Day 10 - Being with Friends

December marks holiday parties with friends, let alone family. We've gone to some now, and still have a couple more for just after Christmas day. One thing i truly love is the commitment my friends have to my vegan ways. Thought and care is put into ensuring that i can eat something, and not just salad, but something similar to the non-vegan dish othes are enjoying. That's what the holiday sentiment is about for me - being accepted and included.

Last night was no exception, where were were invited to a traditional Danish 6-course feast, complete with a fish and a cheese course. I made my vegan tuna salad and brought along some vegan herbed creme cheese. The rest of the dishes were lovingly put together by our hosts, and were vegan-friendly (and stretched the Danish menu to be inclusive).
Mock Tuna Salad
1 cup TVP (large chunks), rehydrated as per package
1/2 cup of vegan mayo
2 sticks of celery
1 small onion, diced (optional)
2 pickles, diced (optional)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp kelp powder
1/2 tsp seafood seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
squeeze of lemon juice
sprinkle of wasabi powder

1) Place rehydrated TVP in a medium sized bowl. Add diced veggies.
2) In a small bowl, mix mayo with spices until thoroughly combined. Add to tvp mix. Finish with splash of lemon and wasabi.
3) Chill in fridge for up to one hour and serve!

Another part of holiday parties are the gift exchanges. Dear Santa, in such an UNcompromising (right??) position here was won by my sweet partner. He actually lept up over the table to get it in his madness to win it, even. We played what is called (to us, anyway) Bingo Plus where 2 rounds of dice are played, and people who get a 6 can pick a price. The second round involves stealing other people's gifts. And this, J stole happily. I'm not so sure....

Being Vegan in the Big World

I'm back from a lovely time in Mexico, but i'll talk more about my great adventures there at a later post. I just wanted to take a moment to talk about food. While there, i was reminded of just how difficult it can be to be a vegan when out of the place(s) you may call home. Each day, i have to make a choice about what i eat and i have come back home with a new-found philosophy of food and my own eating needs.

For instance, i knew i was in trouble when the host of the wedding shared that 'there's no meat in the dish, just fish.' I told her fish IS meat and she looked confused. I know that people might identify as vegetarian but still eat fish, but i don't agree with that definition. Further, i was told that a lot of restaurants and taco stands use lard in their refried bean mix. Does anyone know the word for lard in Spanish? I don't. So i had to make a choice. Luckily, a good friend of mine speaks Spanish so when we were at a yummy and cute taco stand, i knew i was okay. But when we went to an ex-pat run beach restaurant, J's cheese and bean quesodilla was served with chunks of weiners in it. I doubt they were veggies dogs! And the waiter told me ' the cook is not happy with you' when i requested something off the menu and vegan-friendly. Oh, and there's chicken in that photo of Tortilla Soup; again it's not considered 'meat' so we didn't know until J ordered it.

Some nights, all i ate was a plain but big salad because there was nothing for me to eat otherwise, and other times i was served one of the best tofu sandwiches i've ever eaten (and it was on the menu!). Cafe Brown, you rule! Other places didn't seem to mind taking the cheese out of my order, but then didn't take the sour cream out as well. Others bent over backwards so that i had a great meal, like our server at the wonderful Los Adobes restaurant. They even have a vegetarian section on their menu. So, each day was a food adventure, for sure.

For those of you that want to learn more about the restaurants in Todos Santos, Mexcio, go here. As a fishing village, they do have some great places to eat and it truly is a lovely town.

I recently went to San Francisco, one of my favourite cities thus far. But getting there and back was like going to Mexico - slim pickings. On the way there, i planned ahead and made a tempeh sandwich. The customs guy gave me a bit of a speech for not declaring my food, but i got to take it with me. I'm so glad i did, because airports can be a vegan's nightmare. Some may have sushi stands or salad delis, but for the most part, what can i eat on a full day of travel?

And these adventures, for me anyway, don't just happen when i travel but can happen right here in my own city. When going to a new place, i have to ask a few questions before i order, and when going out in groups, I have been lucky when friends and family call the restaurant ahead, to request something for me. And i have been awarded with some okay meals for the most part. It blows my mind when chefs can't think outside their own culinery box, and the nutritional value of my dish is left to be desired. My 'favourite' (there's sarcasm in those quotes) is when i get a fruit bowl for dessert and everyone else gets a delectable dessert like chocolate mousse. And i mean when we called ahead for a big party, not for every day trips out. I'm not that hard to please.

The king of all disappointments was on a recent afternoon tea party for a good friend, at a swank urban hotel tearoom. I had a lengthly email exchange with the catering manager who started off our dialogue by telling me that 'to prepare vegan dishes would be an extra cost.' Yikes, the already pricey amount of $30 isn't enough to get me some chickpeas in my salad, or to give me a crustless cucumber sandwich? And then he went on to tell me that all their breads as well as their pastries weren't vegan-friendly. Now, i know pastries aren't, but i know that not all breads have milk in them, let alone eggs. So, in the end, we compromised and i got a lettuce salad. Nothing on it. And the dressing of plain oil and vinegar on the side. Nothing else. Oh, and a lovely serving tray of fruit. Of course.

So my question to you folks is: What do you do to make sure you're eating well when you travel?