Vegan Mofo! Vegan’s Hundred List- better late than never.
Thursday October 15. Well, I didn’t actually cook anything of interest today since we just ate the leftover manicotti. So I’m going to resurrect a vegan blog meme that circulated ages ago. I first saw it on BitterSweet’s blog and meant to do this before but never got around to it. So here goes, my Vegan Hundred (things I have eaten in bold, things I would never consider eating crossed out).
Your mission, should you choose to accept it:
1. Natto (Ok, I’m afraid of natto. I know Anthony Bourdain is generally reviled by the vegan world, but I read his books, and his description of eating natto was horrifying. This is a man who has eaten all manner of disgusting things, so I am very very afraid. I would not buy it but if someone put some in front of me I’d try it!)
2. Green Smoothie (Nope. I like my smoothies fruity and sweet. Not spinachy or whatever. I know people swear by these green smoothies though so I’ll have to give it a go sometime)
3. Tofu Scramble (Love it if the tofu is in cubes, hate it if it’s all mushy and meant to resemble eggs. Always hated scrambled eggs, why would I want to replicate it?)
4. Haggis (There is vegan haggis? Would definitely try it.)
5. Mangosteen (nope)
6. Creme brulee (oh yes, at Horizons in Philly. OMG, yum!)
7. Fondue (nope, not vegan fondue anyway.)
8. Marmite/Vegemite (I tried one of these when my sister brought it back from Australia maybe 18 years ago, and thought it was vile. I’ll have to try it again).
9. Borscht (beet soup, blech!)
10. Baba ghanoush (oh yumyum! My Syrian coworker told me a secret- never use a food processor to make baba, it splits the eggplant seeds open and makes it bitter. Use a potato masher instead and do it by hand!)
11. Nachos (of course)
12. Authentic soba noodles (not sure what is meant by “authentic.” I have had packaged soba from Asian groceries if that counts. Will be having truly authentic, hand-pulled soba at the end of the month when I go to Kajitsu in New York!
13. PB&J sandwich (blech, not since I was maybe ten!)
14. Aloo gobi (yum, one of my favorite Indian dishes)
15. Taco from a street cart (no, the taco carts around here are not very vegan-friendly).
16. Boba Tea (yes, jasmine green, yum)
17. Black truffle (yes, again thanks to Horizons)
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes (I had some raspberry wine, but I don’t know if it was truly raspberry wine or just flavored with raspberries)
19. Gyoza
20. Vanilla ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Ceviche (huh. I’ll have to look into how to make a vegan ceviche)
24. Rice and beans
25. Knish (not since going vegan. Are they vegan? Who knew?)
26. Raw scotch bonnet pepper (ouch)
27. Dulce de leche
28. Caviar (yum)
29. Baklava (some from a store and some I made myself. The one I made myself was a bit of a fail but still tasted good)
30. Pate
31. Wasabi peas (eating some right now actually)
32. Chowder in a sourdough bowl (now that’s awfully specific. I’ve had chowder and I’ve had soups in bread bowls, so let’s call that a yes)
33. Mango lassi (never vegan at restaurants, so no)
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Mulled cider (yum yum)
37. Scones with buttery spread and jam (another strangely specific one! I’ve had scones but did not put butter AND jam on them, yuck. Just jam thank you.)
38. Vodka jelly (?)
39. Gumbo
40. Fast food french fries
41. Raw Brownies
42. Fresh Garbanzo Beans (fresh? Like not dried and not canned? I have no idea where I’d even get such a thing.)
43. Dahl
44. Homemade Soymilk (in restaurants, not that I made myself)
45. Wine from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more (now that’s just crazy talk. I don’t enjoy wine enough to spend THAT much money on it.)
46. Stroopwafle (my little neighborhood grocery sometimes gets these! Yum)
47. Samosas
48. Vegetable Sushi
49. Glazed doughnut
50. Seaweed
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Tofurkey (can’t say I’m a fan of the whole Thanksgiving Tofurkey, but I like some of their slices and stuff)
54. Sheese (not yet! Don’t really care about cheese that doesn’t melt since I don’t miss cheese other than for pizza and stuff)
55. Cotton candy
56. Gnocchi
57. Piña colada (most over-rated mixed drink ever. Bleh)
58. Birch beer
59. Scrapple (I never had the meaty variety so I can’t compare but the vegan kind was tasty)
60. Carob chips (bleh bleh, gross, just get some nice dairy-free dark chocolate!)
61. S’mores (not as a vegan!)
62. Soy curls
63. Chickpea cutlets (I like making them with white beans better than with chickpeas though!)
64. Curry (awfully non-specific! Thai? Indian? Yes, many many curries!)
65. Durian (if I was in Thailand I would totally try this)
66. Homemade Sausages
67. Churros, elephant ears, or funnel cake (I’m going to extend this to include beignets, since it’s basically the same thing!)
68. Smoked tofu
69. Fried plantain (I expect I’ll be eating plenty of these on my trip to Costa Rica!)
70. Mochi
71. Gazpacho (not really a fan of the gazpacho, or cold soups generally!)
72. Warm chocolate chip cookies
73. Absinthe
74. Corn on the cob
75. Whipped cream, straight from the can
76. Pomegranate
77. Fauxstess Cupcake (no, but I did eat a vegan twinkie)
78. Mashed potatoes with gravy
79. Jerky
80. Croissants
81. French onion soup (Yes!)
82. Savory crepes
83. Tings
84. A meal at Candle 79 (It was fantastic, but I think Millennium in SF is even more impressive!)
85. Moussaka
86. Sprouted grains or seeds
87. Macaroni and “cheese” (still haven’t found one I REALLY like!)
88. Flowers
89. Matzoh ball soup
90. White chocolate (don’t like it.)
91. Seitan (but of course)
92. Kimchi (yes!)
93. Butterscotch chips (blech!)
94. Yellow watermelon
95. Chili with chocolate
96. Bagel and Tofutti
97. Potato milk (didn’t know there was such a thing!)
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee (what, is this like the best coffee in the world or something?)
100. Raw cookie dough (I like the dough better than the actual cookies!)
I tried Natto at a sushi place in Maine a couple years ago. I was expecting… strangeness… it was not pleasant. There was a certain snot factor.