The Stand

It's Christmas morning! Yahoo! I'm waiting in my room because I've been awake for about 15 minutes, but I can't go downstairs until 10:30. My parents have this tradition where we aren't allowed to go downstairs until they have finished "setting up." Frankly, it's just a method of torture, and when we were little, we would literally be screaming from the stairwell to "hurry up!" and to "have mercy!" Anyhow, I thought it was lame that I wasn't going to post all the way until the 8th of January, so here is a bit of an update on some of my vegan-ness in CT.

I've been going back to my all time favorite vegan / raw place in CT: The Stand. I have their blog link on this page, and I used to work for them. It was such a blessing to have worked there, and without their influence, I never would have been set on my raw food journey. Mike and Carissa are the owners and Amy is their all-star manager. Mike and Carissa are like the older siblings I never had, and every time I see them it's a blast. They're hilarious and if you're ever in Southern CT, definitely stop by for some of their world famous smoothies, juices, sandwiches, wraps, and VEGAN DESSERTS.

Anyhow, they've commissioned me to come by on the 27th and repaint their store! I'm so excited to help out and redo their chalkboard menu, and to paint a wall. They're paying me in FOOD (my favorite kind of currency) and Carissa are just going to have a dance party that night and get some work done. I'm so pumped!

Also, I met up with my two brothers at a new Chipotle chain that opened up in the town next to us. The northeast, (unlike southern California) is starved for good mexican food. While I don't eat there often, I LOVE the Chipotle business model. I am so excited to see things like organic beans and rice, humanely raised meat, and LEED certified restaurants go mainstream. While it's far from perfect, I believe that these baby steps are signs of massive progress! Chipotle is a sign of good things to come! Organic, fresh food can be lucrative, AND popular.

ALSO! For christmas dinner I had morning star farm "chicken strips" seared in a marinade by The Raw Foods Witch: ACV, honey, nama shoyu, and olive oil. Delicious. It was paired with mashed potatoes, and a big salad. Merry Christmas everyone! I'll post if I get any exciting kitchen gadgets!

Best,

Cliff