15 posts tagged “vegan mofo”
Thanks to the Alicia Silverstone video I featured a few days ago, and the fact that I'm in NYC this week, I actually went and tried restaurant #1 on her list: HanGawi.
I don't know why, but somehow I was expecting a little hole in the wall. I suppose it's because the neighborhood is unprepossessing. BUt it is no hole in the wall. It is actually a pretty upscale place. Complete with pricy prix fixe options.
My dining companion and I went a la carte, which was far more affordable.
I tried:
A Fried Dumpling
Spinach and Corn Porridge
Kabocha Pumpkin Stone Bowl Rice
What was most striking was that the food was simple, fresh and tasted like exactly what it was. Spinach. Corn. Pumpkin.
I am not a fan of vegan food that tries to hard to be fancy by throwing a bunch of warring flavors into the same dish, to make it unnecessarily complex, as though that made it gourmet. (I'm looking at you, Millennium.)
This was really refreshingly good.
So, add my recommendation to Alicia's.
Tonight I went to a catered dinner. And as much as you may not want to seem like a pain in the ass to people who are being nice enough to host you to begin with: If you do not ask you will not receive.
I emailed and simply gave them a heads up, and when I arrived (where I'm sure I was the only vegan amongst about 40 guests) I had a special meal all ready for me.
Appetizer: Bruschetta, the way it oughta be, without any silly cheese to clog up your system!
Entree: A delectable vegetable , well, I guess I'll call it a stew or cassoulet. It was unusual vegetables like giganta beans and radicchio and artichoke hearts and mushrooms and other vegetables that were all hearty and autumnal. Just the perfect combination of slightly bitter and tangy with more meaty. Truly scrumptious.
Dessert: Fresh strawberries and blueberries
As per usual, I think some of the other guests at my table were looking rather enviously at my plate!
Last night I made the quickest damn vegan version of Joe's Special there can possibly be. OK, it's not really Joe's Special, but sorta, kinda.
My ingredients were simple:
Grapeseed oil
Frozen Garlic cubes from Trader Joe's
Yves Ground "Meat"
Whole Food 365 Refried Beans with Red Pepper
Green Peas (I used organic frozen green peas that I microwaved before throwing into the skillet.)
Nutritional Yeast
You can guess the rest:
-Saute the garlic in the oil
-Add the "meat" and beans
-Add the peas
-Close by sprinkling nutritional yeast over everything and mixing in well
See, I don't just eat nutritional yeast because it's healthy and gives me my B vitamins...I actually like the added flavor it brings to almost everything I cook!
The whole shebang took less than 10 minutes to cook, was spicy and flavorful, provided me with lots of protein, iron, vitamins and made a big enough batch that I'll have the rest for lunch this week.
(And yes, to be more of a real Joe's Special you should add spinach, not peas, and the beans are extraneous, but I'm rarely much of a recipe-follower.)
Just doing my part to encourage all those would-be vegans who are afraid it takes hours of time to make yummy, healthy vegan food.
Last night was the S.O.'s birthday, so we went to our favorite local restaurant, Pizza Antica in Santana Row.
I have always found them to be extremely veg-friendly, and even though they are but one short week away from adding our favorite winter specialty to their menu (a Brussels Sprouts Salad that rocks) I was able to dine heartily. Especially after I told the waiter I was vegan, so he could make suggested.
I started out with an antipasti plate consisting of various brightly colored vegetables, including corn, red peppers, tomatoes, onions, potatoes and snap peas.
Then had the pizza you see on the left: Thin crust (my favorite kind) topped with tomato sauce, roasted garlic and portabella mushrooms. YUM.
Finally, they had peaches and strawberries that figured heavily into non-vegan desserts on the menu, so I just had them prepare me a bowl of those. Again, yum.
And enough pizze for a light lunch today. Perfecto Pizza Antica.
That I, of course, forgot to take a picture of before we gobbled it down.
Nonetheless, I bring you: Baked Vegetables and Mushroom Gravy
First, prepare the baked vegetables:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
Pour oil into a baking pan to coat the bottom
Fill the pan with assorted vegetables. The ones I used last night (and use most often) are:
- Potatoes
- Squash (Usually use Butternut and/or Acorn)
- Cauliflower
- Corn on the cob (split into half-ears)
Can also work with:
- Brussels Sprouts
- Parsnips
- Sweet Potatoes or Yams
You get the idea.
Roll each vegetable chunk around to coat it in oil.
Sprinkle the veggies with: Salt (I use kosher sea salt), black pepper, garlic powder and...wait for it...cinnamon.
Roll them around again to coat them in the seasonings.
The cinnamon is the requisite special ingredient that makes all the difference.
Bake the veggies for 35-40 minutes.
While they are baking, make your gravy.
Now, I'm not much of a measuring gal, so I tend to do this:
Heat up some oil in a skillet.
Add minced garlic, chopped leeks, maybe onions or tomatillos if you prefer.
Add sliced mushrooms. I also sometimes add in corn kernels or green peas. I also like to add fresh spinach leaves.
And if I want some more protein, I'll throw in some seitan or Trader Joe's Beef-less strips.
Sometimes I add plain old water to add more liquid, because then I sprinkle healthy amounts of nutritional yeast over the whole mess and stir it up, making sure everything gets coated in the yeast. The water should be enough to combine with the yeast to make a nice gravy, but sometimes I adda little Earth Balance margarine or Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream to richen it up a bit.
So, this can simmer on warm for quite some time, but I always do wish I started the gravy a bit later, so it was ready closer to the time the veggies are done baking, instead of way ahead.
Scoop the veggies on a plate.
Smother in the gravy.
It is *not* low-cal, I can tell you, what with the whole gravy aspect, but you can really control that more if you want, and depending on the variety of veggies you use this can be a vitamin treasure trove!
Enjoy.
And then, like me, enjoy for lunch the next day too :)
Welcome to just about the simplest breakfast ever, provided you've done your grocery shopping or Farmer's Market shopping.
Start with a grapefruit, peel it and array the sections along the side of a bowl.
Grab a honeydew, scoop out spoonfuls and lay them along the bottom of the bowl.
Grab a watermelon and lay some watermelon balls (or whatever shape you prefer) on the bed of honeydew.
Half the fun is being artful with the arrangement. I'm not a handy, visual or artful person, but even I could enjoy arranging the colors and shapes.
Finally, I took a little vegan sugar and sprinkled it on the grapefruit, and got out some organic shredded coconut (sold at Whole Foods among other places) and sprinkled that over the whole thing.
Presto! Simple, visually beautiful, about as healthy as can be, a range of flavors from sweet to tart.
What's not to love?
Even if it is cheating, I bring you a great post from EcoSalon:
I think the first one I'll try is the Avocado Grapefruit Salad, given I happen to have the ingredients in my house right now.
The one I'm most skeptical about is the Nut Loaf, as I've had some unfortunate nut loaf experiences in the past.
And maybe, when I'm feeling very ambitious, I will try the Cashew Paella, since I've heard paella is one of those very work-intesive dishes.
Which of the 10 strike your vegan fancy?
So, life has seemed busier and more full of eating out than usual even this week. Last night I went to Red Lantern, an Asian Fusion place in Redwood City.
It always helps when you have a waiter who really gets what vegan is and can not only let you know what is and isn't vegan, but can suggest how to order things on the menu vegan-style.
I ended up with a wonderful meal (and my 7 dining companions dug into the vegan choices, not just their meaty choices).
-Lumpia (which reminded me of my youth growing up with an extended family who was born and raised in the Phillipines.)
-A vegetable soup based on coconut broth
-Roti Praha (no dipping sauce, but just the bread was satisfying)
-Phuket Noodles, no shrimp
With a little help from the waiter and the kitchen, an extremely filling and fulfilling vegan meal was had :)
One of the challenges vegans face is eating out with a bunch of non-veg friends. Especially if they're the sort who are sure eating at a vegetarian restaurant will offer them no sustenance at all.
What's a hungry vegan to do?
Well, never sit on your hands and accept a green salad or limp, steamed veggies, that's for starters. Think creatively, and ask the kitchen (ever so nicely and appreciatively) to think creatively too. If they've got pasta and vegetables and olive oil and garlic, they can make you a pretty nice meal!
But also remember: You don't have to steer people towards vegetarian restaurants to ensure you have some veg variety to choose from. Think ethnic. Indian, Thai, Mediterranean. These are all typically good choices.
Last night I ate at Dish Dash Restaurant in downtown Sunnyvale, a Mediterranean place. I had a nice sauteed mushroom appetizer and then a huge simmered Okra on rice entree that I could barely eat a quarter of. Lunch today! (In case you're wondering, okra, when cooked right, is actually quite tasty...you'll often find it at Indian and Mediterranean restaurants.) And I could have had any number of veg appetizers had I felt like hummus or tabouli etc.
Meanwhile my carnivorous friends were chowing down on kabobs and other appalling meaty dishes.
Know which cuisines are most veg-friendly.
But also: Always ask.
Finally, never accept going hungry.
Ecorazzi kindly provides a list of "vegan-approved" Halloween candy, including Swedish Fish and Mike & Ikes. I'm a little surprised some of these don't have gelatin in them, but Ecorazzi must know.
They did, however, leave the number one candy off the list: Twizzlers!!
Given I haven't bought any Halloween candy yet at all, I should probably be thinking more about leaving work and going to the store and buying some vegan Halloween candy, instead of blogging about it.
