I ain't got nuthin'

Alrighty. I am feeling lazy and I'm not even sure I want cook, much less eat, which is weird for me. But here's some "food" for thought (from Kamutflake Girl's blog):

1. If you have to choose between locally grown or organic, which do you usually choose?
Some foods I refuse to buy non-organic, but I LOVE to peruse the local farmer's markets for the fresher, sometimes different produce. I always buy strawberries and grapes organic, and I try to buy potatoes and tomatoes organic, though I find it very hard to buy bell peppers, organic or not, when just one costs $2.50!

2. Favourite way to prepare potatoes:
Smashed. Preferably with stuff in them. And lotsa garlic.

3. Do you press your tofu before preparing/cooking it (if you eat soy)?
Not usually, because I am too impatient.

4. Name your favorite recipe that is a tradition in your family:
Whipped shortbread, though I am having some problems veganizing our recipe.

5. Any food allergies?
Eggplant :(

6. When you want to go to a fancy dinner, where do you go?
Bo Kong (Buddhist) Vegetarian Restaurant, in Vancouver. I don't do fancy. I do food.

7. When you have a cold, what do you crave?
Everything. I never loose my appetite when I have a cold. Mind you, I get a cold once every decade. I usually get whammied by the flu once a year or so, but I still have a roaring appetite.

8. What kind of water do you drink? (Filtered, spring, tap, etc.)
Filtered tap water, in a glass or in my stainless steel Kleen Kanteen. Plastic anything where drinks are concerned freaks me out.

9. Name a flavor of soda you'd love to see:
I don't drink pop at all. But a combination of mango, coconut and lime would be a nice one.

10. If the recipes you ate as a child were compiled into a cookbook, what would the title be?
How Not to Be Vegan, and Other Omni Stories

11. If you were allowed to grow one food that can't grow in your climate, what would it be?
Just one?!? Probably pineapple.

12. Favorite type of mushroom?
Errr, mushrooms and I have an odd relationship. I try not to look too hard at them and they let me eat them. They weird me out, especially the gills on portobellos. But if I must, it's the creminis. The flavour is so creamy and lovely.

13. Most frustrating part of your kitchen?
Lack of counter space.

14. Last food you burned?
Latkes. I just can't make 'em no matter what I do.

15. Usual response to a veg*n's favorite question, "But where do you get your protein?":
Oh for Pete's sake! I tell people I get it from everything I eat and they're dubious about that. I just turn it around on them and say, "Well, I know where I get my protein, but where do you get yours?"

16. If you were baking your own birthday cake today, what flavor would it be?
Oh, the possibilities! Since I have a yen for coffee at the moment, I'd like a nice tiramisu cake. Ask me again in a hour, and it'll be something else.

17. Favourite brand of chocolate chips?
Don't have one, though I try to buy free trade chocolate chips when I do. And jumbo chips are the best!

18. You have $200 of your tax return reserved for Williams Sonoma - What do you buy?
Gadgets! I really want a mandoline, and a spiral slicer would be nice.

19. Do you plan your menus in advance? Any tips to share?
I try to sit down and pick a bunch of recipes for the week ahead that make enough food for lunches the day after we've had them for dinner. Other than that, I don't do much planning. Some of my best dinners have been made on the fly trying to use up whatever is hanging around.

20. You have 3 minutes before you have to leave the house and you're starving - What do you eat?
A peanut/cashew butter and jam sandwich. Preferably with strawberry jam.

21. If Martha Stewart, Paula Deen, and Rachel Ray got into a fight, who would win and how?
Who cares? If it's at Martha's place, I'd be more concerned about sneaking into her kitchen and making off with the appliances!

22. If you eat oatmeal, what do you add to it before serving?
Oatmeal does nothing for me, so I usually don't eat it unless I want to be starving in an hour. I opt for a hot quinoa cereal boiled with apple juice or non-dairy milk, raisins and lots of cinnamon.

23. If you got to travel to one country and learn all the traditional dishes there, where would you go (ignore commitments in your current place of residence)?
Ethiopia.

24. Favourite late night snack?
I don't get the whole midnight snack thing. I've never been a late night eater; I'm too concerned with sleeping.

25. Favourite springtime food?
Mangoes! The Ataulfo kind that start out yellow and look like little kidneys.

26. Favorite food-related magazine?
Anything I can veganize and say "Nyah, nyah! Mine's better than yours!"

27. Which do you prefer: shoyu, tamari, conventional soy sauce, or Bragg's Aminos?
All of them. They all lend different tastes to different dishes, and some sauces are more suited to some dishes than others, like thick Chinese soy sauces.

28. What vegetable or fruit do you dislike the most?
Asparagus! Ewww! Yuck! Phhttttt!

29. Name a holiday food you look forward to all year long:
Heck, why wait for the holiday? If I want something, I'll make it.

30. If you could convert anyone to veganism with your magic wand, who would you convert?
I once could have answered that, but now I can't because I'm not looking to "convert" people. I just want them to enjoy better food. Hence this blog.