Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Raw Vegan Holiday Dishes

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Friday, November 25, 2011

Great NY Times Recipes

These vegan holiday entrees sure look good!
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Thursday, June 9, 2011

A Vegan's Remorse

The food scene just got even worse in little ole Harlingen. Our favorite (and one of the very few we can eat at) restaurants, Jerusalem Cafe, has been shuttered for failure to pay rent. I'm not kidding when I say the place has some of the best Mediterranean food around, even for the big cities. Omar makes a strong hummus and baba ganuj, but what really brings home his vegetarian plate are his spiced roasted potatoes and zucchini and onions. He makes a great Israeli hot sauce. I also love his cardamon tea and, of course, Turkish coffee. I am indifferent to his falafel. It's not bad; it's just not exceptional. I hope the restaurant has not met its end. My fingers are crossed for Omar. It's really the small food businesses that make exceptional food, the places run by passionate chefs. Another Harlingen place that has been in peril is Taj Restaurant, only one of two Indian restaurants in the Rio Grande Valley. Taj is superb. It has been closed for months for "renovations." We keep calling and asking when they will open again, and it keeps getting pushed back. Man, the Valley has been going backwards. I would just die for a decent Chinese or Thai place around here. Stone Court Cafe, a Thai restaurant in Harlingen, has gone downhill quickly. They used to make a decent vegan pad Thai, but they changed the recipe. I can't taste any tamarind or lime juice or lemon grass. What's pad Thai without those ingredients at tasting levels? I'm hoping things start shaping up. Maybe I need to be more open minded and try more restaurants. Ugh, I see lots of disappointment on the horizon.
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Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Back Blogging


Has it really been years since I last posted? Wow. How time flies. I guess I just got out of the habit of posting regularly since I started graduate school. I am going into the second year of my PhD program in English literature this fall at Texas Tech, so I have been busy. During the school year, I have to be in Lubbock, which is really hard on the family. The good news is that after I finish my coursework, Texas Tech will allow me to finish my program here. I have so enjoyed being with my wife and son. Every day has simply been a complete joy. We remain committed to our ideals, and our son is a very healthy 10-month-old vegan (see picture). Unfortunately, since the last time I wrote, Naturally's on South Padre Island closed. I can't tell you how sad that makes me. I hope someone else will see the opportunity to create a health food cafe and store on the island. Vegan Freak Radio also stopped broadcasting. I hope Bob and Jenna take it up again once they get their law degrees. Recently, we started having our friend Alan over to our house on Wednesdays for a nice vegan meal. In the future, I will take pictures of our meals and write about what we ate. I have no pictures of today's meal, but we had my recent creation of egg-style sandwiches made with tofu, mayo, lettuce, tomatoes, and red onions. Yummy. Alan brought over some scrumptious sweet potato fries, and Anita made some tasty chocolate pudding pie.
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Saturday, October 2, 2010

Leopold the Lion King! Our Vegan Baby...


Leo is already 10 weeks old!

The birth was actually a wonderful experience. Although I dearly wanted a water birth at the Weslaco Holy Family Birthing Center, I ended up developing preeclampsia at 39 weeks. So off to the hospital. I was induced beginning at 5 am. Was finally given Nubain (a mild painkiller) at 3:30ish and delivered Leo by 4:59 pm - no c-section, no episiotomy, no epidural. I was so freaking proud of myself! Leopold Doss was given a APGAR score of 9, weighed in at 7lbs and 6 oz and was 21 1/4 inches. Very healthy boy!

He has been breastfeeding nearly exclusively for his ten weeks so far. He weighed in at 11 lbs 10 oz at his 2 month exam! He smiles and coos a lot. We are so proud!

Once we get him on solids - I am sure we will have more vegan stories to tell.
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Veganism in the Valley

Restaurants

Unfortunately, there are no vegan or vegetarian restaurants in the Rio Grande Valley. There are a few places that have vegetarian parts to their menu, and if you are creative, you can assemble a vegan meal at an unlikely place. Stone Court Cafe on Stuart Place Road in Harlingen has several vegetarian items, including two coconut curry dishes. They will prepare items specially for you if you ask. They are really nice. I have them make me a vegan pad Thai. It's really good. Just be wary that one of their hot sauces has fish in it. So, be sure to ask about that. There's also Taqueria la Michoacana on West Jefferson in Harlingen. The papas a la Mexicanas is vegan if ordered with corn tortillas. They are so good but very spicy. Don't eat the refried beans. They are certainly not vegan. A lot of Valley vegetarians like Hop Tung on 10th Street in McAllen. It has a separate vegetarian menu. I personally think they use too much tofu on their plates and not enough vegetables. That said, their General Tso tofu is great. Le Lai is also on 10th Street. My wife liked it more than I did. Tokyo Sushi Bar is on 10th Street. This is a place I like more than my wife, but their food was really greasy, and we both didn't like the smell of the glassware. Taste of India on Nolana Loop in McAllen is really good. It's strange, but you have to beg for extra heat in the meal. They are so trained to people being sensitive to spicy food. They really don't know what they are missing. Thai Red Chili's on Ware Road in McAllen is good. Just be sure ask for the food to be extra spicy. Otherwise, it will be pretty mild. One of my favorite Valley restaurants is Uchi Japanese Restaurant on Ruben Torres Boulevard in Brownsville. They have a rice dish pronounced "dol-so-bob." It can be made with tofu. Just be sure to ask for it without egg. It is rice served in a hot bowl with vegetables and a spicy sauce, and the rice touching the bowl gets crispy. It really is good. At Betty's Tortas, which have several locations in the Valley, including Brownsville and San Benito, you can make tacos with corn tortillas, aguacate slices (avocado) and papas fritas (fried potatoes) with their house hot sauce. It's quite good. In Brownsville, the Vermillion has vegetarian beans, which are hard to find in these parts. Just be sure to be specific which beans you want. They also have charro beans (cowboy beans that are made with pork). I've heard that the Brownsville City Commission used to hold meetings in the Vermillion, so the restaurant had a reputation of being a center of power.


Grocery Stores

The best stores for vegans in the Valley are Sun Harvest on 10th Street in McAllen, HEB on Trenton and 10th Street in McAllen, HEB on Shary Road and the expressway in Mission, HEB on Lincoln and the expressway in Harlingen and the HEB on Ruben Torres and Paredes Line Road in Brownsville. The best two are Sun Harvest and the HEB at Trenton and 10th. Both have really good supplies of bulk items, hearty breads, teas, organic vegetables and, of course, tofu. There's a small health food store in the mall in Brownsville and one in Harlingen on Sunshine Strip. Both aren't that good because they hardly have much in stock. On South Padre Island, Naturally's Health Food Store and Cafe is great, and you can assemble a vegan sandwich there, as well. It is on the main strip. Tokyo Asian Market on 10th Street is really good, especially since they expanded. They have a great selection of Asian foods, many of which I couldn't do without.