Veganism is not a personal identity and eating meat is not a personal choice (Or, outing myself as a crazy vegan)

Veganism and the problems with eating animal products have been getting tons of media coverage lately. Jonathan Safran Foer and Alicia Silverstone have both written books about it, and there have been lots of articles including a great one about the environmental impact of animal farming in Forbes. I think this is so great–anything that makes people consider the impact of eating animal products on animals, their body and the whole world is so fantastic.

I’ve been thinking about this issue a ton recently, and it kind of came to a head when posting on a thread on Yelp. (Did you know I’m Yelp Elite? Yeah, I’m a pretty big deal.) The question was, is it ok to give a restaurant a worse review because they don’t have vegetarian or vegan options? There were plenty of people on both side of the debate: people who said that no, restaurants don’t have to accommodate everybody, and people who said that restaurants who accommodate people with special diets should get more stars. And it’s really nice that people who weren’t vegan were saying that vegan options at a restaurant were a good thing because they wanted their vegan friends and girlfriends and moms to be able to eat there too, but there was something that was bothering me a little bit. Being vegan is not like having a gluten allergy or keeping kosher. I’m not saying those things shouldn’t be accommodated at restaurants–I think it’s great when they are. But it’s not that I’m really worried about whether a restaurant has an option to accomodate my “special diet.” It’s that I think vegan food is inherently more sustainable and ethical than nonvegan food so of course I think restaurants should offer it. (And yes, we can discuss the vegetable shipped from across the world and the cow in your back yard if you want, but vegan food can be local just as easily as nonvegan food can so that’s a false dichotomy.)

Sometimes I think that in some ways, the concept of “vegan” as a personal identity, and a subculture, is ultimately harmful. Think about the people who post comments on vegan recipes that say things like “This looks great! I’m not vegan so I would just use regular milk.” They could use soy milk or rice milk or almond milk just that one time and it would be a more sustainable choice. But because they don’t identify as vegan, it seems pointless.

My veganism is not a personal choice. It’s not about my identity. I’m vegan because that’s the word we use to describe waking up every morning and reaching for the choice that’s better for the earth. It’s not who I am, it’s how I live. Eating meat isn’t a personal choice either. If you eat meat, it does not just affect you and your body. It affects animals, it affects the earth, it increases global warming, it changes the world that will exist for your children and my children. We (and by we I mean me and the people I interact with on a daily basis) live in a highly individualistic society where we like to talk about how everyone has personal freedom, which is great sometimes, but I don’t respect someone’s personal choice to inflict violence on another, and so I can never respect someone’s personal choice to eat meat.

I think this might be surprising to people who know me in real life because I do try to come off as an easygoing vegan. I have friends who aren’t vegan and yes, sometimes I watch them eat meat, and no, I don’t grab hamburgers out of their hands and throw them on the floor and call them murderers.

But here’s my big secret. If I thought doing that would make them go vegan, I would. But I know that’s not the way to change minds so I do my best to live as an example and share my knowledge and help people who are considering consuming fewer animal products.

You don’t have to call yourself vegan to live more sustainably. You don’t have to learn a secret handshake, join the Post Punk Kitchen (though it’s really helpful) or ride a fixie. You can do it one step at a time. If you are too attached to cheese, you can give up other things first. You don’t have to ask the question, is it vegan? You can just ask, is it right? What kind of impact is this going to have on the rest of the world? Is it worth it? I think that’s a really good question to ask about anything you’re going to consume.

None of us are perfect. I’m certainly not. I’m not trying to claim that I live my life in the most environmentally-friendly way possible (I use electricity, after all). But not eating animals is an easy step with a big impact.

Surly service: Part of the Portland experience

This is just a PSA for people who come to Portland as vegan tourists, which seems to be getting more and more common. Maybe I should preface this by saying that, in general, yes, Portland is vegan-friendly, but it is also, much like the latest vegan cheese, overhyped.  So yes, there are lots of people here who don’t know what “vegan” means, or hate vegans, and most of our vegan options are not fancy–heavy on the deep-fried stuff, light on the fine dining.  So there’s that.

But you know what people seem to bitch about the most? The service they get in Portland.

And you know what? Deal with it.

Look, your waiter/waitress/barista/bartender probably does not give a shit about you. They are probably very very hip and have better things to do.  Generally, the burden is on you to be incredibly nice and maybe they will be nice back. Maybe. And maybe if you tip really well they’ll remember you next time and crack a smile. But seriously, you should probably just be a big girl or boy and suck it up. If you need more affection in your life, I recommend seeking it from your friends and family, not your server.

With this attitude, you’ll be ridiculously happy anytime someone is friendly to you, which is nice. Just think of hipper-than-thou service as part of the Portland, er, “Vegan Mecca” cultural experience. And if you hang out here long enough maybe you’ll be the friend the barista stops to talk to when there is a line of ten people behind you.

Happy Holidays!

I know, it’s August, but it has been so hot in Portland, which meant it was the perfect time for an air-conditioned Holiday Office Party.  Jess and I co-hosted the party on Saturday night, and it was tons of fun. There was a food drive, a white elephant gift exchange, holiday-themed cocktails, and assorted vegan snacks, including a delicious vegan cheese ball.

Also, carrots!

It turns out there are tons and tons of vegan cheese ball recipes on the internet. Some use fake cheese, some don’t. I was intrigued by a recipe I found that used tofu and cashews, but I also didn’t have a lot of time, so I based my cheese ball on this recipe. But I was like, garlic flakes? I’ve got fresh garlic from the farmers market, thanks. Dried parsley? Hey, I’ve got all these fresh herbs in my window boxes, I don’t use the dried stuff! Just cayenne? Why not throw some smoked paprika in there! It was a hit, with vegans and non-vegans alike. I had honestly never eaten a cheese ball before, vegan or non-vegan, but I’m definitely making another one soon.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Growing your own damn food

I live in an apartment. It’s pretty small and there’s no yard, or porch, or balcony, or any sort of outdoor space I have access to. I do have windows, though, and this spring I was determined to grow stuff.  I went into this not really knowing anything, and I’m not really the type to do a lot of research, I’m more the type to just go into something blindly and be shocked when it doesn’t go well.  So I bought some herbs from the Eastbank Farmers Market, and I bought some lettuce seeds, and some window boxes and some potting soil, and I went to work.  I planted mint, basil, stevia, dill, cilantro, parsley and chives. Ok, I planted oregano and thyme too, but let’s not talk about that, as they are no more.  Anyway! It’s been an adventure. At first they weren’t doing that well so I did what I always do when facing a crisis– hyperventilated and called my mom. She said I should get fertilizer. Finding vegetarian fertilizer is hard, but it exists (for $12 for a tiny box).  So my herbs were doing ok, and growing way fast, and then I had the next crisis– what the fuck do I do with all these herbs?

I have been between roommates for the past few weeks and one of the effects of that is I haven’t had plates, so I don’t have any pictures of my culinary creations in tupperware and mixing bowls.  I rediscovered my love of quinoa salads this summer, though, and they work well with every herb I am growing, except for stevia, maybe, because that would be kind of weird. The New York Times did a thing about cooking with herbs for their Recipes for Health series, which has a whole bunch of vegan recipes, so I have definitely been using it for inspiration.  I have been eating an awful lot of that tabbouleh. I want to make the lentil soup with cilantro but it has been so hot for soup.

So, I have been using herbs in salads, and marinades, and stir fries, and teas (parsley tea induces your period, did you know?) and infused vinegar and everything I can possibly think of. If you aren’t growing herbs this year, you should try it next year! Everything I eat is just that much more delicious.

I am also growing a pepper plant, because I went to the Urban Farm store and they told me I could grow peppers in a window box. It’s doing well! There is one pepper that is huge. I named her Mabel. Isn’t she cute?

She is actually even bigger now.

And of course, salads are way better when you grow the lettuce yourself. And then throw piles of herbs on top.

(Can I admit something? I bought some salad dressing. My mom would be so mad, but how good is the Annie’s Goddess stuff? I know, Mom, I can make my own salad dressing…Mom, you never understand me! Like that time you wouldn’t let me go to that party…um…anyway…)

#dittering, part two

First of all, whoever searched “vegans are lonely” and found my blog, I would like to give you a hug.

Anyway, the #dittering is over! Let’s recap.

Not pictured: the Hot Lips soda I bought and then left at the cart.

On Thursday, I didn’t plan ahead where I was going to eat and had a minor freakout, then ended up back at Savor Soup House, which is good because I adore it, but bad because I already went there two days before.  I ordered Spinach and Artichoke soup, which was super tasty but I was only full for maybe an hour.  There was orzo in there, which you can’t see.  If only they had vegan sandwiches it could have been a more complete meal, but apparently they are working on it!

After work, after hitting up Sweetpea for some iced coffee, Jess and I went to opening night of Beaker and Flask for cocktails.  We got a delicious drink, called Six Lengths ahead, I believe? It was made with blueberry, bourbon, ginger ale and lime and probably other awesome stuff.  The food did not look vegan-friendly at all but I am excited about the bar.

After that, we headed to Last Thursday and ate at the Grilled Cheese Grill.  I love that place so so much.  You order your grilled cheese from an Airstream and eat it in a school bus! They have Tofutti cheese, Dave’s Killer Bread and lots of different stuff for your sandwich.  If it weren’t so far away I would probably eat there once a day.

On Friday I nannied all day but I ate some quinoa corn salad with cumin dressing from New Seasons, which totally counts. I probably wouldn’t buy something like that myself (I can make my own quinoa salad) but it was pretty good, and you know who else loved it?  The quinoa-obsessed 22-month old I take care of.  She was covered in quinoa from head to toe.  I spent several minutes picking it out of her hair.  Whenever I ask her what she wants to eat she says “Keen-uh! Keen-uh!” I wish her sister would learn from her and eat stuff other than pretzels.

That night we went to the food cart village and I had a reuben from Yarp?! and it was so good! Totally different from other reubens in town.  The “meat” was marinated portobollo mushroom.  It had tons of sauerkraut and a tangy and sweet sauce– sweeter than most thousand island dressing, I think, but awesome.  I pretty much adore eating at Yarp?! and the guys who run the place are so nice.

On Saturday, the final day of #dittering, I tabled at Hollywood Farmers Market (which got on Twitter recently) for NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon, where I intern.  I don’t usually go to that market and I have no idea why because it’s close and big and adorable and there is great music.  I wasn’t sure how much vegan food would be available, but I was pleasantly surprised when I saw a crepe stand with vegan crepes and that Quality Vegan had a booth.

Sitting on top of some literature about healthcare reform.

The crepe was so good! Probably the best vegan crepe I have bought in Portland. The stand was called Village Crepery, apparently not to be confused with Village Creperie, which is on Twitter.  But it was at the market which is on Twitter so of course it counts. My crepe was the Harvest, with tomato, avocado, spinach, basil and scallions (sans creme fraiche).

As delicious as it is pretty.

For dessert I got a fresh strawberry tart from Quality Vegan and it pretty much blew my mind.  The crust was like shortbread, and it was filled with a vanilla custard and then delicious (local, I assume?) fresh strawberries.  I have seen the cakes from this company at Whole Foods and have never tried them, but now I’m curious.

I was pretty tired on Saturday night, so I stayed in with a friend and drank some Haymaker Ale from Bridgeport, and that concluded the week of #dittering.  I say we do it again in six months! What do you think?

I’ve survived the first half of #dittering

It turns out, #dittering is hard work! Chasing down roaming food carts, going to strange bars, shelling out for good beer instead of PBR (ok, I do that most of the time in my non-#dittering life, but not all the time), not being able to stop at just any coffee shop for my morning fix…my life is so difficult.  And delicious.

Note the foot of Vegan Shiz.

Jess and I started our week of #dittering with lunch at Koi Fusion.  If you haven’t had Korean tacos yet, you need to check it out.  I think it’s officially one of my favorite Portland food carts.  I was so impressed by the tofu tacos.  The tofu is so flavorful and perfectly complemented by the kimchi, cucumber, avocado and cilantro.

Later that night we went to Green Dragon for some hard cider. Their beer selection is amazing! I had never been there before but it’s not far from where I live so I’ll be sure to stop by again, even though the music selection was pretty awful.  I might try to go for Beer and Blog on Friday.

After Green Dragon, I drank a pint of Deschutes Mirror Pond from Langano Lounge. No, Langano isn’t on Twitter, but Deschutes is, so it counts.

Taken with Jess' camera, obvs.

On Tuesday, Jess and I went to Savor Soup House.  I got the curried red lentil soup and a Hot Lips pear soda.  I do wish they still offered vegan grilled cheese (I never tried it when they carried it) but apparently there was no demand.  They have been talking about potential vegan sandwich options on Twitter, though, so I’ll be watching closely!  This was my first time there and I was impressed.  My lentil soup was so tasty I didn’t mind eating it in the hot weather.  I do wonder if they’ll be offering cold soups later in the summer, though. I would so order some gazpacho.

After work, we headed to Candy Lounge.  We had never been, but they have great Twitter specials.  They also have computers that we twittered from directly.  Because of the Twitter special, we got well drinks for $3, so that’s a pretty decent deal, but I could barely drink mine because it was so strong.  I don’t normally think strong drinks are a bad thing but a cup that is 3/4 bad whiskey and 1/4 ginger ale isn’t that appetizing.  We didn’t bother with food there (anyone know if the veggie burger is vegan?) and headed over to Tube for grilled ham and cheezes and cheaper, more palatable drinks.

After Tube, we went to Hot Lips Pizza and split a vegan foccacia.  Ok, Jess had a few bites of crust and a soda, and I ate the rest, but I honestly wasn’t that into it because it was covered in asparagus, the only vegetable I truly hate.  I like Hot Lips normally, though I don’t understand why they refuse to have vegan pizza with sauce available by the slice.

After Hot Lips, in case we hadn’t eaten enough, we went to Whiffies and split a chocolate cream pie.  The rumors are true– it’s delicious. Probably the best pie yet (though I still haven’t tried the coconut, and I usually prefer coconut to chocolate).  I love hanging out at the cart village at 12th & Hawthorne, though I always end up wishing it were possible to eat both a pie and fries.  Maybe it is for some people, but I am pretty sure I would vomit.

On Wednesday I went to the downtown Farmers Market. Jess and I met our friend Millie (who is on Twitter and will be selling cookies at Last Thursday tonight– totally counts as #dittering).  Jess got lunch from Tastebud, but I just bought some chard and green beans to cook later.  How great is it that there are so many Farmers Markets in Portland?

For dinner, we went to Yarp?! at the food cart village.  I got the fettuccine primavera with seitan. It was delicious, though I kind of wish I had gotten the Chinese spring salad instead, because I feel like the pasta was more like something I would make at home- just fettuccine, garlic, oil and (fresh, local and awesome) vegetables.  I really wish they had a shaker of nutritional yeast at Yarp?! The vegans would love it.

And that concludes the first three days of #dittering! Stay tuned for the second half.

Happy #Dittering! And @vegantwitnic recap

Yesterday was the @vegantwitnic at Colonel Summers Park. I have to say, it was one of the best potlucks I have been to in a long time.  All the food was so good! It seemed like it was going to rain, but then it didn’t except for a few minutes. There were a few strong gusts of wind but mostly it was beautiful.

I brought a kale salad, which is one of my favorite ways to eat my greens.  If you marinate raw kale overnight in an acidic dressing, it is tender and delicious the next day.  The salad I brought yesterday was just Italian kale, red bell pepper, cucumber, chives, parsley and an apple cider vinaigrette (just olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, mustard and salt).  I have been putting fresh herbs in absolutely everything because I am growing a ton in window boxes, which I definitely recommend if you are sad that you don’t have a yard and can’t have a real garden.

I swear I am getting a new camera soon!

What an awesome plate of food.  There was gluten-free mac and cheese made by Jess of Get Sconed!, lasagna made by Joanna Vaught, sausage and kale from Karla of VeganShizzle, and all sorts of amazing stuff.

Today is the first day of The #Dittering, and Jess and I are going to Koi Fusion for lunch.  So excited! Their Korean tofu tacos are amazing, and $1.50 each, plus the people are so nice.

Coming soon: The #Dittering

Recently, Jess of Get Sconed! and I had a brilliant idea.  All we talk about anymore is Twitter.  I’m not quite sure how it happened, but it’s true.  Yes, every single one of our friends hates us now.  But we love that so many great businesses– particularly restaurants, food carts and bars– are on Twitter.  It’s a great marketing tool and we love always knowing what pies are being offered at Whiffies or what the soup of the day is at Sweetpea.  So we decided we were going to spend a week only eating a businesses who use Twitter.  And yes, it has been dubbed The Dittering.  Jess wrote a pretty long post about the idea so you can refer to that for the details.  Basically, we are starting on Monday and you can feel free to join us.  Here is a list of the places we are hoping to check out this week, but of course, plans change.

Koi Fusion

Sweetpea Baking Company

Candy

Yarp?!

Portland Farmers Market

Hot Lips Pizza

Kenny and Zuke’s

Deschutes Brewery

Green Dragon

Hollywood Farmers Market

New Deal Distillery

Tiny’s Coffee

Voodoo Doughnut

Whiffies

Of course I’ll be tweeting about every one of these places, so follow me on Twitter.  I’ll also be posting pictures and reviews here.  If you want to embark on your own Dittering, you can find a list of Portland food-related businesses with Twitter accounts here.  If you live outside of Portland, I would love to see what you come up with. 

The Farmer’s Market is back!

I am so, so, happy, because you know I love vegetables, and chocolate hazelnut butter, and music, and coffee, and people who sell me muffins and make me swoon.

Yesterday I was incredibly hungover. Incredibly. I almost died.  But early in the morning, before I even realized I was hungover I went to the Far Mar (copyright Jess Sconed 2009) and bought a leek and pears and turnips! I know, I am surprised about the turnips too, but there was a booth with samples of raw turnips and whoa, they were good.  I also got some coffee from Cafe Velo and a marionberry muffin from Black Sheep and got home and suddenly realized that I was dying and spent the next six hours in bed trying not to vomit.

When I finally felt better, I made Swiss Chard with Raisins and Capers from Terry’s upcoming book.  I actually bought the chard at the market last week (yes, I let it get wilty in my fridge for a week, shame shame).  It was still good, though!  I am loving the flavor combination of capers and raisins and will be making this all the time.

I don't even like chard that much!

Did I mention that I went to New York and Montreal recently? And that I went to San Francisco not that long ago? There might have to be a big travel entry.

Vegan Latina camera phone tester porn!

I am testing for Terry’s upcoming book, Vegan Latina, and so far everything I have made has been amazing.  Here is a picture of the Sweet Basil and Corn Pot Pie I made for a get-together with some friends last night, courtesy of my camera phone.*

Somehow that wine didn't get opened.

*You know my hope is that if I complain enough publicly, someone will buy me a new camera, right?  Can someone get on that?