What Vegans Eat – Day 970, Travel Edition

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Breakfast: Staying at Dave’s house is like being at a Bed & Breakfast. He had baked a Sourdough bread that he served with Inna Jam, made with apricots grown locally in nearby Gilroy.
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Then he showed us all of his coffee-related paraphernalia and toys. I am not a coffee drinker but after hearing about Dave’s coffee passion, from finding and choosing the beans, roasting them himself at home I decided to try a cup. This is my once-a-year-day coffee. Gary is off caffeine and he indulged with a decaffeinated coffee. Dave had Soy Milk and Almond Milk for his vegan guests.
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After breakfast we went for a walk. After passing some wetlands we ended up near Target and decided to stop in to pick up maple syrup. Dave wanted to make pancakes for breakfast tomorrow. After a romp in the store we continued our walk and stopped into the City of Watsonville Nature Center. It’s in a trailer off a trail near the shopping complex. I was playing with the display that demonstrated how much water is saved with a low flow shower head. I was mumbling to myself about how one could really save water and Cindy, who worked there heard me. She quickly brought out a display that she often uses, especially with teens, showing how much water is used to make a hamburger. I was thrilled to discover this important bit of activism. If you are ever near Watsonville, visit the Nature Center. They have special events and offer a free, bilingual nature walk every Sunday at 1:30 p.m where you can explore the award-winning trails through the rich wetland habitat.
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Lunch: After our walk I went hunting in Dave’s kitchen and put together a lunch, with Gary’s help. We made some Hummus, Corn Cakes (with green onions), Celery, Carrots, Spinach Salad and Sourdough Bread.
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We headed back to Carmel since we all love it there. On the way we stopped at the Whole Enchilada Market Place. I mentioned how expensive Avocados are these days and Dave thought they might have some for a reasonable price. They didn’t, so we continued on to Carmel for some wine tasting at Paseo San Carlos Courtyard. We sampled Blair Wines and Shale Canyon Wines.
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Dinner: The plan for dinner was Pesto. Dave had a big planter on his patio bursting with Basil leaves. We stopped at a Trader Joe’s to pick up Pine Nuts and a few other items. I was craving bitter Greens, like Broccoli Rabe but there wasn’t any. Gary suggested Arugula so we grabbed a bag. Back at the house, I assigned the pesto-making task to my Italian boy. Dave had a very large Shallot which I thought would be wonderful sautéed with the Arugula. Gary took on that task as well. Dave put up the water for the pasta and opened a bottle of Pinot Noir he had been saving for a special occasion. The Pesto was perfection!
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The Arugula was spectacular!
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