September 18, 2007
· Filed under cookbook, pit stop, scotland, scottish
The pluck (heart, liver and lungs of a sheep), boiled in it’s own stomach with seasonings and oats and onions and more, for a long, long time. Sounds like torture for sheep and diner alike? Well, it doesn’t have to be; crafty vegetarians have been creating veggie versions of this Scottish delight for years. Serve it up with some neeps (turnips), tatties (potatoes) and a pint of McEwan’s, and you’re ready to beat back the encroaching English. Or at least enjoy a drink with them.
Here’s an exemplary recipe from Lisa Ferguson, chosen by NKRH for its non-use of fake-meat and its brilliant inclusion of whiskey (that’s Scotch whiskey, duh). As with many vegetarian adaptations of traditional dishes, this haggis is big on seasoning, starch and flavor.
And here’s a packaged vegetarian haggis, produced by the folks at MacSween:
If you think this stuff looks bad, imagine the vegetarian version’s blood and guts relatives. In truth, this vegetarian haggis is an absolute delight. MacSweens’ website also provides a list of interesting recipes for the haggis beginner and expert alike: haggis burgers, haggis pakoras, stuffed peppers with haggis, and more.
Finally, the reason why I ever got on this in the first place is a presciently named pub, the Last Drop Tavern, which sits just outside the old gallows in Edinburgh. Simply put, nothing beats a plate of vegetarian haggis in a beautiful city full of beautiful people, near an old noose. Nothing.
And finally, this is as good of a time as any to outline…
NKRH travel tip #2: Don’t ever order Budweisers and Heinekens when traveling. Always ask the bartender instead to recommend a good local beer.
September 12, 2007
· Filed under cookbook, pit stop, thai, thailand
It’s true…the NKRH can’t live without Thai food. The following two dishes promise to make a better drinking companion than just about any God-given war buddy. Sure, this food won’t slug it out in the sh%! with you quite like a fellow combatant would…actually, in a way, this food kind of will, if you really think about it.
Anyway, keep a couple of cold lagers on hand when you eat, because when prepared to Thai specs, these plates are smoking hot.
This liquor store image comes from a site called bangkokbob.net…kids, stay away from that one
Drunken Noodles
The modifier in the name refers to the dish’s most famed use…as a post-drinking nightcap. Most people may know the dish as Pad Kee Mao. Others may order it as simply flat noodles with spicy mint leaves or basil. And that’s basically it: flat rice noodles, garlic, onion, chili peppers (in the best versions, this dish contains full chilies intact, for the occasional red-alert mouthful), and mint or basil. Commonly, the dish is lightly seasoned with nothing more than a light soy and a little kaffir lime zest. The farther one travels from Thailand, the darker and more sugary the soy sauce. Find a restaurant that veers lighter in this regard if you can. Hands down, aside from a taco/burrito stand and (for meat eaters) a doner kebab truck, there are few things in this world that cap a night of drinking better than drunken noodles.
Jungle Curry
Less well known than Drunken Noodles, the Jungle Curry (Kaeng Paa Moo) is so named for its everything-but-the-kitchen-sink ingredients. A good jungle curry should sit comfortably to the right of the east west divide, with such distinctly Asian pleasures as pea eggplants, green peppercorn sprigs, bean curd skins, white radishes, straw mushrooms, and yams. This curry differs from most Thai curries in that it doesn’t use coconut milk. Referred to as a “country” curry (suggesting that no two jungle curry recipes will be exactly the same), this delicacy of northern origin can, but will often not, contain shrimp paste—as with all Thai curries, it’s best to ask before ordering. While the dish is light, certain elements (the sweet potatoes in particular) give the Jungle Curry a heartening, comfort-food backbone, making it the rare dish that can stand up well to both warm summer afternoons and cold winter evenings. For all the debauchery and beer swilling jackassery that a dish of Drunken Noodles complements, the Jungle Curry makes a perfect panacea for the quiet, heartbroken wine drunk.
September 12, 2007
· Filed under travel tips
About the cover photo already. Two omnipresent devices –familial obligation and ticking biological clocks– landed me on a cruise to Ensenada, Mexico over the summer. I opted to not inform the cruise line (Royal Caribbean) that I was a vegetarian ahead of time, in hopes that time spent foraging would fill most of the daily malaise, and keep me well clear of the drunkfest on the swim deck.
No dice.
There was a vegetarian option at every turn: a featured vegetarian dish at each formal dinner (avoid the buffalo mozzarella however – clearly a cost-cutting taking place on the white goo), sauteed vegetables, savory pastries and rice for lunch (and bright red Sriracha sauce to keep things interesting), and alongside the typical vegetarian fare common in American breakfasts, there was a miso soup bar each morning, with broth, scallions, cilantro, mushrooms, tofu, and the aforementioned Sriracha. There was even a mediocre-to-bad midnight burrito bar one evening. For a Mexican food fan like myself, every little bit helps. All in all, chalk it up to a full stomach weekend and one terribly soaked liver.
However, satiation aside, let me point out that NKRH does not condone cruises by any means. They are innocuous ways to fail to truly see the world. They’re madly gross polluters. They sit uncomfortably high on terrorist target lists. And honestly, cruises hold no real value other than the hope for a handful of young single folks that they might actually get laid before they pass out and puke on themselves.
NKRH Travel Tip #1: Avoid cruises at all cost.
September 4, 2007
· Filed under california, pit stop
Almost every adventure sport-person in California knows highway 395. Winding its way along the sheer eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada mountains, 395 is home to some of the state’s most severe scenery. Attesting to the area’s geological prowess, a mere 85 miles separates the contiguous 48’s highest point (Mt. Whitney at 14,494 ft/4418 m) from the lowest point (Badwater, Death Valley at 282 ft/86 m below sea level) — and the 395 cuts right between the two. But as always with NKRH, the big question is “where to eat?”
Save it for Bishop. Last major stop from the South before hitting Mammoth Mountain, Bishop boasts two unlikely places in particular: India Palace (Indian, duh) and Imperial Gourmet (Chinese). Both sit at the rear of a minimall at 395 and Yaney St., and both boast large veggie-friendly sections of the menu. The produce at Imperial Gourmet is crisp (who knew fresh gai lan was so easy to score 200 miles from absolutely anything?) and the cooking at India Palace is straight homemade (I swear they put the lentils on the stove the second I ordered the dal). I’d go on, but let’s just say these two can hold their own against any Indian or Chinese restaurant in New York or the Bay Area. That’s a feat in itself for a couple of family-run stops in the beautiful middle of nowhere.
Imperial Gourmet is at 785 N. Main St, ste K in Bishop, CA. 760-872-1144
India Palace is at 787 N. Main St, ste D in Bishop, CA. 760-873-7000. Closed Tuesday.
Thanks to Yummy 4 My Tummy for this broccoli shot from Jasmine Seafood in San Diego (oops, I forgot to take a camera to Bishop).
And don’t forget to bread up at legendary Eric Schat’s Bakery before you head home from your adventures. This Dutch 395 stalwart claims to be home of the “original sheepherder bread” but the real treat is the jalapeño cheese bread–an absolute adventure all to itself.
