Stranded in Maine

This past weekend we drove ~13 hours to get to Bob's relatives in Maine. His cousin got married in a gorgeous blueberry field overlooking a lake, and we got to drink a lot of wine and dance. (And we got some blueberry jam, of course.) Then we headed to a cabin Bob's dad rented for us and all of his brothers, spent the night and had a great, long breakfast out on a deck overlooking another lake.

This was supposed to be the end of the trip, but on our way out a couple of important tubes in the car snapped. Every sort of liquid poured out, smoke billowed out of the hood, and we were stuck on the side of the road in the woods of Maine, on a Sunday at that.

We got the car towed after a couple of long, hot hours, but we knew we were stranded. We ended up staying with his aunt and uncle, the mother and father of the bride, in their huge log cabin. At first I was upset that we couldn't go home - I had a ton of work to do! - but I realized, uh, we're pretty much in a summer paradise, so stop complaining?!





We ate all the wedding leftovers we could, and his aunt cooked us a spectacular dinner straight from their garden. (I know how fresh the food was - I picked it.) We waited for a call from the mechanic, but it didn't come. They needed a part, so we were stranded for another day.







Luckily Bob's mom and stepdad were still in town, staying at his grandparents' cottage on Mt. Desert Island. We went driving with them, stopping at antique stores and roadside stops frequently. Later in the night we went to dinner at his grandparents' friends' house, a secluded cabin right on a lake. The house was small but beyond gorgeous, and I think for a minute I wanted to ask if we could move in.

Again, we had a surprisingly great vegan meal and a lot of fresh air. Later, we went out for ice cream and found not one, but FOUR ice cream shops that had non-dairy ice cream.

We got back on the road in the morning. I felt decompressed; I think not knowing when we would leave made me enjoy the fantastic surroundings even more. For once, I finally thought, "I can get work done later!" So I think the trip was a success.

Midsummer's cookout

Dinner outside: chickpea burgers, lentil & chickpea salad (with fresh herbs!), with grilled mushrooms, asparagus, potato, and cauliflower.

To make the burgers:

• take 4 cups of cooked chickpeas (or warmed canned chickpeas) and put them in a food processor with 3/4 cup ground oats (you can use either pre-ground oats or put some rolled oats into a coffee grinder.) process this until the chickpeas are no longer wholly visible.
• measure out 2 tsp oregano, 2 tsp thyme, 1 tsp crushed bay leaf (optional), a dash hot pepper (we have cayenne), 1 tsp black pepper, 2 tsp sea salt, and 2 tsp tarragon (we had fresh tarragon and it totally MADE this dish.) mix it all with 1 tbsp olive oil.
• put the chickpea mixture and the spices into a big bowl. slowly pour in vegetable stock as you knead everything together, making everything stick together, but not liquidy. you should end up with one big solid mass, that’s a little sticky but holds together.
• carefully grill, bake, or heat in a sautee pan. serve with lots of vegan mayo and grilled bread.

To make the chickpea lentil salad, just combine:

• cooked red lentils & chickpeas
• fresh finely chopped carrot, onions, and corn
• fresh finely minced oregano, tarragon, and basil
• equal parts oil and balsamic (or apple cider) vinegar

A Day at the Toxic Beach

Even though we can't go swimming in this Lake Ontario because it's "toxic" or something, we can still go to the beach, right? We walked down this loooong pier on a very windy, beautiful summer day, and I held my camera like a newborn baby as toxic waves crashed over us. It was fun.