The more honest truth is that I’m often in places where veg-friendly food is difficult to find, and I’m becoming more flexible with what I call a meal: French fries and salads, sure why not? Pizza sans cheese. Yep. A soy latte with a side of espresso? Ok.

I realize this isn’t the picture of healthy living, and I’m not telling you about this because I’m proud. It’s just the truth, and we all know how much I love that.

Let me paint you a picture: I’m often so busy that 4:30 pm rolls around and I realize I haven’t yet made it to the store for kale and other veggies. By that point I can’t even imagine chopping, blending or massaging. I want simple. I want salad thrown into a cardboard box. See what I mean about turning into one of those people I used to judge.

Now I get the appeal of pre-made food.

This week, however, my craving for kale was intense, and it had to be quenched, no matter how much I didn’t want t0 haul a&# to Whole Foods. In lieu of a complicated raw salad with a nut-based dressing and a million toppings, I just wanted something easy, something green, something simple. You just chop, rip, and massage.

Something Easy & Green Salad

(serves 1)

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 head of dinosaur kale, torn into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 cup chopped cucumber
• 1 T capers, drained
• 1 avocado, chopped
• 1/4 cup dulse strips (the dried kind; they’ll soften up when mixed with the dressing)
• 1/4 cup walnuts or any other nut, chopped
• Optional: sun-dried tomatoes, olives, carrots, sprouts, corn, beets etc.

Dressing: make your own favorite lemony dressing; mine was a combination of hemp oil, dulse flakes, lemon juice, and miso blended in the Vita-Mix for a few seconds.

How to: Place the kale and the dulse into a big bowl. Pour desired amount of dressing over the veggies and massage with your hands until well-coated and softened. Let sit for 5-10 minutes. Mix in other ingredients.

And there you have you have it. Easy. Minimal mess. No fuss. Much better than fries and a soy latte.

Great Sage is by far the best vegan food in DC. The sad part? It’s an hour from DC. Everyone should experience the wonder. Share it with your friends.

Hummus and Spinach Artichoke Dip. One of life’s very important rituals.

Massive veggie burger to wow the non-vegans.

Pistachio-Crusted Tempeh

Eggplant Special with Penne in a  ”Tomato -Butter Sauce”

Lawyer Adult “Mac & Cheese”

Dessert.

Lots to go around. And lots of love to go around.

Speaking of sharing, caring and lots of love to go around. My sister, Emily, is doing her alma mater proud and is currently in the midst of raising money for The Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State’s Hershey Medical Center. Currently a finalist to run in the 135 mile run from Hershey Medical Center to Penn State in the 24 hours leading up to Penn State’s Dance MaraTHON weekend, she’s trying to raise $1,000 by November 4th.

It’s a pretty amazing cause, and I’m sharing it with you in hopes you’ll check it out. You can read more about The Hope Express and THON, and if you’re so inclined, you can visit Emily’s personal fundraising page at Give to The Hope Express. Every donation, big or small, helps in the fight against pediatric cancer.

Share the love. Share the hummus. Share the hope.

All the little scenes are ripe for capturing on my handy iphone — that trusty co-pilot for all my adventures.  This is especially true when the massive DSLR really can’t come traipsing through backyard leaves to reach first fall bonfires or through the rusty crevices of a crumbling mansion as Chris and I search for hidden, treasured furniture.

Loved Scenes, Abridged

The first fall bonfire in humid 80 degree DC September weather: flannel shirts, pumpkin-flavored snacks, raiding the snacks after all the guests have gone, the sharing of Spotify playlists,  and hanging in real yards where people have actual neighbors with kids and ABC-worthy drama.

Telling ghost stories about Louis Pug under Louis Ghost Chairs.

The undeniable magic of Georgetown on DC’s first cooler days, when you can just imagine yourself walking your pug down the uneven streets like you belong, possibly wearing a knit sweater and feeling especially grateful you don’t have to navigate the traffic or the parking like the tourists.

Pipe dream.

Also a pipe dream? The glorious spice aisle at the new-ish Whole Foods in NorthBethesdaRockvilleMaryland (<— these areas are all the same to me).

And the jewel-toned salts. Merlot salt. Citrus salt. Super exclusive-you-can’t-afford-me-$30-per-pound-salt.

Pretty as paint chips salt.

Celebrating over a dinner of bits and pieces. A fairly good tapas joint that was accommodating of the vegans and the omnis and didn’t seem to care that I shouldn’t be drinking uber-sugary cocktails, but will probably care that I called their classy establishment (complete with lounge music and many hand holding couples) a “joint.”

Crispy tofu:

Fried rice:

Fried  Hungover quick cook rice.  (Not pictured.)

In the midst of work, frustrations, and day-to-day irritations, there have been happy days, spontaneous adventures to find furniture for my new apartment, weekday lunch dates to a vegan spot in DC’s less-frequented areas, birthdays, many vegan pizzas, vintage clothes, and bright red jeans. Technicolor things ripe for loving and documenting via superhuman smart phone.

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(I’ve heard rumblings in the past that a “real blogger” isn’t one who uses (and/or sometimes uses) an iphone app for blog photos. To that I say I never claimed to be a “real blogger.” And also, who cares what camera you use and when you use it. The end.)