Sunday, Bloody Mary

I didn't spend any time rejoicing today. Except for the rejoicing I did at the variety of food and drink I was able to enjoy at Mohawk Bend. Although I encountered a few pleasant surprises (and in the context of this blog, I am referring to the fact that my salad unexpectedly arrived featuring both grapefruit and red onions, which I considered to be a major score!), I want to address the two major feats of this meal: 1) A Vegan Bloody Mary 2) Vegan Poutine.

I have a very bizarre relationship with Bloody Mary. Of course, I never drank one in my youth, since not only did I not drink alcohol, I didn't drink tomato juice. But the strangest thing happened to me, about 12 years ago. I got an INTENSE craving for a Bloody Mary, and I had to have one! I was visiting a friend in Boston at the time (coincidentally, the same friend I was dining with today), and we went on a quest to find me the fixings for a Vegan Bloody Mary. I made it, I drank it, I enjoyed it, but I was left with the feeling of, "OK, I never have to do THAT again!" And then, about 2 years ago, I got ANOTHER craving for a Bloody Mary. So, I made one... but I must have done a bad job, because it was Ass Awful and I couldn't manage to drink even 1/3 of it. Well, as you know, I've had my eye on drinking a Bloody Mary for the purpose of this project. And finding a Vegan Bloody Mary in a restaurant is pretty much like spotting a unicorn. I initially thought I would try a "craft brew on tap" at Mohawk Bend, but when I discovered the Vegan Bloody Mary, the craft brew went out the window. After all, beer is everywhere. Vegan Bloody Marys barely exist outside of Narnia.

And let me tell ya! That Bloody Mary was great! I admit, after 1 sip, I thought I was in trouble... but after 2 sips, I was digging it. It was lovely! Very Spicy and very garlicky. I don't know if I like ALL Bloody Marys, but I sure liked that one! I may experiment with making a Vegan Bloody Mary at home sometime this week, to see if I like one that isn't all fancy like, as the one I drank today was.

Bloody Mary is the drink I love! It made me engage in Happy Talk!

Before I get into the Poutine, I want to point out a strange phenomenon that exists only in Picky Eaters Turned Vegan. There is a whole slew of foods that I wouldn't eat before I became vegan, but that I now embrace the Vegan Versions of. For example, I have never eaten a lamb, a duck or a blood sausage, yet I have eaten Vegan Versions of all of them. Here is a small sampling of things that I refused to eat the "normal" version of, but that the Vegan Versions of have become a part of my life:

* Cream Cheese
* Sour Cream
* Mayonaise
* Aioli
* Hollandaise Sauce
* Tartar Sauce
* Chorizo
* Bolognese Sauce
* And MANY more!

I mention this, in regards to the Poutine, because I have never eaten Poutine before today! I mean, it's not exactly common fare in any of the 3 cities I have lived in (Asbury Park, NJ, Greensboro, NC, West Hollywood, CA). (OK, I guess there is a variation of Poutine that you can get in NJ diners, which we call Disco Fries, but I never ate those either). And when we were in Montreal 2 years ago, we roamed the streets for Vegan Poutine (or at least, Vegetarian Poutine! I would have pushed the cheese curds aside just to claim that I ate Poutine in Quebec!).... but we couldn't find any. So, I never ate it... until today... when I ate another unicorn... Vegan Poutine!

Vegan Poutine = French Fries, Vegan Brown Gravy, Daiya Cheese

So, I will state the obvious. Anything involving french fries can't be bad! Heck, anything involving Vegan Brown Gravy and Vegan Cheese can't be too bad either! While I admit that it was a little strange to eat French Fries that were soggy with gravy, I couldn't complain. I liked my Vegan Poutine very much. And I can't wait until I can discover another random dish that I have never had, prepared Vegan Style.

Updates: I have cleaned out 3 binders worth of paper recipes at this point, and I have entered about 1300 recipes into the Recipe App. I don't have a lot of Weird Foods on my agenda for this week, as I am REALLY concentrating on getting rid of as much as possible that I already have in he house, before the extermination in a mere 8 days. And, NO... still haven't dared to eat another Seaweed Snack! :-/