I hate to say that I was underwhelmed by the Los Angeles-area vegan food scene during my recent trip there, but I was. I went to a lot of restaurants and spent a lot of money. I didn't eat anything that wasn't good, but not much was very exciting. The exception is Seabird. Everything at both of the Seabird restaurants is really yummy. I actually had my new favorite vegan burger on this trip. I thought nothing could surpass Arlo's (which I love), but Seabird's Beets Me Burger is oh-my-goodness good. It has a shiitake, beet, and chia patty with almond butter, grilled onions, arugula, pickles, and an herb mayo.

TC Noodle House So Good, Food Was Gone Before I Could Get Camera Out

I just tried TC Noodle House for the first time. I don't know what kept me. They have a large vegetarian menu. The tofu in pepper sauce was amazing. I loved the barely cooked onions for some reason. My wife had tofu with black mushrooms. What was neat about her dish was the lightly cooked Chinese greens that her tofu was on top of: very tasty. I definitely recommend this place and will be going back to try something else.

Too chicken to buy offensive stove

Yesterday, when I was agonizing over the purchase of a new stove, constantly comparing different models and features and price, I stared at one of the buttons on a model I liked. It was for a quick cook feature and said, "Chicken Nuggets." I talked with my wife about the button. We just could not do it. We ended up getting the slightly more expensive model of the same brand because it didn't have that stupid button. I guess that is one way companies can get vegans to pay more.

One blunder after the other complicating my barbecue plans

Secular gods are conspiring against my Fourth of July barbecue. I somehow totally screwed up my batch of seitan for tomorrow's brisket. I added way too much liquid, convinced I could cook it out. Nope. And I never mess up seitan! I decided to make a second batch, but I ran out of several ingredients, so I had to go back to the HEB. I went to the store and did not get what I went there for. So, I had to go back again. Finally, everything was situated, and I started making the next batch and turned on the oven to preheat, which smoked really bad. Now, I have to wait for the oven to cool and clean whatever caused it to smoke, which probably has something to do with that first batch of seitan. Eventually, I will get this seitan done. Eventually.

Ending of Finding Dory does not mess well with ending

If you haven't seen Finding Dory, the sequel to Finding Nemo, yet, it interesting how the documentary, Blackfish, forced changes to the movie. The movie was supposed to come out earlier and end happily ever after at marine park after Dory locates her parents. Instead, the fish retire in the beautiful coral featured in Finding Nemo, but as you watch the movie, you can see how the movie's producers still glorify the marine park, even with the altered ending. That said, it is still an amazing movie.

I was reminded about one of the million reasons why I'm a vegan while in the break room at work this morning: Someone was giving away some substance called triple fiber. Some meateaters eat so little fiber in their regular diets that they need triple fiber? If most meateaters weren't so uppty about their meat consumption, I might feel sorry for them.

Vegan Nom Tofu Scramble Cracked?

I think I may have cracked the Vegan Nom scrambled tofu code or at least got pretty close to it. My son even remarked on the Vegan Nom comparison without prompting. I was dreaming about tofu sandwiches, wishing for summer tomatoes when I created this recipe. I finely minced four cloves of garlic and added to a teaspoon or so of Earth Balance. I cooked until the garlic started browning and added the crumbled tofu with a quarter cup of nooch, salt, and some turmeric. I served in toasted bread with Vegenaise, sliced cucumbers, and shredded cabbage. My little tofu critic loved it and had a sandwich and a half.