2 Vegans, 1 Vegan Nugget, 2 Omnivores. Oh, The Challenges

As you can see, I have been twittering lately (a lot actually), and one of my new twitter friends asked me how it was raising kids vegan (a reply that could not be made in 140 or less).  I got to thinking about the challenges that lay ahead, not just with me, but for my kids, and how this can be realized with my family.  It is hard enough feeding yourself, and your spouse.  Now throw in a 10 month old baby (the vegan nugget),.. although in all fairness, he is the least crabby vegan of the bunch.  He takes it like a baby.  


Now factor in two kids from my last marriage (which is funny to say, because my wife informs me that this in fact is my "last" marriage. but, i digress), who question me on a nightly basis why i cant drink milk, why i cant eat meat, eggs, etc. "C'mon dad, just stop being a vegan".  I have a grandfather who keeps offering to take my older son out for steak and ribs (ok, its a bonding thing. now that i'm out of the way, grandpa and grandchildren can go out and gang up against the herbivore). I also have a grandmother who threatens to feed the baby meatballs, or other things to fatten him up (you should see him, he isn't lacking for meatballs).  Trust me, you can fatten up on vegan food. I discovered they have the word "cupcakes" in the vegan dictionary.  My friends are probably the least of the problem, but then they only harass me in the moment, when out at restaurants when I am invariably ordering a modified baked potato and a salad.  I assure them, this is not my standard meal. It is hard to tell someone what a vegan eats, without using funny words (seitan, tempeh, tofu; yes tofu is a funny word). It comes with the territory though, I can handle it.

So I thought the issue with the big kids was manageable, but as we proceed on this adventure, we still find ourselves buying and making non-vegan meals, and although I'm still OK with it, I foresee a time in the not so distant future, that I wont be.  Its not so much why I'm doing it, but if it is really worth it?  Is it really all about the food?  If so, than I could happily buy milk, meat, eggs and such, and just make them for the kids.  If it were just about the food, then I could eat a little meat, drink a little milk and all would be good.  Is that really the case?

Family gatherings are going to become (already are) increasingly challenging.  Can I remain a "Dont ask, Dont tell" vegan?  My mother-in-law is a great cook, and is enormously generous. Do I really want to start looking into what she puts in her pasta?  Lets not even get into the sauce (figuratively speaking).  Abstaining from meatballs, does not veganize the meal.  Will that be good enough?  Am I on the cusp of becoming a royal pain in the ass?  I'm reminded of a line I heard on the "Last Comic Standing".  "I'm a vegan, which is basically a vegetarian, only more annoying".  Can I be a vegan without annoying the crap out of my friends and family?  Can I do it without alienating them? (i see to be all questions and few answers this time)


I have a great quote from a comment left on one of my earlier blog entries, where I was enumerating my cheats.  Its from my awesome friend Celery In The City. She stated:


You don't owe anyone anything. If you want to change that list, change it. But don't do it because you're not 'vegan' enough. There's no such thing.

I love that! I need to print that out, and leave it on my desk and read it every day to ground me.

PB&J, Could not go Vegan without it.

When I became vegan back in April, a friend of mine asked me if I could still eat Peanut Butter and Jelly, and I assured him that it was considered vegan. He told me that as long as he could eat PB&J, he could probably go vegan.  I had no idea how poignant that was.  The PB&J for me has been a staple, a goto in times of crisis and despair, and I am just thankful that it is there for me when I needed it.

I had a brief conversation with one of my new twitter friends about the variety of "nut-butters" on the market, and I felt I needed to take a moment, reflect back and pay homage to one of my all time fav's. (Yes I really did have a conversation about nut-butters)

So thank you Peanut Butter, for being heavy enough to weigh the top side of my bread down, and always manage to fall face down on the kitchen floor when dropped (its a gravity thing, I'm also a huge fan of gravity). Thank you for being the key mechanism to allow me to give my dogs pills.  Thank you for being the only thing that I will eat whenever I am sick.  Thank you for being smooth or crunchy (depending on my mood).  Thank you for going with other things like bananas and bacon (faux).  And thank you GW Carver for "allegedly" inventing it.

Thank you Jelly for rhyming with my last name, which for me was the source of little enjoyment as a child. I will give you your props as you come in many flavors.  You probably take credit for jams, preserves and marmalades, but lets face it, you would probably just be a sweet condiment if it were not for the peebs.  But admittedly, without you and plain simple boring white bread, the PB&J would simply not exist.

You are the wind beneath my wings. Merci bien le beurre d'arachide et confiture. (Its a french thing)

Forgive Me Vegans, For I Have Sinned.....

No funny anticdotes,  no poignant stories,... no jokes. Its time to pull the curtain, fall to my knees and get on with it.  Forgive me vegans for I have sinned,.. its been,.. well never since my last confession.  Since I became vegan, I have been pretty good about staying true, and I haven't overtly strayed (well...), but I have pretended not to notice a few things.  I feel compelled to enumerate these.  Perhaps it will be therapeutic, we'll see.

• Pizza Crusts - My son never eats the crusts. I tell them they are the best part, and he says "then you eat them".  So I do
• Coffee Cream - I grab the "non-dairy" creamer most of the time, but I know full well there is still dairy derivatives in there. I really need a good substitute, I cant just drink it black
• Milk - Ok, I really don't drink milk, but I'm the one who tests if the milk in the fridge (for the kids) is still good.  I always did this by taking a swig.  Last time I did this it was spoiled and I about hurled all over the kitchen.  Serves me right
• Sushi - I've been better about this, but you've read the blog.  Last two times I went though were all vegan
• Fish Sauce - Well not directly, its not like I took a big drink of it, but admittedly the last few times I had Thai, I failed to point this out when I ordered my curries.  In a related story, miso soup is generally made with bonito stock, which clearly is ng. I usually get miso soup with my sushi.
• Butter/Ghee - I clearly order the vegetarian options when ordering Indian, but I don't always inquire about the use of butter.  I've also melted a little over popcorn, not to mention the movie theater. Does that make me a bad person?
• McDonalds French Fries - Ok, I only did this a few times, but I have done it. (That does make me a bad person)
• Subway Veggie Patties - I discovered about a month in that Subway had veggie patties, that evening I googled, and discovered they were not vegan. I've picked them up a few times since, despite knowing this.  In my defense, I've only done this out of desperation.
• Pasta/Sauce - My mother-in-law is a great cook.  I'm pretty sure her pasta was made with eggs, I'm damn sure the sauce was cooked with meatballs. I just avoid the meatballs, but the rest is clearly not vegan.
• Oreo's - Bones,... plain and simple. Oreo's are bony.
• The bottoms of cans of Mini Ravioli - Very minor one, but I tend to clean off the spoons when I'm packing the kids lunch.  Ok, I was reaching a bit on this

No its not like I committed a crime on this, but its a general pattern that I would like to work on.  I'm not sure how it compares to others.  I guess that doesn't matter, so long as it bothers me, I should probably try to reduce this list.

Just needed to get this off my chest.  As a result, I started thinking about all of the things in my life I've dined on that I am sorry about. I wont even begin to enumerate those now.

For me, its still about the Food

A few weeks ago I hooked this account up to twitter, and setup a new twitter account to push this blog out to a few more people.  Perhaps someone may read these entries and gain either some enlightenment, entertainment, or just get lulled into a bored stupor.  In any event, I hope readers of this, other than myself, find some thread of enjoyment buried in these words.  I've had a number of comments from folks, and am generally having a good time making new friends, chatting with folks from all over that I have a common bond with.  It makes me feel less alone, and less isolated and weird as this sometimes makes me feel. Not to mention a few eccentric friends who clearly add a tremendous amount of humor, mixed with a fair amount of bizarre/creepy entertainment.  You know who you are.


As far as explaining my diet to people, I can tell you without a doubt, I ate some fine food today, and there was not a lettuce leaf or vegetable to be found (in all fairness, the vegetables no longer resembled their former self).  I wish I could explain this to my friends that think I am just eating salads every day.  I still get picture messages from friends (one in particular, I'm pretty sure he isnt reading my blog) who would happen to be out dining (typically on large chunks of meat), and feel compelled to share it with me.  I'm really not offended by that (maybe I should be).  They right me off as being another wacky liberal.  I do know that being vegan is more than just a diet.  Perhaps veganism is much more of a political statement, and I am really just a non-dairy, non-eggs, vegetarian (a foodie?).  I don't know if I'm ready to take it all on just yet.  I tried to explained simply to a co worker that I don't consume any animal derived products.  Seemed an easy way to describe it.  She did roll her eyes at me, and for a brief instant, I wanted to smack her, but that goes against my peace loving nature.


For me it is still mostly about the food.  I've blogged a little about the industries, the dairy, poultry, etc. but I really don't obsess about it.  For a lot of people veganism is more of a religion.  Its a religion that encompasses a lifestyle, and a diet.  For me its still just a diet.  I'm not all jacked up about people that breed Golden Retrievers, or Seaworld, or leather wrapped steering wheels (Remember, I jumped into this without knowing what or why I was doing this).  So for me it was only about the food.  I have learned a few things along the way, and I am sickened by the over consumption that our society pushes, but I dont wear it on my sleeve.  

One week later..... That being said, I must say that every day I evolve, and words I write one day, may not carry the same strength a day, a week or a month later.  I wrote the bulk of this entry about a week ago when I was sitting up in my hotel room in Milwaukee.  Its a week later, and although its still a foodie thing for me, my language feels a little strong, and I am compelled to re-write and soften my opinion.  I decided to take another approach and just make this comment, and leave it where it is.  I think I'm growing up,... slowly.

Vegaritos aka Doregans (fine, Vegan Doritos)

Ok, this picture is not exactly the right one, but just stop whatever you are doing, and run out to Whole Foods, and get the Red Salsa Nana Cocina Tortilla Chips.  Jesús, María y José these are bueno!  And just when I thought I had given up Doritos, these babies showed up at my door step.... Mmmmmm come to my mouth,... get in my BELLY... Ok, I got a little weird there, but these are good.  Nuff, said.

Winding Down In Brew Town

At this point I am finishing roughly an 8-10 week assignment which has brought me to Milwaukee virtually every week.  Suffice it to say, I am a little tired of the travel, and despite the fine vegan culinary adventures I have been on, I am still sitting in my hotel room, spending the night away from home.  In a past life, I would never call home and brag about the meals.  I remember getting into some deep "stuff" years ago, while I was going on and on about how wonderful a meal was.  I wasn't really getting the fact that my wife was at home trying to scrape together a meal, and here I was out living high on the hog (sorry about that reference).  This is a different time, and I feel a large part of my therapy in this endeavor is the ability to talk about what I am eating.  So nowadays I do just exactly what I used to shy away from.  I call home every day, and go on and on about the food adventures I am experiencing.  Its a different type of conversation now.  I think my wife probably would rather be dining with me, than putting something together out of the scraps from the fridge, but I also believe she understands the transition that I am going through, and gives me some latitude when it comes to what would normally be a breach of decorum when travelling for work.

I will say that as far as the past few days have gone, I have eaten like a vegan king.  I knew this was my last week in Milwaukee for a while, so I hit up all my faves, some new places I've never been, and never skipped one meal.  And most important, I totally boycotted that office cafeteria.  Nice place, lots of choices, but none for me (I really like more than salad).  Had this been my first week in town, I would be livin large, but I am drained, I need to get home.  I need to sit on my couch, with my wife, and have a PB&J.  Yep, the meal that started it all.  On day one, when I had nothing to eat, I lived on these for a little while. 6 months later, I've matured,.. I no longer giggle when I say Seitan (hehehe, bbq Satan, oooooo)... Ok, I still giggle.  Its a funny name.  Very demonic.  Would be rough going around in life with a name like that.

As I mentioned, I'm a food lover.  I don't always need a long term relationship with a meal, sometimes I just want southern fried tofu (aaahhh,... @PalominoBar), and do the walk of shame back to my rental car.  I want to have an experience with my meal.  I dont want to just eat it, and get full, I want to writhe in pleasure of every bite.  I want to enjoy it, look forward to it,... and not look back.  I'm starting to feel like that again.  I know its out there.  It is certainly in Milwaukee.

But for now, that PB&J is calling me back to Cincinnati, and so is my wife.

6 months! (The end of my experiment????)

First of all, "Happy World Vegetarian Day".  I admit, I only knew about this through Twitter.  I typically follow any special holidays, or other notable days by the design of the "Google" page.  Since there was no "horn of plenty" or any other theme, how would I know?  Thank you Twitter for that one.

So in April I said I would go vegan for six months and see how it was working out, and then decide what I would do after.  I can honestly say that it did not really dawn on me that I made that statement until this morning.  I thought, "hey, I decide if I go vegan or go home today".  Well actually I haven't thought about reverting.  Yes I miss certain things (fried chicken lately), but I don't really see myself going back.  At this point I am inclined to give it another 6 months, then make a decision.

So today I'm a half year vegan, lets see how the next half goes!

Dealing with my obsession... (Faux Meat Dilemma)

No fun and games tonight, I'm having a somewhat of a dilemma. My friend Michelle asked me a few weeks ago what the point of the fake meat was. I cant recall what she said exactly, but it was basically; "Why go to the trouble of finding a chicken alternative, when you can just eat chicken?". Ok, I didn't debate her on the chicken industry, but I saw something deeper in what she was telling me. I've heard the; "humans are designed to eat meat" and "humans are designed NOT to eat meat" arguments. I've even heard the "god put animals on the planet to grace our tables" argument. (I think that last one is a bit of a stretch), But the point was there. You don't make it to the top of the food chain by nibbling on carrots. So are we or are we not suppose to eat meat? (Don't answer that,)

Another good friend, who is also a customer of mine is a very responsible carnivore. My friend Troy knows where all of his food comes from. He visits the farm he gets his pork, beef, chickens. He pays about $4 a dozen for his eggs, but he claims they are the best you've ever had, and he says the chickens get manicures and saunas (I made up that last part). He drives 45 minutes to get milk from one particular farm. And he is sickened by the state of commercial animal farming in this country, but he hasn't given up any of this food. He has taken a responsible look at what he buys and eats. He probably eats less processed food that I do, and I am out searching for the best fake chicken. Who is closer on the path of righteousness?

Maybe I'm being a little dramatic, but am I just trying to fool myself into thinking I'm still eating meat? Is this helping or hurting me in the long haul? I have to wonder.

I'm back in Milwaukee this week, and I went to another local veg place. This place is called Bombay Sweets (Note, this website is obnoxious as hell, dont let that dissuade you). The food was awesome indeed, but I was really struggling with the lady there to get my order right. I spent about 15 or 20 minutes going over the menu, I asked a number of questions, and had her confirm everything I said,.. no butter, no ghee, no paneer, cheese, VEGAN!. She must have serviced a half dozen others, and kept coming back to me. Finally we settled on some food, and I took it to go. I've never been so adamant to get my order right.

How are these two things related?  Lets just say I'm still struggling with this, and I have not lost the craving for my old foods. I was thinking about fried chicken and ribs this weekend. Am I so addicted, that I need to get away from those foods, and anything similar? Is eating fake chicken or faux-b-q keeping my head in the clouds?  Perhaps tonight I was overcompensating by being a royal pain in the ass at dinner? (the lady there was a sweetheart, and I tipped her handsomely, btw) I dont know, and I'm searching for the answer. I dont want to believe I have to give up yet another part of my diet. Another dilemma, create additional stress to get over my meat/dairy/eggs obsession, or stay closer to that addiction by fooling myself with bbg seitan and other similar products.

No answers,... just questions. I think work is getting to me a bit now, adding to my stress, which exacerbates this situation. As cool as Milwaukee is, I am looking forward to wrapping this up next week, and getting home for a while. Maybe that is the ticket.

I Vanquish Thee..........

Pizza, plain and simple.  Its America's food (sorry Italia), and its has always been in my top foods.  I have always been a lover of good food, from complex to simple.  I love exotic creations, Asian, Italian, French,.. but I also appreciate the American top 3 (IMHO); hot dogs on the grill in summer, a cheeseburger,... or a slice of yummy 'zza.  "Not Dogs", however, are really "Not" the same (unless you Chicago style them, which is basically the only way I eat them now).  Garden burgers, Lentil, Mushroom, etc are good in their own right, but they just aren't the right... That leaves Pizza.  What to do about that?

Well we have been working on that for 6 months now (by "we", I mean "my wife").  I've had some good ones on the outside I must comment on.  Most notably, ClassicSlice and Marchese's, both in Milwaukee, and this one (in glorious Northside, Cincinnati) is close to the house, but still untapped for me; "North Slice".  As for homemade though, its still leaving something to be desired.  I admit, I jumped on the Daiya bandwagon for a while, but I recently hopped off.  Yeah yeah, it melts good,.. but then so does plastic.  Ok, thats harsh, its not that bad, but I'm a "noob vegan", and I still remember cheese.  Perhaps if you have never had it, or cant remember, then perhaps you find the fakes good.  Unfortunately, I do not.  A few weeks back however, I was at Marchese's Olive Pit in Milwaukee (a block from the rok), and they have a single vegan pizza on their menu, which, however, is somewhat outstanding.  Now the kalamata olives dominate the flavor, but they use "Follow Your Heart" vegan cheese, which was in fact the deal maker for me.

So here we have it,... our finest vegan 'zza creation top date, and I admit, we even cheaped out on a few items, not knowing how it would come out.  The crust was simple, frozen bread dough, the sauce came from a jar (oh marone, are you kidding me?), caramelized onions and garlic, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, Field Roast Italian Sausage (yeah baby, FR, you heard that right), and FYH mozz.  Awesome. So much so, I had to take a picture of the last piece, and write a blog entry just in honor of that pizza.

One kid was converted in the process (The free loving, free spirited one).  My "intellectual" son is going to be a tough nut to crack though. He still debates me on the logic of faux meats and cheeses,... and to be honest, I'm struggling with that as well.  Are they holding me back? or helping me forward? Hmmm,.. subject for another time....  One day at a time.

Vegan for a day!

No not me, I've now been vegan for many days.  Almost 6 months worth of days at this point. But I'm here to talk about my brother and sister.  My family is somewhat spread out.  There aren't many of us, and we also don't live that close to each other.  Fortunately (depending on your perspective), my work has taken me to Milwaukee for the last 6 weeks, and for the next few as well.  My brother and sister live in Madison (which I will be blogging about next week, as I'm sure I can find a vegan place there).  Last night, they decided to make the trek to awesome @Bay_View.  We went to one of my favorite places, @PalominoBar.  Suffice it to say, I dont get to see them very often, so it was quite a treat to hang with my brother and sister. Now before I get all blubbery, this blog is not about that, so wait for the Xmas card to hear me gush.

First, big props to my sis, who didn't forget what my all time favorite football club is.  And if you think you know me, then you know damn well that I am a die hard fanatic of the one an only, Tottenham Hotspur.  She brought me a hat, knowing full well, that Cincinnati was short of Hotspur merchandise.  Come on Cincy! (@numberonehotspurobsessedinthenati)

I thought the evening could not have started out better, as my sister proceeded to "serve" my brother legal papers.  I wont go into any more details than that, again, this blog is about me, and I wont have them steal my thunder.  (I only mention that because of I do a little amateur lawyering on the side. Its kind of a side hobby)  But never-the-less, when you see your brother and sister for the first time in a year, your brother gets served (by your sister), before the first pint is drained, you know its going to be a good night. (Chill the Jaeger)

Lets get to dinner.  First off, this place is good old fashioned southern fried goodness.  Its not, (nor are any of these place in Milwaukee) entirely vegan, but they have a variety of nice options.  One of my favorites are the Toffalo (got the spelling right this time) wings, which are a combination of either seitan, or soy, battered, deep fried, and covered in hot sauce.  They make a yummy vegan ranch, and this dish is big enough to feed a rather large family of eastern european immigrants.  Or any immigrants for that matter.  I don't think eastern europeans are any more or less partial to vegan buffalo wing like food stuffs.  My brother and sister were good sports.  Dining with non-vegans (I was one not that long ago, but I dont judge) is the norm for me.  When I go out to work when on the road, I'm used to getting a salad and a potato, and my coworker asks for a large platter of puppies and kittens, or something similar.... Lets just say I'm a good ex-carnivore.

So I figured these two would dine as they probably normally do, but they decided to go all in, and go vegan for the evening.  My brother went as far as to inquire about how the fries were cooked.  Kind of defeats the purpose if you have deep fried tofu, only to find out it was cooked in animal fat (puppies and kittens no doubt)... but of course, the Palomino maintains a vegan fryer (they are awesome)... So to make a long story short, we ate like vegan kings and queens.  This place will not let you leave hungry (or sober for that matter.... just kidding dad, we drank sweet tea).  We were stuffed, and all kidding aside, it was awesome to see them.  It was pretty cool that they went vegan for the night, (not that it was remotely healthy mind you),... but we can rest assured that no animals were killed in the making of our evening.  Makes it all the better!

The Game-changer..... Vegan Reuben

Yeah, you heard that right gamechanger.  No other way to put it  Not unlike when 40 years ago a little known hillbilly was brought to Pittsburgh to take on the role of Quarterback.  Ok, I may be blowing this sandwich a bit out of proportion with that one.  Again, I have to give props to @milwaukeevegan for suggesting that @thecometcafe on the "Lower East Side" (catchy name) has the "Best Vegan Reuben".  At this time it really didn't register, because I am still having canivorian "meat" dreams, and Vegan and Reuben together didn't seem to register. I always liked reubens, I never loved them, but it was one of my goto sandwich's.

I admit, I don't have dreams specifically about reubens, but I do have the occasional dream that I am begin chased by large sausages.  I guess I need to lobby the Brewers to include a Field Roast Smoked Apple Sage be added to that lineup.  I digress, but Field Roast has a lot to do with it.  As I mentioned on an earlier blog about where I learned about this wonderful company, I even mentioned the reuben by name.  I had my first at @thecometcafe, and I never looked back.

On getting home, we made a bee-line (no offense) to the nearest Whole Foods, which incidentally is the only one in Greater Cincinnati.  I found the Field Roast area, and bought one of each thing they had.  (And yes, the sausage was the Pizza game-changer, but the I still classify the reuben as the definitive overall game-changer).  I picked up a few other essentials, and that evening I was making my first batch.  Nice Organic Rye (Organic is a given anymore.  Although I think more often than not, its a scam to suck more of your hard earned pay, I'm trying not to let my cynicism rule my day), sauerkraut, various condiments to try and duplicate the Thousand Islands dressing, and some Daiya cheese, to sprinkle on top.  Now contrary to most people, I'm not completely sold on Daiya.  Yes it melts good, but its not my favorite.  I guess I still remember what cheese tastes like, so this stuff is far removed.  Besides, buying a cheese because it melts good seems to be the wrong reason.  When I got a steak, it wasn't because I liked the color of it.

Getting out the skillet, Earth Balancing my bread.  (It seems wrong to say "Buttering" now), assembling my new creations, and using my family as the test kitchen.  I say family, but in reality my kids still thing Vegan, or Veganism is some sort of disease.  My son desperately thinks I'm going to be in some health trouble because I dont drink Milk.  Yes, I'm learning that the marketing campaign does affect the young pretty good as well.  Not to mention some of my closer friends, now worried about my Soy intake, as some study, or studies, no doubt funded by the Dairy Farmers of America, said too much Soy will cause health problems.  Well my answer to that is; "too much milk will turn you into a Cow".  Hard to argue with that one.  It is infact what it was designed to do......

Back to the kitchen, and my testers.  Lets just say, that this lovely golden brown delicacy was heavan in my mouth, and I proceeded to make them every day for the rest of that week. (thats not actually my sandwich in the picture, it just looked pretty good)  At one point in my endeavor I had thought I lost the almighty sandwich forever, but with one relatively simple creation, I became once again inspired. Over the next few weeks, I've made several variations, some grilled, some not, sometimes sauerkraut, sometimes cole slaw, but at the core, I still have go back to Field Roast for making it all possible.

So "game-changer" may be a bit strong, but its these little strategic battles that I win, make me think I can get through this.  Now, tackling the Jimmy Johns "Italian Night Club", is another story entirely.  I think some things cannot be redone.  For now, thank you Reuben!

Sometimes its all about "What could have been"

You know that feeling when you are out of town, far from home, going out to dinner after work.  You are having a few drinks, ordering some nice food, and then out of nowhere comes this drop dead bombshell sauntering up to you, giving you a sly inviting smile.  You are just minding your own business, but you have to admit, you are looking rather sharp that day, nice crisp shirt, shoes with a fresh shine, and in this light, your gray hair isn't really showing though.  You are minding your own business, and she sits down next to you, pulls out a cigarette, asks you for a light, then slips you her number.  Pushing up your Prada frames, you glance at the note, and then proceed to roll your 18kt white gold band around your wedding finger and politely respond.  "Thanks, but I am spoken for".  She smiles, walks off, and you feel good,.. no you feel damn good.  You still have it, but you also know, you have it pretty damn good.  You have a fine wife, great kids, nice house, a decent job,.. well a good job at least.  You know that feeling?  

Now, I have absolutely no clue what it is like for that woman to walk up.  That was total fiction.  For me, I'm more likely to have a homeless guy approach me and ask for a bite of my sandwich (don't laugh, it happened).  My point is, you are presented with a tempting situation, and you are happy and proud of yourself that you never waver, and sail right through it... like Lindsey Lohan through rehab (bad analogy, but it was really the first thing that came to mind).  Everything seems to shine brighter, and smell fresher.  Ok, I've taken it a bit far, but this was my evening...........

Leaving my office about 6:30 tonight, I decide all of the vegan fare that I have discovered in this town, has left me feeling pretty good, but still, I'm feeling a little reckless tonight, and I'm looking for some action.  You know what I'm talking about.... I'm looking for some raw fish.  Yeah, thats it.  My weakness, my vice, my one splurge that I have somehow justified in all of this.  I haven't had it in a while, but tonight its on my mind.  I find a rather upscale part of downtown Milwaukee.  Not sure what it is called, but its coincidentally around Wisconsin and Milwaukee.  I kid you not, thats the intersection (I'll have to see if there is a corner of Ohio and Cincinnati when I get home).  There are two Japanese places side by side, I choose the one with a nice looking Sushi bar.  This place is aptly named Sake-Tumi.    

So I pull up to the bar, strike up a conversation with a very non-Japanese looking fellow behind the bank of slaughtered sea creatures.  Now, in the past, this had raised red flags for me.  Note that I have spent a lot of time overseas, particularly in Japan, and I have come to find that if the guy slicing your fish is not speaking to you in broken Jinglish, beware of what you get.  I digress, and that is the old me anyway.  I start out smartly with some vegetable Gyoza, and some Edamame, then I get right to it....  "Do you have Toro?" and I'm not talking the kind your dad made you push across the lawn on a Saturday  I'm talking fatty marbled raw maguro.  And they have it.  And I don't care about the Market Price on the menu (Ok, work is paying for it), I'm thinking that Toro is for dinner tonight.... But before I order, I think long and hard about what I have accomplished thus far, and what I am trying to accomplish as I go forward.  I know that a little bit of fish isn't going to change the world, but I begin to think better of what I am doing, and why I came in here... and what I am about to do.  

I announce to "Eric-san", my sushi chef, that I am a strict vegetarian.  Not about to lose a promising tip, Eric commences to put together three fine Maki rolls for me, using shitake mushrooms, pickled veggies, tofu, seaweed, avocado, cucumber.  Finishing this meal off with a nice large Asahi Super Dry, and I am feeling pretty good.  I had a decent meal, found a new restaurant, and didnt compromise myself in the process (I didn't, right?).

Ok, don't drill to deep into this, I already know.  Chances are good my Agedashi Tofu was deep fried in a whale oil, in a kettle sitting atop a flame fueled by the burning carcases of dolphins.  Ok, maybe I exaggerate a wee bit.  And yes, I am well aware of what Age-dashi is made of, but I will admit that it hit me halfway back to the hotel that Agedashi Tofu was made with Dashi. That should not have been that hard to figure out.  Like a Ham sandwich, may contain "Ham".  My bad.  

You see my point I hope. Its more than just a meal that turned a corner.  It is a corner for me as well.  I admit, I'm not perfect, and I have my moments of relapse, but hey, I am trying.  I went out tonight with debauchery on my mind, and I chose a better path.  I'm trying to do the right thing for myself and my family.  I'm trying to live a kind life, and separate myself from the death that is the part of so many of our lives.  I'll think about that one tonight.  Why does my dinner require the death of some creature?  I dont think it does.  Well at least tonight it didn't.  I need to take this one day at time......................

Milwaukee??? Who Knew???

Over the past month, I have been travelling weekly to Milwaukee.  As you can see, I have not been very successful with travelling, so I was not really looking forward to a 12 week assignment out of town.  Its hard enough finding food to eat in the house (although I admit, its been a while since I made a PB&J.  I posted a note on my Grateful Dead twitter (@gratefulday)... (I run a Grateful Dead streaming audio site in my spare time, but that's a discussion for another blog)... that I was going to be travelling to Milwaukee, and out of nowhere @milwaukeevegan shows up with a few good ideas.  One thing lead to another, and before I knew it, I was sitting in a nice local bar called the Palomino, enjoying some southern fried vegan food.  Lets just forget about health food here, this was not the stuff.  I'm not saying the whole menu was like that, but I zeroed in on the "Tuffalo (sic) wings"  (I've loved wings in my former life, and I continue to be on a quest for a vegan replacement).  Suffice it to say, the Palomino was my first of many such adventures in Milwaukee.  Hey, I may lose my crabbiness after this trip.

I took the liberty of creating a little map to help guide me around town for my stay.  I tagged all of the places that have Vegan friendly on the menu.  I'm sure I'll talk more about them over the next month.  I'll be flying back weekly.

View Milwaukee Vegan Restaurants in a larger map

Two other notable standouts have to be Honeypie and The Comet Cafe.  As it turned out, these two and the Palomino are owned by the same folks.  Clearly they are doing something right, as there vegan options are great.  Honeypie makes a vegan "Porkslaw" sandwich that tastes dangerously familiar, and the Comet truly has the best Reuben I have ever had, vegan or not.

I also learned about something else at these places that may very well change the course of this veganification transformation I am going through.  Two simple words could have the power to grant me safe passage through the troubled waters. (Actually, I created these troubled waters, so I hope it doesn't sound like I'm playing the martyr).  

Two simple words can help right my course, and help lift the fog (how about this drama)..... "Field Roast".  Yes, you heard that right.  I thought it was just some vegan term that I should have known, so when I first heard it at Honeypie, I said "Oh yeah, Field Roast", like I knew what I was talking about. I'm new to the club, so I'm not sure what rules, or definitions I'm supposed to know.  On some respects I was a little disappointed that my meal was not a completely unique creation from some master vegan chef, but then I got over that in a hurry when I realized I might actually be able to buy this stuff myself.  The little lightbulb went off, and that weekend you can best believe, we were heading across town to the Whole Foods.

OK, I have digressed quite a bit from the top of this entry.  I think I made my point about Milwaukee, much more than I had hoped for, and it has done much for my crabbiness.  I cant do my whole adventure justice, so I leave some more of the details for later blogs.

Indian Summer! (another cheat, I feel so dirty)

In the past few months, I have grown quite find of Indian cuisine. Actually in the several months prior to veganizing, I discovered that I truly loved Englands national dish (Chicken Tikka Masala?).  At least that is what I heard it was.  There is a particularly lovely Indian place in Cincinnati called Ambar India.  I started going there mostly because one of my new friends (the lady that sold me my house) was fond of Indian cuisine, and we went out to lunch quite a bit.  I figured I would go along and see what it was all about.  It didn't take me long to fall in love with the menu.  I even turned a few others on to this place as well, so there has never been a shortage of reasons to visit.

However, since my veganification (its my new word), I omitted the obvious offending dishes.  Anything with meat or cheese was clearly off limits, but I really tried hard to ignore the wonderfully buttery sauces that accompanied most of the dishes.  OK, I tried, but barely (meaning I didn't really try).  I asked them about any vegan friendly dishes, and the waiter kindly shook his head and said, "no".  I didn't press on much, I just tried to order responsibly, and let the naan fall where they may.

I'll admit, I've never been one to discuss the ingredients, or preparation techniques with waiters or waitresses, so I'm not used to having a dialog with them about what goes into the meal.  I know its just something I need to "get over" and deal with, but in my many years of carnivorian bliss, I've been a model customer.  Rarely do I complain, nor do I ever special order. I (almost) always enjoy the meal.  I'm pretty easy, and consider myself "off the rack" with respect to ordering things as they were intended.  I've dined with many colleagues and friends that specified things to the Nth degree, and I always crossed my fingers that the chef didnt accidentally spit on my plate when he/she prepared the meal.  Needless to say, "special ordering" has come new to me, and particularly when I'm with coworkers.  I get enough grief about this, so I try to minimize it when I'm out with them.

Yeah I hear ya, get over it.  Why sacrifice your morales out of laziness, or peer pressure?  I'm with you entirely, and I promise you that I am figuring it out, or trying to.  I will say that when I go back to Ambar, and even if the same big strapping Indian waiter comes back to me, I will try not to cower to peer pressure, and I will clarify that I do not want butter or "ghee".  Thanks to my new twitter friend @isitvegan for help on that one.

More likely, I will go to Vaishali's wonderful blog, and "beg" my wife to make something for dinner.

5th Month of Vegan-ification

I've several blog entries in the works.  I've been travelling quite a bit the last 3 or 4 weeks to lovely Milwaukee, and I have quite a bit to share from there.  I met a great twitter friend @milwaukeevegan that has turned me on to numerous places there, and I will say that I have become a much happier Vegan, and have met a lot of great people while travelling there.  I promise to share the stories, and make more (I'm flying back in the morning).  For now I will enjoy Labor Day with my family in Cleveland where my mother-in-law is cooking a splendid roast, of which I will not be partaking :-)