Jenny used to be a vegetarian, but she's gone back to eating animals--but not in my house and only once or twice when she was with me.  The pictures above are of Jenny eating dishes at Kayma, an Algerian spot in IKEA's Saluhall.  My favorite dish there was the mushroom dish.  The prices were high, but the adventure was worth it.  

A good surprise was Il Parco at the Presidio Tunnel Tops--beautiful setting and tasty, reasonably priced vegan dishes:  two soups, a farro dish, focaccia, and a beet salad, and a pasta dish too. 

 

A great discovery--Il Parco at the Presidio Tunnel Tops Transit Center.  I treated Bill and Jenny to everything vegan.

 

I had a wonderful time preparing for a Film Noir night with friends. I was determined to keep all food black and white and of course vegan, so I was cooking for days, using recipes for pasta sauces as well as black sauces and even getting hold of black vinegar for a Thai Noodle dish. I think my friends were afraid of the food (and it did look kind of scary), but fear was a good lead-in to the film noir viewing.

 

 

We celebrated my sister-in-law Patty's 90th birthday today, June 8th, at Little Saint in Healdsburg.  Everything was delicious,and the company couldn't be beat!

 "Dr. Ornish’s program includes a plant-based diet, regular exercise, group support, yoga or meditation."

This is from an article about a woman who reversed her dementia by changing her life style.  

https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/16/health/video/gupta-alzheimers-reversed-patient-digvid

Here's are some more pictures of my plant-based diet for some days in May.

           Recipe for Making Mushroom Wellington While Attending Four Meetings

The Pepperidge Farms Puff Pastry is already out of the freezer.  You meant to put it in the refrigerator to partly thaw last night, but you forgot.  You’ve learned that it needs more than 40 minutes to thaw.  (Why do I keep writing “flaw” for “thaw”?  Anticipating results?)

You’ve already chopped the onion and garlic, and you got mushrooms already sliced.  Start making Mushroom Wellington  at 10:55, right before your meeting of Fare-Free Transit, the organization promoting the Bay Pass for students so they can all take public transportation free.  You know it takes a LONG time for those mushrooms to lose all their liquid.  Put the  2 pounds of mushrooms, (4 8-oz boxes!) in 1 T of olive oil and 1 T of Earth Balance, 1 diced onion, 6 fat garlic cloves, a T chopped fresh rosemary, 1 t kosher salt, ¼ cup of ruby port (because that’s what you have up in those top cabinets), 1 t of balsamic vinegar.    Set the time for 10 minutes even though you know it will take much longer.  Run to the computer and click on the Zoom link.  This is the first time you’ve attended a meeting of this organization, so you introduce yourself as “Tina Martin, a member of Transit Justice and Voices for Public Transportation and generally a very strong advocate for public transportation, which I’ve been taking all over SF since 1966.”  You know the people also attending, so you briefly tell them how you know them—Thea Selby, a former trustee at City College, Heather Brandt, the student trustee from CCSF, Angelica Campos, the student activist you met at the unveiling of the sign for Frida Kahlo Way in 2018.  Explain that you have something on the stove, so you’ll have to leave the meeting from time to time.  Leave the Zoom in 10 minutes.  Stir the mushrooms and set the time for another 15 minutes.  Run back to the computer as fast as your torn meniscus makes possible.  Continue the discussion.  Find out that they’re having a meeting with members of the SFMTA at 1:00 pm.  Explain that you have another Zoom at that time but will come in at 1:30  if your 1:00 pm ends in time.  Text your son that you’ll choose Zooming with him at 1:00 pm instead of going to a meeting you just found out about.  Read his response:  He can meet with you shortly after 12 noon if that helps.  Feel great love and gratitude.  Run back to the kitchen and see that the mushrooms are now the “dry” they’re supposed to be before you wrap them in puff pastry.  Add 1 cup toasted pecans.  Let the mixture cool.  Meet with you son on Zoom.  Show him your two tech-related problems, which thanks to him are soon no problem at all.  You can now get the audio version of Solito and can also share the link for the tribute to Jessica for her memorial in August.  You discuss creating something for Patty’s 90^th birthday June 8^th.  See that you don’t have the link for the 1:00 pm meeting.  Send an email asking for it.   Go back to the kitchen and set the oven to 400 degrees.  Roll out the puff pastry a bit more with your rolling pin.  Scoop most of the mushrooms into the middle of the rolled-out dough and this time, instead of making pinwheels, just wrap one side of the dough over the mound of mushrooms and another and the other side over that.  Brush it with a mixture of  ¼ cup of maple syrup and ¼ cup of nut milk.  Forget to score it.  Run back to the 1:00 pm meeting.  Participate in introductions. Take pictures of the charts they show.  Hear the bell that indicates the oven is ready.  Run to the oven and put in what you hope will become Mushroom Wellington. Set the oven for 25 minutes even though you think it may take 35.   Run back to the meeting on Zoom.  Remember that you didn’t score the puff pastry dough.  Run back to the kitchen, take it out of the oven, and score it.  Run back to the meeting.  In the midst of a stimulating discussion, hear the oven timer go off.  Tun back to the kitchen, check the color, and put it In for another ten minutes.  Run back to the meeting and stay there for ten minutes—until the next meeting –Transit Justice—begins.  Go back to the kitchen and get the Mushroom Wellington out of the oven.  You like the golden color, but you see that you really should have scored it before putting it in the oven.  Put some Rosemary on top for added color and scent.  Go back to Transit Justice.  Have a very stimulating discussion, but leave the Zoom meeting just long enough to go to the kitchen and serve yourself some Mushroom Wellington.  Find it less than perfect in form but absolutely delicious!

 

At a gathering at Ofena to hear more about Daniel Lurie as a candidate for SF Mayor, I saw some hors d'oeuvres with dead animals and some that looked vegetarian and asked, "Is there anything that's plant-based?"  The server/caterer said she would see, and she did.  She told me the chef would make something for me.  I had plenty of food at home, but I don't think of plant-based as being for vegans.  I think of it as being for the planet and for animal welfare.  I also think what's served at events--including political ones--indicates awareness and values. One person at the gathering showed concern for public transit, but judging from the questions of most people, the dishes served were just what you'd expect.  

So I had my own plate, pictured here--quite pretty and delicious.  But I really didn't want it to be just for me.  Afterwards I thanked the chefs--Tim and Paul-- for making something "good for the planet and good for animal welfares."