Amy and Sophie ... "Celebrating in San Francisco”

Celebrating in San Francisco

In early January 2016, Sophie and I took advantage of our recently won right to legally marry in North Carolina. We were headed to San Francisco for the Society for Classical Studies Conference where she was to be honored with a national teaching award. We decided to consider this trip a honeymoon of sorts for our sweet and low fanfare legal union. While in SF we ate and drank well. Here are some reflections on these culinary explorations.

San Francisco is home to a number of remarkable all vegan eateries. This visit I was able to visit just one of these, but I ate well and plant-based (though not always low-fat) throughout the 4-day trip. We stayed at a huge conference hotel just off Union Square.

Dinner day 1—Sophie and I were quite hungry by the time we arrived at our hotel in the early evening, so we explored our choices in a two-block area and decided to try an Indian restaurant called New Delhi (newdelhirestaurant.com). The interior was grand with high ceilings and elaborate decorations and as it was quite early California time (6ish) it was not too crowded yet. We started with a vegetarian platter of appetizers that included mint and tamarind chutney, a papadum, a samosa, two onion bhaji, and 4 pakora. The menu had a wide array of main dish vegetarian choices so we branched out a bit and tried two dishes which were unfamiliar. In my experience it is rare to find vegetables in the Tandoori section of an Indian restaurant menu. The dish was called Vegetable Shaslik. It was essentially grilled mushrooms, potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, onions tossed in a hot aromatic mix of spices. Sophie chose an eggplant curry with tamarind. I learned for the first time that she is a fan of tamarind. It was sweet and tangy, with a lovely soft eggplant texture and delicious over pullao rice. We added yellow dahl to the order and together the 3 dishes complemented each other spectacularly well.

Breakfast day 2—We met my Dad and Barbar who came in from Washington State to celebrate with us around 9 AM and went in search of tea and a quick breakfast. We ended up at the hotel grab and go location and I had a very nice bowl of steel cut oats with raisins and walnuts that came in separate little dishes and the requisite cup of English Breakfast tea. Definitely SF hotel prices, but all 4 of us with different dietary priorities were able to find something suitable.

Lunch day 2—A requisite San Francisco experience! Sophie had never been on a cable car so the 4 of us walked to the end of the Hyde and Powell line to take the cable car to Ghirardelli Square and to visit the Buena Vista café—home of renowned Irish Coffees (thebuenavista.com). When we arrived at the start of the line we learned (courtesy of a person selling papers to raise money for people living without homes in the city) that line was not running due to some works problem. However, and here is the good part, if we just stood on a particular corner we would see a free shuttle bus that would take us to our destination at the other end of the cable car line. And, lo an’ behold about 20 minutes later after an interesting city tour we were dropped off in front of the Buena Vista.

I now know that a whipped cream-free Irish is called a “royale”. And when I asked the waitperson for help with finding a vegan lunch (after having difficulty finding something both meat and dairy free on the menu), she smartly suggested an avocado, lettuce and tomato sandwich on whole-wheat toast (even their veggie burger had cheese in it), which came with a vegetable side. A perfectly nice lunch in great company at a table with a view of the San Francisco bay.

Dinner day 2—After watching the sun go down and the city light up at the bar on the 46^th floor of our hotel, we went in search of more delicious food. It had been thunder storming on and off all day so we were in again in search of something nearby. We landed at an Italian Restaurant called Puccini and Pinetti (pucciniandpinetti.com). With a few questions and a bit of negotiation, I found myself with an awesome warm spinach salad topped with caramelized onions, mushrooms and red peppers, decorated with candied walnuts (subbed for the gorgonzola cheese). The whole thing was well tossed with an appropriate amount of balsamic dressing. In addition, ordered a side of their special vegetable of the day: roasted Brussels sprouts and a side of truffle fries. The sprouts were cooked perfectly, but the fries were a bit disappointing—not particularly hot and topped with parmesan cheese. Maybe the universe was trying to remind me not to overconsume fat!

Fresh rolls at Old Siam

Breakfast day 3 (and 4)—We tried the Taylor Street Coffee Shop (taylorstreetcoffeeshop.com/) which we had passed up the day before because it was crowded and tiny (about 8 feet wide!) Barbar had read reviews of it on the Web and said it was highly rated. Walking across the street to it’s entrance we had to circumnavigate an huge wall of garbage cans and recycling piles, but once on the list we were seated in about 5 minutes and were treated to a fresh made delicious breakfast. Again, I had to work with the waitperson to find a vegan offering (other than cereal or toast), but they kindly worked with me to put together a delicious pile of hashbrowns topped with peppers, onions, and mushrooms, with sourdough toast and a side of avocado. The plate was garnished with sliced strawberry and orange. We liked our food so much we went back the next day. I had the same thing except I added side of greens tossed with balsamic vinaigrette.

Spicy eggplant with tofu and basil at Old Siam

Mango Fantasy

Lunch day 3—Sophie and I both love Thai food and enjoy trying it in new locations. In between her conference sessions we dined at The Old Siam Restaurant (201 Ellis Street, Union Squatre). I had tasty versions of my favorite dishes…fresh rolls (filled with salad and a bit of tofu) with a hoisin like dipping sauce and spicy eggplant with tofu and basil. Sophie tried a new to her dish on the lunch special which was tofu and vegetables over rice topped with peanut sauce and a beautiful drink called a “mango fantasy.” I had unsweetened Thai ice tea without the milk and it was quite good.

Dinner day 3—On this evening we had the great pleasure of dining with a dear friend, Claudia who is a very long time resident of the area. She met us at the hotel at about 7PM and took us on a walking tour of the city that landed us at one of her favorite vegan restaurants called Enjoy Vegetarian Restaurant (www.enjoyveggie.com). We started with steamed hand made dumplings that were delicate and tasty and dipped them in a dark soy and vinegar sauce. The next course was an outstanding (egg free!) hot and sour soup with handmade wontons and big colorful slivers of vegetables. We then chose 3 entrees—a spinach-like greens dish not on the menu with a ginger and fermented sauce, braised spareribs with daikon and eggplant with spicy garlic sauce. The vegan spareribs dish was amazing-aromatic, tangy and a lovely blend of flavors. The textures of the dish were even more remarkable. I had never cooked daikon before and it was soft but still maintained a bit of the radish crunch, the napa cabbage in the dish was soft and luxurious, the shitake mushrooms slippery and the veggie sparerib was chewy and complexly flavored. It was all served up with delicious tea. The meal here was decidedly the culinary highlight of the trip.

Lunch day 4—Lunch the next day was at a Mediterranean takeout place called Oasis Grill. We had a falafel wrap in lavosh and sides of baba ganoush and tabouli. At this point, I dubbed this my eggplant tour of San Francisco. Good, fast, and reasonably priced.

Spicy eggplant at Lers Ros

Mango curry at Lers Ros

Dinner day 4—After celebrating Sophie’s award in the evening at the conference. We trekked a half mile into the tenderloin area of SF to find a highly rated Thai Restaurant called Lers Ros. Unfortunately, we got there quite late and there was a line out the door and a 30-plus-minute wait so we headed back towards the hotel and stopped at a different Thai restaurant that advertised a vegan and halal menu. Not surprisingly, I had spicy eggplant with basil again. This time with brown rice and Sophie had Mango Red Curry. It was filling and tasty…though not memorable enough to remember the restaurant name.

Even on our long trek home the next day we found healthy vegan food at SF airport and Houston airport. Kind of amazing. One has to look carefully sometimes, ask questions nicely sometimes, and do a bit of negotiating sometimes, but there is whole food plant-based meals in all sorts of unlikely places!

A Masterful Use of Spices and Flavors

I can count on one hand the vegetarian restaurants I know that I would plan a trip around—one of these, Am Spices of India, is in the city center of Albuquerque, New Mexico. I recently had the opportunity to visit this restaurant for the second, third and fourth times!

Sophie and I have gone to the Southwestern Popular Culture Association Conference held in Albuquerque in February for 2 years running. Last year, we discovered one of these favorite spots, Am Spices of India on our last night in town and were eager to get back.

Am Spices is a small colorful, friendly, but unassuming sort of place. The table tops sport bright flowery artsy images and a small buffet bar splits the seating area of the restaurant into 2 small rooms with about 3 tables each. The proprietor is very welcoming and was helpful in selecting the vegan items off the all vegetarian menu. Very few dishes contained dairy products—usually milk or yogurt, they use oil rather than ghee in the curries.  He seemed pleased that we returned daily for the three days we were in town.

Here’s why: the food was outstanding. The flavors of each dish and beverage were remarkable—well conceived and exceptionally well crafted. The food is fresh tasting, remarkably flavorful, attractive, and not overly oily. On the night we arrived in town, we started with a house made Masala iced tea served without milk. The flavor combination was unusual—ginger, cardamom, mint, lemon, and other spices—and memorable. Not too sweet, too spicy or too tangy.

Gobi Manchurian

We also shared a dish called, Gobi Manchurian, which is described on the menu as a “fusion cauliflower curry with Chinese influence cooked with a combination of vegetables and spicy sauces” served with white rice topped with fresh herbs. (see photo) Its rather intriguing but vague description belies its beautiful complexity.  Perfectly cooked chunks of breaded cauliflower were submerged in an undeciferable mix of spices and other flavors. At first taste, both of us stopped to carefully notice and savor it. We were not intentionally being mindful, but were pulled into a meditative food reverie by the delicious flavor and texture combination in our mouths.

Chaat Combo Platter

We also ordered the Chaat Combo which featured Idli Chaat, Samosa Chaat and Aloo Tikki Chaat. I had anticipated a plate with these different foods arranged on a platter with chutneys to dip into, instead it came served rather more like a filling appetizer salad with the Chaats cut into bite-sized pieces and topped with chickpea wafers and various vegetables and chutneys. (see photo) Each bite was a new flavor sensation. I could tell which were the samosa bites, but the other two were unfamiliar. It was a remarkable combination of flavors—sweet, fruity, spicy, green, allium, savory—and a delightful contrast of textures, warm creamy, cool crunchy, firm juicy, among others. 

Lunch buffet - with Dahl,
mixed vegetable curry,
pilau rice and an
eggplant and potato curry.

We returned the next day for lunch--we couldn’t wait to get back there--and tried the lunch buffet. We enjoyed dahl, mixed vegetable curry, another curry (ask Sophie), pilao rice, and fresh made Puri, a puffy bread to dip into the saucy curries.

On the 3^rd visit with returned to the Gobi Manchurian (just as amazing the second time around) and tried the Bombay Bhel, described as a “tasty mixture of puffed rice, crispy chickpea noodles, and wafers topped with diced vegetables and chutneys. And, tasty, it was. (see photo)

Bombay Bhel

All this to say, two things: one, sometimes one can find amazing and memorable food experiences in unlikely places and, two, I urge you to visit Am Spices of India (amspicesofindia.com) should you find ever find yourself in Albuquerque!

In case you are wondering, my other favorite restaurants (in my life so far) are the vegetarian oasis, Avocado in Athens, Greece, the startlingly beautiful Sublime in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and happily, the astonishingly creative Plant in Asheville, NC, which is my home town.

A month of eating in Portugal

Hot chocolate and Matcha tea with
vegan treats - Sintra

Having now spent nearly one month in Portugal I will say for sure that Portugal is a very vegetarian and in most places, vegan friendly country. Oh yes, they do have their specialties which are mostly animal based but many have converted them to veggie and if not traditional recipes - have many veggie options. We encountered several exclusively vegetarian and even a few vegan restaurants. Not only that - but many stores selling plant based products. Our adventure in each new city is to track down these places. Of course, we also like to eat in from time to time which makes it difficult in the places that have such great options for restaurants. One favorite was a vegan crepe with veggies (gluten free) at Princesa do Castelo in Lisbon. My friend Marcia told me to ask the owners for recipes when I liked the food so I did and added it below.

Evora Salad bar

I took loads of pictures in various restaurants and will list them by name when possible. My research to find them is usually Happy Cow website and often the tourist offices have information. There is a chain store in both Lisbon and Porto - Celerio which has a restaurant as well.

Raw "cheesecake" at Princesa do Costelo

In Sintra, again our Airbnb was next to a yoga studio with a little coffee shop with vegan hot chocolate and snacks - how does this happen to us in so many places. I feel like I am a magnet to these little special spots and am always grateful to find them.

In Lisbon we went twice more to our favorite vegan restaurant - Princesa do Castelo where we had a MOST delicious dessert - berry cheesecake. 

In Evora we found a great health food stores and Salsa Verde - with a buffet and salad bar - another favorite spot.

Fig, strawberry, nut and greens

Stuffed mushrooms in Coimbra

Eva singing Fado

Then we were off to Coimbra, a university town, again with many options for us. We enjoyed Maria's Portugese Tapas Restaurant, just up the street with Eva who not only cooked and served us but sang Fado during one of our meals. She aimed to please and made me special food to meet all my dietary likes. We had our all time favorite padron peppers (memories of the Camino de Santiago) at the little bar/restaurant Arcada which was right across the street from our apartment. (See recipe below.)

DaTerra buffet, Porto

DaTerra buffet, Porto

From Coimbra we headed to our last city for this trip - Porto, or Oporto. Here again are many options but we have already discovered a favorite - DaTerra which has an awesome buffet every day at lunch or dinner - we are usually going at 2:00 for a main meal.

Here you go with two recipes from this trip - Enjoy! 

The first one is from Princesa do Costelo in Lisbon.



Vegan Pancake - Okonomiyaki (gluten free)

1/2 cup Chickpea flour

Princesa do Castelo - vegan in
Lisbon - Pancake on the left

1 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp black salt
a pinch of paprika or black pepper
water to make a smooth but not too runny batter
chopped cabbage
spinach
dill leaves
Note: you can add whatever veggies you wish.


Instructions

• In a pan well greased with oil use the batter to make a thick crepe and when cooking add chopped cabbage, spinach & dill leaves.
• cook well and using the spatula flip and cook for 1-2 minute till well cooked.
• Serve hot with a sauce of choice such as hot n sweet sauce

Fried Padron Peppers (typical tapas in Spain and Portugal)   

½ pound fresh Padron peppers

Virgin olive oil for frying

Coarse salt to taste
Instructions

• Wash the peppers thoroughly and pat dry.
• Pour a little oil in a pan and put it on medium heat.
• When the oil is hot, grab a handful of peppers and throw them into the oil. Use a lid as the oil will splash quite a lot. They should brown on both sides, but should not get too dark. Turn them over if necessary.



Padron peppers and salted mushrooms
at Arcada Restaurant

• When done, take them out with a slotted spoon and sprinkle with the salt. Serve immediately while piping hot.

Continuing in Andalusia

New Years Paella with a view

Rice cake sandwich with avocado,
 and tomato

Here we are in a new year. We celebrated the new year by going to the eastern point of southern Spain - Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata where we rented a home for a week and mostly ate in as this was a very small village in the winter which was not their high season. Every day we walked on the many walks along the beach and coastline packing a snack.

Las Negras beach - Tea and Tapas
our 25th anniversary. I have learned
to like olives on this trip.

Next we were on to Ronda which was great for food options. This time we stayed in a small hotel so had no facilities for cooking. We were next a wonderful little cafe for breakfast with gluten free bread and amazingly delicious tomato salsa - just tomatoes pureed in a blender. Seems to be one of the favorite breakfast items in many spots - healthy and delicious. Some serve it with olive oil and some not. Ronda had many options for us.

Bar Bodega San Francisco, Ronda
Tapas of mushrooms in
garlic (Richard's favorite)
and cold spiced cauliflower

Curry and Grill, Ronda

Then to Cadiz which was on the western side of Andalusia on the Atlantic ocean, an area known for seafood but we found it easy for our palates. We combined our time between eating in and out. There was a great market and we cooked a delicious meal with mushrooms from the market.

Our last stop of one month in Andalusia was Cordoba - a place we could certainly return to. Here we ate out most days - finding it confusing again with the time. Most restaurants were closed between 4-8 so we ate early and had a snack back in our hostal (Bed and Be) at night. There were many options in this beautiful and historic city. Please visit my travel blog for many more details about this trip. (mexicotravel-susan-ricardo.blogspot.com)

Mushrooms for breakfast
after early morning visit to  Mezquita

Mushrooms were spectacular in Cordoba with garlic and oil - we even had them for breakfast after the visit to the Mezquita early in the morning.

Grilled veggies at Rincon Andaluz, Cordoba

Memories from the Camino...
pimiento padron (which we ate several times in Santiago
de Compostella), habitas (like lima beans) and salmorejo

Olives in the market

Dietary information
in many restaurants

We were in olive country and ate them as a tapas in most restaurants. Before this trip I did not like them but the Spanish olives were delish.  I learned to like olives in Andalusia!!! We visited the town of Baena where much olive oil is produced. We were told that 60% of the olive oil of the world is produced in Spain.

Salmorejo is so famous in Andalusia,
especially Cordoba that it is mentioned
on the tile wall. (I have copied it here)

Interesting to note is that Spain, like many other places in the world, is mentioning dietary needs on menus and signs in restaurants. Here is an example....no need to worry in this part of the world - we can all eat easily and happily


Salmorejo

1 KG tomato
200 gr bread
100 gr extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic
10 gr salt

Blend together. (It is often served with chopped eggs and ham but happily served without)


Since we had vegan paella in so many different places, I decided to look for a recipe to share with you for paella. I found one from Gwyneth Paltrow's book called Notes from My Kitchen Table. I have adjusted the measurements when possible using conversion tables. You can also feel free to add other vegetables to this recipe as you wish.

Vegetable Paella

1 L (4.25 cups) vegetable stock
Dried shiitake or porcini mushroom10 cloves garlic, 4 crushed and 6 finely choppedLarge pinch saffron
Coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large aubergine (eggplant) cut into 8mm thick slices, ends discarded
125 ml (1/2 cup) olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
1 large tomato
2 red peppers, seeds and stem removed, cut into 2.5 cm pieces
400g (about 2 cups) Bomba (or Arborio) rice
8 small artichokes, trimmed and steamed for 20 minutes, cut in half and chokes discarded
150g (1 cup) frozen peas
3 lemons, 2 cut into wedges

½ teaspoon sweet pimenton (paprika)

Combine the stock with the mushrooms and the 4 cloves of crushed garlic in a large saucepan and boil over high heat for 10 minutes. Lower the heat, add the saffron and pimenton and simmer for an additional 10 minutes to thoroughly combine the flavours. Keep warm over a low heat.

Meanwhile, prepare the aubergine by sprinkling both sides of the slices with a bit of salt and laying them between sheets of kitchen towel for at least 15 minutes (Note: this will draw out the moisture and the bitterness from the aubergine). Cut the slices into 2.5 cm pieces. Heat half the olive oil in a large sauté pan set over medium heat and cook 2 cloves of the chopped garlic until fragrant, about a minute. Add the pieces of aubergine to the pan and cook for 12-15 minutes, stirring now and then, until browned and softened. Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in a 40-45 cm paella pan over high heat until just beginning to smoke. Turn the heat down to medium, add the onion and the 4 remaining cloves of chopped garlic, and cook, stirring, until just beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Coarsely grate in the tomato, discarding the skin. Stir together and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the peppers and continue to cook the vegetables together until softened, another 10 minutes. Stir in the cooked aubergine.

When you’re ready to roll, place the paella pan with the vegetables over high heat and pour the rice into the pan. Add the broth and stir to combine everything. Bring to the boil and then lower the heat to a simmer. Arrange the artichokes and peas on top and simmer until the rice is cooked through, about 35 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat source, cover with a large piece of foil and let it sit undisturbed for 15 minutes. Squeeze the juice of the lemon paella. Serve with lemon wedges. Buen provecho!

Andalusia, Spain on plants

First paella in Sevilla

Another adventure for us in Spain - by now we have been in Andalusia - the area of the south of Spain for over 2 weeks and have settled into the live of nomads - moving from one province to another.

We have already been in several of the big cities - Seville and Granada with side trips from them to a few very small villages - Aracena and Lanjaron. This is not a country that is dedicated to plant based eaters BUT we have found in almost every place an option or two for us to choose from. Most excitedly is when I find vegetarian paella on the menu. 

Paella with tofu in Aracena - a very small
town north west of Sevilla. What a surprise
to find tofu in this little village.

This is a traditional Spanish dish with saffron and rice and always some vegetables but usually with different meats and shrimp, etc. Of course, tapas (small dishes) are the custom in all small restaurants and bars and we have discovered a few favorites there as well. One is Salmorejo (a chilled tomato soup ) and another is Pisto -  a ratatouille-like vegetable stew. I am going to mention specific restaurants that we enjoyed during this trip, especially ones who are dedicated to those of us who enjoy the plant based lifestyle. Seville is a big city with lots to offer.

Large market in Triana, Seville

Surprise - sweet potatoes on the street as a snack

many "meat substitute" products in
Seville grocery store

A vegetarian restaurant in Sevilla - Gaia
this was a tofu cutlet with salad

Richard's stew at Gaia

The side trips took us to Aracena for 2 nights with 2 walks to small villages - each with a local eatery and options for us. We have also cooked in our apartments when possible, enjoying the local vegetables and beans. Here all little stores have jars of beans and lentils already prepared and very inexpensive. I like trying them all. Our daytime snacks include fruit and local nuts. Figs both fresh and dried are very common here as well.

Salmorejo in Aracena - cold tomato soup

Pisto with patatas and gazpacho

Olive trees - everywhere in Andalusia

Vegan cheesecake with cherries and
chocolate cake - yummmm

After our time in Seville we went to Granada. You can imagine my amazement when discovering that our apartment was above a yoga studio and just one block from an amazing VEGAN restaurant called Hicuri. We managed to eat there 3 times during our 6 day visit. 

Pisto with vegan sausages

Now we are at the southeast point of Spain at Parque Natural de Cabo de Gatas. We are here for one week again in an apartment in a small village called Pozo de los Frailes. The coastline is dotted with tiny villages and we have a car to travel daily from one beach to the other for nice walks. There are no tourist crowds now (as there are during the summer) and so the little village we are in has NO stores! The closest is San Jose where we can buy the usual beans and veggies so I have concocted some good meals here as well.Since we have had Pisto at so many different restaurants, I looked on line for a recipe to include for you (and for me). 

Pisto Andaluz 
(http://www.rondatoday.com/pisto-andaluz-traditional-vegetarian-stew/)
2 onions
2 green peppers
1 red pepper
4 ripe tomatoes
2 zucchini
2-3 cloves garlic
olive oil
dash of salt (and sugar, optional)

We start by preparing our vegetables prior to putting them all in a large flat skillet. Blanch the tomatoes then remove the skin and cut into cubes. Peel and dice the onions and the zucchini, and slice the peppers.

Place a small amount of extra virgin olive oil in the pan and fry the garlic and onion over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Then add the peppers and cook together for another 5 minutes making sure to stir so none of it burns in the bottom of the pan.

Now add the zucchini for 2-3 minutes, and finally add the tomato, letting the mixture simmer for a further 15 minutes.

Add the sugar and salt, and quickly bring to the boil then remove from the heat. If your pan has too much tomato juice, let it boil away whilst stirring to avoid burning. Fresh basil or oregano are often added to give the pisto a pleasant herby taste.

Serve hot in small terracotta tapas dishes for that authentic feel, or place on the side of a plate with some fish or even a fresh salad. This pisto andaluz goes down very well with a glass of La Rioja red wine, or if you can get it, one of many excellent Ronda red wines.

By the way....Ronda is next on our list to visit next week. Stay tuned for more from southern Spain.

Random travel tidbits

We have been in Mexico over the last few months and always find new and different plant based food items that I want to share with you.

Cherimoya fruit

Inside a cherimoya

Join me as I write about these unique plant based food tidbits. First let me share this new fruit which I tried once in Ecuador several years ago and still remember its delicious taste - sort of like a creamy custard. I bought one in San Miguel de Allende and tried it again with the same enthusiasm. The season for them is short and I saw them only this one day so will have to be on the look out for them in the future. It is the "cherimoya" which some say is a cross between a pineapple and banana. The creamy texture of the flesh gives the fruit its secondary name, custard apple. Mark Twain called the cherimoya "the most delicious fruit none to man". I hope you get a chance to try it.
I ate one just scooping out the flesh with a spoon. I also used a second one replacing an avocado in the recipe for chocolate mousse below. It tasted good though was a little less creamy than the avocado. Try them both if you find a cherimoya.

Garbanzo beans (close up)

Garbanzo (chickpeas)

Another subject....I just celebrated another birthday and we went to Guanajuato for an overnight trip - a beautiful colonial city about 1 1/2 hour away from San Miguel de Allende. We wandered the streets, stayed in a lovely apartment up a narrow alleyway and enjoyed a few delicious plant based meals. While walking we passed several vendors of steamed garbanzo beans in their shells. They were offered plain, with lime or with salt and spices. We chose the lime and they were delicious. It reminded me of travels in New York City in the winter with chestnuts roasting. We have seen these before but not tried them and will surely try them again.

falafel platter at Habibi Restaurant

We ate at a delicious falafel restaurant (not a common food here in Mexico!) called Habibi and had a cappucino with soy milk at another favorite - Santo Cafe which sits over a bridge with a view of all the comings and goings on the street below.

Soy cappucino

A few days later we celebrated Thanksgiving - not a typical holiday here in Mexico. Many of the gringos have their own celebrations at home or in restaurants. It is a favorite holiday of ours as both Richard and I have such fond memories of family gatherings during childhood and adulthood and this year we both missed our families very much. The turkey part of the holiday is not part of our celebration and I am always happy to be eating the delicious side dishes that make the meal special. This year we celebrated with just the two of us at home for dinner but spent the morning in a rural community with an organization called "Libros for Learning" giving out books to set up a library in a very small one room schoolhouse about 20 minutes outside of town. This organization is indirectly connected to our organization called Libros para Todos. Giving of ourselves on a holiday of Thanksgiving felt good as we have SO VERY MUCH to be thankful for.

Thanksgiving at the Neulist's

My thanksgiving meal consisted of roasted vegetables, gingered sweet potatoes and cauliflower/quinoa with tomato mushroom gravy.

Chocolate mousse 

Now to my special dessert - which I usually make with avocado but you can see from my note above - it can be made with cherimoya or even a banana. I got the recipe from my friend Marcia and when I make it I think of her - especially her idea of having just one or two spoonfuls/day which makes it last almost a week. (that is if I don't share it with anyone else!!)

Vegan Chocolate Mousse       

1 ripe avocado, mashed
1/4 cup chocolate cocoa powder (dark, no dairy)
1/4 cup almond milk (or soy milk)
1 tsp. vanilla
2-3 packets stevia

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Keep in refrigerator.

Thanks for traveling with us and stay tuned.....the next post from me will be from Spain.