Meat Free Day Last Friday

I was excited to hear about the Meat Free Day last Friday. Since I am a vegan, this would not be difficult for me, but since I am, I wanted to celebrate! My husband and I met for lunch at our favorite vegan restaurant. I had soup, sandwich and dessert and he had waffles with fruit and real maple syrup. We didn't have noisemakers or banners or T-shirts, but just sat in the table by the sunny window, listened to the cool tunes playing and had a great time. Hope everyone had a great Meat Free Day. I have been thinking about my relationship with food lately and realized that since my reasons for being a vegan are more than just animal cruelty, even if there were no more factory farms and animals we eat were treated more humanely, I would still be a vegan. I guess all the cows and pigs and chickens would be pets or just roam wild like the horses on that island in the South. I think reading Thoreau has a lot to do with it. Eating animal products is so messy, dirty and prone to bacteria growth. When I think about this particular aspect alone, I can't imagine ever eating meat again. It gives me something to believe in - and support. I thank my daughter for showing me the light - in her own quiet way, she changes the world. Go Veg!!!!!!!

Vegan Report on a Trip

This is my report from the road on the state of eating out and the vegan alternatives. The early March march to the South to find sunshine and sun was underway. We found 80 degree weather and sunshine starting in Virginia and everywhere else we went. That goal was accomplished! As for food, in general, everyplace I went had the usual chain restaurants. To me that is the saddest part of travel in America - every place starts to look the same. Most of the food I ate was what I brought with me just to make sure I was covered (and frankly to save money). I did find some places, however, that provided little pockets of hope that unique, healthy and vegan alternatives are out there. First place to report on - Charlottesville, VA - home of Univ of Virginia and Monticello and, of course, the former President Thomas Jefferson (TJ). We toured the University - it was designed by TJ and was quite beautiful. They had a little touristy trolley that ran from the campus to the downtown funky area with little shops, restaurants and clubs. It was here that I found a restaurant that served a plate of 4 sides as an offering for vegans. I had collard greens, a whole baked sweet potato, black beans and a fresh veggie medley (there were a few other choices, too). This came with multigrain bread. I thanked them for the delicious alternative. The next night we visited Chapel Hill, NC - home of Univ of NC - toured that campus - very nice - loved the clock tower. Found a pizza restaurant called Brixx (see photo above) that offered a veggie pizza with soy cheese. It was thin crust wood fired pizza with sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, roasted red peppers, herbs and spices. My friends, it was out of this world! (and so reasonably priced - great vibe in the restaurant) I only ate half and saved the rest for the next day. I can tell you if anyone wants to start a restaurant anywhere, they should serve this type of pizza and have offerings for everyone - vegan, vegetarian and carnivore. Personally I would go there every day. This restaurant made me feel mainstream - it was a great day! Hilton Head was our next destination. I must admit we didn't eat out very much while we were there - but from our perishables in the mini-fridge and the other food we brought. BUT, we did go to one of the plantations and its waterfront shops and eateries. There were bike paths everywhere. Again, a few places had specifically mentioned vegan alternatives. I had a delicious boca burger with lots of lettuce and pineapple salsa and homemade potato chips (not greasy). Next stop was Savannah, Georgia, home of Paula Deen!! Yikes, what was I going to eat there? Fried chicken? Pork, Ham? No, I was pleasantly surprised to find in a little Cityside area with shops and eateries (these little areas seem to be in every city). I found a place that had special sandwiches with homemade bread, roasted veggies etc. I told the owner I was a vegan and she made me up a special one and it was delicious. She also sold fruit sorbet that had no dairy - had a dish of wild blueberry. So even though Paula Dean's restaurant was right down the street, I found a kindred spirit who allowed me to eat without slaughtering a hog. Savannah was a beautiful city with wonderful old architecture and spanish moss and flowers in March. All in all, although the chains were everywhere, there were tasty pockets of vegan friendly places. I wish I wrote down all of the names of those restaurants, but they made my vacation so much better!!! Glad to be home - had Thai takeout first night home and will go to my favorite vegan restaurant tomorrow - they probably wondered where I had been since I am kind of a regular.

Trip to Canada

Went to a major city in Canada to visit a family member. Had a weekend of ups and downs in visiting our interesting neighbor to the North. First bump in the road (won't go into details) but at the border, had to go to "THE BUILDING" for interrogation and was mildly threatened with arrest. Wow - what happened to the friendly country I used to know!!!! It was all eventually straightened out and we made it to our destination. We spent the remaining part of the first day helping our loved one move from one apt to another. The process was stressful, but well-executed and ultimately successful. That night we visited downtown and looked for a vegan restaurant. The one we tried to get in had a 1 hour and 1/2 WAIT. YAY for a place that a vegan restaurant needs a reservation. (unfortunately for us) But we found a Mexican restaurant right down the street where our waitress turned out to be a vegan and steered us to the right stuff on the menu. There were 4 of us - 2 vegans and 1 semi-vegan and 1 carnivore. Since the menu had something for everyone and we got a chance to laugh, relax and visit - great fun. The next day we went back downtown to a funky marketplace sort of place - it was cold, but the sun was beaming down on us. We found a real vegan restaurant (see foto for sign outside the cafe). I had a sweet potato and millet curry with tons of other veggies and spices. So delicious!!!! Canada is back in my good graces - it won me over once again with it's diversity, laid back friendliness and unique architecture.