Weekend Solo Sojourn!

This weekend I decided to have a solo adventure. At the recommendation of several friends, I decided to metro from Virginia across the city and into Maryland for a visit to Pangea (otherwise known as The Vegan Store). There were some things I've been wanting to try that are not readily available at my local grocery stores and, frankly, I didn't feel like spending a beautiful Saturday afternoon stuck in my apartment doing reading for grad school. I got enough of that during Snowmageddon 2...and 3.


The woman working there was super nice and we bonded over being the children of hunters who now don't eat meat. There was also a really cute little girl in the store with a ton of food allergies who also didn't eat meat. While her mom was stocking up on things the girl could eat, the girl herself was busy buying all kinds of bumper stickers and buttons for her purse that said things like "I am not a nugget!" with a picture of a chicken. The store was much smaller than I anticipated but it is connected to the warehouse for the website, so the store employees are willing to go get whatever isn't out in the store for you.


Here is a peek at my loot:

The holy grail of vegan cheese: Daiya! I can't wait to try it. I got both the Italian and the cheddar. I think I need to give it a go this weekend when Jesse visits (he too is thinking of doing the Vegan Kickstart).

Sheese in strong cheddar flavor. The store employee said this is good for eating on crackers.

Nutritional yeast! I've been wanting this for awhile as it's a good source of B vitamins and can be used in place of parmesan and other cheeses in certain recipes. I also hear it is good on popcorn.

I *had* to get some Crazy Rumors vegan and cruelty free lip balms. I've heard Colleen talk about these on the Vegetarian Food for Thought podcast. They have flavors based on coffee (the Perk line), teas (the Brew line) and Candycane (flavored peppermint). I got the Spiced Chai and the Peppermint Lemongrass. They are awesome!

A vegan co-worker of mine has been an endless source of information and support. Her nonjudgmental nature has been such a help as I have tried to navigate this food journey of mine. To thank her, I got her these Liz Lovely's "Lovely Oh's", which are essentially Oreos dipped in dark chocolate. She mentioned that she loved them and had a hard time getting out to Pangea.

After the trip to Pangea, I needed to run an errand in the Columbia Heights area. For lunch, I had a vegan empanada at Julia's Empanadas (it had potatoes and lentils...yum!) and I brought home this little treat: a raspberry creme cupcake from Sticky Fingers Bakery. It was DELICIOUS! If you are in the area, you have to try one.

I definitely need to go on more solo sojourns. It was just what the doctor ordered!