VeganMoFo: Another Survey

I was tagged for "What's in Your (Vegan) Freezer?" by Bethany and I was also planning on participating in the Iron Chef Challenge this past weekend. Unfortuantely, I had to work overtime, and as as a result had absolutely no time to do either, or even cook much. But I've put the freezer tag post on my to-do list for this week, so look for that post forthcoming.

Because you really come here for food I give you a picture: Pineapple Right Side Up cupcake (or something like that) from VCTOTW. These are really yummy. I made this a while back, and I think I stuck pretty close to the recipe for once. Let it be known that I loath marchiano cherries, but B loves them. And I'll admit, they look pretty on this in all their artificial redness. On to the survey, this one comes from Jess.

1.      What was the most recent tea you drank?

   - English Breakfast Tea. I almost always have a cup at work, later I switch to decaf green tea or herbal tea (but, except for citrus flavors, never fruit teas! yuck)

2.      What vegan forms do you post/lurk on?  If so, what is your username?  Spill!

   - I just joined (finally!) the PPK. My username is LilyGirl. 

3.      You have to have tofu for dinner, and it has be an Italian dish.  What comes to mind first?

   - Lasagna or stuffed shells with tofu ricotta.

4.      How many vegan blogs do you read on an average day?

   - I can use the internet at work, so the days I work... a lot. Probably 30. On my days off, maybe 5, if any.

5.      Besides your own, what is the most recent one you’ve read?

   - Liz's Food Snobbery is My Hobbery

6.      If you could hang out with a vegan blogger that you haven’t met, who would it be, and what would you do??

   - I haven't yet met any vegan bloggers, so this is an unfair question, since I would love to meet pretty much all of you! And of course we would eat.

7.      If you had to base your dinners for a week around one of the holy trilogy – tofu, seitan or tempeh, which would it be?

   - Tofu, just because it is so flexible. Especially since I've "discovered" frozen, thawed tofu. I actually enjoy eating that.

8.      If you had to use one in a fight, which would it be?

   - Seitan, because you could make a massive chunk of it, or several. But violence doesn't solve anything, so let's just eat our food items, yes?

9.      Name 3 meals you’d realistically make with that tough protein of choice!

   - Beefy Stew (on my to make list for later this week, so I'll post a recipe soon), Italian sausage and pasta, seitan pot pie.

10.  What’s a recipe in vegan blogland that you’ve been eyeing?

   - VeganDad's stuffed setain roast. I'm going to test a modified version of it soon in preparation for the holidays.

11.  Do you own any clothing with vegan messages/brands on them?

   - Nothing specifically vegan, but several "hippie" ones, as B refers to them.

12.  Have you made your pilgrimage to the ‘vegan mecca’ yet?  (Portland, duh)

   - No, I've been to OR a couple times. Next time I hope we can schedule a day to Portland.

13.  What age did you first go vegan?  Did it stick?

   - 23 and no, as explained here. In the interest of full disclosure, I'm not currently vegan, although I eat mostly vegan and everything on this blog is vegan as well.

14.  What is the worst vegan meal you’ve had?  Who cooked it?

   - It wasn't a meal it was a cake. It was made by a bakery. There is no excuse...

15.  What made you decide to blog?

   - I love to cook and wanted a place to share and connect with other veg*ns, as I am the only one I know (well, we do have a couple friends we see very infrequently who are veggies as well. I love getting to cook for them).

16.  What are three of your favorite meals to make? 

   - Tacos (easy, yummy, extremely omni-friendly), Indian food (flavorful, "exotic", extremely veg friendly), soup (warm, comforting, infinitely flexible).

17.  What dish would you bring to a vegan Thanksgiving-themed potluck?

   - My green bean and mushroom casserole and my cranberry sauce. Yum. I love the holidays (or rather, the holiday food).

18.  Where is your favorite vegan meal at a restaurant? How many times have you ordered it?

   - I've not been to a specifically vegan resturant, but I love Rutabegorz. Their vegetarian chef salad, hold the egg and cheese, is fantastic and ginormous. No idea how many times I've had it. Both of their chilis are really good too, and they always have a daily vegetarian soup offering. Much of their menu can be made vegan simply by holding the cheese.

19.  What do you think the best chain to dine as a vegan is?

   - For "fast food", Chipotle. For "sit-down", I'll have to go with Jess on this, P.F. Chang's.

20.  My kitchen needs a………

   - Need is realitive. I am very blessed and have a well-stocked kitchen. I would very much like a pressure cooker and a soy milk maker. I would also like a food dryer, a pressure canner, and eventually a larger water boiling canner for my food preservation endevors. 

21.  This vegetable is not allowed in my kitchen…..!

   - I'm an adventerous eater and not very picky so I try not to ban anything. But I'm not a fan of lima beans.

22.  What’s for dinner tonight?

   - Department meeting tonight, so that means pizza and salad. The answer for Wednesday night is more interesting - beefy seitan stew!

23.  What's the one food you don't like, but wish you did?

   - Eggplant. But I'm going to give it another shot.