Honeymoon, Part IV: Final Days in Paradise

Our final full day and night were spent at Jalousie Plantation, the luxe resort on the island.While we kind of wished we'd stayed here the entire week, I did not regret our time at Ladera, which gave us a nature-lover's experience of 3-wall rooms, a greater understanding of insects, and is overall, probably the second best resort of St. Lucia that had the finest views. Certainly not roughing it. At all. Jalousie, however, is the place to go if you want to be pampered for a night. And since it was our honeymoon and we like to be prissy at least a third of the time, we switched to Jalousie for the night after snagging a really sweet deal (our villa was much cheaper because we booked a last-minute single night stay at 30% off). It was like a secret compound that only Europeans and celebrities vacationed at.

We had what was basically a nice-sized apartment (bigger than where we live) with two bathrooms, a large deck with a heated pool, and a butler to tend to our errands. A butler?! This was something new to me.  The room was air-conditioned (not many places in St. Lucia are, apparently) and there were hardly any mosquitoes to be seen. It even had an espresso machine. Upon further thinking, I am very glad that we did not stay here the entire time, as we may not have ventured past Jalousie's white beaches and not experienced much of the island's sites and trails while we were there. Not when the perfect hideaway was right here.

I had to take a video tour of our digs. If we ever design a piece of luxury, I want it to look a lot like this.



Lunch at Jalousie Plantation's Bayside Restaurant impressed us with bright, refreshing salads and a taste of home, steamed soymilk (so hard to come by as many cafes just did not stock it) with our post-lunch coffee. It was one of the more modern restaurants we found. Rustic, spirited Creole cuisine was starting to wear its welcome.

We did some poolside lounging on suspended beds. The beach was a few feet away, but we had already visited the beach on Tuesday and were drawn to the lake-sized pool that was off-limits to us then, as non-guests.

I decided to get in a nap. I have never known such relaxation. I was starting to get a little bit of color, even though I piled on layers of sunscreen throughout the days. We were that close to the sun in the mountains. Yes, this is colorful for me.

Later that evening, we dressed up in what I call "Country Club Veg" and waited for the resort shuttle to take us to the Cane Bar, the hotel's rum lounge. Black form-fitting shift dress with gold sandals with a tiny heel and pearls for me. Prada polo and rolled up khakis with Topsiders for the man. The dumb kid from Fishtown in me is really good at dressing up. You had to shuttle everywhere on the resort because the hills were so steep and not safe to walk on because the shuttle vans were likely to knock you off the blind roads.

I asked for the wildest rum & diet Coke combo - Angostura 1919 Premium Rum as recommended by my rum connoisseur husband (would I ever have any other kind of husband?) It careened down my throat with vanilla and then I suggested we head to the empty back room, which reminded me of a slick Miami lounge, as sad as that sounds. There were parts of it that I liked and then some furniture that just felt too pushy, but my drink was delicious.

We moved on to the Great Room, a restaurant that was one floor above, for a savvy vegetarian dinner. The room was grand, elegant, and indeed, a great room.

We began with our first hummus of the honeymoon - so beany and comforting, with crusty wheat rolls from the bread dude. Whenever there is a bread dude, you know your meal will kick ass and take names.

I started with a cucumber and yogurt soup, that had a peppery kick to it. Josh said I made funny faces while eating it and that it was the most expressive I have ever looked.

He had a dreamy risotto that was brazenly truffled with jerky-like mushrooms. I stole a few bites.

Then his spinach pasta came out - fresh cut and delicate - and my vegetable broth loaded with tender vegetables - and the night just went down easy.

So yes, we spent our final night in a closed room like a bunch of girls, but it was like dessert at the end of a filling, high-flying meal. You don't need it, but in a way, you do.

Philadelphia's Healthiest Possible Cheesesteak: Raw, Vegan, and Gluten-Free

But is it GOOD?

You can find many raw selections from Awesome Foods in Bridgeport at Essene Market. I was weirded out/intrigued by the Raw Philly Un-Cheese "Steak" concept and had to try it.

The extra virgin olive oil came through on the marinated mushrooms and zucchini, which were very chewy and saucy, like they'd bathed in a bottle of A-1. The onions were a bit too raw for my taste (I'm not a raw onion fan), but they had a nice flavor.  The sprouted quinoa bread was the bottom layer and didn't do too much for the "sandwich". The best part was the creamy nut cheese generously ladled over the sandwich, clinging to the herbed veggies like a blanket of protein.

So I never actually finished this, I ate about half of it. I think I did miss the bread or some kind of wrapper. I'm sure flax crackers would do the trick.

Bottom line: If you regularly eat real cheesesteaks, then there is very little chance that you will enjoy this.

If you are high-raw or familiar with raw food, then this might be a nice lunch option for you. Especially if you are trying to increase your veggie intake and cut back on highly processed carbs. I would definitely pack some raw crackers with this.

Night Boat to Recife: Twisted.

Leblon has a funkiness to it akin to Maraschino, but not in a good way. This was one of the first things that Josh ever taught me about mixology, and after trying his version of the caipirinha, made with Cachaca 51, I noticed an amazing difference. It makes the best caipirinha. Not to mention, 51 is about half the price of Leblon, without the funkiness, just clean cachaca goodness. It's the best-selling cachaca in Brazil, so I'm not sure where the Leblon hype came from.

When I tried the Night Boat to Recife cocktail at Horizons, made with Leblon, I really enjoyed the drink and immediately wanted to make it back home. We have a pretty decent home bar setup, with all the right tools and measuring devices, a variety of bitters and homemade syrups, and some house rules:  No vodka and no Leblon. So how was I going to make the summery drink that had tasted so good at Horizon's bar?

Cachaca 51, my friends.

Now, of course I had to bastardize the drink in one more way. For some reason, I thought the recipe had called for lemons, so I didn't think to pick up any limes (as I type this there are now a gang of limes winking at me from across the room). Looks like I was going to make this drink with lemon, as lime options were not good in our neighborhood that night.

I used some Zico coconut water, which I found in Euphoria Cafe, but have not seen elsewhere.

It made a damn fine drink. Lemon and Aperol just get on so nicely.  I promise to make it with limes now that I have them. I followed the recipe on in the above link, substituting the 51 and lemon, if you'd like to get your summer cocktail on. And go try the drink at Horizons, where they make some mean cocktails.

Living on the Vedge Gets a Life Partner: Before and On the Big Day

On the night before our wedding, I spent the evening by myself in our suite at Hotel Palomar. It met my hotel criteria - Kind Bars in the snack basket, earth-friendly beauty products (Preserve razors and toothbrushes are my favorite for traveling), and modern design as opposed to stuffy classic. Our walk-in shower was especially impressive.

The rehearsal dinner at Pub & Kitchen (where we had our first date) was a swell time. Our family and friends sat at long tables in the second floor room. We stuck by the pub classics on the catering menu and added a veggie option of beet salad (our favorite salad). Everything was spot on.

The best man Sir John, here with Josh, gave a truly stirring speech that had us all either crying or laughing. He called Josh an asshole. I was touched to the bottom of my shimmery, organic polished toes.

I can't wait until John and Victoria tie the knot one day in San Francisco. They are a couple that embodies everything that matters: the right amounts of playfulness and sarcasm, the long, desiring looks, and the way they look when they kiss. Right. Exact. Period.

The next day I had my coffee with soy milk, whole wheat toast with a side of peanut butter, and a bowl of berries. I began my wedding day oddly relaxed and at ease. I went for a quick blowout at CL Studio in Rittenhouse Square and then found myself with very little to do in preparation for the day.

So I called in-room spa services at Palomar and had them send a reflexologist to my room.

An hour later, guess who was even more Picture of Calm? I ordered some green tea and some lemon-scented hummus to snack on, as we would not be eating dinner until 9pm-ish. My makeup artist and the photographer would be arriving soon, and my mom, two sisters, niece, and my little brother's girlfriend were all getting ready a few floors down. They came in periodically to check on me and then to help me with the dress.

Back to that lemon-scented hummus. How zesty. How creamy. How, yes, soothing. It came in this neat little jar.

If you ever get to Square 1682, the hotel's restaurant, order it up and think of me.

Honeymoon, Part III: Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls

Midweek, we were ready for some more nature expeditions and our pal Ethelbert was quick to provide. He took us on two tours of St. Lucia, first to the volcano site and nature preserve, with a trip to the waterfall to cool off, and the next day to some of the highest peaks in St. Lucia. His knowledge of native plantlife was extensive and we wanted to hire him to guide us through life and keep us grounded.

Unfortunately, Ethelbert loves his island so dearly and how could he not? When it looks like this.

And feels like this. Exhilarating. The waterfall was like being smacked with ice cubes. Lovely.

And here was the more tranquil of the two waterfalls we visited that day.

We took so many pictures of flowers, trees, and plants, but this was Josh's favorite.

In front of the drive-in volcano.

Which is hotter? The vegetable roti or the volcano in Soufriere?

I had to back away from it.

Our nature hike took us pretty high up.

And then we came back down with some local spiced rum. I think I wore a bikini the entire time I was in St. Lucia. There was no other way.

Mimosa Time

I found Blum Naturals exfoliating towelettes with orange peel extract at Whole Foods and ever since, my nighttime face cleansing smells like a mimosa. They cost about as much as a drug store brand of face wipes would - $7 range - but they're natural and certified organic, with recycled packaging and simple, nurturing ingredients that don't leave your face feeling chafed and abused. And if you're in a mimosa kinda mood, just go swipe one, breathe in, and your skin will thank you.

If Loving You is Raw, I Don't Want to Be Right

One of my favorite salads of all time is the falafel salad at One Lucky Duck so for our first experience with the dehydrator that my mom wedding gifted us, I got to work.

And yes, it's a bit of effort to prepare the raw falafel from Living Raw Food - some nut soaking, lots of veggie chopping, and you can't forget the "cauliflower tabbouleh" that is knife skills cardio. One hour of dehydrating, then more mixing, then two more hours of dehydrating. We finally sat down for dinner at precisely 8 pm.

The most time we typically spend cooking dinner is 1-2 hours. Any longer than that and it's usually because we're cooking for friends and family. So I didn't make the tahini or hot sauce, which is part of the recipe, though I could have easily whipped some up while waiting. I'm pretty partial to our admired collection of home sauce.

Ready for drying

The salad tasted just as it had at One Lucky Duck. The tabbouleh is my favorite part - it's so pleasant and clean-tasting. We used TJ's Goddess Dressing on the salad and had plenty of leftover falafel for lunch the next day.

And sigh, more drying

Overall, I love this new kitchen member and as I type this, we have a batch of kiwi that will be partying in the dehydrator all night. And next in queue, I want to make a batch of One Lucky Duck fig bars.

Stacked

One of our hit breakfasts is Josh's Healthy Hotcakes and by now, our entire extended family has Josh's recipe:

Josh's Hot & Healthy Hotcakes

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon raw sugar
3 tbsp millet
2 tbs. flax meal
5 tbs. water
2 cups soy milk
splash of vanilla extract
2 tablespoons melted and cooled Earth Balance, plus unmelted E.B. for cooking (just a bit of E.B. in the pan - you can rub a pan with E.B. in a paper towel to make sure you don't over grease it)


Combine ingredients 1-6 in a mixing bowl. Stir flax into 5 tbs. water until a bit cloudy in a separate bowl big enough for all of the liquids. Add the rest of the liquids to the flax mix and stir. Pour liquids into mixing bowl with dry ingredients. Stir approximately 15-20 times. Lumps are okay. They will work themselves out on the stove. Cook like normal pancakes.


This makes enough pancakes to serve 4 people 2 pancakes each and you can cook them all and reheat them in the toaster over the next week. Freeze the extras. Kelly likes to eat hers with about a 1-2 tbs. of agave nectar instead of syrup. I prefer cool maple syrup, but still just a bit. These things are good plain, so you don't need to add much in the way of sweet sugary topping.

The other morning, we added fresh blueberries and dried goji berries to the mix, with some oatmeal, for a burst of fruity, oaty slow-burning carb loveliness.

There's another stacked vegan treat I'm into. This pair of Chestnut Faux Suede Caged Wedges at Lulus. Combine both for a fiber-filled lift.

Honeymoon, Part II: When the Road Gets Bumpy and She's Craving Chocolate

Our driver navigated the bumpy, winding series of what passed for roads of Anse Chastanet like a NASCAR-ready, speed-drunken man that had conquered fear many seasons ago. It was as dizzying as that sentence.

We were risking our lives again, as we often do, on the promises of vegetarian food in the threshold. Was it that we yearned for an expedition more precarious than attempting Indian cuisine with our new pressure cooker? Oh, you newlywed vegetarian Americans.

Feeling a little too dependent on the trappings of our resort (there was nowhere to walk to because of the treacherous roads outside of our gated paradise), we spent a few nights having taxis drive us to other restaurants for dinner. Our resort's restaurant ended up being one of the best as far as food quality and experience.

However, I'll never forget Wednesday night. After a 20-minute tension-coated crawl up the rocky course, during which at any point we could have slid off the narrow path down into the inky Caribbean below, or our driver could have turned mad on us and cracked our skulls with massive breadfruits that he kept hidden at his feet, we arrived at Emerald's. Well, we actually entered a security-manned parking lot where another taxi driver picked us up to shuttle us through the Anse Chastanet resort to one of their many restaurants. Because paths everywhere are steep, this taxi must have transported us all of 100 feet.

Yes, this is St. Lucia for most people that travel there. If you're not on a secure beach or tourist playground, you're left to consider mixing with those that live there, who can hardly afford to dine at the restaurants on their own island. St. Lucia is a daycare center for sheltered honeymooners who can stomach $700+ nightly hotel rates. We were lucky to even be there.

To clear the air, it's also the most beautiful sight I have ever seen and it's hard not to have a blissful experience there. As long as you can keep your cynicism at bay and focus on giving these hard-working locals lots of guilty tips and much-needed business.

Because milk rarely passes our lips, we requested soy milk for our room. We brought it everywhere with us, even to the pool, where we drank iced coffees with organic soya.  We left the carton in the restaurant by accident and they saved the milk for us for our morning coffee the next day.

We went for a tour of the cacao plantation at Fond Doux Estates, where we were shocked to see nutmeg in its true form and so many herbs and fruits just laying on the ground as if noone wanted them. Here, we overpay for nature's bounty, when St. Lucia has so much of it because their soil is rich and the weather is right. This worker's job is to dance on the cacao so that it can be sold to....Hershey's in Pa.

Josh was fascinated by the nutmeg fruit and it's alien-esque wrapping. Once you peel off the red skin, it smells strongly of the nutmeg that you have at home.

We weren't the only vegetarians at Fond Doux for the lunch buffet. There were a few others, and we found out together that the breadfruit casserole actually had fish in it that was not mentioned. Fish is considered vegetarian here by many of the locals, so even though we had called ahead of time to arrange a veggie lunch, Josh quickly alerted us to the fish. The beans, salad with scotchbonnet sauce, rice, and cold pasta were otherwise all very filling and tasty. They brought out desserts and I was expecting and by this point, craving, chocolate. No such luck. The gift shop didn't even sell chocolate. I bet it's all in Hershey.

When we got back to Ladera, we found a chocolate bar at our shop and had some tea. They are very big on afternoon tea here, with the special cocoa tea being the famed local drink. I tried some and it just made me want coffee.

That evening (after hours of champagne drinking in our plunge pool and doing WHO KNOWS WHAT) we had our little dinner drive that I mentioned above at Anse Chastanet's Emerald's Vegetarian Restaurant. It was the only veggie restaurant on the entire island, but most places are extremely easy to eat at.

Josh had a plantain satay with a dipping sauce.



My mushroom pate had a rich taste to it. I found the texture challenging.



Josh had a curry and I tried a tortilla of tofu, with broccoli, cauliflower, and sour cream. It was very different from how it sounded, and we both agreed that they were more about presentation here than actual execution.