Vegan Ireland: Cork, part 2

After the night of that lovely Japanese-inspired meal with Emily at My Goodness, I headed out to West Cork (between Bantry and Glengarriff) for a weeklong DIY writing retreat (more on that later). I got off the bus in Bantry, picked up a load of groceries, and rang for a taxi.That week I made simple meals for myself—porridge with almond milk and flaxseed-goji berry meal, a vegetable and sprouted-bean stew (using tomato sauce as a lazy-girl's base, since I didn't have any broth or herbs/spices to hand), Linda McCartney veggie sausages with locally-made onion chutney, tomato and spinach sandwiches with hummus or vegan "mayo," and so on and suchlike.The mayonnaise alternative is downright sad compared to Vegenaise (or my new favorite, Earth Balance vegan mayo made from olive oil), but you gotta take what you can find and be grateful for it, right? (Particularly since I was in a small-town grocery store!) The next time I go back to Ireland I'm sure there'll be a wider variety of vegan products available. (And in fairness, I believe Bantry does have a health food store, but seeing as I had all my luggage with me it just seemed easier to plop my big red pack in a full-size shopping cart and get on with it.)Vince happened to be taking an overnight hiking trip near Glengarriff, so at the end of that wonderfully tranquil and productive week he picked me up on the way back to Cork City. That afternoon I went to the Crawford Municipal Art Gallery (especially for the Harry Clarke room, more on that later too), and then to the Natural Foods Bakery for a date bar and a soya cappuccino to tide me over until dinnertime. (I ate a LOT of dessert on this trip. You'll see over the next several vegan-themed posts why I want to laugh every time somebody implies I'm depriving myself.)I'd said in my last Cork post that I didn't think I'd make it to the Quay Co-op this time around, but happily I was wrong! It's hearty good-value deli-style food (like Cornucopia in Dublin, which I'll also be blogging about). I like that you can go up to the counter and choose whatever main course and salads look the most delicious. (No dinner envy when the plates come out and your friend's dish looks nicer than yours!) There's also a grocery on the ground floor.  The Quay Co-op also has a tempting selection of fancy juices and sodas.   Emily and Vince and I had a great meal. I got the chickpea burger with gravy, and butternut and beet salads on the side.  I convinced myself that Dandelion & Burdock soda is good for the digestion (hey! it very well might be!) See what I mean? Being vegan is SO, SO HAAAAAAAAARD.