You Gotta Have Friends...

-
Well at least I do. Two in particular - my BFF's - Stacey & Teri. I LOVE those girls with every essence of my being - - I just do, dang it, absolutely love them!!  They have stuck with me through high school ackwardness, bad attitudes, chronic lateness, a religious conversion, even crazy trip 1/2 way across the globe to pursue a doomed 1st marriage and now a foray with veg*nism. They are always so supportive. Since I am an only child, my daughter has always called them Auntie. They ARE my family. 

 Every year we meet for our 3 birthdays, at a minimum. The first of which normally happens around on President's weekend for Stacey's birthday. For years we'd always go to PF Changs but last year we decided to try at my suggestion - being the group's resident foodie, La Tasca, a Spanish restaurant at the Inner Harbor.  We had a ball. The Sangria and  food were great, the waiter was oh so nice on the eyes and the Sangria - fabulous.  Did I mention that I love Sangria - almost as much as I love my BFFs.  That love affair started 10 years ago in Sevilla, Spain. I'm not a boozing kinda broad (yes, I just referred to myself as a broad). I've only been drunk twice in my life, REALLY!  And that's not because I can hold my booze. I am a serious lightweight in that area.    I don't drink often enough - maybe once a month, some months more, most months not at all but I do love attending area wine fests and learning about wines and wine making.  I think I just love being around anyone's expression of their passion. Stacey and Teri don't drink at all - thankfully I've got other gal pals for that! Should you ever find yourself invited to a meal at my home, you can't go wrong with a handful of stargazer lilies and/or well made Sangria. A red one will do just fine. Sorry got off track, Sangria does that to me...  Anyway, this year at my suggestion (again) we went vegan, Great Sage in Clarksville. Teri loved her "Chicken" pot pie.  Both Stacey and I had the Southwest Ranch "Bacon" Wrap but our reactions could not have been more different. I swooned while Stacey had a close encounter of the worst kind and couldn't finish her sandwich.  Turns out she is no fan of tempeh nor the spices used to "baconize" it.  She loved her apple cider !?!?  I was not so fond of my green drink - too green tasting and not at nearly as sweet and robust as Naked's Green Machine. They do serve organic wines at Great Sage but since I don't enjoy drinking alone I abstained. No one to compare and contrast the wines high or low lights ya know? We all agreed the Spinach & Artichoke dip was awesome. Since we were full and any, nay all of us, are trying to watch what  we eat at some point, we didn't get the Carrot Cake that everyone else seemed to be ordering...bummer.  I'm pretty sure I'll be returning there soon - hopefully  around Mother's Day (hint, hint Yasmine).  I can't say the same for my buds at least not Stacey. And next time I will be having dessert thank you very much. 

They both have been encouraging me for years to cater or just cook for a living, especially Teri.  Her suggestion this year is that I should open a food truck - you know the silver ones you often see near construction sites or Lowe's selling hot dogs, pretzels and drinks. A search on the net proves they are hardly ever just silver anymore and big business in big cities especially so  if you use social networking. I saw a tv show about a guy in Alaska who sells exotic sausages & hot dogs ( reindeer, seal, etc)  only 3 or 4 months a year and is so successful he travels the world a good portion of the rest of the year. Now that's success to me - doing something (cook) you love that allows you to do something else you love even more (travel)! 

 I'll need permits, supplies, customers, a truck, investors - oh my. But where would I even start? First I guess I should choose my best dishes - things that don't necessarily appeal to the McDonald's crowd but to those who appreciate good food, preferably flora feeders or veg*ns. One thing I have keenly learned these last 3 months is how limited your options are once you eliminate meat, eggs and dairy from your diet. If there isn't a good  natural food store nearby then your sentence is the local salad bar and at times even that can prove challenging.  I have a repetoire of dishes I do well: tofu scramble,  spinach & cheese phyllo pie, authentic Egyptian falafel, portabello reuben sandwich, chewy granola bars, sweet potato & black bean chili, almond banana shake and this past week I even made a lovely vegan version of Vietnamese pho.  But would those items sell?  How many people even know what Pho is  - much less how to say it. And I just don't think you can have an alternative to faster food without that most American of meals - a burger.  My basic iteration of diced baby portabello mushrooms, scallions, spices, and binding is definitely enjoyable (to me) but it needs tweaking and...a following. Yesterday's New York Times dining section had a fabulous article on veggie burgers. Oh yes, they are indeed that a big deal now and I'm gonna perfect mine because as much as I love good food I am not about to pay $15 for anybody's burger. Me thinks I may be in the majority on that one.


This endeavor is gonna require some brainstorming and definitely a tasting party for honest feedback. Sangria will only be served after the tasting and everyone has gone home...ha! Wow, I wanted 2011 to be the year this Voluptuous Brown Gurl (VBG from now on)  finally steps into her own but I never saw this path...not really. It's scary, exciting, and probably about time. And my bffs are pointing the way - now that's what friends are for...

 Love, Greens and Soul ...VBG

 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/23/dining/23meatless.html

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I got the power...

-
Image
This post started off 6 weeks ago as a story about my purchase of a new power drill as a gift for myself. Well after milling over that too many times, it was not to be.  But it got me thinking about power - you start out in one direction and find yourself on an unforeseen and completely different path if you go with the flow. But the theme is the same - power - Who's got it, how to get it, what the heck to do with. My first grade elementary class performed the play Cinderella.  Of course I, like any sensible girl, wanted to play the lead role.  Who doesn't love a rag to riches story?  But alas this pretty little girl named Norma who only ate white bread sandwiches with the crusts removed was chosen for the lead  Now the fact that I remember that bit of minutia from nearly 40 years ago is frightening since I can barely remember any of what went on in my life yesterday.  Actually it proves that I have been carrying that little piece of "here's one more way I didn&
Read more

Happy New Year!!

-
Image
With a New Year comes another chance to manifest in my physical life what I've carried around in my head for years. I brought 2012 in quietly with calm celebration with family and more than a few swigs of Bellini but this year there are no resolutions to find the perfect career path, become vegetarian, lose weight, get out of debt, save more, go on "X" number of dates, play hostess more or get my travel mojo back. Of course, I still want to do all of that. But this first week of  2012, one of the most auspicious times of the year for me, I have chosen to celebrate my accomplishments of the previous year. I learned all too suddenly and sadly how fleeting life can be.  And the postponement of desires, joys until ... can sadly become never if one waits too long not knowing the hour of our quietus.  Through gratitude and reflection I hope to propel myself forward in the new year while living and feeling more in the moment than ever before. So here we go.  In 2011 I:
Read more

She's back

-
Image
and right now my life hurts like brand new shoes to quote the wonderful India Arie. For the second time in as many years VBG has fallen on challenging times. And rather than this time being familiar ground, I feel I am in uncharted and far more treacherous waters.  And anyone who knows me, knows too, that one of my least proud personal factoids is that this Voluptuous Brown Gurl never learned to swim.   Six weeks ago I spent my last day at the "new" job* I'd so gleefully chirped about in a post in January 2012.  My departure was unexpected in timing (I thought I had about 2 months before the clock ran out) but more than slightly welcomed.  I'd known fairly soon after starting that it just wasn't the place for me but it was bearable. As I was just coming off half a year of unemployment, I thought my resume might look less conspicuous if I stayed put a little while -  like a year or so.   When I started the job*, I worked a 4 day/32 hr week which was a
Read more