vegan italian food in japan?

vegan food is quite easy to come by in japan.  most basic language books have the cheat sheet on how to communicate your dietary desires.  once you open up that door, the possibilities are virtually endless.

a fine establishment in kitakami city, iwate prefecture is la taverna.  the wonderful folks there were very accommodating and thrilled to make a full on vegan meal.  now, this place is not traditional japanese food, but  a lilt on italian dining.  excellent wine selection, fantastic salad, a mushroom pasta dish to keep you up at night with your stomach growling, and a thin crust pizza with house-made tofu-"cheese."  all was absolutely delicious and wonderful.  and then they brought out the dessert...vegan strawberry shortcake--gluten-free, too!  the tofu-creme was a touch of magic.

many thanks to the fine folks at la taverna for a fantastic meal.

and to koji takusari and the takusari family for their wonderful hospitality! an amazing place to share with amazing people.

odango wa...anata o aishite imasu.

is it possible to love a food?  i mean, really love a food.  if that is the case, i'd say that i've re-ignited my old love affair with a shapely japanese morsel called dango.

plump round balls of gooey rice flour, grilled to perfection whilst lined up snug on a bamboo skewer.
laden in a sweet-savory sauce of sugar-soy.  it is light, it is joy, it is delicious.  nice to see you, old friend dango.

vegan quiche

sure it's possible! with a lil' innovation using no recipe and only intuition, 

a deelish vegan quiche was fun to make and doubly fun to gobble up.

contained within the spelt crust with tofu base: crimini mushrooms, shallots, green pepper, red pepper, shredded carrot, and bits of broccoli.

speyside scotch

after scotch-touring around the isle of islay for the past year, i have ventured over to a fine 12-year single malt hailing from speyside: pebble beach, from lombard whisky.

a robust nose, rich caramel color, well-rounded flavor with rich, earthy, tobacco finish. an enjoyable dram.

vegan green chile stew

a lil' bag o' deelishious fresh roasted hatch chiles from the farmer's market inspired this one...
ad hoc vegan green chile stew.

2 cups of roasted green chiles (skins peeled)

1 1/2 cup of chopped tomato (skins peeled)

1 cup homemade seitan

3/4 cup pinto beans (soaked overnight)

1/2 cup iowa sweet corn

3/4 medium yellow onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic

1/2 cup veg broth

salt

pepper

olive oil

soak pinto beans overnight, in a.m. put in crockpot and simmer on "low" 4 hours

saute onion and garlic in olive oil, salt, & pepper until translucent, add veg broth and bring to boil, then place in crockpot

(optional) make seitan w/ gluten & chickpea flour--boil in a bit of veg broth, liquid smoke, and soy sauce--then bake to preferred texture

deskin roasted chiles, dice and place in crockpot

flash boil tomatoes, deskin, dice, and place in crockpot

cut corn off of ear and place in crockpot

crank up crock to "high" and let 'er intermingle for 2 hours.

how do you say...deelish!

vegan bbq tempeh sandwich

from one of the finest sub shops in the world, the delicious foot long bbq tempeh with soy cheese sauteed onions and mushrooms on a wheat hoagie bun. this magical sandwich served as dinner last night and lunch again today. as far as messy vegan sandwiches go, this one is a 8.5 of 10.

ethiopian

in my humble opinion, ethiopian is one of the most delicious foods in all the land.kick it up with the spice, mushy comfort food with simple ingredients, and rolls of injera to tang the taste buds. mmmmm, mmmmm, good.

ahh, yes...peaty goodness

my quest for understanding the complexities of single malt scotch has brought me back to revisit an old friend, laphroaig. after deliberation and analysis, i have decided that this is one of the finer single malts for my palate.

in particular, i relish the leathery, earthy, pungent richness of this cask strength whisky. the smokey peat deliciousness fills my senses with warmth and satisfies many a sensory cell.

in addition, i have now become an international land owner once again.

dirty miso

one of the finer simple dishes is life is miso-shiru. a staple item we ate several times a week in japan and hit-and-miss around the house since then.

one of the twists that we usually take on the standard variety (seaweed and miso broth with carrot, tofu, and scallion bits) is a lil' somethin' we call dirty miso. to this end, we take the basic recipe and litter it up stew-style--mushrooms, noodles (soba or rice), broccoli, daikon, hijiki, celery, apple, etc. you get the picture.

it still remains a very simple deelish dish with a wholesome goodness that you can feel nourishing your every cell. giddyup.

most beautiful hot dog stand

one of the finest hot dog stands that sells vegan soy dogs and tempeh burgers sits within the beautiful views of the flatiron mountains.you can get them loaded down with hot peppers, multiple mustards, and pickled-this-and-thats.