Miscellaneous Updates

It's been a while since I've posted here, and a lot has happened! Well, two major things, really. For one, I got a job!

I was beginning to get nervous that employers were shying away from me as an American, because no matter how many times I wrote it (in both my resume and cover letter) there seemed to always be this assumption that I needed sponsorship. Luckily, I don't and was hired for an on-going full-time position. I start April 14th which gives me a nice chunk of time to enjoy Sydney without the pressure of job-hunting, and to spend some time with the kitty who comes home this Sunday!

The extra time also allows me to keep working on my latest project: vegaroo! Basically I've started it to be a hub for all things vegan and Australian. So it's a blog, a restaurant guide (which may look familiar to those of you who've used Veg Table), event listings, and hopefully more.

Right now Tim and I are the sole contributors, but we're hoping to recruit writers from all over the country so that it doesn't become too Sydney-focused. Either that or we need to start travelling, stat!

So what's to become of Vegan@Large? Good question... I sort of hate to abandon the site, but between my blogging on vegaroo and the personal site we've started to stay in touch with friends and family, it's hard to see what topics I might have left to cover here. Recipes maybe? Rants? We shall see.

Home Is Where the Beetroot Is

There are a lot of "growing pains" that come with living in a new city. Basically, quadruple that when it's in a new country. All these different stores and brands to get used to. Having limited internet access hasn't helped matters. Even food differences are a little overwhelming.

I've yet to find kale in any of the markets here. This is a major dietary staple of mine, so if you have insight, please let me know. The closest I've found is chard, which they call "silverbeet" here. Here are some other crazy names Aussies use for foods:

peppers = capsicum (I think this goes for red and green bell peppers.)

zucchini/eggplant = courgette/aubergine (this seems to vary, but I believe this is the UK version sometimes seen here)

cookies = biscuits (which leads me to wonder what they call biscuits... dear god, they do have biscuits here, right??)

arugula = rocket (very common in salads and sandwiches here)

bacon strips = rashers (obvs I'm eating the soy kind)

beets = beetroot

Beetroot is also extremely common here on sandwiches. I've only ever cooked with it once, myself and that was in a chocolate cake of all places. It turned my whole kitchen pink, so I decided when working with it yesterday I'd used the canned variety.

I tried to make a hummus out of it, but without a food processor, it came out extra chunky style. So here's my non-recipe: One can beetroot, one can chickpeas, both rinsed and drained. Mash them up with a fork in a bowl with lemon juice (I used about 1/3 of a lemon), garlic, just a teaspoon or so of olive oil, salt, and lots of black pepper.

I served it with some baked wholemeal pita chips alongside some lemon-grilled asparagus and broccolini. There was a lot left over today so I took a pita, covered half of it with my beetroot spread, the other half with this yummy carrot dip I bought, and spread a bunch of cucumber slices on top, folded and i half, and boom: lunch.

Amazing how a simple home-cooked meal can make you feel less like you're house-sitting a stranger's apartment, and more like you're actually, well, home.

Sydney, Here We Come!

Well, after a perhaps unsurprisingly frustrating immigration process, I'm happy to announce that Tim and I have gotten our approved visas and are flying out to Sydney this Saturday night! Due to the time change, we'll arrive early Monday morning. It promises to be a fun-filled day dealing with customs, going to the immigration offices, getting new cell phone plans, and opening bank accounts.

Very glamorous, I know. Although Tim has the week off so we can deal with all the minutiae of getting set up in a new city, we also hope to find some time for recreation. Especially after the stressful week I've had. I won't get into the details of the move-out complications we've had, but I'll just say there better be some beachside relaxation in our future.

We arrive February 1st which is a special day for me because it's also my nine year Vegetarianniversary. Yup, I gave up meat in 2001 and haven't looked back since. Perhaps to celebrate we'll be able to squeeze in some meals at the vegan-friendly places we discovered on our last trip, like Iku Wholefoods, Yulli's, and Bodhi in the Park. And, I'm excited that there's plenty of places we've not yet been, like Badde Manors, Funky Pies, and Naked Espresso for brunch. If you have any recommendations, food or otherwise for how to spend a great first week in our new home, feel free to let me know!

Alternatively, for my Bay Area friends, how would you spend your last day in San Francisco? We're planning on brunch at Herbivore (because that is how we've spent nearly every Saturday morning in San Francisco since we've lived here) and then if we can stave off the rain, maybe going up to Crissy Field (where Tim and I got married.)

From one coast to another, we can't wait to start this new adventure!

Hold Me Closer, Tony Danza

It's been quite an emotional couple of days for me and Tim. Over the weekend we had our going-away party, said goodbye to many friends and family, and started making peace with the fact that we're about to leave the city where we met, fell in love, and called home for nearly five years.

And then we found out our visas are delayed. So far it sounds like just a week, but it's hard to know for sure.

Major bummer, as we'd been hoping to arrive in Sydney in time for Australia Day, and we'd joined a Sydney Vegetarian group on Meetup.com who are having a party a few days later that we'll now have to miss. Not to mention, it would have been nice to have an extra week with Tony Danza.

Early this morning, through torrential downpours, we drove our little guy down to Pet Express, the company that has been helping us through our pet immigration process. I can't recommend their services more highly. Throughout, they were responsive, on top of the myriad of paperwork and vet appointments required of us, friendly, and reassuring.

We bid Tony a tearful goodbye and earlier this evening, his plane shipped off to Australia. He'll arrive tomorrow at his quarantine facility, where he'll spend the next ten or so weeks. It was so hard not being able to tell him that we'd be coming back for him. We're allowed to visit when we get there, though the facility is a bit far outside the city and not public transit accessible so it will be tough.

We were able to take our minds off of him today though, as it was quite the busy day of shipping off all our worldly possessions to Sydney, and handing off the rest to Goodwill, SCRAP, and various friends. The upside of our delay in travel is that I can take a bit of a breather tomorrow before repainting and cleaning the apartment. Whew!

And bonus: we'll have a chance to check out this weekend's emergency vegan bake sale to benefit Haiti. Bonus link for you: Food for Life, a great organization that is bringing vegan meals to Haiti. I highly recommend donating to them. I suppose in that context, saying goodbye to your cat and being delayed a week to Australia is not the biggest tragedy in the world.

Tony Danza Update

Apparently I've had some concerned readers wondering where we are with our kitty immigration drama so I figured I'd post an update. We've spoken to some Aussie immigrants who dealt with similar issues to get some perspective and here's what we learned:

Australia quarantine, because it has the strictest standards is also known for being the nicest. Also there are designated days where you can visit your pets. Cost is a major downside. His monthly fee is more than I paid for rent on my one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn five years ago. However, it looks like Tim's company may put us up in a hotel for a month, thus saving us a month of rent and balancing it out.

So quarantine it is. Our vet recommended an agency to us called Pet Express that works specifically on pet travel and immigration. So far they've been super helpful in making sense of the mountain of paperwork and jargon we're dealing with, and they will take TD to the airport for his journey. Again, the services aren't cheap but you're paying for peace of mind, and not having to stress about last minute problems that arise.

My only remaining concern is getting him food he likes. Not that he's one of those snobby Fancy Feast cats... he just has, well, a rather sensitive tummy. When his current brand of cat food was recalled recently and we had to temporarily switch him, the results were not pleasant for anyone. I haven't been able to find any Nutro distributors in Sydney. Does anyone know of something that might be roughly equivalent? 

UPDATE: I found Nutro distributors here!

Kind of gross to be writing about the one non-vegan product we allow in our home, but unfortunately TD doesn't have much of a taste for tofu. However, there is ONE VEGAN PRODUCT that he goes absolutely, inexplicably crazy for: So Delicious Coconut Milk Yogurt.

Yup, that's him with a container of it stuck on his face. The other day I had some with my lunch and seconds after I'd opened it, the delicious aroma awoke him from his slumbers. He spent the next three minutes wandering around the living room and subsequently crying because he couldn't tell where the smell was coming from. (Hint, kitty: it's always in my hands.) When he finally found it, he did his best to try to paw it out of my hands. He's lucky he's cute. This is what goes down every single time I eat this stuff. As usual he got to lick the cup afterwards and was in kitty heaven.

I wonder if they'll let me sneak his favorite treat to him in quarantine. Are there any vegan products your cat goes crazy for? Brighten my day with cute kitty stories in the comments.

Adventures in Kitty Immigration

When we tell people we're moving to Australia, the first question Tim and I usually get is, "What about Tony Danza?" If you've never met us, you're probably scratching your head. That's because I've not yet formally introduced my blog readers to our pride and joy, Tony Danza:
Look at what a gentleman he is. If you're wondering, yes, he's odd-eyed and deaf. He also has cerebellar hypoplasia which is fancy science talk for "tiny brain." Well, at least the part of the brain that controls motor function. None of his paws really move in tandem together and as a result he can't really walk a straight line. Tim rescued him from some irresponsible care-takers (TD's mom and dad also happen to be brother and sister) 12 years ago, so now he's my step-kitty.

Bearing in mind his age, medical issues and generally awful disposition we've struggled with whether or not he'd even be able to survive the journey. We took him to our vet yesterday though, which shed a lot of light on the situation.

Australia requires that imported animals get microchipped, undergo a rabies vaccine and bloodwork, and then there's a 6 month waiting period before he's allowed in the country. He got the first two yesterday and will get his bloodwork on Oct. 15th. Six months from then is April 15th which conflicts a bit with our anticipated January 25 move date.

So we've got three choices:

1. Change our move date. Unfortunately I'm hoping to start school in March. It's unclear whether my visa will allow me to go over before Tim, but if it does, then that's a possibility.
2. Leave TD with a friend, to whom we'd be forever indebted. Unfortunately TD doesn't play well with other animals, and if you don't already have a cat, you probably don't want one. There are also some potential responsibilities that come with it. If you're interested we should have a talk.
   
3. Quarantine him in Australia. The thought of him stuck in a cage for several months is something I don't relish, but apparantly Australian quarantine is known for having the best treatment -- making it also rather expensive, however.
   

The last option of course was not taking him, but the vet seemed to think he's in good enough health to make it, so leaving him behind would be selfish. As much as I sort of liked the idea of moving into a home not filled with cat hair and never having to clean up hairballs and vomit... well, how can you say goodbye to this face?

More to come on the Tony Danza saga...

Help Me, Sydney-Siders

As I mentioned in my last post the idea of moving to Sydney has been at least in the back of my mind for over six months now, and having not been able to really talk about it to any of the people I know in Sydney (because they're basically all my husband's co-workers) I've built up a number of questions. Now that we've set a date in January it's starting to feel real. We're realizing how many adjustments there will be.

Metric System! A whole new system of government! People spell things differently! They call arugula "rocket" and all kind of other different vegetable names! All new stores and brands!

There are all these every-day things I've become accustomed to, and I have no idea how they'll work in Australia. So I'm reaching out. Here are some questions:

• Is there a composting program in Sydney? I doubt it's compulsory like it is in SF, but if I buy biodegradable bags can I compost at home and have someone pick it up?
• What are some trusted brands/places to buy goods that are organic, eco-friendly, local, recycled, etc. I'm talking about both food (recommended farmer's markets??) and general household goods.
  
• Does Sydney have Goodwill? Are there other second-hand/thrift stores in Sydney you recommend? (Both for clothes and housewares.)
• Why don't you use craigslist? This has been disorienting. How do you find jobs? MyCareer is the best site I've found and it's not great. Please tell me there's a better site out there.
• What are your neighborhood recommendations? My husband will be working in the CBD and it's unclear where I will be. We won't have a car so public transit proximity is a must. I'm torn between being in the east near the beaches, and being in the Newtown vicinity for the vegan-friendliness. What's good for a married, 30-ish, vegan, child-free couple?

Having done a little research on Sydney vegan bloggers, I'm tagging some here. Let's be friends!

Sydney Vegan Bake Sale
VeganSydney.com
The Humanimal Eye
ZB's Vegan Recipes

Also, please let me know of any other awesome vegan bloggers in Sydney that I should get to know. (Or follow on Twitter!)

A New Adventure!

Well, I was going to wait till next week to announce this, but I hate secrets, and even though many of you know we've been speculating about this for a while, it finally became official this week:

Tim and I are moving to Sydney, Australia in January!

For those of you who don't know us in real life, his company is based there. When I went to visit him on business in Sydney this past February I fell in love with it and talks quickly turned to, "Do you think you could live here?" "What neighborhood would you want to live in?"

Well, the answers were "yes" and "we're leaning towards Newtown, Glebe, Surry Hills, Paddington and Bondi." (If you have neighborhood advice feel free to comment. I was only there for 10 days so my experience in those neighborhoods was limited.) Anyway, Tim worked out the details at work and now the only thing we're waiting on is the visas which shouldn't be a problem. And assuming, you know, that these crazy red dust storms don't become a weather trend. Probably not great for my asthma.

I'm very excited for the move because, well, I've always enjoyed moving around and as much as I love San Francisco, my career here has proven to be less than I'd hoped for. I'm strongly considering starting with a completely clean slate in Sydney and going back to school for something brand new: nutrition. My interests have been shifting away from the arts and increasingly focused on food. I ended up signing up for that eCornell class in plant-based nutrition that I posted about a few weeks ago. That starts in October so it will be a good taste of what's to come.

Luckily I discovered that Sydney is actually very vegan-friendly, despite what Outback Steakhouse might have you thinking. Veg Table lists eight vegan restaurants, and with all of the Asian-influenced cuisine, we didn't have any trouble eating while there. And much like San Francisco the city hosts a regular Sydney Vegan Bake Sale. Maybe I'll post a Sydney vegan food round-up next week to gear up.

Anyway we've got a lot to sort out over the next 4 months. (Literally we're moving 4 months from today!) I just landed a part-time job that goes through the end of December, so the timing is perfect. I like it when things start aligning. It makes me feel like it's meant to be. While we're unsure how long we'll live there or whether or not we'll return to San Francisco eventually, we are pretty sure that our time in Australia is going to be an amazing new adventure!

(Photo via Shishberg)