President's Picnic

President’s Picnic

When I was approximately 4 years old, I went to discover Richard Nixon state park for the first time in my life. There was some activity is being lead for youth education at the time, as we took an interesting personality test to discover what dinosaur we were most like. We then were asked to draw that dinosaur, and the best-looking dinosaur want some sort of prize. To this day, I have the artistic capabilities of figgy pudding, so I did not win the prize. However, inside their ecological Center, I did learn a lot that day about the evolution of species throughout time.

I Revisited Richard Nixon park for the first time since then when I was 22. The ecological Center has ex‐ panded to include exhibits on flora and fauna around the United States and in this part of Pennsylvania that I live in. I stopped by because I wanted to go on a hike and see what their Trails were like, as I had a serious Edge to go out and go hiking one day but no way to fill it without too far of a drive. So, my friend Brett and I found ourselves out at Richard Nixon Park, hiking one of their shortest trails.

This state park has several trails that all loop around or through the periphery of the park and then some. That was transfer time, we decided to take the shortest trail that cut through the center of the park. There were actually a couple of switchbacks on this little Trail, but it eventually led to an open field with a platform in but it eventually led to an open field with a platform in the center of it. I still don't top of the platform and felt omnipotent. I also found a caterpillar on the platform and made friends with it, shooting some pictures before letting him go on the nearby plant.

Before I knew it, time for me to go to work had to come. I knew that before long I would come back and Hike more of the trails one day, still thoroughly impressed at how far Richard Nixon park has come. I will come back to the park to do more hiking as time permits in my hectic schedule and life course.

Many Waters of Virginia

One week in June, I went down to The Great Falls Park in Virginia. I met up with a good friend to go out for a day of hiking. We first started off with a warm up hike around Lake Anne, one of the four lakes in Northern Virginia. It has been modernized extensively, and included they Cafe, a bar, a couple retail outlets, and a bookstore that my friend and I went through to find some used literature. We walked around the perimeter of the lake, saw their Unitarian Universalist Church, and hit the road for Great Falls.

Blurry Aesthetics of the Great Potomac Falls.

In all honesty, I wasn't expecting the Great Falls to be as Majestic as they were, especially since I did not realize that I had already seen the other half of them from the Maryland side of the Potomac River. They were Majestic and grandiose, and the Riverside trail made for a very good 3-mile hike or so. It was a very easy trail of about a 2 out of 5. There's a network of trails in this area that you can choose from that extends about 12 miles, so pick your poison accordingly. Either way around, you will see the rivers, see the gorge, and see the beauty of nature as it was intended.

Take me with you to the ocean, sweet river.

After this adventure, we stopped by Cafe Sano, a small little cafe on one of the four legs. It was a Mediterranean restaurant that had very good small plates for decent price, with everything being fresh and mostly organic. It was here only got one of the best falafel wraps I've ever had, whilst enjoying the best homemade tzatziki sauce and ever had, was looking at the lake.

I then stopped at Cafe Amphora for a coffee and dessert with my friend. I had Tiramisu and a soy cappuccino, and fell in love with this little Bakery. It is here that you can actually sit in the Loft above the bakery and watch the bakers hard at work. It is a must-see for anybody who was in the area.

Fanny Mae Gardens  were the last stop on the days of venture, a Botanical Garden riddled with poetic prose and thoughts about the natural world scattered on top of stones throughout the pathway of the garden. It was behind an Urban spot of offices, and was really used by the people that work there. So on that day, we decided to put it to good use, admiring the beauty of nature, the flowers, and quotes by Henry David Thoreau, David Bryant, Sylvia Plath, and Emily Dickinson. They inspired me to be one with the world once more.

Although the hiking here wasn't the most intense thing I've ever done, it was still a very worthwhile trip to go and do for a day. I was extremely excited to be down in Virginia hiking with a close friend, and cannot wait until the day that I returned to like some more.

Eco-Friendly Tiramisu!

Tiramisu is one of my favorite desserts of all time. However, when I was vegan, I can no longer eat it. There's a growing demographic of people who are either allergic to dairy or are vegan. so, are you smart knowledge of veganism and dairy-free living to recreate one of my favorite dessert recipes so that it would be both good for the environment, good for the animals, and good for humans.

Before the desert is complete...

Typically, tiramisu is made with mascarpone cheese, a very delicate creamy cheese, and emulsified with raw eggs to give it their signature creamy taste. Since I don't eat much of either of these things, I needed to create an alternative but I could eat. and so, my following recipe was born. drop your mixing bowl and your best baking dish, and it's time to wake up some very hipster tiramisu!

Be sure to read all the way to the bottom, as I will be including a lot of footnotes about this recipe!

You will need:

1 package ladyfingers (about 25 ladyfingers)*

2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided into two portions

1/4 cup Marsala wine or non-alcoholic Sherry

2 Cups espresso style coffee**

1 1/2 cups cane sugar, jaggery, or radapura***

1 cup of egg substitute****

3 cups milk substitute*****

8 ounces of Coconut Cream/paste (or an extra cup of egg substitute if you're allergic to coconut)

1 Cup cacao powder, or ground cacao nibs

STEPS:

1) Start by making your cream filling, as this will take the longest to prepare and settle. start by adding the vanilla extract and egg substitute to a dish, whisk it together, and then add in the coconut milk. Whisk together thoroughly, and then use a hand mixer to mix this with the non-dairy milk of your choosing. (note: for extra thickness, take a half cup of cashews, soften them in water for an hour, and chop them up with some water in a blender, and mix them in as well.) Place in the refrigerator to let it sit for about 6 hours.

2) Take the other half of the vanilla extract and add it to you're Marsala wine. Prepare your coffee sauce and mix it together with the wine and vanilla extract. For a bit of Zing, add a dash of cinnamon and Nutmeg. (notes, and espresso machine works best for the coffee, but preparing it with a French press works just as well.)

3) To prepare the tiramisu, lay down a light layer of coffee into a thin baking dish. Dip the lady fingers sideways into a shallow bowl filled with the rest of the coffee mixture, soaking for about half a second, and line the bottom of your tray with coffee soaked ladyfingers. spread a layer of your cream mixture over top of the lady fingers, even it out, and dust with powdered chocolate/ thinly ground cacao nibs.

4) Repeat this process of coffee soaking ladyfingers, placing them in the dish over top of the cream mixture, and covering the next layer with cream of mixture and powdered chocolate. Do this until you have two or three layers.

5) Put a little extra coffee on the top layer to seep through for a stronger flavor. Cover the rest of the top with the rest of the cream mixture, and coat generously with powdered chocolate.

6) Cover and place in the refrigerator for about 8 hours or until everything is set in place.

7) Cut up the Tiramisu and get ready to serve.

8) Enjoy your freshly made eco-friendly treat! Your hard work has paid off.

...And after it's finished.

* :Lady fingers are shortbread pastry that are typically made with eggs, but if you look in your local organic food store, you can usually find some that are vegan and made without animal products. inversely, you can make your own vegan ladyfingers Buy making vegan cupcakes, but by spreading the batter into a baking sheet instead of baking cups.

** :You can check out my post here about different types of coffee. But typically, the stronger you can make your espresso ground, and the more of it you can get, the better this dessert will be.

*** :All of these sources of sugar are vegan. Refined sugar and white sugar are usually made using bone Char from pigs. Plus, the undertones of natural sugar enhance the vanilla flavor in the cream.

**** :There are several things that work, such as pea protein powder, applesauce, or banana, but there is usually add unwanted flavor to your dessert. The organic aisle of your local feed store should have egg substitute powder. I use Ener-G Egg Replacer.

***** :The type of milk you want to use depends on your allergies and preferences. Since this will really only be used to thicken your cream mixture, pea protein milk and flax milk will work very well because they have no taste. Or, if you want to have some almond flavored coffee cake, use some almond milk and go for it.