If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, chances are tomatoes and other vegetables are in season right now. If you can find locally grown veggies, the flavor burst cannot be beat.

There’s nothing as delectable as a red, vine-ripened tomato to dress up a simple salad. Fresh basil from the garden adds additional punch.

I found local organic cherry tomatoes at my health food store.
I brought them home to enjoy in a salad with fresh basil from my mailbox herb garden and Tribe organic hummus that contains no citric acid (most commercially prepared hummus do contain this acid).

Mmm. Amazing flavors.

When you find local tomatoes, take advantage of their “aliveness” and eat them raw as they are highly alkalizing. Once tomatoes are cooked, they become moderately acidic.

See also:
Fresh herbs for flavor and antioxidants
Italian confetti salad

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Bob’s Kitchen, near the Arts et Metiers metro station, was somewhat spartan and austere by both American and Parisian standards.
The menu was small. But the food was tasty and they made fresh green juice!
There are two long tables with white tablecloths in the entire restaurant.
My friend Anita and I each had a maki roll. My husband and daughter shared a veg burger. We all liked our meals. 

It’s not easy to find this kind of food in a Paris eatery, just as it’s not easy in most American cities. You don’t stumble upon these places. You need to research it in advance and make a point of going. When I asked my friend Adrienne, a former New Yorker who lives in Lyons, France, if she could recommend a veg resto in Paris, Bob’s Kitchen was on her list. She had not tried it personally, but had heard it was good.
Thank you, Adrienne. I love you.

See also:
Favorite vegan restaurant (NYC)

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For all practical purposes, I am a vegan. However, I’m not a “religious vegan.”

I eat one wild ocean fish meal each week. When presented with egg or dairy in a restaurant or in a friend’s home, if there’s not much else to eat, I will nibble. (I will not touch any meat).

When I was in Paris last month, before I realized it, every salad arrived crowned with cheese. Rather than spend an hour picking out every piece of cheese, I pushed aside the major pieces and ate the rest.

On occasion I bake these banana nut muffins, which call for one egg. My daughter eats most of them, but I will eat one in the batch and enjoy it.

I’ve also made a vegan version, substituting egg with ground flaxseed, and that’s ok, too, just more dense.

Banana Muffins
Ingredients:
1 cup whole spelt flour
1 cup oat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt 1 egg (or 2 Tablespoons ground flaxseed mixed with 2 Tablespoons of water and a bit less mylk)
¾ cup non-dairy mylk (almond, rice, etc.)
15 drops liquid stevia
2 Tablespoons brown rice syrup
1/8 cup canola oil
¾ cup mashed very ripe banana
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

What you do:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl.
3. Beat egg (if using) and add all remaining ingredients in another bowl, except for nuts.
4. Add liquids to flour mixture, mix gentle.
5. Fold in nuts.
6. Fill paper muffin cups in muffin tins or pour batter directly into non-stick muffin tins.
7. Place muffin tin in oven on top of a cookie sheet that’s turned upside down.
8. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until tops are golden and toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of a muffin.
9. Enjoy with nut butter such as almond, cashew, peanut, or sunflower seed butter.

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Whenever I travel, I seek out the best vegan restaurants in town.

Through the years, I’ve eaten in many wonderful vegan joints, including most recently, Bob’s Kitchen, in Paris, France. However without a doubt my favorite restaurant is Caravan of Dreams in New York City’s Lower East Side.

The food is unbeatable in flavor, creativity, and freshness. Caravan serves both cooked and live foods. It even offers an Alkalarian Platter.

I dined there several days ago with my friend Ellen. She ordered the Caravan Burrito (see photo), which includes black beans, borwn rice, blanced vegetables, guacamole, and salsa. On a visit to the restaurant several years ago, her son Willem - whose favorite food is burritos – declared that the Caravan Burrito was the best burrito he had ever eaten. 

This time after much deliberation, I ordered the Tapas Platter, a visually pleasing combo of paté-of-the-day (it was red pepper – walnut), flax chips, cucumber, tomato, pesto, almond cream, daikon, mango, greens, and lemon-basil dressing (see photo). I ate every bit of the platter except for the lovely flower that crowned it as I wanted to enjoy its beauty to the very end. 

I’ll look forward to many other delicious meals in vegan restaurants, but will always anticipate with special delight my return to Caravan of Dreams in New York City.

See also:
Bob’s Kitchen, Veg Resto in Paris – France

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