Day 580 (Y2/D215): Last minute article inspiration
I write this monthly column about being a vegan for a local alternative weekly, and I confess sometimes I'm searching for my inspiration up until the very last minute. I maintain this column, despite the fact that I'm really too busy and shouldn't, because the Metro has a pretty broad circulation, and I hope I can influence just a few people./
I got my inspiration for this month's coming column on Thursday night after a quite successful dinner out at a distinctly non-veg restaurant in Santa Rosa. I was in town to speak at a conference, and when to the restaurant in the bar area of the hotel...usually not a promising prospect.
Now, they had a full menu, so that already was a step up, but also the experience reminded me that there are a couple of trustworthy substitutions one can ask a kitchen to make that really won't get their panties in a twist and will make your meal reliably vegan. The first is finding out if they have sourdough bread. Sourdough bread is reliably vegan. Substituting it into any sandwich on the menu is a good first step. (Also, if the the menu is particularly vegan-unfriendly, you might find yourself having that bread-and-water meal, but that hardly ever happens!) The second is olive oil and garlic. Every restaurant has olive oil and garlic. And almost any pasta dish you see can be tossed in olive oil and garlic instead of some rich, creamy, decidedly non-veg sauce. Works like a charm.
So, that's a sneak preview of this coming month's column...because you're special :)
I did have one little eating mishap during the day, in that I only ate a bowl of cereal for breakfast and sometime around 11:45AM, right before I started a meeting with a SF Chron reporter I started to have that shaky, low-blood-sugar, I-need-to-eat-soon feeling. Bad planning on a busy day. Luckily I was near the new Bloomingdales in the City, which has a food court underneath.
Breakfast:
Organic "Corn Flakes" Cereal and Rice Milk
Lunch:
Veggie Burger with Avocado and Tomato
French Fries
Diet Coke
Dinner (Le Brasserie in Santa Rosa):
Diet Coke
Sourdough Bread
Roasted Beet Salad (With no cheese...I'm so glad beets are in season.)
Pasta with Mushrooms tossed in Olive Oil and Garlic
