Well folks, I have returned from Tofino on Vancouver Island.
It was an awesome vacation that was much needed, and I wish more than anything I was back there right now... listening to the ocean, walking in the rain, hiking through old-growth forests, laughing til my abs hurt with the fam, and drinking smoothies on the beach. Instead, I'm back here studying for midterms and worrying about trivial matters.
Ah well. C'est la vie.
I won't give you too many details about the trip because you probably don't care, but here's some highlights: saw a pet pig, watched a fire dancer, played hours of Settlers of Catan, laughed until we all cried, my brother bought me a vegan cinnamon from The Common Loaf, gave my mom a foot massage when she got poisoned by a sketchy calzone, hugged a lot of wise old trees, made delicious veggie meals every night, survived a wind storm, watched my brothers do dishes, visited the all-new vegan health food store/gallery and bought RAW JUNGLE PEANUTS!
(Only in Tofino will some guy come to your door and say:
"Hey dudes, my buddy's a fire dancer if you wanna watch.")
A couple crazy things that happened - I saw a guy from one of my university classes at The Common Loaf! C'mon, what're the chances.
Also, avocados are 5 for $5 at the Tofino Co-op!!! ARE YOU KIDDING? That's cheaper than here. How does that happen!?
My mom let me bring the Vita-Mix this year so I was able to make green smoothies every morning =)
The family had some too! You can see their fruit smoothies in the background. Mmm.
This smoothie was a bunch of dino kale, a banana, 1 cup of frozen blueberries, raspberries, peaches and water.
I also ate a lot of seaweed, since it's delicious and stuff... ya know. Plus, we're surrounded by it on the beach so how could I NOT? My brother said it looked like stained glass in the sun - I agree. It amazing how often I have the thought "Wow, I am eating art."
Tofino is such a great place. Everything is local, hand-made, organic and friendly - landscape included.
All the people are so chill, and predominantly hippies. So it's makes sense that the health food store is all vegan, and substantially raw. It's called Green Soul Organics, and they're expanding! This year they added a top floor, which is a total chill zone. It's got funky tunes, tons of old couches, vegan potlucks, 420 Sundays, and a gallery of what residents think "humanity" means to them.
Yeah. I belong here.
We bought prayer flags, raw jungle peanuts, and were GOING to buy glass straws; but they were too small for my thick smoothies. So we're gonna buy them online at Upaya.
Besides our trip to town, we basically just relaxed in our cabin, visited beaches, and went on some hikes.
Now, on to the stuff you're really interested in: food! While we were in Tofino, I brought along some killer hemp sauce, and used it to make some awesome raw veg wraps for dinner one night. The whole family liked them so I KNOW you will.
And I have some special news! I am going to be featured in an E-Book! I will give you more details soon =) For now, just enjoy these wraps.
NOTE: You can use this hemp sauce on ANYTHING. Dip, sauce, marinade, add more water and an avocado to make soup, use it on kale chips, and anything else you could possibly think of. Seriously. This is a go-to sauce.
1/4 cup plus 2 Tb hemp seeds
3 Tb nutritional yeast
2 Tb miso
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 date (or 1 t honey, agave, or maple syrup)
1 Tb mustard
2 Tb nut butter (or 3 Tb nuts)
2 Tb tamari
1/2 cup water
1/8 - 1/4 t chili powder/cayenne
2 t sun dried tomatoes (optional)
1 t hot sauce (optional)
Pinch salt & pepper
3 Tb black sesame seeds
Blend all ingredients EXCEPT black sesame seeds together until smooth. Also, be sparing with the water; add it only as needed to get a creamy, saucy consistency... you can always add more. Then mix in sesame seeds with a spoon. They add nice contrast and texture. Taste it! Sooooo good, right?
Chop all the produce and mix in enough hemp sauce to coat them all. Add salt & pep to taste. Wrap in seaweed. Enjoy! Best served by the ocean.
Veggie Seaweed Wraps: serves... ?
Avocado
Corn
Bell Pepper
Mushrooms
Hippie Hemp Sauce
Nori Sheets
