Where's the Revolution?

another give-away! Vegan Soul Kitchen

2009-07-13T10:28:00.005-04:00

Some of you might remember my review of Bryant Terry's Vegan Soul Kitchen cookbook a couple of months back. Now that summer is at its peak, these recipes will be even more of a joy to experiment with. Think fresh watermelon, mint, tomatoes, garlic... you get the picture! Well, once again, I am thrilled to have a copy to give away on this blog! If you want a chance to win this book, just leave a comment! Deadline for comments: Wednesday, 15 July 2009. Winner announced Thursday, 16 July.

* Note- I announced KimberlyNE as the winner of Ani Phyo's Raw Desserts book. However, I have not heard from her. If I don't hear from her soon, I will hold a second drawing and announce a new winner.

Thanks for participating!

and the winner is...

2009-07-10T10:06:00.004-04:00

Lucky comment #68, KimberlyNE!! KimberlyNE, please email me at wherestherevolution@gmail.com and give me your address and I'll ship Ani Phyo's book right out to you!

Everyone else, watch this spot for another exciting giveaway in the next couple of days...

ani phyo's raw desserts review and give-away!!

2009-07-07T16:28:00.005-04:00

I was so excited to get a chance to review Ani Phyo's newest cookbook, Ani's Raw Food Desserts. This is the perfect time of the year to dive into a world of fresh, raw desserts while taking advantage of all the gorgeous produce on hand. While this book contains many simple recipes that shine the spotlight on a single ingredient such as watermelons or peaches, Ani Phyo's fans know that there is going to be much more. There are recipes for cupcakes, cheesecakes, even tiramisu. I was introduced to new ingredients (such as mesquite powder and lecithin), and also enjoyed reading Ani's tips for health, beauty, and green living throughout the book. There are even recipes using wine- Ani is a chef after my own heart!

So far, my favorite recipe that I've made from this book is the strawberry kream cheezecake (p. 57) (I subbed fresh blueberries for the strawberry sauce). Raw or not, vegan or not, this is by far my favorite cheesecake ever! Daiku and I are obsessed with it- it is creamy and tangy and has just the right texture and taste. I can't wait to try variations of it... hmmm, I went strawberry picking today...

Thanks to the generosity of the publisher, I have a copy of Ani's Raw Food Desserts to give away! If you'd like a chance to win this book, just leave a comment here. I will randomly pick one winner from all the commenters. Deadline for comments: Thursday, 9 July 2009, 11 p.m. EST. Winner announced: Friday morning. Good luck!

jojo visits!

2009-07-02T21:23:00.003-04:00

Ok, ok, I promised cute animals, so I'll start with the post that will give you all the cute critters you can handle! Back in May, Daiku and I were so happy to have a visit from Jojo. She and I met when we visited Brighton back in November, a meet-up I wrote about here. When Jojo decided to come visit New York, I decided to try and lure her up to Syracuse with milkshakes. It worked!

The first night, I decided to go for a home-cooked comfort meal of mac&cheese with cut-up hot dogs. (New Farm mac&cheese recipe). As you can see, we tried to "health up" the meal with some peas and tomatoes.

Of course, no trip to Syracuse is complete without a visit (or 2) to Strong Hearts Cafe. Above, you have Jojo's chocolate/mint cupcake- how gorgeous is that?

Milkshakes, of course.

A favorite of both of us, the Egg Trick Muffin. This little sandwich is so savory and satisfying- a nutritional yeasty tofu egg, melted Teese mozarella, and sausage, all on a toasted english muffin. Yum.

One of my new favorites from the Strong Hearts menu- on the outside it looks like a huge but innocent stack of french toast.

Only to reveal peanut butter, jelly, and bananas hidden on the inside! So good, and enough for 2 people, seriously.

We took a road trip to Farm Sanctuary. We saw lots of cute animals there! But wait, just a little more food first, ok?

We went to ABC Cafe in Ithaca, where Jojo and Daiku ordered veggie burgers, above.

I went for the tempeh arizona sandwich, grilled marinated tempeh topped with heaps of avocado and a fabulous lemon-tahini sauce.

Somehow, we managed to save room for dessert! Above, you have Jojo's brownie, full of yummy walnuts. It was dense and fudgey, and she prefers a more cake-like brownie... which means yours truly scored a bunch of leftovers! ;-)

Daiku and I shared this gigantic slice of carrot cake. It was so moist and full of carrots and raisins, and the frosting was a pleasant surprise- coconutty and sticky and mmmmm.

All in all, Jojo and I got to enjoy several days of vegan heaven- and Daiku and I miss her! Ok, if you've read this far, you deserve some animal photos as a reward! Here are some of the residents of Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen. Enjoy!

july happenings!

2009-06-21T09:12:00.005-04:00

Watch this blog for a glorious July! I will celebrate summer with tons of new posts with cookbook and product reviews, great summer recipes, travel updates, meet-ups with awesome vegans, and drawings and giveaways galore! tell everyone you know- Where's the Revolution will be the July IT blog. =)

Oh, and there will be farm animals. Definitely lots of farm animals.

belfast!

2009-05-19T20:06:00.007-04:00

Oh hi! Where was I...? Oh yes, well, before my computer crashed (major boo...) I had almost caught this blog up to all my travels from back in the Fall and Winter. Last I left you, I was finishing up my trip to Copenhagen. As I was flying to from there, my friend Meghan was flying from Washington DC. We met up in London to fly together to Belfast the next day.

Can you tell we were a little exhausted by the time we were getting in? But Northern Ireland immediately welcomed us- even though we were there practically in winter, look at this green greeting we got as our plane was landing!

greeeeeeen!

Once again, our stay was made possible because of the generosity of a fellow PPK-er, Loretta, a.k.a. fezza. She and her partner graciously welcomed us into their home, where we got to have a great time with them, play their wonderful cat and puppy, and eat lots of wonderful vegan food!

Here's Angus the awesome.

And Poppy the pup! They were beyond adorable.

Fezza took us around and we got to see some of Northern Ireland's greatest sites, such as the Giants Causeway, above. This place was amazing.

We got to tour the city of Belfast and see the reminders of the not-too-distant troubles that went on there. Here is something I've always wanted to see in person, the mural in tribute to Bobby Sands.

We got to go to the famous Crown Bar, the most beautiful bar I've seen.

There, I got to try my first hot toddy- and fall in love with Irish whiskey! Mmmmm. Perfect on a cold winter night.

There aren't that many vegan or even vegetarian restaurants in Ireland, and this underscores the awesomeness of staying with vegans. Local delicious food! Above, you see Meghan and me snacking on delicious home-made sandwiches on our flight back home. (Ha ha, other EasyJet passengers!)

Here's a delicious curry that Fezza's partner made for dinner. It was so delicious and warming on a wintry night. (I apologize for the blurry photo- I was in too much of a hurry to start eating!)

Perhaps my favorite Belfast meal: This Ulster Fry-up, the breakfast of champions, vegan style! Here you see beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, sausage and bacon, and best of all some grilled potato bread. Mmmmmm! This was my first "proper" British breakfast and it was so lovely.

Lastly, Belfast was an awesome city for shopping. It is where I scored the cat dress, above. Festooned with funny kitties, it is my favorite item of clothing now!

Meghan and I want to thank Fezza for her incredible hospitality, friendship and most of all, all the delicious vegan candies and biscuits that she fed us! Thank you also for letting us play with your adorable pets. 6 months later, I really miss Belfast, and hope I have a chance to go back one day.

For more Belfast photos, including more mural images, click here
.

apologies and short delay!

2009-04-15T12:55:00.002-04:00

hi everyone! just a quick note to let you all know that my computer crashed late last week and most of my hard drive has been wiped out. while I work on installing a new hard drive and seeing what, if anything, I can recover from the old one, I'll have to delay blogging. I know that I still owe you all posts about Belfast, England, and the give-away! Those, and more will be coming up as soon as I can manage. In the meantime, please send positive computer vibes my way- I need them!

Thanks!

copenhagen and malmö!

2009-04-08T18:38:00.006-04:00

After Berlin, Ditte and I flew to her hometown of Copenhagen. I was so excited to see Denmark for the first time. Unfortunately, I came down with a wicked cold at the end of our stay in Berlin and by the time we got to Copenhagen, I could barely breathe. A lot of our site-seeing had to be cancelled and instead Ditte and her lovely partner had to take care of a sick Bazu passed out on her couch! So a lot of this post is going to be about lovely vegan homecooking. And you know what? When you're traveling through Scandinavia in the dead of winter, a little warm food at home can be the most healing and wonderful thing ever!

European vegans are spoiled for choice when it comes to various sandwich spreads! Above you see some slices of hearty brown bread with, clockwise from bottom, Tartex "liverwurst", Streich, vegan cream cheese, and a roasted red pepper spread.

Lovely winter breakfast: a big bowl of berry oatmeal. That is the pinkest oatmeal I've ever had!

Homemade soup with deep-fried tofu.

All this wonderful nourishment (and a lot of sleep!) helped me be able to get out of the house by my third day. And oh my goodness- if there is one thing worth leaving the house for, it's freshly baked vegan chocolate croissants, am I right? These were heavenly. I'm ashamed of how many I ate in my few days in Copenhagen...

We went to Ditte's friend Asla's house, and boy was I in luck, because Asla had just made a fresh batch of a classic Danish dish, pictured above. This was warm øllebrød (beer bread) bread pudding, a holiday dish that is indescribable. It's a dark rye bread pudding made with a special kind of beer:

This Christmas brew is sweet and very very low in alcohol. It makes for an amazing bread pudding- a deep and complex flavor, accentuated with a bit of sugar on top. I crave this all the time now, but where to find Danish Christmas beer???

Part of Ditte's job is running a soup kitchen of sort. She cooks a big vegan feast, and people can come and eat whatever they want and donate whatever they can. I was so happy to be able to help her out, it was fun working together, and I got invaluable experience in cooking large batches of food in a commercial kitchen.

We made a wintry roasted veggie salad.

Ditte cooked several big loaves of bread.

And we made a big sweet potato soup, and some rice to go on the side. It was so cool to make the food, and then sit down with everyone and eat the yummy results!

By the end of the week, I was feeling all better, so we were able to arrange a meet-up in Malmö, a southern Swedish city that is a short train ride from Copenhagen. I was really happy to get a chance to go back to Sweden (after my trip to Stockholm to visit my uncle the previous month), but extra excited because of who we were meeting up with...

Vegbitch!! That's right, everyone's favorite Swedish vegan, Emmie, and her wonderful partner Alex showed us around Malmö. In the above photo, from left to right, you see Alex, Emmie, Ditte, and me.

The first thing we did was check out Astrid & aporna, a huge health food store with a most intriguing selection of goods. Above, you see vegan lobster. !!!! Realistic, eh?

Ah, the wiley and elusive vegan ham tube. Have you ever seen so many?

I remembered loving these Tofuline ice cream bars, but had never tried this flavor before: pear! It was good, even on a freezing day.

For fun, we then visited a store selling American things, like the cans of pumpkin, above. It gave me a tiny bit of homesickness, seeing "normal" American grocery items in an exotic context.

We checked out a Polish supermarket, where we found soy chicken cutlets, above. (How weird for an American and a Dane to go to Sweden to meet up with a Swede and a Briton, only to go to a Polish market to buy vegan goods... ah, globalization...)

For lunch, we went to Vegegården, a mostly vegan (some vegetarian items) restaurant that had an all-you-can-eat buffet. We were spoiled for choice!

Here's a rather cloudy shot of my (first) plate. There were lots of fresh fruits and veggies, rice and noodles of all kinds, mock meats of all kinds, and dessert.

After lunch and some more walking around, we sat down at an Espresso House, which is a chain of coffee shops. After double-checking that their mocha mix was vegan, we ordered these soy mocha lattes- they hit the spot!

Did I mention that this was the first time I saw snow while staying in Europe? Pretty good for a displaced Syracusean! I want to thank Ditte for showing me such great hospitality and caring for me when I was sick. I want to thank Emmie and Alex for meeting up with us and showing us around for a day of fun and conversation (and good food!). I think staying with local vegans and forming friendships is such a privilege, and pretty much the best part of traveling. I was glad to be feeling better, because soon it was time to leave Copenhagen to go back to London and on to Belfast from there...

To see all my Copenhagen and Malmö photos, click here.

Bryant Terry: Vegan Soul Kitchen

2009-04-06T22:40:00.006-04:00

Last year, I attended a "Food and Justice" symposium at Syracuse University. There, I got to hear scholars, writers, food activists, and people from all kinds of backgrounds discuss the intersections of food and justice. There was so much to think about- the availability of fresh produce. Fair prices for small farmers. The cost of organic foods. The best way to get food into the hands of those who need it. Preserving heirloom seeds and varieties. Food education. Nutrition. Politics. In short, it was a bit overwhelming!

Bryant Terry is a chef and activist who is deeply involved in all these same issues. As he says in his book, the best way to engage with people on some of the deepest ethical and philosophical issues is through grub. Good, delicious, simple GRUB. The way to our hearts and minds is through our stomachs after all! I think most of us who blog understand this on a deep level- every time we talk about a delicious organic strawberry or some local asparagus or a vegan dessert, we are appealing to the appetite, but also appealing to a shared sense that there is a better way to eat.

I received a review copy of Terry's second book, Vegan Soul Kitchen, which gives us plenty of ways to eat better- better for our bodies, for the animals, for the earth, and for the producers of sustainable food. In this book, he gives traditional African-American and soul food recipes that are not only vegan, but also based on a whole foods philosophy. You won't find processed or packaged foods here, but you will find plenty of deliciousness.

Case in point, his recipe for Roasted Plantains with Roasted Garlic Lime Dipping Sauce. While this dish is meant as an appetizer, it fed the two of us (along with some tofu and couscous) as dinner tonight. The plantains came out crispy and savory, while the dipping sauce was brimming with fresh and tart flavors, a perfect counterpart. I can't wait to cook more with this book, especially as summer's abundant local produce comes in. Bryant Terry is a man after my own heart- there is a whole section of the book dedicated to watermelon! Get this book if you want to give fresh, local, and seasonal food a twist- who knows, you might change a few hearts and minds along the way.

berlin!

2009-04-04T19:41:00.007-04:00

Ok, this post is gigantic. What can I say. Berlin is my favorite city in the world, and it's a vegan/green living mecca. In exchange for posting tons of photos, I will not use any words. If you want specific information about anything or any place you see, feel free to ask me. For comprehensive vegan Berlin information, look at this post on the PPK, where Sarahbean and Mihl posted hugely valuable information. Their lists were basically our guides! And, I got to meet so many awesome vegans and bloggers on this trip, including Mihl and Ditte. This was an amazing trip. Berlin, ich liebe dich!

latté made with soy milk

munching on a hawaii burger at yo-yo

jojo enjoys one of our many many cupcakes from Cupcake (yes, jojo from Brighton)

yes, vegetarian doner!

vegan gummi bears- seriously addictive

yet another Soyamilchkaffee

lemon cupcake!

apple tart with vegan whipped cream

vegan brunch. plate 1 of many...

our group came from 5 different cities and most of us crashed together- so fun!

yay photobooths!

Mihl & bazu, about to enjoy some fine German beer

Sudanese vegan food.

you heard me right.

another vegan restaurant, co-owned by an Iranian-German lady. um. vegan Iranian German food.

you heard me right.

^ this is where you find it. It's in the Kreuzberg neighborhood.

Berlin has many, many healthfood stores, including an all-vegan supermarket! Above you see that Germans have a huge selection of veggie spreads and pates to choose from

soup,

and hot dog at Hot Dog Soup. That's what they serve!

Lots of different hot dogs, including hawaii dog, above.

the last 3 remaining Berlin revelers, right before leaving our hostel room...

This post didn't even scratch the surface! The one thing everyone can agree that Berlin is is OVERWHELMING. you can see the rest of my photos from this trip here.

let's get this blog back on the road!

2009-04-04T10:50:00.000-04:00

Bijou looks on disapprovingly at my lack of blogging.

Ok, I've been playing the catch-up game forever! Because of my slowness to post about my travels in Europe, I've also been neglecting the here and now- resulting in a huge blogging backlog which of course makes me afraid to do anything! So resolved, as of today, a schedule for getting this blog back on the road:

Saturday, April 4 - Berlin
Monday, April 6 - Review of Bryant Terry's Vegan Soul Kitchen
Wednesday, April 8 - Copenhagen and Malmö
Friday, April 10 - Belfast
Sunday, April 12 - England odds and ends
Tuesday, April 14 - Drawings for 3 prizes, from among those who kindly donated to my charity sky dive way back in September- I have not forgotten!

I'm making myself stick to this schedule, and so you can be sure to see all these posts shortly! For all you lovely people who have been gently prodding me in the right direction- thank you!

Bijou says "I'll believe it when I see it."

Ghent!

2009-03-20T16:30:00.005-04:00

Mea culpa! When friends and family start complaining about lack of blog updates, I know that I've been abandoning the blog! So let's take off where we left off... Last time, Lisa and I had finished our journey through Lille, and we were headed to the Belgian town of Ghent.

Ghent was simply beautiful.

Our host, Karen.

climbing many, many stories to the top of the bellfry, from which we could see the awesome architecture of the town,

...including the cathedral where where we got to see Jan van Eyck's "Adoration of the Lamb", also known as the Ghent Altarpiece.

This piece is magnificent in all it's multi-dimensional Northern Renaissance glory and made an art history fangirl out of me. (The photo is from the web, since no photography was allowed in the Cathedral).

On to the most spectacular stuff: Belgian vegan food and drink!

fresh juices, made to order

a vegan all-you can eat buffet!! there was so much choice there, it was unbelievable. Lisa and I especially loved a cauliflower gratin that they had... I've been trying to emulate that dish ever since...

including dessert and (organic, vegan) Belgian white beer, of course.

good friends (left to right: Lisa, Karen, Tess (another fabulous Belgian vegan), and me)

No visit to Belgium is complete without frites, of course! The menu above shows you all the veggie selections (the ones with *s next to them mean vegan) - and those were just the burgers! There was also a vegan gravy available, gravy being a traditional Flemish dip for fries.

Frites! And veggie burger! And veg. chicken nuggets, oh my! Fried food HEAVEN!

On our way out of town, we stopped in at yet another vegan restaurant, this one a co-op run by volunteers and devoted to fair trade and just, in addition to vegan and delicious, food. Above, just one of the dishes we enjoyed there, an appetizer of hummus served with homemade bread.

The only restaurant where I've ever seen nutritional yeast offered as a side order! Can you spot it in flemish in the menu above?

Ghent was such a lively, lovely, and politically active town. Finding vegan food was no problem at all, especially since our hosts were there to guide us through the best. And at every turn, reminders, like on the plate above, to "think globally and eat locally." I gotta love it.

Speaking of thinking globally, Ghent is an incredibly bike-friendly town! Especially to an American's eyes, this sea of bikes was awe-inspiring! Biking is not just a green mode of transportation, but a way to work off all the insane amounts of delicious vegan food that you'll eat if you ever find yourself in Belgium!

To see all our Ghent photos, click here. Next up, Berlin!

ETA, 22 March: I'm sorry I didn't include the restaurant names in this post! Here they are:

- Tasty World (juices, smoothies, salads and sandwiches: Hoogpoort, 1, 9000, Gent)
- Komkommertijd (all-you-can-eat vegan buffet restaurant: Reep 14, 9000 Gent)
- De Frietketel (frites and burgers! Papegaaistraat, 89, Gent, 9000)
- Lekker Gec (the fair-trade restaurant and teahouse : 5-6 St Pietersstation)

(thanks for the reminders, Karen!)

zukay!

2009-02-26T13:29:00.003-05:00

I love this stuff! A few weeks ago, I received a generous offer to try some living condiments. Why living? Because they are your regular run-of-the-mill condiments (salsas, relishes, kimchis, pickles), infused with probiotic cultures. You know, the friendly bacteria that make sauerkraut and yogurt so good for you!

I received mild and hot salsas, and garlic and horseradish varieties of the relish. At first I was a little hesitant to try them, so I took them to our friend's house, thinking if many of us sampled these together, we'd be safe! As I opened the jar of mild salsa viva, it bubbled and exploded dangerously onto my friend's counter-top! We were amazed and mildly disturbed, but bravely decided to dip our tortilla chips into this monster anyway. And you know what? It was fizzy! This stuff definitely is alive! But after the first rush, it just tastes like a really fresh, homemade salsa. The 6 of us easily polished off a whole jar of the salsa (and a large bag of tortilla chips) in one night. Next up, the relishes- they are mild, but flavorful, and went great on some vegan sausage sandwiches and also as a dip. The hot salsa viva we tried was more intense and bubbly than the mild stuff, and it received mixed reviews. Most of my friends seem to prefer the mild, though I'm good with both. And my belly definitely appreciates the probiotics.

I'm anxious to try some of Celine's ideas for Zukay foods- in the meanwhile, you can go to their website and order some or see what stores near you carry it, so you can try the stuff for yourself! You won't be disappointed, and you'll be supporting a small and friendly company!

Zukay Live Foods

Coming up soon... remember that giveaway I promised a long time ago? I didn't forget! It's coming!

lille

2009-02-01T21:47:00.007-05:00

Next up on the European itinerary, Lille, France! I had never been anywhere in France other than Paris (read my post about my last trip to Paris here), so when on-line buddy Aelle offered to let me stay with her in Lille, I could not resist!

I was also lucky to find a travel partner. Pandacookie was able to come to England in November, so together we jumped the Chunnel and crossed over to France. (In this photo, she is posing with Obama at the Lille train station. This was less than a week after the U.S. election, so there was Obama-fever everywhere!)

Here is Aelle, and her partner Wally. They were the coolest hosts. The first night, Aelle had made reservations for us at Le Toucouleur, an Afro-Caribbean restaurant. She had, awesomely, previously made arrangements with the Chef for us to get a two-course vegan dinner! In the above photo, you see our cocktails. All the cocktails at the restaurant are named after African capitals- mine (on the left) was the Yaoundé, a tequilla cocktail sweetened with agave nectar and pineapple juice. I had to get it, just because it taught me how to say agave nectar in French! (nectar de goyave)

Our dinner was amazing. We got the first course, this delicious and spicy vegetable stew with rice, and ate it all up, forgetting that we had another course coming!

So by the time we got this amazing veggie curry (withs sweet potatoes, carrots, potatoes, onions, and more) we were all stuffed! That didn't stop us from indulging anyway. The experience at the restaurant was so nice- without a host who knew the city so well, what would we have had for dinner?

On Sunday, we headed to Lille's large market. It was super bustling, crowded, and filled with beautiful foods and sights. Above, you see some of the brightly-colored spices at a Moroccan spice shop.

And here are some giant squash. Everywhere we went, people gave us samples of clementines, grapes, olives, etc. The market was a very multi-sensual experience.

Here's one of my favorite photos from Lille- a family of musician playing on the street during market day.

After picking up some fresh bread (bien sûr!) we headed home, where Wally and Aelle cooked us a magnificent... Japanese feast. (You see, both of them had been living in Japan until recently). This fragrant dish, full of mushrooms, peppers, and noodles was so satisfying on a cool day, and we inhaled it all.

Lille Cathedral.

Our lovely hosts at a café, where I got to indulge in my love for French espresso:

Here is one of my funnest discoveries in Lille! Kwak beer (being in Northern France, near Belgium, beer is a huge deal in Lille, and people drink it more than they do in other regions.) Kwak beer is called so because it's served in the special glass that you see- and when the drink gets down to a certain point, the sound of air bubbles as you tip the glass make a "quack quack" sound- it's hilarious! And the stuff is very potent, so giggles are sure to accompany a Kwak order!

Of course, you can't go to France without gorging yourself on fresh-made baguettes. Pandacookie and I must have gone through at least 10 loaves of this stuff...

Both of us were also happy to get to check out Le Furet du Nord, formerly Europe's biggest bookstore! (Now the 2nd biggest)... It was so fun to browse through floor after floor of books, magazines, stationery, and art supplies, including a whole section of books in English (and other languages as well).

Here are Pandacookie, me, Aelle, (and of course, baguette), as Aelle dropped us off at the train station on our way to Belgium. Our visit to Lille was so extremely fun, mostly because of the coolness of Wally, Aelle, and her family who were nice enough to take two internet strangers into their house! It was nice to get an insider vegan view of the city, and I can't wait to go back. Merci, Aelle!

To see all my photos from Lille, click here.

Coming up next, join Pandacookie and Bazu in Ghent...

we interrupt these travel updates for...

2009-01-24T13:02:00.003-05:00

...some images from last week's inauguration! (well I guess it's still traveling, but not in chronological order...) I was one of the 2-3 millions of people crammed in the national mall, freezing my bum off, glad for every moment:

record-breaking crowds in the Metro...

and in the streets

cute kids in the National Mall (we got on the Mall because we were there before 7 a.m... but that meant about 5 hours of waiting in the below-freezing temps...)

people struggling for better views...

...seeing ourselves on the jumbotron

Barack Obama's face melding with the crowds...

...Biden taking the oath...

Obama getting sworn in... more or less smoothly! (wtf, Justice Roberts??)

...jubilant crowds witnessing history...

...jubilant us!!!!!... (my cousin Melissa, me, and fellow blogger Karyn)

...watching as people watched the inaugural address...

cooing at the police horses everywhere

...shivering as we spent a couple of hours getting off the mall! (crowd control was much better organized before than after the event)

but all the cold and aching was worth it to get to eat treats (and drink HOT COFFEE!) at Sticky Fingers afterwards...

Pretty much an ideal Washington DC day, wouldn't you say? I'm so glad I was there and part of this festive and moving day. Gobama!

oh hai!

2009-01-08T13:33:00.004-05:00

Happy new year, everyone! Where have I been? I don't know! I've been present on the internet, but for some reason I've had a weird mental block that's kept me from blogging. I miss you guys. I've realized that I'm not an effective blogger when I'm not home and well, the last 5 months were spent away from my house. But as of late last night, I am back in Syracuse. I have so much to catch up on! Thinking about it too much would just paralyze me, so instead, I'll ease into things by filling out a survey that I found on the Raw Vegan Princess blog. I tag all of you to fill it out too, if you haven't already done!

Memememe....

1) LAST MOVIE YOU SAW IN A THEATRE? It's been a long time for me, since I've been out of the country until recently. I think the last movie I saw was I am Legend at the $1 theater.

2) WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING? I just finished Secret Lives of Great Authors, and A Thousand Splendid Suns. Fun holiday reading. I'm also reading Surreal Lives, but I don't like talking about school work...

3) FAVOURITE BOARD GAME? I love the Word Game, because it is really challenging. But I'm a huge fan of any board game, really. I'm nerdy like that. If you have any recommendations, I'd love to hear them!

4) FAVOURITE MAGAZINE? Right now I'm in a design mood, having missed my house for the last few months, so anything about design is good. But sometimes the commercial-y consumer-y nature of magazines turns me off, and at those times nothing beats Adbusters.

5) FAVOURITE SMELLS? Right now, rose, gardenia, anise, and musk.

6) FAVOURITE SOUNDS? Sounds irritate me easily, so I'm going to have to say silence is my favorite sound.

7) WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD? Helplessness, and also when you say or do something that you immediately wish you hadn't.

8 ) WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE? Tea! Well, first, Feed The Cats! Then, tea!

9) FAVOURITE FAST FOOD PLACE? I love Panera. On long road trips, that and Subway keep me alive. In regular life, I love the Italian Chef here in Syracuse.

10) FUTURE CHILD’S NAME? Top Secret!

11) FINISH THIS STATEMENT—IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY I’D… endow a human rights and an animal rights chair at some school or another, donate to charities like there's no tomorrow, travel, give gifts to friends and family.

12) DO YOU DRIVE FAST? No, I drive like a little old granny.

13) DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL? Nope. My stuffed animals live in the guest room.

14) STORMS–COOL OR SCARY? cool. especially if you're inside and protected. ooooh, especially summer storms here in the east.

15) WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR? a hand-me-down 1988 Toyota Camry bought from my parents. I loved that old clunker.

16) FAVOURITE DRINK? Tea (hot), mango juice (cold), sparking wine (alcoholic), lightly fizzy mineral water (water).

17) FINISH THIS STATEMENT - IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD… overhaul this blog, and get to all the organizational projects around the house (files, photos, etc.)

18 ) DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI? Yes, absolutely.

19) IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY OTHER COLOUR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE? Something wild. Maybe multi-colored dreads- wouldn't that be cool?

20) NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS U HAVE LIVED IN? Tehran (Iran), Esfehan (Iran), Los Angeles (CA), Santa Clara (CA), Cupertino (CA), New Hyde Park (NY), East Setauket (NY), New York City (Manhattan), New York City (Queens), Winter Park (FL), Irvine (CA), Syracuse (NY), Canterbury (England). Whew!

21) FAVOURITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Football, but only during the World Cup.

22) ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? She didn't send it to me, but Freedom is one of the most passionate and compassionate people I can think of. I love reading her blog and being inspired.

23) WHATS UNDER YOUR BED? Nothing other than dust bunnies right now.

24) WOULD U LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN? I'm sorry, I'm a bit of a nihilist, so I don't care if I would be born again or not. If I had to be, though, yeah myself would be cool.

25) MORNING PERSON OR NIGHT OWL? Morning person. Living with a night owl.

26) OVER EASY OR SUNNY SIDE UP? No! NOOOOOOO!

27) FAVOURITE PLACE TO RELAX? In the summer, in the hammock in the backyard, in the winter, under a cozy blanket anywhere.

28 ) FAVOURITE PIE? Mince. England kicks America's ass in this category.

29) FAVOURITE ICECREAM FLAVOUR? Coconut milk chocolate. So ridiculously luxurious.

30) OF ALL THE PEOPLE YOU HAVE TAGGED, WHO IS THE MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST? I'm not tagging anyone, but I hope there are some readers out there left!

brighton

2008-12-03T18:38:00.003-05:00

Saturday, 1 November, was world vegan day, and Daiku and I got to celebrate it in style by meeting up with a bunch of awesome people in perhaps England's most vegan city: Brighton! People came from as far afield as London and even the Netherlands for this day. We shopped for vegan shoes at Vegetarian Shoes, saw the sites, went antiquing, and I even got to see an original Banksy! But above all, we ate.

First, the Brighton kids took us out-of-towners to Infinity market, one of the biggest and best health food stores I've ever seen. I stocked up on nutritional yeast (I didn't know I'd miss it so much!) and other essentials. The best part was their bakery had fresh-baked scones (pictured above) and Chelsea buns. This was my first time getting to taste these British delicacies and they were so good!

Here's Jojo holding up... vegan haggis! I just had to get it (it gets its own post, coming soon!)

Next, we headed to The George, a vegan and vegetarian pub! How cool is that- this was the first time I got to go to a pub and order anything other than chips. But first, I passed out some American vegan goodies- oreos, sour patch kids, and tings!

Ok, if you were at a restaurant and their special for the day was the Elvis burger- a veggie burger with cheese, peanut butter and banana- wouldn't you order it? Most of us did! And you know what? It was actually really good!

Daiku ordered the mushroom and ale pie, which turned out to be huge- and very satisfying.

Next, we headed over to Infinity Café, for hot drinks. I thought, since I'd already had an Elvis burger, not to mention a scone AND a chelsea bun, that I was full, but then this fudgey chocolate cake caught my eye. Who can say no to vegan dessert? Not me! Our party also tried their almond cake and some other delicacies- all very well prepared and extremely tasty.

Even though it was a blistery and rainy day, we all had so much fun! To see other photos from this meet-up, take a look at my Brighton flickr set.

happy december!

2008-12-01T19:19:00.003-05:00

Whew- I didn't realize that I was taking a bit of a blogging hiatus, but there you have it- a month sort of flew by. But, I can promise you that in the coming days, you can expect posts about a month's worth of traveling and vegan eating (of course!) in the following cities:

Brighton
Lille
Ghent
Berlin
Copenhagen
Malmö
Belfast
London

It's been a whirlwind month, and I'm so grateful for all the friends who made my travels possible. And now, I'm grateful to be sorting through the photos and notes and getting ready to blog about it all!

live-blogging election day

2008-11-04T12:01:00.034-05:00

5:05 p.m. GMT, 12:05 p.m. EST

I'm way too excited to sit still, so I thought I'd channel some of my energy into live blogging the election. It's especially difficult here in England, because we are already coming up on night, and don't yet have too much news, so the fingernails are quite stubby by now, as you can imagine....

As I've mentioned in this blog before, I have voted for Barack Obama. This is the 3rd time in my life that I'm eligible to vote for president, and the 1st time that I have voted for a major party (having voted Green in 2000 and 2004.) It might be interesting to know how it feels to back someone who wins!

5:41 p.m. GMT, 12:41 p.m. EST

My ballot was cast in California, and Daiku's in New York, two states the reliably tend to swing blue. However, we have family in two very hotly contested swing states- Missouri and Virginia. I'll be looking closely at those states- anyone else voting there? I have heard reports of long lines in VA, some places where it took people over 4 hours in line before they could vote. I only had to mail in an absentee ballot. I take off my hat to everyone who has endured any difficulties in physically voting today.

Being in England for the most heated parts of the election has been a blessing and a curse. It's difficult to feel so detached from the process back home, but such a relief to be away from the 24-hour news cycle and some of the more vicious aspects of the election.

6:44 p.m. GMT, 1:44 p.m. EST

memories...

2004: I lived in Irvine. I had no t.v. I remember going to the gym on election night to try to see a bit of news. And then, at home, I remember waiting up until all hours of the night, constantly hitting the "reload" button, hoping against all hope the the Ohio tallies would start bearing positive news. Alas, they never did. I wore black to teach the next day.

2000: I lived in New York City. I came home straight away after work, excited to watch the results. My mom and I had just voted for Ralph Nader that morning, and I remember being very encouraged that he would get the 5% of votes needed to ensure federal funding for the Green party. Then the election took a turn for the weird... at around 3 a.m. I realized I wouldn't be finding out results that night. Gore lost. Nader didn't hit 5%. Who knew then that a terrifyingly traumatizing 8 years had just begun?

one way or another, I guess I'm destined to stay up late on election nights!

8:24 p.m. GMT, 3:24 p.m. EST

Even though the presidential race seems to eclipse all the other ones, there are of course many other important races and issues that people are voting about today. One of those, an issue close to my heart, is a ballot initiative in CA that would ban cruel confinement of farm animals. (Proposition 2) This would be such a landmark law, since changes to the agricultural industry in CA, due to its sheer size, could not help but have a ripple effect. Another, which I voted against, is Prop. 8, an initiative that would seek to limit marriage only to those between men and women. What's even sadder is that 3 other states have anti-gay measures on the ballot too. (including Arkansas, which is seeking to make it illegal for gay couples to adopt children). In a world where so many children desperately await adoption, I find that last measure especially crass and mean-spirited. Here's something interesting to ponder. CA legalized interracial marriages before the U.S. supreme court. Talk about "activist judges"! Back then, 96% (NINETY-SIX!!!) of Americans were against people marrying from different races. Today, only about 50% of Americans oppose same-sex marriage. Makes you think, huh?

11 p.m. GMT, 6 p.m. EST

the earliest polls are closing now! let's get this show on the road! now it feels like something really is happening.

11:22 p.m. GMT, 6:22 p.m. EST

we just heard from a relative in Georgia. apparently, someone left a dead cat by her Obama sign. this happened to some of their neighbors too. it's gut-wrenching, and so wrong on so many levels.

12:05 a.m. GMT, 7:05 p.m. EST

Finally, the BBC has started broadcasting election news! The first results were not too surprising, VT for Obama, KY for McCain. Interestingly, MO seems to be a stalwart swing state- no one is calling it one way or another yet! My mother-in-law, in Missouri, said that they've gotten 3 phone calls and a flier, all reminding them to vote, all from the Obama campaign. The organization of his campaign is so reassuring. She also said that a worker at a local polling place was illegally demanding 2 instead of 1 form of ID, but that he was quickly booted from his job. Yay, progress!

12:21 a.m. GMT, 7:21 p.m. EST

Chris Hitchens was just on the BBC, calling the McCain campaign "cheap, nasty, sordid."

12:25 a.m. GMT, 7:25 p.m. EST

The BBC is showing people gathering in Chicago, anticipating a celebration. the sense of excitement is so palpable!
It just occurred to me how privileged Daiku and I are that all of our friends and family are politically in sync. Frankly, I don't know how I'd deal with someone close to me who saw it fit to vote for McCain right now.

12:31 a.m. GMT, 7:31 p.m. EST

North Carolina, Ohio, and W. Virginia just closed. The fact that W.Virginia is not even projecting immediate results is itself telling. Tellingly awesome.

12:40 a.m. GMT, 7:40 p.m. EST

It is so weird to be watching an election without a t.v. and without American news! Apparently, U.S. networks are calling W. Virgina for McCain, but the BBC, in its imminent conservatism, is holding out. Calm and measured. At least we get to hear Rick Gervais talking about Obama here- a definite plus!
Ohio is especially close to my heart. We have friends from there who were election monitors in 2004, and the stories of voter fraud and disenfranchisement that they tell are bone-chilling. Let's right that wrong, OH!

12:57 a.m. GMT, 7:57 p.m. EST

how weird that the NY Times (top) is saying Obama is leading in SC while the BBC (bottom) is calling SC for McCain?...

huh...?

1:04 a.m. GMT, 8:04 p.m. EST

PA for Obama!!!!

1:23 a.m. GMT, 8:23 p.m. EST

well, here's something you don't see every day! (I know, I know, it's ephemeral, but let's revel in the novelty, shall we?)

NYTimes Map, projecting an Obama lead (!!) in TX

1:36 a.m. GMT, 8:36 p.m. EST

bazu rides the Tube, London, November 2008

1:52 a.m. GMT, 8:52 p.m. EST

was it just me, or did the BBC anchor just refer to New Hampshire as North Hampshire? Ha- it's late at night, we'll give him a pass.

2:36 a.m. GMT, 9:36 p.m. EST

I don't know how much longer I can stay awake! I'm still biting my nails over VA and MO- so far it doesn't look like Obama will win either. That will be a bummer for many of my family and friends! Ohio for Obama, though! Yessss. Louisiana just went to McCain. Sad and telling. How sad that the Republicans helped wipe New Orleans to the ground, and now the state goes to the GOP, once again.

According to a commentator on the BBC just now "fundamentally, America remains a center-right nation." That is truly sad. Somehow, as good as this looks for Obama, this is not shaping up to be the landslide that many of us had dared hope for. It seems that things are too entrenched for real surprises over any given election cycle. This is sad too. Very bittersweet evening.

2:47 a.m. GMT, 9:47 p.m. EST

I just had a mini-meltdown, brought on by sleep loss. I incorrectly though I saw that CA had passed its ban on gay marriage and I freaked out: "Oh noooo! I can't believe CA banned gay marriage! I can't believe it! Ellen and Portia are null and void! Ellen and Portia had a vegan wedding!!! Noooo!" Fortunately, I was wrong, but hopefully that gave you a glance into my addled brain right now! There is still hope. Come on, CA.

2:52 a.m. GMT, 9:52 p.m. EST

as I live and breathe: I just saw the BBC anchor shut down John Bolton, because he was "chattering away as [they were] trying to talk to people in Florida. Suck it, John Bolton! Seriously, though, Bolton is a huge symbol of the Bush years, someone who took the W administration's bellicosity to the United Nations, to our country's great shame. I'd like to see him, like GW, like the trauma of the last 8 years, disappear. Being smacked down by the BBC is a good start!

2:57 a.m. GMT, 9:57 p.m. EST

Obama just pulled ahead of McCain in VA!!! Go, VIRGINIA!! And he's also ahead in FL! GOBAMA!

3:12 a.m. GMT, 10:12 p.m. EST

Just saw Erica Jong and Eddie Izzard praising Obama on the BBC... the evening is getting surrealer and surrealer! Erica Jong used a very interesting term to refer to Obama "coolth" - talking about the aura of calm that he projects, that we are probably unconsciously all responding to. I understand that no politician, especially a mainstream politician, will be ideal, and we will have opportunities to become disillusioned with Obama in due time, but for now, I'm with much of the world in believing in him, and believing in the opportunity that he covers the U.S. and the world.

3:20 a.m. GMT, 10:20 p.m. EST

John Bolton continues to make an ass of himself, lashing out at the BBC, yelling like a cornered animal. He needs to get off the world stage. Now.

historian Simon Schama (left), trying not to punch John Bolton (right) on the BBC

3:31 a.m. GMT, 10:31 p.m. EST

What does a vegan eat while nervously watching election results? A delicious potato-spinach dip, inspired by a Yellow Rose tester recipe. I just recently finally found nutritional yeast here in the U.K., and I'm taking full advantage of it. There is some champagne* chilling in the fridge. Life is good.

*cheap sparkling wine from Tesco

Other exciting election results I'm watching: Elizabeth Dole is gone! Her dirty campaign apparently did nothing for her. It looks like Al Franken is in the lead for the senate seat in Minnesota! That is amazing. Losses for negative campaigns all around.

3:36 a.m. GMT, 10:36 p.m. EST

Is this a mistake...? This is the map of Utah on CNN right now... pure science fiction!

in what universe does Obama beat McCain in Utah 50%-48%??

3:41 a.m. GMT, 10:41 p.m. EST

This is looking really good in Virginia! Come on, VA, we're rooting for you! 2% lead for Obama, around 50,000 votes.

click on image for a bigger, clearer, picture

3:59 a.m. GMT, 10:59 p.m. EST

Looking down to the closing of the polls on the West Coast, and cinching this thing for Obama. I am, however, saddened that it looks as if anti-gay and anti-abortion measures seem to be passing in several states.

Dennis Kucinich on the BBC, talking about a new economic reality to come with Obama's presidency

4:01 a.m. GMT, 11:01 p.m. EST

lovely london blogging ladies

2008-10-31T19:32:00.005-04:00

I can't believe it's the last day of VeganMoFo! This will be my 20th post for the month, meaning I barely eeked by with the minimum number of posts! (I did better last year, managing to blog every day for MoFo) It has been really fun, especially getting to read all of your blogs. And after this month is over, I'm not going anywhere. I'll still be blogging about being in England, traveling, eating well, and of course meeting awesome bloggers from all over the place. And today's post is dedicated to just that, 2 meet-ups with fellow bloggers that I've been very fortunate to have in the past week.

First up is Isil, of Veggie Way. I've always loved reading about her life as a vegan and a parent here in the U.K., and getting to see her lovely daughter Defne growing up.

She was such a cutie-pie-and she loves her veggies!

Isil suggested going to Wagamama, which made me very happy, because this chain of noodle shops is one I've always wanted to try, having heard about its awesome vegan food options. Above, you see Isil's soba ramen, which came in a big bowl packed with veggies and yummy broth.

And here's my huge plate of noodles- soba with a spicy chili sauce and veggies. This dish actually had a kick- I have to remind myself not to order spicy foods the first time I meet someone, because my nose has an embarassing way of running when I do...

Fortunately, we had our juices to soothe our mouths. Isil had carrot juice, and I had a mixture of apple, ginger, and passion fruit.

Afterward, we walked over to Covent Garden, over to Neal's Yard Salad Bar for vegan dessert!

This mostly vegetarian and vegan restaurant makes homemade vegan ice cream- ahhhh! The day's flavors were mango and chocolate, and since we couldn't decide between the two, we got them in swirl form. The chocolate was good, but the mango was divine! So fresh and tangy. I'll be sure to go back to this restaurant again, to take advantage of their vegan English breakfast offering and the veganized Brazilian specialties on the menu.

Then yesterday, I got to hang out with KathyF of What Do I Know? fame. Kathy has been so helpful to me, helping out a fellow vegan American get adjusted to life in England. Finally getting to meet was so fun! As you can see from the above business card, we had lunch at Rootmaster, a double-decker bus converted into a lovely vegan restaurant!

I kid you not.

The restaurant makes its own rustic bread, served here with olive oil and balsamic vinegar to dip.

Kathy had the chickpea fritters (in the back of the photo- I went about things backward, didn't I?) served with a side salad.

I had this mezze platter with guacamole (yum!), hummus (very smoky and good), bread, roasted veggies (courgette and red capsicum), sun-dried tomatoes, and last but not least, the prettiest olives ever. These babies were mild, buttery, toothsome,

...and pretty much the most technicolor green that I've ever seen on an olive. These were lovely and fun to share.

Before we finished our satisfying lunch and took a stroll through the National Gallery, I got to capture this money shot: a blogger's photo of a fellow blogger taking a photo. Ahhh, life is good.

I want to thank Isil and KathyF for taking the time to show me around London and for filling my tummy with exciting vegan foods! There is nothing like a bloggy meet-up to make you feel like everything is right with the world.

random eats

2008-10-30T18:20:00.004-04:00

Q: what do you get when you mix some noodles with some peanut sauce and spices, a whole lot of veggies and herbs,

and these really tasty VegiDeli brand Thai Style cakes?

A: A really satisfying faux-pad thai dish. Daiku and I both loved these noodles!

speaking of satisfying, talk about comfort food! heeding a serious craving for mashed potatoes, we decided to make this huge batch colcannon, the Irish dish of potatoes mashed with kale. To up the comfort-y factor, we were really generous with the margarine, and topped everything with a generous sprinkle of chopped chives. This was dinner- nothing more needed!

Here's a local Kentish specialty: cob nuts! These are grown right here around Canterbury, and nowhere else. (Or at least that's what the guy at the market said!) We picked up a bunch at the Eurofest that I blogged about earlier in the month...

... and then proceeded to realize that meant that we'd need to buy a nutcracker!

But it was totally worth it to get at these little suckers- cob nuts taste like a milder, sweeter fresh hazelnut- very addictive, and even better when roasted a bit. Yay for local food finds!

Finally, I couldn't resist posting this last photo, even though it's totally non-food-related. Even though we're in the U.K., Daiku and I both mailed in absentee ballots for next week's U.S. election. Here I am giving a "terrorist fist jab" to a giant sculpted fist in the British Museum, in case anyone had any doubts about who I'm rooting for for president...

swedish good eats: countryside edition

2008-10-29T10:46:00.006-04:00

After spending 2 days in Stockholm, my uncle took Daiku and me to his cabin in the woods, a couple of hours to the southwest. This was so fun! The cabin is big and beautiful, but also very rustic. It felt so good to sit around the fire the night we got there, getting warm and cozy while the temperatures outside fell.

That night, as Daiku and Daii (daii is the Farsi word for uncle) sat down to a dinner of various kinds of pickled herring and gravad lax (cured salmon) with potatoes, I constructed the most delicious sandwiches- tomato, potato, and avocado on whole grain bread. Now I know there's nothing remotely seasonal or Swedish about avocados (or tomatoes for that matter!), these sandwiches really hit the spot. Besides... we would more than make of with lots of local food shortly.

The next day, we headed outside into the crisp fall air to tend to the garden and grounds and help close them up for the winter. However, we were surprised to find that the garden had kept growing in the previous weeks! There were 3 giant zucchini, which had amazingly survived the cold.

Green beans galore!

Potatoes to be dug up!

Daiku found a whole field of chanterelles growing beneath some trees!

There were even some young garlic and onion buds still to be had!

Here we are getting all the last apples off from the apple tree- there were so many! We left some on the low branches in case any animals were to wander by and want to munch on them...

With all that surprise garden bounty, we made a feast of a meal, something that really hit the spot after a day of working outside. (Well, Daii worked outside while Daiku and I took frequent breaks to come in the house and warm up! We aren't acclimated to the cold temperatures as well as him!)

Here you see: green beans, blanched with a few onions and dressed simply with vinaigrette, zucchini, sauteed with some olive oil and tomatoes, and potatoes and peas (peas that my uncle had picked from the garden in the summer and frozen) cooked with chanterelles. We couldn't get enough of this meal!

Even dessert was local and home-grown- these sour cherries came from daii's tree over the summer- he froze these for us, knowing how much we love sour cherries!

It was such a cool experience to be eating this sumptuous meal, in a cozy warm cabin, with great company, even though outside, the world was getting ready for its long winter nap.

salt licorice

2008-10-27T19:02:00.002-04:00

a unique Swedish treat: salt licorice. this stuff is... hard to explain. at first, you get an intensely sour taste sensation, like a sour patch kid on crack. then, you get a mild and tasty black licorice. but, the second one you bite into has a distinctly... ammonia-esque flavor to it. and the third one, well there is no third one because the second one freaks you out too bad.

has anyone ever tried salt licorice? what do you think of it??

satisfying veggie eats in Stockholm

2008-10-25T17:36:00.005-04:00

as you walk through Stockholm, there are a lot of food stands, many selling grilled items like hot dogs, burgers, and falafel. many also have veggie dogs and veggie burgers- woo! just make sure to ask them to leave the creamy sauce off the veggie burger, and the yogurt sauce off the felafel, and you have a quick and tasty vegan snack as you're walking around.

my uncle had scouted this wonderful veggie restaurant for us, the Légumes Vegetariskt Matcafé on Hornsgatan, in his neighborhood of Södermalm.

This casual restaurant allows you to pick from among a lot of options, to assemble a plate to your taste. Out of about 20 different dishes, only 2 were vegetarian, all the rest were vegan. On my plate above, you see brown rice, a stew made with potatoes, aubergines, tomatoes, and peppers, some soy beef in a spicy sauce, a couple of stuffed grape leaves, and some salad. This was so satisfying! Unfortunately, I was stuffed after the first plate- I say unfortunately, because you can go back and get refills if you want. Daiku and my uncle both took advantage of that option!

More Swedish foods to come!

some swedish things

2008-10-23T18:12:00.003-04:00

we got to stay with my uncle, who lives in Stockholm, when we visited Sweden. I love staying in someone's house rather than in a hotel when traveling, because you get to experience some everyday things that way, my favorite among them being shopping at supermarkets and getting a sense of regular local foods.

the first would be blåbärssoppa, or blueberry soup. this is a bit of a national dish, I take it, and it is simply a sweetened and slightly thickened blueberry soup! it is really tasty. we also tried strawberry kråm, which is the same concept (fruit soup) but much thicker. these were good for breakfast, but after long walks around the city, they are especially rehydrating and refreshing.

one pregan item I miss a lot, that Europe is an especially good place for, is keffir, which is a a thinner and drinkable yogurt. I found perhaps the best vegan version of keffir when I tried these little Oatly smoothies. They are so good and tangy!

I can't speak very much Swedish at all, but I can work out that this label says "oats + chocolate = good!" and I wholeheartedly agree:

Oatly's chocolate milk is one of the best I've ever tasted, with a subtle and not-too-sweet flavor and satisfying rich texture. I really wish that Oatly would start exporting all their products (like their oat cream, perfect for cooking and baking) to the U.S. already!

Finally, one of my favorite things about the Swedish supermarkets I visited: behold an entire WALL of crispbreads! It's like crispbread heaven up there, I'm telling you. (you have to click on this photo to enlarge it. =)