January 15, 2024
Since I made baked mooncakes last Lunar New Year, I have wanted to try making “snowskin” mooncakes. Traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival, these Chinese no-bake treats are also called Crystal Mooncakes or Snowy mooncakes. With the recent snow, they were on my mind… even though it is not Mid-Autumn. Read more…
October 21, 2023
To celebrate my birth so long ago, we headed south to Pennsylvania’s Potter County for a stay in a cabin in the mountains. I chose this location for a few reasons. For one, it is very near to the dark sky park Cherry Springs State Park. In the unlikely event Read more…
April 14, 2023
It’s been several years since I visited the first place I ever shot the stars. Though that evening was clear, too many times my plans were thwarted by the mountain’s tempestuous clouds. But we would give it a shot anyway, staying in town to allow for an easy check on Read more…
February 22, 2023
Before I drop a bunch of Route 66 neon, I want to give a big shout out to Chinese eateries across the country who always offer a reliable vegan options. This well needed meal was from Mandarin Beauty Restaurant. Mapo tofu Also, it is a great thing that veg snacks Read more…
January 30, 2023
Well, January is over… and the short but mighty month of February ushers us close to spring like a time machine. Because it’s always gone in a flash. Before we dive in, some outtakes from January 2023’s archive in my three favorite boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, & Staten Island. Manhattan On Read more…
January 22, 2023
For this festive day I wanted to try making vegan Mooncakes! A bit labor intensive but with a beautiful reward. I used this helpful resource for Mooncake making and adapted this vegan recipe. Pastry: 200 g Cake Flour 1 TB all-purpose flour 120 g Light Agave Syrup 48 g SunCoco Oil (It’s what I had; use Read more…
October 1, 2022
With an alluring and authentic vintage tiki kitsch, Jade Island is right up my alley. . . and perhaps the alleys of the many visitors also basking in tropical fun during our visit. As you step in you forget about it being in a strip mall next to the huge Read more…
September 30, 2022
Treats hand-off Apologies for tons of selfies, but it has been a while since I cared to dress well. This pistachio chocolate chip cookie from Yard Sale is a new tradition. Merry Merfolk prep Currants I always send him the morning sky. Pad Thai, all the time Fall. Blending in. Read more…
November 29, 2021
Lots of cookie dough for special cookie deliveries to Rochester & West Palm Beach 💛🍪💛 I am loving my cookie scooper Check out these beauties Birthday cupcakes for my work ex-wife And a special pick-me-up in the middle of the chaos of middle school teaching… That Lively bite I love Read more…
November 5, 2021
How is it November, just a couple of months away from the new year? Every year seems to go faster and faster. Here, some shots in time… things I’ve eaten within time. A beautiful morning Treat Me Thursday at my new favorite coffee shop on the way to work: Yardsale. Read more…
March 15, 2021
In my corner of Brooklyn, I am surrounded by thriving Chinese enclaves. Within these wonderful communities, along with the true joy of living in one of the most diverse cities in the world, many unexplored menus with ample and unique vegan options. I plan to excitedly report on these options Read more…
January 7, 2021
As we enter 2021 still within this health crisis, still within political insanity, the Scenes continue! Freshly testing out of a quarantine, to follow are Scenes from several quarantines past, in-between negative Covid tests… the ones before seeing my family for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, as well as after my Read more…
November 25, 2020
Welcome back to my Scenes From a Quarantine series! Because 2020 said so. Convinced of this being a short-term predicament, let us continue to embrace the bizarre of this before it is buried in our collective memories. O.G. vegan: Bean curd with broccoli in garlic sauce with vegetable fried rice. Read more…
June 23, 2020
No more pencils, no more books… oh wait! We haven’t used either since March! Though I have enjoyed seeing my students’ ceilings in our Google Meets, the school year is ending on a rather anti-climactic fashion. A trip to my school to pick up some curriculum planning stuff for summer Read more…
September 15, 2019
I have friends of all ages. But I find it amusing that an older friend pressured me to download and often utilizes her personal emoji, Bitmoji, in her text messages. Like a lot. So I made one mostly for her amusement. But now I’m hooked on utilizing it when appropriate. Read more…
July 27, 2019
Manhattan’s Chinatown is a unique part of the island. It has its own pace, its own feel as if air-lifted from across the sea. I enjoy being a tourist within its cluttered streets, pleased that the community is not subject to the the dangers a lot of the other parts Read more…
April 29, 2019
Back to my regular day-to-day means the best vegan options around are the ones I am making myself. But sometimes, ok–too many times, I enjoy the convenience of delivery. Mr. Bun is my latest food craze. Its Bun is most definitely worth the delivery fee. This time, their vegetable bun, Read more…
April 5, 2019
I am pleased that so many eateries are taking on vegan versions of fried chicken, especially fried chicken sandwiches! It’s one of my must-orders when on a menu. But for so many years I was dissatisfied. I craved it done right… not an uninspired frozen patty taken out of a Read more…
March 2, 2019
I’ve been vegan so darn long. I think it’s like 23 years now. 😬 I want to take a moment to thank Chinese food, which sustained me during so many of my early years when American cuisine could not. And I still love it so: tofu (or what I first Read more…
December 26, 2018
Doing Christmas-y things at any other time of year is just weird. So as the season passes us by, here is a purge of ‘once a year’isms. Like these shiny color pops in my apartment. Along with my Ambrosia, I brought some holiday cookies to my family’s. And since I Read more…
August 29, 2015
Alas, it’s another day of fog and rain, unfortunately. And another cancelled excursion. I would not be able to test out my underwater camera in Alaska’s waters during a snorkeling adventure after all. I was pretty bummed about that. As one of two cruise ships docked in port today and Read more…
June 30, 2013
Growing up on Long Island, Chinese food was an early source of vegan sustenance for me. On this massive suburb benefitting from New York City’s proximity, you can get good bagels, good pizza, and good Chinese food. Three staples you learn, with time, that the rest of the country doesn’t do Read more…
January 3, 2011
This made me want to make congee. That and I have so much fresh ginger lying around. You see, I love fresh ginger. Whether it slowly grows tentacles on my kitchen table; whether I actually peel, slice it and eat it; whether it’s pickled pink in a pile next to Read more…
November 12, 2010
Summary: I kind of love V & T Supermarket in Hempstead, Long Island. Scoring the car for the day for some errands, I knew I had to hit V & T Supermarket on Franklin street in Hempstead. I had been seeing it for years, the huge white cryptic building off Read more…
August 5, 2010
Six years of self-funded undergraduate school in the CUNY system while working: $ 18,475.95 Two years of graduate school loans at a prestigious Ivy League school: $ #!,%@# Having summer days to spend with friends tasting the city I love: Priceless.L-R, T-B: Pineapple sweetened ice water, KZ, mock shrimp dumplings, Read more…
December 7, 2009
On a blustery December morning, the first of its kind, 3 intrepid souls wandered into the depths of Brooklyn by hoof for Part 2 of a thorough borough scour of veggie delights. Congregating at the gorgeous Brooklyn museum of Art, we headed down Washington avenue to Natural Blend, a Ital Read more…