I am a salt WHORE.

There's a reason I have high blood pressure. It's because I crave salt. CRAVE it. So when I decided to make some tofu jerky for my school travels last year, I figured it would be a big, fat bonus. So I tried this recipe, though I followed the instructions to lower the pzow since--as I mentioned--I have blood pressure issues to keep in mind.

Oh. My. Gawds. I couldn't finish a single piece on the flight. It was just too salty. Even cutting the marinade with water, it was still too much. Oi! I definitely want to try this again, maybe with some barbecue, teriyaki, curry, or other saucy sauce. Just...with less. I don't see the point of not pressing the tofu to make sure it can absorb lots of marinade. The key will definitely be to cut the sauce. A LOT.

The good news is that it did keep for several days in a plastic zip baggy, and the (OMG SALT) flavor didn't diminish. Once at the hotel, I was able to rinse the pieces a bit to get some of the (OMG SALT!) flavor off.

I didn't get photos because I never expected to start yet another blog (and a vegan one, at that? pshaw! I am but a grasshoppah). When I redo, I'll post again and include photos. You're welcome.

Healthy Airline Travel

I thought this video from Kardena's Kitchen was a handy primer for airplane options.



I've heard that JetBlue has vegan options, but I've never traveled with them, so I haven't seen this firsthand.

Also, since I'd rather not drop a paycheck at the local health food store or deal with random chemicals in mass-produced "health" products, I try to find recipes for things I might otherwise buy pre-packed. I found a flax seed cracker recipe, which I'll try and report back here. Hopefully it'll be as awesome as everyone claims.

Traveling America

While searching for ideas for vegan munchies and meals on the road, I encountered two specific problems: most blogs talk about international travel, and most travelers talk about airplane noshing. I grant that airport safety brings in special issues for day travelers. However, the milveg crowd has other issues when it's time to PCS. It often takes more than one day to get to get to the new duty station, and we usually have to drive our family car(s) to the new casa. How do you prepare for two or more days on the road, in hotels, driving through America in all its greasy fast-food splendor?

This blog will concentrate on being vegan in America when there's travel to be done. I'll offer suggestions I've used for airline travel in the past, but now that I'm more interested in avoiding TSA and airports, I'll be offering more options for the road trippers. Also, with two wee sprogs who, bless their hearts, tend not to enjoy meat and milk, I have the opportunity to test drive sprog-friendly vegan snacks and meals. In the car. In America.

And yes, we're driving through Texas on our upcoming cross-country PCS. Yee haw! Even better, we're staying with my father-in-law in a tiny, vehemently carnivorous little town in Arkansas where if a dish does not have some kind of animal product, it is not real food. Did I mention yee haw?