Perfection

Yes, you did read right.

Today

was

perfect

It all started with a little family gathering after church this morning. My in-laws decided to get baptized today during the service, so we all headed to their house for some treats and reconnecting.

I had a small piece of my vegan crumble coffee cake and some fruit to hold me over until Veggie Fest!

It was so great to chat with family and catch up. There was talks about the wedding, honeymoon, and bailing husbands out of jail (oh family... let's hope the husband doesn't make it into that category any time soon - hah!). There was also lots of play time with the younger cousins and nieces. I love having little kids around - they make everything so much more fun.

In case you're wondering, the coffee cake went over pretty well! They are actually starting to realize I will not tell them what's in it until they've at least tried it! :) I also came out of the blogging closet a little bit.. I've been discovered. When asked why I never mentioned it before, I simply said "it was my little secret". I'm glad to know some of them have been reading it though!

Mommasita picked me up and we headed out to Veggie Fest!! Veggie Fest is the "biggest, free vegetarian food festival in the country". Now, normally I feel like an anomaly, an outcast, and just plain weird for my lifestyle choices. I could totally relate to Emily today when she talked about her friend's bachelorette party. Today, I kind of felt liberated. I loved being surrounded by other people who appreciated vegetarianiasm, vega products, CSA's, and natural dog treats (okay, you'll see in a minute why this is important).

I was so excited to finally get there! It was raining and definitely chilly when we arrived, but we perservered through the weather and I am glad we did! It stopped raining and when the sun finally came out, it was boiling!

woohoo!!!

 I was very happy when on arrival, we stopped by the Nature's Path booth and recieved tons of free samples and a super cute reusable grocery bag!!

Mommasita and I paroosed for a while before we went and got our food tickets. We each got 10 (1 ticket = $1) and hit up the food booths!

I had my first experience with Indian food! It was sooo good! I never knew Indian food was so gluten free friendly! I won't lie, I really don't remember what this was called, but they were brown rice veggie pancakes. Does anyone know what these are called? Alonside my veggie pancakes was an awesome coconut sauce to dip them in!

i could probably eat you every day

I pretty much got my fill of veggies on that dish, so I decided to try something I had never tried before: fresh coconut water. My goodness, you all are not lying when you say this stuff is good.  I can definitely see how it can rehydrate you after a long work out - it is pretty thick and very refreshing! The woman at the booth told me to come back when I ws done drinking it so they could crack it open and I could eat the flesh. We never made it back though because we had something else really delicious in store!

First, we hit up the Vega booth where I tried a number of their bars and shakes. I've seen the Vega products floating around on the blogosphere for some time now and have really wanting to try them. You all know I give my honest opinion around here, and to be blunt, I was not impressed. Most of their bars tasted the same and I didn't enjoy the vanilla almond vega shake as much as I hoped I would. Am I willing to dish out $23 for a package of it? Sorry, but no.

Has anyone every tried aroniaberries? There was a booth which had some - the stats on them reminded me of acai berries. The man said they were full of antioxidants. I tried one - they were very tart, but pretty good!

Next up was a real treat - Mommasita and I split a dessert from Raw Creations. This was an organic raw/vegan dessert that was aboslutely to DIE for!

Carrot Cheesecake? I realllly want to try and recreate this! That is how good it is! The ingredient list was solid: dates, cashews, carrots (gotta love the veggies in desserts!), coconut flour... It was super filling, but gone really fast! We both enjoyed this a lot!

sorry for the shadow - I was just so excited!

 Do you all remember my big dog Chagall? Well, if you've forgotten about him, I encourage you to familiarize yourself with him pronto! He is wheat intolerant (possibly one of the reasons why I love him) and we are always on the hunt for new treats!

Enter in natural dog treats.

These were awesome - I say this because I tried one. Yes, I did. How could I not? The ingredient list was normal: garbanzo bean flour, oat flour, vegetables, parsley, onion, garlic. The woman didn't even think I was crazy. Conversation below:

Me: So, have you tried these?
Dog Treat Lady: Of course, we make them all!
Me: Are they any good? Can I try one?
Dog Treat Lady: Go ahead! They kind of taste like an italian style crouton!

They really did! Mommasita jumped on the bandwagon after I had one and agreed they tasted good. I even got mad at her for taking the last bite!

There were also Clif bar tastings (the new minibars are gluten free!).

apple pie variety

There was a CSA booth from an organic farm up in Wisconsin as well. I have been wanting to take advantage of a CSA for a while now, but wanted to wait until after the wedding. It comes out to be about $20 per week for amazing organic produce. Am I crazy or is that not totally worth it? I spend more money on vegetables at farmer's markets and grocery stores alone! The husband agreed we could do it! I am pumped! We are "trying it out" for the fall season, but have a hunch it will become a regular thing for us around here!

 We also went to Whole Foods where I got a bunch of loot! I forgot to take a picture - I apologize.

Tonight was filled with simple eating and lots of housework! I quickly ate a salad, sweet potato, and some more veggies.

The husband and I actually made progress on the house! His office is put together, the deck is cleared of construction, and 2 weeks worth of laundry (:gasp:) is finally done. Time to put my feet up and relax! I am currently enjoying some fruit, raisins, and Justin's chocolate almond butter. Where has that crack in jar nut butter been my whole life???

Like I said... absolutely perfect.

Question: Do you ever feel like an outcast based on your lifestyle choices? How do you deal? I definitely do, but I just go with it! I am who I am - people can choose to accept it or not!

PS: I said veg 14 times in this post. I'm all about the veggies! (whoops... make that 15 times)

vegan crumble coffee cake

Ahhh... the joys of a quiet house on a beautiful Sunday morning - nothing gets better than oats and coffee in the morning.

The husband enjoys sleeping in a while on Sunday mornings, while my body clock tells me to wake up at 6 a.m. every morning. Do I mind? Definitely not. I love some Chelsey time in the morning to eat, read some blogs, and catch up with the world.

This morning I decided to try the coffee we bought while we were in Mexico. The shop we bought it from was amazing - it was a chocolate cafe and had so many delectable things such as coffees, ice creams, cacao nibs, chocolate covered cacao beans... well, you get the picture.

This coffee was very good. I like pretty strong coffee, and I figured out the husband likes mild coffee, so I only made enough for myself this morning. It wasn't too strong, but the flavor was incredible. Mildly bitter with a nutty chocolate aftertaste. That is my kind of coffee!

Next up was how any other morning should start: with vegan overnight oats. These honestly do not ever get old, and I remember how I was afraid to try them at first. You can read about my first experience with them here. This made me want to go back and read through my archives - I love having my little diary. :)

i may or may not be obsessed with the color yellow.
the husband is not - so i find sneaky ways to accent it in our home.

topped with blueberries, strawberries, cinnamon, peanut butter, and coconut

i'm glad i'm going to WF soon - my coconut supply is running very low!

I just can't get over how beautiful food is - I love having this blog so I can appreciate the good fuel which goes into my body.

Okay, I'll get to the recipe now since I have been teasing you with overnight oats when really you just want to see a coffee cake recipe.

Vegan Crumble Coffee Cake inspired by Vegan Yum Yum

"crumb" topping:

• 3/4 cup flour (i used GF)
• 2/4 cup oat flour (i used the proccessor to grind oats)
• 1/4 cup oats (I used GF)
• 8 tbsp. vegan margarine
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt

coffee cake:

• 1 1/4 cup flour (I used a combo of GF and oat flour)
• 1/4 cup turbinado (also known as Sugar in the Raw)
• pinch of baking soda (you can also use 1/s tsp. baking powder)
• 1/3 cup applesauce
• 1/3 cup almond milk + 1 tsp lemon juice (mix together and let sit for 10 minutes)
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• extra cinnamon for sprinkling

How it's Done:

1. Create your crumb topping first. Start by melting the margarine on the stovetop or in the microwave. Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a mixing bowl. Mix the melted margarine into the sugar. Slowly stir in the flour.
2. Set aside for 10 minutes while coffee cake is made.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

this wasn't as "crumbly" as I would have liked, but it worked! in the future, i would add more flour.

4. Combine the "dry" ingredients in a separate mixing bowl (flour, sugar, baking soda) and mix well.
5. Add in the "wet" ingredients (vanilla, applesauce, almond milk) and stir until blended. Do NOT overmix.

i love this baking dish - it's from crate and barrel in case you were wondering!

 6. Spray your 8x8 or 9x6 baking dish with cooking spray of your choice.
7. Evenly spread the dough on the bottom of the dish. It may look like it's not enough, but it really rises up. (Just go with it!)
8. Sprinkle cinnamon over the dough for some extra flavor!
9. Spread "crumble" mixture over the top of the dough. I was going to do this in little chunks, but the mixture was too soupy.
10. Bake in oven for 40-45 minutes.

vegan crumble coffee cake

Doesn't this look divine? It is the perfect weekend treat! I originally was going to make it for the husband this morning, but I am bringing it over to his parent's house after church as they are having some family over. I, of course, had to try a piece! Sometimes when I make new recipes I insist upon trying them before anyone else eats it. That way when I tell them it's gluten free and vegan they aren't afraid to try different things!

Enjoy your Sundays everyone! Guess where I'm going today! I'll give you a little hint! Recap to follow tonight.

Question: Have you ever tried a new recipe and did not get the reaction you thought you would? Good or bad, share it all!