What Vegans Eat – Day 802

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Lunch: We had gone to bed at 3am and got up as late as we could. Gary decided to stay at home and finished up the preparation for the evening party. I felt bad that he would not be joining me for my birthday lunch but welcomed his loving gift. And as my mom would say, “he worked like a dog!” Funny thing those idioms, aren’t they? I try and be mindful and realize what I am saying before they come out of my mouth. Working like a dog? All the dogs I know live a life of leisure. But I am sure, at some point we worked dogs really hard, along with other animals like horses, pulling our heavy carts. While Gary “slaved” in the kitchen (there’s another one!) I enjoyed a nice lunch at the local Cheesecake Factory here in Queens with my parents, my brother’s family and my cousin and her son. I didn’t think I was hungry but I managed to put away this entire Vegan Cobb Salad. They make great salads there.
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The Cheesecake Factory has yet to offer a vegan cheesecake. I have written them about it and got no response. There are many fabulous vegan cheesecakes recipes out there. They did have strawberries so I ordered that for dessert, with a candle. I was delighted when I saw my name written in chocolate sauce.
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My brother’s family has just spent a week in Florida visiting Disney World and Universal Studios. Look who they brought back for me, Lisa Simpson!
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Daily Green Juice: Gary had done so much and I ran around as soon as I got home to help finish up before the guests arrived. We both guzzled our green juices made with Kale, Collards, Celery, Carrots, Ginger and Lemon to refuel for the event.
 
Dinner: What a great party it was! There were 28 of us, chatting, laughing, singing and eating. It was one of the best parties we ever had.
Below are some of the dishes we had.
 
Cheese Platter
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A Mini Bagel Bar with Kite Hill Cream Cheese, Carrot “Salmon”, Capers and Red Onions.
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Baked Tofu and Cherry Tomato Skewers
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Grilled Field Roast Chao Cheese and Deli Slices Sandwiches.
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Gary’s famous Chickpea Flour Flatbread with Two Toppings. This one had Creamy Pesto, Grilled Onions, Roasted Garlic and Sundried Tomatoes.
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The other Flatbread had Spicy Marinara, Figs, Grilled Onions and Olives.
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oko1We had some fantastic organic wines as well, including Querciabella Mongrana and Oko Malbec and Pinot Grigio. Gary was searching for organic wines in our neighborhood and finally found the Oko organic wine from Argentia. He brought some bottles home. I flipped out! The label on the bottle had the image of the Tree of Life, as painted by my favorite artist Gustav Klimt. Serendipity! If you have read my story regarding Adele Bloch-Bauer and my cancer experience you will understand why I flipped out. If you don’t know the story, you can read all about it, in the book 25 Women Who Have Survived Cancer.
 
 
 
 
Evening: For dessert we had the Lemon Meringue Pie and Carrot Cake. Happy Birthday to ME!

 
I love that my birthday is on Earth Day. While Earth Day is celebrated only one day a year, here at REAL we believe that every day is Earth Day. The Earth should be nurtured, cared for and protected. This is, after all, our home. One of the best ways to protect the Earth is with a vegan diet, which is far less polluting and energy intensive as a diet that includes animal products. Go vegan, for the Earth!
 

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