 cup soy milk
1 Tbsp brown rice flour
1 Tbsp tapioca flour
1/8 teaspoon turmeric
salt to taste
1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 slice tofutti cheese

Remove tofu from package - drain liquid. I used my tofu presser. Cut tofu into piece and place in a small blender and blend until a smooth consistency.

batter should slowly flow. If not, add additional soy milk by the Tablespoon until the batter is pour able.

Place an 8-inch non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add about 1 Tbsp of olive oil and swirl pan to coat.

Pour the batter into the pan. Spread the batter gently to completely coat the bottom.

prepare any omelet fillings for your perfect omelette.

Cover and cook omelet 6 to 8 minutes until the top appears dry. If the omelet doesn't move freely when shaking the pan, gently work a spatula underneath so it loosens from the pan.

Add toppings to one side of the omelet.

Flip half of the omelet over to the side where your fillings will be added, you might need to add a little more olive oil at this point, cook for a couple of minutes more on low heat. Your omelet should be looking like a real omelet now. Slide the omelet onto a serving plate.

Notes - batter should be a thick consistency, not runny but more like pancake batter. You will have to spread the batter with a spoon to get your desired  size omelette.

Fried your vegetable fillings first before adding to omelet.

I got 2 omelets with my recipe. You might need to add a little more soy milk by the Tbsp because the batter will thicken as it sits, especially if you're making one omelet at a time in a 8" pan like I used.

Enjoy!

2 cheez Mac & Cheez

2 cups of Ziti
Boiled water
¾ cup of your choice of dairy free milk
4 slices Tofutti Dairy free cheese
Garlic seasoning
Go Veggie Parmesan style cheese topping

This recipe is easy as 123
Boil enough water that will cover ziti for 12 minutes
Rinse and drain ziti and set aside
In the same pot add your choice of dairy free milk
When the milk come to a boil add the dairy free cheese slices and stir until the cheese has melted. Add salt and garlic seasoning to taste. Serve in a bowl and sprinkle - go veggie parmesan cheese. Serve immediately

You are going to love!

Spicy Masala Chickpeas

Spicy Masala Chickpeas
3 cups dry chickpeas
1 large sweet onion in slices
1 med red pepper
1 med green pepper
4 fresh tomatoes puree
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 (1 inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1 Tbsp dry cilantro
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon gram Marsala
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tsp red pepper flakes
salt to taste

Directions
Pick through the chickpeas, rinse and then soak chickpeas over night. The next day, rinse beans again and cook according to the directions on the back of package. When the beans are cool, drain the liquid in a bowl and place aside.

In a frying pan, add olive oil, onions, and peppers, fry the vegetable until golden brown, al-dente, add garlic and ginger and saute for a minute more. Add the saute vegetables, spices, tomato puree. to the beans and add about a cup of the bean liquid. Simmer until the sauce becomes a little thick.

Serve over your choice of rice

Easy Crispy Sweet Pickles

Want relish? Just place pickles in a food processor


Ingredients
1 1/2 cup white vinegar
2/3 cup organic cane sugar
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp celery seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
pinch of sea salt
2 medium thinly sliced cucumbers
1 small sweet sliced onion


Instructions
In a sauce pan add 1st 7 ingredients
let the mixture come to a boil for 2 minutes
Slice cucumbers and sweet onion very thin and add them to a thick glass bowl. Pour the vinegar mixture over the cucumbers and cover them with saran wrap, make sure there's enough liquid to cover all the cucumbers (bathe). I had to double the vinegar mixture. After they have cool, place them in the refrigerator for 3 days or more to let the juice combine with the cucumbers, then you can place your pickles in your favorite recycled jars.

Taste if you wish but warning you might eat them all in one setting. lol

Spicy Marinara Sauce

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 celery, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1⁄2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1. 6 oz can no salt tomato paste
1. 28 oz can no salt crushed tomatoes
3/4 - 1 cup water
1⁄2 cup dry red wine (I used carlo rossi)
4 tbsp sugar or less if this is to sweet for your taste buds
salt to taste

In a food processor, add onions and celery. Add oil to a non-stick frying pan and add onion and celery. Cook until onions are light brown. Mix in garlic and turn off flame. In a tall stockpot, add can crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, onion mixture, red wine, sugar, and water. Simmer on very low heat with cover on for 30 minutes. Check sauce to be sure it's not sticking to the bottom of pan in between time.

Deep Pan Tomatoes, Onion Pie

 Ingredients  

3 cups all purpose flour

1 cup warm water

(2) ¼ tsp rapid rise yeast

2 tsp organic cane sugar

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp rosemary

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp oregano
12 roma tomatoes thinly sliced
1 medium sweet onion thinly sliced

Instructions

In a bowl mix flour, sugar, yeast.  Add warm water and olive oil. Kneed the dough for 15 minutes until smooth. You may need to add more flour to prevent the dough from sticking to your fingers. Add smooth dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover it with saran wrap. Place the bowl in a warm area in order for the dough to double in size for about an hour. In a small bowl mix the rosemary, basil and oregano and set aside.

After the dough has doubled in size, turn the dough onto a cutting board or counter. Using a pastry cutter, cut dough in half. Place each of the dough into 2 lightly greased cake pans

I use olive oil. Let the dough rise in the two round pans before adding toppings. Add the thinly sliced onions 1st and then the roma tomatoes and the dried herb on top . (I used the veggie slicer to get the onions and tomatoes very thin) Sprinkle more olive oil on top. 

Or if you don’t want to make two of  pies now, you can place one of the dough into a zip-loc freezer bag and freeze it for a later time. When you are ready to use the second dough just thaw it, place it into a greased cake pan and let it rise for 30 minutes before placing your toppings.

Bake at 425 for 30 minutes until the dough                                                                       

Lemony, Garlic Fettuccine w/ Crispy Tofu

 1 package of extra firm tofu

½ chopped onion

2 tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp salt

3 Fettuccine nests

½ tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Water

3 tbsp go veggie grated parmesan 

½ tsp dried parsley flakes

Drained and press tofu, then freeze until frozen. (this will give your tofu more of a chewy texture)Thaw tofu and season with salt and 1 tsp of garlic powder. Place 2 tbsp of olive oil in a non stick frying pan and sauté onions until golden brown. Remove onions from pan and add tofu and fry until nice and crispy. Add more olive oil if needed. When tofu is done add onions and set aside.

In a pot, boil enough water to cover fettuccine nests pasta for 5 minutes or until andante.

Drain and rinse fettuccine pasta. Add it back to the pot and drizzle the rest of the 2 tbs olive oil, 1 tsp garlic powder, ½ tbsp fresh lemon juice and go veggie parmesan cheeze. Add your crispy tofu to your plate along with the fettuccine pasta. Sprinkle ½ tsp or more of the dried parsley flakes on top of the pasta. Don't forget the vegan Parmesan!

Caring For The Earth We Live In.. Start by Recycling

It's so annoying finding little pinholes in my bags of beans from storing them on top of one another and from tossing them around when I'm searching for beans I want to prepare for a meal. Guilty!

Don't throw away those empty bottles and jars! 

Instead, recycle them. Your dry beans, Pasta, Rice, Flours and Sugars will preserve longer! Not only that but they look so cute in jars. :)

Do your share by caring for the Earth we live in.. Recycle

Hearty Lentil Soup

(2) 16 oz bags of lentils
4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp basil
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp Marsala
2 tsp curry powder
1 bay leaf
10 garlic gloves chopped
7 celery stalk, chopped
2 cups chopped spinach
1 large onion
4 carrots, sliced
no salt crushed tomatoes
veggie broth or water to cover beans
salt to taste
4 tbsp olive oil

Instructions
saute onions, celery until translucent in olive oil
add carrots, spinach and lentils and crushed tomatoes and spices. Add enough veggie broth or water to cover the lentils. Simmer very low 1 hr or until lentils are done.

Easy Homemade Bread

Makes 2 Circular Breads

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour

3 cups white flour

2 tbsp Rapid-rise Highly Active Yeast

2 cups very warm water

your choice of topping

Instructions

In a large glass mixing bowl add 1 cup of whole wheat flour, 2 cups of white flour, yeast and mix thoroughly. Add 2 cups of very warm water to flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon. (at this point your mixture will be like a batter) Add a half cup of the 1 cup white flour and stir. You should be able to pull the batter away from the bowl with a wooden spoon, if not add the rest of the 1/2 cup of flour. (Batter shouldn't be thick like most dough)

Cover the bowl with saran wrap and let it sit near a warm stove for 1 hour to let the dough rise.

Once the dough has rise. Heat oven to 420 degrees. Take your wooden spoon to remove 1/2 the dough from bowl onto a pizza pan that has parchment paper on it. Let the dough rise again for 30 minutes before baking it. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. After the bread is done. Let it sit for 10 minutes before removing the bread easily from the paper onto a rack.

Enjoy!

The Best PAPO SECOS

Ingredients

5 cup flour
1 pkg dry active yeast
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp Earth Balance Butter
2 cup lukewarm water

Instructions
Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup of the lukewarm water with 2 tsp sugar added. Let stand for 5 minutes.
Place yeast mixture in large bowl, add 1 cup flour and mix to make a batter. Cover with saran wrap and let sit in a warm place for about an hour, or until doubled in size.

Pull out the sticky dough and add in remaining ingredients. Mix well. Then, on a well floured surface, hand-knead for 10 to 12 minutes, or until smooth.

Gather in to a ball and place into a lightly greased bowl. Cover again and cover with saran wrap in a warm place near oven for an hour or until doubled in size. Turn dough to a flour work area. Cut dough in half and pull a part about the size of a orange, roll with your hands into a ball. 

Gently reform the dough and cut out one or two more buns you should have 7-8. Let the buns rise uncovered in a warm place for about 30 minutes.

Next brush the tops with a bit more of melted non-dairy butter and gently press a small divot in the center using two fingers. This will also help them rise evenly, so the middle won't form a dome. Place a 9 x 13 pan on the lower rack in over and fill it half way with water.
Bake in a 450 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until fluffy and slightly golden brown.

Oatmeal Raisin Nuts Ice Cream Cookies

Vegan Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe

Ingredients
2 cups silk vegan heavy cream
2/3 cup unsweetened soy milk

1 tbsp arrowroot
1/2 cup can sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Cookie Recipe
Directions:

Add all the ingredients to a pot.
Turn the heat to medium turn heat off once the mixture started to boil.
Mix the Mix the vegan cream until the sugar is dissolved.

Refrigerate for several hours to chill or freeze it for an hour.
5. Pour the cream into an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's directions. Freeze till harden.

Vegan Oatmeal Cookies

2/3 cup earth  balance butter

1/2 Cup cane sugar

1 egg substitute

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

3 cups oats

1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup pecan nuts (optional)

Instructions

Heat Oven to 350

Beat together earth balance butter, and cane sugar until creamy

Add egg substitute and vanilla, beat well. Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon 

and mix well. Stir in oats and raisins, pecan nuts (optional) and mix well. Drop about a tbsp full of the mix onto

a baking sheet with parchment paper on it. Bake 15 to 20 or until golden brown. Let cookies

cool before placing ice cream on cookies to make a ice cream cookies sandwich. Wrap cookies with saran wrap and freeze

Gluten Free Mini Muffin Brownies

Ingredients

1 - 2 cups gluten-free oatmeal
¾ tsp baking soda
½ tsp espresso powder
¾ cup unsalted butter
1 cups sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp of flaxseed Meal Mixed with 9 tbsp of Water
1 cup chocolate chips

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 F, and lightly grease a mini muffin pan.
In a food processor or blender, grind the oatmeal to a fine powder. Measure out 2 cups oat flour, and combine with the baking soda and espresso powder. Set aside.
In a saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter.
Once melted, add the sugar and cook for another minute.
Remove from heat and add the cocoa and salt. Stir to combine.
Add the vanilla, and then the flaxseed meal mixture. Whisk fully so that the mixture is smooth and glossy.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or stick a tooth pick in muffin to make sure they are done