Monthly Archives: October 2012

Oct 20 2012
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Dining Out

Adventures in Dining Out: Urban Vegan

Today, I had the pleasure of dining at a Chicago vegan spot: Urban Vegan!

I took this photo back in July before their Fullerton location opened up. I’m really glad that I had a chance to finally dine here.

Urban Vegan is a vegan Thai restaurant. The menu offers the usual Thai dishes such as Pad Thai, various curries, and noodle dishes. The protein options are tofu, soy chicken, soy pepper steak, seitan, soy fish, soy shrimp, and soy chicken nuggets. Other dishes on the menu include a lentil loaf and a pumpkin, eggplant, and tofu stir fry. In case one isn’t sure this is a vegan spot, this was a dead giveaway:

How cute is this little spray bottle of Bragg Liquid Aminos??? Soooo cute. But also so not necessary since everything we had was really tasty. I thought about ordering Pad Thai (my usual choice for a first time visit to a Thai restaurant) but I was really in the mood for soup. So I got the Won Ton Noodle Soup.

I apologize for the blurry photo which does NOT do the dish any justice. It consisted of rice noodles in veggie broth with bean sprouts, broccoli, veggie dumplings and soy chicken, topped with cilantro, green onion, and fried garlic. Soooo good and filling — I took half of it home!

It’s not exactly in my backyard, but I’m already looking forward to my next visit to Urban Vegan. If you’re in Chicago, be sure to check them out! They have locations in Lincoln Park and Lakeview. You can get all the details along with their menu at their website www.urbanveganchicago.com.

I love vegan restaurants!! –Melissa

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Oct 19 2012
2 Comments
Reviews

Cava and Caviart

Brent and I like to celebrate for no reason whatsoever. And sometimes there’s a reason like reaching the 20K milestone for visits to Turning Veganese!

What better way to celebrate than with champagne and caviar? Okay, well it’s cava and Cavi-art but who’s counting.

We started with the traditional black Cavi-art and the red chili varieties. We paired it with some regular rice crackers and some home-made cashew cheese. Both varieties of Cavi-art are pretty amazing both in appearance and texture relative to the real thing except that neither is driving a species to extinction. Sturgeon are really cool fishes. I want future generations to get to meet them. It’s still a little pricey for most budgets but compared to the real thing is relatively inexpensive at $10.95 for 3.5 ounces

Caviart is made from seaweed and has half the calories of the real thing. They’re also rich in flavor and come in varieties like wasabi, ginger, ‘salmon’, black, red, yellow and balsamic (which I recommend with pesto).

So Brent and I got to have a decadent celebration with some of the old school players. I want to make a quick note about sparkling wines. I’m a big fan of cava, which is the Spanish equivalent of French Champagne.  We’re big fans of Cristalino cava which has actually won awards as a value sparkling wine and I think it’s as good as some $70 bottles of champagne for a tenth of the price.

Why sparkling wine? Most high quality sparkling wines are fermented in the bottle and then clarified by a process called ‘riddling’ which was invented by Madame Nicole-Barbe Clicquot, also of my favorite champagne, Veuve Clicquot. Riddling is animal friendly so if you’re trying to figure out which wine to order at a fancy dinner party but don’t want to bust out your cell phone to check barnivore.com, look for a sparkling wine (cava, prosecco, champagne, etc.) and ask to see the bottle. If the bottle says “fermented in this bottle”, you’ve got a winner. Now go forth and celebrate for no reason whatsoever.

This is Christie, signing off!

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Oct 18 2012
3 Comments
Desserts

Like a crepe but not.

I was feeling peckish and didn’t know what to make. I found some currants, chocolate peanutbutter and some corn tortillas. I threw them into the pan and got it all hot and toasty.

I made this: the chocolate ummm…. what do I call it!? It was worth sharing. Next time I might include strawberry jam and chopped pecans. Enjoy!

This is Christie, signing off!

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Oct 17 2012
4 Comments
Lazy Vegan, Reviews

Viana Organic Veggie Gyros

Gyros sandwiches are something that we typically had as a treat growing up. I’ve had birthdays where my dinner request was a gyros sandwich. If you haven’t figured it out yet, gyros is one of the things I really, really miss since turning veganese. Luckily, there is a packaged vegan version at the store for when I’m feeling lazy.

I was initially hesitant to try Viana Veggie Gyros.Some vegan substitutes can be a little heartbreaking. But I had a gyros craving so bad that I just needed to pick this up.

Here’s the good: it’s tasty, good texture, none of that grease, organic, and chock full of protein (it is a tofu/wheat product).

The bad: None.

The could-be-better: I’m used to gyros meat that is thinly sliced and these were more like ‘meat’ strips. In addition, the ‘meat’ was packaged in a way that made it a task to separate the pieces, and it many cases, I ended up breaking the pieces into much smaller chunks.

This didn’t fill my gyros craving 100%, but a lot of that was my fault. I didn’t have any pita or appropriate ingredients with which to make a vegan tzatziki  sauce, so I ate the ‘meat’ with brown rice, tomato, and onion. Since I’m used to a greasy, saucy gyros sandwich, the dish felt too dry.

I’m glad to know that this product is out there (you can buy it from Vegan Essentials) but I think I would be better off making my own vegan gyros. That will have to wait for a day when I’m not feeling like a lazy bum.

Have you tried Viana Veggie Gyros? Have you made your own? What was your experience? –Melissa

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Oct 16 2012
9 Comments
Raw

Hemp Cheese

I’ve been making cashew cheese for months now but wanted to try this with hemp seeds (nutrition data pictured at left). Hemp is a much more sustainable seed product than cashews or almonds mostly because they use less water to grow, ounce for ounce and has twice the protein for about the same amount of fat, Hemp is also rich in omega fatty acids and iron. This is also suitable for most people with nut allergies as well as soy-and dairy sensitivities. To make this cheesy spread I combined

1 cup of hemp seeds

juice from 1 lemon

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

1 generous pinch of salt

2-3 tbsp of water

I then blended the mixture until it was creamy. This took a while but the end product was worth it. We ended up with a lightly sweet cheesy spread. I suspect you could also bake it to make a harder cheese like I normally do with cashew cheese. I was feeling peckish and impatient so that didn’t happen.

You can also add your favorite vegan pesto spread for a pesto spread, some herbes de provence, dairy-free ranch seasoning or whatever your favorite dip is.

It’s great on our home-made gluten-free vegan bread or in combination with a sprinkle of fresh herbs on crackers. It also makes a great high protein pasta sauce. Let me know if you get to try it!

This is Christie signing off!

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Oct 15 2012
3 Comments
Lazy Vegan

The Lazy Vegan: Samosas!

I love frozen prepared Indian foods. Treats like samosas make a perfect snack or appetizer, and I’m usually very lucky to find products that are as close to a freshly prepared product as I can get. I found these particular samosas in a neighborhood grocery store, made by Bombay Bites.

It came with a pack of chutney, which I usually don’t see offered with other brands. The cooking instructions are limited to deep frying or microwaving, but I went rogue and heated them in a toaster oven (350 degrees for 10 minutes followed by 375 for 3-5 minutes). The chutney came in a small plastic packet which needed heating up in a microwave for just a few minutes. The chutney was also very comparable from what I would get if I bought it freshly prepared.

I like Bombay Bites because their samosas are actually samosa shaped. I have bought other frozen samosas that were phyllo-wrapped triangles which, even if they tasted great, weren’t the same. The filling is very tasty and perfectly spicy (hot without being too hot), and the chutney was a nice accompaniment.

For non-vegans, Bombay Bites has a wide variety of samosas including Jalapeno & Cheese and Pizza flavors. Very intriguing, however, I’m very content with the traditional version. –Melissa

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Oct 13 2012
4 Comments
Recipes

From Zero to Girls Night in 5 Minutes

“I want to drink.”

That’s what my Mom told me earlier this evening. I also wanted to drink tonight so I made it happen. Here’s a three ingredient vegan cocktail that is super easy to make.

Three Ingredient Girls Night Cocktail

For one serving:
1/2 can (6 oz) Lychee Drink or lychee juice
2 shots of rum (I used Cruzan which is vegan-friendly… thanks, Barnivore!)

 

Pour the lychee drink into a glass, add the rum, squeeze in a lime wedge, stir… and then drink! This cocktail is completely deceiving. I can only taste the lychee juice but I sure am feeling buzzed. The only thing missing was some fresh lychee fruit to toss into the glass.

I am currently heating up some samosas by Bombay Bites for us to enjoy with these. Stay tuned for my review in a future blog post.

Cheers, everyone! Drink vegan and drink responsibly! –Melissa

 

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Oct 12 2012
4 Comments
Thoughts

Adventures in Fruit: Finger Limes

Finger limes are also known as citrus caviar. They’re appropriately named in both regards: they’re finger sized, finger shaped and contain little beads of citrus lime action.

They’re great for use in drinks, in soups or over any food that would benefit from a splash of lime in a unique format.

The last thing I made with these was some chipotle lime quinoa. The advantage of using citrus caviar was that the first thing I tasted when I put the quinoa in my mouth was savory spicy chipotle and as I began to chew the quinoa I got the nutty quinoa and zesty lime. It was definitely an evolution of flavor that you can’t get from ordinary lime.

I hope you find these at your local market!

This is Christie, signing off!

P.S. This is the LAST day to make an entry to our giveaway for 4 tins of Muir Glen organic tomatoes. We will name winners later today and need your mailing address by midnight this Sunday.

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Oct 11 2012
1 Comment
Reviews

Vegan Beer : New Planet’s 3R Raspberry Ale

What up thugs and thugettes? We’re back with our fourth installment of vegan beer reviews. In this post we take a look at New Planet’s 3R Raspberry Ale. It’s Barnivore approved, and pretty freaking tasty!

Enjoy. And from Brent and Christie, peace out, my vegans.

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Oct 10 2012
6 Comments
Thoughts

The Unadventurous Vegan

I needed to restock on tofu so I visited the giant Korean grocery store today. It was a great day to go since a pack of tofu was only 98 cents (down from $1.28)! In addition, Mori-nu silken tofu is regularly priced at $1.09 a box. I also picked up some soy puffs. I’m not sure what to do with these, but I’m excited to try them out:

 

I always come across weird stuff in the giant Korean grocery store. A few months ago, I saw this and bought it, but I was so freaked out by it that I never ate it:

 

It comes in a beef version as well which like roast beef: the perfect imitation meat if I were craving an Italian beef sandwich or something. There was just something really weird about it. I’ll admit that if I had found it in Schmole Broods or Raider Boe’s, I wouldn’t be so put off by it. But I can’t help but be weary of some of the products I find in Asian grocery stores (and I am Asian).

Now, they say to never go grocery shopping when you’re hungry, and “they” are right. I found myself lurking in the snack (read: junk food) aisle when I saw something that looked vegan. I was right… and I was also kind of freaked out:

I Googled VegeUSA right away and only found information on their frozen “meat” products, which actually look pretty delectable. These guys scared me, though. They had “steak,” “chicken,” and “pork” at the store. The instructions are to rehydrate them and then use them as a meat substitute. Sounds like soy curls, right? I wasn’t thinking about that at the time. I think my shock mostly stemmed from finding these next to chips and crackers and initially thinking that they were chips. Again, I was kind of freaked, so I put them back on the shelf and took it as a sign to not buy any junk food.

While I like to think of myself as an adventurous vegan, there are some things that I am not brave enough to try just yet. My last big leap was probably with tempeh, and I have yet to try seitan. I don’t think I need to try everything: just because it’s vegan doesn’t mean it’s good for you, right?

Have you tried any of the products above? What did you think? Are there any vegan products that you’re not willing to try? Let us know in the comments! –Melissa

Oh, hey! Don’t forget about our giveaway! It’s a good one!

 

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