I like to visit new countries. I also need to eat in order to survive. As a vegetarian, some countries make that easier than others. I was pleasantly surprised about how easy it was go Interrailing around Europe while maintaining a Vegan / Vegetarian diet. My next adventure was Japan. People told me that it was impossible to be veggie in Japan. That was nonsense. I wouldn't say it was easy, but…
Continue reading →
We recently spent 30 days criss-crossing Europe. One of my concerns was how to feed myself. I know Amsterdam is full of weirdo hippies like me who avoid meat and dairy - but what about Frankfurt? What about Prague? What about Ljubljana? What about the trains themselves? Nightmare, right? I packed a bunch of snack bars, stocked up Google translate with suitable phrases, and resigned myself to…
Continue reading →
Human brains seem hardwired to defer to authority figures for morality decisions. Thousands of years after Aristotle made a first stab at defining an objective stance on morals, humans are seemingly no closer to agreeing on a universal system for what is and isn't the right thing to do. So we fall back on the wisdom of the ancients. If you are religious, you have a fairly clear text-book which…
Continue reading →
Interrail were having a sale on their month-long first class tickets. So Liz and I decided to do a "Grand Tour" - running around and seeing a dozen European cities. There are lots of companies which will sell you a pre-designed package Interrailing tour - but we decided to tread our own path. We spent a few weeks poring over maps and rail planners, scouring booking.com for hotels, and working…
Continue reading →
Have you ever grabbed a little pack of sushi as part of a supermarket meal deal? Some dry and flavourless rice, wrapped in something slimy, tasting overwhelmingly of sadness? 123V is the literal opposite of that. Flavours so enticing that the soy sauce and wasabi almost felt redundant. A panoply of delights, presented with care and served with a flourish. We went for the お任せ (Omasake) - which…
Continue reading →
There's nothing finer to do in Brighton than walk along the promenade eating a wodge of chips the size of your face. But it was raining, so we sat inside and ate all the chips instead. This is Brighton's 100% vegan chippie. As well as big fluffy chips, battered (veggie) sausage, and all the standard condiments - they specialise in fishless-fish. It looks like this: Thick and juicy plant-based …
Continue reading →
I ordered some pills off the Internet and swallowed them! What could possibly go wrong? Let's get one thing out of the way first. I am not a doctor. I don't even play one on TV. This blog post is not medical advice. (more…) …
Continue reading →
"How long have you been vegetarian?" Asked the waitress. "Oh, over twenty years now," I replied. She looked concerned. "Some people find the 3D printed steak a bit..." she paused, considered, and continued, "A bit intense. It takes people by surprise how it makes them feel. I enjoyed it, but I'm not sure I'd eat it again." With that, she swept off with our cocktail orders. Unity Diner is a…
Continue reading →
If you've visiting Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur, I have two tips for you. Firstly, get there as early as possible in order to avoid the heat and other tourists. Secondly, after climbing a mountain of stairs, marvelling at the wonders therein, and being stared at by hundreds of monkeys - you're going to be hungry. So treat yourself to lunch at Rani's. A varied vegetarian menu - helpfully…
Continue reading →
I've been a vegetarian since the turn of the century. I always felt like I should probably be vegan but, you know, cheese is delicious. Then, without warning, my body decided that producing the human lactase enzyme was for losers. Stupid body! No more cheese for me 😭 The UK has come on leaps and bounds in the last 20 years. When I first became a salad-aficionado, the vegetarian options in most r…
Continue reading →
This self-published book is a bit of a mixed bag. There has been a lot of thought put into it but, in the process of explaining the author's theories, they've forgotten that brevity makes a book like this readable and enjoyable. It could really have done with a strong editor to tighten things up. The first two chapters are filler. There's a mini introduction to evolution and the basics of the…
Continue reading →
I'm an indifferent cook, and mostly-vegan. But I like to be adventurous in my eating habits, when I can. So I decided to follow and then adapt this intriguing recipe for "banana peel bacon". OK. But Why? Food waste is a big issue. People throw away lots of perfectly edible food. They also discard tonnes of packaging. The next logical step, it seems to me, is to have edible packaging. Bananas…
Continue reading →
