Ahhh, vacation. Life is so beautiful right now. My sister and grandma live a short 10 minute drive from Huntington Beach, so that's where I spent most of Monday, basking in the sun, reading my new book and watching little junior lifeguards paddling in the water.
The weather these days is gorgeous. Even though temperatures are really high, the breeze cools everything down and it's not nearly as bad as Korea's humid sticky heat. It feels really, reeeaaally good to be back... :P
After enjoying the beach, I checked out a Vietnamese-owned, 100% vegan restaurant on Main St called 'Bodhi Tree.' I wanted to order everything on the menu but went with the 'Chicken' Lemongrass from their lunch menu, that came with a soup appetizer, chow mein noodles, and my choice of brown rice. The food was spankin' delicious! There was so much food, I only ate half of it and ate the rest for dinner. I also ordered their 'Thai Ice Coffee' which was absolutely fantastic. I couldn't stop drinking it, it was so good.
the soup
the entree: 'Chicken' Lemongrass
Thai Ice Coffee
If I were living here, I would go to Bodhi Tree all the time. So far on my trip, when I'm not eating at my grandma's house, I've been trying to eat at vegetarian/vegan-specific restaurants, because I want to support these businesses as much as possible during these tough economic times.
Oh, and I went to Barnes & Noble the other day and bought three books! I'm excited because I have wanted to get my hands on these, especially 'The China Study' by T. Collin Campbell. I have been contemplating taking Campbell's nutrition program online from Cornell, so I want to read his book first before I make a final decision. :)
I've also wanted to read 'What is the What' since I thoroughly enjoyed Eggers' previous book 'A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius.' I laughed out loud while reading that one, but this new book is more serious since it's basically a biography of one of the 'Lost Boys' of Sudan. So far it's a good read.
And last but not least, 'Vegan Brunch' by Isa Chanda Moskowitz! All the recipes in here look sooo good and totally do-able. It will no doubt come in handy when I hold that long-overdue Saturday brunch on my '101 list'. Yay, another addition to my vegan cookbook collection!