Year in Review, 2015 Taste of the Year: Vegan Toast

Tiramisu at Portobello Vegan Trattoria

In 2015, I noted repeatedly how my husband and I were "not suffering" as vegan and plant-based diners. 2015 was a rather remarkable remarkable year for good eats and Happy Cow app wins out again finding us amazing food even in Iceland where we least expected it.

We also went to Portland twice and indulged in vegan tourism, eating a few times at the wonderful Portobello Vegan Trattoria where the tiramisu and Vtopian Artisan Cheese plates including Carmelized Onion Camembert with rhubarb compote were delights.

We also went to two prix fixe holiday dinners at Cafe Flora: Valentine's Day (blood orange coulis) and Thanksgiving (Jerusalem artichoke blini)— amazing.

There were flights of cider: ginger, pomegrante, apricot, pumpkin spice, Schilling Cider and Reverend Nat's sour cherry and ginger tonic ciders.

Vegan Toast at The Laundromat Cafe, Reykjavik

And indulgences of blood orange mimosas, jack fruit tacos, Davenport Soft Peanut Brittle, and hibiscus-ginger sangria.

On the simpler side, why choose any other than gold potatoes?

Who knew there were so many delicious vegan cheeses? At Portland Veg Fest we were amazed at the assortment of samples from Miyoko's Kitchen (Aged English Sharp Farmhouse), Punk Rawk Labs, NuCulture (creamy cashew pumpkin spice spread), Heidi Ho (Creamy Chia Cheeze sauce served in generous portions of mac and cheese) and Vtopian. Yep, Vegan Cheese Tasting it's a thing and a blog.

But the standout experience was in Iceland where we expected to subsist on Lara Bars. We found vegan carrot cake and chili at the comfortable Cafe Babalu, found vegan crepes, and the best "fast food" chain ever in Glo.

However, taste of the year clearly goes to the ignominiously named menu item VEGAN TOAST at The Laundromat Cafe which turned out to be a Sensorium worthy treat of flavor combinations — portobello wasabi, aubergine, toasted cashews and beetroot chutney on rye. Hooray for low expectations and pleasant surprises.

What is this? My Year in Review.

Comments

Thoughts on "Depression Hates a Moving Target": What I Mean by Relatable

Relatable — I used this word in my reviews of Depression Hates a Moving Target by Nita Sweeney on Goodreads and Amazon . It's a nice word, but overused of late. So, it feels lazy. What do I mean? I connected with this book. It made me reflect more on my own first marathon experience. It made me want to put on my running shoes and head out the door again. In fact, I did. Now, typically, my mental health doesn't hinder my ability to do the stuff I want to do and my body flies under the radar. Still, I also felt goofy stepping out in my running gear a lot of the time. I didn't see myself as a "runner" or an athlete. And, I had no idea if I could run 13 miles let alone 26.2 when I started. More to the point, could I stay moving for the 4+ hours straight it would take to complete the marathon? To do the training mileage, I knew I'd have to run through streets and trails on my own and that made me nervous, too. Waves of grief wash us to strange shores. Whe...

What is Solarpunk? Good question, great answers from our community

What is solarpunk? My fellow Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers authors Commando Jugendstil and Tales from The EV Studio put together this video for the Turin International Book Fair . It features editors and authors from the solarpunk community sharing their thoughts. Together we're imagining optimistic futures based on renewable energy. My soundbite was: "Solarpunk futures are — green spaces with clean water that are pedestrian, collective, feminist, creative communities. And they include non-human animals. " Mary "solarpunk" Shelley cat did a great job (at 6:15) helping from her rather ridiculous cat tree which she absolutely loves. And what better time to wear this solar-colored "Veganism is Feminism" tee from The Herbivore Clothing Company . Seriously. I'm holding a stack of solarpunk books: Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers edited by Sarena Ulibarri which includes my story "Watch Out, Red Crusher!". Wings of R...

Springy story review: "State Change" by Ken Liu

Why it springs to mind: You'll never look at an ice cube the same way again. Where read: In the 2014 Hugo award-winning Lightspeed Magazine , August. Length: 5,194 words Summary: A woman has an ice cube for a soul. Memorable: How the story invites us to think about the shape of our soul, how it (or our perception of it) influences us and how it changes. What ordinary every day object would your soul be? A silver spoon, a beech stick? A great party conversation starter, this. Quote: “All life is an experiment." Notable: The protagonist Rina is an avid reader (always a good choice). Pairs well with: T.S. Elliot, Edna St. Vincent Millay Origin: The story was written in 24 hours based on a writing prompt. (See Author Spotlight: Ken Liu ) About the author: Ken Liu’s debut novel, The Grace of Kings , the first in a fantasy series The Dandelion Dynasty, is due out from Saga Press ( a new Simon & Schuster imprint ) in 2015.

Shel Graves' Sensorium

Search This Blog