That Vegan MoFo Survey

Whew -- I don't think I could possibly catch up on all the Vegan MoFoin' that I missed while on the road. (Vegan MoFoers are hardcore.) I admit, I technically missed posting two days so far this month, but I tried my best. It's hard when traveling and being on the road and staying up later than one should. Still, I'm going to get back on track starting today.

But I'm also really busy with getting settled and getting my life back on track, so today, all you get is that vegan survey that has been floating around the VMF blogs. Sorry -- I'll make it up to you later.

1. What is one food you thought you’d miss when you went vegan, but don’t?
I honestly don't miss cheese. In fact, it was pretty easy for me to give that up. The food I missed the most when I first went vegan was ice cream and Hershey's chocolate. Luckily, over the years, many great vegan ice creams and chocolates have come to existence, and I appreciate them all so very much. I don't miss any non-vegan foods now. Occasionally, I miss the convenience of non-vegan food, but even that has gotten easier over time. It's very easy to be vegan these days.

2. What is a food or dish you wouldn’t touch as a child, but enjoy now? I grew up hating mushrooms, but started to like them when I was vegetarian, as long as they were just a small ingredient in something (like on pizza or in pasta sauce). I like mushrooms a whole lot more now, but am still wary of certain types (specifically, the funkier looking ones). I also hated dark leafy greens, especially spinach, but now I love them all.

3. What vegan dish or food you feel like you should like, but don’t?
Tempeh. It's always been too mushy when I've had it.

4. What beverage do you consume the most of on any given day?
Water. I also enjoy fruit juices and iced tea and unsweetened almond milk.

5. What dish are you famous for making or bringing to gatherings?
Hmm... I honestly don't know because I like to change it up. Usually something simple, like a rice-and-veggies dish, soup, curry, or a no-bake chocolate-peanut butter pie.

6. Do you have any self-imposed food rules (like no food touching on the plate or no nuts in sweets)?
I don't mind my food touching and mingling and being mixed together. I'm fine with nuts in desserts. I limit my wheat products quite a bit due to stomach issues that they cause, but that's it.

7. What’s one food or dish you tend to eat too much of when you have it in your home?
*sigh* Cookies.

8. What ingredient or food do you prefer to make yourself despite it being widely available prepackaged?
Curries

9. What ingredient or food is worth spending the extra money to get the good stuff?
Olive oil and spices

10. Are you much of a snacker? What are your favorite snacks?
I do enjoy snacks quite a bit, but the frequency of my snacking depends on my mood. I snack more while traveling because I usually don't have access to a kitchen.
My favorite snack is roasted red pepper hummus with raw veggies (cucumber and bell pepper strips). I'm also a fan of chips & salsa & guacamole, but not nearly as often as I love a good hummus.

11. What are your favorite vegan pizza toppings?
Mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, spinach, roasted garlic, and artichoke hearts

12. What is your favorite vegetable? Fruit?
Vegetables: broccoli and asparagus
Fruit: bananas

13. What is the best salad dressing?
Both are made by Annie's Naturals: Goddess and Roasted Red Pepper. You could pour them on anything, as far as I'm concerned.

14. What is your favorite thing to put on toasted bread?
Well, my bread days are pretty much over, but assuming we were talking about some vegan, gluten-free toasted bread, I'd say melty Earth Balance, crushed garlic, and nutritional yeast or Vegan Parmesan. (Garlic bread, basically.)

15. What kind of soup do you most often turn to on a chilly day or when you aren’t feeling your best?
I love soup. Chickpea Noodle is nice and cozy. Everything-but-the-kitchen-sink-type Veggie Soups are always good. I'm a big fan of blended lentil soups, too.

16. What is your favorite cupcake flavor? Frosting flavor?
Chocolate with peanut butter frosting is a no-fail combo for all kinds of desserts, not just cupcakes.

17. What is your favorite kind of cookie?
Warm and soft chocolate chip. (But I won't be offended at all if there's some peanut butter involved, too.)

18. What is your most-loved weeknight meal?
Coconut curry with lots of veggies and tofu

19. What is one dish or food you enjoy, but can’t get anyone else in your household to eat?
Well, this is a strange question to answer. I'm shacking up with a bunch of omnivores right now and about half of them are keeping their distance from my food. Tofu seems to confuse a lot of people.

20. Favorite non-dairy milk?
Almond milk for cereals and smoothies and straight up drinking.
Coconut milk for cooking.

21. Most disastrous recipe/meal failure?
Ha! Too many to count! I feel like I couldn't really cook decently until I turned 22. This is terrible and embarrassing, but back when I was a teenager and didn't know how to cook, I would marinate tofu in Bragg's and microwave it. I hated it, but I didn't know what else to do with it! Also, someone told me that a can of Sprite would replace the eggs in a cake. I tried it for someone's birthday cake, which resulted in a dessert I laughingly called Swamp Cake. *sigh* I've learned so much over the years.

22. Favorite pickled item?
Pickles, I guess.

23. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods…what would they be (don’t worry about how you’ll cook them)?
Well, that sounds like hell. Um... I'm going to cheat and say a big bag of rice, a big bag of beans, and a big crate of vegetables.

24. Fondest food memory from your childhood?
My mom referring to broccoli as trees. It's so weird to me that this made me want to eat them that much more. Who would really want to eat a tree?!

25. Favorite vegan ice cream?
Purely Decadent's coconut milk-based chocolate chip cookie dough.

26. Most loved kitchen appliance?
It was a Blendtec. Now... just having a kitchen is pretty cool!

27. Spice/herb you would die without?
Cumin.

28. Favorite flavor of jam/jelly?
It doesn't really matter, as long as it's seedless and does not contain high fructose corn syrup.

29. Favorite vegan recipe to serve to an omni friend?
coconut curry or vegan taco salad/nachos

30. Seitan, tofu, or tempeh?
Definitely tofu.

31. Favorite meal to cook (or time of day to cook)?
Dinners are fun. One day I'll host a big, decadent dinner party. (And of course, I'll blog about it.)

32. Name 3 items in your freezer without looking.
Well, it's not my freezer, plus I haven't purchased any frozen items to keep on hand here yet. But if I did, it'd probably be broccoli, blueberries, and ice. (I wouldn't actually buy ice, though. It would just be there.)

33. What’s on your grocery list?
Hummus, roasted red pepper dressing, fresh veggies (specifically: spinach, bell peppers, and cucumber).

34. Favorite grocery store?
Whole Foods is a good one-stop store. I love Richard's Whole Foods (a small Florida chain) for bulk goods and some fun things. Sweetbay (another Florida chain) tends to have a nice veg selection.

35. Name a recipe you’d love to veganize, but haven’t yet.
Pot pie. I tried it once, a few years ago, and wasn't crazy about the outcome, but that's also because I hated nutritional yeast back then. (I love it now.)

36. Food blog you read the most. Or maybe the top 3?
That's a tough one. I don't know how I could possibly pick just three.

37. Favorite vegan candy/chocolate?
I never liked Mounds or Almond Joy bars in my pre-vegan days, but I tried a Mahalo bar for the first time last year, and it was really wonderful. Also, anything involving peanut butter and chocolate.

38. Most extravagant food item purchased lately?
Well, it hasn't happened yet, but I'm thinking of breaking my no-wheat rule to try one of those frozen Tofurky pizzas. They're plentiful in the grocery stores around here and I've just been dying to try them!

39. I have to ask… last meal, what would it be?
Another terrible question! Gosh, there's so much I'd want to eat. I guess vegan, wheat-free pierogies would be nice, a nod to my heritage, with lots of different fillings. Vegetable parkoras would be a nice starter, and I think a decked out vegan banana split would be an appropriate finish.

40. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
San Francisco, California. Amazing how this has been my #1 destination since I was 12 years old, yet I still haven't made it out there yet. (Soon...)

41. If you could meet anyone on earth, who would it be and why?
First person to come to mind: Alton Brown. I'd want to spend a day in the kitchen with him and put his brilliant mind to work on veganizing a dozen different things.

42. Favorite quotes?
I have no gift. I am only passionately curious.
- Albert Einstein

When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion. -Abraham Lincoln

It's better to be late than pregnant. - Blanche Devereaux

43. Where’s the most exciting place you’ve been?
Jamaica

44. Think about something you didn’t think you could do, but did. What was it?
Leave.

45. If Bobby Flay was your personal chef for a day, what would he make you? Well, what would you politely ask him to make you, rather?
Is this the guy who grills everything? I would expect some pretty fancy veggie and tofu skewers, then.

46. If you could have any animal in the world as a pet, what would it be?
I don't think I want any pets. Pugs are really nice, though.

47. What’s something that, if you don’t do, your day feels incomplete?
Eat several servings of veggies. (I get crabby without my veggies.)