Vegan Eating in Malmö, Sweden

John and I recently spent a long weekend in Malmö, Sweden. It is a little over a three hour train ride from Aarhus, Denmark (where we live). We took our bikes, crashed at a friend's apartment, and enjoyed the surprisingly perfect weather all weekend.

Before starting the trip, we checkout out the Happy Cow website and were so relieved to find a variety of vegan restaurants and health food stores. I give Malmö a thumbs up for vegan friendly city.

For breakfast, Chez Madame was a great choice. It had a granola, fruit, salad, and baked goods type buffet. They also make a heavenly soy latte.

I can't say enough about the vegan pizza at Pizzeria Algarve. We each got a pizza - taco for me, kabob for John - and devoured it. The menu has so many choices and they have homemade sauces to go with each. Without question, this is the best vegan pizza I have ever eaten, in the world.

Here is my taco pizza...

...including melty cheese. 

And the unique kabob pizza. They even have a huge chunk of 'meat' on a big stick that they shave off for the pizza. So authentic. 

We had dinner at Vegegarden one night. We decided to order the pre-set "Dinner for two" menu, which was delicious but way too much food!

On our way to the train station to head home, we stopped at Astrid and Aporna to pick up some supplies. They had a huge selection of vegan meats, cheeses, and goodies. 

Licorice, chocolate, and cookies:

Instant soup (lunch for me on days when I can't stomach the canteen) and rice mayo:

New soy cheeses to try (Mozzerella, Blue, Edam, and White Cheddar):

A smorgasbord of vegan meats (Veef, chicken nuggets, salmon, shrimp, and Tzay: something made by monks):

And dried soy nuggets in a variety of sizes and colors (brown for beef, strips, nuggets and wafers):

 

Special Delivery: Liquid Smoke

My mother in law mailed me two bottles of liquid smoke! I was never able to find it here in Denmark, so this supply should last for a very long time!

Thanks Mom and Neil! We love you guys. 


First recipes I will try now that I have the stuff:
Eggplant Bacon
Chipotle Lentil Burgers

Christmas Presents for the Vegans in Your Life

For Christmas, my adorable sister-in-law, Terra and my brother, Craig bought us the cookbook Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. We LOVE it! So far, I have made three recipes but can't wait to try them all. The ingredients lists are short and simple, but packed with flavor. Nutritional information is included with each recipe. And, a majority are soy and gluten free, or give alterations to make them such.

Everyday Chickpea-Quinoa Salad ( because you could eat this EVERYDAY and never get tired of it!!!)

 Shaved Brussels Sprouts

Lotsa Veggie Lentil Soup

 

And, they also bought us a milk frother! So, John made Oat Milk Lattes today.

 

 

Vegan MoFo: E is for Empanadas

Wow, I can't believe how far behind on my goal I have slipped. But, I have nutritious and delicious plans for the week to catch me up...starting with Black Bean and Banana Empanadas.

Here is the crust recipe that I used. It was easy to prepare and sat in the fridge while I made the filling.



For the filling, I followed this recipe. I didn't have ground coriander so I ground a sprinkle of fennel seeds instead. I know it is a completely different flavor, but it worked. Also, I really wanted to use my new and super cute mortar and pestle. I found it in Hamburg. I also added half a cup of thawed spinach which we really enjoyed.

And, a little avocado salad on the side consisting of chopped avocado, tomato, salt, and a splash of lemon juice.

I have wanted one of these since my trip to Thailand where we used it to make curry paste. :-)

Dried Bean Curd Sheets

John and I used to order Ginger Bean Curd from a restaurant in Eugene, Oregon called Lotus Garden. It was amazing; so when we saw dried bean curd sheets at the Asian Market, we were very excited!

I couldn't find much in the way of directions or recipes online but decided to make a ginger and veggie stir fry, wrap it up in the bean curd sheets (egg-roll style) and then fry the rolls.

After soaking the bean curd for almost an hour in hot water, it was still pretty tough. It did not turn into the soft, fluffy layers that I so fondly remember, even after being fried. The texture was rubbery and did not smell appealing. To sum it up, it was like eating band-aids. No, I have never eaten a band-aid, but I am sure this is what it would be like.

Needless to say, I will be leaving the bean curd to the professionals.

Herb Garden

Here is another attempt of mine to grow herbs! I found a cute set of three pots, compost, and seeds for a very reasonable prices. Herbs, like all other things, are very expensive here in Denmark. Hopefully, I will soon have Chives, Basil, and Parsley.

Floradix: Flora Iron & Herbs

When we first arrived in Denmark, it felt normal to be exhausted for a few days. But after a few days of sleeping in and continuing to be tired throughout the day, I didn't feel normal. I also noticed that I was bruising very easily on my arms, hips, and legs. I don't know if this was connected at all, but I decided my iron might be low. Fortunately, the grocery store down the street carries Floradix. Here is a website with great information and the ability to order online. I can't be certain that there is a connection, but after taking it for a week, I notice a significant increase in my level of energy.

Easter Treats

For Easter, I ordered John some vegan candy from VeganVersand. It was my first time ordering from them, and I was so excited that the box arrived in just a few days. Most of the things available online are also available in stores near to me, but I could see orders coming in handy occasionally. They also sell refrigerator items like cheese and icecream. I am not sure how those survive the shipping, so I think I will stick to traditional grocery shopping for that sort of stuff.

I did order three of their candy bars: Twilight (Milky Way), Jokerz (Snickers), and Mahalo (Almond Joy). I also ordered gummy Cola Bottles. We saw them in a store one time and John commented how much he loved them, so they were a perfect addition.

Besides the Easter treats, I also ordered Rice Mayo and Wheat Gluten. It is called "Seitan Mix" but the ingredients are simply wheat gluten.

Rice-Milk Chocolate

I am completely obsessed with Rice-Milk Chocolate! I have found it in white chocolate also! It is creamy, smooth, rich, and bakes very nicely.

Oat Milk and The Story of Stuff

I was out shopping with a friend, Christina, and she was looking for ingredients to make an amazing vegan dessert quiche. As a substitute for sour cream, she used Oat Milk. I was surprised at how creamy and thick and rich it was. So, when John and I were shopping this weekend, we bought some and we have been eating it with cereal and coffee. It is not extremely expensive and, in my opinion, better tasting and has a better consistency than Rice Milk.


I have also become very dedicated to buying dried beans. After watching a short documentary called The Story of Stuff, I am trying to do better about buying things with less packaging. I am very diligent about taking my own bags when shopping, bringing my green bags when buying produce, and buying as many things in bulk as possible. Spices, fresh tofu, and dried beans are all things I find easily at the Naschmarkt with very little packaging. I have found it is also much less expensive to buy beans dried. I purchased black beans and chickpeas, each bag was €2.80 ($3.84) and will make approximately 18 cups of beans! Hello beans forever!

Along with the beans, I found organic applesauce (for some peanut butter cookies I will make soon!) and Mori-Nu tofu. Very random.

Vegan Staples Stock-up

I found so many goodies today while out exploring Vienna. My happiest find, Kala Namak, or Black Salt. It is a pink colored salt, making it difficult to ask for by name in German but we found an excellent Indian Grocery Store that had it along with all this other fun stuff. Starting at the top left, working clock-wise we purchased: black lentil beans, turmeric, peanut butter, coconut oil, canned jack fruit (Not my idea!! John decided he absolutely had to have this!), limes, black sesame seeds (for an upcoming cookie recipe!), kala namak salt, Semolina flour, and finally, Chickpea flour.

Some of these can be found at the regular grocery store, like limes, but this place had such great prices!!!

The fuss over kala namak is for an omelet that I am going to make tomorrow for breakfast. The recipe is in Vegan Brunch. Apparently, this salt has a very sulfuric smell/taste and therefore mimics the taste of eggs. We will see! And my hope is for a much prettier omelet than last time! Fingers crossed.

4 New Cookbooks

I took a trip back to the US for the past month. A complication with my visa forced me to leave, but it was so fun to see friends and family and I picked up 4 new vegan cookbooks! My mother-in-law bought me Vegan Italiano. John in 100% Italian and has already requested the risotto recipe! I got a used copy of Vegan Brunch from Amazon.com for a steal of a price. Isa Chandra Moskowitz is the author of the excellent Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World and the new Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar is now mine! John has already requested I make the cookies on the cover. And finally, I bought The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes in an effort to cheer myself up one day while in limbo with the visa situation and browsing a bookstore. It all worked out and I am back home in Austria, ready to cook and blog again!

Lush Fresh (and Vegan) Handmade Cosmetics

I first fell in love with Lush Cosmetics when I lived in Portland, OR. I was excited beyond words to learn that they have a Lush here in Vienna also! They sell all sorts of fun bath and body products, lotions, lip gloss, bath bombs, shampoo and conditioner, and on and on. Many of their products are vegan and labeled such with either the word Vegan on the sign or a green dot. This information is very good to know before going in.

The company also has such an environmentally conscious business plan. They use very little packaging, everything you buy goes into a thin paper bag that identifies itself as recycled and compost-able. They do not test on animals at all, instead they test on themselves! Their mission statement, located on their shopping bag (if you decide to take one!) also clarifies their use of the words "fresh" and "organic" as "beyond marketing." Here are a few statistics from their facebook page.
100% Vegetarian
74% Vegan
66% Unpreserved
58% Unpackaged



So, I picked up a shower bomb (you drop it on the floor of a hot shower and it fizzes up and creates an amazing aroma)called "Sex in the Shower" and a Sugar Scrub bar with an herbal scent.

Pasta Maker

I have been picking John's brain for dinner ideas that challenge me and keep me out of a cooking rut. The stromboli from a few nights ago was a total hit, but he stepped it up a notch even further this time asking for tortellini! I have made pasta one time in my life, years ago, and not vegan. I used a rolling pin and round cutter and made ravioli. One of my problems this time was not having a rolling pin. We are temporarily living in Vienna in a furnished apartment provided by John's company. We were only able to move very few things with us, so most of our stuff is in a storage unit in Portland....rolling pin included. So today, in a stroll around town, I found a pasta machine for €16.99 (about $24)!!!!! I also found some organic semolina flour at Mueller. It is a department store that sells perfume, makeup, and oddly enough, many organic staples. Leave it to Vienna!

They also had a product that is basically my beloved soy curls!!!! I have missed them since moving out of the US but to my menu they have returned!!!

So for dinner tonight, soy curls under leftover Mushroom Gravy from our blintzes this morning, leftover Bulgur, Spinach, and Cannelloni salad in endive leaves.
Stay tuned for that tortellini!!!

A few staples for the Vienna kitchen

I bought a basil plant that I will attempt to keep alive for the 8 months we are here (Pray for my basil). I also purchased whole flax seed but now worry about leaving my seed grinder back in Portland! I am not confident my food processor will do the trick, but fingers are crossed. And, my favorite find, vegan butter!!!! It is soy based and when used to saute spinach, is absolutely heaven!

Green Smoothies

I went to the Portland Farmer's Market today to stock up on supplies for Green Smoothies. Since reading the book Green For Life, John and I have really enjoyed replacing a meal with a green smoothie. Of course, we get a lot of critics. It is amazing how friends become "nutrition experts" as soon as you start following a dietary pattern that is healthy. But when was the last time a friend reached out to you with concern for your health while eating a cheeseburger or a greasy piece of pizza! It is completely warped.
Anyway, the key to sticking to the Green Smoothies is variety. Mixing different greens with different fruits. I have also been adding a product by Vega called Smoothie Infusion. It adds a bit of powdery texture but loads of nutrients. My plan is to finish this package of the product but, in the future, I will just add flax seed to the smoothies because we already drink the original Vega daily and the Smoothie Infusion is a bit pricey.
So, today I bought peaches, apples, blueberries, strawberries, carrots, arugula, kale, and lettuce all organic and all for a whopping 20 bucks! I will post some of the smoothie creations I come up with very soon!

Flax Seeds

I read an article on the WebMD website that gave its opinion on the book titled Skinny Bitch. It is a very funny, highly informative book written by a vegan and animal rights activist. The article on WebMD irritated me beyond believe, for many reasons. One quote in the article particularly bothered me.
"And when you eliminate all animal products, you miss out on valuable nutrients only found in animal products, like omega-3 fatty acids."
It is completely untrue that omega's are only found in animals, particularly fish. If you do happen to find a piece of fish that is free of mercury, PCB's and other toxins, you are still consuming animal cholesterol, animal fat, and animal protein (that started as a plant protein before it was eaten by the animal). Apparently, Yale researcher and author David Katz, MD, the sadly mistaken person quoted here, has never heard of flax seed.

Farmer's Market Flowers

I went to the Farmer's Market with Miriam last week and only bought flowers!!! They were so beautiful and a large bouquet, enough to fill two vases was $10.

New To-Go Ware

We are fans of the To-Go Ware line of products that replace traditional (and wasteful) "doggie bag" style containers at restaurants. We decided to get a second set for John to use to carry his lunch to work daily. This particular style is 2 tiered but can be carried as a single container also. It comes with a little sauce container that is very handy.

Vegan Shoes and Vitamins

I bought my first pair of Vegan Sandals. They are Earth Shoes, which are supposed to be great for your back and posture because of their "negative heel." It took a day of breaking in, but they are very comfortable now. The website had many other styles that I love...thinking ahead to fall especially!


I am also taking a daily vitamin now. Not for any reason other than getting extra vitamins in my system. I know there is debate as to whether or not our bodies absorb the vitamins...anyway, I also want the extra folic acid it provides. I found this at Capella and it was around $11 for a 2 month supply.