A Vegan's Remorse

The food scene just got even worse in little ole Harlingen. Our favorite (and one of the very few we can eat at) restaurants, Jerusalem Cafe, has been shuttered for failure to pay rent. I'm not kidding when I say the place has some of the best Mediterranean food around, even for the big cities. Omar makes a strong hummus and baba ganuj, but what really brings home his vegetarian plate are his spiced roasted potatoes and zucchini and onions. He makes a great Israeli hot sauce. I also love his cardamon tea and, of course, Turkish coffee. I am indifferent to his falafel. It's not bad; it's just not exceptional. I hope the restaurant has not met its end. My fingers are crossed for Omar. It's really the small food businesses that make exceptional food, the places run by passionate chefs. Another Harlingen place that has been in peril is Taj Restaurant, only one of two Indian restaurants in the Rio Grande Valley. Taj is superb. It has been closed for months for "renovations." We keep calling and asking when they will open again, and it keeps getting pushed back. Man, the Valley has been going backwards. I would just die for a decent Chinese or Thai place around here. Stone Court Cafe, a Thai restaurant in Harlingen, has gone downhill quickly. They used to make a decent vegan pad Thai, but they changed the recipe. I can't taste any tamarind or lime juice or lemon grass. What's pad Thai without those ingredients at tasting levels? I'm hoping things start shaping up. Maybe I need to be more open minded and try more restaurants. Ugh, I see lots of disappointment on the horizon.

Back Blogging

Has it really been years since I last posted? Wow. How time flies. I guess I just got out of the habit of posting regularly since I started graduate school. I am going into the second year of my PhD program in English literature this fall at Texas Tech, so I have been busy. During the school year, I have to be in Lubbock, which is really hard on the family. The good news is that after I finish my coursework, Texas Tech will allow me to finish my program here. I have so enjoyed being with my wife and son. Every day has simply been a complete joy. We remain committed to our ideals, and our son is a very healthy 10-month-old vegan (see picture). Unfortunately, since the last time I wrote, Naturally's on South Padre Island closed. I can't tell you how sad that makes me. I hope someone else will see the opportunity to create a health food cafe and store on the island. Vegan Freak Radio also stopped broadcasting. I hope Bob and Jenna take it up again once they get their law degrees. Recently, we started having our friend Alan over to our house on Wednesdays for a nice vegan meal. In the future, I will take pictures of our meals and write about what we ate. I have no pictures of today's meal, but we had my recent creation of egg-style sandwiches made with tofu, mayo, lettuce, tomatoes, and red onions. Yummy. Alan brought over some scrumptious sweet potato fries, and Anita made some tasty chocolate pudding pie.

Leopold the Lion King! Our Vegan Baby...

From Anita:
Leo is already 10 weeks old!

The birth was actually a wonderful experience. Although I dearly wanted a water birth at the Weslaco Holy Family Birthing Center, I ended up developing preeclampsia at 39 weeks. So off to the hospital. I was induced beginning at 5 am. Was finally given Nubain (a mild painkiller) at 3:30ish and delivered Leo by 4:59 pm - no c-section, no episiotomy, no epidural. I was so freaking proud of myself! Leopold Doss was given a APGAR score of 9, weighed in at 7lbs and 6 oz and was 21 1/4 inches. Very healthy boy!

He has been breastfeeding nearly exclusively for his ten weeks so far. He weighed in at 11 lbs 10 oz at his 2 month exam! He smiles and coos a lot. We are so proud!

Once we get him on solids - I am sure we will have more vegan stories to tell.

My Dr. does not know I am vegan...

From Anita:
Hello Folks,

I keep getting the question "What does your Dr. say about you being a vegan"...and pregnant? I don't know. I've never told him. I think we should regard Drs. as technicians, there to do a technical job and that's it. Why we think they have infinite knowledge about all things escapes me. My Dr. probably took one nutrition class in the 1960s. What is he likely to know about nutrition? He may spout off to me his own preconceived and uneducated comments, but I can get those anywhere, and for free. So no, my Dr. does not know, and I have no intentions of telling him. He spares me about 30 seconds per visit, and that is more than enough for me.

I am, however, obsessed with nutrition info and love to fantasize about making well-balanced vegan toddler meals once little "Leo" is on solids. I've been obsessed with nutrition for years now so I am already pretty well informed. But the thought of feeding a little one is just endless fun for me.

I am very committed to cloth diapering. I've already bought some supplies. We don't use paper towels at my house and I do not use disposable feminine products so why would I use disposable diapers? Not a chance. Everyone sounds dubious, but I am excited - probably overly so considering what I am so looking forward too!

Aside from that, the pregancy is going smoothly, no problems so far, although I sure do whine about the various symptoms I've got...numb fingers, out of breath, little weird pains in my abdomen. I am 26 weeks so far....happy to wait quite a few more!

I'm pregnant - and yes, still vegan....

From Anita:
I will be 20 weeks pregnant in a couple of days, and this week, I had my first craving. I kept thinking I had cravings before, but now I get what a REAL craving is. All I want is fruit cups. With chile and lime if you've got it. I spent $80 on fruit this weekend and have been chopping 'em up. I went to the pulga (the flea market) in Brownsville, got a fruit cup - and I think that is what set it off. Yum! I went to Paletera today at 3:00 -- could not contain myself. I just HAD to go and knowing it is so close to my work - I think I'll be going back.

I keep googling "vegan pregnancy," trying to see some useful info or at least something interesting. SO many articles about celebrities giving up their vegan or vegetarian diets while pregnant. How? I don't get it. I was near some fried mozzarella cheese about 14 weeks in, and that made me ill. I have had very little nausea, unless I smell BBQ or that sickening raw meat smell at the grocery store. They made tripas (cow intestines) at work -- I was gagging worse than I have the whole pregnancy so far. (but if you know the smell of tripas, that is probably a view shared by many non-pregnant folks).

Actually - it's not that I don't get it. I get the whole pregnancy - I want it and I want it NOW syndrome. I am living it every two hours these days. I can see that those that see their veganism as a nice way to keep trim and be "pure" will not want to - not really be ABLE to, during a pregnancy. I just don't see veganism as a sacrifice. I did at first, but I quickly learned I can still be a glutton and be a vegan. Yum yum yum!

Thank goodness Andrew is such a good cook, and is still willing to cook - because I hate cooking now!

What's up with The New York Times' editorial pages?

Did The New York Times' editorial pages really print false information? Look at this fake letter supposedly written by the mayor of Paris. Why is that not surprising? Look at what the Times' editorial pages said about vegans. The nation's best newspaper has tremendous journalistic standards in its news sections, but on its editorial pages, it seems to print whatever it can get its hands on.

'Tis the season, you know

I probably shouldn't be disappointed, but I can't help it. My work put on a Christmas lunch for everyone, and I got my hopes up for a second. The bosses got pasta, pizza and salad. Guess who the salad without dressing was for? I may be a vegan, but I'm not a big fan of iceberg lettuce with red cabbage and tomatoes and no dressing. How boring. The sad thing is they know I'm a vegan, but I was not consulted. By experience, I knew that would happen, so I knew to bring a lunch. I could have guided them to getting a chesseless pizza from Papa Johns with all of the vegetable toppings. Now, that would have been more up my alley. Shucks. I did get a very nice gift from our administrative assistant: a vegetarian cookbook. Well, it wasn't all bad. I can't wait to make our Christmas tamales.