Another Survey

I enjoy reading other people's surveys and learning more about my fellow vegan bloggers. I also think surveys are fun, so I'm gonna do another. This one is from the Get Sconed blog.
(I'm in pink today - Sarah)


1. What was the most recent tea you drank?

Yogi tea's Chai Redbush.
Yogi Tea's Thai Sweet Delight.

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

I spend most my of time at the Vegan Freaks Forum as japamela. I also have an account I occasionally use at the PPK also as japamela. Then I'm a member of a few others that I basically never check.
The only forum I actually contribute to is Vegan Freaks and my username is squirrelgaijin. I find other forums frustrating because people say things like "Of course I want everyone to be vegan and animal exploitation to stop but that's just never going to happen.... yada yada yada" and that kind of statement makes me want to stab...


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

Some kind of marinaded and baked tofu.
Lasagna with a tofu ricotta layer.

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

I'm sort of ashamed to admit the number of vegan food blogs in my google reader. It must be well close to a hundred. I read as many as I can in my free time at work, maybe 20-30 blogs per day. I'm so behind since the Mofo began. I also have no internet at home, so I rarely check anything at night or weekends.
Only a daily basis, I only read a few although I wish I could read them all. I recently started using Google Reader so that number may increase soon!

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

The Sisters Vegan
I was checking out Fat Free Vegan this morning.

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

I'd say either Liz at Food Snobbery is my Hobbery or Lindy Loo at Yeah, That Vegan Shit. I love both their blogs and they seem like fun people to hang out with.
I second Lindy Loo at Yeah, That Vegan Shit. I have a little internet crush on her :)


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

I love me some seitan. Tofu is no longer exciting or interesting to me. It's so cheap and plentiful here.
I'd like to say the other two but feasibly, tofu would be my only option.

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

Well, a seitan loaf could totally knock someone out...
Seitan for sure.

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


The Italian Fauxsages from Fat Free Vegan, the stuffed "turkey" from Bryanna Clark Grogen (hopefully, I'll make that for Christmas this year), or the Faux Chicken from La Dolce Vegan (which I make fairly regularly). Ok, I'm gonna cheat and add one more I just found from Vegan Dad for a Stuffed Seitan loaf. I'd probably use my own stuffing, but that looks amazing!
Well tofu scramble is always an easy option so I'd make some kind of eye-wateringly spicy version and eat it with a side of avocado, some salad, refried beans and corn tortillas.
I think I'd make me some Kung Pao tofu too and eat that with some sesame noodles.
And third, I'd try out Pam's recipe for stuffed koyadofu and serve that with some miso shiru, a bowl of rice and some pickles.

10. What’s a recipe in vegan blogland that you’ve been eyeing?
I have quite a number starred in my google reader. Some for the day when I might go back to the states and thus have access to way more things and some that I want to make now. I really want to have bagels since I can't find many here and the ones I do are never vegan. The ones at No Whey, Jose! seem simple enough, so maybe those will be the ones I make. I know this is another seitan recipe, but I said it was my favorite! This is a Fried Seitan Salad from Vegan Yum Yum. I've been wanting to make a lattice cheesecake I saw over at Rural Vegan, since she posted it, but I've got around to it yet. I couldn't find the link, but I have it printed out at home and I really like it because it doesn't call for any vegan cream cheese (an ingredient not yet in Japan). I just realized after finishing this one, that I thought I was supposed to write 3 recipes.

I really want to try that lattice cheesecake too at some point, it looks amazing! And no vegan cream cheese required - genius! Other than that, I have my eye on so many recipes I don't even know where to begin. That Creamiest Mac'n'Cheez recipe that's been showing up everywhere is definetely on my wish lift. More specifically I'd love to try the amazing looking Peanut Butter Filled Chocolate Cookies from the Adventures of Superwife.

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

Yeah, I have a few. One that says vegan in Japanese, one that says Powered by Tofu, a pink star with vegan written on it, and one that says Animal Liberation with an image of a bunch of different paws escaping from prison bars or bar codes.
I have the red Wings Are For Flying Not Frying shirt from Herbivore. And the same pink star vegan logo shirt that Pam has.

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

Not yet, but I'm hoping to make it there during a potential trip home in March.
Nope, one day maybe.

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

27, and yes, I'll never go back.
17. It would have had I not moved to Japan when I was 21. Not that that's an excuse but I ate stuff with fish stock when I first came here (and probably many other things since I couldn't read Japanese). But now I'm vegan again and I'll never go back.

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

I don't think I've had a bad meal in the year or so that I've been vegan. The closest to it would have to be from the Italian restaurant I often visit with the boy. The staff is very kind and accommodating to us. So one time I wanted to order pizza, but of course all of their pizzas have meat and cheese. I ordered one and asked them to leave the cheese and meat off and if they could sub black olives. This was no problem and they did. I think they felt sorry for me for having to spend the money and not get 'as much', so they decided to add a bunch of other veggies on the pizza. Now normally that would be great, and I really appreciated the gesture. However, they added so many veggies that the pizza became soggy. Since then I stick to the pasta.
My worst vegan meal would have to be in days of student poverty when I would eat plain pasta with corn or just plain boring tomato pasta sauce. Blaaaah. Not disgusting just really boring. After my first year was over and I didn't have to share my kitchen with 16 other people, things got easier! haha

15. What made you decide to blog?
It just seemed like a good idea for all the things we can't put in our zine.
Indeed.

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

I tend to try an make a lot of new things, since I wanna make the most out of all of my cookbooks and it's something I enjoy doing. I make the Chickpea Cutlets from the Veganomicon on repeat. I also enjoy the roasted red pepper hummus from Alternative Vegan. The rosemary and white bean soup from Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan. I know these aren't exactly meals, but whatever.
When I'm at home or in a real kitchen, I love to make lasagna. My mum's vegan lasagna is the best in the world but I try to replicate it when I can. I like to eat it with a nice big leafy green salad drizzled with a simple mustard and olive oil vinaigrette.
Me and my old flatmate, used to make the best taco salads in the world and every time I eat one for the rest of my life, I'll be reminded of her (I miss you Kate!). These things were gigantic creations with layers and layers of amazing goodness. Just when you thought that you'd got everything, you'd discover a new taste or texture. Mmmm, I have great memories of eating those salads in Japan.
Lastly, I'd say my other favourite meal to prepare would be a tapas style deal with plates of olives, salad, hummus, baba ghanoush, flat bread, dolmades, felafel, roasted peppers etc. I love that style of eating and it reminds me very much of my dad and the style of dinner he used to prepare sometimes when I lived at home.


17. What dish would you bring to a vegan Thanksgiving-themed potluck?
Stuffing or vegan green bean casserole. I'm too lazy to make one of the seitan roasts for a potluck, unless I'm the host.
Well, I just saw an amazing pumpkin cheesecake recipe so I think I'd like to take that. Maybe a big pot of pumpkin soup too.

18. Where is your favorite vegan meal at a restaurant?
Like a regular restaurant? If I go to a Japanese style bar that would be fresh, cold tofu or fried gobo (burdock root). I also like udon.
I like to eat at David Bann's in Edinburgh as long as I'm not paying! In terms of places in Japan, Cafe Proverbs in Kyoto is probably my new favourite place. Their food is SO good!

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


In Japan? Hahahaha...ok, but seriously...I guess Big Boy because of the salad bar or one of the many udon shops (as long as you bring your own sauce). Saizeriya also has a very cheap pepperoncino that's good.
Saizeriya because it's so cheap (although you can only eat about 2 things on the menu), Big Boy because of the salad bar (and it's awesome name) and "Nantoka" Shokudo which is a chain of Japanese style self-service restaurants where everything is really cheap and good (you need to be able to ask about the stock they use though in case it contains fish).

20. My kitchen needs a………

bread maker!
OVEN!!!!!!!!!!!111111

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

I think I'll try every vegetable. I honestly can't think of one that I don't like enough to never use it.
Can't think of anything right now.

22. What's for dinner tonight?

I have no idea yet. But I really need to use up some spaghetti sauce in the fridge and some spinach. Maybe I'll make some meatballs and have pasta. Oooh, that's sounding good...ok, decided.
I'm going to make some hummus and a veggie burger and eat that in a pita with salad and avocado.

23.Add a question here! What's a blog you read that has not yet been mentioned?

Well, there are many, but let's see...I'll go with Seitan is my Motor!

--Pamela

-- Sarah