Take a Hike! Delaware Water Gap & Lots of Carbohydrates

Water is one of the most powerful forces in the world.  Water makes spaghetti and mountains and me and you. Lest you be too concerned with your occasional swells and rages.  Such is the nature of water and of you…

Water also made the Delaware Water Gap: The chunk of the Kittatinny Ridge that the Delaware River ate.  On this Memorial Day weekend, we’d hike in and around that Gap, never quite making it to the top of the Blue Blaze or Red Dot trails that were too rigorous for our supplies and too intimidating after being turned around sloppily, by foot and automobile, in the hours before.  But with moist green, bark, waterfalls and the renowned Appalachian Trail would be more than rewarding enough, meriting a big meal of carbohydrates afterwards.  

You fill up my senses, like a night in the forest.  

I’ve meandered down the Delaware River in a tube before.  But this was rogue Delaware River, breaking free and finding other river deserters. Running water.

The first arrival of bare feet outside of the home… it’s the true unofficial start of summer. 

How many layers of beauty…

Yes, pretty much.

So a dinner at Mama’s & Cafe Baci in Hackettstown, New Jersey, which has an all-vegan menu in that random kind of way.  I love old school Italian places that embrace new eating demands… but their great intentions and best efforts often need a bit of guidance. I offer my constructive suggestions, because I love vegan food and want the best for it, wherever it may be. 

I love how this “dairy-free” placard at our table… we were also asked immediately if we needed the vegan menus and a list of vegan specials. Great communication is well-appreciated.  But why “dairy-free”?  Egg is often used in breading binder in Italian food.  Meat is sometimes used to flavor sauce. Bread can have all sorts of weird animally-derived conditioners in it.  While it was great to see that the wine list have “V” notations, “Vegan” is a lot more than dairy-free and so not really interchangeable. 

But there were many, many V-bombs. 

The bread was served with a small plate sample of their vegan risotto. 

Our dinners: Mine: The Vegan Palma up front. The Vegan Palma had penne with artichokes, spinach & sun-dried tomatoes sautéed in white champagne sauce.  The sauce, unfortunately, was very subtle if not completely devoid of any flavor.  It needed salt (some capers?), acidity (lemon), garlic, nutritional yeast, perhaps. And more artichoke! Such a great start.  

For dessert, Vegan Zeppoles!  Who wouldn’t love another way to eat bread… a sweet way that involves chocolate.

Here’s to nature and carbohydrates.