Cashews and Green Bananas

On Tuesday, I was in Natural Livity and noticed a bowl of Cashews on the counter...

apparently they were fresh picked. The owner gave me a handful to try...

I also bought a bottle of Cashew Juice. Presumably from the Cashew Apple, tastes fruity, like a mixture of Pear and Apple Juice...

the Cashews themselves, however, were not my friends. After cracking open and consuming a couple, I noticed my mouth and lips were burning and tingling. Turns out, Cashews carry the same acid as Poison Ivy and must be steamed or roasted before consumption. Raw Cashews are actually lightly steamed before hitting the market...

in other learning news, I put my Green Bananas in a pot of boiling water for 15 minutes...

after they cooled down, I peeled and ate with S & P and some Black-Eyed Peas from Natural Livity. Very starchy and bland, not at all like Bananas. Oddly, Molly loves cooked Green Bananas, but hates ripe Yellow Bananas.

So remember: no eating of fresh picked Cashews without a little steaming first. Bye for now.

VeganEgg Is Here

Whilst shopping at Fruit Bowl yesterday, what do I happen to see: a shelf full of VeganEgg! Of all the vegan items I would expect to find here, this was definitely one of the least expected...

Scrambled up the equivalent of two eggs for breakfast this morning. Initial report: rubbery and tasteless. Possibly, I cooked it too long or the water I mixed the powder with wasn't cold enough.  Either way, I really just hope the VeganEgg arrival is a sign that Ben & Jerry's is not far behind...

Lunch was Lentil Soup carried out from Natural Livity. Yes, it was 86 degrees today, but the Soup was irresistable. The rather sizeable brown objects in the bowl are Green Banana, which, when cooked, tastes like Potato...

Below are the Green Bananas I bought last week. I am to boil them in their skins for 15 minutes, peel, and enjoy as a savory side dish. For some reason I keep putting it off. Intimidated a little...

Besides stumbling upon the VeganEggs yesterday, I also happened upon the gathering of the VI Volkswagen Club in Charlotte Amalie. Always fun to see Bugs...

Anyway, just wanted to get my VeganEgg review up. Bye for now.

Road Town

Took the 8:30am Road Town Ferry to Tortola this morning. By the time I got out of Immigration and Customs, it was almost 11:00am. I headed down Main Street to Island Roots Cafe...

nothing vegan for breakfast, so I got a 'Tropical Cleanser' $6 Kale, Pineapple, Banana, Coconut and Ginger from their 'Original Series'...

pretty decent, but only eight ounces...

continued on down Main Street with my Smoothie and met these fantastic dogs. So loving (once they got up). Unless I had my I own boat, I couldnt bring them home...

nice shrub...

another block down the street I saw a Hen with her Chick on her back...

I have seen a ton of Chickens on the Islands, but this was a first for me...

I took a small detour on Fleming Street and browsed Riteway Market to see if there was anything new veganwise. Was surprised to see Crisco has gotten into the Coconut Oil game. That is a good sign...

also noticed some Very Strong Rum...

then I went across the street to check out Mellow Moods...

I thought I might eat here...

but nothing on the menu jumped out at me, the Veggie Burgers were the non-vegan Grillers...

so I got an Apple, Carrot and Celery Juice $5 which was fantastic and continued on back down Main Street....

till I finally arrived at my destination: the J.R. O'Neal Botanic Garden, which, as you can see, was locked up nice and tight...

Major bummer as I could tell through the bars it was a great looking garden. I strolled around the perimeter taking pics...

some in focus...

some not so much in focus...

love these...

and these...

I made my way back towards the ferry and stopped for lunch at the Village Cay Marina. Fortunately, they have one hour free wifi because it took almost that long to get served...

their menu lists a 'Vegan Marina Masta' (dont know if that is a misprint) but it made me assume it was a vegan dish. When the server finally brought it, after I missed an earlier ferry waiting for it, I was surprised and asked, "Is that cheese on top?" and he very joyfully responded, "Yes! Parmesan Cheese!" It was the real stuff too cuz it was melting into the sauce rapidly, there was no eating around it...

Boxed it up for Molly and caught the 2:30pm ferry home. Yes, I brought a heavy styrofoam container of pasta through customs at both ends of the trip. On to the conveyor belts it went and through the scanners. Bye for now.

A Week Of Lunches

Working from home full time, I feel it is important for me to get out at lunch time, but really I enjoy lunch out regardless of where I am working. Monday was Harissa Spiced Tofu on Warm Chickpea Salad with Sweet Pomegranate Reduction, Tomatoes, Cilantro and Arugula $17 at Fresh Bistro. Very unique and satisfying...

I dont have any tattoos, but enjoy seeing good ones. My server at Fresh Bistro, Kelly, let me take a pic of her tattoo. It is Ms. Peanut in honor of her daughter who is nicknamed 'Peanut'...

Tuesday was the $15 lunch special at The Pie Whole. My Pie House Salad...

and Spicy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta with Capers, Onions and Pine Nuts. When Pie Whole is good, it is really good. Fortunately, they have been good the past few times...

Wednesday I lunched at Mafoli, overlooking the Charlotte Amalie Harbour...

My Mafoli Mango and Avocado Salad $10...

with a plate of Sweet Potato Fries $6 on the side...

Thursday I was able to semi-successfully parallel park in Charlotte Amalie, so lunch was a Greek Salad $13 without the feta at Pita Express...

If all goes well, I plan to take the ferry to Tortola tomorrow. I didnt want to let a week go by without the Veggie Delight at De Coal Pot, so that was the location of today's fantastic lunch...

below is a pic of me ziplining this past Sunday at Tree Limin Extreme. It is the number one activity in TripAdvisor for St. Thomas, but I think Phantasea Tropical Botanical Gardens is really more my speed...

Hopefully will post about Tortola tomorrow or Sunday. Bye for now.

Slow Saturday

This morning, I took the 9am people ferry to St. John to leisurely browse around the shops in Cruz Bay. Breakfast was at St. John Scoops. My 'St. John Sunrise' $10 made with Quinoa, Granola, Peanut Butter and Almond Milk was fantastic...

After seeing and buying everything I wanted to, I caught the noon ferry back to St. Thomas. There are two private islands north of St. Thomas: St. James and Little St. James. They are owned by financier Jeffrey Epstein...

he also keeps this black private plane at the St. Thomas airport. People here talk about him a lot. Nothing positive...

but back to my day. After arriving back at Red Hook, I stopped for lunch at  De Coal Pot....

at home, Molly approved the Caribbean Hook Bracelet I had bought on St. John...

Jasper rolling around in the kitchen...

and our Rooster who has taken to hanging out on the deck all day...

still got some hours to go, maybe I should sweep off the deck. Bye for now.

He Left On A Jet Plane...

but he will supposedly be back in about a month or so. The Mr. that is. So he got to pick where we ate this weekend. Since it is my blog, I am only showing what I ate at the places he picked. Breakfast yesterday at Pasta Go Go...Love their PB and Banana Panini...

Lunch was at Saki House, where we shared some Edamame...

I had the Tofu with Cashews which was outstanding. The food just keeps getting better and better here...

I was surprised when, later in the afternoon, he said he wanted to go to Mountain Top for a Banana Daiquiri....

Didnt know he liked them so much. Before we went in, we ran into Mr. Calypso Coconut who was giving a guided tour...

he was chewing on a Carob Pod and gave me a piece...

wasnt the chocolatey goodness I expected. I had to have a Banana Daiquiri just to try to get the bitter taste out of my mouth...

the view from Mountain Top was pretty clear yesterday...

For dinner, the Mr. opted for a carryout pizza from Restaurant Thirteen, so I enjoyed some Lasagna from Love Livin....

this morning we went to Gladys' as usual. When I ordered my Avocado, Gladys's sister, Pauline, said she would have to check if there were any. Apparently, Avocado season on the Island is coming to a close and they only serve local Avocados...

thankfully, they had one and the Grits were also great...

the Mr. had picked The Pie Whole for his final meal, but when we arrived, the place was closed up tight as a drum. They are no longer doing weekend lunch during the low season. We went next door to their sister restaurant Bella Blu and I had a House Salad which was just okay. The Mr. wasnt thrilled with his Caprese Panini either, so that was a bummer note to end on...

then it was off to the airport...

there is more room on the couch now...

Lots more to come. Bye for now.