My Trip to Massachusetts

The previous week I went to Massachusetts. Yep, I went to Massachusetts. I wanted to what it had to offer, and if I could still be a vegan.

I did, and I could.

This is what happened.

Massachusetts is one of our oldest states. Growing from a land connected strongly with the harbor, Massachusetts seems to be evolving into a state that is a cross hybrid of two extremes. A relatively democratic state it seems to be a clusterfuck of extremely new aged liberal interests mixed in with 'Merica stereotypes.

My first meal was something I made myself however I think it demonstrates how being vegan is quite easy in the bay state. It was a vegan bagel sandwich. With a mixture of hummus, avocado, kale, and tomatoes I managed to enjoy my day with a healthy vegan meal. 

I had previously bought these items at the store quite easily. There wasn't any trouble buying organic, nor were any of the items scarce. What makes the states so unbelievably easy being a vegan is the powerful magnitude of American supermarkets. While you might not be able to get vegan only products (except in this case you can) you are easily able to devise a happy healthy meal. 

Cous cous salad with a side salad

Salad mixture from Whole Foods

Vegan shortbread with organic strawberries

While I did go to two restaurants, I found them both to be quite bland. I went to a thai restaurant in Plimouth and had the standard Pad Thai, and I went to a Indian Restaurant in Cambridge that was, in kinder words, mediocre. Both had labels that promoted their vegan knowledge about their meals, but both were not as good compared to my own cooking.

However traveling as a vegan in Massachusetts would be simple. If buying food at the supermarkets are impossible, going around to different restaurants would be easy. The new age thinking of vegan liberal thought seems to be quite possible here, and to step away from the American stereotype of obesity allows a lot natives to ask for the impossible, making it possible for you. 

While there seems to be a shift towards a more liberal thought, Massachusetts is also contains the stench of conservative 'Mericanism. 

I am proud to be an American. It is where I was born and it is my automated response of what my nationality is. (To those that didn't know, I am American and English. I have dual nationalities.) However my American nature was raised in a freakish environment compared to everyone else. I come from the land of misfits and rejects. My moral compass leans more on the side of liberalism, and overall I cringe seeing conservative aggression. 

Massachusetts, despite being new aged, still contains a strong conservative prejudice. In Massachusetts, people go "huntin'", people project their views on pro life wherever you go, and people saying "that's so gay" and the "N word" seems to be ok to them. 

But this state is friendly. Which is why this becomes a complex series of emotions for me. How do I judge a group of people who at one hand completely disgust me, and on the other, win over my heart? What seems to be the issue for MA is that you have to come here open, and you have to refresh yourself every day. Don't allow yourself to latch on the immoral aggression of the area, it is their thought, not yours. This is also the state that killed a bunch of people who they thought were witches. So it seems quite difficult to assume they are just like you.

Massachusetts is archaic and young. It shows you how this country came to be, but also where it is going. Coming to Massachusetts as a vegan is easy so don't worry. Just sit back and enjoy yourself, and experience the weirdness that is the bay state.  

Vegan Miscellaneous Things

So before my massive post on Cambodia I was looking at smaller things to talk about. I found three things to discuss. One was Coexistence Vegan Cafe in Dapsimni. 

Coexistence Vegan Cafe is basically what it is in the title; it is a cafe that offers vegan goodies. It is very close to where I live and I absolutely love it! The ladies are nice and the food is decent. They have a simple menu so they could focus more on quality over quantity, and they seem to portray a love for animals and a love for vegan culture. I think restaurants like these offer a bit of humanity to the lesser known and less popular parts of Korea. Dapsimni isn't like itaewon or hongdae, so there isn't a large foreigner base or even a liberal viewpoint. Having Coexistence Vegan Cafe in Dapsimni is like finding a designer bag at a discounted store, or finding a great book at the library. Coexistence Vegan Cafe is a great place and I highly recommend it. Go out of exit four and walk down the street. Turn left at the fruit seller guy and go straight for about four blocks. Coexistence Vegan Cafe will be on your left. It is a fun bright yellow building. Also there is an animal rescue right next door so you should check it out.

Cafe Sukkra is a jazzy little cafe in Hongdae, and proves the point that Hongdae is actually good. While there might be a huge uproar on this confession, i feel like to should make it, I personally did not like Hongdae. I always figured it was an area for wannabe hipsters and huge fraternity assholes. However there is a calmer side to the district. Going left, from exit nine you can see a more relaxed setting. Cafe Sukkra exemplifies that feeling. It offers a healthier meal set, with large vegan options to make you feel comfortable and less processed. The better thing is that Whole*istic provides their cooking there. So you can experience the deliciousness of raw vegan food. There is even vegan hot chocolate which is rich and delicious all at the same time.

For some strange reason I forgot that there is very few vegan or even healthy items in South Korea and convinced myself at the notion that I can cook totally gourmet vegan meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I have become a lot wiser to that foolish thought but beforehand I managed to scrounger up a chia seed pudding for one of my breakfasts. The chia seed pudding is very easy to make. Basically all you need is....

1/2 cup of chia seeds

a smidge of maple syrup

a smidge of cinnamon 

1 cup of soy milk

Mix that shit all together, keep it in the fridge for about 12 hours, and there you have it.

I'll try to throw up some more posts soon!

Posts that needed to happen a lot sooner...

OK!

So I did something AMAZING this weekend! I went to the Great Wall of China! However I now realize I am way behind of my blogging. I haven't blogged about the art show, foods I've made, and other wonderful events that have happened in the past two weeks, so I think I'm going to just go on writing mode and make a ton of posts. So I'm going to start with the one that is the most dear to my heart, food.


So I am still continuing to make my own meals and try to be as healthy as I can. I go through phases where stir fries are the main focus then small salads become the focus afterwards. So far I have stopped using tofu in my diet and have been focusing more on grains and protein through vegetables. This is one of the meals I make.

1. Israeli Cous Cous stir fry

Ingredients

• israeli cous cous 
• bok choy
• onions
• green peppers
• Braggs Liquid Aminos
• Nutritional Yeast
• Coconut oil

Directions

Basically I would cook the israeli cous cous while I would fry the onions in coconut oil. Once the israeli cous cous is fully cooked, I would mix the israeli cous cous with the onions. I would throw some Nutritional Yeast to make it nice and crispy. I would throw in bok choy leaves as well as the green peppers. I would then end it off by sprinkling it off with some Bragg's Amino Liquids.

  2. Lotus Root stir fry

Ingredients

• lotus root
• enoki mushrooms
• bok choi
• onions
• green peppers
• Bragg's Liquid Aminos
• Nutritional Yeast
• Coconut Oil

Directions

Similar to the Israeli Cous Cous stir fry, I cook the Lotus roots first by frying them in coconut oil and amino liquids. Once they a crispy and tender, I set them aside and cook the onions in coconut oil. Once the onions are soft, I put in the lotus roots, enoki mushrooms, bell peppers and last bok choy. I throw in some  nutritional yeast and some more amino Liquids, and them I'm done, and Bob's my uncle.

I find it easy to cook a large portion because I am a lazy bastard, and I like to save some for school the next day.

Another thing I have been meaning to write is a sort of food observation of produce you can find in Seoul, South Korea. I thought, it might be easy for you the reader to see food options in Seoul, read the reviews, and see where you can buy it. This is one of my first ones.

Chocolate bread

 At the Achasan Loving Hut there are a significant amount of pastries and other vegan items to buy. Yes, you can buy things at most Loving Huts but the Achasan one seems to have the largest amount of things to buy. One of these items is the chocolate bread.

 While the chocolate bread isn't exactly nutritious, it is a good comfort food. The chocolate bread certainly has a good chocolate taste, and overall I liked the pastry. I probably won't buy it again because I think I need to take care of myself more.

You can possibly buy this at the local Loving Hut but if you can't find it, go to the Achasan Loving Hut.

I promise to write more soon! 

Not much has happened.... BUT SOMETHING WILL GOD DAMN IT!

So I think I've been having a blasé couple of weeks....

Nothing too exciting, but I am pretty pumped about the next couple of days. I figure I can easily list it here so I can, 

a. remember

b. have something to write about

So this is what I plan on doing this weekend. I promise to take pictures so you guys can visually experience this with me!

• Wednesday May 8th 2013
• I plan on making tattoo tights with the girl I tutor. I know it isn't really "teaching" or "tutoring" but she is actually pretty smart. She basically only needs to bring her homework to class and study more. So I try to make tutoring fun so she would want to stay with me and so I can still get paid more.
• I am going to make Yubu Chobab which is like a fried tofu skin with rice in the middle. I mean, as a "experienced cook", I plan on jazzing it up a bit to make it fantastic.
• Thursday May 9th 2013
• I am HOPEFULLY going to a art show at the Seoul Auction Horim Art Center!
• Friday May 10th 2013
• Adventure to get vegan pizza possibly?
• Saturday May 11th 2013
• VEGAN POTLUCK! There is a group in Seoul called the Seoul Veggie club and I have been wanting to join them on their monthly potlucks! I am so stoked to go to this one!
• My co-worker/friend joined a orchestra and is having a performance that night! I am definitely going to that!
• Sunday May 12th 2013
• I have to blog everything I did!

So it seems like I have a busy couple of days!

What are you going to do?

More Of My Crazy Vegan Cooking

So, I am so far keeping up with my promise. I have another entry. 

It's full of food, cause that's all I care about now.

It's the only thing I care about.

#1

Another delicious stir fry

Honestly I think I mastered the stir fry, but it's probably considered the easiest thing to make. Whatever, I'm damn proud of myself. I made this a while ago so I might be a tad off my recipe...

• 1/3 of a pumpkin 
• 1/3 of a onion
• 4 garlics
• 3 bok choy bulbs
• 1/4 of enoki mushrooms
• 1/4 of a tofu block
• oil
• nutritional yeast
• braggs liquid amino

I basically do what I usually do with all my stir fries. I put the oil in a saucepan with some chopped up garlic and onion, and I wait for all of it to heat up and get nice and soft. After that I throw a dash of nutritional yeast to get it crispy and so I can have my B12 vitamins. Then I put in the mushrooms, pumpkins, and bok choy in that order. I top it up with a sprig of braggs and some diced up tofu, and I'm done!

#2 

A soufflé! jk it's another stir fry 

I know I shouldn't write about every stir fry I make, but seriously I am super proud of what I make.

• 1/3 of a pumpkin 
• 1/3 of a onion
• 5 or 6 of those little bouquets of broccoli
• 4 garlics
• 3 bok choy bulbs
• 1/4 of enoki mushrooms
• 1/4 of a tofu block
• oil
• nutritional yeast
• braggs liquid amino

Basically it is the same instructions as #1 but this incorporates broccoli. Try putting the broccoli in after the mushrooms so it can be a bit soft but still crispy.

#3

The god warrior salad

This was a special treat. It contains one thing I can't find in South Korea, and one thing that is hard to find in South Korea. Quinoa is as foreign to South Koreans as peeing standing up is to me, and avocado is only found in the English owned giant supermarket HomePlus, which is taxicab drive away. Basically I combined the two to make one of my favorite dishes I always made in California. I'm going to call it the god warrior salad because that is what I felt like when I was eating it; I felt like a god warrior.

• nutritional yeast
• 1/4 of a cup of quinoa
• 1/2 of a avocado
• pinch of salt
• 3 or 4 red lettuce leaves chopped and diced

Boil the quinoa or cook the quinoa in a pot. Mash the 1/2 of the avocado and add a pinch of nutritional yeast and the salt. Once you have a great mashed consistency, mix it with the quinoa. Once that is done, throw it on the bed of lettuce and then bob's your uncle. Well, actually, I don't know much about your family.

Are they nice?