I really miss...

ok, i've just moved to croatia, and while being vegan is not hard here at all, i do miss some of the things i could get easily in london. spices, particularly seem to cost the EARTH! my cooking feels incomplete...i think i'm going to have to splash out £3 for a jar of turmeric...

but what i miss most, becuase i've had a hard time finding them in the supermarket (though i know they must exist...just finding them out of a tin has been the tricky part) is LENTILS. i'm CRAVING dhal, and i just cna't find them anywhere, except for precooked in a can. which is fine in the short run but a) is expensive and b) doesn't taste so great.

there was something else, but i can't think what it was. so perhaps i'm not missing it so much!

so...what did you used to love that, for whatever reason, you can't get hold of now?

amanda

that's weird that you can't find dried lentils out there! :confused:

Veganstore used to sell Newman O's, peanut chews, marshmallows and butter-style cookies which they don't do any more but used to be really nice. i miss those. i can't think of anything else at the moment.

Where do I start :rolleyes: Since moving to a small Greek island from the UK I miss vegan cheese, peanut butter, red lentils, mushy peas (:smile:) and lots of other things too numerous to mention.

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Gorilla

that's weird that you can't find dried lentils out there! :confused:

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i'm sure you CAN...i just can't find them. i'm guessing they must be in a weird bit of the supermarket. i know the croatian word for them, so i think i'll have to (try and) ask next time. the closest thing i've found though so far has been an extortionatly expensive bag of 'soup mix', with lentils, pearl barley etc etc.

i also saw a standard size packet of tempeh for the equivalent of about £8!!!! definately will be waiting until i get home before i have tempeh again!

amanda

I moved to t6he bumhick nothing city known as Bullhead City for a few months, and I've got a few months left still until I can go back to the OC where things make sense and where people are civilized, but anyway the thing I miss most is Tofutti cream cheese. :( I'm going to buy two tubs of the stuff and eat it all in one day, first thing when I come back home.

Mushroom and tofu pies. I can get a hold of them if I order them a week in advance and drive to the other side of town to pick them up. Last time I ordered them they forgot to put my order in so i drove all that way for nothing :mad:

When it is not summer I miss mangos and when it is not winter I miss grannysmith apples.

I miss ABC cookies from America....I used to love them. And cherry pie larabars.

I was missing Nature's Path Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal for about 2 years because the distributer stopped bringing in the oatmeal for some reason :confused: Now they are back :p

^ Gorilla, I'm not sure but some of those things that Veganstore used to sell might be available through www.veganessentials.com

thanks veganwitch, i had a look but i couldn't find them on there.

Amanda, there are some health food shops in Zagreb according to this:

http://www.happycow.net/europe/croatia/zagreb/

might they be worth a try for lentils if all else fails?

I miss the Peanut Chews as well. Also Tofutti Coffee & Marshmallow ice cream which was discontinued several years ago.

I'd love to be able to get cakes like they have in New York and the variety of ice cream flavours they have in the US.

i got some peanut chews from the Secret Society of Vegans website, v.expensive though!

i miss swedish glace lollies, and tofutti rock 'n' roll cones, i used to get them as a treat sometimes from goodness direct but can't now i live here in Orkney.

I miss jelly - they don't sell it here. And I refuse to buy it on line.

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cobweb

i got some peanut chews from the Secret Society of Vegans website, v.expensive though!

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That is well worth knowing! :D

I had some delicious vegan burritos from a Mexican place just one block from where we were staying in San Francisco. We ate there a few times and I miss their vegan burritos that were stuffed full of rice, beans, spicy tofu and topped with green chile with tortilla chips and guacamole on the side.

I also really miss Herbivore, which we ate at many, many times. They have so much yummy stuff on their menu!

harpy - i know bio and bio is there...it's quite (VERY) expensive though. a litre of bonsoy, which is the cheapest brand here, costs almost 2 pounds! and you can only get UHT soymilk whihc is a bit of a bummer. they also sell seitan steaks for 10 pounds!!!!!!!! the size of a burger! i dread to think how much lentils are. am going to tyr and get to the food market on sunday morning, because i'm sure there must be loose stuff there. it's a pain working 9-5 sometimes....all these great food markets and i'm stuff in the nasty supermarket...

however, to my joy, i DID see fresh coriander at the big market the other day. i will make thai curry with coriander in even if it kills me!

the other thing i miss is avocado. no where in croatia as far as i can tell. first thing i'm doing when i get back to the UK, and i dont' care that they're out of season, is have a HAT sarnie (houmous, avo and tomato with chilli jam. officially my favourite sarnie ever. a HAAT is also good - second A is artichoke)

amanda

Have you found anything nice that Croatians have and we don't, amanda?

I remember having some pretty terrible food there the time I went, but that was in the good old days of Marshall Tito.

today was a good day. I FOUND LENTILS! only giant green ones, but i found some. so happy, i cannot explain. if i find coconut milk to make my favourite dhal, i might die of happiness.

harpy - i'm pretty addicted to the way they do cabbage, which is soaked in a light vinegar and oil, to make a kind of oily, less vinegar-y sauerkraut. also, ajvar, which is a kind of paste-puree of roasted aubergine and red pepper with garlic and onion. they use it as a topping on kebabs and things, and in pasta sauce. i really like it in sarnies, with kupus (the cabbage thing).

they also eat a lot of chard which i'm digging. steamed, then cooked down with garlic and lemon juice is pretty ace. they eat it as a fish accompaniment, but i like it on its own...

oh, and i have made an interesting discovery, after sitting down with our tub of margarine with my flatmate and a good dictionary, it seems that margarine, unless specifically 'miljeka margarin' (milk margarine) is just vegetable with no animal products. this is what i had been told by people, but didn't believe. so the lady wasn't lying to me in the pastry shop when i asked. this is not good...it means i can now sample croatian pastries, of which there are many....or at least, from that shop where i know for sure it's ok. unfortunately, it's under my office. doh!

amanda

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Roxy

I had some delicious vegan burritos from a Mexican place just one block from where we were staying in San Francisco. We ate there a few times and I miss their vegan burritos that were stuffed full of rice, beans, spicy tofu and topped with green chile with tortilla chips and guacamole on the side.

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I had amazing mexican in SF too. I had fajitas with black beans, mexican rice and all these sauteed vegies. We also had corn chips and salsa to dip. I haven't had mexican like that ever again. I wonder if it was the same place?

raging burrito in decatur, atl. GA does AWESOME vegan burritos. man, i miss those...great hangover food. i might ahve to go visit my friend again sometime soon just for a burrito!

That all sounds quite nice actually. Now you've found lentils your joy will be complete (esp if you find coconut milk, which I have to say I don't associate with Croatia :) ).

we went on holiday to Dunbrovnik when i was a kid (about 26 years ago i think), and one of the things i most remember was being served cereal with hot boiled milk on it, and skanky fish dishes every night for dinner :(.

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stickydate

I had amazing mexican in SF too. I had fajitas with black beans, mexican rice and all these sauteed vegies. We also had corn chips and salsa to dip. I haven't had mexican like that ever again. I wonder if it was the same place?

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The place I'm talking about is the Green Chile Kitchen on Fulton Street. Great little place!

I live in Croatia, but I often do my grocery shopping in Slovenia and sometimes in Austria. I have to. In Slovenia I can buy soy milk for €1.19. I miss Joya soy yoghurts (strawberry, berry mix) which have been imported to Croatia a few years ago, but aren't any more. I have to go to Ljubljana to buy them, or Graz, Austria where they are cheaper. I also miss Soja Drink Balance yoghurt drinks once sold in Hofer in Slovenia. I miss Valsoia nougat cream, can't find it anywhere in Croatia anymore.

I miss single induction cooking plate. It stopped working during warranty period, I got my money back, but can't find it in stores any more. All other brands available in Slovenia are much more expensive.

I miss the huge health food shops in Belgium, they have so much stuff that you just can't get here in Ireland! Hempburgers, Alpro soya nuggets, Belvita bars (like a mixture between fig rolls and Nutri-grain bars, and vegan!), a huge variety of good dark chocolate... :satisfied: