One cultural influence for food

Forest Nymph

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Lifestyle
  1. Vegan
When I still ate cheese as a vegetarian my immediate answer was easily Italian because I could drown anything in tomato sauce and cheese and I'm obsessed with olives. My childhood favorite food was pizza.

Now that I've been vegan for a while, I honestly wouldn't want to sacrifice my Ukrainian borscht or Thai take-out, or even my gross American processed chkn tenders. I like food.

HOWEVER I think if some weird limiting circumstance were to occur I'd finally pick the Mediterranean region of the Middle East - Israel or Lebanon, somewhere like that.

I could still have all the olives I wanted, plus hummus, babaganoush, dolma, falafels wrapped in lavash with extra tahini and extra pickled turnips. I could have fresh vegetable salads, vegan baklava, and learn to make shwarma out of my processed vegan chkn. Israel also means Bamba peanut butter puffs and lentil soup.

How about you?
 
My childhood and adulthood favorite is still pizza :D I still indulge in a vegan pizza every so often. I'm rather passionate about pizza, as you can tell from this thread.

As for cultural food....well, there is a French Acadian dish that's been in my family for many many generations. It dates back to when my French descendants first came to Canada.

Many ethnic foods began with what's available and viable with land and agriculture available. The dish is traditionally made simply with meat (chicken) and potatoes, but as a vegan I did not wish to be denied that part of my heritage, so I have created a vegan version of the dish that I love and remember growing up with in my family.

My version is mostly potatoes. I have not tried using something like tofu or seitan yet for the meat sub. I usually go with a mushroom medley or just veggies, like broccoli and onions. Anyhow, It's a heck of a lot of work, so I only make it for special occasions. It is called Rappie Pie, in case you were wondering. Give it a Google, if you're curious ;)



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My childhood and adulthood favorite is still pizza :D I still indulge in a vegan pizza every so often. I'm rather passionate about pizza, as you can tell from this thread.

As for cultural food....well, there is a French Acadian dish that's been in my family for many many generations. It dates back to when my French descendants first came to Canada.

Many ethnic foods began with what's available and viable with land and agriculture available. The dish is traditionally made simply with meat (chicken) and potatoes, but as a vegan I did not wish to be denied that part of my heritage, so I have created a vegan version of the dish that I love and remember growing up with in my family.

My version is mostly potatoes. I have not tried using something like tofu or seitan yet for the meat sub. I usually go with a mushroom medley or just veggies, like broccoli and onions. Anyhow, It's a heck of a lot of work, so I only make it for special occasions. It is called Rappie Pie, in case you were wondering. Give it a Google, if you're curious ;)



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Cool! That reminds me of the L.A. peeps who opened a vegan soul food restaurant. The originals are decidedly not vegan but that was their whole plan, to veganize all of it.

I veganized Eastern European borscht that I mention in the OP - I like it as much or better than the original. I don't replace any kind of "protein" I just use all the veg ingredients with the vegetable broth and fresh dill. But I found a plain vegan yogurt that really saved the day on sour cream. Kinda pricey but delicious.

:)
 
If I had my hand forced I suppose I’d go with Mexican / Tex-Mex. Its so easy to veganize, and I loovvvveeeeee Angela Liddon’s sweet potato and black bean enchilada recipe.

But it’s a hard choice for sure. I love Japanese, Thai, Middle-Eastern, Mediterranean, Indian, Italian...
 
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I like Indian food best. I also like Italian food but it has to be veganised. I grew up living in Brittany France during the Summer, and I really loved their food. Particularly crepe (pancake), croissants, and quiche. My com guide makes me a really lovely vegan quiche. Apart from that French food is particularly hard to find vegan. Pity that because I used to like it before I went vegan.