VeganMoFo2009 4: Survey says...

So I have been MIA on VeganMoFo for the last few days. I have had three exceedingly hectic days at work, the clinic is just insane at the moment! But I didn't want to go three days without posting, so I offer you this!

This survey has been doing the rounds (originally from Whoa Wren) so I thought I would weigh in as I have really been enjoying reading other people's responses.

1. Favorite non-dairy milk?
I generally drink So Good Lite soy milk but I also love oat milk. I have also tried almond milk (but it tasted like sawdust so I am going to try making my own) and quinoa milk (too sweetened for me). I try and avoid non-lite soymilk because the creaminess reminds me of full cream milk a bit and pre-vegan high amounts of dairy fat made me feel really ill.

2. What are the top 3 dishes/recipes you are planning to cook?
Cannot choose. I am so busy this week that I am going 6 days without cooking for myself! I have Friday off so I need to come up with some awesome menu, suggestions?

3. Topping of choice for popcorn?
I don't really eat popcorn. It gets stuck in my teeth. Just thinking about it makes my teeth feel cranky. But someone did mention nooch and fill as a topping combination, which sounds about up my alley. Not into the sweet stuff!

4. Most disastrous recipe/meal failure?
Mostly just baked goods falling apart (never use silicon for cupcakes!) and accidentally burning the bottom of things by being distracted. Once I accidentally put twice the amount of chilli powder in a soup (I was halving the recipe but forgot to halve the chilli!) that ended up FRYING my mouth.

5. Favorite pickled item?
Burdock root and ginger.

6. How do you organize your recipes?
I have shelves of cookbooks in the kitchen. Each week I go through, pick out the recipes I want to make and tag them with a sticky note. Then I write down my menu plans in my menu plan notebook and write a shopping list. Once made, I have a 5-star smiley face rating system and also make notes on the sticky note which is stuck next to the recipe in the book (I am physically incapable of defacing a book). For recipes from the internet I have them filed in categories on my computer.

7. Compost, trash, or garbage disposal?
Trash *sigh* I would love to do compost but I am living at home at the moment and my mother is afraid of compost. She thinks it will smell and attract rats. I am trying to convince her about a worm farm.

8. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods...what would they be (don't worry about how you'll cook them)?
Only three? Can I say soybeans (mwahahah), avocado... ummm.... blueberries? I can't actually pick. I can't choose. I would probably try and swim back to the mainland for my food choices and then drown in the process!

9. Fondest food memory from your childhood?
My mother's 'tuna glug' - rice, tinned tuna, cream of mushroom soup, sweetcorn, peas and cheese all microwaved into wonderful, comforting glory! I hope to veganise it eventually.

10. Favorite vegan ice cream?
Coconut icecream from Green Gourmet in Newtown, Sydney.

11. Most loved kitchen appliance?
Hopefully it will be a shiny new KitchenAid mixer in beautiful marshmallow pink that I'll be getting for my birthday next month!

12. Spice/herb you would die without?
Garlic.... garlic me up. Vampires beware. I love the smell! After I chop it I love the smell on my fingers - is that wrong?

13. Cookbook you have owned for the longest time?
Technically 'The Teddy Bear Cookbook', a really cute (non vegan) cookbook I had as a kid that had different recipes for different occasions, all with photos of dressed up teddy bears enjoying the food! The Vegan Cookbook was my first vegan cookbook, but is a bit yawn. Probably the Complete Vegan Cookbook and Easy Vegan Cooking were the first vegan cookbooks I bought and actually started using regularly.

14. Favorite flavor of jam/jelly?
Strawberry! I love strawberry! Preferably conserve, with bits of strawberry all through it. Not into 'jelly', blergh.

15. Favorite vegan recipe to serve to an omni friend?
Lasagne - there are so many varieties and it is fairly non-confrontational. For my more adventurous omni friends, I'll give almost anything a crack and they'll come along for the ride.

16. Seitan, tofu, or tempeh?
Tofu, probably, with tempeh a very close second. But I love the versatility of tofu.

17. Favorite meal to cook (or time of day to cook)?
Dinner, mainly because this is where I have the most time to create really awesome meals. But I love to cook anytime. Brunch is fun.

18. What is sitting on top of your refrigerator?
Box of medicine, cat food (if you leave it on the bench it will be on the floor in the morning - Gizmo and Sahara are a team of sneaky when it comes to getting more food) and The White Box (a box where any open cookies, nuts, dried fruits etc for snacking go - I have a separate stash of all of these that I use for cooking).

19. Name 3 items in your freezer without looking.
Frozen beans (navy and black-eye at present), lemon juice frozen into tablespoon servings and edamame.

20. What's on your grocery list?
Avocados almost constantly - I go through a lot of them!
Otherwise it depends on what I am cooking that week!

21. Favorite grocery store?
Ummm... Macro in Sydney! In Brisbane Flannery's and Fundies are not too bad. But for my regular daily shopping I'm afraid to say that I generally go to the majors - Coles and Woolworths.

22. Name a recipe you'd love to veganize, but haven't yet.
See above re. my mother's Tuna Glug

23. Food blog you read the most (besides Isa's because I know you check it everyday). Or maybe the top 3?
I check a lot everyday. My google reader list is huge.

24. Favorite vegan candy/chocolate?
Hmmm... I know it isn't particularly exotic but I always lvoe Lindt 85% dark chocolate. I like it dark and bitter.

25. Most extravagant food item purchased lately?
I've found vegan licorice bullets that are $5 per 100g, and they are not light. Ummm... pure maple syrup is about $9/cup here, though I do get that fairly regularly!

26. Ingredients you are scared to work with?
Making my own fresh pasta!

Sadly, no pictures of food or cats. I am just slamming this out quickly before bed (I am on call at the clinic right now). I promise to make up for it soon!