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I've been adding new things to my shop as I prepare for my next craft show. You can see them here: GirlyGeekChic.
Prep for the holidays seems to be in full swing though without snow here in Minnesota it doesn't feel like it yet for me.
I hope we get some flakes soon. Behold!
Thank you for looking!
We are headed straight to the end of the year and as such will come the New Year's Resolutions. I have been reading a lot lately how the vegan food movement has been growing in leaps and bounds over the last couple of years and that delights me completely. Whatever reasons you start to eat less meat there is one factor that can also be good: Your diet will get healthier and more adventurous.
That said it can be hard to know where to go and what to order. A lot of places these days do have clearly marked menus but I have done three previous posts about how to order vegan if you don't have a clearly marked menu. You can start with this information here if you like and there will be links to the next two posts as well.
If you are considering cutting back on meat consumption or doing away with it all together, allow me to share with you some places to try out to see what kinds of things you might enjoy. There are some well-known favorite places as well as some lesser known establishments.
Let's start with a bit of brunch.
Pizza Luce is famous for it's great vegan pizza but they also serve breakfast. It is only on the weekends and for a while they only served it in Duluth and St. Paul. They have expanded and I recently went and had one of my favorites: Vegan Quinoa Pancakes with warm apple compote. They also have a tofu scramble I love.
When you're looking for a veg lunch and you want it to be quick, look no further than Reverie Cafe. They serve all vegan food and when I was there, my companion and I tried the TLT and Berbere BBQ sandwich, both were great. Tasty and not too heavy. It's funny to me that I like veggie versions of BLT sandwiches, I used to really dislike them. But the veggie version here and at The Depot Tavern are super yummy.
The one person working by themselves that afternoon was totally great and friendly despite being relatively busy.
If you're looking for something a bit healthier head down to The Wedge Table. The Co-Op has expanded into a new space that has sit-in dining and more importantly: vegan cupcakes. They have a handful of options each time I have been that are vegan but my favorite is the Mayan Grains Bowl. Quinoa with black beans, sweet potatoes, kale, avocado slices, onions and avocado dressing. I add the grilled seitan as well. It's simple ingredients mixed together in a flavorful way.
I am going to share three places I think make great dinner stops. Though of course, you can eat there whenever you like! The first is a fully interactive experience. I have done this twice now and it's so fun and the more people you invite the more fun it can be. Little Szechuan in St. Paul offers Hotpot. Now if you've never had this before it can be a bit daunting. You sit at a table with a burner with a pot on top (and you can pick a completely vegetarian oil). Then you choose from a menu all the things you'd like to fry in the oil. Everything from lotus root to mushrooms to tofu in all forms. You then head over to the "bar" where you can create your own mixture of flavor oils, salts, powders and spice to dip these things in after they are cooked.
You take turns cooking things up and mixing and so you kind of never exactly know what you're going to get. I love this and I also love that it can be super spicy. But that's my preference. You definitely don't have to go spicy.
Added bonus: each pot is split in two so you can keep your side gluten free if you need to.
Never have I ever been in a place that smells as good as Everest on Grand. Located in St. Paul and in a cute neighborhood, this is one of my favorite places to eat in the Twin Cities. I usually go here for dinner but I am told they also have a vegan friendly lunch buffet. Everything I have tried on the menu I have liked. From lentil soup to momos to curry. They have an extensive veg menu and it is actually to me, a super great place to eat in winter. There is something very warming about the food. Some of the more decadent things include Tofu Pakoras and Momos (I once saw a little girl about 7-8 years old eat 20 veggie momos when I was there). For curry I really enjoy the Matar Curry and Kabuli Chana. They do sometimes additionally have one with asparagus that is beyond yummy. And again, you can get some real spice here.
In a similar vein, here in Minneapolis you can eat at a long time great place and favorite stop of mine: Gorkha Palace. Active in the community, kind people and just really good food. I've written about them before and they will likely always be on my favorites list. You can also have their momos with tomato chutney at the Mill City Farmer's Market in the summer time. I love sitting by the river and enjoying them.
Yes, I love momos. And Chana. Though my favorite and it can be ass-kickingly hot is Channa Saag. The veggies pakoras are quite good and come in a large quantity. The leftovers of food from here heat back up quite well.
Last but certainly not least is dessert. My new favorite ice cream comes from Milk Jam Creamery.
I love, love, love dark chocolate and none is better in ice cream form than the Black ice cream at Milkjam. It's usually busy and well worth the wait. However, I am a tiny bit miffed that you can't get one of the ice cream sandwiches made with Glam Doll donuts since they don't have vegan ones. I know, I know, champagne problems.
Speaking of which, Milkjam also has Champagne floats.
So go forth and conquer! I will have more for you at the end of the year. ENJOY!
Minnesota seems like such a nice, mild mannered place. Nothing weird would happen here. People wouldn’t be into odd and curious things. Well, to a degree this is true. People tend to be very practical here. But not everyone. Not all the time.
Back in May I went to/participated in three things hosted by the MN Historical Society.
The Summit Avenue Walking Tour, A Victorian Superstitions Tour at the Ramsey House on Friday the 13th and A Victorian Magic Happy Hour at the Ramsey House.
Let’s start with the walking tour.
You meet at the James J. Hill house. I have not toured this house yet but plan to do it soon. It’s a tour of some of the historical area of St. Paul. Truth be told, I get a little bored listening to how much money so and so had and the house they built with it. I tend to be more impressed by people doing things than having things. But that’s just me. There was a lot of information on who was the wealthiest person on the street and how they kept building bigger spaces to outdo one another. However, it was a nice day and there were flowers and some pretty details and at the end of the street you see a house that an Italian horror movie was filmed in. As well as the apartment and bar F. Scott Fitzgerald lived in and drank in. There is also a sculpture by an artist I love by the name of Paul Manship. My photo is not great so I won’t post it. He is probably most famous for his sculpture outside of Rockefeller Center. I first encountered his work in Chicago and then again Boston. I think I will write about him in the future.
Now to the Friday the 13th tour. This ONE was FASCINATING! I couldn’t take pictures that night but I could the night of the happy hour so I do have a few snaps of the Alexander Ramsey House.
So, the tour takes you through the house and I was on the later one so when we ended up on top floor in the nursery the creepy factor was about as high as it could go. Complete with murderous looking dolls and creaking floors. If you can ever tour the house at night I highly recommend it.
Some of the highlights of the enormous pile of information they gave us include:
-Alexander Ramsey attended a seance at the White House hosted by Mary Todd Lincoln. When this was first discovered researchers became quite excited to learn what happened. Harry Houdini was also said to be in attendance. Governor Ramsey was a meticulous journal keeper. All that it said on this night: Went to party and dinner at White House, nothing of note happened. So, I guess he was a skeptic. And when you also ask why there is so little art in the Ramsey House, you find out that the Ramsey family wasn’t “into art” and thus we have your practical Minnesotan trait.
However, they did have their daughters participate in Victorian magic tricks popular at the time, such as peeling apples to uncover the initials of future mates and tea leaf readings.
If you wrapped a ring in a cloth and put it under your pillow, it was said you would dream about your future husband. They read us a letter where the daughter sarcastically mentioned she would end up a polygamist as she dreamt about three brothers in one night.
There are so many parlor tricks and games filled with mating, impending disasters and death that this would be about ten thousand words long if I continued on.
The last thing I will mention that sort of blew my mind was this: TB was ravaging parts of the world at the time. Especially rural, uneducated areas. The natural conclusion was that there were vampires(The word vampire became in use because of the British Press) as the idea that TB was “sucking the life out of you” was where this came from. People were dug up, heads chopped off, bodies burnt and in one very hysterical and odd case, a heart was ground up and consumed to protect a family(it did not work, they died). In fact, the part of this that was completely nuts to me as this went on as recently as the last exhumation of the Great American Vampire Panic took place in Winona, MN in 1922! Minnesota, crazier than you think.
The Victorian Happy Hour was great. Seriously I loved it and I want to go to the ones in the Fall. It featured magician Michael Callahan. Boy, did he know his stuff. He was so filled with facts and stories that I could probably listen to him for 24 hours straight. He is so passionate about his craft that I really hope I get to see him again. The Happy Hour included treats and wine as well as wandering on the main floor. He focused on the 19th century and spoke about tricks I’d not heard of before. He spoke about “mind reading” and coercing attendees to participate in ways that they would not expect.
Below are my photos from the walking tour and then my snap shots of the Ramsey House. There’s lots of strange and compelling things to learn in Minnesota. And you really never know where you can find out something that might seem more than a bit mad.
I am always looking for the less known spots in my adopted state. Not that I don't love plenty of popular spots but the dusty corners and lesser known nooks tend to be where the unusual and unexpected stories live. Caponi Art Park is no exception. I had learned about this park from a friend who has family that lives nearby. I've lived here 15 years + and had never heard of it till this year. I looked into the history a bit to learn that the founder had passed away not all that long ago at the age of 94. He immigrated to the United States at the age of 15 from Italy. Anthony Caponi served as a translator in World War II and graduated from the University of Minnesota. He was employed by MacCalester College in St.Paul for nearly 42 years, having a big impact on the art department there.
He bought the land that eventually became the park not too long after starting to work there and did all the labor on the park himself.
He accomplished a great many more things which you can read about here.
This is a perfect example of finding great accomplishment in the everyday person.
The park hosts many events throughout the warm months and I recommend heading out for a picnic. Be sure to bring a camera, there's lots you'll want to remember.
Some of my pictures from my visit:
Happy Exploring!
Minnesota is green, lush and gorgeous in the summer time. Just a walk around the nearest lake and you can see some beauty in the smallest places. Here are some pictures form this weekend taken by the nerds in the household. Back soon with a long post!
It's that time of year again. When CONvergence has come and gone, all that remains is memories. But, like 16 years worth in my case. In the past I have hosted parties at CONvergence. They are huge, expensive, amazing undertakings. I took the year off this time around and tried to just enjoy being an attendee. The last couple of years of parties had coincided with the release of my Sci-Fi Novels. I didn't release a full length novel this year but I did put out a little short ebook about some of my previous CON adventures which you can find here: Adventures in Science Fiction Reality
It's the story of a girl who without meaning to be so, is sort of an idiot. By accident.
Please have a read, laugh at my misery.
There are so many things to see and do at CON, I can never keep up. I visited all the parties, attended some panels, art show, dealer's room, Vilification Tennis (always amazing), went to the dance, visited the Space Lounge. And I get nowhere near doing everything.
Here are some of my snaps this year!
Today in my third part of How to Order Vegan we’re going to cover some but likely not all, Indian food. There are so many types of Indian food that I doubt I could get it all. I mean the country does have a billion people in it so, probably they’ve created more types of food than my tiny brain can comprehend.
However, I am going to try to give you some advice for ordering in Indian restaurants or Indian fusion restaurants. The great part of this is that a large part of the population of India is vegetarian. It is part of their largest religion to honor animals and not to consume them. This usually means it’s not too hard to find vegetarian and vegan food in Indian places.
*All the delicious things at Namaste Cafe.
That said there are a few things to look for:
-Indian breads such as roti & naan are amazing. Many of them are made with butter. If you ask you can generally find out easy enough and they can be made with oil instead. Some also contain milk products so you’ll want to check on that as well.
-Ghee is a clarified butter commonly used in Indian cooking. Many vegetarian dishes contain Ghee so make sure to check that your dish is free of butter.
-Paneer is a word for types of cheese used in Indian cooking. It is a popular vegetarian dish but if you’re looking for something vegan you'll want to steer clear.
-Most curries and Chana type dishes, Chana Aloo and Chana Masala, are based in coconut milk. Which is delicious, healthy and accents spices. So if your dish looks creamy and you are told it’s coconut milk, you are in the clear.
*Chana Saag from Gorkha Palace.
-There are many ways to garnish Indian dishes. Chutneys are remarkable mixtures to dress up food. You will want to look out for yogurt based ones. A lot of them are made with coconut milk but if it’s creamy, I’d double check.
*Tremendous pile of food from New India in Austin, Texas.
*Side note: Indian food can be HOT as HELL if you want it to be. If you’re more on the mild side, be warned when asked about spice level. Hotter can be VERY HOT. I love it but I know not everyone wants to melt their face off.
*Art by The Playful Indian.
-If you can get it vegan, you should have Dal soup. It is wonderful. It can be hard to come by vegan as the lentils are often cooked in ghee beforehand.
-I don't feel that I need to get into the "avoid meat part" of this too much. I think you know that is the first step. The last bit I can suggest is that appetizers are one of the best parts of Indian food. Getting to stuff your face with pakoras and samosas is about as wonderful as appetizers can get. I have never had this happen personally, but I have been told that on occasion the breading is made with diary or chicken stock. If you have have any questions about this, ask your server. They will either know or will go find out for you.
With that, I heartily encourage you to explore Indian food. It is unmatched for aromatic magic as far as I am concerned.
I went to this year’s Art in Bloom and of course, love being surrounded by the art and flowers.
But it also sparked a curiosity as to where gardening came from and how it started. So I did a little poking around and found a few interesting bits.
Gardening was first used for food and later moved to growing plants for medicinal purposes. The first known being called Forest Gardening. Generally near water sources. Hazardous plants, shrubs and vines would be identified and removed by whoever was tending to the area.
Moving into places like Ancient Egypt, gardens were built to honor gods and please deities.
Wealthy Egyptians also planted gardens to create shade around themselves and their homes.
Indoor planting began to take place as a way to clean the air of spirits. Filling temples with flowers and plants to please the gods and goddesses.
Growing vines became popular to create wine for the wealthy leisure class of Egyptians.
Assyrians were well-known for their magnificent gardens in ancient times as well.
The Black Death is responsible for the rise of gardening in the 13th century as so many people died more land became available for gardening.
The biggest difference between gardening and farming tends to be that gardening is done for beauty as opposed to purpose.
Some pictures from Art in Bloom at the M.I.A.
As I am working on a long blog post enjoy some snaps from this year's Macy's Flower show: America the Beautiful. It took place back in April. It wasn't quite as large of an exhibit as it has been but there was some neat things to see. Be back soon with a long post!
I collect female action figures. This all really started when I couldn’t find Eowyn from the Lord of the Rings movies. I was more than a little miffed that there was finally going to be a sword wielding ass kicker in one of the biggest movies ever made and I could not find her anywhere.
Over 20 years ago now, I bought myself my first action figures. It was an X-Files set that I still own. I loved Agent Scully and her unending skepticism no matter what she witnessed. Growing up I had Barbies. Lots of them. My mother loved Barbies and my brother had G.I. Joe and plenty of other superhero type guys. My mom was all about gender oriented toys. I don’t believe this was intentional, I think she was simply a product of her generation of women. My sisters and I never even considered that we also couldn’t let our toys have superhero powers, constantly making up elaborate story lines and having absolutely no problem with being able to kick the crap out of any villain, male or female. Our giant Barbies would date tiny G.I. Joes whenever Ken wasn’t available. But as I got older and started to read more and more, I started to realize that Barbie was not going to cut it anymore. I didn’t relate to her corvette, dream house and endless desire to be a cheerleader. I had Jem for a while, but as someone who has never felt the need to be a rock-star, I lost interest in her pretty quickly.
That’s when I met She-Ra. My mother started buying me She-Ra story books in grade school and when I made the honor roll, the action figures. I loved them and let me tell you, I wish I still had them. She-Ra had a sword, rode a flying unicorn, and could match her brother He-Man blow to blow with the bad guys. Around the same time my aunt started to send me Star Wars stuff and I dressed as Princess Leia for Halloween more than once. A friend’s mother would put my hair up for every holiday in her trademark braided buns. She was the ultimate Princess to me. She was the boss, resourceful, and got to wear a spectacular space dress when she felt like it. I will say I never really got her attraction to Han Solo as a kid. Then you grow up and realize that we can idiotically be attracted to “Bad Boys.” Whatever. Leia put Han in his place when he needed it, and I thought she was all the more awesome for it.
Fast forward a decade, Agent Scully comes into my life and then I start to realize there’s really something important here. A toy that represents something that wasn’t known to me as child. That I could be a smart, capable career woman of some kind. That’s why these toys matter. Because if you don’t know you could be a doctor or a hero of some sort you won’t ever consider it. For the longest time, and even now, it’s hard to find toys for females that cover the endless possibilities of growing up. No one ever doubts a male can be a hero but a female? Maybe not. Maybe she should only be in well-defined traditional roles? Well, if that’s what she wants then so be it. But all the options should be offered to everyone. And that includes in toys.
I don’t have a huge collection of female action figures. Maybe 30 or 35. But they all mean something to me. I noticed recently that I knew where they all came from, what stories they were from, or in some cases (like my Cleopatra figure) what time in history. What I didn’t know was anything about the history of the action figure toy itself. So I did a little research. And where it’s easy to find out what the first attempt at a female action figure was, it’s pretty hard to find much about it after that. I’m still looking into it. I have a lot of questions, including things like what was the first African-American Female Action Figure?
Here’s a little information for you to start:
-1959 Barbie is released by Mattel
-1964 Hasbro creates the phrase “Action Figure” and releases G.I. Joe
-1967 Hasbro releases what is thought to be the first action figure for females and is the first female G.I. Joe. Action Nurse. She is a complete failure. Girls don’t want to play with G.I. Joes and boys don’t want to play with dolls.
-1975 Marvel creates Storm and she is the first African-American Female in a feature role in a comic.
-1978 First Princess Leia action figure released by Kenner
-1997 G. I. Joe releases a second female action figure, a helicopter pilot.
-A friend of mine randomly found Eowyn for me in a Target she stopped at on a road trip some 10 years ago.
href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19418277-the-girl-with-all-the-gifts">The Girl With All the Gifts: Extended Free Preview by M.R. Carey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Oh, Zombies.
I've read World War Z (I did like this), Zombie Survival Guide, a crap ton of Walking Dead, Marvel Zombies, Pride Prejudice and Zombies, Graveminder-the point is-I've tried and I just don't get into zombie stuff.
Walking Dead drove me nuts because I can only read/watch people making bad choices for so long. I know zombies are biologically impossible. Half my family is in the medical profession and they always treat the CDC in these stories as if they are the dumbest people in the world as opposed to what they actually are: the most intelligent. I get that it's a statement on the human condition but one only needs to read the news to also grow exhausted reading about it for amusement.
The dumb part is, I like vampire books. I've read so many vampire books, I made my friends intervene (no joke). Perhaps it's like classic rock: you can like the Rolling Stones or the Beatles but you can't truly love both.
My friend did not tell me what this book was about, giving it to me because I love Lucifer, which is also written by M.R. Carey. I have to be genuinely surprised by a book these days to be completely impressed by it. I know, I am a snot.
This book blew me away with its unique rendering of a brave new world after the zombie apocalypse. It didn't presume people were stupid, it didn't presume they were without heart or only possessed with dysfunctional decision making skills. It walks the thin line of horror based in reality successfully. Something that I find more unsettling than all out gore. Telling a story that blurs the lines as to who gets to be deemed living or not living. And what it really means to be a civilized human being.
View all my reviews
A fair number of the last few superhero movies have a left a bad mark on my love for the genre. The rampant sexism is not helping. Even with Wonder Woman finally appearing in DC's latest disaster they couldn't help the "I thought she came with you" comment.
And as much as I enjoy the Avengers movies I am close to finding them tiresome. Too much CGI, too many big stars who are themselves and not the characters-yawn, yawn, yawn.
So, I went to see Midnight Special last night. It is wonderful. It is quiet, thoughtful sci-fi and strangely possessed of moments that feel as though they are happening in real life. It's a small budget movie and as it often seems for that reason more gets poured into it from the people working on it. It's nice to see something that is not a franchise nor just a remake of something that didn't need resurrection in the first place.
Last Thursday I stopped into the Casket Arts building in Minneapolis. I had not been there before. It's super cool. Filled with artist's studios and unique spaces.
They were hosting a Unicorn Art show. The second one to happen there apparently. I am sad to say I missed the first one but this second one full of sparkles and glorious manes was magic(of course).
I need to get better at keeping my eyes open for art invites. I love going to see art but since I'm not an art "insider" as it were it's not always something I know about happening. There is a huge art scene here. It's something I like a great deal about the Twin Cities but it's also something that is hard for me to be apart of. I nearly always find some gems at these shows. If only I had endless money and space...
My 5 year ETSY anniversary is coming up on April 11th.
To celebrate I am offering 25% off in my shop with coupon code: HOORAY25
It runs until April 16th.
Visit my shop here: GirlyGeekChic!
Pie day is a big deal these days. I have a friend who has been celebrating it for some time.
He is amazing and makes tons of handmade tossed crust veg pizzas for all his guests.
This weekend was the party and it was aces.
A few weeks ago, my friend took us to learn how to make vodka at Du Nord Craft Spirits.
I've had cocktails here before but this is the first time I've gone on the tour.
I really like their version of the Moscow Mule....onto what we learned that day!
Lessons learnt include:
Not many people know who Ernest Hemingway is-(just us)
Even fewer know who F. Scott Fitzgerald is-(again, just us)
Even though it seems obvious that Du Nord seems like it means North, lots of people could not put that together. (Obvious to...us!)(We are proof drinking vodka makes you s-m-a-r-t)
Making vodka is not particularly safe.
Vodka is pretty much poison.
We are better at drinking vodka than making vodka.
Of the three things Du Nord produces, we all agreed the Apple Liqueur was the best. By a lot.
We are all too lazy to make vodka.
Check them out if you're in town. It's a cool, unique place complete with games and a shuffleboard table.
I get asked a lot about how to eat vegan when I go to a restaurant. More often than not I suspect that being intimidated and simply not knowing what to ask keeps people from trying to make their diet more vegan-friendly for themselves. There is a fair amount of helpful advice out there so I am going to break this up into a few posts.
Some places now will clearly mark on menus what is vegan and what is not. However, that is not as commonplace as this girl right here would dream. Be that as it may, you can generally find at least one or two things on nearly every menu that can be made vegan. Not all places necessarily have something, but a lot of them do.
*photo credit unknown but obviously someone awesome
Truth be told, the best way to eat vegan (besides going somewhere you already know is vegan-accessible) is simply to go to small, local businesses. This tends to up your chances significantly for not only vegan food but also fresh food. An added advantage to altering things on the menu is that you will often get something made-to-order, not something that has been cooked since the early hours of the day. You may have to pay a little more for it (not always) but I generally think that is worth it.
Keep in my mind this by no means covers all the things that can make your choice veg-friendly, but my goal here is to help you get a little closer to vegan. And likely healthy too (except the donuts) (well, they are cholesterol free… so, that’s something)
The very first thing I am going to say (because I know this is something people ask A LOT and why people are often nervous about speaking up) is about the server and not wanting to be a pain in the ass. Fair enough.
Here’s the deal: I have never had a server be rude to me about my dietary requests. In fact, it is my estimation that if a server has been rude to me about anything (I can’t really think of too many examples here) I have not been rude back. That’s because I worked in customer service for a very long time and have strict rules about always being the best customer I can be, regardless. If someone is being rude it’s likely they had someone be awful to them, and being a dick is just going to compound the problem. A simple smile and thank you can change the entire dynamic of a situation… including your dietary requests. Now, servers don’t always know and most will go and check with the chef for you, often coming back with definitive answers. If they can’t give you one, it’s your decision whether or not to go forward. The only time I would suggest not taking chances is if you have an undoubtable allergy. Servers, like anyone, generally want to do the best job they can. And simple rules apply here: Don’t. Be. A. Creep.
Now to the food!
We can start with something that seems like it’s an obvious vegan choice but actually often is not: SALADS!
Don’t be fooled by the idea of nothing but colorful veggies. Unless labeled, most salads in restaurants are not vegan. A lot of them are not even vegetarian. The first reason why is obvious: Many salads are topped with meat or cheese. Some are topped with eggs.
Other reasons include: Dressing having dairy in it, and croutons being made with butter and/or cheese.
It’s generally easy to ask for these things to be left off or substituted. A vinegar and oil dressing is almost always available and the croutons might have been made with oil. If they are made with margarine, that one is up to you. A lot of butter substitutes contain whey, which is a dairy derivative. You can’t always know if whey is in something and neither can a sever. The choice is your discretion.
-Salad from the magnificent salad bar at Q Cumbers-
Next up: ASIAN FOOD such as Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean
Eating in Asian places, it is my experience that you can usually easily find something to eat but here are things to be aware of:
There is a cultural difference that seafood and seafood derived ingredients are vegetarian. Being vegan means that this is not the same belief.
Sometimes vegetarian stir-fries are cooked with fish sauce or oyster sauce. They can usually be substituted with something animal-free. If that is not the case, as sometimes things are made in advance, I have had a dish made especially for me. A meat-free diet is not so uncommon in Asia that this is an unusual request.
Fried rice almost always has egg in it unless otherwise specified, and Korean street food style dishes tend to be topped wth fried eggs as well.
If you’re not familiar with a place, or it’s not marked, simply asking if the vegetarian dishes are cooked with fish sauce or oyster sauce will generally solve most of the problems. Stir-fries that are served with chicken or beef can be made veg by asking for tofu or mock duck instead.
Awesome places like Evergreen Chinese have a lot of fun meat subs that I love (Lemongrass mock beef, Pepper fried mock pork - YUM). They also serve Buddhist vegetarian dishes, and those are completely free of animal products.
-Buddhist Veggies and Three-Cup Tofu from Evergreen Chinese-
Thai curries can contain shrimp paste - another thing that is usually easily subbed with coconut milk.
Bubble tea can also be vegan but make sure to ask for a milk-free one.
Japanese food is a bit tougher at times. You would want things that don’t contain fish flakes (it is referred to as Bonito flakes), and you will want to ask if the miso soup is veggie, as the Dashi used to make it might not be animal-free. Tempura can be a good bet, but again just ask if the batter is vegan.
I LOVE potstickers, dumplings, spring rolls, pretty much anything I can eat with my hands like a little kid and dip in something. I would suggest that, unless it is clearly marked, asking if the item in question is veggie-only and if the dipping sauce is vegan. On occasion, peanut sauces and the like have had animal-derived sauce mixed into them. When this has happened it has been quite simple to get something else to replace it. It’s one of the great things about Asian food: all the fabulous sauces.
The potstickers, dumplings, etc… may have a mixture that contains pork or something such as that. It never hurts to check.
-Tofu Spring Rolls and Peanut Sauce from Jasmine Deli-
OK! This is a good amount of ground covered in this first post. I’ll be back soon going over ideas for ordering Indian, Mediterranean, Mexican, Italian and who knows what else because I love to eat out.
I've been making a few pieces everyday for my first show at the Geek Craft Expo. I've also been planning out my booth in my head and now have started to gather the materials to put it together. I'll be back to travel posts shortly. I have lots more to share!
Some sneak peeks of things to come:
I stopped in at Rachel Girard's sculpture exhibit at Rogue Buddha. I actually hadn't been back to Rogue Buddha since we had our NYE event there about 8 years ago. I rather forgot what a little gem it is as I not only saw Rachel's incandescent creatures there was also: Micheal Thomsen mixed media pieces filled with symbolism worthy of a DaVinci inspired mystery, playful, candy-colored pieces by Rudy Fig, creepy fairy tales by Alex Kuno and Nicholas Harper's Neo-renaissance fem paintings that fill a tiny dark room floor to ceiling. A room for reading with a tea surrounded by peeping eyes and whispers. I am especially swooning over the red haired black wing fairy. I desperately want her to come haunt my house.
Rogue Buddha's hours are Wed.-Sat. 3-8 p.m. and the show is up until March 12th.
All the while I've been writing about my travels, which there's more to come because well, traveling is awesome. There have been plenty of things afoot here in good ole' Minneapolis. Starting with the opening of The Herbivorous Butcher. I've mentioned them before as America's first vegan butcher shop. They are getting lots of attention I am happy to say. I first had the food from their stalls at the Farmer's Market and then various pop-up shops they had around town. They now have their very own, nice shop in NE Minneapolis. I stopped in the other day to stock up. I think some of their items are quite delicious such as the Maple Sage Breakfast Sausage. You should give it a try. They ship now as well!
