I've cooked a vegan Thanksgiving feast for the past few years, and it was simply fantastic. Since I'm closer to New York this year, I'll be able to share Thanksgiving with my family for the first time in a long time, and I plan on blowing their minds with the magnificence of vegan holiday cooking. They've agreed to go vegan for the day, so I'm going all out. Last year I posted pictures here of the dishes that comprised our Thanksgiving spread. Since this time I've had the foresight to post about this in advance of the holiday, I'm including the recipes I'll be using, in case anyone else out there is looking for great ideas. I'm not down with the idea of tofurkey or a seitan roast, as frankly, each grosses me out. Instead, I use my favorite vegetable and dessert recipes that put a new spin on traditional Thanksgiving dishes.
I have served these dishes to non-vegan company for the past few Thanksgivings, and this menu does not disappoint. Now that you have the menu and recipes, it will be that much easier to celebrate a healthy and cruelty-free, yet delicious Thanksgiving.
Adjusting to Boston and the new job have taken up all of my time over the past few months, and I have been quite neglectful of this blog. My musings on this site are typically positive and upbeat, but I also have to admit that being vegan in a new city and with new groups of people can sometimes be frustrating. Yes, there are times when the restaurant menu does not include anything vegan, and this seems to happen much more here than in Boston. At work events, there might not be anything cruelty-free food choices, and one feels odd eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole wheat bread while every one else is devouring a fancy catered meal. However, standing up for what you believe in is not always easy, and so the determined vegan carries on.
That being said, I have enjoyed some interesting vegan finds lately. First I must mention Peace o' Pie Gourmet Vegan Pizza shop, located on Cambridge Street in Allston. My brother and I tried the Neapolitan pizza, which includes fresh basil,tomato slices, and organic tofu ricotta. I usually stay away from fake cheese, but we both enjoyed this pizza quite a bit. This place also sells all kinds of calzones, sandwiches, and vegan desserts. It's very hipster and within walking distance of my apartment. Yummy.
Next up, I attended the Boston Vegetarian Food Festival, which my friend described as Disney World for vegetarians/vegans. There were so many vendors! I walked away with a list of thirty-five vegetarian and vegan restaurants in and around Boston. I ate a vegan cannoli and signed lots of petitions for groups campaigning against various forms of animal cruelty. The event was quite crowded, albeit enjoyable - and just when I thought I was one of the only vegans in Boston!
Finally, today I stumbled across a hilarious tumbler page - "You Know You Are A Vegan When..." Here you will find sarcastic reflections on what it's like to be a vegan on a daily basis. I was laughing pretty hard because a lot of it resonated with me. Check it out.
I was pretty sad about leaving Nami behind in Phoenix, and was certain I wouldn't find a vegan ice cream shop quite as amazing in Boston. Now I'm here to say (or write) that I'm obsessed with a little place called FoMu, which is within walking distance of my apartment. FoMu (faux moo - get it?) serves coconut-based, agave-sweetened hard ice cream and smoothies, and has lots of unique flavors. There's avocado, blueberry bread, and cake batter, to name a few of the flavors. I went twice just this week, and there were different flavors on the board each time. There's a variety of vegan toppings- gummy bears, sprinkles... the usual, and homemade hot fudge and whipped cream. So good. The mint carob chip with hot fudge is my favorite, and it's ohmygosh heavenly. You can try out any of the flavors before you decide what you want, which is also a plus. The employees are friendly and knowledgeable about what they're scooping. Oh, and apparently Tobey Maguire visited last week. I'm psyched to have this place in my neighborhood.
After lots of planning, packing, shipping, heavy lifting, and a five hour red-eye flight involving two cats, I'm here in Boston, moved into the new apartment, and ready to resume blogging. I'm excited about the move for lots of reasons, but at the moment what I'm enjoying is working at my old desk from high school right beneath a window with a street view and lots of trees. Oh, and the windows are open and there's a nice breeze. I now appreciate the little things after spending the majority of several summers out in the desert.
I've been doing a great deal of exploring around my new neighborhood over the past couple of weeks, and the vegan scene is definitely decent. I've been doing my grocery shopping at a combination of Whole Foods and Stop & Shop. Moving is annoying for many reasons, but one of my issues is that I now have to re-stock my entire pantry. Food doesn't generally travel 2,718 miles well. I mean, sometimes I get home from the store and items have somehow opened up on the five minute trip home. Anyway, I've been using recipes that require few ingredients to start off with.
The first vegan restaurant I tried was My Thai Vegan Cafe in Chinatown. I'm not kidding when I say that the menu included a bazillion choices. Ok, so it was actually 143, but close enough. The menu was about eighteen pages long, and it took us a while to decide what we wanted. The owners knew every item by number, which I thought was pretty impressive. There are all sorts of fake meats at this place, including mock chicken, beef, and even duck. I tried a yellow curry dish, which included rice, tofu, and lots of vegetables. There were even sweet potatoes. We wanted to try the Temple Soup, described as "a heavenly soup featuring add-ins of sweet potato, butter squash, coconut milk and ground peanuts," but it must be pretty popular, since they were all out. Everyone agreed that the food was delicious-- even the non-vegan parties. I somehow saved room for a piece of chocolate cake, was was also fantastic. I wish the place had been air conditioned, so I would probably go again once the weather cools down.
I have also visited Treats on Washington, located in Brighton, on Washington Street (clearly). I needed access to Wi-Fi, and I was tired of going to Starbucks, so I decided to check this place out after driving by it a few times. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they serve lots of vegan baked goods in addition to the traditional stuff. There were vegan cookies, muffins, cakes, and homemade granola bars. They also served a few vegan sandwiches and soups. I sampled a gigantic coconut chocolate chip cookie, and it was marvelous. I plan to visit frequently.
I already have a list of other places to check out. I should also plan on doubling my workouts if I'm going to be eating out this much.
Last night I had dinner at Green New American Vegetarian Restaurant. It was the start of my Farewell to Phoenix Tour, whereupon I will hit up some of my favorite spots before I move to Boston. However, as embarrassing as this is to admit for a vegan living in Phoenix, I had never actually eaten at Green before. It's especially strange since I frequently go to Nami, which is right next door, and operated by the same people! Therefore, this was an "I have to go there before I leave" type thing.
Green is a a vegan restaurant with locations in Tempe and Central Phoenix. The Central Phoenix locale is a pretty recent development. While I had never eaten at Green before, I had been to one in Tempe five years ago, when I first moved to Phoenix. At that time, I was an extremely picky eater, to put things mildly, and I could not find anything on the menu that I would eat. I guess this shows how much I have changed, because this time it took me a while to decide what to pick from the extensive list of options on the menu. I'm not a fan of mock meats, and frankly, vegan cheese frightens me, so there were some dishes I immediately crossed off the list. My friend and I shared the samosas appetizer to start, and I went with the Coconut Curry Bowl with brown rice and crispy tofu as my entree. Both were really delicious. I don't usually eat tofu, and the Coconut Curry dish would have been fine without tofu or any of the mock meat choices. I would also add that the dishes were very well priced- $4.50 for the appetizer and $7.50 for the bowl.
I don't have much time left in Phoenix, but I would definitely like to hit Green (and Nami) again before I leave. I've been vegan for two years now, and it is one of the best life choices I have made. I've tried so many new things and I feel healthier and happier in general. Taking on this lifestyle has allowed me to broaden my horizons. It has made me think more about where my food comes from and the impact of what I put into my body. It has turned me on to the "Green" scene, both with regard to this lovely restaurant and also my outlook on how I impact the planet as an individual.
Blogger's Soundtrack: Jason Mraz - "You and I Both"
I have recently become obsessed with Jason Mraz, who, by the way, happens to be vegan.
I haven't blogged in awhile. It's been over a month, in fact. School ended, which is a crazy time in general, but I accepted a new job in Boston, so it has been a very busy/stressful/emotional few weeks. While I should trying to use up what's in my cabinets before I make the big move, I haven't been in the mood to cook or write. This morning, however, I decided whip up one of my weekend favorites-- banana waffles. These can also be turned into pancakes if you don't have a waffle iron available. Whichever you make, I must warn you, this recipe is very filling.
Ingredients
1 3/4 cups vanilla nondairy milk (I use soymilk or almond milk)
1/2 cup olive oil
2 cups whole wheat flour (regular flour will also work)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 bananas
Directions
1. Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
2. Combine the milk and olive oil in a small bowl, then mix that into the dry ingredients.
3. Mash the bananas thoroughly with a fork, or throw them into a food processor. Then add the bananas to the other ingredients.
4. Use the batter to make your waffles or pancakes!
Today I had a bunch of fruit in the fridge, so I tried chopping up some strawberries and adding them to the batter. I wasn't a fan of the results. I prefer berries over the top of the waffles instead... delicious!
Chef's Soundtrack: Nelly Furtado: "Big Hoops (Bigger the Better)"
