Got Milk?

 I don’t like milk. I never have and I never will…

My mom (affectionately known as “Mama”) will tell you that from the time I was born I wouldn’t drink it (no breasts, no bottles, nothing). Growing up my paternal grandmother, Grandma Tess, would send me newspaper clippings on why milk was so important for youngsters (calcium, vitamin D, blah, blah, blah). Well, all the newspaper clippings in the world couldn’t convince me to like – let alone stomach – a glass of milk. I used to cringe at my friends as they chugged the stuff during lunch, washing their PB&J sandwiches down. Yuck.

Now you should know that I can have milk in things like cereal, but tell me to drink it after all the Lucky Charms are gone and that’ll trigger my gag reflex.

When I was in college I discovered soy milk. But I really only enjoyed the chocolate flavor. I would drink a glass here and there but nothing habitual. If I was feeling particularly healthy during a grocery store trip, I may have purchased it, but it wasn’t a staple that I had to have on hand all of the time.

During my PAN orientation meeting, seasoned vegans kept mentioning almond milk, the vanilla flavor in particular. So during my first vegan grocery store trip, I decided to pick some up.

I had a small taste of the milk substitute over the weekend and surprisingly enough I enjoyed it. This morning I couldn’t get enough.

I had a bowl of Trader Joe's Multigrain O’s topped with a healthy pour of vanilla almond milk. After devouring the cereal, I picked up my bowl, tipped the lip, and drank all of the extra goodness. I nearly had vanilla almond milk dripping off of my chin (either I was a rookie at the bowl tipping technique or I could hardly contain my desire for the vanilla almond milk – probably a combination of the two).

So finally, I found a milk substitute that I can not only stomach, but enjoy.

One thing is for sure, this vegan challenge has encouraged me to try things I never would have tried before and that can’t be so bad after all...

Frigid Air

Update: Our refrigerator is up and running. All of our perishable items (did not perish) are back where they belong (off of our steps and back in the fridge).

We Are All Going Vegan?

Last night when I returned home from my vegan Chinese food exploration, I opened up the refrigerator door (to store my leftovers) to find a nearly vegan fridge. All of the butter, cream, cheese, and milk were removed (and under my assumptions, discarded). Now I knew that Kim (my roommate and best friend – yes, I have more than one best friend) was going to join me (as feasible) on this vegan journey, but I had no idea Beth (her sister, our roommate, and yep you guessed, another best friend of mine) jumped on board too (especially since she returned from brunch yesterday morning bragging about the meal of chorizo and manchego she just consumed from Resurrection Ale House).

Thrilled that I not only have the support of Kim (my vegan partner in crime) and Beth, I proclaimed (to Kim), “The fridge looks great! I didn’t know we all were going vegan!”

Kim shot me a look and said, “Didn’t you get my text message?”

“Actually I didn’t,” I replied, because, you see, my iPhone died mid vegan Chinese restaurant search.

Apparently, the obnoxious rattling noise that our refrigerator has been making (and we have been ignoring) since August 2011 was an indication that it was going to die soon and at some point during the day yesterday it took its final breath and pooped out. So to make a long story short, Beth is not going vegan. Boo!

All of the items that I thought were discarded, were actually outside (thank GOD it’s January and somewhat cold) in coolers in a desperate attempt to keep them cold over night until our reality company’s selected repairperson could make it here today (note: my left over vegan Chinese is among the perishable items sitting on our back steps).

So, with that being said, the repairmen are here now (as I type) defrosting my refrigerator with a hair dryer. Hopefully, within the next hour or so we’ll be back in business and I can replace all of Beth’s non-vegan foodstuffs back in the fridge.

Stay tuned…

The Year of the Dragon

For those of you that don’t follow the Chinese calendar or don’t work in Drexel University’s Alumni Relations Office (shout out to Andi and Joanne), you probably don’t know that 2012 is the Year of the Dragon. Although the Chinese New Year is officially on Monday, January 23^rd, I just couldn’t wait another week to try vegan Chinese food. I will, after all, want to enjoy Chinese food on the Chinese New Year Day – duh.

During my PAN orientation meeting, my mentor Amy and another PAN representative, Nick, told me about a couple vegan Chinese food joints in the city. I was furiously scribbling down everything they were saying during our chat, so when it came to the vegan Chinese food conversation, I only managed to get buzz words “harmony” and “kingdom” in ink. Cool. Every Chinese food restaurant in the nation has either of those two words in their name or, even worse, they’re combined to create “Harmony Kingdom Chinese Restaurant” (sit down, take out, and delivery options available).

To my surprise, it wasn’t too hard to locate either of these Chinese food establishments via my Urbanspoon app on my iPhone. Both are located in Chinatown (city blocks 8^th, 9^th, 10^th, and 11^th between Filbert Street and the Vine Street Expressway). Harmony Vegetarian Restaurant – 135 N. 9^th Street – seemed to be closed or closing as I drove by last night, so after a quick Urbanspoon update, I was en route to Kingdom of Vegetarians Restaurant (129 N. 11^th Street).

Now I don’t know about you, but I don’t venture to Chinatown that frequently, so I don’t know if the parking situation is always atrocious or if it was particularly challenging because it was a week before the Chinese New Year. Regardless, it took me a couple trips around the block to find a decent spot.

Upon our (I was accompanied by Jess2) arrival, we were greeted by Gwen our waitress, or should I say saleswoman. She sat us at a table and brought us water and tea. She asked us if we were first-timers or regulars of Kingdom. We responded that we were first-timers and she proceed to give us her recommendations. She suggested the Queens Chicken and the Duck Plate – relatively speaking, the two most expensive items on the menu (please note that everything on the Kingdom menu is both vegetarian and vegan, all of the meats are imitation). Although both entrees sounded wonderful, we still wanted to check out the menu. To start, we ordered Won Ton Soup.

When the Won Ton Soup was delivered, Gwen informed us that she put our order in for the Queens Chicken and the Duck Plate. I looked at Jess2 and then back and Gwen, “But we didn’t order the Queens Chicken or the Duck Plate.” Gwen simply responded with, “That’s OK.” So, wait a minute, were we still going to get the Queens Chicken and the Duck Plate regardless of our desired order or was she going to cancel the order altogether? We weren’t sure until the moment our actual order was brought to us.

We decided on the Chicken with Garlic Sauce and General Tso’s Chicken (both with brown rice). Both were delicious and spicy (just how I like it). The Chicken with Garlic Sauce was served with a medley of vegetables (broccoli, carrots, water chestnuts, etc.) and the General Tso’s Chicken was served with steamed broccoli. Both Jess2 and I had enough food for leftovers, so Gwen packed up what was left and sent us on our way.

I will be back, in fact I am putting the Kingdom of Vegetarians Restaurant menu in the center console of my car in the event that I need a vegan Chinese food fix after a long day at work.

Are Pita Chips Vegan?

Well, I’ve got one day of being a vegan under my belt and I’m feeling pretty good (translation: I’m not starving, but I did wake up to a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich-with-a-healthy-squirt-of-Sriracha craving).

Surprisingly, yesterday’s PAN orientation meeting went really well. I must confess that I thought the meeting was going to play out very differently. Picture this: Animal rights activists scattered around the room gathering in small clusters. They’re donning PETA t-shirts and standing barefoot. The heavy red church door opens. A gust of wind fills the space and I walk in. Conversation stops. All heads turn to look at me. I’m standing there with my shiny whale blubber coated lips, leather boots, and goose down coat all of which are being cataloged in the minds of the PAN representatives. We go around the horn, introduce ourselves, and state our current diet (“Hello, my name is Jess and I am a carnivore…” as if they didn’t already know). During the meeting we are forced to watch a video documenting the gruesome treatment of animals destined for consumption, which just so happened to be chockfull of blood spatters on the camera lens. We then pick at a lunch of tofu sandwiches, which taste like cardboard, and inevitably end up in a warm chewed up mess in my 78% post consumer recycled napkin. Finally, we’re sent on our way with recipes featuring items no one has ever heard of and judgmental gazes…

Fortunately for me, this scenario couldn’t be further from the truth. I was greeted with a warm welcome, a room full of smiles (despite the fact that approximately 30% of my outfit was made from animal byproducts), and a Happy New Year hug from Corey. Everyone introduced themselves by stating their name, status (pledge or mentor), and why they were pledging to go vegan or why they were already vegan. My personal introduction had the room chuckling. Perhaps that was because we were sitting in a church and I made a “Last Supper” reference (see yesterday’s post). In general, there were only a couple of other people going from the “I eat anything” category to veganism. Most other pledges were self-proclaimed vegetarians.

After our individual introductions, I met my PAN vegan pledge mentor, Amy. We chatted about meals, recipes, and vegan spots in Philadelphia. During our chitchat, lunch was served. We had several options including salad (duh, but served with vegan dressing), sandwiches, and pizza. I enjoyed a small salad with Italian dressing and a slice of “cheese” pizza from Blackbird Pizzeria. The pizza was surprisingly delicious. Although it took me a couple of bites to get used to the “cheese” consistency/texture, the sauce was out-of-this-world and made for a satisfying lunch. In a separate pizza delivery, I tried a slice of Blackbird’s seitan pepperoni pizza. I was not as pleased with my second helping as the meat substitute was much to be desired for. For dessert, I had a banana chocolate chip muffin (made by a 12 year vegan veteran) – YUM.

I had some post-lunch conversations with other pledges and mentors before packing up my goodie bag and saying goodbye. I left the PAN orientation meeting feeling empowered and supported.

Later in the day I went grocery shopping at Trader Joes and Whole Foods. There are several things you should know about me when it comes to grocery shopping: 1. I hate it and therefore 2. Don’t do it. 3. When I do go grocery shopping, I make it quick. I know what I want – I get in and I get out. 4. I’ve never read the ingredients section of a food label before (note: I do not have any food allergies or sensitivities, if I like something I will eat it, I don’t care what’s in it). So all things considered, I knew this was going to be a lengthy and painful experience.

Trader Joes has a lot of food that I love. For example I really enjoy – ahem – enjoyed their frozen chana masala (made with cream) and their selection of cheeses. I used to go in, get my cart, and hit all of my favorite sections; however during my visit yesterday, I found myself wandering up and down the aisles looking for foods that would fill up my cabinet and/or refrigerator. I grabbed some fresh produce (blueberries and raspberries), frozen edamame, and almonds before heading to the checkout line mildly frustrated.

Realizing that Trader Joes doesn’t necessarily have a ton of options (regardless of vegetarian or vegan classification), I headed to Whole Foods to bulk up on my vegan foodstuffs. I knew exactly what I was going to make for dinner (Rachael Ray’s Sicilian Roast Stuffed Eggplant), so I located those items first. On any other day of the week I would have just purchased these items at my local Pathmark or SuperFresh, but I was at Whole Foods to get some less common items. In addition to acquiring the ingredients for my dinner, I also picked up vanilla almond milk, hummus, peanut butter, pretzels, and a microwavable chana masala (made without cream) meal. Not too bad for my first attempt; however, while I was in the snack food aisle, I found myself questioning whether or not pita chips were vegan. Realizing that the contact information for my vegan mentor, Amy, was at home in my goodie bag, I pulled out my iPhone and Googled: “Are pita chips vegan?”. The website that I landed on indicated that Stacy’s brand pita chips are indeed vegan; however, Whole Foods either never stocked this item or they were fresh out. I settled for Newman’s Own pretzels, a nice complement to my Bobby’s Roasted Red Pepper hummus. Yep.

Knowing exactly what I was going to make for dinner made my trip to the grocery store a little less painful; however, I now know that I am going to have to devote some serious time to reading food labels, because although it was less painful, it was no less time consuming.

As mentioned above, I planned on fixing a favorite dish of mine courtesy of Ms. Ray – stuffed eggplant (http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/sicilian-roast-stuffed-eggplant/). This recipe calls for mozzarella cheese but other than that it is completely vegan. I’ve made it several times before, but this time I made it without the mozzarella. It was scrumptious – just ask Jess2, she thought this batch was the best one yet!

The journey continues…

Moving Down the Food Chain

Hello, my name is Jess and I am a carnivore…

Well, I was a carnivore, until today: the first day of my month long vegan pledge.

Ten months ago, I was introduced to Corey.

Corey is the roommate of my best friend Jess (yes, we have the same name so from here on out she will be referred to as Jess2, as I am Jess1 – naturally). Corey is a vegan.

When I first met Corey I thought he had some interesting eating habits. On any given night he will eat one of two meals: 1. Pasta with red sauce or 2. Black beans and rice. Now let me set the record straight, there is nothing wrong with eating pasta with red sauce and/or black beans and rice as long as they are paired with Italian sausage and grilled chicken, respectively (and to make it even more tasty, I would even add some cheese – to both).

Shortly after meeting Corey and learning about his vegan practices, he mentioned to me that there was a national vegan pledge that ran annually starting in January. I’ll try anything once, so in April 2011 I made a verbal commitment to take the vegan pledge.

Last month, after yet another verbal commitment, I received an email from Corey with instructions. The email was simple: “Hi Jess: You can sign up for the Vegan Pledge at this link: http://www.panveganpledge.org/signup.html.  Contact me if you have any questions. –Corey”

Two weeks later, I finally clicked the link. Once I arrived to the Peace Advocacy Network (PAN) website, I was instructed to choose my city – Philadelphia, PA – the city of Brotherly Love and cheesesteaks (insert shout out to Jims Steaks here – the best cheesesteaks in the city, hands down). Other participating cities include Bend, Oregon (tree huggers) and Salt Lake City, Utah.

After I selected my location, I landed on the sign-up form page: name, email address, have you ever tried going vegan before, etc. About halfway through the form, I was asked “Which of the following best describes your current diet?*” (notice the asterisk, indicating that this question requires a response). The options included the following: 1. I eat anything, 2. I eat fish but no land animals, 3. I don’t eat red meat, but I eat everything else, 4. I don’t eat fish, but I eat everything else, 5. Lacto-ovo vegetarian, 6. Lacto vegetation, 7. Ovo vegetarian, 8. I don’t eat poultry, but I eat everything else, 9. I don’t eat dairy, but I eat everything else 10. I don’t eat eggs, but I eat everything else, 11. I don’t eat dairy or eggs, but I eat everything else, 12. I don’t eat fish, dairy, or eggs, but I eat everything else, 13. I don’t eat fish, poultry, dairy or eggs, but I eat everything else, 14. None of the above, and last but not least 15. I am a vegan (in which case I should be a mentor, not a pledge). So of these 15 choices I was to choose the one that best described my current diet…

Flashback/side note: Do you remember when you were in high school and you took a standardized exam preparation course and your instructor told you to avoid answering questions erroneously that included words like “anything”, “always”, “everything,” etc.?

Most people would select option #1 to best describe me and I would agree with them (for the most part), except I don’t eat “anything.” For example, I don’t eat olives (even if they’re stuffed with bleu cheese), pudding, and/or SPAM. Other than that – I eat anything.

About a week later, I received an email from PAN Representative, Christine, confirming receipt of my pledge and information regarding my very first PAN meeting (Saturday, January 14^th @ 11am). In that same email, I was also instructed to consume what I had on hand in my pantry and refrigerator; however, I should avoid purchasing anymore items that come from animals. So, what Christine so politely suggested was that I shouldn’t purchase anymore jars of Nutella (made with skim milk)? Hmm, I must have missed that memo. Thank goodness for my roommates, Kim and Beth. Maybe they can take that jar of Nutella off my hands.

Yesterday was my last day of animal product indulgence. I had a tasty lunch at Sabrina’s Café with friends George and Kathryn. I ordered the grilled chicken salad sandwich (of course made with mayo and topped with cheese) and the butternut squash soup (which was made with what I am assuming was a chicken stock base). Last night for my “Last Supper,” Jess2 and I went to Izumi, our newly found favorite sushi restaurant on Passyunk Avenue. We enjoyed yellowtail with jalapeños, spicy tuna roll, and the signature Izumi roll (crab, eel, avocado, yum). Before heading home, we actually thought about topping off our bellies with a hot slice of Lorenzo’s pizza (on South Street). Forty-five minutes before my PAN meeting, I’m regretting not spending a couple bucks on a piece of cheese pizza. Damn.

This morning I had a cup of my staple green tea and a bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar and dried fruit (boring). Who knows what my next meal will be? Maybe they’ll be serving lunch at the PAN meeting?

Well, I am ready to go wearing lip gloss probably made from whale blubber, leather boots, and a goose down coat featuring a faux fox hair hood. I’m sure all the PAN Representatives will love me. Maybe they’ll slaughter me and feed me to malnourished pigs in Arkansas? Wish me luck…