Monday, October 10, 2011

Uwajimaya Follow Up and a Giveaway for The 30 Day Vegan Challenge!



Of course I couldn't go to Uwajimaya and leave empty-handed. I picked up some seaweed snacks, and these beautiful lime leaves. If anyone has an idea what to do with them, please tell me!



This is myoga. I had a hard time remembering the word until I looked at it as m'yoga. m-yoga. Now I have it down. These are flower buds, a delicacy in Japan, and they are beautiful, right? You can shred and use them raw. They are crispy and have a taste reminiscent of ginger, but more herbal, maybe.



On the right in the back are smooth oval fruits called tamarillos. They are from New Zealand.



Beautiful inside shot. These are weird. The orange flesh is sort of like mango or peach flesh but tart, and the gelatinous seed part is also tart.



Chinese jujube dates, about the size of walnuts. Inside shot on the right. I don't understand these either. They tasted like compressed, slightly sweetened styrofoam.



And the longan. Who looks so quiet and unassuming here. Don't believe it.



This is a half-peeled longan. These are slightly larger than acorns in the shell. Do you see how the fruit is kind of translucent and . . . bouncy?



Fully peeled longan. Do you see the ridges in the flesh?



This is what happens when you bite into a longan. There is hard black seed in the middle. Does this remind you of anything? Brr. I couldn't eat more than one even if I wanted to. Creepy longan. I would love to hear the honey badger guy's rendition of the longan.

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To clear your mind in case you need it like I do, here is a bonus shot of something that has absolutely nothing to do with the post thus far: the most amazing capital-letter-worthy RAW CANNOLI from People's Coop next to the Sip juice cart I blogged about before. Does this not look like the best dessert ever? It was.

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Let's get to the giveaway. Today Colleen Patrick-Goudreau has graciously offered up a copy of The Thirty Day Vegan Challenge! Says The Chicago Examiner, "[Patrick-Goudreau] excels in demystifying something that feels unobtainable to many people--vegan living--and...distills it into practical steps and information without dumbing it down. Colleen is like your best friend: supporting you but also encouraging you to live up to your potential....I recommend [this book] for anyone who has struggled with trying to go vegan in the past, or would like to try it for the first time. For those of us who are tried-and-true vegans, I also recommend the book for its...common sense approach to...compassionate living. Plus, recipes! Get this book as a gift for yourself, your friends, and family."

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment below. Tell me a challenge you struggled with when going vegan, or somewhere you're going, or anything at all. This giveaway is open to everybody everywhere, whether you are in Seoul, San Diego, or Sydney! The winner will be chosen by a random number generator and posted tomorrow below tomorrow's giveaway. If you win a giveaway on this blog at some point this month, please be kind and don't enter further giveaways--I'd love as many people to win something as possible!

* * *

I am announcing two winners today.

The winner of yesterday's Vegan for Life giveaway is Vegan for the Win! Congratulations!

The winner of the Tofu XPress is Katie! Congratulations!

Please send your name and address to me at miso...@yahoo.com. (<---make sure to click on the . . . link for the rest of the email address. This is a spam avoidance thing.)

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25 comments:

  1. palindromeOctober 10, 2011 at 4:43 AM

    I've been vegan for about a year. I still struggle when people bring in delicious (non-vegan) baked goods to work!

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  2. sjonesOctober 10, 2011 at 5:48 AM

    Reading labels! When I first began, I assumed that somethings would be vegan-like all tortilla chips. Nope! You can find dairy in the strangest places!

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  3. FannyOctober 10, 2011 at 6:22 AM

    I find it hard to fly, still.

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  4. Bobbie {thevegancrew}October 10, 2011 at 6:36 AM

    You have such great giveaways! Every day I think THIS is what I want, and then the next day you top it. I would LOVE to have this book. Being vegan is pretty easy for me, but before going vegan I thought social situations/meals would be a struggle.

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  5. VeggieAmandaOctober 10, 2011 at 6:41 AM

    Thanks for a giveaway! I didn't have many struggles with movong to veganism. The only one that seemed to be hard to deal with is hidden ingredients. Being vegan has been awesome! :-)

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  6. AnonymousOctober 10, 2011 at 7:03 AM

    I've already been vegan for 4 years now, but I've heard so much about her book that I'm intrigued and want a copy!

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  7. KimOctober 10, 2011 at 7:44 AM

    One thing I struggled with when I first went vegan was learning all of the ingredients that might not be vegan and reading labels. Thanks for offering such a nice giveaway!

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  8. MandiOctober 10, 2011 at 8:02 AM

    (I don't want to enter today's giveaway, just comment)

    The longan is super creepy...but I enjoyed your descriptions of all the different foods you tried. And the raw cannoli is drool worthy. Good post :)

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  9. CraftyEarthMamaOctober 10, 2011 at 8:23 AM

    I love picking up new fruits at the farmers market or whole foods and then investigating them! One year my find was the jujube. Now, I'm in love :)

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  10. CarlaOctober 10, 2011 at 8:46 AM

    This is an awwesome book. I goot it out of the library and llove it. Would love to win to be able to share with folks!
    and, interesting to see a Tamarillo - being from NZ we had them all the time (and feijoas too) but I have NEVER seen either one in Canada!

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  11. AmeyOctober 10, 2011 at 8:56 AM

    I already have this (excellent) book, so I don't need to enter - but WOW! What a haul. You are really torturing me! I would totally eat those weird longans. They look similar to lychees and rambutans, both of which I love. The myoga look totally beautiful and they sound amazing! I can't wait to hear what you do with them. Also, I totally agree with your jujubee assement. They are so dry and crumbly and nasty, I do not understand their appeal at all.

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  12. Courtney Ann HabermanOctober 10, 2011 at 9:20 AM

    Yum! I had Logans when I went to Hong Kong. I <3 them!

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  13. AnonymousOctober 10, 2011 at 9:26 AM

    Thanks again for a lovely giveaway! My biggest struggle was with two of my friends - I made a vegan dinner for my birthday and although the rest of the guests were incredibly nice, these two didn't understand the fact that I didn't want to buy and cook a lot of meat for them, and I wasn't able to make them accept it.

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  14. Eve LoveOctober 10, 2011 at 10:15 AM

    i love longan, there a little bit like lichee.

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  15. Space.ClownOctober 10, 2011 at 11:25 AM

    When I went Vegan I struggled with remembering to read labels and remembering all of the crazy things that are animal derived.

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  16. AmandaOctober 10, 2011 at 11:35 AM

    I agree with Amey, the longan reminds me of lychee and rambutan. I also looove both those fruits. I'd happily take the longans off your hands if you can't stomach them! :)

    I'll bite this time! I still find it difficult to share meals with my omnivorous family, whom I love, but find it frustrating that they just don't 'get it'.

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  17. xOctober 10, 2011 at 1:26 PM

    The longans remind me of lychees which are pretty nice in summer!

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  18. supercarrotOctober 10, 2011 at 4:16 PM

    (not an entry, just commenting)
    that longan looks creeeeepy! (however, 'tis the season, right?)
    and the myoga tastes like ginger cause it is ginger. :-) it's beautiful!

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  19. UnknownOctober 10, 2011 at 4:43 PM

    My challenge is craving non-vegan foods, like gummies. They're the best. But vegan is better!

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  20. Jen HnatkoOctober 10, 2011 at 5:55 PM

    Still, one of things I struggle with most often is the frustration I feel when people argue against veganism without any facts or experience.

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  21. AnonymousOctober 10, 2011 at 6:04 PM

    I struggled with feeling like I was putting people out when I dined with omnis. :(

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  22. AnonymousOctober 10, 2011 at 7:56 PM

    I have been working late lately and I am finding it increasingly difficult to get to the grocery store on my regular schedule and this has been causing me heartache-for sometimes it is too late and there is not much in my house to eat!! Fast food is clearly not an option and I have been finding myself eating something just because i am hungry and not enjoying it.

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  23. KimW313October 10, 2011 at 9:30 PM

    I love how experimental you are with your food purchases, J! Your creativity is inspiring :)

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  24. moonswordOctober 10, 2011 at 10:06 PM

    Amazing shop...what a haul! I've never tried jujube dates but I did find recipes using it for everything from cake topping to stuffing to tropical fruit soup. Cool stuff!

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  25. ChristineOctober 11, 2011 at 11:25 PM

    Darn. Missed the giveaway. Anyway, just curious if longan is like lychee? They look similar inside.

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