My Vegan Hundred List

This list has been floating around the vegan blogosphere for a couple weeks, and I finally couldn't resist it any longer! Hannah from Bittersweet veganized the Omnivore's Hundred list, so we can join in the fun, too! Here are the rules:

1) Copy this list into your own blog, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Italicize any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Post a comment here once you’ve finished and link your post back to this one.
5) Pass it on!

1. Natto (looks scary, but I'd try it!)

2. Green Smoothie at Blossoming Lotus, never made my own.

3. Tofu Scramble like a million times!

4. Haggis

5. Mangosteen

6. Creme brulee

7. Fondue (I need to find a vegan recipe for this!)

8. Marmite/Vegemite

9. Borscht

10. Baba ghanoush

11. Nachos

12. Authentic soba noodles

13. PB&J sandwich

14. Aloo gobi

15. Taco from a street cart in Mexico and in the US!

16. Boba Tea there's a boba shop downtown that uses soymilk in all of their milk teas - yum!

17. Black Truffle

18. Fruit wine made with fruit other than grapes

19. Gyoza just had these recently at dim sum!

20. Vanilla ice cream

21. Heirloom tomatoes

22. Fresh wild berries

23. Ceviche (how would this be veganized?)

24. Rice and beans

25. Knish

26. Raw scotch bonnet pepper (never had raw, but had it in Jamaican food)

27. Dulce de leche

28. Caviar

29. Baklava

30. Pate

31. Wasabi peas

32. Chowder in a sourdough bowl

33. Mango lassi thank you India Chaat House for making a vegan version!

34. Sauerkraut

35. Root beer float gross, I hate root beer! I do like coffee floats, though

36. Mulled cider

37. Scones with buttery spread and jam

38. Vodka jelly

39. Gumbo

40. Fast food french fries

41. Raw Brownies

42. Fresh Garbanzo Beans

43. Dahl

44. Homemade Soymilk

45. Wine from a bottle worth $120 or more (haha, maybe someday I'll be able to afford that!)

46. Stroopwafle

47. Samosas

48. Vegetable Sushi

49. Glazed doughnut

50. Seaweed

51. Prickly pear

52. Umeboshi

53. Tofurkey

54. Sheese

55. Cotton candy (had it as a kid, doubt it was vegan but I really don't know?)

56. Gnocchi

57. Piña colada

58. Birch beer (I would try it, but doubt I would like it)

59. Scrapple

60. Carob chips gross!

61. S’mores

62. Soy curls

63. Chickpea cutlets

64. Curry

65. Durian

66. Homemade sausages I had some at a breakfast place in Vancouver BC and they were yucky

67. Churros, elephant ears, or funnel cake (I recently heard there are vegan elephant ears at the Saturday Market! I need to get on that!)

68. Smoked tofu

69. Fried plantain

70. Mochi

71. Gazpacho

72. Warm chocolate chip cookies

73. Absinthe (we have a new absinthe distillery in town, I need to try it!)

74. Corn on the cob

75. Whipped cream, straight from the can and I didn't like it!

76. Pomegranate

77. Fauxstess Cupcake

78. Mashed potatoes with gravy

79. Jerky Stonewall's is the only kind I like!

80. Croissants

81. French onion soup

82. Savory crepes

83. Tings

84. A meal at Candle 79 (someday!)

85. Moussaka

86. Sprouted grains or seeds

87. Macaroni and "cheese"

88. Flowers

89. Matzoh ball soup

90. White chocolate

91. Seitan don't like it, too meaty!

92. Kimchee yummy!

93. Butterscotch chips (never seen a vegan version :( )

94. Yellow watermelon watermelon is one of the few fruits I despise

95. Chilli with chocolate

96. Bagel and Tofutti and a little Sriracha and sprouts for good measure!

97. Potato milk

98. Polenta

99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee

100. Raw cookie dough I actually prefer it raw to cooked!

I've eaten 62 out of 100, and there are only 5 I wouldn't try! Not bad considering what a picky eater I am!

Lazy Sunday breakfast

I hope you all had a great weekend! Mine has been enjoyable with some relaxing time as well as some busy time. I babysat, went to the farmer's market, went to an anti-foie gras demo, went on a bike ride, played with the kitties, picked up some Neil Gaiman books from Powell's, and found some time to play video games.

I went a little crazy at the farmer's market... I bought 4 lbs. of heirloom tomatoes. But how could I resist? They were only $2.49/lb.! I also picked up a baguette, peppers, onion, basil, garlic, a yellow melon that I don't recall the name of (it tasted cantaloupe-y), and 4lbs. of red fingerling potatoes. We made some yummy bruschetta for dinner last night, and this morning I used the leftovers for a tofu scramble.



Roasted potatoes, tofu scramble with heirloom tomatoes, garlic, onion, basil, and yellow bell pepper, plus coffee with hazelnut soy creamer

A totally local meal if you don't count the coffee!





Everyone has a bit different way to roast potatoes. My method is to preheat the oven to 425, quarter potatoes (or halve if fingerlings), toss 'em in a roasting pan, drizzle with olive oil, toss with your favorite herbs, then roast for about 45 minutes.




I know you've all been waiting expectantly for a kitten update, so here it is: Zoey is adjusting better than expected! Check her out sleeping in the background and not being terrified of the Tiny Kitteh! She doesn't hiss at her at all, and has even allowed Tiny Kitteh to bat at her playfully! She isn't quite ready to bat back yet, though :). The naming saga continues... Jesse is really liking Oscar now, and wishing Tiny Kitteh was a boy. Husbands are so annoying!

Have a lovely week everybody!

I lost my virginity...

Tattoo virginity, that is! Gotcha! So I've been wanting one for a long time, but I'm pretty fickle and get bored with everything quickly, so I've taken a long time in deciding. I finally decided on a loose plan of a child hugging a farm animal with bright colors. I got a bunch of Tofurkey heart temporary tattoos at Vegfest and put them all over my body until I decided on the right spot (inner left calf). Yes, I know, probably over thinking it... but I'm crazy like that. I went in to Scapegoat, my local all-vegan tattoo shop, and made an appointment to meet with an artist. I chose Sam due to his availability and a beautiful peacock in his portfolio, and when I told him my idea he totally understood what I wanted and came up with a design. I scheduled my appointment for a week later. Unfortunately, my cat scratched the shit out of me that same day - right where the tattoo was supposed to go! So I had to reschedule and let that heal. I finally did it yesterday! I am super happy with the results - Sam is really talented and I almost cried from happiness when I saw it. But I didn't! Almost!





In natural lighting











You can see the child a little better here













Kitten approved!














Speaking of kittens, do any of you have any great kitty names up your sleeves? I'm liking Marmalade, hubby's liking Godzilla. Yikes!

Goodies from Ecuador!

My youngest sister, Elizabeth, just got back from a month long stay in Ecuador, after a school year's worth of preparation with the Pangea project. She learned about the small communities who are in an ongoing lawsuit with big oil companies that are dumping in their waters, spent time in the capital city, Quito, as well as staying with a host family in Yungilla, learned about the organic practices the local farmers use, but the most important thing - she brought me back a bunch of awesome stuff! (Just kidding! Sort of.)


She brought back some strawberry and blackberry jam, but saved the "weird" ones for me - thanks! She knows me well ;). The orange one is a marmalade made with uvilla, or Cape gooseberry as it is called in South Africa where they began cultivating it in the 1800s. It is very sweet and almost has a syrupy consistency, perfect with Earth Balance on toast! The second one says it is a preserve of chigualcan, some kind of fruit that I can't find any mention of on the internets. My sister says it reminded her of star fruit. These preserves are not as sweet and remind me a little of pear... I think they deserve a more savory accompaniment than toast. Any ideas?

She also brought me back some organic, fair trade, shade grown coffee that is only available for purchase in Ecuador! I love coffee and sustainability, so this is perfect for me. The bags are even hand-woven by local women! I'm so excited about this coffee that I can't get myself to open the friggen' bag and try it... hopefully blogging about will force me to take the plunge. And take a picture to remember it by! My other gifts are a vegan soap, handmade red and black earrings (Radical Cheerleading colors, baby!), and a beautiful multicolored shawl. Yay!






Elizabeth with her host family

Beach weekend!

One of my best friends, Stephanie, and I went to visit one of our other best friends, Shannon, at her new place in Seaside this weekend. The weather wasn't too nice (check out my windblown hair!), but we had a great time catching up, walking their dogs on the beach, cooking and eating, and drinking wine.



Shannon basically has her own petting zoo, and when I met her kittens I couldn't help but take one home! "Tiny Kitteh," as we're calling her for now, is three months old and half Himalayan, half orange tabby and 100% cute! Let me know if you have any ideas for kitty names, as Godzilla is the best we've come up with so far!



Stephanie leans toward vegan, so we stocked up on yummies before heading to the beach. I brought along my trusty veggie grill, and we enjoyed Sunshine burgers the first evening. Have you tried these burgers? I recently noticed them on sale at Whole Foods, so I bought some and now I'm addicted! The main ingredient is sesame seed, and they have a very falafel-y texture. Try them!





Saturday evening, we grilled up kebabs! We used mushrooms, bell peppers, onion, pineapple, and tofu marinated in balsamic vinaigrette. Kebabs make my belly happy.





Now that I'm back, I have a week off from work to do whatever the heck I want! Socializing Tiny Kitteh and Zoey is a big priority, but I also hope to ride my bike a lot, go to happy hours, watch some movies, and in general kick back. Oh, and I'll be getting my first tattoo at Scapegoat this Sunday - woohoo! Here's a couple other food pics for ya:







Field Roast, garlic mashed potatoes, and a salad of baby greens, heirloom tomatoes, onion, Goddess dressing and a few Bacos for good measure
















Nachos with red quinoa, black beans, FYH Nacho flavor, salsa, guacamole, and Tofutti Sour Supreme

Nachos are my ultimate comfort food.













Marionberry chocolate mousse


I made the standard chocolate mousse of tofu and melted chocolate chips, but added marionberries to the mix. Not the best idea texture-wise, but the taste was great! Next time I'll just do marionberries on top.











Veganized Original Tollhouse Recipe Chocolate Chip Cookies, cooling on the fire escape

(thanks to Webly of Fueled by Popcorn for the recipe!)

OMG, shoes!

I'm sorta obsessed with shoes. I know, I claim to care so much about the environment and sustainability, yet I horde shoes. I'll admit it - I'm a hypocrite! But I've come to terms with it. At least I'm not this bad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCF3ywukQYA

Anyway, I went to Scapegoat to meet with Sam about my tattoo (Aug. 11 is the big day!), then I couldn't resist standing for an hour on the Hawthorne Bridge watching the Red Bull Flugtag, then I walked to the MAX, but on the way found myself in the shoe section of the Nordstrom Rack (how'd that happen?!?).

If you have ever been to the Rack, you know how frustrating it can be. The shoes are all shoes that didn't sell at Nordstrom (overstock, last season, etc.), and are marked down substantially. You find the area with your size, and quickly try on any shoe that looks interesting (someone else might snatch it first!), bonus if it has a 35% or 50% off sticker on it. If it's a keeper, you have to go find it's mate at a counter in the back of the store. Sometimes they can't find the mate and it's a very sad occasion. Now consider all this, but add veganism into the equation! For about every 20 shoes you pick up, 19 with be leather. But there's that 1! My fabulous find today:


Now, in general I'm not a fan of Jessica Simpson... but I do tend to gravitate towards her shoe line when I'm at the Rack. Every single pair I've ever picked up has been leather, and I was almost to the point of ignoring any J.S. shoe that I saw. Thank goddess I am full of so much hope, because these were a fabulous find! The regular price was $79.95, but they were marked all the way down to the low price of............ wait for it............ drum roll please...................... $15.71! How can any girl say no to that?

OMG, shoes

So, what did I ever do with all that Farmer's Market produce? I ate it!

Bruschetta with heirloom tomatoes, basil, garlic, and onion

Spaghetti with roasted red pepper marinara, sauteed zucchini, squash, and criminis, topped with nooch and walnuts

Fajita veggies: summer squash and zucchini, criminis, red and poblano pepper, and tofu cookin' up in enchilada sauce

For the fajitas, I warmed up some refried beans, cooked some quinoa (I just discovered the red kind and it is even nuttier!), made some guacamole, got out the Tofutti Sour Supreme, and somehow loaded it all into corn tortillas. I didn't get a pic of all that because I ate it too damn fast! Sorry! Oh, and here's a pic of what I did while I was waiting for it to cook:

Whiskey Raspberry Lemonade

Ahhhhhh, summer in Portland.