When I’m on vacation I like to root down and feel at home. There is so much irregularity around traveling, which is half the fun, but too much of that energy makes my vata unsettled.
I flew to Vancouver last month for a night, then took 3 ferries to Hornby Island the next day, a long journey to see my Aunt Suzie who moved to the artist colony about 40 years ago.
On the flight to Vancouver I listened to a podcast that I believe enhanced my trip. It influenced me to delete Instagram and other “non-essential” apps from my phone. With my family and fiance with me, I also didn’t need to check my texts (turned text notifications off), and chose not to do any email or online work, happily discovering that wifi was terrible in our seaside lodge. Suddenly my phone finally became nothing more than a camera, and I was present to take in the luscious green landscape, choppy coastline, soaring bald eagles, windy Jeep rides, and family tennis.
We went on 3 easy hikes around Mt. Jefferey. There is nothing like being spoiled with both mountains and ocean. On certain trails deep in the woods, giant trees were covered in moss, like a forrest carpet. But the best part about hiking….the sandwiches!! One of my favorites was a tofu sandwich with vegan mayo, eggplant spread, lettuce, sprouts, tomato, on local sourdough.
As much as I love going out to eat on vacation, I feel grounded making something myself. Also, with a limited number of ingredients, I get to use my creativity to come up with unplanned and simple meals.
Our last hike of the trip was early in the morning. I bought some nori (seaweed paper) and hummus at the local coop. Once we got back to our lodge, I assembled these veggie rolls. Since we pretty much went balls out for dinner every night, it felt good to eat something super healthy, vegan, mostly local, and homemade.
Nori Burritos (serves 2):
4 sheets Nori
vegan mayo
1/2 pint hummus
sprouts
micro greens
pink salt
Method:
Spread vegan mayo on nori, then a generous spread of hummus. Top with sprouts and micro greens, and a pinch of salt.
Fold bottom up, then roll like a burrito.
I served this with a local lettuce salad dressed with olive oil, lemon juice, and rosemary salted almonds. If I had an avocado, I’d probably put that in the nori burrito too!
Reading maps and relaxing before lunch :)