Jury duty, camping, and ultimate frisbee

What could jury duty, camping, and ultimate frisbee have in common? Well, those are the factors that have kept me from snapping pictures and putting up posts.
I fulfilled my civic duty yesterday and reported for jury duty. No one ever wants to serve but I have to say I was shocked and disappointed by the number of people that actively complained about being there and brainstormed stories to wriggle out of it. But after reading this article in the Boston Globe I should be giving credit to all those that showed up. Hey, I may have been reluctant to miss out on the last two weeks of work but like the judge said it's a fair example of "quid pro quo"- we serve today in the hopes that if we or a loved one ever needs the service of a jury there will be citizens willing to act as impartial and fair jurors. I wasn't selected but I have a renewed conviction in the importance of the process.
I went camping in Belleplain State Park in NJ. We were there to watch and cheer on my roommates ultimate frisbee team at the Wildwood beach tournament. I'm not a big fan of beaches (I burn easily) and I've only been camping once (I don't like bugs, rodents, peeing in a hole, or sleeping on the ground) BUT I had a blast. We had quite the spread and I wish I would have taken pictures. Alas, that was not to be - I left the batteries charging at home. I did make some fun kettle corn based on a recipe I found on veg.com. I highly recommend it. I'm making some for my going away party this weekend so I'll make sure to take a picture.

A vegan fight against farm subsidies

I get that question a LOT and the answer is intimately personal and constantly evolving.
I am a vegan for my health.
I am a vegan because I think it is more important to feed people than cattle.
I am a vegan because I think it is better for the environment.
I am a vegan because I think animals should be treated in a humane way.
And I have stumbled upon an issue that directly incorporates nearly every aspect of why I am a vegan: FARM SUBSIDIES.
I have mad love for the farmer that works the earth and creates nutritious food that ensures my survival (especially since I hate gardening, much less farming). I don't have any respect or desire to pay for large agribusinesses that make a profit by making us fat, mistreating animals, and compromising the land they occupy.
Here's the article that got me revved up this morning by Michael Pollan (omnivore's dilemma).
Write your representative and let him/her know that this matters. Fight the lobbyists. Let politicians know that our health and our planet matter more then the money that lines their coffers! (Lobbyists spent about 91 million in 2006)

Carnivores and vegans unite....for dinner!

My beloved carnivore and I made this fantastic meal Sunday evening. He loves pasta salad - I never have until my roommate - Moose - made a vantastic sampling for our Shakespeare Free for All at Carter Baron (a truly great place). But he really only knows pasta salad as a gross creamy concotion. I had to show him the light. All he had was white pasta, which I haven't eaten with any frequency for almost five years, but I was willing to make do. We added some tomatoes, red peppers (perfectly diced thank you very much), and onion. Our dressing was an awesome Annie's Naturals Balsamic Vinaigrette, which contains honey. Since my primary motivation for my vegan lifestyle is not animal rights I just don't want to give up honey. Period. Anywho, he also grilled me some vegan grillers topped with avocado and spicy mustard, he ate turkey (gag me) burgers. The man also prepped homemade fries on the grill. I would have preferred sweet potato fries but again the meal was vantastic. I wish I had brought some pasta salad home with me.

The vantastic, the vugly, and the yummy

I read today at vegan.com - reported via SFGate - that Veggie Booty and SuperTings were tainted with salmonella as a result of a seasoning ingredient possibly purchased from China. This is VUGLY for so many reasons. I realize that China is a convenient scapegoat right now, but it does bring to light the fact that prepackaged foods come from far distances and unsavory locations. I do my best to avoid purchasing Chinese products and I had no idea ingredients in Veggie Booty came from Chian. Mostly because I worry about their human rights abuses but I also feel Chinese financial support enables genocide in Darfur. I need to stop eating snacks, regardless of their vegan status, and just cook my own food. Prepackaged snacks are just so convenient.....
To that end - the urban vegan makes it easier. She compiled a list of 101 quasi 10 minute easy meals. What a genius! I find that so many vegan bloggers don't post recipes or give really valuable information - in the hopes of or in anticipation of publishing a book. Way to buck the trend urban vegan and work your tail off to create a list of authentically easy meal ideas! Vantastic!
Restaurant Review - By and by I ate at Shawarma King in Brookline, Ma on Saturday night. Yummy! I thought their tabbouleh - with so much less bulgar then I have the nerve to use - was the best on my ridiculously large combo plate. Prices are a little more then posted in the review (from 10 years ago) but still reasonable. Sidenote - the picture is not from Shawarma King but a pretty fair resemblance. And carnivore prepared a great meal for me yesterday that I'll be posting soon....

Goodbye Lunch

In preparation for my last day of work - a month from now - some of my favorite coworkers took me out to lunch. Awwww.....how sweet! And they made the extra effort of locating a restaurant that caters to veg and meat eaters alike. I really work with an amazing group of people at CUA Libraries. We went to Mark's Kitchen in Takoma Park. I really like the small town slightly run down atmosphere of Takoma Park. Mark's Kitchen was definitely a no frills great deal. The waitress was slow and surly but the food came quick. But, our waitress did know her stuff. I almost ordered the veggie bacon, lettuce, and tomato but she quickly informed me the veggie bacon has egg whites. I appreciated that bit of information. So instead I ordered tofu and avocado club - which at 6.75 was a pretty good deal. The sandwich was large and came with a side of roasted potatoes. I had enough left over for dinner that night. Vantastic. Some other coworkers ordered me a peanut butter fudge cake from my great nemesis - StickyFingers. And who can blame them - I love peanut butter and vegan food. What other option did they have? I actually had brought that cake in on my birthday, before my SF boycott began. I didn't have the heart to tell them that I refuse to purchase SF's goods and that the cake is really all about chocolate and too little about pb. It was the thought that counts and for that they are most definitely vantastic. I'll miss working with these people, they are great. But I'm sure being in Brasil will lessen the sadness. Teehee! The interesting question is what will it be like to be vegan in Brasil...I'll keep you posted!

Where is the butter?

I became a vegetarian at 15, for vague reasons. Over the years I have often fielded the question "why are you a vegetarian"? Given ample practice I was able to really develop a response that reflected my burgeoning ideology. I was never a vegetarian for animal rights reasons. I think animals should be treated humanely, but my priority is human welfare and environmental integrity. Slowly, but surely, I came to understand that veganism was more closely aligned with my political and moral beliefs. Bummer! I never thought I would be able to do it. Then I read The Great American Detox Diet and thought I would give it a try for a few weeks. That was in April of 2006. While I have undoubtedly, inadvertently and out of respect, consumed dairy and eggs since then I strive to be a pretty strigent vegan - though I have mixed feelings about honey which when sourced locally is a much better alternative to sugar. I really thought I would miss cheese the most, but I hardly do at all. I found early on that it was butter that I missed - and I didn't even eat that much. Since finding Earth Balance I eat much more then I did as a vegetarian. But it is so good. Earth Balance vegan spread is VANTASTIC. Most vegan baking recipes call for it. I make cinnamon-sugar pita chips with it. I often just toast some bread and slather good ole fashioned jam and "butter" all over it. I have even converted my carnivorve boyfriend and dad. The stuff tastes good! And even has vitamin E to boot.
Sidenote - does anyone own the Damn Tasty! Vegan Baking Guide? I am thinking about purchasing it for my voracious sweet tooth

Job preparation

Seeing as I plan on being a librarian I better get to doing some book reviews.
Vantastic: I love this book - "Peanut Butter Planet". If you have any sort of nut allergy this book, and this blog really, are not for you. It is a vegetarian cookbook, that is in essence vegan. Ingredients such as milk are listed with soy milk as an alternative. Each recipe lists serving sizes and nutritional information that I something that I look for in purchasing cookbooks. The preparation times aren't listed, unfortunately, but the recipes I've made have been easy and relatively quick - under an hour. I've made the sweet potato and peanut stew, curried chickpea stew, peanut macaroni pie, and peanut banana bread. The two stews were phenomenal. The most exotic spices called for were cumin and curry, and those hardly qualify as exotic anymore. The preparation I made was relatively straightforward and the taste was vantastic. The other two recipes were less delicious but still fun. I highly recommend this book and will keep you updated on future forays into the peanut butter planet.

Note of caution: one recipe "linguine with spicy peanut pesto" calls for thai bird chile, lemongrass, and thai basil which will be more difficult to locate at the local grocery store.

Don't cook much...but eat a lot!

Vantastic: My roomie bought Wasa crackers last night and I ate them with store bought hummus. Between flying home at 6 in the morning and working until 6:30pm (and the 90+ temp with about that much humidity) I was not about to turn on the oven and cook. It was filling and vantastic really. When I was in Boston I went to Haymarket. I was mostly disappointed, the produce prices were great and the vendors were authentic representations of Boston attitude, but the food wasn't local. And the $2 lb of cherries yielded less then 2 ounces of consumable fruit. There was a Halal market that sold all types of bread, in addition to nasty meats, olives, etc. I tried out the Armenian bread - Matnakash - from Christopher's Bakery (2 Lewis St. Lynn, MA - (781)632-6773) and loved it.

By the way - several people have sent me the NYTimes article about hipster librarians. I hate any kind of pigeon hole, I don't spin records, go to concerts, or dress that fashionably, but I'm still cool (I like to think). Check it out if you haven't and support your public library!

Have so much to say!

Everyday I think of things I want to post on my blog - I just need to translate those thoughts into action.
On Wednesday - the 4th - I went to Whole Foods and saw my Tofurky sausages for $3.99 and then today I saw a comment on my blog that they are at Trader Joe's for $2.99. How dare Giant and YES Organic totally rip me off! Many people complain about the expense of Whole Food's but honestly, for the products I buy they are more affordable. Anyway, I am just happy for the good news - cheap Tofurky makes this vegan think vantastic thoughts. Prior to buying them cheaply I bought the overpriced sausages in preparation for grilling on the 4th. I bought ciabatta bread to act as rolls, not much nutritional value but not high fructose corn syrup. Yipee! I drizzled some olive oil and balsamic vinegar on the toasted rolls and sliced up the Tofurky to go on top. I served myself that with some steamed brocoli with a mustard sauce (mustard, chopped garlic, and more olive oil) along with some yummy pumpkin oatmeal cookies from PPK. Those cookies were a huge hit at the BBQ, one guy ate over 5 before learning they were vegan and had the courage to admit he liked them but wouldn't have eaten them had he know they were vegan. We had a few casualities, they were overrun by ants but I did manage to take a picture that I will upload later.....
I also made homemade cashew butter this past week. Did I already talk about that? It was amazing!
I've been in Boston this weekend. I went to Grasshopper yesterday. I so wanted to like it. Really, I want to like all establishments that promote foods I can eat and a lifestyle I believe in. I just didn't though. I thought the assorted appetizer for $8.50 was pretty darn good. But 75% of it was fried, of course it was going to be good. My boyfriend - the carnivore (some call their partners omni's but my man loves meat so much that doesn't do him justice) - has dramatically increased his willingness to experiment and loved the appetizer. The "pork" on his entree (#41)was disgusting, in looks and taste. My seitan with american broccoli (#60) was enough for thre people, incredibly generous portions. I just didn't like the texture or the taste of their seitan, which I usually love. What I really loved was the sweet service, the tasty water, and the phenomenally vantastic "peanut" sauce. It was brown heaven, I don't know what relation it has to peanuts but it was so good. Does anyone know how to make that sauce? I was afraid to try the cheesecake after the entrees. Maybe next time...

On the way home (a little out of our way) I dragged carnivore to the My Thai cafe and Bubble Tea Bistro on Harvard St. to grab vegan dessert. I've eaten there MANY times so knew that the $5 lemon poppyseed cake with lemon creamcheese frosting is VANTASTIc. The styrofoam is evil though. I have a picture of that soon to come as well. That is far and away my favorite restaurant in Beantown so far. (I found TJ's disappointing because of styrofoam and the fake cheese, but to be fair I HATE fake cheese; and Original Buddha's Delight has the same fake meat problem as Grasshopper). I'm off to eat homemade sweetpotato fries and grilled prepackaged vegan burgers (courtesty of carnivore).

Sidenote: Transformers rocked! Long live autobots

Mediocre meatballs

Vkay - I realized there are things/products that are neither vantastic nor vugly. So I have a new category: vkay. Washington Deli qualifies for vkay. I really appreciate a business, a deli nonetheless, that makes an effort to cater to vegans and vegetarians. I went on Saturday and ordered the vegan meatball 'parm' hero. WITHOUT soy cheese, because I don't trust that it's vegan and because it tastes nasty. He put the soy cheese on anyway and the meatballs were flavorless, and that's being generous. He did offer to make me another one, but since I am not vegan for medical reasons but by choice I didn't want to waste the food, labor, and electricity to make another one. And I got a fifty cent discount on the price. I won't go again anytime soon but I wouldn't avoid it either.

One note of caution - I don't verify whether products are vegan or not. If it says it is vegan I will usually take them at their word. My basic question is "does it have eggs or dairy?" Otherwise I am not very hardcore. So if the purity of your product or food really matters to you then do your own additional research.

One note of concern - I went to Java Green yesterday after writing my post. They still had no Sweet -n- Natural goodies. If they stop carrying those products my esteem for them will be highly reduced.

What I know best

Restructuring: I think I am par my blog down to one essential component - my vegan product reviews. I don't really know enough about technology to comment on it and I don't teach anymore so it's hard for me to stay updated on the happenings within the field. I am currently a vegan and use vegan related products in my every day life, so here goes....

VUGLY!: I hate StickyFingers. No, really I do. I go in two or three times a week and as a result my disdain grows. On Saturday when I went into the store I observed that they hardly put any icing on their trademark (and dry) sticky fingers anymore. Instead they sell a side of frosting for 50 cents. Highway robbery. I went in yesterday and the same vanilla and Oreo cake are being offered for over $4.00 a slice and have been there for over a week. But the worst travesty is that their breakfast sandwich is now $4.00. Have you seen and/or tasted those things? They are NOT worth four dollars. I always wanted to open a bakery and now I am more motivated then ever. Natural Gourmet School here I come! Vegans fawn over "that" bakery and my intense dislike of it borders on treason but I can't help it. If you saw the veggie parmesan they were offering yesterday, at exorbitant prices you would understand (disgusting). Stick to Java Green and Sweet - n - Natural. They were plum out of goodies Saturday but it is tons better.

VANTASTIC: Tofurky Italian sausage. Who would have though it? I typically don't like fake veggie products. Fake cheese = nasty. Fake cheeseake = pretty gross. But Tofurky Italian Sausages (not Kielbasa) = vantastic goodness. I eat them for breakfast, lunch or dinner - not all three since a package of four is almost 5 dollars. Now once I can find a bun with no added sugar or corn syrup, then I'll really be in heaven!