Right now he’s on a 2 week business trip [...]]]> Hi everyone! I’m very happy to announce the first ever guest blogger on The Voracious Vegan – my sweet husband Cody! You have all heard me talk about him before, he’s a musician, a vegan, a feminist, a goofball, and he couldn’t be sweeter if he tried.

Right now he’s on a 2 week business trip to Washington DC to get his Saudi employment visa, which, unfortunately, can only be issued from DC. This is the longest we’ve been apart since we first met, nearly 6 years ago! But even though I miss him terribly, I’m enjoying hearing about all the fun he is having. I hope you will, too!

***

The Circle Hotel

Hi, all, Cody here.  As most of you probably know, I’m in Washington DC for a week or two jumping through bureaucratic hoops to get my employment visa for Saudi Arabia.  While I’m here, Tasha asked me to do a series of guest posts detailing my adventures and sharing with you the excellent vegan food I plan on gorging myself with.

Thanks, Tasha, for entrusting me with your blog for a bit.

I hope you all enjoy.

…

I arrived Tuesday afternoon to Dulles airport and grabbed a taxi to the One Washington Circle Hotel, which is my temporary home base while in DC.  The hotel’s great – comfy, roomy (I have a suite since I’m going to be here for a while), friendly staff.  It’s also got a great location.  I’m pretty much in walking distance of everywhere that I need to go as well as many of the great sites and locations.

Suite's living room

My view

The first night here I basically just settled into my hotel.  The definite highlight of my first day back in the US in three years was eating at the Java Green Café.  They are mostly vegan, although a couple of their dishes have organic cheese.  The vast majority of their ingredients are organic.  They offer a variety of raw dishes as well as wheat and gluten free options.  They are totally fair trade with their coffee and chocolate ingredients.  They offset 100% of their carbon footprint by purchasing wind power, all the take out bags and serving ware are corn, sugar cane fiber, and potato starch based, thus completely biodegradable, and, on top of it all, Java Green puts 50% of its profits towards earth-friendly causes.  I mean, come on.  It’s like you’re a bad person if you don’t eat there.

Oh, and the food was AMAZING.  I actually had dinner there the first night and couldn’t help myself from stopping back in for lunch the next day.  The first night I had the Turkey Club as well as what was probably one of the best cups of coffee I’ve ever had.  Also, on instructions from Tasha, I ordered an Independent Pig “Che” sandwich to take back to the hotel for later and also made the last minute decision to grab a chocolate chip cookie sandwich with some sort of vanilla cream icing in the middle.  The “Che” consisted of melted soy cheese stuffed ciabatta bread with veggie soy sausage, mushrooms, and spinach.  Nice and spicy.  So good.  The next day for lunch I had the Free Bird “Che” which had, along with the melted cheese, soy chicken breast and roasted red peppers.  I can’t say enough about how good this restaurant is.  I’m definitely going to be eating there at least a few more times while I’m in town.

Java Green Café

The Independent Pig "Che" - soy cheese, soy sausage, spinach mushrooms, mmm...

(Note: The Vegan Turkey Club was basically crumbs before I remembered that I needed to think like a food blogger.)

Day 2 was when the leg work started.

After a quick bowl of cereal, I started out the day by walking down to the Saudi Embassy.  I’m here to secure my employment visa for Saudi – time to make it official – so I started out the day at the embassy just getting them to double check the paperwork that I had to make sure everything was in order before I started out getting the few final documents.  A funny thing about going to the Embassy was that right as I approached the front entrance, I could smell oud burning (incense) and strong cologne.  There were people speaking Arabic waiting to go get some stuff done inside.  It was kind of weird to travel half way around the world and then get the sensory input telling me I’d just walked into a mall in Saudi.

The Saudi Embassy

The Watergate Hotel opposite the Saudi Embassy

Interestingly, the Embassy itself is right across the street from the Watergate Hotel.

I have to have a complete physical to get my visa.  So, after the Embassy I came back to the hotel, found a clinic that could do physicals without an appointment and then headed out again.  I ended up having to go to three separate places because the office I went to didn’t have the specialized blood draining paraphernalia for the malaria blood test and because they couldn’t take X-Rays.  The day was heating up, so in between getting the third vial of blood drawn for the malaria test and getting X-Rays, it dawned on me that I hadn’t eaten and that the world was swaying underneath me ever so subtly.  Blood extraction plus jetlag plus a light breakfast aren’t the best combo apparently.  So I popped into Java Green again for my Free Bird “Che” and then went to get pictures of my lungs taken.

The Free Bird "Che" - soy chicken, soy cheese, roasted red peppers

After taking a break in the hotel for a bit, I next headed out to meet up with some old friends of ours.  Maris and Tasha have been friends for years. Maris actually came to visit us in San Antonio when we lived there (just after we went vegan, actually). She and her partner Andrew have also visited with us in Bahrain.  Like Tasha and me, Maris is also an Aramco brat.

Maris and Andrew are living just outside of DC, so this gave me the chance to meet up with them for the evening.  To meet Andrew outside of his office, it was a scenic walk to say the least.  Most of the walk was right along Pennsylvania Avenue which, as you may know, is home to a rather famous address.

The White House

After a not too long Metro ride out of town, we arrived to the beautiful neighborhood where Maris and Andrew live.  I got to be their inaugural house guest, actually – they’d just moved into their new place.  They were great and, along with their French bulldog Matilde, made me feel right at home.  Although not vegan, Maris cooked up a wonderful vegan meal of quinoa burgers topped with guacamole, lettuce, and tomatoes with some good old fashioned corn on the cob to go along with it.

Andrew and Maris

Maris's Quinoa Burgers

Matilde!

Digging In

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bombs

And then, for dessert, Maris made a Voracious Vegan classic – chocolate peanut butter bombs. And considering the fact that Maris is a professional pastry chef, I have to say that she pulled them off splendidly.  The meal was wonderful, the company even better.  I spent the night in the guest room, waking up bright and early the next day to head back into DC and try to wrap up my paperwork.

Already, today’s been great (as long as I can ignore the void next to me where Tasha should be), but I’ll pick up here next time.

…

Through all of this, I think the only thing keeping me together though (aside from some great friends taking care of me), is being able to come back to the hotel and get on Skype with the Voracious Vegan herself.  We basically live our lives in a bubble with each other, so it’s tough being away from her.  It’s hard enough sitting in an office for nine hours away from her, so you can imagine how difficult it is being on the opposite side of the planet.  Thanks to the fact that we live in the future, though, I’ve been able to talk to her face to face on Skype several times a day.

Tasha and Polly keeping me company

Lobi listening to me via Skype and being confused

Until next time…

If you haven’t already, I really encourage you to go read [...]]]> First of all I want to say a huge thank you to all of the commenters on my last post – Veganism: Where Do You Draw the Line? You were all amazing! Seriously, all 70+ of you! And your emails/tweets/messages were just phenomenal. Thank you.

If you haven’t already, I really encourage you to go read through the comments, you will not regret it. They are so thoughtful and passionate, balanced and insightful – I know I learned a lot! All in all it was a brilliant conversation, I’m so lucky and grateful to have all of you amazing commenters in my life. You are just too amazing!

***

Now onto an entirely overemotional and melodramatic post.

Bon Voyage Coco!

WAAHHHHHH!!!!! Cody left last night to spend 2 weeks in Washington DC on a business trip. And I think I’m going to take to my bed with the vapors and not emerge until he returns bearing gifts. Lots of gifts. I might be a hard-ass broad, but when it comes to my sweet Coco, I crumble. We are ridiculously joined at the hip and have never spent more than 3 nights apart since we first met 6 years ago! And you all know how I feel about the fact that he is traveling by plane.

Oh, and, yes, my nickname for him is Coco. Feel free to wield that little nugget of knowledge as you see fit.

But Cody, always the sweetest person in the world, has left me with a stack of love letters (one to read each day he is gone) and a whole reel of love messages on video he made for me to watch. It’s sweet and utterly ridiculous when you consider we will be talking on the phone nonstop anyway. But can we all say awwwwwww!?!?!

So, Coco just called me from the Heathrow airport in London. We talked on video chat through skype, which I have to say just blew my mind. I love living in the future…and I love embarrassing him by being ‘risque’! Hee hee…

The past few days have been a whirlwind of me sobbing, Coco trying to hide his bemused laughter while he comforts me, and lots of good food and (tear stained) fun.

The day Cody left started out like any other -

Greeeeeen smoothie!

Then, for lunch, I cooked up his very favorite meal – mac and no cheese! He asks for this on every birthday, anniversary, any special occassion really.

It is one of the first vegan recipes I ever created, more than 3 years ago….and I’ve still never written it down! It is tasty and easy with a nooch based roux and homemade bread crumbs. I promise I’ll get around to it!

HOT SAUCED!

Flights only leave this part of the world at obscene hours like 1 o’clock in the morning, so we were able to relax and have a leisurely afternoon and evening.

We spent the evening before Cody left out in the desert hiking with the dogs. The humidity and heat magically dissapeared and it was actually fairly pleasant. We even had a nice, gentle breeze which is unheard of this time of year.

Now, as if the day wasn’t awesome enough, we returned home to one of the best dinners I’ve ever had. Ever.

I received American Vegan Kitchen by Tamasin Noyes in the mail yesterday and as I was flipping through the recipes I knew I had found the cookbook of my dreams. I wanted to make everything. The recipes are exactly my style, down home cooking, lots of American favorites, really simple, hearty, delicious food.

And what could be more delicious than fried avocados?!?!! Anyone who knows me knows that avocados are my favorite thing to eat, and that I am in love with all things fried. So, for me, the combination was too unbelievably good to be true. Imagine the lightest, crispiest, saltiest crust surrounding a rich, fatty, creamy wedge of avocado….I’m drooling just remembering it.

Yes.

YES.

It was THAT good.

Okay, folks. I’m exhausted. It has been an emotionally draining few days for this neurotic worrier. I’m off to veg out on the couch, cuddle my dingos, and count down the days till my love returns.

I really like it up here on my high horse. No, I’m not talking about Ender. I’m talking about my perch of vegan moral superiority, from which I can gaze down upon all the lowly non-vegans eating their cheeseburgers and drinking their milkshakes and remind myself how truly compassionate I am to not [...]]]>

I really like it up here on my high horse. No, I’m not talking about Ender. I’m talking about my perch of vegan moral superiority, from which I can gaze down upon all the lowly non-vegans eating their cheeseburgers and drinking their milkshakes and remind myself how truly compassionate I am to not partake in such brutality. As I sip on my elixir of liquid sanctimony and snack on my bonbons of self-righteousness I can feel confident that because of my dietary choices I truly, truly am better than everyone else.

Okay. Not really. I don’t think I’m better than anyone else at all, and neither do any of the vegans I know, even though a lot of omnivores assume we do. But I do think being a vegan is one of the best choices a person can make. It is an all around great way to live your life.

It should be obvious that I wouldn’t be a vegan if I didn’t think it was the best possible choice to make. If I didn’t feel with certainty that it was the best thing for the animals, the environment, and my health, I wouldn’t have devoted so much of my time and energy to promoting the vegan lifestyle. That should just be common sense – of course I think it is the best way to live! Does that mean that I believe it makes me better than someone who is not vegan? No. Does that mean that I believe my choices are better than someone who is not vegan? Sure.

However.

Many of you probably know that I am actively involved in animal rights and feminist activism, and given where I live most of this takes place on-line. Recently, in an on-line discussion about the notion of ‘the personal is political’ and living our ideals in our day to day life, I was criticized quite heavily by another vegan for over eating and for consuming processed and packaged food. I was told that because I overeat my fair share of food, eat potato chips from mainstream manufacturers, and buy vegan products from not exclusively vegan companies that I was doing more harm than good, letting the movement down, and not really practicing what I preach.

Whoa.

My first instinct, as most people’s often is when they are criticized, was to be defensive. ‘Me!?! How can I be letting the movement down!?! I do so much!‘ I insisted indignantly. After a few minutes of this I started to realize that I was sounding an awful lot like (okay, exactly like) non-vegans whenever I criticize their food choices. I was making so many excuses I couldn’t even see straight…and it was all starting to feel a little too familiar. Only I had never been on this side of the fence before.

Once I stopped my defensive posturing and slowed my boiling rage to a simmer and really listened…I had to agree that my criticizer had a point.

What my criticizer was trying to make me understand was that maybeI hadn’t drawn my line sufficiently far enough on the side of veganism. While the food I eat might technically be vegan, ultimately I am ‘half-assing’ it.

Here was the gist of their argument -

Veganism is not about being perfect. No one says it is. While we all try to reduce the suffering and death of animals as much as possible, we all acknowledge that it would be impossible to live a life in which we never harmed anything.

For example, when I drive my car down the street, without even knowing it I probably run over bugs galore. Not to mention that cars are filled with animal derived products, more than just the leather interiors. But I tell myself that I need my car to get around and to get to and from work/shopping/etc.

What about shopping? I try not to participate in mindless consumerism as much as possible and haven’t really bought new clothes in years. But sometimes I’ll find something truly special. If it is vegan, fair trade, sustainably produced, etc, I might buy it. But even then it isn’t really completely innocent of damaging the planet. In the production, manufacturing, shipping, marketing, etc, animals were killed, resources destroyed or depleted, and if I don’t really need the article of clothing it was all completely unnecessary. How can that be justified?

If I were to get seriously ill and the doctor prescribed me a round of medication, I would take it without a second thought even though it most likely contained animal derived ingredients. And since all medications in the USA, by law, have to be tested on animals, it would not be remotely cruelty free. But I would take it because I don’t want to get sick.

There are some who argue that my favorite brand of vegan margarine, Earth Balance, isn’t even vegan because in the production of one of its main components, palm oil, the habitat of orangutans is destroyed leading to their subsequent death and endangerment. So, I pay for a product that is technically vegan in that it contains no animal derived ingredients, and yet my money goes into the coffers of a company that kills millions of animals every year, which means I, in effect, fund that killing. But I use Earth Balance because it is my favorite brand.

Cellphone towers kill millions of migrating birds every single year. And yet I would be lost without my cell phone. So I continue to cart it around with me everywhere I go and I continue to pay my money to companies that erect tower after tower, killing the beautiful birds in droves.

Even though the food that I eat is always vegan, I know that in the harvesting and processing of that food animals were killed. They were killed when wild animals lost their habitat so the field could be cleared and planted, they were killed when the tractor drove through the field and over their burrows to harvest the crops, and they were killed by the factory and warehouses and trucks and boats and planes used to package and process and ship me the food. But since I have to eat to survive, I do.

But what about over eating vegan foods? Even the harvesting of whole, organic, local vegan food causes the death of animals, so when I choose to eat more than I need, I am ultimately causing more harm than is absolutely necessary.

The thing is….I love to eat. A lot. All the time. I definitely eat more than I need to, way, way more. I could survive and probably be quite healthy on much less. And because I love to eat so much and am eating way more food than I need to eat to survive, more animals are being killed. I am not eating the tiny field mice or rabbits or birds or snakes directly, but because I choose to eat unnecessarily just to satisfy my gluttony, more animals are dying because of me.

I can say that I’m already an activist, putting myself out there day after day trying desperately to change the world, so I deserve an extra bowl of salad or a big chocolate bar now and then. It’s vegan, after all. But…all those extras add up to the deaths of thousands and thousands of animals and the destruction of their habitat. And really, how is me saying ‘I deserve it’ any different than an omnivore saying they ‘deserve’ an omelet or a cheese pizza? Both of our choices ultimately involve the death of innocent animals. Both are unnecessary.

So. Can I still really call my triple serving of roast veggies’cruelty-free’? What about the processed and packaged and shipped from overseas soy ice cream? Or the 2nd helping of raw chocolate bon bons?

Where do we draw the line?

I hope you didn’t read this expecting any answers, because I have none. This idea has not quit rolling around my head since I first started thinking about it. I just wanted to know your view.

How can I cling to my belief that veganism is the best and most cruelty free way to live when, because of my gluttony, I could be creating even more pain and suffering than someone who lives like an ascetic but eats the occasional egg?

How can I claim that my diet by virtue of being vegan is any sort of remedy for a planet in crisis when so much of it is processed and packaged and imported?

How can I roll my eyes and sneer when I hear yet another omnivore spout excuses and claim she is doing the best she can, when I’m not even sure I’m doing the best I can?

I hope no one thinks I am criticizing the validity or importance of a vegan lifestyle. I would never, never do that. I believe with all of my heart that a commitment to living a cruelty free vegan life is a moral baseline, a basic bit of decency we should all commit to.

And I don’t want to sound like the people who brush off the vegan lifestyle by saying that since we can’t possibly prevent all pain and death we might as well not worry about any of it. I have to believe that we should all do the best we can, even while acknowledging that none of us can ever hope to have no negative impact on the planet.

And I don’t mean to suggest in any way that we take all the indulgence and extravagance and joy out of our life and deny ourselves any kind of unnecessary pleasure, because ultimately it isn’t really unnecessary at all. We need those little things, that extra glass of almond milk, the second slice of raw pumpkin pie, the 3rd bowl of edamame, to give our lives sparkle and laughter and fulfillment. But I’m curious to know how the animals that are killed in the production of my ‘vegan’ indulgences are any less worthy of saving than the animals killed for an omnivore’s steak? Why is the omnivore’s indulgence abhorrent while mine is justified?

What I am hoping to do with this post is start a conversation. When is enough enough? Is it enough just to be vegan? After all, just because the food we eat and the products we buy are technically vegan does not really mean they are cruelty free. Whenever we live beyond our needs we are causing unnecessary death and damage.

Don’t worry, I’m not ready to go all anarcho-primitivist on you yet, I’m just…wondering….

(image source)

I’ve taken a lot of criticism for proclaiming more than one dessert ‘the best dessert in the world’ but you know what, I don’t care – this vegan buttermilk pie is the best dessert in the world! What can I say, I get really excited about my food and whatever tasty [...]]]>

I’ve taken a lot of criticism for proclaiming more than one dessert ‘the best dessert in the world’ but you know what, I don’t care – this vegan buttermilk pie is the best dessert in the world! What can I say, I get really excited about my food and whatever tasty treat I’m feasting on at the moment usually sends me over the moon.

Buttermilk Pie is a Southern classic, and a real Texas specialty, traditionally made with cow’s buttermilk, vinegar, eggs, and sugar. To give you an idea how delicious it is you should know that even thought I’ve only ever tasted it once before, nearly a decade ago, the memory has stuck with me tenaciously through the years.  The fact that I ate the entire pie all by myself all those many years ago has probably helped to cement my glowing memory.

Once I went vegan I mistakenly thought I would never again enjoy the rich, luscious, tangy sweetness of buttermilk pie, but, just like all my baby vegan misconceptions, I was so, so wrong.

This recipe was like a gift from the kitchen gods; it came to me fully formed and absolutely perfect. I literally had the idea, jotted it down, stood up to go to my kitchen and bake, and a few hours later I was rewarded with vegan buttermilk pie perfection.

And here’s the thing….this IS buttermilk pie. There’s no similarity, no replication…it completely and totally IS buttermilk pie. It’s got it all: the creamy custard-like texture, the dreamy sweetness and the tangy bite at the end. I do believe it would even please the Queen of Southern Cuisine Paula Deen herself. Perfection. And you know what else? This recipe is ridiculously simple and cruelty free. Veganism really does taste better.

This pie is tangy and sweet with a crumbly, buttery crust. It has a texture that is thick and rich, like a whipped custard, and it melts in your mouth and will always put a smile on your lips.

Ingredients
300 grams HobNobs or Graham Crackers or Oat Biscuits
2 pinches of salt
1/2 cup of melted room temperature vegan butter
1 box of Mori Nu Silken Extra Firm Tofu (12.3 oz)
1/4 cup of room temperature vegan butter
3/4 cup coconut milk
4 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp of vanilla essence
5 Tbsp all purpose flour
1 and 1/2 cup white sugar

- In a food processor or blender (or using your hands) completely crush the hobnobs and then combine completely with the 1/2 cup of melted vegan butter and pinch of salt. Spread into a greased pie pan and press firmly along the bottom and up the sides to form the pie crust. Put in the freezer for one hour.

- Once the pie crust has been in the freezer for an hour place the coconut milk into a bowl and add the vinegar. Do not stir. Allow to curdle while preparing the rest of the pie.

- In a food processor combine the tofu, 1/4 cup of butter, and vanilla. Blend until completely smooth with no lumps and no grittiness.

- Add to the food processor the curdled coconut milk and the flour and blend together completely until smooth.

- Then add the sugar and a pinch of salt and blend completely together. It might be a bit gritty from the sugar but that is fine.

- Pour into the pie crust and bake for 1 hour at 325F. Check the pie after 45 minutes to make sure it isn’t getting to brown on top. You want a bit of caramelization but not too much.

- When you remove the pie from the oven it will be VERY wobbly in the center, that is okay. Let it come to room temperature and then store it in the fridge for several hours, preferably overnight, before cutting into it. Enjoy!

Okay. Confession Time.

As you all know I am an expat, born and raised, and still living in Saudi Arabia. Because of this I have spent much of my life traveling the world…by plane. By my rough estimate I have been on over 200 planes in my lifetime, starting with my first [...]]]>

Okay. Confession Time.

As you all know I am an expat, born and raised, and still living in Saudi Arabia. Because of this I have spent much of my life traveling the world…by plane. By my rough estimate I have been on over 200 planes in my lifetime, starting with my first international flight at the age of 6 weeks, 2 around the world journeys before the age of 3, and extensive travel in over 40 countries by the time I was in my 20s. You would think after 200+ plane rides it would be mundane and boring, a fact of life. Not so.

I have a severe fear of flying. Severe. As in nightmares about plane crashes months before I have to fly, hysterical crying at the slightest bit of turbulence, and irrational terror at the mere thought of flying. It is crazy, irrational, absurd, yes, all the things that make a fear a phobia. But it doesn’t make it any less terrifying and life altering just to know it’s not rational. I know, logically, that flying is the safest way to travel, and far safer than driving a car…but no matter how often I remind myself of that it just doesn’t help.

I wasn’t always this way. For most of my life I hopped on and off planes without a care in the world. But about 10 years ago, when I was 18 or so, it all started to change. Slowly, slowly, slight nerves gave way to unsettling fear which gave way to all out blind panic. It isn’t pretty and I wish it weren’t so, but it is.

Yesterday we found out that  Cody has to spend 2 weeks at the end of July/beginning of August in Washington DC on a business trip to sort out visa paperwork and get his Saudi residency. For the past year he has been on a temporary visa which has made day to day life a hassle and getting a permanent visa is not only necessary but will make our life a lot easier….if only it didn’t involve putting the only person on this earth that I’ve ever really loved onto not 1, not 2, but 4 planes. I will be staying here while Cody flies all the way to the states and back. Oh the terror.

As soon as we found out I’ve been crying pretty much non-stop, envisioning the worst, as a worrier like me always does in situations like this. I always predict disaster when it comes to the most mundane facts of life, so you can imagine that I really go overboard when it comes to my biggest phobia of all. Add to that the fact that in our 6 years together we have never spend more than 3 days apart, this is pretty rough. The only thing worse than me having to get on a plane is the man I love having to get on a plane.

Cody is sweet and patient with me, just like he was when we flew from the US to Saudi Arabia and he was left with scars on his arms from my digging fingernails. He is just as wrapped up in me as I am in him, so it will be hard for him to be gone for so long, but he is not scared of flying at all so he sees this as a fun summer holiday. He is looking forward to visiting all of DC’s amazing museums, visiting with our oldest and dearest friend Maris who calls DC her home, and spending a few days with his parents who are going to fly up from Texas to visit with him. For him this is an all-expenses-paid vacation, for me it is sheer, miserable terror.

So. If you all want to help me (and I know you do!) you’ll tell me how ridiculously silly I’m being. Tell me how often you fly, or how often your family members or friends fly. Tell me how fine it always is and how ludicrous I’m being. Seriously. Please tell me. A lot.

When I’m terrified beyond belief the last thing I want to do, or can do, is eat. I have to struggle just to fill my stomach, everything loses its flavor and nothing is appealing to me in the slightest. Here are the meals I nibbled at yesterday.

My usual morning green smoothie was okay. Green. Tasty. Cold. Sweet. My tears only slightly distracted me from its tastiness.

After breakfast I dragged myself to the gym for an hour of cardio which turned more into an hour of me trying not to have a full blown panic attack at the gym. Lovely.

When I came home for lunch this last thing I wanted to do was eat, but when I don’t eat I end up feeling even worse. So I spent an hour picking over this gorgeous and very tasty burrito and salad lunch –

It looks delicious and it was delicious, it just took all of my determination to finish it all even though this is my favorite kind of lunch. What you see is a spinach tortilla filled with vegan butter, Amy’s refried black beans, a batch of brown rice I made that is filled with onions, bell peppers, and garlic. I topped it all with sliced avocado and hot sauce. The salad is a mix of baby spinach, lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, a dollop of homemade hummus and balsamic olive oil dressing.

I wish I could say that I felt better as the day wore on, but it was the exact opposite. As the sun dipped towards the horizon and the day wound down everything seemed even worse. Yes, there were more tears. Yes, I know how ridiculous my phobia is, that is why it is a phobia. It doesn’t make sense, logically I know it’s ridiculous, but like I said, it feels real to me.

So, amidst the tears and sobs I could not even think of eating something for dinner. Cody made me a tasty juice and convinced me to drink it, but that was all I could stomach.

That lovely juice had lots of celery, cucumbers, carrots, apples, ginger and mint. It was not enough for dinner, I know, but this blog is nothing if not honest and that is all I could manage last night.

So far today I’m doing a bit better, I feel all cried and panicked out. I just can’t believe that someone like me who has flown several times a year for every year of my life is this terrified of planes. It is ludicrous. Go ahead, laugh at me, hopefully it will make me feel better!

***

The TofuXpress giveaway was a big hit and the lucky, randomly selected winner is….Jessie from Bites and Pieces! Congratulations Jessie! Contact me with your address and we’ll have your TofuXpress to you in no time. Thanks again to TofuXpress for their generosity.

And when I say heat, I mean HEAT. It has reached 120F with 60% humidity [...]]]> Sorry for the long absence, folks! I think this heat is melting my brain. It’s definitely sapping me of any motivation to cook blogworthy meals, so you’ll have to bear with monotonous shots of green smoothies and salads for a while.

And when I say heat, I mean HEAT. It has reached 120F with 60% humidity over the past few weeks and it will hold steady for another 6 weeks at least. Summertime in Saudi Arabia is no joke, it is not just gross stepping outside, but downright dangerous. We hibernate inside in the AC as much as possible!

Yesterday when I woke up my sweet husband already had a green smoothie waiting for me. Have I mentioned that I’m the luckiest woman ever?

Breakfast of Champions. And me.

We finally found organic baby spinach (imported from the USA – talk about food miles) and my life is now complete.

Finding decent greens is really difficult here, the usual option is local chard which is pesticide laden, bitter as all get out, and totally lifeless. When I can find fresh, tender, flavor packed organic baby spinach I’m thrilled.

I’m all for eating local, and would all the time if the local options weren’t all covered in nasty chemicals! When the choice is racking up food miles to support sustainably grown organic produce that is good for my body or buying local foods that are poisoning the earth and my body, I’m going to have to go with organic every time, food miles be damned.

After sipping my yummy breakfast I suffered through the torturous 5 minute drive to the gym. Usually I bike or walk but in this weather? I don’t think so. Even in the car with the AC blasting I arrive to the gym in a puddle of sweat gasping for air. Well, at least I’m warmed up for my workout!

An hour of full body weight training later I come home and find that sweet hubby of mine had made me one of these beauties -

Slurp.

An icy cold juice filled with apples, carrots, cucumbers, celery, and tons of mint and ginger was just what I needed to cool down after my muscle melting workout. Yum!

Of course, a juice keeps me filled up for about 5 minutes. So, before too long I was tearing into this -

Snack Attack!

I eat a variation of these snack-plates several times a week – I love them! What you see up there is fresh blueberries and blackberries, guacamole, crackers, raw veggies, and cashew cilantro Baja cheeze.

After that snacky lunch Cody and I lounged around the house enjoying our weekend (Thursday/Friday here in the Land of Sand) and daydreamed about the future. A cottage out in the country, a vegetable garden, a herd of dingos, and a drum circle or two might have been mentioned.

Once the early evening rolled around and the stores opened up we piled into the car, braving the heat once more, and headed into Khobar, the town outside of our compound to do a little shopping.

We headed for Desert Designs, an upscale home decor store targeted at wealthy expats who would rather overspend than trawl through the dusty, grimy souks looking for authentic bedouin treasures. Desert Designs is filled with local tribal crafts, bedouin antiques and reproductions, and all the things expats love to fill their homes with.

Normally, I wouldn’t set foot there because I love sifting through the souqs and exploring dusty desert markets , but in this weather I was willing to pay that little b it extra for the pleasure of shopping in comfort.

Abaya + 120F = heat stroke.

(NO! I definitely do not and would not wear the abaya by choice. I HAVE to wear it when I leave my compound or else I would be arrested.)

After picking up a few gifts and trinkets to send off for friends and family we went on a mad and ultimately pointless search for edamame. It is only fitting, now that I have nooch back in my life, the balance of fate in Saudi Arabia must decree that something be missing. Saudi inventory giveth and taketh away. Sigh. I will miss my giant salty bowl of edamame every night.

So, loaded down with cute gifts and adorable knick knacks but lacking the all important edamame we arrived home to walk the dogs (an ugly undertaking in this heat, I didn’t know I could sweat so much) and make dinner.

PIZZA PIZZA! This was the perfect end to a hot and sweaty day.

I topped the pizza with pizza sauce, sauted onions, bell peppers, wilted spinach, huge slices of pickled jalapenos, and liquid smoke coated Boca Burgers. There’s nothing like pizza when you are feeling lazy and HUNGRY, is there?

***

And don’t forget to enter my TofuXpress Giveaway! If you want to win your very own TofuXpress, enter this giveaway and good luck! Thank you to the generous people at TofuXpress for this giveaway!

That gorgeous meal up there is the tasty and filling Matar Tofu Paneer Dahl from the brilliant and always inspiring Bittersweet blog. I was lucky enough to win a nifty TofuXpress from Hannah last year, and this is one of the first dishes I made with it, just as [...]]]>

That gorgeous meal up there is the tasty and filling Matar Tofu Paneer Dahl from the brilliant and always inspiring Bittersweet blog. I was lucky enough to win a nifty TofuXpress from Hannah last year, and this is one of the first dishes I made with it, just as she suggested. Scrumptious!

Let’s hear 3 cheers for tofu!

I love the stuff. It is so versatile, so incredibly healthy for you, and so much fun to cook with – and eat! I use it to make ice cream, stir-frys, fish ‘n’ chips, pies, cakes, pudding, or I prepare it simply in a marinade and bake it in the oven. No matter how it is prepared it is always tasty, and a great addition to any diet.

But…oh yes, there is a but….tofu can be a bit tricky to work with, especially when you want to get it nice and firm for frying, baking, or stir-frys. It is so soft it can fall apart on you. And when it is fresh from the packaging it retains so much of it’s own liquid that it can be hard to impart it with flavor from a marinade or from the cooking process.

Well, luckily for us the good folks over at TofuXpress have found a solution. No more stacking weighted plates onto wobbly slices of tofu and cursing the resulting mess and mush, now there is an easy gadget that gets the job done quickly and efficiently – every time.

After a few hours of pressing in the TofuXpress the brick of tofu is firm and chewy and just ready to suck up all the tasty marinade you can create. The TofuXpress is a product that I use regularly and I really do love.

TofuXpress!

Before pressing...

After 2 hours of pressing.

After The Voracious Vegan was named one of the Top 10 Vegan Blogs by VegNews Magazine I was overcome with an urge to say a big, huge THANK YOU to all of my amazing readers. Without all of you – this blog wouldn’t be here! And I always think a good way to say thank you is with FREE STUFF – so this is part of my latest series of giveaways. I hope you enjoy it!

So, if you want to win your very own TofuXpress, enter this giveaway and good luck! Thank you to the generous people at TofuXpress for this giveaway!

***This giveaway is only open to readers living in the USA***

Each lucky reader  can have up to 3 entries in this giveaway.

1. Make a comment on this post telling me why you want to win a TofuXpress and what you want to make with it.

2. Tweet about it using the link to this post so more people can enter this amazing giveaway. Then come back here and make a second comment letting me know you’ve tweeted.

3. If you have a blog link to this giveaway on there and then come back here and make a 3rd comment telling me about your post!

I will randomly select the lucky winner 1 week from today so check back to see if you got lucky!

Thanks to all of you who participated in the giveaway and thanks again to VegNews for naming The Voracious Vegan [...]]]> The randomly selected lucky winner of the VegNews Giveaway is…. Jennifer of Soy Chai Bookshelf! Congratulations, Jennifer! Contact me with your info and we’ll get your 1 year subscription to VegNews sent off right away.

Thanks to all of you who participated in the giveaway and thanks again to VegNews for naming The Voracious Vegan as one of their Top 10 Vegan blogs!

***

Jennifer wasn’t the only one who got lucky this week. I did too!

Remember that health food store in Bahrain that I was telling you about?

Well, their promises of a shipment of nutritional yeast finally came true! And oh did we stock up…

SO MUCH NOOCH! I am over the moon about our latest find – we have been out of nutritional yeast for months now and I was getting desperate.

Nothing can beat nooch’s cheezy taste, amazing texture, cheezy taste, and fantastic protein/B-12 profile. And did I mention the cheezy taste???

So, the meals I’ve eaten in the past few days have been comprised of approximately 50% nutritional yeast, and 50% items that can be dipped in nutritional yeast. For example -

Burger, fries, nacho cheeze dip!

What can I say? I like a little burger with my vegan mayo.

The star of the show.

The nacho cheese sauce was devoured entirely and the bowl licked clean by the end of this meal. I think my body is craving nooch on a cellular level…I’ve been deprived for too long!

There’s no real recipe for the sauce, it’s just my typical cheezy dipping sauce. I blend up cashews, lemon juice, soy sauce, NOOCH, salt, pepper, turmeric, and whatever else I’m feeling like adding that day. Hot sauce is always recommended.

Fear not, dear readers, there have been meals that didn’t focus entirely on the beauty of nooch. Behold –

The sweetest berries I've had in years.

Sweet Berries, Hummus, Bread, and Falafel!

I also got lucky this week because on my very first attempt to veganize and old favorite – I succeeded!

Success!

Can you guess what delicious and decadent dessert this is? Don’t worry, answer and recipe coming soon!

Luscious and golden and creamy and smooth...

Too pretty for words.

So any lucky guesses as to what that dessert might be? I can’t wait to tell you and share the recipe, I hope you are as excited for it as I was. It tastes exactly, exactly, EXACTLY like the ‘real’ thing.

But this week someone else got very, very unlucky.

Poor Jack had a wardrobe malfunction while playing fetch!

Luckily, we fixed him up in no time and hid his shame. This is Saudi Arabia, after all, we’ve got very strict modesty laws!

Then it was back to the fun!

throw the ball throw the ball throw the ball throw the ball throw the ball...

All tuckered out!

Congratulations again to Jennifer for winning, and thanks again to everyone who entered the giveaway.

Because of all of you fantastic readers, bloggers, friends, and commenters, I feel like I’m the lucky one.

Have a great day! xox

A few weeks ago I recieved a treasure. Yes, a real honest to goodness treasure for a food obsessed cook like me!

You see, one of Cody’s co-workers, who is an Indian man from Hyderbad, found out that I love to cook and eat, and eat, and eat, so he generously gave us a copy of [...]]]>

A few weeks ago I recieved a treasure. Yes, a real honest to goodness treasure for a food obsessed cook like me!

You see, one of Cody’s co-workers, who is an Indian man from Hyderbad, found out that I love to cook and eat, and eat, and eat, so he generously gave us a copy of his family’s cookbook. And when I mean cookbook, I mean cook epic – it is more than 300 pages long!

It is not a published cookbook, but a compilation of all the family member’s favorite recipes and it spans generations and has every type of Indian dish you can think of. All of it vegetarian, most of it vegan. For those of you who know how much I love authentic, delectable Indian cuisine you can imagine how much swooning I did. (Hint: A lot!)

The book really is a treasure trove of recipes, some typed out more neatly than others, in all different fonts, and styles, some specific, some vague, but all of it, thankfully, in English. This was like a dream come true for me and I dove right in, poring over each entry, fantasizing about what I should make first. But, when it came right down to it, there was never any question. I’ve been craving Sambar lately, so Sambar it was.

Sambar is a Southern Indian lentil, potato, and vegetable stew with a sour and savory taste, filled with lime juice and lots of traditional Indian spices. It is incredible. I didn’t follow the family’s recipe exactly, you know me, I’m genetically incapable of following a recipe. I adapted it to suit my tastes and to fit the ingredients I could find here. But it is authentic and exceedingly delicious!

On the side I served up my famous Potato Vada. Imagine the perfection if you can – Indian spiced mashed potatoes, rolled into balls, dredged in a chickpea flour mixture, and fried. Crispy and salty on the outside and creamy and fluffy and spicy on the inside. There is nothing to compare.

And no Indian meal is complete without a piping hot stack of spicy roti to mop everything up with!

Sambar – feeds a hungry army!
(The recipe has many steps, but is simple and straightforward. Don’t be put off – if you devote an hour or two to making this dish, the rewards will come back tenfold. It is exquisite.)

1 1/2 cups green lentils
4 cups water

1/2 Tbsp coriander seeds
1 Tbsp black kalonji onion seeds

3 cloves garlic diced
10 fresh curry leaves (if you can’t find you could try subbing with several Tbsp of dried curry powder. Not the same at all, but close.)
2 tsp black mustard seeds
2 Tbsp vegan butter
1 Tbsp oil

3 chopped potatoes, leave the skins on
1 chopped onion
diced carrot

2 cans of chopped tomatoes
1 Tbsp molasses
10 cups of water

Juice of 4 limes
1 cup cashews ground fine
Sambar Powder – 2 tsp cumin, 2 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp fenugeek, pinch of asafetida , lots of salt and pepper, pinch of red pepper flakes

2 cups frozen peas
2 cups frozen green beans

- To get started boil the lentils in the 3 cups of water with a hefty pinch of salt until they are completely soft and tender and falling apart

- While the lentils are cooking, in another pot begin the main part of the stew. In a HUGE soup pot on medium high heat saute the vegan butter, oil, coriander seed, mustard seed, kalonji onion seed, garlic, and curry leaves for about 5 minutes. Cover the pot with a lid to keep the mustard seeds from popping out!

- After 5 minutes add the chopped potatoes and onion and stir around to get coated with the spice/butter mixture. Cook for another 5 minutes.

- Add the carrot, a very large pinch of salt and pepper, cook for another 5 minutes

- Add the tomatoes, molasses, and 10 cups water, bring up to heat till almost boiling and add the lime juice, ground up cashews, and sambar powder. Simmer for 20 minutes

- After 20 minutes add the peas and green beans and simmer for another 20 minutes

- Add the completely cooked and soft green lentils and cook for another 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Yes, they really are as good as they look. I nearly ate half the batch as I was setting up for the photo shoot!

For the recipe click here!

Spicy Roti

1 and 1/2 cups whole meal flour
1/2 cup gram (chickpea/besan) flour

1 and 1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin

3 Tbsp oil
1/4 – 1/2 cup water – until the batter comes together and is not sticky

- Combine everything into a dough, break off into small pieces, roll flat, fry in a frying pan on high heat till crisp and brown. Top with a bit of sea salt and devour!

Don’t forget to enter my VegNews Giveaway!

Click here to enter

Good luck!

As if my week could get any sweeter! I thought nothing could beat being named one of the Top 10 Vegan Bloggers by VegNews Magazine, but I’ve got to say that these waffles and that luscious topping comes close!

Most of the time I like simple, traditional toppings, you know, maple syrup and lots and lots [...]]]>

As if my week could get any sweeter! I thought nothing could beat being named one of the Top 10 Vegan Bloggers by VegNews Magazine, but I’ve got to say that these waffles and that luscious topping comes close!

Most of the time I like simple, traditional toppings, you know, maple syrup and lots and lots of vegan butter. But every so often I get a wild idea, and sometimes those ideas turn out to be delicious. Luckily for you this was one of those times. The combination of strawberry, orange zest, and ginger just screams summer to me, and it complements the crusty wholesome waffles perfectly. I hope you love it!

Serves 4 (or 2 people like me and Cody who eat enough for a crowd)

Whole Wheat Waffles – adapted from the Buckwheat Waffles from Vegan Brunch

1 cup soymilk
1 cup water
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup whole meal flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup oil
pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg

- Combine the milk, water, vanilla, and vinegar in a bowl and set aside to curdle

- Combine the flours, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg

- Add the oil to the milk, water mixture and pour into the flour mixture. Stir together and allow to sit for 10 minutes

- Cook in waffle iron according to waffle iron directions.

Strawberry Orange Zest Ginger Jumble

2 cups of sliced strawberries (I chopped each strawberry into 4 pieces)
1/2 cup of water
4 Tbsp agave nectar
2 tsp orange zest
1 tsp fresh grated ginger root
pinch of salt

- Put everything in a small sauce pan and bring up to medium high heat. Allow to bubble gently for about 5 minutes. Serve over warm waffles and garnish with fresh mint. Enjoy!

There were even more bright spots in my wonderful week.

The evenings have been providing a respite from this brutal summer weather we have been enduring, so we take that chance to go for long rambling walks in the desert with the dingo herd. Isn’t it pretty?

Don’t Forget!

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway to win a 1 year subscription to VegNews Magazine!

Thank you to all of my amazing readers, supportive friends, and fantastic fellow bloggers. You are all the best! xoxox