Vegan a Go-Go: Bellingham

Another episode of Vegan Travels with Shelley...

Bellingham is a whole helluva lot like Missoula, just a bit bigger. There are mountains, food-loving coffee-toting hippies, and a fabulous farmers market where I picked up the most amazing asian pear in all of existence (so amazing that I felt inspired to take this silly photo...and hope that my fruit didn't make a bid for freedom over the railing):
Stephanie and I had a great time walking around, yammering away about all kinds of things and basically re-affirming my notion that yes, Stephanie is the coolest girl in the world. One of those people who seems to have an innate sense of all things funky, she took me to a new vegan restaurant in Bellingham called Bloom.
The unassuming sign out front leads you into this hip little dive with paper menus, old green carpet, and two cute servers behind the counter asking, "Are you interested in eating here today?" Why yes, silly dude. We ARE! I got this:
The southwestern burrito. Chock full of spicy lentils, rice, avocados, and this creamy cashew cheese that was so frickin' good I could hardly stand it (I told ya cheese could be made out of nuts)!!! On the side was sumptuous cucumber dill sauce and a supposed "ranch" that tasted exactly the same...but no matter, because they were both delicious. See?
Om nom. Nom nom nom. After Stephanie and I wandered around her friend's farm for a few hours, feeding sheep and laughing and the chickens, we eventually made our way back to town and prepared to make an epic pizza feast! We bloomed yeast! We chopped broccoli! We drank wine! We ate our pizza like queens...DRUNKEN QUEENS!
It was Steph's idea to have broccoli on pizza...doesn't that look awesome? Be sure, it was. I also tried a new faux cheese for our pizzas and was resoundingly impressed. I'd been eyeing Daiya Vegan Cheese at the Good Food Store for awhile, slightly put off by the five-dollar-a-bag price tag. But, Bellingham was a place for indulgences, so I bought it...and will now be tempted forever. IT WAS SO GOOD.

The next morning, after a fabulous night spent geekin' out on the road atlas, chatting with her pal Michael, and turning down an invitation to a dance club in favor of the Irish pub and a glass of Guinness, we woke up kinda fuzzy-faced....but only a little. I hit the road and drove all the way back to Missoula, stopping in Seattle to pick up my husband and friends and to marvel at their fencing accomplishments. I ate my asian pear for breakfast:
And pizza leftovers:
And so ends another amazing trip in the company of amazing people...and vegan all the way!