Happy Independence Day

Hi folks!  Just dropping in to say Happy Fourth (on the fifth, I realize).  I hope you all enjoyed your day.  I actually ended up having one of my best Independence Day celebrations so far.  John and I, along with our awesome friend Alyson, spent the day at Burton Chace Park in Marina Del Ray, grilling veggie-style and picnicking in the sun before seeing the fireworks show over the harbor.  It was great weather, and John did quite a fantastic job cooking up our food on the park's public grill.

Love my dollar-store picnic plates!

We had SmartDogs (which are now grillable, for which I am entirely thankful since nothing matches up to a grilled hot dog), corn, seasoned sweet potatoes, Gardein burgers (not pictured--that came in my second helping!), and individual salads with lettuce, tomato, and (my favorite) Trader Joe's Goddess Dressing.  We also had some chips and accidentally vegan Oreos to nosh, since we were in the park from about 2:30 until 9:30.  We had a blast people- and dog-watching, and there were even some musicians performing in one of the picnic pavilions for tips.  It was great!

I've also been sitting on this picture for a few weeks, and I thought now would be a good time to share. We went to Big Bear Lake for a few days back in June, and while we were there, we checked out their zoo, which is actually a rescue zoo rather than a traditional zoo.  For example, they recently saved a bear (who they adorably named "Pooh") from being exterminated after he had stolen honey from a local producer.  They also give medical attention to injured animals and when possible, release them back into the wild after they are rehabilitated.  I was able to snap this picture of two bald eagles.  I had never seen them so close before, and I was pleasantly surprised by how majestic they truly are in person.

I'll be back in the next few days with a restaurant and concert review, some news about a new project I'm working on, and maybe some more discussion about being vegan and visiting zoos.  I've also updated my picture (with my new specs on) and changed my "About Me."  Have a very happy Friday!

Updates. Lots of them.

Hi everyone!  It's been a couple of days more than one year, but here I am again.  I had intimated that things were about to get crazy, without going into details, but now that some time has passed and things have settled down (at least a little), I thought I would post an update.

Last year, as spring was turning into summer, I was presented with an opportunity.  My company was doing layoffs (like every other company), and they had mentioned the possibility of voluntary severance in January 2011, but only for certain segments of the business.  In May, I found out that they were actually pretty much offering the voluntary severance to everyone.  John and I had a long talk and decided that this was our chance to do something we had wanted to do for years.  So I took it.  It was not an easy decision.  I had to leave a job I maybe didn't love, but was comfortable with, and that allowed us to live comfortably, and I had to leave quite a few co-workers who I actually loved a lot, to take a really big chance on a really unsure thing.  John was focused primarily on acting, but he wasn't getting the kind of work that would ever allow him to fulfill his career goals, and certainly not the kind of work that would ever make enough money to change our situation. Also, we didn't particularly care for Massachusetts anymore.  It's no mystery if you read through my winter 2011 posts that I didn't think I could deal with another hard winter again, and although Massachusetts is a lovely state with any number of reasons to recommend it, I had lived there for 12 years, and John had been there the better part of his life.  We needed to get out.  So we decided to stop being safe and began to plan a move to California.

I left my main job at the end of July, while I continued to serve as stage manager for Worcester Shakespeare Company's Summer 2011 season.  When that wrapped, we booked a flight to Los Angeles.  We stayed with our very good friends Sheri and Carlos while we looked for an apartment.  The final day before we had to fly back to Massachusetts, we found a great little place in North Hollywood that was in our price range and would take us, even though we didn't have jobs.  The whole apartment could fit into two rooms at our place in Worcester, but we knew sacrifices had to be made.  We signed our lease and flew back to Worcester to pack up and return to LA for good.  

There was about a month between the time we got back and the time we planned to leave. It was an insanely stressful flurry of packing, trying to sell at least half of our things (including my car), and trying to fit in as much time with our friends as we could.  I have never in my life felt so torn in so many directions.  We were excited to be starting a new chapter in our life, but so sad to be leaving dear friends behind (as well as John's mom), and so stressed out, hoping that we could get everything sold, packed, or otherwise taken care of in a very short period of time.  Even writing about it now makes me feel the ghost of the old nervousness in my stomach.  We planned to drive a moving truck ourselves, but at the last minute went with a Pods-type moving service.  It would allow us to pack up storage cubes ourselves, which would then be transported and we would drive John's car with a smaller amount of luggage and things we didn't feel comfortable letting out of our sight.  We saw the storage cubes put on the truck on the morning of October 14 after three days of emptying our third floor apartment with the help of our friend Wayne.  We spent our last night at John's mother's house and drove out of Worcester bright and early on the morning of October 15.  That day, some of the anxiety lifted finally.  We knew that if we had forgotten anything, there was really nothing we could do about it anymore.  The first day we made it all the way into Ohio (and that is with a 3 hour stopover to visit some of John's relatives in Pennsylvania) before stopping for the night.  

The next morning we woke to a flat tire, which we were able to get fixed near our hotel, thankfully.  John also started to feel a little bit under the weather, but it was on and off. The second day we only made it to Terre Haute, but after the distance of the first day, that wasn't too bad.  The third day, we decided to start making a vacation out of the cross-country drive.  We headed south and drove through St. Louis, stopping to visit the arch, and then we stayed overnight in Kansas City.  We went to hear a jazz band play that night, and it was wonderful.  The next day, we drove into Kansas proper, and then took a few campy side trips to visit a very large ball of twine, which may be the largest, although Minnesota has its claim as well, and take a few pictures at the geographical center of the contiguous US. 

Halloweeny Ball o' Twine

Middle of Nowhere, USA

We stayed the night in Nebraska, and I was very excited to pick up my 48th state, as Nebraska was on the short list of states I had not yet visited.  

 Yee-haw for number 48!

Unfortunately, John was feeling extremely ill with sinus issues that night, and I was afraid we were going to have to bring him to a doctor.  The next morning, he was a little better, and after a very spicy breakfast at a local diner, he seemed to be back to normal.  Our luck seemed to be improving--FINALLY!  We continued on through Colorado, staying in Grand Junction the following night, and then as we moved into Utah the next day, we decided we had time for a side trip.  We had both really wanted to see Yellowstone, and we thought, why not now?  So we turned north and stayed in Idaho for the night to pick up my 49th state and be ready for a day in Yellowstone the next day.  (Now Alaska is my white whale, the only state I have yet to visit.  Someday!)  

#49

Yellowstone did not disappoint.  It was amazing, and the weather was great--cold, but not actively snowing.  After spending the full day in Yellowstone, we left the park through the Grand Tetons, seeing the sun setting in the snow-covered mountains, and traveled south through Wyoming, staying overnight in a little cabin in a tiny town past Jackson.  

Slightly drenched by a freak rainstorm/geyser/steam combo

Sun setting behind the mountains

The next day we drove all the way to Las Vegas, trying to make up a lot of time, knowing that we needed to be in North Hollywood to meet the storage cubes by Monday.  We stayed overnight in Vegas, made a cool $50 or so playing $5 each in the casino (that's about our speed, as far as gambling goes), and then set off for our new home the next day.  

"Terrible's" seemed like the silliest possible casino, so of course we chose it.

We arrived in North Hollywood on the afternoon of Sunday, October 23.  The next day our things arrived, and we spent the last bit of energy we had to bring it all up to our wee little second floor apartment.  For the first few days, just finding a place to sit was a problem. But eventually, we figured it out.  

It took about three weeks for us to unpack everything, find a place for everything, and get settled.  At that point, John started going out for acting jobs.  He got the first thing he auditioned for--a short film for TropFest Australia, the largest short film festival in the world, and the film went on to place in the top 16, which is a pretty amazing honor considering the sheer number of shorts competing. John has gone on to book job after job, averaging well above the norm--not that I am surprised.  His talent and work ethic may be the only two things I have not questioned over the course of this wild journey, and I believe this is only the beginning of greatness for him.  The satisfaction of watching him do what he was born to do, and do it so well, cannot be put into words.  I am thankful every day that we had the opportunity to do this for him.

As for me, I have gone through a difficult period of being kind of lost and confused.  Not in a bad way, but almost in a necessary way.  I have been skating for 7+ years, doing mostly unfulfilling work to make a living, and trying to let my hobbies be enough, but now without the distraction of the structured job, I have had to examine some things about myself, and it has not been a comfortable process.  I have had to confront a lot of feelings and regrets, and I am still trying to tap into who I am and what I want out of my life.  I am currently unemployed but extremely busy, working on a lot of video projects as director/shooter/editor, editing and shooting for actor demo reels, editing text, sound editing for audio projects, reading a lot, and doing a lot of driving, as we only have one car, and I don't like being left without it when John has a job.  (It also comes in handy that we can use the car pool lane and that I can drive around to find a spot when John is auditioning, as traffic and parking here are INSANE.)  I am also thinking about doing a lot more writing, getting back into acting myself, and doing stand-up comedy (yes, really).  

A little reminder that is usually up on the fridge to look at every day.

Part of what has kept me away from blogging, even after things were moderately calm again, was embarrassment.  We have not been vegan throughout this process.  At first it was because it was just so difficult to find the time to eat right.  During the trip, it was nearly impossible to find places to eat and we lived off of cheesy pizza.  But then after things were settled and it would have been easy to return to eating vegan, it was, at least for me, about comfort eating and dealing with loneliness and fear by using food.  We stayed vegetarian at least, but I couldn't be dishonest and come on here and write about the vegan lifestyle when I wasn't living it.  I had also started smoking again, and my unemployment, although voluntary, combined with the smoking and the not-veganness, made me feel like a big fat failure.  Don't worry--I'm not in that place anymore.  But it is important for me to share it because one of the other things I have realized is that I don't share my feelings.  I share my opinions and my ideas for sure--frankly, more than I should.  But when it comes to feelings, I keep them safely hidden.  That obviously needs to change, and making these confessions in kind of a public way is not about being a drama queen or seeking attention and encouragement.  It’s about being honest with myself and my friends so that I don’t end up spending a lot more time wasting my life on things that aren’t important.  Friendships and community are the things that I most value from my blogging experience, and the things that have brought me back to it in spite of my hesitations.

I have been vegan again since April, with only a few exceptions (which I'm not going to beat myself up for, because not beating myself up is part of the new programming), and in one week, I'll be celebrating my six-month anniversary of not smoking.  I have struggled with cigarettes on and off for years, quitting and starting back more than ten times, but I've only made six months once before now.  Six months means a lot to me.  I quit on my birthday, and my six-month anniversary is my dad's birthday.  Both of his parents died of lung cancer, so making this quit a tribute is something that keeps me from picking up the cigarettes again when I feel sad or confused or scared.  We have made some good friends here already, and it is wonderful to be in a new place where there is so much to explore.  I am still freaking out a lot, wondering if I will find work, wondering if we are going to be okay here, wondering what I should be doing with my life.  But I am learning to be the person I want to be inside, apart from the labels (and stress) I place on myself.  And that is something.  

I don't know what direction this blog is going to take going forward.  I probably will still talk about vegan food sometimes.  My next post will probably be about our new favorite place to eat here in the San Fernando Valley.  But I probably will talk about other things too, like travel (plenty of photos from the trip apart from what I've posted here already) and maybe books and movies, and any of the other things that might come to mind.  And if you want to come along for the ride, you are very welcome.  I don't know where we are going, but I think we can have a lot of fun getting there.  

Sunset on the Pacific at Cabrillo National Monument

One Love Cafe

Quite a while ago, John and I stopped by One Love Cafe, a vegan-friendly restaurant here in Worcester.  I dutifully took pictures and made notes, and then never blogged about it. So I figured, why not remedy that now?

We started with the fried plantains.  We first had fried plantains last year when we went to New Orleans Jazz Fest, and one of the tents was serving them with a side of jama-jama, a deliciously simple spinach dish.  John fell totally in love with them, so they seemed like a great appetizer choice.  I don't generally use oil much at home, so this was also a bit of a treat for that reason.  The plantains were cooked perfectly.  John said he would rather eat them than French fries, and for him, there is practically no higher praise!

For my entree, I chose the Rasta Pasta, a tricolor pasta dish with veggies and a cheezy, spicy tomato sauce (sprinkled with Daiya).  It was creamy, fresh and delicious!

John chose a tofu vegetable curry dish with rice.  As you can see it was saucy, and it was spicy without being too hot.  We both cleaned our plates, and washed everything down with a pitcher of water flavored with a watermelon slice.

The service at One Love was outstanding, the food authentic, and the price was great as well.  The small cafe could probably get crowded at certain times of day (we went in the afternoon and it was empty), and the food does take a while to come out (it is cooked to order and there was only one person working when we were there), so if you choose to visit, be sure that you can let yourself give in to the relaxed atmosphere.  Listen to the Jamaican music, smell the spice in the air, and enjoy!

Vegan Georgia on the Road: Mississippi Trip Pt. 2

Well, I didn't quite reach my goal of finishing up talking about my now-ancient vacation back in April/May.  Life kind of just got really crazy in the last two weeks.  Not just a little, but A LOT.  Something that has been brewing for a while finally became real, and there has been a lot for John and I to discuss.  It has to do with my job, and I can't say a lot about it here (not that I really want to; my blog is about my life outside work, and that is the way I like it), but suffice it to say, I'm going to be going through a large change within the next few months.  I will be leaving my current job at the end of July due to a reorganization (my choice, although it might not have been if I waited for a few months), and it's very likely that we will be relocating as well.  More on that as it develops.

But instead of focusing on the future, I'm going to share what I did in the past.  Specifically, my visit to my grandmother on Easter this year.  My grandmother has always loved to cook big dinners for family visits on holidays, but she has had some health issues recently and many of us have gotten dietary restrictions, it's become a lot harder to feed us all.  Since my mom and I were going vegan, we decided to bring our own food for the Easter get-together.  We brought a green salad with goddess dressing, Hoppin' John salad, and a lemon pie.  I was having a crazy craving for lemon pie, and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to make a satisfactory vegan version, since the one I used to make was definitely egg- and dairy-laden, but it was a case of Fatfree Vegan to the rescue.  I adapted this recipe, making it a little bit less fat free by using Earth Balance in my graham cracker crust and lite coconut milk to create a sweet drizzle.  The taste was just what I was looking for!  It made a perfect light spring/summer dessert.

Beyond the great meal that we had, we also got the chance to visit with my grandmother, aunt, uncle and my cousin's daughter for the entire afternoon.  The dishes that we brought also opened up a really interesting conversation about food, and it turns out the rest of the family is pretty interested in eating more healthfully as well.  We talked a lot about saturated fat, and about how my grandparents' longevity (my grandfather died at 95 and my grandmother will be 90 in December) and my grandmother's relatively good health into old age is probably attributable to diet.  My grandmother in particular was a vegetarian for all intents and purposes for a number of years due to stomach problems, and she, unlike many others of her age, has not had to deal with extreme heart disease and other diet-related issues that plague most of the population.

I'll leave you with this picture of three generations.  Yes, that is my hot mom on the left, looking like my slightly older sister, and that is my awesome grandma in the middle!  More to come soon, as I still haven't even gotten to the New Orleans part yet.

Easy Lunch Ideas for Working Vegans

This is the second part of my meal plans based on the awesome development of my mom and stepdad adopting a primarily plant-based diet.  See my breakfast post here: Vegan Breakfasts

I love lunch.  I am one of those people that needs to have a real lunch every day.  That doesn't mean I want to down a calorie-bomb sandwich necessarily, and it doesn't exclude things like soup or salad.  But when I see someone eating a bag of Fritos or sadly trying to make eating a yogurt last thirty minutes, I just feel depressed.  That being said, I am always running late in the morning, and like many working people, I only have half an hour to prepare and eat my lunch, and that is on a slow day.  I am fortunate to work in a place where I have a microwave, toaster, and refrigerator at my disposal, and I definitely take advantage of that.  For those people who aren't as fortunate, I expect lunch can be a much more difficult meal to deal with.  My mom, who I'm providing ideas for, is in basically the same situation as me, except she gets a full lunch hour.  She is busy, so speed of preparation is of the essence, and also like me, she wants a meal she can look forward to all morning that will keep her going through the afternoon when five o'clock seems way too far away.  Up front I will say, these ideas aren't going to blow the doors off of how you think about lunch.  I am going to talk a lot about salad, soup, and sandwiches.  But since I went through it for my mom, I wanted to share it on the blog as well, in the hope that it might be interesting for other folks as well. 

Tofu "Egg" Salad Sandwich

1.  Salads

• Start with a whole lot of greens and then go crazy with vegetables.  Add whatever you like best, or whatever seasonal items looked great at the grocery store.  My favorite salad ingredients include carrots, onions, radishes, snowpeas, bell peppers, avocado and tomatoes.  (Other people would probably add cucumbers and celery to that list as well, but I hate them and I refuse to support cucumbers unless they have done the right thing and become pickles.)  Add nuts or seeds for crunchy texture and healthy whole-food fat.  Add beans (chickpeas are great!) or baked tofu/crumbled tempeh/soy chick'n for a protein boost.  When it comes to dressing, homemade beats storebought every time.  Maple syrup and mustard with pepper and garlic powder is a simple, quick and tasty honey mustard sub with no oil.  Flavored vinegars make a good dressing on their own, and silken tofu is a good base to make creamy dressings.

2.  Soups

• Non-dairy milks and pureed vegetables make great bases for creamy soups.  Real milk and cream are easy to replace, so you aren't missing anything.
• Vegetable broth-based soups with veggies and noodles
• Bean or lentil soups

3.  Sandwiches:  I am a sandwich girl through and through.  I usually start my lunch plan with a sandwich and build around it.  These are very minimalist suggestions, easily elevated or simplified by choice of bread, condiments, etc.

• Tempeh BLT = awesome. 
• Hummus and veggie sandwich
• Baked tofu sandwich with veggies
• Vegan "tuna" salad (recipe here: click for deliciousness )
• Vegan "egg" salad
• Grilled cheeze or simple quesadillas
• Veggie "lunchmeat" (if you're into that sort of thing, and sometimes I am)
• PB&J or a variation

4.  Dinner Leftovers:  I don't usually have leftovers, because I live with a guy who doesn't really eat all day, so usually what I cook for dinner gets eaten.  But I will sometimes cook a simple second dinner just to create leftovers for lunch, if I have the time and stovetop space.

• Pasta with sauce (could run the gamut from marinara to mac & cheeze)
• Rice and beans
• Chili
• Stew
• Stir fry vegetables with rice
• Burritos
• Baked potatoes (cook a few extra the night before and eat with your favorite toppings.  Ideas would include:  broccoli & cheeze sauce, vegan sour cream and veggie bacon, chili, salsa.)

5.  Snack Plates:  This is not something I do much on weekdays; I tend to go for it more as a light lunch on weekends when I have eaten a bigger breakfast, but it could definitely be a work lunch too. 

• Dips:  Black bean salsa dip (simply a can of beans and a jar of salsa mixed up in the food processor); Hummus; Mexican layered dip (refried beans, vegan sour cream, guac and salsa)
• Things to dip:  Crudites, pita, tortilla chips

Vegan "Meat" and Potatoes

When I think about it, I have to say that it is nothing short of a miracle that John and I became vegans and stayed that way for any amount of time.  With me, the biggest issue was dairy products--the more unhealthy, the better was my philosophy.  I loved cheese and ice cream, and even after knowing how much better I felt without them, and after knowing how many problems I had to go through in my detox process, I craved them for a long time.

For John, the problem is a little bit different.  It's not just a certain food that he "misses" or craves.  It's more like the idea of hearty comfort food-style dinners, which for him have always been based around meat and starch.  Even now when I ask John if he has any requests or suggestions for dinner, he asks for something like meat and potatoes.  He's always asking for chicken parmesan and potatoes, or meatloaf and mashed potatoes.  He has been working non-stop with acting jobs lately, so when he asked for something meat and potatoes this time, I turned to Vegan Comfort Food by Alicia Simpson to find a way to fulfill that request.  I used both the meatloaf recipe and the mushroom gravy recipe, adapted out some of the oil in the meatloaf, and made a delicious, fairly healthy, extremely filling comfort food meal.

The "meat"loaf is made out of TVP, and the green beans are canned (which is the only way I like them, since I grew up eating), but there is hardly any added fat in this meal, aside from the gravy, which is roux-based.  Most importantly, John loved it.  It made him feel like he wasn't missing anything at all.  Vegan eating does not have to be about what is not on your plate, and I think that is something that people who haven't tried it don't realize.  I certainly didn't!  I've said it a million times, and I'll say it a million more--I knew nothing about food before I left animal products behind, and becoming vegan is the best decision I ever made!

Vegan Georgia on the Road: Mississippi Trip Part 1

Hi everyone!  It's been a while.  I went on vacation and then ended up somehow missing out on May entirely, it seems.  I am always the kind of person who needs a vacation after the vacation, and this time was no different.  We had such a great time on our visit down south, and we got to spend a ton of time with friends and family, but by the time we got back to Massachusetts, I was pooped!  Also, when we got home, spring was in full swing, and my allergies knocked me out.  I'm not normally such a sickly person, but I guess the freakish weather (from the crazy snow over the winter, to the pollen explosion, to tornadoes last week) is affecting me this year.  The allergies turned into bronchitis and I just didn't feel like thinking or talking about food for quite a while.  But I'm back now, and I think I'm ready to return from hiatus for at least a little while.  I am going to be working with Worcester Shakespeare Company again this year, and that makes my summer a lot busier.  I love it, but the time commitment doesn't leave me time for much else!

One of the best things about the trip to visit my family was helping my mom learn about being vegan.  Before we even went home from the airport, we visited a number of grocery stores to stock up and go over the basics.  It was great!  I was also very pleasantly surprised to note that while the health food store in Jackson, Mississippi, is stocked as well as could be expected, the "regular" grocery store has a great deal of vegan-friendly food (like dairy substitutes) as well.  In fact, it's better than my local non-health food store, because there are vegan cheeses available!  So she could potentially have one-stop shopping, which is an advantage over what I have here in Worcester.  It's also good, since she actually lives about 1.5 hours away from Jackson.  She has been shopping there anyway though, just because the prices and selection is so much better, and she's down there for work fairly often.

The first night, my mom requested that I make a dish I had made when she and I met for a weekend trip to St. Simon's Island, Georgia, when I had just been vegan for a few months. We stayed in a small vacation cottage, and bought groceries and made our own food, which is what I generally like to do for longer trips.  We didn't have pantry items though, so I had to buy everything we were going to need, which calls for simplicity in the recipe choice.  I made bean tacos, and it turns out my mom has been talking about them to my stepdad ever since, so they wanted me to reprise that recipe for them at home.  I changed it up a little, since I could, and it was even better than it had been the first time I made it.

Three Bean Chili Tacos        

Corn tortillas

Chili filling:

One onion, diced

One red bell pepper, diced

One green bell pepper, diced

Two cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes

One can pinto beans

One can black beans

One can red kidney beans

1/2 cup TVP (optional)

Chile powder, pepper, garlic powder, oregano, cumin, & salt to taste

Toppings:

Shredded green cabbage

Diced tomato

Fresh cilantro, chopped

Salsa

                                                                                  Vegan cheese (optional)

Begin by preparing chili filling.  Saute onion & pepper in cooking spray or water over medium heat.

I may teaching my mom something about cooking vegan, but she still has the superior knife skills.  Check out that dice!

In a separate stock pot, add tomatoes and beans with liquid from cans.  Bring to a simmer. Add spices, and onion/pepper mixture.  Simmer for 30 minutes.  Add TVP and cover to rehydrate.  

In the meantime, heat tortillas according to package directions, and prepare toppings. When TVP is fully rehydrated (at least five minutes), build tacos as desired, using a slotted spoon for the chili.

It's been quite a while since I wrote down a recipe, so I apologize if I missed anything.  I'm much more of a suggester than a demander when it comes to recipes anyway, so feel free to adjust and adapt as you wish.

As you can see, I've named this post "Part 1."  There is plenty more to tell about my trip, so stay tuned!  I've set a goal to finish recapping my Mississippi/Louisiana adventure by the end of the week.  I hope you all had a wonderful month of May, and I'm glad to be back with you for June!

Vacation, YAY!

Hi Bloggy buddies,

I just wanted to drop in and say that I probably won't be around for at least a week and a half, which sadly is not that big of a deal since I haven't been blogging much lately.  But this time, I have a good reason, because I am going to Mississippi to visit my family for a little over a week.  I'm going to see my dad, sisters, nieces, nephew(s? May only see one of them, sniffles), and assorted other relatives, go to New Orleans for Jazz Fest and coincidentally see my college BFF who is down there for a teachers' conference, and I will also get to help my mom buy groceries and give her the lowdown with some hands-on vegan cooking tips, which I am totally psyched about, like the big nerd I am.  And I'm not sure if I'll have access to a computer or if I'd want to use it even if I did :)

Have a great rest of April, and I'll see you back here in May.

~Georgia

Worcester VegFest 2011

Today was the second annual Worcester VegFest at Worcester State University.  John and I went fairly early, saw a few friends, ate some food, took a break from the (significant) crowd, and then went back for a little more food and a cooking demo by Terry Hope Romero.  

There were three levels where activities were taking place, and when we arrived around 12:30, the whole place was hopping.  We made our way into the second level and immediately grabbed a couple of small bowls of vegan chili, which was provided by the university, and took a seat to assess the rest of the offerings.  

It was free and was also served with some brown rice, but I didn't have any because I wanted to save room for the many other food options that were available.    While we were eating, my friend Pam ran into us with her family in tow, and let us know there was falafel on the first level, which is of course important information for me to have.  We scarfed the rest of the chili down and decided to brave the extremely crowded first level.

It was a decidedly un-vegan-like cattle call downstairs.  We did manage to get a couple of falafel patties (minus the not-vegan tzatziki sauce), and they were unfortunately kind of cold.  They were made by Falafel Republic, and I had actually bought them in a package before at a local health food store.  I would have to say that to my discerning falafel-loving palate, they were just okay, but considering the crowd, I think we were pretty lucky to even get them at all.  Seriously, I think there were a lot of people who showed up just for the free food, and not as much for the vegetarianness of it all, and it started to wear thin on both John and me pretty quickly.  

We made our way around the "track," as it were, and ended up buying a veggie patty and veggie roti from the One Love Cafe table.  One Love is a vegan-friendly restaurant right here in Worcester that we ate at recently but I have yet to review.  The food was nicely curry-ish with cauliflower, carrots, and green beans, and was thankfully able to be eaten out of hand, since tables were scarce.     

Veggie Roti in waxed paper

Veggie patty

John attempting to enjoy his veggie patty without elbowing someone in the head (on accident.  Or not.)

At the other end of the room from One Love, there was a very busy table for X's and O's Bakery from the Albany, NY area.  I bought a brownie and got John a chocolate chip cookie from them.  I had bought a few things from X's and O's when I had to go to Albany for work before (vegan twinkies, woot!), so I was pretty happy to enjoy more of their sugary deliciousness.

My super-fudgy brownie

After escaping from the first level, we did a quick walkthrough of the third level to see what was there.  Peace o' Pie of Boston was there, but we have had their food before and were also thinking about pacing ourselves, so we decided to leave for an hour and then come back in time to grab some vegan soft serve and catch Terry Hope Romero's demo.

When we got back, we jumped in the looooooooong line in front of the Like No Udder dairy-free ice cream truck.  Understandably, there had pretty much been an all-day run on the business, so the machine needed to take a short break, but we stuck around to wait for it, since we had half an hour until the cooking demo.  It took almost that whole time, but holy wow, it was worth it!

John's chocolate/vanilla twist and my vanilla with a cone

They also usually do shakes, and usually serve the ice cream in the cone, but their poor machine was getting stretched to the limit.  The folks working there were really nice and apologetic about the wait, but they really didn't need to be.  I'm sure that there will be at least one time this summer when I drive to Providence to stalk the Like No Udder truck. Soft serve ice cream is something I have been missing pretty desperately!

We made our way into the building again and buzzed up to the conference area on the third level to get seats for the cooking demo.  Terry Hope Romero talked vegan-ness, cooked Seitan Potato Tacos from Viva Vegan! and answered a ton of questions, and was generally very sweet, funny, and all-around awesome.  

My semi-terrible picture of Terry Hope Romero

After the demo we decided to do one last run-through to make sure we felt like we saw everything we wanted to see and decided to hit the road.  It was about 4 PM, and things had calmed down significantly, and many of the tables had shut down for the day.  It started out rainy and kind of gross today, but by the time we left, it was beautiful and sunny.  

Me in my only message t-shirt with my new short hair*

Overall, it was a really good experience to visit VegFest.  I will say that what we ate was only a small portion of the food that was available at VegFest, so they definitely had the food covered, which I think had been a problem last year.  Our biggest issue was the crowd, which was extremely out of hand when we first arrived.  With the number of people who came, it would have been better to hold the event in an auditorium or even outdoors, but I know that the kind of preparation that would go into selecting a venue and coordinating is a Herculean task, and VegWorcester did an excellent job with their limited resources.   So I will quit making a fuss, because the vendors (both of food and of information -- there were tons of tables with information about various vegan-like causes) were very high-quality, and drawing a massive crowd is a really good thing, because it means more people are being exposed to the vegan lifestyle.  The event definitely reminded me that it's a very good time to be vegan, because it's becoming a lot harder to dismiss it as a passing fad.

I have SO MUCH to blog about, so I'll hopefully get on at least once more this week to share a restaurant review at the very least, but starting with my visit to Mississippi/Louisiana next week, things are shaping up for a very busy summer.  It seems strange to be thinking about summer with temperatures still hanging out in the 40's, but the older I get, the more I realize that time really sneaks up on ya.  Enjoy your week!

*I went and cut 18 inches of hair off my head and didn't even blog about it for two weeks.  

Calling all Northeast Vegans....

Just dropping in to let everyone know about an exciting event that's coming to Worcester next weekend.  On Sunday, April 17, from 12 PM to 5 PM, at Worcester State University, VegWorcester is hosting Worcester VegFest 2011.  It's a free festival celebrating vegan-ness.  Free vegan food, live music, speakers (including a cooking demo and book-signing by Terry Hope Romero -- awesome!!), as well as a change to meet and mingle with like-minded folks from central Mass and elsewhere.

More detailed information and directions are available on the event website:  Worcester VegFest 2011.  There was even a blurb about the festival in this week's email newsletter from VegNews, yay Worcester!  It should be a great time; I'm totally there and I hope that some of you might be as well.  Happy Saturday!

Cassie's German Blender Pancakes

Meet my friend Cassie.

You know when you meet a person, and she is just good at everything?  She's unbelievably smart, beautiful, and talented, to the point where you just want to say, enough already?  She sings, she's a great actress, she can dance.  Ugh.  But then it also turns out that she is hilariously funny and sweet, and gives you no choice but to instantly want to be her friend?  That is Cassie all over.

Last summer, I had the opportunity to get back to my educational roots by working with Worcester Shakespeare Company as the Production Stage Manager.  I don't know if I've discussed this, but even though I work at the fabulously glamorous electric company in customer service, I actually started out as an English major studying Shakespeare.  I have a Masters in English and wrote a crazy long comparative literature-style thesis where I talked about Eastern religious themes in King Lear, because that's how I roll--putting things together that have no business being together :)  Anyhoodles, I have been out of school for quite a while now, but Shakespeare is still my first love.  So when I finally crawled out from under a rock and realized that there was a summer Shakespeare company here in Worcester, I was thrilled to be able to get involved.

One of the most unexpected and wonderful things about working on the play was that I ended up meeting such an excellent and eclectic group of people, of whom Cassie was one.  We did Taming of the Shrew, with Cassie in the title role.  And although I've seen probably a dozen different productions of that play, I can very honestly say I don't think I've seen a better Kate.  Cassie perfectly managed to capture rage-Kate while at the same time showing the vulnerability within, and she did it with a sense of humor.  And that is probably because her own greatest quality is her ability to know that you don't always have to take yourself seriously.  For as many Facebook pictures as she has like the beautiful one above, there is always something like this one to balance it out:     

And as if all that wasn't enough, she gives me super-cool vegan recipes and doesn't yell at me for not posting them for three months!

Cassie's German Blender Pancakes

1/2 cup mashed banana (about 1 medium banana; overripe is best)

4 tbsp flour

2 tbsp sugar

pinch salt

3/4 cup non-dairy milk

Combine ingredients in your blender and run until well mixed.  The mixture should be very thin--almost runny.  Allow mixture to sit for a few minutes until frothiness subsides.  In the meantime, heat up a nonstick skillet over medium heat.  (If your skillet still tends to stick, you should use a small amount of cooking spray before each pancake.)  Once the skillet is hot, pour 1/4 cup of batter into the center of the pan and rotate the pan to allow the batter to spread.  You are looking for a thin, crepe-like pancake about 8-10 inches across.  Cook until the edges are golden brown, resisting the urge to flip too early.  When the edges are golden brown, use a spatula to gingerly lift the pancake and flip it.  (A good tip would be to tilt the pan vertically and slide your spatula underneath.)  Cook the other side for a few additional minutes until it is browned.  Repeat the process to make an additional 3-4 pancakes.  Keep cooked cakes warm on a plate in a 200 degree oven. 

These would be amazing on their own, but when you roll them up around strawberry jam and drizzle with a little maple syrup, they become absolutely gourmet.  Cassie also reports that she (and her equally phenomenal boyfriend Dan, who also deserves effusive praise for being an all-around awesome, super-talented dude) consider this recipe one of their staples not only for breakfast, but also for dessert, by replacing the jam with Nutella.  Nutella is sadly not vegan (although you can find or make a vegan version without too much trouble), but I do think these pancakes would like to be introduced to cashew cream or a vegan chocolatey spread to become a dessert course made in heaven.  And if all that isn't good enough, remember that this is an oil-free recipe, unless you have to use a tiny bit of cooking spray to make sure your pancakes don't stick.  I have made this with all purpose flour and with whole wheat pastry flour, and it works just as well either way, so you don't have to sacrifice health quality for flavor.  And why should you have to?  As Cassie proves, it's always a good idea to balance out your "serious" with a healthy dose of "silly."

Road Trip Restaurant Review: Mango Mango in Amherst, MA

We love Sunday drives, and this past Sunday, we were blessed with a beautiful, sunny, almost warm day.  We decided to take a quick little drive and ended up meandering all the way out to Amherst.  It was almost 2 PM by the time we got there, and our usual western Mass stop, Cafe Evolution, closes up shop at 2 after serving brunch on Sunday.  (And what a brunch it is.  Their bread alone is worth the trip, and someday I will take pictures and share them.)  So we found ourselves looking into other choices.  Mango Mango showed up on our iPhone app VegOut, but it had no reviews, so we weren't sure how it would be, but we decided to be brave and try it anyway.  And boy are we glad we did!

Mango Mango is a counter-service type place, where you go up front and order from the big board, pay, and sit down, and they bring out the food when it's ready.  A group of folks left right when we came in (I can't tell you if it's because I was wearing sweatpants or because they had finished their meal), leaving us with the whole place to ourselves.  The restaurant does serve meat, but there are a large number of vegetarian items available, as well as a respectable number of vegan options and gluten-free choices, all clearly marked.  

Instead of engaging in a fist fight over who would order the tempeh taco, John was the better person and let me get it.  It came with either chips or a side salad, and being that I have been pigging out on chips lately like the emotional eater that I am, I went for the side salad.  We had a seat with our drinks (John got a soda and I opted for a Hibiscus Cooler, which was noted as one of their house-brewed teas), and only waited for maybe ten minutes before the food came out, which was a pleasant surprise.

John has been on a curry kick lately, which you will see when I post another restaurant review this week, and he opted for the West Coast Curry with tempeh.  It was served over short grain brown rice.  The flavor and spice on this dish was excellent, and it had potatoes and haricot verts, which I thought was interesting and unique and made this stand out from a regular curry.

Meanwhile, my salad and tempeh taco.  Ho. ly. Wow.  This was so good, I am going to have trouble verbalizing.  First, the salad was delicious and fresh, with what tasted like a ginger-sesame dressing that was wonderfully light.  I could probably have eaten a much larger portion of just the salad alone.  The taco is actually these giant tempeh chunks with what I would describe as a teriyaki-type sauce, with guacamole, lettuce, and tomato wrapped in a soft naan-like bread.  It was so great, I see myself wanting to go back weekly to get one.

In addition to the pretty great selection of options, I have to give this place major kudos for what they do with tempeh.   John has never been much of a fan, and I have had mixed responses to tempeh, but we went to Whole Foods after we ate and bought a couple packages because we fell so much in love with this tempeh.  (Now I just have to figure out how to make it taste that good at home.)  Combining that tempeh deliciousness with the speed of service, I have to think that they have a magic wand back in the kitchen that they are making the food with.

Mango Mango serves lunch and dinner, but if these are the portion sizes for both meals, I think it's probably more of a lunch place.  The price was fabulous, only $22 for both our meals and drinks, and it's BYOB, if you are into that sort of thing, which I am but only when I don't have to drive home.  One other nitpick, which shows how spoiled I am by the number of vegan-friendly places in my area, was that they didn't have a non-dairy milk or creamer for coffee, so I hope that they will consider adding that in the future.  Otherwise, this is a definite recommend!

Moodiness and Meal Plans

So here I am, after a month of not posting, trying to come up with some sort of excuse for myself, but the truth is, I really don't have a good one, and making one up seems a bit like pandering.  I guess I've just been in a bit of a brown study.  I like that expression because it implies examination of your crap mood.  (I don't tend to be very accepting of my periodic depression; I prefer to badger it into non-existence.)  The current world events are bringing me down (along with everyone else I am sure).  The situation in Japan is heartbreaking, and the Libya thing has my peacenik panties in a twist.  On the personal front, I haven't felt particularly inspired to cook anything, which kind of puts a dent in the food blogging.  The produce in the store is just so wilted and depressing, it's not really exciting me that much. Beyond that, my ongoing sinus issues are making it so that even when I do decide to cook something, I can't figure out what it is that I want.  We have been eating out quite often (especially during the three week stretch when I didn't do the dishes at all), and although mostly we were sticking with tried & true foods, this weekend, we went to a couple of new places, one that was very good and one that was killer-awesome, so I'll be writing about those soon.  So I guess I did come up with a few excuses there, after all.

The good news is, spring is springing.  Most of the snow has dissolved, except for a few dirty icebergs in the parking lots, and we've had quite a bit of sun this last week, as well as a day when it was over 60 degrees.  I have seen enough people in shorts on the 30 degree days that followed to realize that it's not just me that is ready to say goodbye and good riddance to Old Man Winter this year.  It's like we got a taste of the good weather and we refuse to give it up!  That means the local farmers' markets will be coming soon.  I've done a CSA in the past, but I think I'm going to skip it again this year.  It's kind of hard to tell what you will get, and I don't want to see another giant bag of beets.  I think CSA shares are a great idea for some people, but for me, nothing beats actually seeing the selection and choosing for yourself.  Plus, I'm a control freak.  (John nods.)

The last bit of fantastic, amazing, super-awesome news, which is probably the number one thing that inspired me to get back on my blog is that (drumrolllllllll.......) my mom and stepdad have decided to go vegetarian!  Yay!  Cartwheels!  My mom is a bit of a reluctant meat-eater to begin with, and she has always been right on board with the way John & I eat, but my stepdad, who never met a pork product he wouldn't love to grill up, is the shock of the century, and it was actually his idea.  They are young (early/mid-50's) and in excellent shape, but in the last year or so, I guess they have been having some stomach issues and generally feeling kind of not great.  When John & I visited last year, our appearances and moods really made an impression on stepdad James, and apparently made him start thinking about what we are doing and why it might be a really good thing. Hearing this really made me feel so happy, because I try very hard not to be a vegangelical, but I do want to help people make the right choices (for themselves, the animals, and the world).  I guess I can't do any better than Mahatma Gandhi:  "Be the change you want to see in the world."  (I even have that quote on a t-shirt.)  I am always open to discussing my diet and life choices with anyone who is interested, but I think because I don't look like a typical vegan stereotype that other people want to look like, I'm not sure that my message gets across that well.  People don't usually want to give up a lot of their favorite foods and still be fat.  But this made me realize that the people who know me do see a big difference in me, and they want to know what the secret is.  Probably all of this sounds a little self-important, and for that, I apologize, but I am trying to be very honest, whether it's good or bad.

Understandably, my mom has a lot of questions and is looking for some advice on how to make this lifestyle change.  I've managed to bully her into giving up dairy in addition to meat, since I think dairy and digestive systems are mortal enemies (especially for my family), and she will be trying a few weeks gluten-free as well to clear out her system and then reintroduce later to find out if there is an issue there for her.  At the moment, she may keep eggs in her diet, as she gets them from her own chickens, and they may eat fish once in a while as well.  In addition to those concerns, she works a full-time job and weekdays mean quick and packable breakfast, lunch and snacks, and mostly quick and easy dinners.  James is a truck driver and is really only home a couple days a week on average, so he presents even more challenges and I'm honestly going to admit, I'm not sure how to handle that yet.  If anyone has any advice or ideas, I'd be happy to hear it. With their challenges in mind, I came up with some general advice as well as a quick & dirty meal plan that I think will be helpful to them, but also to anyone who wants to try eating low-fat vegan and feels overwhelmed.   I am going to include my general advice and post my meal plans in segments here on the blog, and I'd love to hear any additional suggestions that people may have, especially for those of you who may be vegans who live in the boonies and don't have easy access to a big, well-stocked supermarket.

General Advice

1. Get a reference book that gives you the science behind the diet.  There are a number of books that were very informative to me in this regard, including The China Study, Eat to Live, and even Skinny Bitch.  If you are worried about your ability to meet nutritional requirements, Becoming Vegan is a good choice, but I didn't read it until after I already had some experience with eating as a vegan.  (Just as a disclaimer, I'm not making any money off of recommending these books.)
2. Use the internet!  Vegan blogs are insanely awesome in showing you what you are gaining rather than what you are giving up, and you can get a lot of good information on making the transition to vegan by reading how others have handled it.  Both the ups and the downs.  You do have to be somewhat selective in your choices and have the ability to not believe everything you read.  But there is at least as much good as bad out there.  
3. Don't be an all or nothing person.  If you end up eating something that you had decided you weren't going to include in your diet, don't beat yourself up.  Use it as a learning experience.  How did it make your body feel?  Did you notice a difference in your digestion?  Your skin?  Your fatigue level?  Maybe you didn't.  Maybe you did. Either way, you just found something out about yourself, and there is no reason to feel guilty. 
4. Get a good all purpose vegan cookbook that uses ingredients that are familiar and easy to find, at least for the most part.  Once you are good and ready, there are a ton of great cookbooks on the market, but if you can start with something that gives a good overview of the basics, you will feel more comfortable with your transition.  I am not trying to play favorites because I love all my cookbooks, but if I had to choose a couple that fit this category well, they would be How It All Vegan, The Happy Herbivore Cookbook, or Veganomicon (my mom bought Happy Herbivore, which I do think is the best choice for her based on her location and her particular needs, and again, I made no money recommending these).  

Simple Breakfast Plan

Disclaimer:  I am not a nutritionist, and all I know about nutrition is what I've learned from eating vegan and reading about eating vegan.  This plan is not intended to replace the advice of a doctor or to cure or treat any disease.  It's meant to be a simple guide to make meal-planning easier for a new vegan, and I wrote it as off-the-cuff as I could to preserve simplicity.  Please note that as she is going to be going gluten-free for several weeks, she will be choosing gluten-free options based on my suggestions, which are not gluten-free in and of themselves.

Weekdays:

• Lowfat granola or other cereal with non-dairy milk (almond, hemp, coconut, or soy)
• Oatmeal made with water or non-dairy milk (may include mix-ins like nuts/nut butter, maple syrup, agave nectar, fruit, applesauce, non-dairy chocolate chips)
• Toast with fruit spread, nut butter and fruit
• Breakfast burrito/wrap (a tortilla filled with leftover tofu/veggie scramble, or nut butter and banana, or non-dairy cream cheese and jam or berries)
• Fresh fruit or fruit salad
• Non-dairy yogurt parfait (coconut or soy yogurt layered with fresh fruit and granola)

Weekends:

• Tofu scramble (include lots of veggies for extra nutrition)
• Tofu frittata
• Non-dairy, egg-free waffles, pancakes or crepes
• Breakfast potatoes (with onions, peppers, and mushrooms if you like)

So, taking into account my mom's likes, which I am fairly familiar with, those are my recommendations for vegan breakfasts, especially for a beginner.  And now that I've written a completely picture-free wall of text, which I expect will have multiple comments of TL;DR, I am going to sign off, with the promise that at the very least, I will come back soon to post lunch and dinner ideas.  If you read all the way to the end, thank you.  The cookies are in the mail.  :)

A Night Out at The Pulse Cafe - Somerville, MA

Oops, I did it again!  Obligatory self-explanation paragraph.  My last blog post, where I was explaining how stressed and busy I was, should have been an indication to me that I needed to slow down before I made myself sick, but I didn't figure it out until too late.  Last Friday, I left work early for some R&R, but within 3 hours I had a fever and chills and felt generally terrible.  I got smacked down by a flu/evil sinus infection combo that had me completely out of commission for four days.  Then John got it too, but only the flu part. He's better for the most part, but I'm still having some sinus symptoms.  Needless to say, I didn't eat much worth writing about last week.  Lots of Gardein Crispy Tenders and noodle soup bowls.  But last night, we had tickets to see comedians JB Smoove and Richard Lewis in Boston.  The tickets were one of my Christmas gifts to John, so there was no way we were missing it.  Smoove & Lewis, who are cast members in the wonderfully ridiculous HBO show "Curb Your Enthusiasm," are two of the funniest people ever to both John and me.

Before the show, we decided to try grabbing some dinner.  We've tried a number of the places in & around Boston, but the relatively new Pulse Cafe in Somerville is a place we've missed so far.  I checked out the menu on their website beforehand, and it looked like a good place to fall off the healthy vegan food wagon for a night of indulging, so we went for it.  We were able to find free street parking a block or so away, which was both miraculous and probably illegal.  The restaurant is 100% vegan, which is also miraculous (and thankfully not illegal).  I do think it's a great thing to go out to not 100% vegan places to ask for vegan options so that vegan-ness becomes more mainstream, but I will also say, there is something so fantastic about not having to worry about whether or not I can trust the restaurant staff to understand what "no animal products" means.  Behold the easy way to be a fat vegan:

Vanilla & Chocolate Milkshakes

This coconut milk-based shake was definitely Georgia-approved.

 

Appetizer - Loaded Fries - French fries with cheezy sauce, sour "cream", and tempeh bacon

Bacon Cheeseburger - House made patty, cheeze, tempeh bacon, garlic aioli, & veggies on a multigrain bun

Philly Cheeze Steak - Peppers, onions, seitan "steak", and Daiya mozzarella on flatbread

I ordered the burger and John ordered the cheesesteak, but we ended up swapping, because his sandwich was too cheezy.  It was supposed to come on a sub roll, which would have balanced out the cheeze better, but they had run out.  I loved it, but the lack of bread did make it a bit rich.  The burger was very tasty, if a little small.  I would probably get a side salad with it next time to round out the meal.  The loaded fries were just as delicious as they look; in fact, I wish I had some now!  They had a number of dessert options, but since we were in a bit of a hurry at that point, we ended up grabbing two of their homemade glazed doughnuts to go.  They were made to order and warm.  I was totally in love!  They were very doughy and not very sweet, but that was okay to me, because I am a bread maniac, but John wasn't that impressed.  I think he would have gone for the apple crisp with ice cream if we hadn't already had milkshakes.  

With tip, it was $50, which is definitely on the pricey side for an appetizer, two sandwiches, a couple of milkshakes and a couple of small doughnuts, but it's about what should probably be expected for dinner in Boston.  The portion sizes were on the smaller side as well, but considering that the food is rich, that's probably a good thing.  We would check this place out again sometime when we are in the Boston area for a night out, and they do brunch on the weekends as well, which would be worth a try.

John's out on an acting job tonight so I'm flying solo.  I went to the movies once already (saw The Rite - it was okay - standard demon possession stuff with the added bonus of creeptastic Anthony Hopkins), and I might go again later after I work on our short film editing project for a while, if I can work up the nerve to go back out again in the cold & wind tonight.  Quite a few things to post this week, and I'm hoping I can get to them.  Right now, I think I'm going to head into the kitchen and find something to eat.  I ran out of Gardein, so I might be in trouble!  :)