Desert Vegan

Road Trip: Sedona and the Grand Canyon

2009-01-04T07:42:00.000-08:00

Jason and I had a very loose schedule for our road trip through Arizona. No real itinerary, no plans, no appointments ...

Except I had basically mapped out the whole vacation to include every vegan or veg-friendly restaurant possible.

Our first stop was Green in Tempe. Because of traffic delays, we didn't end up having lunch until 4 p.m., and I choked down the "chicken" parm sandwich without even chewing.

It was my first time trying Teese vegan cheese, and it was wonderful. Great melty texture and it didn't taste like crayons, as so many other vegan cheeses do.

(No photo of the sandwich, but here's what the place looked like on the inside.)

We made it to Sedona well after dark, when most of the town rolls up the sidewalk. My vegan choices appeared slim.

We ended up at Dahl and DiLuca, and I don't have enough good things to say about them. The waiter was very kind in helping me make vegan selections from their menu, and the chef came out of the kitchen to make certain everything was OK.

Because I couldn't have butter with the bread, they whipped up a little dip of herbs, olive oil and garlic. Then I had a salad of baby mixed greens and nuts, followed by a plate of angel hair pasta tossed with savory mushrooms and tomatoes.

Lunch the next day came from D'Lish Very Vegetarian, a sweet little place in downtown Sedona.

The chef convinced me to try his special "vegan pizza omelet."

Well, it wasn't quite pizza. And it wasn't quite an omelet. Actually I'm not sure what it was, because it looked like a quesadilla, and it tasted like a tofu scramble, and it was piled with fresh dill, and it came with a side of salsa. It was one of the strangest flavor combinations I've ever had, but it was absolutely mouthwatering.

I was excited about dinner at Oaxaca, because all of their ads boasted "Vegetarian!"

My disappointment began when I saw the handwritten sign on the door: "No chips today. Sorry for the inconvenience." And then it continued when I scanned the menu and found only a couple vegan entrees -- a bean burrito and veggie fajitas.

The burrito was just OK, nothing remarkable. It made me sad, because I know from experience that vegetarian Mexican food can taste a lot fresher and more vibrant.

The best part of the meal was a slice of grilled cactus with a romesco sauce (which actually hails from Spain, but what the hell), made from almonds, garlic, olive oil and red peppers.

Too bad the cactus was cold and slippery by the time it came to the table.

On the way to the Grand Canyon we stopped at Macy's European Coffee House and Bakery in Flagstaff, a hip vegetarian cafe that seems to be owned by Baha'i people, because there were pictures and quotes from Baha'u'llah all over the place.

This place was awesome, and I could have stayed there all day. The coffee was robust and freshly roasted, and I thoroughly enjoyed a heaping plate of vegan waffles with fresh fruit.

Later, a snowstorm at the Grand Canyon resulted in gorgeous photos ...

... but the roads were bad enough to keep us from Bright Angel Lodge, where I've heard they have an awesome vegan black bean soup served in a sourdough bowl.

Jason ventured out of the hotel to pick up a cheeseless pizza that was fairly bland, but filled our tummies.

And then we headed for home.

Sweet holiday treats

2008-12-20T07:43:00.001-08:00

Happy holidays!

Last night I went to a cookie party and brought these sparkly ginger cookies, using a recipe from "Vegan With a Vengeance." The dough is made with extra ginger, cinnamon and ground clove, so it tastes exactly like a winter night in front of the fireplace.

For other holiday parties (and gifts for the neighbors), I made candy-cane fudge. The recipe is an adaptation of the five-minute fudge in "My Sweet Vegan." (Check out the recipe here.)

The fudge is completely non-dairy but has a coconut milk base, so it has a really intense, rich flavor. And don't worry, haters, you can't even taste the coconut in there.

I have a bunch of other food to post soon, but I'm about to leave for a Wild West road trip to Sedona, the Grand Canyon, the Hoover Dam and so on. We're supposed to leave in an hour and I haven't showered or packed yet, so The Boyfriend is getting antsy.

Much more vegan food when I return! Plus road trip food!

Rosemary garlic crackers

2008-11-16T14:08:00.000-08:00

I never imagined it was possible to make crackers at home.

I guess I thought crackers were just something that always existed, like God or trees or something.

Well, that all changed when I became inspired by Julie Hasson's wonderful Everyday Dish blog, and I've been making my own crackers ever since. I tend to stick to her recipe, since it's so easy and good, but sometimes I go crazy and toss in some sundried tomatoes, olive pieces or curry powder.

This recipe has especially come in handy since I've been recovering from surgery. I've been sucking down soup like it's air, and of course nothing goes with soup like hearty, aromatic, homemade crackers.

Try them:

Julie's Rosemary Garlic Crackers
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp granulated garlic
3/4 tsp fine sea salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper, optional (but good!)
1/2 cup water
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Coarse sea salt crystals, optional

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. In a bowl, mix together the flours, nutritional yeast flakes, baking powder, rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper. Add the water and oil, stirring until dough comes together. If dough is too dry to mix, add another tablespoon of water or as needed. Divide dough in half.
3. Roll the dough out very thin. If you have a small little rolling pin, simply roll the dough right out in your pan. Transfer the dough to a Silpat or parchment-lined baking sheet. Score the dough into squares so that it's cut, but not separated into pieces. If desired, sprinkle a little coarse salt over the tops of the crackers and lightly press into dough with the rolling pin. Repeat with second piece of dough.
4. Bake crackers in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until golden and crackers look crisp. Let crackers cool in pan before removing. They will crisp up as they cool. If crackers are still a little soft, place bake in oven and bake for another five or so minutes until crisp.

Copyright © 2008 Julie Hasson

As Julie says in her blog, once you go homemade you'll never go back.

Bone marrow donation = success!

2008-11-15T08:09:00.000-08:00

The bone marrow surgery went quickly and smoothly.

All I remember being wheeled into the operating room and staring at the big lights above me ... the rest is blackness. Suddenly I was shaken awake by some cute guy named Cody. He held my hand and talked to me about Santa Fe in the post-op room.

The nurses kept trying to give me chicken broth or some kind of creamy soup. But even though my lips were chapped and my throat was raw, I summoned up enough energy to hiss, "COFFEE."

Later, when they insisted I consume something other than coffee, I tried my best to explain that I'm vegan, I don't eat animal products and ... well, who knows what I said? I was on tons of painkillers. Luckily, I brought my own food -- a package of Imagine organic broccoli soup.

I was eventually allowed to order anything I wanted off the hospital menu, which had a surprisingly good variety. I got a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on wheat, a cup of veggie soup and fresh fruit.

Now I'm at home, minus 1.3 liters of bone marrow. I'm in pain, but it's not unbearable.

I'm trying to send all my good, healing energy to the woman who needed this donation -- hopefully she's reaping the benefits of my super awesome marrow, which was given with love.

The best part of recovery is that all my friends have been stopping by to bring me vegan goodies: Homemade potato leek soup by Judi, spicy hummus from Maria, soy ice cream from Deborah, Native Foods' sandwiches from Eileen ... and so much more. I am one lucky girl.

I also prepared for the surgery by making a couple pots of soup ahead of time. The chickpea noodle soup from Veganomicon is the classic "sick" soup, and I tore through that my first couple days of recovery.

Now I'm working on eating the roasted squash soup I froze last week. I'm calling it Dog Park Soup, because I invented it after a trip to the dog park with the new puppy.

Here's what's in it:

Olive oil
One onion, diced
One roasted butternut squash, cut into chunks
One potato, diced
Two medium carrots, diced
One Granny Smith apple, cored, peeled and diced
Two chipotles, chopped finely (Or just one, if you don't want a ton of heat)
One can black beans, rinsed and drained
Big dash cumin
Cayenne (to taste)
Cinnamon (to taste)
Salt
Vegetable broth

First I cooked the onion in the olive oil until softened. I added a few cups of vegetable broth to the soup pot (you can add more or less, depending on how "soupy" you want it).

Bring the broth to a boil, then toss all the big stuff in together -- the black beans, the squash, carrots, potato, apple, chipotles -- and let it boil for a while. You'll know it's ready when the squash cooks down and almost melts into a creamy base.

Now add the spices. I added a big dash of cumin, because everything tastes better with cumin. I used just a teensy bit of cayenne, for the kind of heat that sneaks up on you. And even the tiniest bit of cinnamon will bring out the sweetness of the squash against the earthiness of the beans and potatoes. Don't forget salt.

Ironing things out

2008-11-03T12:41:00.000-08:00

Long story short: In about a week I'm donating my bone marrow to a stranger. All I know about the lady is that she's 59 years old and has leukemia. A bone marrow transplant is her last hope.

For obvious reasons, the bone marrow donor (i.e. me) needs to be extra healthy. And so I had a day-long physical at City of Hope cancer center to make sure I'm a good match for this woman.

Four chest X-rays, a dozen vials of blood, a long meeting with a transplant coordinator, two health surveys, two meetings with surgeons and one cup of pee later, I was officially declared healthy. All my levels of everything are precisely where they should be. Yay!

Here's the thing, though. After the surgeons extract the bone marrow, my hemoglobin will drop dramatically. So much so that I'll probably need a blood transfusion. (That's why I've been donating pints of blood the past couple weeks for my own transfusion. Weird, huh?)

And even though my iron levels are really good right now, I need to have even more iron than usual before going into the surgery.

So what does this have to do with the beets in the picture?

Plenty. Beets are super high in iron. So are dark, leafy greens. Combine the two, and now you understand why I've been eating beet salads every day for the past week.

I've also been integrating other great sources of iron into my diet: Lentils, tofu, blackstrap molasses and lots and lots of beans.

Keep your fingers crossed that everything goes well for the transplant next week! I've never had a surgery before, so I'm nervous -- but I'm even more concerned about the lady who is receiving the marrow. I really hope my donation will help her get better.

Pumpkin soup

2008-11-03T08:49:00.001-08:00

I had such high hopes for this pumpkin soup.

First, I scooped out all the guts (and saved the seeds to roast later, of course), I rubbed fresh sage and olive oil all over the inside, then filled the pumpkin with a mixture of soy milk and veggie broth.

After it cooked, the pumpkin flesh was soft enough that I could just stir, and everything transformed into a thick and creamy soup.

And it tasted like baby food.

I'm determined to make this work, though. I went to the pumpkin patch with Abby and picked up three more pumpkins -- a big orange fatty, a small white one and some squatty thing. I'm going to keep making pumpkin soup until I get it right.

Suggestions are welcome, by the way.

Tortillas from scratch

2008-11-03T08:33:00.000-08:00

I screwed up.

I made homemade tortillas, which were ridiculously quick and easy. And now I've ruined myself for good -- I can never have store-bought tortillas again. (Not even the good ones from the tortilleria at the Mexican grocery.) Never ever.

Looky here. You just make balls of soft dough ...

... roll them out into thin rounds and cook for a few seconds on each side ...

... and serve, preferably with charo beans, fresh tomatoes and olives.

Try it at home! Here's the recipe.

Salt and Pepa Tofu

2008-11-02T23:00:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you guys, but I lately I'm having more and more of those weeks where time escapes me. Suddenly I look in the fridge only to find I haven't been to the grocery store in a week ... maybe two? And by the time I realize my error, I'm too hungry and tired to leave the house again.

So I was cringing at the thought of yet another meal of Larabars, beans and red wine, when I located a block of vacuum-packed tofu in the pantry. Then I remembered the PPK recipe for salt and pepper tofu -- the list of ingredients doesn't go far beyond salt, pepper and um, tofu.

I had all that on hand! Dinner was saved!

Here's the recipe. It serves four regular people, or two vegans. I recommend listening to Salt & Pepa while you prepare it.

Crispy Chinese Salt and Pepper Tofu
Cooking time: 40 minutes

This crispy fried tofu features the simple yet stunning flavor combination of red pepper, black pepper and salt that usually reserved just for seafood in Chinese cuisine. While it’s fried this recipe still uses far less oil than its more traditional counterparts and far less than anything you’ll ever encounter in a restaurant.

For the tofu:
1 lb firm tofu, drained
1 tablespoons dry sherry or rice wine
2 teaspoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons corn starch
3-4 tablespoons of peanut oil for frying

For the stir-fry:
1 tablespoon peanut oil, optional
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
¼ inch cube ginger, peeled and minced
1/4 teaspoon or to taste red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt, such as kosher salt
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1 scallion, thinly sliced

Press the tofu first: slice tofu into ½ thick slices and layer between sheets clean dish towels or paper towels. Lay on a cutting board and weigh down with another cutting board or other heavy items. For best results place entire assembly in a sink and allow liquid to drain from tofu for 20 minutes. When ready, gently separate tofu from towels and cut into ½ inch cubes.

In a medium bowl combine sherry and soy sauce. Add cubed tofu and toss to combine. Set tofu aside for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When ready to fry tofu, heat peanut oil over medium-high in a large, heavy skillet or wok. Sift cornstarch into a shallow bowl. Drain tofu from marinade, shake off any excess liquid and roll tofu into cornstarch. Using a slotted spatula, carefully lower tofu into oil and be carefully of splattering. Fry tofu for 3-4 minutes, not stirring to allow it brown on one side, then carefully turn cubes and fry for an additional 3-4 minutes on the other side to brown. Turn and fry cubes an additional 1-2 times to brown sides, if necessary. Remove browned tofu from pan and place in a large dish or bowl. Remove skillet from heat and allow it to cool for 10 minutes. Drain or wipe away any excess oil or browned bits.

Pour 1 tablespoon peanut oil into skillet and heat to medium high. Add garlic and ginger, stirring quickly for 30 seconds till sizzling and fragrant. Add red pepper flakes, black pepper, salt and tofu and fry for 1 minute, stirring constantly and gently breaking up any chunks of tofu that stick together. Remove from heat, sprinkle with rice vinegar and scallions and move to a serving platter.

New place in town!

2008-11-02T21:43:00.000-08:00

I am a lucky, lucky girl.

I live just around the corner from the luscious, vegantastic Native Foods. Plus, just a wee bit down the road from that is the newly reopened Nature's Cafe, featuring a menu loaded with vegan goodies.

And now, less than a mile from my house is ANOTHER vegetarian restaurant, Palm Greens Cafe.

It's a really casual joint, serving fresh juices, wraps, sandwiches, salads and fresh baked goods. They do breakfast and lunch, and the place is simple but cute and clean.

This Cockadoodle Sandwich is my favorite thing so far. It's zippy and flavorful -- a far cry from the bland fake egg salads I've had from other places.

The Venus Wrap was also good. Just not as good as the sammich.

If you're in Southern California, please support this new business!

They are located in the same plaza as Palm Springs Cyclery and Revivals, 611 S. Palm Canyon Dr., Palm Springs. Call for more info: 760-864-9900.

Lentil Soup: Two ways

2008-08-18T22:07:00.000-07:00

First, I made red lentil soup. Unfortunately (or fortunately, rather), it was so yummy I didn't take a photo before scarfing it down.

To make this, you will need:

1 onion, diced
Olive oil
1 cip split red lentils
4 cups water
1 carrot, diced
1 celery rib, diced
1 medium potato, diced into small pieces (optional)
Lemon
Salt, pepper
1-2 teaspoons cumin (optional)
Turmeric to taste (optional)

Warm the olive oil in your soup pot. Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent. Add lentils, water, carrots, celery and potato (if using). Bring to a boil and simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes or until the lentils are cooked.

Add the other ingredients -- lemon, salt, pepper, etc. -- until the flavor is to your liking, then simmer for another 5 minutes. Most of the time I prefer a couple teaspoons of cumin and lots of freshly squeezed lemon juice. If I'm starting to feel ill, I'll add grated ginger. If I'm in the mood for zest, I add some chili and curry spices. Sometimes I add some coconut milk to make it super creamy. (In other words, add whatever you want. It's very difficult to screw up this recipe.)

With the leftovers, I did this:

I added matzoh meal to thicken the soup until it was firm enough to form into patties. (You could also use breadcrumbs if you don't have matzoh.) Then pan fry them in a little olive oil until cooked through and golden brown.

Midwestern meal

2008-08-18T07:35:00.001-07:00

I wanted to make the kind of dinner I grew up eating in Dayton, Ohio -- except veganized and all organic, of course.

So last night's meal was tofu "fish sticks," tater tots and sweet peas.

As soon as Jason took a bite, he began to laugh.

"What's so funny?" I said.

"I don't know how you do it, but these are 100 times better than fish sticks."

They were.

I used this recipe from Vegan Lunchbox. I skipped the step where it said to put all the ingredients for the coating in a blender, since I was already using almond meal and not almond slices. I also had a little bit of trouble finding kelp granules; it turns out they are stocked in the spice section at the health food store, not the seaweed section.

Jason specifically requested sweet peas from a can, so I was finally able to use up that one can of peas that has been lurking in the pantry forever.

In a hurry curry

2008-08-12T01:23:00.000-07:00

It didn't take long to pull together this green curry, loosely based on this recipe.

My fridge is low on fresh veggies right now, so I didn't have exactly what the recipe called for. Instead, I used baked Thai tofu, broccoli, green peppers and tons of mushrooms.

It was a satisfying dinner ... but I'm really looking forward to the leftovers for lunch.

Black beans and guac

2008-08-10T22:43:00.000-07:00

Even though I was lucky enough to eat some wonderful meals while traveling, I couldn't wait to get home and return to my kitchen. It does my stomach good as much good as my heart. Plus, I had these black beans I needed to cook.

See, my friend Abby has been raving about a particular dried black bean for months now. She purchases them from a tiny little fruit stand somewhere in the wilderness between L.A. and Palm Springs, just off the highway. A couple weeks ago I finally stopped there and picked up a bag, even though I didn't have a chance to make them before I skipped town.

During my whole trip, I daydreamed about those black beans. I'm not even kidding. Everyone else in the world dreams up all kinds of pervvy stuff, and I sit around fantasizing about legumes.

So it wasn't more than an hour after my plane landed that I grabbed my dried beans and wooden spoon and got to work.

I asked Abby how her family prepares their black beans, and she replied with a text message:

"Boil cup of rinsed beans. No soak. In water with half an onion, half a green pepper, 1 bay leaf, salt and a lot of garlic. Like five cloves. Should simmer semi-covered for 1.5-2 hours."

I diced the onion and green pepper, because that's how I interpreted the message. Turns out that's not how Abby does it -- she puts the halves of onion and pepper in the pot, then removes them when the beans are done -- but it didn't matter. These were so, so good. I'm never going to soak and boil my beans again.

We also had avocados at the perfect ripe stage, so I served the beans on mini corn tortillas with an ample spoonful of guacamole.

Oh, I also had a couple purple tomatillos laying around, and I didn't know what to do with them. I didn't have enough to do a purple twist on salsa verde, so I just smooshed them into my next batch of guac. They were mellow in flavor, with only the slightest tang, so it was a nice accessory for the avocado. Aren't they pretty?

Road food: On the go

2008-08-10T22:09:00.000-07:00

It feels like I've been traveling a lot lately. And when I'm not traveling, I've been going out with friends and celebrating my birthday ... and not spending a lot of time in my own kitchen.

The good news is that I've sampled a lot of great vegan food all over the place. Not all salads either!

Here's a sample.

From The Spot in Hermosa Beach, once Paul and Linda McCartney's favorite hangout:

This was black beans, tofu, collard greens and steamed veggies, all topped with the restaurant's signature savory sauce:

This was a roasted veggie pizza during a random dinner in Dayton, Ohio:

Here's the very best veggie burger I've ever tasted -- from the Northstar Cafe in Columbus, Ohio:

The spicy vegan burrito at Casa Nueva in Athens, Ohio. Nearly everything on the plate is from local organic farmers. (The crappy lighting doesn't really do this dish justice):

Casa is an old favorite hangout from my college days, so my friends and I returned for brunch the next day too. Here's the vegan breakfast scramble:

Vegan garlic breadsticks, plus spicy marinara dipping sauce, from Avalanche Pizza in Athens, Ohio:

The "I Was a Teenage Vegan Werewolf" pizza from Avalanche in Athens:

And finally, a truly awesome 3 a.m. red bean burrito from Burrito Buggy in Athens, another favorite from when I was in college:

I swear, I really do eat more than burritos and pizza, even though there's plenty of photographic evidence to the contrary ...

I got served

2008-07-25T17:20:00.000-07:00

Jason has returned from vacation, and he made me dinner the other night -- the same sweet chili lime tofu he made for his family.

It was loverly.

Trust me when I say that the chili lime glaze was magical.

A couple hours after the meal, Jason saw me eyeing the dirty cast iron skillet.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I meant to clean that right away ..."

"That's not it," I said. "I was just thinking about lifting the pan to my face and licking off the rest of the glaze."

A 'Vegan de Guadalupe' day

2008-07-20T22:45:00.000-07:00

I stayed in bed most of the morning (and afternoon) with a ridiculously bad hangover, which is so lame at my age.

When I finally downed some coffee and Excedrin, I needed something easy, comforting and nutritious to fill my belly. It seemed like a perfect time to break out this Vegan de Guadalupe cookzine, a fun bilingual recipe book that is chock full of Mexican fare.

(Aside: How darling is that cover? I desperately want a tattoo of it. Maybe for my first veganversary.)

First I made the Sopa de Fideo, a quick and flavorful noodle soup. The original recipe didn't call for tomatoes, but I'm a weirdo who craves diced tomatoes when I'm hungover, so ...

For dinner I made Calabacitas Guisadas using some amazingly flavorful squash from my organic CSA share. With corn and zucchini in a tangy tomato sauce, this tastes exactly like summer. I also tossed in some chickpeas that were looking for a good home.

Jason can cook

2008-07-20T16:08:00.000-07:00

Years ago, on one of my first dates with Jason, he cooked dinner for me. He was under the (incorrect) impression that any food could be improved by generous amounts of curry powder. So that night we dined on curry fish with curry rice and curry green beans.

That's the last time I let him in the kitchen.

I mean, he's not like some Al Bundy who sits on the couch with a beer and expects me to feed him. He can follow a recipe, and he's always willing to be my personal sous chef. But he asks too many questions and can never find stuff in the pantry, so it's just easier for me to do it all myself.

Well, right now he's in Indiana and wanted to impress his family with a vegan meal. He asked for my favorite tofu dish, and I directed him to VeganYumYum's sweet chili lime tofu.

And it looks like he did a GREAT job with it.

The family loved everything but the quinoa. (They had never eaten quinoa before and didn't like the texture.) Jason said everyone raved about the chili lime glaze and loved it enough that they want to eat it again ... but on chicken. Oh well.

Anyway, he's already promised to make the tofu for me when he gets home.

Looks like I'll be putting him to work in the kitchen much more often.

Fancy-schmancy cocktails

2008-07-17T22:58:00.000-07:00

Last night Abby and I were invited to a party for "The Official Filthy Rich Handbook."

We drove past the party and there were just three Mercedes, a Bentley, a Jaguar and an Audi. We decided there weren't enough people to make it worth walking into the party yet, because we hate being the first to arrive, standing around, making awkward small talk. So we headed over to a nearby resort to have a drink.

We each had two drinks and headed back to the party. Only this time all the cars were gone, the lights were off and the place was closed! By 8:30 p.m.! (Maybe the filthy rich go to sleep right after sunset?)

At least we had a couple great cocktails while we were out and about. Here are two of the fancy-schmancy (and ridiculously overpriced) drinks we sampled.

Bramble

2 oz. Hendricks Gin
1/2 oz. pomegranate syrup
1 oz. lemon juice
1/2 oz. simple syrup

Directions: Serve over ice or combine in martini shaker and strain.

Pear-Rosemary Martini

(I'm not certain this is the recipe the bar here used, but it sounds close enough.)

2 oz. vodka
1 oz. rosemary syrup (recipe follows)
3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz. chilled sparkling pear or apple cider
1 lemon wheel

Directions: Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the vodka, rosemary syrup and lemon juice. Shake well, stir in the sparkling pear cider and strain into a chilled martini glass. Float the lemon wheel on the surface of the drink.

Rosemary syrup:

6 oz. simple syrup
2 rosemary sprigs

Directions: In a small saucepan, bring simple syrup to a boil. Remove from the heat and add rosemary. Let cool, then refrigerate overnight. Strain the syrup into an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks.

Cutest thing ever

2008-07-16T11:41:00.000-07:00

Right now my boyfriend is back home in Indiana, visiting his family. He called me last night to ask me a favor.

"Can you send me your favorite tofu recipe?" he said. "I want to make a vegan meal for my mom."

The big easy

2008-07-13T21:52:00.000-07:00

Jason is out of town, so I've been looking for new and different ways to eat all the leftovers in the fridge by myself.

It looked like a wasteland in there -- little bits of things, but nothing individually substantial enough for dinner. I was about to give up and go out for sushi instead.

Then I eyed the black-eyed peas, brown rice, seitan and fresh spinach ... and TA-DA! Cajun stir-fry.

First I sauteed some diced onion and minced garlic in some veggie broth, then added chunks of seitan. I threw in the black-eyed peas and brown rice with about half a can of diced tomatoes, as well as a few pinches of a cajun spice mixture, and let that simmer for a couple minutes. Finally I added a fistful of fresh spinach and stir-fried everything until the leaves wilted.

Dinner was on the table in less than 10 minutes. I'm not even kidding. It was really delicious too.

I wish my boyfriend would leave more often!

Semi-homemade dinner

2008-07-10T22:29:00.000-07:00

If Sandra Lee were a vegan and not a robot, this is something she would make:

It's just soy ginger broth (package from Trader Joe's), chopped green onions, diced zucchini, chunks of tofu, and soba noodles, all boiled together.

If I had more time, I would have stirred in some miso for more flavor and depth.

And then this sushi bowl:

It's sticky white rice with seasoned rice vinegar, avocado, green onions, chopped carrots and seaweed flakes with just a dab of tamari.

All hail seitan

2008-07-09T21:25:00.000-07:00

I made a big batch of the amazing chicken-style seitan from "Yellow Rose Recipes." The seitan slowly boils in broth, resulting in tender, flavorful cutlets.

Last night I simmered a couple of the cutlets in marsala with mushrooms and diced zucchini, then served it over pasta with a big dollop of marinara. (Heh. I tried to slice it so you could see the cutlet from the inside, but it just looks like I ate a big wedge before the photo.)

The seitan was so tasty, I had to have it again tonight.

This time I made a very nontraditional po' boy. (In fact, I think it's only a po' boy because that's what I stubbornly insist it is.)

I thinly sliced the seitan and lightly pan-fried it in the cooking broth. I topped it with a thick, brown mushroom gravy, also from "Yellow Rose Recipes," and served it on a fluffy baguette.

There's still more seitan left, and I'm not sure what to do with it. Seitan stirfry with loads of veggies? Seitan piccata? Barbecued seitan/black bean burritos? Seitan ice cream?

Heh. Just kidding with that last one. (Maybe.)

Popping a cherry

2008-07-09T21:18:00.000-07:00

These pickled cherry peppers are bursts of hot, tart, sweet and salty all at the same time, almost more like cherry bombs than peppers.

Delicious.

I'm sure these are good in some recipe or salad or something ... but they're even better straight out of the jar and into my belly.

Pie, I smlove you

2008-07-08T20:57:00.001-07:00

FINALLY I had an excuse to make the Smlove Pie from "Veganomicon" -- to celebrate the birthday of my cubicle-mate, Judi!

But what is Smlove? Oh, my.

Well, it's a graham cracker crust with a creamy and rich chocolate filling, then a layer of peanut butter sauce, topped with candied pecans and drizzled with chocolate.

It's so good, I wanted to toss my fork and eat it all with my fists. (But this was Judi's pie, after all, so I had to play nice.)

Knowing that Judi is a Kiss fan, I set it up on her desk with Gene Simmons cutout. Isn't that one badass pie?

Potluck of Horror

2008-07-06T23:01:00.000-07:00

Oh, man. I keep forgetting to post about the terrible potluck experience I had last weekend.

It was a group of about 100 people, and most of them were complete strangers.

There was nothing for me to eat, but I figured that would be the case. So I brought along my own awesome veggie burgers. Seriously, these things are the shiitake.

For my contribution to the potluck, I brought two batches of jelly doughnut cupcakes and a big container of roasted eggplant/red pepper dip with organic flaxseed tortilla chips.

I drew cute little signs for the food that listed the ingredients and potential allergens, since I didn't know if anybody there would have food allergies. (And I was secretly hoping there would be other vegans who would be happy to discover some goodies.)

People treated my food like it was poison. Most turned their noses up at the "vegan" label.

I saw people laughing at my signs. "Who cares?" said one lady as she gnawed on an almost-raw hamburger.

One person brought a big bowl of ranch dip and stole most of my chips because they neglected to bring their own.

Then someone started mixing the ranch dip with my roasted eggplant dip.

And then some lady came up with the bright idea to eat the ranch/eggplant mix with Cheetos and proceeded to dip the Cheetos DIRECTLY in the serving bowl. She used a few Cheetos to pull up great big globs of dip, used those Cheetos to sop up some ranch from the other bowl, ate the whole mess of it, licked her fingers and stuck them back in my bowl with more Cheetos.

Ugh. People are gross.

On the up side, the eggplant dip was really good before it was tainted. It's a Barefoot Contessa recipe that I found via the PPK forums. Here's how to make it:

2 medium eggplants, peeled
1 red bell pepper, seeded
1 red onion, peeled
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons good olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons tahini
3 tablespoons chopped parsley, plus extra for garnish

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut the eggplant, bell pepper, and onion into 1-inch cubes. Toss them in a large bowl with the garlic, olive oil, cayenne and salt and pepper. Spread them on a baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes, until the vegetables are lightly browned and soft, tossing once during cooking. Cool slightly.

Place the vegetables in a food processor fitted with a steel blade, add the lemon juice and tahini, and pulse 3 or 4 times to blend. Taste for salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl and add the chopped parsley. Garnish with extra parsley. (I subbed fresh basil, because I didn't have any parsley.)

Cinco de Julyo

2008-07-05T14:01:00.000-07:00

For Independence Day, we drove to Pasadena and bought new dishes at IKEA. Here are the adorable bowls, in Palm Springs-y orange and green:

Jason loves the square black plates. I love the wide bowls with just one flower.

Here are the side plates.

And FINALLY I have a great big serving platter.

Then we stopped at a fast foodish noodle place, because we were low on time and high on hunger. I ordered the tofu lo mein:

And Jason and I split the spinach/tofu gyoza:

After we got home, we had just enough time to get changed for a night hike. We climbed the Lykken Trail and watched five fireworks displays at once.

Hope all of you had a great Fourth of July and are having an equally good fifth of July!

Be excellent to each other

2008-07-04T09:35:00.000-07:00

I had some people over last night for a viewing party of "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure."

Abby and I concocted the idea weeks ago. The plan was to watch the movie, then follow it up with a trip to the real water park in San Dimas, which we will do in a couple weeks.

I can't remember the exact inspiration for the Bill & Ted party, but I do know we were fueled by lots of vodka. (I think it actually came about because I had just seen "Mongol" and I was talking about Genghis Khan, and I said everything I knew about Genghis Khan came from "Bill & Ted" and then somehow we cooked up this idea.)

As far as food, I decided to serve stuff that the Wyld Stallyns would enjoy: French fries, chips, Ziggy Piggy ice cream (coconut milk ice cream) and a build-your-own nacho bar.

The nachos were amazing. For the sauce, I used Joanna's recipe from "Yellow Rose Recipes," and it satisfied every craving I had for warm, gooey nacho cheese.

And then we scarfed everything down while we watched perhaps one of the greatest comedic films ever made.

San Dimas High School football rules!

Easy summer meal

2008-07-04T09:26:00.000-07:00

I was about to get some takeout for lunch, like one of the vegan bowls from Native Foods ... then I realized that everything I needed for a homemade bowl was already in my fridge.

This is brown rice topped with corn and salsa verde with big chunks of creamy avocado and chipotle beef-style seitan.

Hot tamales!

2008-07-01T20:28:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I never ate a tamale until I moved to California.

Now they are my ultimate comfort food. On days when I really need to relax, there's nothing better than turning a bowl of masa into beautiful tamales.

It is the exact opposite of fast food -- the tamales are handcrafted with care, a dollop of masa followed by a spoonful of filling, each one carefully wrapped in corn husk, then steamed. It is a slow process, but one well worth it.

For this batch, the masa was made with the basic recipe from "Veganomicon." They are stuffed with a mixture of organic goodies from my CSA share: Zucchini, summer squash, carrots and onions, black beans, chipotles and other spices.

It makes the greatest lunch. The other people in my office always gaze at me with envy.

Salt of the earth

2008-06-29T12:38:00.000-07:00

I'm a sucker for flavored salt. I think it adds extra depth to simple dishes.

That's why I picked up this chili salt here, which is made by a local upscale grocer and sells for $6.99 a pound. That's one of the cheaper ones, too -- truffle salt, saffron salt and vanilla salt go for much more.

(It's worth it, though, as soon as you've tried my roasted potatoes with chili salt.)

Lately I've started making my own salts in various flavors, because I simply can't afford to keep shelling out for fancy-schmancy stuff I can do just as well in my own kitchen.

The general rule is to combine 1 teaspoon of flavoring with ¼ cup of coarse sea salt, fleur de sel or sel gris.

* For citrus salt, take finely grated orange, lemon or lime peels and let dry on a paper towel before adding to sea salt. This is a perfect addition to steamed summer vegetables.

* Lavender salt is made with dried lavender buds and sea salt. Other dried herbs will work too.

* If you have a smoker, spread kosher salt on a pan and let it smoke. Perfect on potatoes, summer salads or tofu.

* For truffle salt, slice a truffle into three pieces (the little jarred truffles will work for this) and bury the pieces in a jar of salt. Use on everything, especially tomatoes.

Magical mystery loaf

2008-06-29T12:16:00.000-07:00

I will admit that this loaf does not look appetizing. And it probably doesn't sound appetizing either. Nothing called "loaf" ever does.

What you don't know is how flavorful this combination of brown rice, mushrooms, carrots, celery, pumpkin seeds, chickpeas and spices can be. It's nothing pretentious, nothing fancy, just good, solid food. It's the kind of satisfying meal that makes you hunker over the plate and scarf down every bite.

I didn't have time to make a gravy, so we ate it meatloaf-style ... with ketchup. It could have used some more binder to make it more loafy, but it was really delicious anyway. If loving a squishy loaf is wrong, I don't want to be right.

The recipe came from the Magical Loaf Studio program via VeganLunchbox. The program is super cool. You select different options for proteins, carbs, spices, etc., so you can build the recipe using things you already have on hand, and every time you'll end up with a new and different loaf.

Here's what I used to make the Magical Maggie Loaf.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds 
2 TB olive oil 
One onion, diced 
One large garlic clove, minced 
Two celery ribs, diced 
One cup mushrooms, cleaned and chopped 
2 cups cooked black beans 
1 cup cooked brown rice
 1/4 to 1/2 cup vegetable broth, as needed 
1 heaping TB flaxseed meal
 1/4 tsp. dried thyme
 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
 1 tsp. ground cumin 
2 TB nutritional yeast flakes
 2 TB ketchup 
Several dashes vegetarian Worcestershire Sauce 
1 tsp. salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350º. Spray a loaf pan or 8x8 square baking pan with nonstick spray and set aside (an 8x8 pan makes a crisper loaf).

Grind the pumpkin seeds into a coarse meal using a food processor or spice/coffee grinder. Place in a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Sauté any vegetables you've chosen in the olive oil until soft. Add to the large mixing bowl along with all the remaining ingredients. Mix and mash together well, adding only as much liquid as needed to create a soft, moist loaf that holds together and is not runny (you may not need to add any liquid if the grains and protein are very moist). Add more binder/carbohydrate as needed if the loaf seems too wet.

Press mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until cooked through.

Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes, then turn out onto a plate or platter and slice. Serve with potatoes, vegetables, and vegetarian gravy, if desired. Cold leftover slices of make a great sandwich filling.

Mistakes were made

2008-06-27T23:14:00.000-07:00

Why no pictures or a recipe?

Tonight I accidentally cooked the blueberry-chipotle tofu too long, and unintentionally made blueberry-chipotle tofu jerky.

Get a loaf of this

2008-06-26T23:56:00.000-07:00

I love baking bread.

It's very comforting and makes your home smell great. It tastes way better than store-bought stuff. And it makes you feel all virtuous and earthy, like a pioneer woman.

My very favorite recipe is so easy, it's almost a crime. But just look at the gorgeous results:

The recipe was first published in the New York Times and has been making the rounds on food blogs ever since.

Don't be intimidated by the 22-24 hour time. I was almost scared off by that too.

It seriously takes about 30 seconds to stir everything together, then you let the dough sit for 12-20 hours. (I leave mine where it won't be disturbed, like on top of the fridge or inside the microwave.) After it's rises, roll it into a ball and let it sit for two more hours. Then bake for about 50 minutes.

I actually prefer to use this version of the recipe, which just includes some minor tweaks and tips. It also has pretty photos, and I like pretty photos.

Trust me on this. If you love bread but you've never made it at home, this is definitely the one to try. It makes bread with big, soft bubbles on the inside and a satisfying crunch on the outside. Best of all, it will impress everyone you know.

Grumpy sushi

2008-06-25T21:54:00.000-07:00

I've been doing tons of cooking lately, though you'd never know it to look at this blog lately. It looks like all I've been doing is getting storebought stuff and convenience food.

And today is no different.

In my defense, I was in a car accident this afternoon. I'm fine, but I'm hella grouchy. After dealing with the police, insurance, tow truck, body shop and rental car, I really didn't want to bother with cooking or standing around in the kitchen.

So I picked up veggie sushi from Fresh & Easy.

After I polished that off, I was still pissed off, so I had some popcorn and French fries -- because that'll teach that mean old lady who plowed into me!

Even my cocktails have veggies in them

2008-06-23T22:04:00.000-07:00

This was my cucumber mojito from Wang's in the Desert.

I had it the same night I went out for Palm Springs Restaurant Week. It was a 117-degree night, and I wanted a ridiculously refreshing drink -- and that's exactly what I got with this mojito.

Also, it was a fantastic reminder of why one really great cocktail is better than 3 sub-par ones.

Green smoothie

2008-06-18T12:22:00.000-07:00

Because I still don't get enough greens in my diet, I've been blending them into my morning smoothies.

This one is made of strawberries, a few chunks of frozen mango, half a frozen banana, almond milk, maple syrup and a fistful of frozen spinach.

No, you can't taste the spinach. I promise.

The Shrek glass, however, is a necessity.

"Cheese" ball

2008-06-15T21:13:00.000-07:00

I bought a bag of raw Brazil nuts recently for a very specific recipe. And then I promptly forgot what I planned to make.

No matter. I saw this recipe for Brazil nut cheese and became obsessed with the idea.

You soak the Brazil nuts overnight, then puree them into a creamy, fatty paste. (I tweaked the seasoning on the recipe a little -- the way the recipe is written is too bland for my taste.) Roll everything into a ball and squeeze out the extra liquid.

Cover the ball in fresh herbs. I used whatever I had on hand from the farmers' market.

The recipe said to bake until the ball cracks, and mine never quite did that. I finally got tired of waiting and pulled it out. I think altogether I cooked it too long. The cheese would have been less dry and crumbly if I would have kept the bake time around 20 minutes.

I still really like this concept. I was a child of the 70s, so cheese balls represent everything fun and grown-up and glamorous to me. (Yes, that really is as sad as it sounds.)

I'll probably make this again next time my friends come over for wine and nibbles.

More eggless quiches

2008-06-15T21:08:00.000-07:00

It's official. I'm completely addicted to these mini crustless tofu quiches from Fatfree Vegan.

I think I've made a batch every week since I discovered them. They're a quick breakfast, great snack and easy lunch. I am so thankful Susan invented them, and I'm forever in her debt.

Recipe here.

Chocolate + millet

2008-06-15T20:57:00.000-07:00

What looks like dookie but tastes like a candy bar?

A few weeks ago I bought a big bag of puffed millet, thinking it would make a great breakfast cereal. And it does, if you like styrofoam peanuts for the most important meal of the day.

Since then I've been looking for some other use for the puffed grain.

I found inspiration in this post on Culinate, where the writer mixed puffed millet with sunflower seeds, currants and melted chocolate. Stir everything together, form into piles and chill until hard.

I didn't have sunflower seeds or currants, so I substituted walnut pieces and dried cranberry. Altogether it was easy, fast and wonderful, if a little messy -- these things melt really fast in your fingers.

Jason said they remind him of no-bake cookies. I hope not, because all the no-bake cookies I've ever tried have tasted like dirty wooden spoons. True, these things are not baked, but they are more of a confection than a cookie. I like them quite a bit.

I'm not even close to the bottom of the millet bag, so I'm trying to think of other great combinations with millet and chocolate. Next time I think I'll do pepitas and cayenne ... or cashews and dried apricots ... or ...

A very balanced diet

2008-06-12T22:32:00.000-07:00

Tonight for dinner I had:

Three black olives
Half an avocado
One mango
One homemade peanut butter cookie

I love nights when Jason is away.

XXX SpaghettiO's

2008-06-11T20:58:00.000-07:00

Rated XXX because these sexy vegan SpaghettiO's are for adults only. If they came through the mail, they would arrive in a plain brown package. If they were in a store, you would have to show ID before stepping through the velvet curtain. If they ...

Well, I could go on with the analogy, but I won't. Especially since it involves hot dogs.

I don't know why I get cravings for food I never really ate before I was a vegan, but I do. Today it was SpaghettiO's -- even though it's been about a decade since I've actually eaten a can of the chemical-rich, preservative-packed stuff.

I think I did a pretty good job replicating it, though. It was reminiscent enough of the tomatoey pasta I ate as a kid, but this version was spicy, thick and very grown-up.

Here's what you'll need:

- Anelletti pasta (O-shaped pasta)
- 2 cans condensed tomato soup (Or just one can if you don't like your pasta too saucy. But I personally think everything is just a vehicle for sauce.)
- small onion, diced
- 1-2 garlic cloves, minced
- Pinch of crushed red pepper (optional)
- 2 T. nutritional yeast (optional)
- fresh basil (optional)
- vegan hot dogs (optional)

Here's how you make it:

1. Boil the pasta. I made half of the 1-pound bag, and it easily made enough for four servings.

2. While that's boiling, heat some oil in a saucepan and saute the diced onion until softened. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Ditto with the crushed red pepper, if you want it.

3. Open the condensed soup and add to the saucepan. Thin slightly with a little soymilk (or soy creamer if you want a richer sauce). I also added some salt at this point because Jason thinks I eat too much salt, so he bought the low-sodium soup, and of course it wasn't salty enough ... it's a stupid, vicious cycle.

4. I also added nutritional yeast and fresh basil, then whizzed the heck out of everything with my immersion blender.

5. You know what? I like hot dogs. So I tossed a couple of sliced veggie dogs in the sauce and cooked until heated through.

6. Drain pasta.

7. Combine pasta and sauce.

8. Profess your undying love to me because it is so good.

Totally chill food

2008-06-11T12:55:00.000-07:00

Usually the heat doesn't really affect me until it gets higher than 110 degrees. But yesterday was a slimy, humid 108 that had me begging for mercy -- and summer has barely even started.

Because my place is outfitted with The Little Air Conditioner That Could, it has enough trouble keeping up with the outside temperatures. I cannot possibly make it worse by turning on an oven.

So it looks like I'll be having salads, soups, slaws and other chilled-out meals for the next few months.

Here's today's lunch:

That's actually my favorite salad in the world. Just a tiny bit of lettuce (butter lettuce is best, but I only had romaine), a mango, hearts of palm, red onion. Top with a lime-dijon vinaigrette if you're feeling fancy. If you're lazy, just add some salt, chile powder and a generous squeeze of lime.

Since I won't have time to eat before yoga tonight, I also packed a side of beans and corn. For good measure, I added tomatoes of death.

I need other ideas, though.

What are your favorite things to cook ... er, NOT cook ... when the temperatures start to sizzle? I'm thinking the chilled avocado soup in this post might be a welcome reprieve from my usual gazpacho.

I'm also willing to use a crockpot and the stovetop. Just no oven.

Hooray! Vegan food for restaurant week

2008-06-11T12:39:00.001-07:00

Earlier this week I wrote about how disappointing it was to discover that the only vegan menu for Palm Springs Restaurant Week had fish and honey on it.

Today I received a very kind e-mail saying that the menu has been adjusted.

Hello Maggie,

While I was retyping the menu for our website today it dawned on me about the Bonito Flakes. I did not know about Honey. I will update the menu.

Here are the replacements:

Vietnamese Vegetable Wraps:
Fresh Vegetables Wrapped in Softened Rice Paper Served Chilled with a Mildly Spicy Citrus Dressing

Spicy Tofu: (Our chef removed the honey)
Wokked in a Mildly Spicy, Garlic, Soy Sauce

Thanks for your input and for keeping us honest!

Sincerely yours,

Alford Harrison
Managing Partner, Wang's in the Desert

He also followed up with a very nice call.

So if you're a vegan/vegetarian in the Palm Springs area and you're interested in restaurant week, please support Wang's in the Desert. They put together a wonderful menu that not only has vegan options, but MULTIPLE vegan options. I also appreciate that they're so open to feedback from patrons.

Make a reservation today by calling 760.325.9264.

Jamaican jerk tempeh

2008-06-10T22:08:00.000-07:00

I've owned "One-Dish Vegetarian Meals" by Robin Robertson for months now and have barely cracked it open.

And I finally figured out why: I don't like the fonts and the colors.

Of course, that is a stupid (and nerdy) reason for not using a cookbook, especially when I've heard nothing but praise for Robertson.

I finally gave one of the recipes a try, a Jamaican jerk tempeh stew that can be served over rice or couscous.

The spices were amazing and completely different than the flavors that I usually bring to the table. I backed off on the hot spices a little bit, knowing that we would have leftovers sitting around for a while and the heat would likely increase. But that gave the cinnamon and allspice a chance to shine through, which I loved.

Plus, the dish was fast and easy -- a real winner.

Now I'm looking forward to trying another one-dish wonder.

The native was calling

2008-06-10T07:13:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to a kickoff party for Palm Springs Restaurant Week.

My meal looked like this:

Little-known fact: When you get some alcohol in me, especially on an empty stomach, I become a total dude. I just need some nachos, man.

One quick call to Native Foods later, and I had a takeout order ready to go. It was a box full of everything yummy -- handfuls of tortilla chips, black beans, corn, crumbly soy "meat," lime-kissed guacamole, cashew cream, green onions and loads of cilantro.

Besides, it should be against the law to cook for yourself so soon after vacation. The last thing I wanted was to set foot in the kitchen. God bless vegan takeout.

Newport Beach for vegans

2008-06-09T19:18:00.000-07:00

I'm back from beautiful Newport Beach.

We stayed in a happy beach cottage with a raspberry door. It was literally 15 steps from the sand.

We spent all weekend biking until the sidewalks ran into the ocean.

We showered outside, which was excellent. I never want to shower inside again.

We spent hours in the ocean playing in the crashing waves, our hair tangled with salt, our bodies sunburnt and exhausted.

All that PLUS gorgeous Viking appliances!

As far as food goes, mostly we grazed on nuts, toast piled with avocado and tomato, salad, quinoa mixed with green olives and dates.

The first day we biked down the beach, took the ferry to Balboa Island and rode around there, came back and stopped for dinner at a small taco shack on our way home. My friend Leslie told the owner that I don't eat any animal products. "Oh, vegan!" the owner said. We asked if there was a word for vegan in Spanish. The woman shook her head sadly. "No crema, no queso," she said.

Before ordering I wanted to make sure the beans weren't cooked with lard. The woman said, "No! No lard. We make healthy food. No animal products. We don't want to kill people."

I had veggie enchiladas filled with peppers, spinach and mushrooms, with pinto beans, rice and a handful of chips. It was satisfying beach food.

The next night we stopped at A La Carte, a place that looked really promising. We were all on our bikes looking at the menu when the manager poked his head out the door and asked if we had any questions. When I asked if he had anything for vegans, he ushered me inside and introduced me to the chef/owner. Together we went through the entire menu together.

They told me about all their vegan friends and the dishes their friends love most. There were a number of really tasty-sounding options: Curried red lentils and rice, green salad, Korean tofu, spicy Thai noodles ... All vegan. I quizzed them on everything a second time. "No fish sauce No chicken broth? No cream? No butter? No dairy?"

"You must try the polenta," the chef urged. It sounded delicious -- soft polenta layered with eggplant, tomatoes and zucchini with a breadcrumb topping. But I said I was thinking about a salad and noodles instead. "Oh, the polenta is so good," the owner said. "You'll love it."

Well, how could I refuse? I ordered the polenta.

I didn't make it past the first bite before I tasted cheese. I asked the waiter if there was dairy in my meal. He got the chef.

"Oh, there's no cheese," she said, smiling. "I just use a lot of cream and butter to mimic cheese."

BLEH.

They gave me some veggies and noodles while I waited for something else.

It was OK. And then I got the tempeh burger.

Not great.

Actually, the food was probably good, but the polenta tainted everything for me. They could have trotted out my very favorite foods and it still would have been difficult to forget how they disrespected me.

It was depressing. We had a contract of trust, and they broke it. It was like having a boyfriend cheat on me. I kept going over the conversation in my head: Did we not communicate? Why did this happen? Where did it go wrong?

However, that's the worst thing that happened during an otherwise glorious, relaxing weekend at the beach -- which makes me a very lucky girl indeed.

Palm Springs Restaurant Week

2008-06-09T13:14:00.001-07:00

I was so excited to find out that one of the restaurants participating in Palm Springs Restaurant Week has a completely separate menu for vegans. Yay!

I immediately emailed Jason and told him we should make reservations.

So imagine my disappointment when I looked at the menu and realized two of the dishes are very much not vegan. (Bonito flakes = fish = not vegan. Honey = not vegan.)

I emailed the restaurant, and hopefully they will adjust their menu in time for restaurant week.

I do give them praise for trying something so cool and progressive. However, this gives me serious doubts about the vegan-ness of the other dishes.

Also, I realized after sending my e-mail, there's no vegan option for dessert.

So sad.

Taking a break

2008-06-06T23:23:00.000-07:00

I'm off to the beach for a couple days!

Be back soon ... hopefully with lots of good food stories and plenty of inspiration.

Brunch in a bento

2008-06-06T15:02:00.000-07:00

Ah, brunch. As Jaques says on The Simpsons, "You'd love it. It's not quite breakfast, it's not quite lunch, but it comes with a slice of cantaloupe at the end."

I adore everything about brunch, so that's exactly what I've been packing in my lunchtime bento for the past few days.

The bundles are another recipe ganked from Vegan Dad, and they are goooood. It's the sweet-savory taste philosophy of a McGriddle, minus all the fat, cholesterol and self-loathing. They are fantastic.

I was nervous about the mini crustless tofu quiches. After all, how eggy could they possibly be? Turns out they are so wonderful. Light, fluffy, packed with flavor. I added a tad bit more cornstarch than the recipe called for, and my quiches still ended up a little soft. But upon reheating, they were perfect. I'll definitely be making them again.

If only I could have packed a tiny thermos of mimosas ...

Yucky gnocchi

2008-06-06T14:58:00.001-07:00

Well, they can't all be winners.

It turns out that homemade gnocchi, once cooked and frozen and reheated again, tastes like lumps of glue. And not good glue either. The cheap stuff.

And the pesto that I made with the fresh green garlic from the farmers market tasted rancid and bitter.

Bleh.

Grilling pizza

2008-06-06T08:50:00.000-07:00

We're about to hit three-digit weather again, so last night we took advantage of the cool, 95-degree night and grilled out.

That's Jason's anti-vegan pizza on the left, and my virtuous vegan one on the right. (Mine looks bigger, but I swear it's just perspective. We are all about equality, even down to our dough balls.)

The Hawaiian pizza thing didn't work as well as I'd hoped. I used some sort of vegan deli slices that were pretty flavorless, especially after being grilled. I need to find something saltier to mimic ham.

Any suggestions?

The pineapple was damn tasty, though.

Just Vegin' Out

2008-06-03T22:50:00.000-07:00

I have a story in tomorrow's paper about Vegin' Out, a completely fantastic L.A.-based company that just expanded their services to my neck of the desert.

Here's why they're so awesome: Vegin' Out brings healthy, fresh vegan food right to your door. Each delivery consists of 9-10 meals for $100, plus $15 for shipping.

It looks just like this:

The menu changes each week. My week consisted of tofu teriyaki and stirfried veggies; pasta primavera; tamale black bean pie; gazpacho; wheat berry salad; chickpea, kale and red rice salad; emerald veggies; roasted root vegetables; and five macadamia nut chocolate chip cookies.

I tested the service for a week. Their portion sizes are smaller than what I typically eat. (I think I got slightly more than 7 meals out of it.) But everything tasted great, almost as if someone had just made it in my own kitchen, and there was a lot of variety.

During the time period, there was one particularly long, rough day at work. I came home very late and almost wept with relief when I saw so much tasty, ready-to-go vegan food in my fridge. Each bite of kale salad seemed to erase a little more stress and tension. (Moral: Never underestimate the power of a really hearty, nutritious meal.)

Overall, Vegin' Out is not a service that I could afford all the time.

But when my life gets busy and stressful, taking care of my health is one of the first things to go. Earlier this year when I was covering film fest and endless music festivals and running from one event to another, I skipped meals way too often; I felt sickly and exhausted all the time. In situations like that, I think Vegin' Out is definitely worth the price.

I think I'll probably just have them deliver to my office to give me energy on those particularly long days.

My cups overfloweth

2008-06-02T22:23:00.000-07:00

I ganked the idea for green chile chickpea tortilla cups from Vegan Dad, but with one major change -- I was too lazy to make or buy tortillas, so I used wonton wrappers instead.

Until tonight I had completely forgotten that I used to use wonton wrappers as cups for everything, from mini breakfast quiches to a baked stirfry appetizer. Why did I ever stop? They have a delicate crispness that pairs well with almost anything.

As for the filling, I wish I would have spiced the chickpea and chile mixture a little more. It was a tad too mild for my taste. Otherwise, delicious.

Before:

After:

This was my first time using Tofutti cheese in a recipe. I wouldn't really want to eat it plain, but I was impressed by how well it melted and the fact that it didn't taste like crayons.

I served the wonton cups with a cup of this posole/tortilla soupish concoction I invented over the weekend. Basically, it's just a spicy, zesty vehicle for hominy and lots of veggies.

Also, avocados are lovely and plentiful right now, and I have a big pile of them from the farmers market. This will obviously help me achieve my goal of eating one avocado every single day for the rest of my life. Yummy.

No queso fun

2008-06-01T23:04:00.000-07:00

I keep forgetting to post about my Baja Fresh experience a few weeks ago.

Jason and I were out and about running errands and paying little attention to what time it was. And then the hunger hit both of us like a truck -- it was 2 p.m., we hadn't had lunch yet and neither one of us had eaten breakfast.

I don't really like fast food, but at that point we had no other option. I needed to fill my belly right away. There was no way I could make it all the way home without my stomach eating itself.

But because I don't eat much fast food, I felt a little helpless in that moment. I couldn't think of a single place that would accommodate vegans. I furiously googled away on my iPhone, trying to find a list of good candidates.

Jason picked up something in nugget form from McDonalds while I ended up at Baja Fresh, where the staff was super knowledgeable about their food and told me about several options on their menu. I ordered the grilled veggie burrito, which was stuffed full with peppers, onions, black beans and salsa.

Since I ordered it sans dairy, here's what my receipt looked like (the churro is Jason's, by the way):

The "no queso fun" part cracked me up. Poor vegan burrito. No cheese, no fun.

Farmers market salad

2008-06-01T19:04:00.000-07:00

Even though I hate the assumption that vegans only eat salad, I do enjoy a really well-constructed plate of produce.

Like this.

I made this chopped salad as soon as I got home from the farmers market. You could practically taste the sunshine in it.

Raspberry chocolate chip blondie coma

2008-05-27T22:47:00.000-07:00

Oof. I just gorged myself on a big hunk of raspberry chocolate chip blondies from "Vegan With a Vengeance".

They are sweet, melty, tart, creamy, crumbly, magnificent divine things, delicious enough to make me do unspeakable things.

I made them because I'm having coffee tomorrow with a woman I'm interviewing for a story. When we set up the appointment she said, "Oh, I heard you on a radio show the other day, and I was sad to hear you say you're vegan. I'm quite a baker, and I was hoping to bake something for you. I'm really sad you can't have yummy baked goods."

So I baked delicious vegan goodies for her instead! Wait until she gets a load of these.

The big O: Vegan!

2008-05-24T14:36:00.000-07:00

Whoa. Oprah Winfrey has gone vegan. For a little while, at least.

Maybe she'll enjoy the delicious food, extra energy and good karma enough to make a lasting change. I'm totally rooting for her.

This is blowing my mind. I still remember when Oprah was low-carb.

You can go here to see what Oprah is eating and how she's doing on her detox plan. It looks great so far, although her plan is much more restrictive than most vegan diets. Still, it sounds yummy. I wish I had her chef.

(Found via this post on nerve.com. I also couldn't stop myself from leaving a comment on there ...)

A bunch of meals

2008-05-21T22:52:00.000-07:00

I'm falling way behind on posting here, so I need to cram a few meals together in one post. Sorry.

Here we go.

Before I went vegan, I never liked alfredo sauce. And then, for whatever reason, I had the strangest craving for a vegan version the other day. I basically used this recipe from Vegan Dad, with a few minor tweaks in the spicing.

I think no matter what you do, alfredo will never be healthy, not even if it's vegan. I compensated for that by dumping a pound of steamed greens on top of everything. (No, really. It's a pound of greens. Those suckers cook down like crazy.)

Over the weekend I made eggplant rollatini for the first time, using a recipe from "Veganomicon." It was marvelous. It took some time, but it was well worth the effort.

A couple friends joined us for dinner, and I was nervous because some people just aren't tofu people, no matter how fabulously it's made. Well, my friends cleaned their plates, which says a lot about the recipe. The roasted asparagus and the side of quinoa (made with mushrooms, white wine and artichoke hearts) were both pretty wonderful too.

I'm getting hungry just thinking about the eggplant rollatini again. Here, look at them even closer ...

Then I tried my hand at Southern vegan fare. These are steamed collard greens, stuffed with black-eyed peas and chopped greens, topped with homemade BBQ sauce, served with an ear of corn from the farmers market. It tasted decadent, but was extremely healthy.

Plus, I love finding new ways to get greens in my diet.

Oh, speaking of the farmers market, I've been making the best salads from local, seasonal goodies. This week I picked up some shockingly sweet carrots, then used them to make a big, fresh meal with some greens, sprouts, green onions and mustard flowers.

A Tale of Two Veggie Wraps

2008-05-21T22:40:00.000-07:00

My friend Judi and I sampled the goodies at "Ditch Friday," a new promotion at Agua Caliente Casino and Resort. For a few hours every Friday afternoon, the resort encourages people to ditch work and hang out by the pool and enjoy food and drink specials.

It was packed and people were having a lot of fun. Unfortunately, the place was sorely understaffed and it took a very long time to get our drinks and meal.

I was pleased to see a veggie wrap on the menu, which was vegan if you ask for it without the aioli.

It was OK. Nothing extraordinary, and not really worth $10.50. (And if that was the special price? Holy cow.) I'm a little concerned about the Kermit-colored tortilla, though.

My co-worker Judi ordered the salad, which probably was the smarter choice.

Today I had a veggie wrap again, this time at Jennifer's Kitchen, a small gourmet deli/food and wine shop in Rancho Mirage.

The grilled veggies were served cold, but they were very flavorful and peppery. They were mixed with a garlicky hummus inside the tortilla. It was a tasty wrap and just $6.50.

My only criticism isn't a criticism exactly -- more of a personal preference. The pieces of wrap were too big for one bite, but too squishy to take a bite without everything falling out all over the plate. Next time I'll try to remember to ask for it whole and unsliced.

Vegan Disneyland

2008-05-20T22:27:00.000-07:00

At one point during our trip to Disneyland, Marilyn and I stared at a duck on a fake body of water.

MARILYN: Is that duck real or fake?
ME: I have absolutely no idea.

And that right there is the problem with Disneyland. It's difficult to tell what's real or what's not, and that feels overwhelmingly creepy. Everything is very contrived, which automatically makes me suspicious. It was like Stepford -- with life-sized cartoon characters.

I don't want to sound like a complete sourpuss. There were good parts, too. Space Mountain was really fun. And of course I was ridiculously amused by all the sullen goth kids trotting around the park in Mickey Mouse ears. (It's ironic, see?) And it's hard to not get swept up in the giddy, ultra-hyper, happy vibe of the place.

Also, I have to admit: I was completely impressed by the food options.

Naturally there were carts shilling buttery popcorn, cotton candy, french fries and all kinds of other junk food. It is an amusement park, after all. But in addition to that, there was definitely a fresh fruit presence.

It actually seemed like it would be more difficult to NOT find fresh produce. I swear there were fruit stands every few steps, all selling sliced mango, apples, bananas, oranges, watermelon chunks, pineapple and grapes. It was all rather pricey, yes, but it was still very cool to see.

Marilyn and I were actually at Disney for work. This assignment was part of the follow-up story about Natalie, a baby recovering from brain cancer. The family had a wish fulfilled by a local non-profit, and so they were sent to Disney for five days of rest and relaxation.

Here's the gorgeous and spirited Miss Natalie:

And here's her brother, Carson. These huge hands of his cracked me up, even when he was pouting:

Because Marilyn and I were trailing the family around the park and had to meet up with them soon after lunch, we grabbed our meal at a random spot in Frontierland. My vegan options were looking slim, because I didn't see anything around us but fast food and burger stands. I thought I was going to have to make do with an apple from the fruit stand.

Surprisingly, the burger stand had a vegan veggie burger on the menu.

With the texture of a urinal cake and the flavor of plywood, it was not the greatest veggie burger I've ever had. But I was thankful and grateful to at least have that option.

With some advance planning, I have no doubt I would have ended up with a creative and satisfying meal at Disney. (The Blue Bayou had a mushroom/couscous dish on their menu that looked amazing. I wish we would have had time to make reservations there. That's on my list for next time!) The park was also less restrictive than I thought they would be; I easily could have brought in my own food.

For dinner, Marilyn and I had dinner with Natalie and her parents, Andrew and Kristen, just outside the park in downtown Disney. The restaurant was called Catal, but we ate outside at their UVA Bar, which had a nice tapas menu.

The server couldn't answer all of my questions, but he did know what vegan was, and he brought out a little book from the kitchen that listed all the ingredients in all the dishes.

It was wonderful. I absolutely pigged out on olives, baba ghanoush, plus this lovely artichoke:

And then I couldn't resist this beet salad. In addition to the root veggies, it had chunks of orange, shaved fennel and fresh herbs. Yummy.

Overall, I'm still not 100 percent sold on Disney as a vacation spot for people in my age group, but I will happily eat there any time.

World's Sexiest Vegetarian

2008-05-20T21:16:00.000-07:00

Sadly, I am not on the list. But yummy short guy Jason Schwartzman is. So is sassy Joss Stone, funny guy Kevin Nealon, Chelsea Clinton, Natalie Portman, Andre 3000, Kristen Bell, Pam Anderson and scores of others ...

Cast your vote now by clicking on the square below.

Music festival madness

2008-05-12T21:10:00.000-07:00

The Coachella Music and Arts Festival turned out to be more than a feast of music -- it's also a feast for vegans.

I was covering the festival for the newspaper, spending 12 or so hours at a time at the polo grounds. Initially I was worried about finding enough vegan food on site to keep my energy up over three days, especially since you aren't allowed to bring any food into the venue.

It turned out to be an absolute feast: I had tempeh wraps, grilled tofu burgers, baby mixed green salads with shredded beets, fresh fruit smoothies, fresh coconut water, even a platter of African food that included black-eyed peas, spinach, rice and candied plantains. One of my friends raved about a spicy coconut soup that I never had a chance to find.

It was expensive, yes. But I would rather pay $10 for a great salad than spend the same amount on inferior festival foods.

My favorite was the blackened tempeh wrap, which came with a lemon tahini sauce.

I also drank a lot of Olade, which was a refreshing alternative to traditional lemonade. It's organic, sugar free and just five calories -- nothing but lemons, water and stevia. Plus, it was created by the diabetic drummer of Rage Against the Machine, so it has street cred too. (Personally, I think he should have called it RageAde. The label makes it look more like Jack JohnsonAde.)

Then, just a few days later came the Stagecoach Country Music Festival, which I also covered. The website clearly said there would be vegetarian and vegan food -- but the reality was far different. I would even say it was horrific.

Here were my options for dinner:

* Something called a veggie burgerito. It was a crumbled veggie burger with lettuce, tomato, french fries and condiments, all INSIDE a tortilla. But the people working the booth couldn't tell me if the veggie burger was vegan.

* A veggie corn dog. Even if the batter was vegan (which it probably wasn't), I didn't really want fried food at a hot festival.

* A plate of peppers and onions -- cooked on the same grill with meat. No thanks.

I ended up getting a sauerkraut sandwich, which was my own genius invention. Basically, it's a hot dog bun filled with sauerkraut and spicy mustard. My friends were completely grossed out, but it wasn't the worst thing I've ever eaten.

My friend Matt wrote about it here.

Luckily, I also snuck in some of my own BBQ:

Back soon

2008-04-30T08:35:00.000-07:00

I've almost recovered from Coachella ... and now I'm off to Disneyland.

I'll be back soon with food updates from both!

My so-called pizza

2008-04-22T07:53:00.000-07:00

The girls came over recently for a marathon viewing of "My So-Called Life," which was my favorite show when I was in high school. I remember watching it specifically to get ideas for what to wear to class the next day. I wanted to be like Rayanne, even though I was more like Angela, always trying to assert my own identity and always obsessing after the boy who ignored me.

So what do you serve up with that much angst?

Pizza, of course.

The recipe for the crust came from Vegan With a Vengeance, and it's the best pizza crust I've ever made. Then I sauced it up and added sliced mushrooms, diced red pepper, sliced seitan sausages and big dollops of fresh pesto.

It is totally good enough to make Jordan Catalano fall in love with you.

The proof is in the pudding

2008-04-19T08:11:00.000-07:00

JASON: So what is this?

ME: Chocolate pudding.

JASON: Well, I know that. But what's in it?

ME: I don't know. A bunch of crap I blended together until it tasted good.

JASON: Uh, could you elaborate please?

ME: Tofu. Cocoa powder. A couple squares of dark chocolate. Vanilla extract. A pinch of brown sugar. A splash of almond milk that was about to go bad. Two old dark-chocolate covered espresso beans that I found floating around in the pantry; I think they might have been from Valentine's Day. Pretty much whatever was laying around ...

JASON: I think it's better that I don't know.

ME: Yes.

Getting juiced

2008-04-16T14:42:00.000-07:00

I juice some crazy stuff. If it goes in the crisper, chances are I've juiced it.

Some of the results are pretty terrible. (Uh, a spinach, garlic and jicama concoction comes to mind ...)

But every once in a while, I end up with something that tastes almost magical.

Here's the surprisingly good juice I made this morning:

It was made of four celery stalks, one giant broccoli stem, two pink lady apples and a tiny blood orange.

On a roll

2008-04-15T13:08:00.000-07:00

I don't think most people consider nori a pantry staple, but I sure do. That way I'm always ready to make sushi when the mood strikes.

And it did last week.

I made a spicy eggplant mixture that I was hoping would taste similar to the weird mush in some spicy tuna rolls. The flavor worked well, though the texture was a tad too smooshy. I think I'm on to something though.

Wine and dine

2008-04-14T21:18:00.000-07:00

For a story I'm working on, I had a small wine tasting with my friends on Sunday to sample five bottles from Frogmore Creek.

It was challenging to come up with a variety of dishes light enough for a hot evening (it almost got up to 100 degrees), substantial enough to hold us through five bottles of wine and cheap enough for my budget.

For starters, I made spinach and artichoke dip and baguettes. For dessert I chilled a spicy Mexican chocolate rice pudding. One of my friends brought wonderful, syrupy sweet strawberries and candied nuts.

And for the main course I made fresh gnocchi from scratch with thyme vinaigrette and lemon cashew cream, a recipe from VeganYumYum.

I've never made homemade gnocchi before, and it was more time-consuming than I thought it would be.

First you have to bake a couple russet potatoes, then peel and grate them. Let that air dry for a little bit, then shape into a ball. Add flour.

Combine to form a weird dough. Not too sticky, not too dry, not too combined, not too lumpy ...

Roll that out into a long dough snake, then cut into bite-sized chunks.

Curl each chunk around the tines of a fork, until they look like real gnocchi. (Don't forget to say, "Awwww!" and nearly die from the complete adorableness of what you've made.)

Boil. The second, third, fourth and fifth batches turned out better than the first; I think it holds together better when there's starch in the water.

The photo really doesn't do the dish justice. Each gnocchi was a little pillow of potato perfection. The thyme vinaigrette was salty and grassy, while the cashew cream had a really bright taste that melted all the other flavors together. (The cream looks lumpy here, but it was silky smooth and delicious.)

It was a dish that was truly worth the effort. I'm really glad I had people here to impress!

Rabbit food

2008-04-10T18:31:00.000-07:00

I have this co-worker. Every time he talks about a restaurant, I ask, "Do they have anything for vegetarians?" and he says, "Well, yeah. They have salads."

I don't know who started the rumor that vegetarians/vegans only eat salad, but I wish it would stop.

Sometimes when I say I'm vegan, I can see the wheels turning in people's heads, imagining me night after night with a tiny plate of wilted iceberg, sad slivers of carrot and one fat wedge of hothouse tomato.

Bleh. I am not a hamster.

Don't get me wrong: I do enjoy a salad every now and then, but by no means are they my only source of sustenance. And the salads that I do eat are far from ordinary fare.

I eat inventive, fun salads with bright, vibrant flavors, like this kale salad, tossed with creamy avocado and chipotle dressing:

This yin-yang salad is another standard in my household, since the sweetness of beets and carrots go so well together. (And for some reason, I enjoy them both more when they're shredded. Maybe because they look more fancy?) I made this with a dressing of wasabi oil and rice vinegar.

I was seduced by this jicama salad at Mijita, a casual cocina Mexicana owned by celeb chef Traci des Jardins in San Francisco. The pink grapefruit and avocado were an unexpected but perfect pair.

Hardly your typical rabbit food.

Not buying it

2008-04-07T07:19:00.000-07:00

I don't remember exactly how the idea was hatched, but somehow I came up with this plan: I won't buy anything for one month, then I'll write about my experience for the paper.

But in our society it's pretty much impossible to not buy anything, unless you pull a Christopher McCandless and completely fall off the grid. Instead of doing that, I came up with a few rules to rein in my spending:

1. I will still pay my bills and rent.
2. I can fill my car with gas.
3. I can buy food, though only with a budget of $25/week. (And that's for me and Jason.)

Making this even more challenging is that I'm trying to ease into the "Eat to Live" plan, which involves consuming a ton of fruits and veggies. I know I could easily make it through a month on ramen noodles and pasta; it's a lot more difficult to stay on a tight budget while eating a balanced, organic produce-based diet.

So far spending less on food has been much harder than not spending in other areas. I'm fine with not shopping for new clothes. I'm OK with not meeting up with my friends at the movies. I'm fine skipping out on the bars. I don't need to swing by Coffee Bean on my way to work. It's been hard, but not impossible.

But I'm not OK with staring longingly at a can of artichoke hearts at Trader Joe's and knowing that I can't have any.

I did some searches online for how to be thrifty at the grocery store. A lot of the stories I found were about those "super shoppers" who can go into a store and come out with a cart full of hot dogs, chips and cereal for just $1.73 or whatever -- but most of those tips don't apply to me. They don't make coupons for cabbage or nutritional yeast or any of the other things I buy. And tofu never seems to go on sale.

I've done OK, though. I pretty much cut out processed food altogether. I switched from canned beans to dried. I got a lot of deals at the farmers market. I shopped the produce sales. I made a lot of stuff into soup.

The first week I went over budget by 52 cents. That's not bad, considering that I helped to host a party on Saturday night for about 10 people and made a bunch of food for that, which also came out of my grocery budget.

I did make one exception so far both on my spending and on "Eat to Live" -- I went out to lunch on Friday for Deborah's going-away party. She's a good friend, and I would have been really upset if I hadn't gone. Plus, yummy Indian food!

Any tips for how to save more on food?

I don't think I'm quite ready for freeganism yet ...

Comfortable

2008-04-04T15:24:00.000-07:00

I was supposed to go to some event the other night where the meat would be real and the people fake. In other words, it didn't sound fun.

Plus it was a chilly night ...

My couch looked so comfy ...

I wanted to curl up with a blanket ...

And I know where the best food is ...

My kitchen.

(The BBQ tofu recipe came from Veganomicon. Perfectly roasted veggies were all my own.)

Half-assed stirfry

2008-04-02T00:27:00.000-07:00

Getting home from work at 8 p.m. + Jason at night school = wimpy stirfry.

Here we have Trader Joe kung pao noodles, plus some mushrooms, broccoli, water chestnuts and tofu.

But you know what? It's STILL better than most of the takeout I could get around here. And half the price, too.

Besides, our household is too busy growing orchids lately to spend too much time in the kitchen.

Check out some of our new blooms:

The thrilla of the grilla

2008-03-31T15:49:00.000-07:00

I had a hankering for grilled veggies last night.

That, and I had a bunch of produce from the farmers market that was about to turn bad.

For the grilled cabbage, I removed the core from the head, then coated the entire thing in grapeseed oil, salt and pepper. For the filling, I sauteed some onions with a big hunk of Soyrizo, then added some spicy BBQ sauce. (I went zesty for the filling, but I bet it would still work well with any other flavor combination.)

Somehow I made just the right amount of filling to cabbage, which made me feel like the master of all cookery.

To grill, you need to balance the cabbage head on a ring made of foil, like you see here. I also added little dabs of Earth Balance on top, but they weren't necessary. (I thought they would give the outside a buttery flavor, and I was wrong.)

Depending on the size and weight of the cabbage, it can take up to an hour-and-a-half to cook. You know it's done when you can easily poke it with a skewer.

Here we see that my cabbage made friends with some potatoes, baby eggplant and zucchini. Later a baguette joined the party. (It was late when I grilled, so this weirdly-illuminated photo was taken on a dark patio.)

Turns out my little cabbage didn't require much cooking time at all, so I ended up with some dark leaves on the outside. Still tasted OK, though.

Now that grilling season is in full swing, I'm eyeing everything else in the kitchen. Lettuce and radicchio, you guys are next.

Vegan par-tay in San Pedro

2008-03-30T20:31:00.000-07:00

I've been psyched for weeks about the PPK potluck in San Pedro and have been yammering about it nonstop. Even total strangers have heard about all the excellent vegan food there's going to be and how I'm going to make so many vegan friends ...

And then the day finally arrived. It was time to meet everyone.

I immediately turned into a shy, awkward version of myself. I barely even spoke to anyone.

My excuse is that I was too busy inhaling all the food to make friends. The wealth of vegan goodies was almost overwhelming. Tempeh bacon strips, pancakes and blueberry syrup, apple sage veggie sausages, a basket full of tofu wontons, enchiladas, deep dish pizza, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, mimosas, fruit salad ...

And it was so nice to sample everything without asking, "Does that have chicken broth in it? Is that made with dairy?"

I'm a little pissed that I only took a few photos -- and they don't really showcase all the pretty vegans and their excellent food. Sorry.

I had never been to San Pedro before, but my friend Maria grew up there, so she played tour guide and showed off the peninsula

It's a charming and beautiful place, with crisp ocean wind, industrial grit and Dr. Seuss architecture, plus a ridiculous abundance of flowers and friendly people who throw their arms open wide as soon as they meet you.

We also saw Bukowski's grave:

Afterward we went to Hermosa Beach and ate at The Spot, L.A.'s oldest vegetarian restaurant and an old haunt for Paul and Linda McCartney.

My entree -- brown rice, pinto beans, mixed veggies, tofu, salsa and savory sauce -- was much tastier than it looks:

Because I'm German

2008-03-27T23:36:00.000-07:00

It's a fact: If I don't eat sauerkraut at least once a week, I'll die.

Three out of four doctors agree.

Seriously, I was amazed when I moved here and met so many people who have never eaten sauerkraut before. I mean, what do you eat when you're drunk, if not glorious pickled cabbage? So I do my part by cooking it as often as possible for friends, family ... anyone willing to eat it, really.

For this round, I slow cooked the sauerkraut, which removes a lot of the bite and bitterness. (I'll admit -- sometimes I just eat it by the spoonful, straight out of the can/jar/bag. That is because I am gross. But when I'm cooking for others, I try to make it a little more palatable.)

I served the sauerkraut with grilled seitan sausages that were based on this easy and awesome recipe from Julie Hasson, though I changed the spices to be more like bratwurst. I also ground up dried wild mushrooms into a fine powder and added that to the mix -- it not only added a lot of earthy flavor, the powder also soaked up a lot of liquid while cooking, which made the sausage links plump, moist and firm.

And that sounds altogether too dirty, so I'll stop there.

Catching up from Easter weekend

2008-03-25T17:30:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was overwhelmingly blah. A toilet leak turned into a much bigger issue, then the plumber crashed into Jason's car ... and that set a whole bunch of bad things into motion.

Thankfully, there was some good food along the way. That makes everything better, doesn't it?

First up, this latte from Buzz Coffee in Palm Desert. I don't have lattes very often, because the Starbucks soy variety tastes bitter unless I add a bunch of sugar.

This Buzz Coffee version was a whole different story -- it's made with almond milk (richer than soy and easier on the tummy) and sweetened with agave nectar. And it's 100 percent delicious.

After hitting up the Palm Springs farmers market on Saturday morning, we were both grumpy enough to deserve some cheery heart-shaped pancakes. I don't make pancakes very often, so I just played this by ear -- I just stirred a bunch of stuff together until the batter looked right, then I added dried cranberries and fresh blood orange juice and zest. Fabulous.

Next comes lunch.

We are a household of brussels sprouts lovers, but I realized we ALWAYS eat them roasted. No more. Sauteeing gives the veggies much brighter flavors and is so much faster.

This recipe came out of "Williams-Sonoma Eating By Color," which is not a vegan cookbook, but it does have a lot of easy recipes for cooking produce in new ways.

To make it, thinly slice a bunch of brussels sprouts and saute until bright green. (I added a tiny bit of garlic for good measure.) Add a generous splash of veggie broth and cook for another minute. Add a squeeze of lemon juice, salt and pepper and some capers.

I served it with Gardenburger riblets, because riblets are saucy and good.

And finally, Jason knew I was sad because I can no longer eat Peeps, my favorite weird Easter candy. Unfortunately, Peeps contain gelatin. (Sad but true, kids: Gelatin comes from boiling cow bones, pork skin and/or fish bones.)

So that's why I was so happy to end up with these in my Easter basket ...

Vegan because they're plush!

STARVING!

2008-03-21T17:03:00.000-07:00

Today somebody said, "Being vegan is stupid. You can't eat anything, and you'll starve to death."

Yes.

Poor me.

So weak and pale.

Starving.

With nothing to eat.

No variety.

No flavor.

And no fun at all.

May god have mercy on the vegans.

Veggie Tostada

2008-03-21T16:38:00.000-07:00

So, the food situation at the Pacific Life Open was as expected. I walked into the fancy skybox and my friend Maria said, "Well, you just missed the vegan food -- potato chips."

So we went back downstairs and scoured the food court in search of anything veggie. There were some vegetarian options, but those were premade items that included cheese and/or eggs, so no dice.

Our only option was the vegetarian tostada at the Mexican food stand. When I ordered, I explained that I'm vegan and don't eat dairy, so no cheese please.

My tostada arrived with no cheese and a big dollop of sour cream.

I sent it back. And then I watched as the guy behind the counter dug two fingers into the tostada, removed most of the sour cream and covered the rest with additional tomatoes.

Uh, that didn't work for me either. So I sent it back again.

The tostada was passed around in the work area, and then I couldn't see what happened next, but somehow I ended up with a tostada that might or might not have been the original one. Or maybe the cook spit on it. But hey, at least that's vegan.

I should have stuck with the Larabar in my purse.

Anyway, to balance out all the sad tostadas and energy bars and whatnot I've been eating lately, I've been making some gorgeous juice. Check out this blood orange juice.

You know you want to drink it

Precious cargo

2008-03-19T13:54:00.000-07:00

Tonight I've been invited to hang in one of the skyboxes at the Pacific Life Open during the Roger Federer match and the Russian chick's match.

I think the skyboxes are supposed to be very schmancy, with food and wine and all that good stuff. Probably not vegan, though.

So dinner will most likely be some combo of these items from my purse.

With late nights at work and the crazy schedule I keep, that's actually been my dinner an embarrassing number of times.

Dinosaur fruit

2008-03-18T20:07:00.000-07:00

Does everyone else out there love the cherimoya?

I do. Mostly because they look like dinosaurs, if dinosaurs were made out of fruit.

When I lived in Cincinnati, I could only find them in the grocery store when they ran Cinco de Mayo sales. So, naturally, I figured that when I moved to Southern California it would be cherimoyas as far as the eye could see.

I was wrong. It's been almost three years now, and my first cherimoya sighting was last weekend at the Palm Springs farmers market. I immediately snatched up three of the biggest ones.

I don't do anything fancy with them. I prefer to just slice the fruit in half and eat it with a spoon. It tastes like bananas, pears and mangos all in one creamy, smooth bite -- so doing anything else with the cherimoya would be a waste of the delicate, tropical flavor.

What can I say? I'm a simple girl with simple fruit needs.

Tofu scramble

2008-03-17T23:33:00.000-07:00

Saturday mornings are reserved for the Palm Springs farmers market -- which isn't the leisurely shopping trip you might find in, say, Portland or Santa Monica. It's just a handful of vendors who set up in the parking lot of a movie theater. And it's not always a pleasant shopping experience. You often have to do battle with a bunch of crabby old people who want to cut in line and fight over the last bunch of chard.

That said, this farmers market is all we have, and I already love the hell out of it. I find myself leaping out of bed way too early just to get there on time, so I can show my support to the local farmers.

So that's what I do every Saturday morning now. I literally roll out of bed and go, all unshowered and unsightly. And I guess fighting with old ladies makes me hungry, because I'm always starving by the time I'm done.

Last weekend I craved good ol' diner fare. Just a big platter of grease and salt.

"Sorry, you're screwed," said Jason.

"Well, we could go to ... uh ... or, um ... yeah. I'm screwed."

Until Palm Springs magically transforms into a forward-thinking, vegan-embracing town -- or until huevos rancheros becomes a vegetable -- I have no breakfast options.

The next best thing was to make something at home. I whipped up this recipe for scrambled tofu, which was pretty darn good. (Next time I'll tweak the seasoning a bit; there was too much thyme for my taste and not enough spice.) I served it inside a sprouted grain tortilla and some tomato slices, fresh from the market.

I had every intention of making pan-fried potatoes to accompany the tofu, but a hungry girl can only slave away in the kitchen for so long.

Hey, speaking of other breakfast foods, I'm looking for a decent vegan soysage. I used to love these Morningstar links, and I was waaaay disappointed when I found out they're not vegan. (Double whammy -- they contain both milk and egg.) Since then I've had the Gimme Lean sausage tube, but I didn't care too much for the flavor. I prefer links over patties anyway.

Any suggestions?

Native Foods night

2008-03-16T11:20:00.001-07:00

Staying at home on a Saturday night and watching the complete series of "Freaks and Geeks" isn't THAT lame, is it?

No, I didn't think so.

Anyway, last night in the desert was cold and yucky and some sort of water was falling from the sky, so I didn't feel like doing much of anything at all. I was all set to stay in and make the kasha phyllo pie from "Veganomicon," but ... um, did you know frozen phyllo has to be defrosted before you can use it? Yeah, I'm an idiot.

So I flopped onto the bed and dramatically wailed, "I give up!" then covered my head with a pillow.

Something about that scene inspired Jason to go to Native Foods to pick up dinner, so I need to remember that trick.

I got the tempeh reuben, which is a boring choice, but it's so delicious I don't care.

Hooray for recycled cardboard takeout boxes!

I don't know what their Native "cheese" is made out of, but I could happily roll around in a vat of it for the rest of my life.

I got a side of spicy native fries with my meal, because Thai coleslaw sounded altogether too healthy.

Vegan pozole

2008-03-15T12:21:00.000-07:00

Huh. I don't even remember making this.

But I must have, since I just found the photo on my camera. Looks incredibly tasty, though.

That's one of my favorite flavor combinations right there -- the muskiness of cumin, zesty cayenne, bright lime juice, all brought together with creamy avocado in a salty, tomatoey broth. Yuuuum.

Two crappy tofu photos

2008-03-12T23:36:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the poor picture quality -- both of these photos were taken with my iPhone.

Anyway, for Jason's birthday I took him to Okura Robata Grill in Palm Springs. I ordered the mushroom miso soup, which was incredible, and the Agedashi Tofu, pictured below. It was a sizable amount of crispy fried tofu in dashi broth. I could have used some vegetables too, but their salads are extraordinarily expensive.

And here's my lunch from today, rancheros tofu from Nature's Rx, which is a much more cost-effective meal. A pile of spicy tofu, squash, chard and carrots, a bunch of brown rice and black beans, plus sliced avocado, salsa and two corn tortillas, all for $8.50.

Mint chocolate cupcake

2008-03-12T15:07:00.000-07:00

These mint chocolate cupcakes (recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World), are supposed to have a melty chocolate ganache drizzled on top of the frosting. Me being the lazyass that I am, just chopped up a dark chocolate bar instead and sprinkled that on top.

As far as flavor goes, these made for a perfectly acceptable dessert until the day I said to Jason, "Hey, do these cupcakes taste kinda like toothpaste?"

And yes. They did.

That's what I get for using too much spearmint extract. Sometimes more doesn't equal better.

The Italian job

2008-03-11T23:26:00.000-07:00

It's difficult to be vegan at Donatella's in Rancho Mirage. It's not impossible, but it's not easy either.

Tonight was my second visit to the restaurant, which has a cult-like following for the authentic Italian fare.

During those visits I have learned:

1. All the pasta is homemade with eggs.
2. Ditto the gnocchi.
3. Ninety-nine percent of the menu includes one or more of the following: Meat, seafood, cheese.

The people at Donatella's make good food, and they're nice as can be. It's just difficult to get your point across. If you say you don't eat meat, the server suggests something with cheese. If you say you don't eat cheese, they suggest something with meat. And if you (again) say you don't eat meat, they recommend the fish.

In short, they simply don't understand vegan.

Last time I ordered the grilled veggie platter. It arrived with half the plate covered in what appeared to be a mountain of poached egg whites, (which turned out to be cheese). And that massive white lump was covered with layers of prosciutto.

This time around, I had to really stress that I only wanted vegetables on the grilled veggie platter. My table ended up with a decent plate of four eggplant slices, four zucchini slices, four tomato slices and one long hunk of roasted red pepper.

I also ordered a risotto that the owner assured me was dairy-free -- but I'm simply not 100 percent confident about anything I order at this place.

I might return just for the wine, which is imported from Verona and is excellent.

Typical lunch

2008-03-10T10:29:00.000-07:00

Because my sister asked, "What DO you eat, anyway?"

A typical lunch is something like this. Here I was trying out some faux chicken bites from Nate's. (They're good, but they actually taste a little too close to the real thing, so I probably won't buy them again.)

That's served with a mustard dipping sauce, also sauteed garlic and kohlrabi greens, and a simple salad of cucumber, tomato and red onion.

Snausage balls

2008-03-09T22:09:00.000-07:00

I'm still undecided about these snausage balls.

I made them as party food for Jason's birthday. I don't even know why I decided to go for these, because I wasn't much of a sausage fan even when I was omni. I guess they just sounded like retro and fun party fare, like something you'd put out next to the mini franks and the cheese ball.

I whipped up a batch as a test run the night before the party.

"So what do you think?" I asked Jason as he gnawed on one of the soft, bready balls.

"I don't know."

"Are they terrible?"

"I don't know."

"Well, do you like them?"

"I don't know."

I was frustrated by his ambivalence, so I tried one for myself.

Hmmm. It was the exact same experience for me, too. They're not good. And they're not bad. They're just there. They should probably be called Apathy Balls.

Anyway, I didn't end up putting them out for the party. I was too afraid people would hate it and it would put them off vegan food forever.

So it's just been me -- eating balls all week. (Ahem. No jokes, please.)

The recipe came from Freckle Foot, a poster on the Post Punk Kitchen forums.

Try them and let me know what you think.

Veganized Sausage Balls

14-oz pkg Gimme Lean Sausage
2.5 C shredded Follow Your Heart Cheddar
3 C Bisquick dry mix
1 large pinch sage leaves
1 to 2 large pinches fennel seeds
2 large pinches crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 TB extra-virgin olive oil
2 small cloves grated or very finely minced garlic (I use a Microplane zester)
1/2 to 1 C nutritional yeast flakes (optional, but EXTREMELY recommended)

Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, or spray with nonstick spray.

Mix all ingredients together by hand, until everything is well-incorporated. Form into balls (my mix made about 3 dozen) and place on sheets about a half to one inch apart. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until bottoms are browned, and tops are beginning to brown. Best served warm.

Dipping sauce:

1/3 C vegan mayo
2 TB dijon mustard
1/2 Tb paprika
1 tsp chili powder

Mix together.

Roasted veggies

2008-03-04T22:22:00.001-08:00

Awww, yeah. Stereotypical vegan dinner, represent:

Leftovers will be had with brown rice.

Almost-sick soup

2008-03-03T21:05:00.000-08:00

When I was little, my mother always fed me Campbell's Chicken & Stars soup when I was feeling sick or sad, so it's no surprise that I associate that can of food with love and comfort.

Today, I've been hot and flushed and am starting to get that vice-like pressure inside my head, so I know I'm about THIS close to getting sick. Of course, all I wanted was to curl up under blankets on the couch and sip on some Chicken and Stars.

But since chicken has yet to become a vegetable, that stuff is not vegan.

I needed a new plan.

I whipped up the only recipe that sounded appealing in my feverish state, the Chickpea Noodle Soup from Veganomicon. The broth is made salty and creamy from miso, and the chickpeas make it hearty and filling. I also tossed in some chard for extra vitamins.

Oh, and instead of the soba noodles I tossed in a couple handfuls of pasta stars.

Stars have more healing properties. Three out of four doctors agree.

Awww. Itty-bitty cupcakes

2008-03-03T15:32:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend I whipped up a batch of tiny chai cupcakes using this recipe from The Post Punk Kitchen. (Recipe also in "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.")

There's no good reason why I made them mini. Only that miniature things are adorable.

Also, the recipe makes 12 regular-sized cupcakes, but when you make them mini you get 24. This is simple math, people.

Secretly I like to pretend that they are actually full-sized cakes, and I am Godzilla.

I've made these a few times before, and it seems to be a solid, reliable recipe. No matter what kind of crappy chai tea I use or how drastically I mis-measure the spices, the cupcakes somehow always turn out great. They're Maggie-proof.

This time around I substituted raspberry soy yogurt for the vanilla soy, (since the bastards at Trader Joes were out of vanilla) -- but I actually think the raspberry improved the flavor. They were so good, in fact, that my friends wrapped them up in napkins and took some to go.

It's always a good sign when your friends steal your food. I think.

'Lost' cake

2008-03-02T20:40:00.000-08:00

We had a party for Jason's birthday, an occasion that called for a spectacular cake.

Except I don't really know where I could get vegan baked goods around here. So even though I'm not the most proficient baker, I figured I would give it a try myself.

For the cake, I doubled the basic chocolate cupcake recipe from "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World." The icing is the basic buttercream, also from VCTOTW. And because Jason is a fan of the TV show "Lost," I went with a plane crash/stranded on island theme.

Here's how the full cake turned out.

I know I left out some of the characters, but you get the idea.

To give the ocean waves varying shades of blue, I used food color spraypaint. I did not even know such a thing existed until two days ago.

And here's what the whole thing looked like with blue stripey candles. Apparently they crashed in the ocean too.

Overall, I think it went over very well. Almost everybody at the party said something like, "I can't believe it's vegan!" or "You can't even tell it's vegan!"

I'm not sure what they were expecting -- twigs and tofu maybe? -- but I'm happy they liked it.

Public service announcement

2008-02-29T07:04:00.000-08:00

It's VEEE-gun. Not VAY-ghun.

Tempeh, you saucy, brazen hussy

2008-02-25T17:30:00.000-08:00

I'm salivating right now, just remembering how this tasted.

This was my Oscar night comfort-food feast. Sauteed greens with garlic and shallots. A last-minute side of mini shells, olives, mushrooms and Earth Balance. (My original intent was to make mac and faux cheese, but I was out of nutritional yeast, so that plan flopped.)

And then the tempeh. Oh, the tempeh.

I made the wingz using this recipe from Don't Eat Off the Sidewalk. It was surprisingly quick and easy, which is everything you want your Oscar night meal to be since you've already had two big glasses of syrah and your eyes are already blurry and you can't seem to follow directions properly. (Or maybe that's just me.)

The tempeh is spicy and sweet and saucy and possibly the most perfect food I've had in months. Maybe years.

I thought maybe it was just the alcohol talking, but no. The tempeh wingz held up for some tasty lunch leftovers today.

Note to self: Always meet the chef

2008-02-24T12:15:00.000-08:00

The first night of food at the Frank Sinatra golf invitational was pretty bleak for vegans, as I said in my previous post.

The good news is that the next two nights were considerably better.

On Friday night I happened to see executive chef Greg Picard surveying the buffet, and I pulled him aside. I explained that I'm vegan and asked which foods would be safe for me to eat. He took me through the line and told me the ingredients for each dish. It's a good thing we did this, because it turns out some things that seemed veggie-friendly were actually made with chicken stock.

Maybe the disappointment showed on my face because the chef said, "Hey, why don't I make you some whole wheat penne with some vegetables? Would you like that?"

Hell yeah I would.

So this is what I had:

The woman next to me leaned over and said, "Why did you something special?"

Because I am a very special vegan.

"Oh," she said. "Well, I used to be vegetarian, but it's too hard and I really like chicken."

I wanted to tell her that I like chickens too -- that's why I stopped eating them. But I didn't. (I'm working on being less of a smartass these days.)

Saturday night was at the invitational was a formal, four-course meal. We called the chef ahead of time to let him know I would be at the event.

"I figured you would," he said. "I already have a vegan meal planned."

The staff fawned over me all night as they brought my special meals. First course was an heirloom tomato and onion salad. Second course was a variation of the pasta from the night before. Dessert was a big sundae glass full of fresh berries that had been drizzled with sugar.

And my entree was this -- a big bowl of lentils, potatoes, spinach and other vegetables.

It was amazing.

Seated next to me was baseball hall-of-famer Brooks Robinson.

"What do I have to say to get that?" he said, pointing at my entree.

I told him a little bit about veganism and why I eat that way for health and compassionate reasons. He asked me some really good questions and then said, "How do you spell it? I'm going to have to try that."

So, major props go out to the open-minded baseball player, who was genuinely interested in a different way of eating, and to Chef Picard at the Renaissance Esmeralda resort, who went out of his way to be accommodating.

Bleh

2008-02-22T08:10:00.001-08:00

Last night was a bad buffet dinner at an event for a fancy-schmancy golf invitational. It was an Italian theme, so I expected spaghetti with marinara sauce, or at the very least some naked noodles.

The cold section of the buffet was a build-your-own salad, but 75 percent of the toppings were meat or cheese. I ended up with chopped romaine, diced cukes and some pieces of mealy tomato. No dressing -- they only had ranch. (After begging, I finally got some oil and vinegar.)

The hot part of the buffet had only one vegan thing: Cold, bitter grilled veggies.

It was all pretty miserable.

The other people at my table with plates overflowing with 15 different kinds of food.

One woman, who knows I am a vegan, noticed my plate full of lettuce. "Hey, this must be like a feast for you!" she said and nodded with approval.

"Uh. Not exactly."

Vegan hiker

2008-02-19T20:55:00.000-08:00

He came up with the idea late Saturday night.

"Are you ready for an adventure?"

Yes! Yes, I was.

Except when he told me exactly what the adventure would entail, I was scared more than excited.

Hiking all day in the middle of the desert? What the heck will I eat? This would be my first real excursion in the outdoors since going vegan, something that would require more than a Larabar and an apple.

So I made a loaf of rosemary focaccia.

When that was done, I used it to make a big fat sandwich of seitan and roasted red pepper spread. Since there was no telling when we would be home or how strenuous the hike would be, I also packed up a pear, a couple granola bars and some quinoa protein muffins.

Early the next morning, we hit the road and ended up in the middle of the Mojave.

The trail was a big sea of golden wildflowers.

We hiked to the top of a 10,000-year-old volcanic crater.

The payoff was an excellent view of lava fields.

After a spectacular sunset, we headed back home.

We were so exhausted, dirty and hungry, we decided to stop to wash up and grab a quick bite. I had no idea what I would find at Crossroads Cafe in Joshua Tree. Best-case scenario, I figured would be a salad, even though that wouldn't be nearly enough to fill my grumbly post-hike belly.

And then ... success!

A tempeh reuben with vegan cheese and a mixed green salad with lemon tahini dressing, all for $7.50. When my side salad arrived with non-vegan feta, the server efficiently whisked it away and brought me a brand-spanking-new one.

(Pardon the bad photo. That was taken with my phone in a poorly-lit place.)

Support vegan-friendly businesses: Crossroads Cafe is located at 61715 29 Palms Highway, Joshua Tree, CA.

V-day food extravaganza

2008-02-15T20:19:00.000-08:00

Rather than go out to a fancy-schmancy restaurant for Valentine's Day, Jason had an even better idea -- he offered to cook me any vegan meal I wanted.

I chose homemade potstickers from VeganYumYum, a recipe I've been salivating over ever since I first saw it.

We made the easy baked seitan recipe on Valentine's Day Eve. As promised it sure was easy. It was also something of a magic trick -- it went into the oven looking like a small silver log and came out a puffy Nerf ball. Cool!

Jason underestimated the amount of time necessary to make a bajillion potstickers, so partway through the process we snacked on some inari from Bristol Farms.

Jason's so anal about numbers, it was really cute and funny to watch him cook.

See, while I cook in splashes, dashes and pinches, he's all about precise measurements. So when the recipe called for a tablespoon of filling to be placed in the center of each wrapper, he made sure it was exactly a tablespoon. (I'm surprised he didn't use a compass to determine the true center of each wrapper.)

He folded and crimped all the edges. Not bad for a newbie chef.

It took a very long time, but here are all the "raw" potstickers, waiting to be cooked.

And then they sizzled happily in my iron skillet.

All that and gorgeous roses too!

XXX Veggies XXX

2008-02-11T15:54:00.001-08:00

Some long overdue food porn:

Tuscan bean salad. The greens, tomatoes, olives and onion are all mine. The beany goodness came from the grocery store deli. (Hey, a girl gets lazy every once in a while.)

Roasted asparagus, the last of scalloped potatoes and some amazing hot sauce-glazed tempeh.

Flax spirals, spicy marinara and beanballs.

Mmmm, hummus pizza. This alone has made my life worth living. It's a cornmeal crust slathered with roasted garlic hummus, then generously topped with roasted red pepper, spinach, artichoke hearts, olives and faux sausage.

Taco salad. Another lazy night. Here we have greens, corn, pinto beans, peppers, olives, seitan and broccoli, all topped with salsa -- basically, all the leftovers in my fridge that were getting old.

And for dessert, apple spice cupcakes. Why aren't apples in more cupcakes?

Juice it up

2008-01-30T22:23:00.000-08:00

I remember my first time stopping by the juice bar inside Wild Oats.

At the time I had just moved to Cincinnati, and I had never seen a juice bar before. It was just one of those granola hippie things I had heard about but never seen in real life. I scanned the seemingly endless list of juice combinations, and I couldn't find a single thing that sounded even vaguely palatable.

I told the woman at the counter it was my first time.

She suggested something with carrots (ugh!) and ginger (weird!) and beets (ew!). No thank you. Then she had me try a few samples. Everything looked about the same shade of brownish-green, almost the color of moss or mold. I held my nose while I tossed back some shots of juice.

I left with a small glass of orange juice. That's it. Nothing else. Just orange.

Now look at me.

Only a few years have passed since then, and I am insane about juicing. Just about everything in the fridge becomes juice -- green beans, garlic, melon, cabbage, grapefruit, apples, fennel, spinach, parsley. Even that combo of carrots and beets and ginger, which I now love.

There's loads of produce out there, and I can't wait to juice it all.

My typical breakfast of champions now looks like this:

A hefty pile of kale, cucumber, celery, sprouts and broccoli stems.

Within seconds it becomes this:

I swear I can feel the vitamins wooshing through my body after I drink it. It's like a million tiny electrical charges -- I call it "cells dancing," for lack of a better way to describe the sensation.

I love waking up to that in the morning.

Sometimes I even make orange juice. Funny that now it's a little bland for my taste.