Bzzzz! Blurts the busy bee!

First things first: Happy World Vegetarian Day!

Now with that out of the way, oh friends, you cannot believe how busy I have been. I am so far behind on the things I wanted to blog about, it’s not even funny. To further complicate things and make myself more busy, which you know I love to do, I have started my fifth October Project.

What’s the October Project? Here, have a look at last year’s project. Basically, I take a photo every day for the month of October. This will be my fifth year. I missed 2006 because I was too busy planning my wedding and working two jobs/getting my Masters degree. You can check out the other years photos under the sets on my Flickr page.

I have been feeling guilty about the things I haven’t posted about yet, so today’s post will be a little catch-up post.

Back in August, my best friend organized a spa day/potluck instead of having a traditional bachelorette party. It was so much fun!

We went to Oasis Day Spa in Williston, Vermont. I had such a great time. I got the Afternoon Delight package:
“Start your afternoon with a relaxing hydrotherapy treatment followed by a one hour full body massage and ending with a relaxing full body exfoliation with our lavender body polish.”

When I got the exfoliation done, I chose the champagne and rose scent. You wouldn’t believe how amazing this smells. I…I…just can’t explain it! I did a little hunting and found out the makers of the champange and rose spa products is Keyano Aromatics. Because I am always concerned about whether or not the products I use in my home and on my are cruelty free, I contacted the company. I spoke with owner, Bill Comiskey, who told me the products are “wife tested.” How cute is that? You can’t buy directly from the website, but you can visit Oasis Day spa and treat yourself with an exfoliation. I think you might also be able to purchase the products from there, but I am not 100% sure, so call ahead first.

I highly recommend the champagne and rose. The butter cream made me so soft, smooth, and smell amazing. Everyone agreed that the smell was divine. My legs were so smooth, that later on, while kneeling down to choose what tasty beers to purchase at Pearl Street Beverage, I kept slip sliding!

A big long overdue hello/shout out to Brittney, Carol, and Annie! Thanks for making my trip to the spa so amazing.

After we were all primped and pretty, we got got things ready for the potluck.

Here’s what I brought:

This is so easy to throw together. My sister had given me the herbes de Province as part of a house warming gift. and I didn’t know what I was going to make for the potluck, so this dip was born.

Herbes de Province Dip
1 bread boule
1 package of softened Neufchatel cheese
1/2 cup of sour cream
1/2 cup vegan mayo
herbes du Province
sea salt
fresh ground black pepper
garlic powder

Hollow out the bread boule, saving the inside bread bits, for dipping. Next, mix the Neufchatel cheese, sour cream, and vegan mayo, until well blended. Finally, add the remaining ingredients, seasoning to taste. I prefer a heavily seasoned dip, so I use a little more than most would. I find that sometimes creamy dips like this end up too creamy with little flavor, so I like to go with a little extra. Pour the dip into the hollowed out bowl, arraigning the torn bread pieces on around the plate around the boule. I topped the dip with a fresh, edible nasturtium from my friend’s garden. It was a hit!

The next day, I got to have brunch at Magnolia Bistro. I had the Mexican Omelet made as a scramble using tofu with veggie sausage on the side. I would like to visit this place again and give it a proper review. The short review: it was delicious and I would love to go back.

I said this was going to be a long post friends and I meant it!

Every year, Plattsburgh commemorates the September 11th, 1812 Battle of Plattsburgh. There are reenactments and reenactors, music, games, and an amazing parade. My favorite activity of this whole week long celebration is the recreation of Israel Green tavern. The basement of a local church is transformed into a tavern. They serve fantastic beer and period food. As you can see, they had something for the vegetarians:

This is a bottle of Rochefort 10 with strong cheddar, a pickle, some crusty bread, and a wee cup of what I believe was homemade applesauce.

Here, have another shot:

Pictured are two “wench” reenactors pointing at the vegetarian selection on the menu. I knew I should have written down their names, because I can’t remember them now!

I am sure I will get to know them on a first name basis, because I have tentativly signed up to be a wench myself next year. They said I can serve the vegetarian options. Pretty cool, eh?

Just a tiny bit more of catch up to do. A few weeks ago, I went to the Plattsburgh Farmers and Crafters Market and snagged a delicious strawberry rhubarb tart from a lovely woman named Rose, I believe. So, me and my gnome hung out in the sunshine and enjoyed the tasty tart. He didn’t eat much of it though.

There! That about catches me up to date on everything I have been meaning to talk about. Tomorrow, I am going back to the farmer’s market to see what I can snag, as there are only two markets left of the season. Keep your eyes open for a post about me maple-izing some Tofurky Smoky Maple Bacon Marinated Tempeh strips which weren’t maple-y enough for me.

Have a great day, everybody, and keep cooking!

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