Tag Archives: vegetarian

Nov 07 2012
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Dining Out

Adventures in Dining Out: Yolo Mexican Eatery

I’m going to go ahead and say that being vegan is the reason that the cold I had two days ago only lasted about 16 hours. It was the shortest bug I ever had! I’m still taking extra care of myself but I did take the opportunity to dine out for dinner tonight.

It was my first time vising Yolo Mexican Eatery in Skokie, not to be confused with #yolo.

Yolo is a small BYOB restaurant tucked away on Brown street in downtown Skokie. I’ve passed it hundreds of times but wasn’t really aware of its existence until I started researching vegan-friendly places. It’s a cozy place and, from what I could gather, it’s family owned and operated. It wasn’t exactly packed tonight, but I can imagine that it gets busy on the weekends.

We started with a guacamole appetizer which was yummy. It’s funny… I’m not used to non-spicy guacamole anymore, so it was different in that regard, but I wouldn’t describe it as bland. It was tasty and fresh!

 

I ordered the Enchiladas de Platanos for my entree. The enchiladas came smothered in mole sauce and was served with a side of rice and beans. This dish had very interesting flavors in it — very different but delicious. I’m no mole expert, but my best guess is that this is the most authentic mole sauce I have ever had the pleasure of tasting. I could actually taste the chocolate. It wasn’t overwhelming in any way, and  my taste buds were hit with sweetness followed by a very satisfying spicyness. The texture of the sauce was also perfect. It wasn’t too thick nor was it gritty. I think I would have preferred the plantains to be a bit more, well, slimey. They had more of a tostones texture.

I expect that I will visit Yolo again. I will probably opt for one of the salads and a vegetarian taco option. I like mole but I need to be in the mood for it. Considering that Yolo is labeled as vegan-friendly on sites like Yelp, I was hoping for more vegan and vegetarian options. That said, it’s the only place where I’ve seen plantain enchiladas on the menu, so I’m glad for that!

YOLO! –Melissa

 

 

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Nov 06 2012
2 Comments
Reviews

The Other Lazy Vegans: TV dinner 2

We’ve been giving Amy’s frozen dinners a try lately after a recent success with tamale with roasted vegetables so we went ahead and decided to try their tamale with salsa verde.

It looked a lot more appetizing right out of the box. This is because the rice is recognizable compared with the puddle of beans in the other package.

We prepared this in our microwave and it was quick and easy to follow the instructions.

We ended up adding some flake red pepper and garlic salt but that’s just how we roll. The ingredients were unobjectionable and it was tasty all by itself.

The ingredients were good and it was reasonably priced for how much time and cleanup it saved me. I think I need to learn how to make my own tamales, but I’d buy it again.

This is Christie, signing off!

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Nov 05 2012
2 Comments
Thoughts

Not Chick’n Noodle Soup & a Hot Toddy!

Having been born and raised in Chicago, I know it’s only a matter of time before I catch a cold during the fall or winter. I have made it a point to get a flu shot every year since my oldest niece was born, and I either end up with a really violent flu about two weeks after getting the shot or I am in the clear. I got this season’s flu shot a month ago, so my educated guess is that I will not the flu. However, I cannot escape the cold!

It’s not completely unexpected: I was the one idiot in Chicago who wasn’t wearing socks while walking outside yesterday. And then, today, when I couldn’t concentrate and was trying to stay awake at work, I came up with the genius idea to get some fresh air — in the balmy 43 degree weather.

The point is, I feel like total poop right now. I’m sneezing, my nose is running, I’m chilly and achy (uh oh, I hope my flu theory doesn’t get debunked), and I’m exhausted. My body absolutely wants to shut down. My appetite has also been measly all day, but I had to eat something, so I made a really basic Not Chick’n Noodle Soup for dinner.

It doesn’t look like much, and that’s because it isn’t much:

1 cube Edward & Sons Not Chick’n bouillon
2 cups warm water
1 8oz package of traditional Shirataki Noodles
salt and pepper, to taste

I put the water and bouillon in a medium sized pot and let it sit while I drained and rinsed the noodles. I started heating the water and this helped to fully dissolve the bouillon cube. Once it was boiling, I added the noodles, brought it back to a boil and let it cook for about 3 minutes.

This is actually the first time I tried Shirataki noodles! I liked them a lot and I love that the traditional version, made with white yam, is soy-free and has zero calories (along with being gluten-free and vegan).

You can definitely add more to this, but I was really in need of a bare bones broth and noodle dish with little embellishment. I was worried that it would be bland, but it was perfect as-is with just a tiny bit of salt and pepper.

Before going to bed, I definitely wanted to warm up with some hot tea. Why not add some spirit to the mix? I didn’t have whiskey so I used rum for this particular hot toddy. I started with a cup of hot ginger water, but you can start with any tea. I added some agave nectar to sweeten it, and then added just about a tbsp of rum. That isn’t a lot of rum, but I wanted to be pleasantly relaxed, not buzzed.

What vegan cold remedies do you use? –Melissa

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Nov 04 2012
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Snacks

NACHOS!

Brent and I like to play video games together. Nothing says “gamer” like junk food so that’s where this is headed. All you really need is tortilla chips and Daiya but crumbled seasoned tofu, olives, chopped jalapeño, diced tomato or onions, salsa, Tofutti sour cream and a lot of other things can help bring your nachos up a notch.

We baked ours in the oven to melt the Daiya after adding seasoned crumbled tofu, salsa, jalapeño, onion and salsa. A little fresh cilantro would have made this unstoppable but its absence didn’t stop us from devouring it.

I le recommend, especially if you’ve got a football game or a video game in your future.

This is Christie and Brent, signing off!

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Nov 02 2012
4 Comments
Snacks

Cucumber, olive and hummus sammiches!

I made a loaf of bread and decided we needed to make some awesome sammies. This is inspired by a local restaurant that started serving a similar option with ham… we are skipping that and going straight for the good stuff.

This is as amazing as it is simple. Cucumber, pitted kalamata olives, spinach and your favorite hummus. Slice the cucumber and peel it if you like.

We spread hummus on the bread, put the olives on it (slice them in half if you like), add the spinach and then use the cucumber to moosh it down. Add some more hummus to the top piece of bread if you like.

NOM!

This was an awesome snack that was crisp and cooling from the cucumber and spinach with a savory element from the olives and hummus. It is an excellent option for a hot afternoon or just as a midnight snack.

This is Brent and Christie, signing off!

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Nov 01 2012
23 Comments
Desserts

Virtual Vegan Potluck: Guava Cheesecake!

Today is a special one because you’re visiting a page that’s part of the Virtual Vegan Potluck! This is the second one that Turning Veganese has been fortunate enough to participate in and it’s a great way to look at lots of vegan food blogs and even some non-vegan blogs that are participating by presenting a vegan dish. I definitely recommend exploring. Use the “go forward” and “go back” buttons at the bottom of the page to participate.

I wanted to be sure that Florida culture came out in my Virtual Vegan Potluck contribution so I decided to include some local flare. Guava pastries are a staple in our Cuban heritage, coconut and lime are ubiquitous in Caribbean cuisine so I wanted to include them in this recipe, and pecans are here to represent the Southern elements in South Florida culture. This is an incredibly easy recipe and shouldn’t take you more than 20 minutes to prepare. All you need is a good spring form pan and the ingredients.

First prepare the crust by combining the following in a bowl:

1 cup of medjool dates, soaked overnight in water, drained and blended until smooth

1 cup of shredded coconut, preferably unsweetened

1 cup of crushed pecans

1 cup of almond meal

1/4 tsp of vanilla extract

a pinch of cinnamon

Mix these until uniform, adding extra water if it’s dry. It should be crumbly and a little sticky.

Once you like the texture, moosh it into the bottom of your spring form pan.

Now that you’ve got your crust, we’ve got to make the ‘cheese’cake part. It’s simple too:

1 carton of silken tofu

1 tsp starch (we used arrowroot) dissolved in 1 tbsp of lime juice

7 ounces of guava paste

Put all of that into your blender and blend until smooth. Pour it over the crust and put it into your freezer.

I sprinkled mine with some additional coconut to make it extra pretty. It’ll be ready in 4 hours.

Remove the wall of your spring form pan and serve. It will get gooey as it melts so put your spring form base on a wide plate to catch anything that falls off the edge.

This concludes my part in the Virtual Vegan Potluck event and I hope you’ll visit all the other posts in the chain. If you’re new to Turning Veganese, I hope you’ll visit again. Click on the “go forward” or “go back” button below to see what else the Virtual Vegan Potluck has in store for you!

This is Christie and Brent, signing off to head to the Potluck!

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Oct 30 2012
4 Comments
Cooking, Main Dishes

Penne Puttanesca

Puttanesca is terribly underrated and we were cleaning out the fridge this particular day. I started simply and got some of my favorite pasta sauce and a bag of rice pasta. Brent is in charge of making pasta so I was saucy!

I diced an onion and sauteed it with some flake red pepper and basil olive oil. It smelled SO amazing I wish I could make a scratch-n-sniff post.

I added 2 cups of sauce and threw in

1 tin of olives that I drained

1 cup of TVP (omit if you’re sensitive to soy)

1 tbsp cumin

1 tbsp coriander

1 tin of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 tin of kidney beans, drained and rinsed

I stirred it up until it was hot and fragrant and when Brent was done making the pasta we mixed it all together and devoured it.

I guess we do this kind of pasta a lot and don’t always post about it. Capers, mushrooms, garlic, basil leaves and just about everything else gets throw into this dish. I recommend it for families with kids who will find the hunt for all the different veggies and beans entertaining.

This is Brent and Christie, signing off!

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Oct 28 2012
3 Comments
Thoughts

Relating To Animals

Brent and I have been talking about adopting rabbits for a really long time. We are now the proud adoptive ‘parents’  of a pair of rabbits.

These two are Vlad, a Flemish Giant (the 15lb. buck) and Cassie, a Dutch mix (the 5lb grey and white doe). Rabbits bond for life, kind of like people. They don’t always bond with a member of the opposite gender or even another rabbit; they can also bond with cats or even people. These two met at the shelter where we adopted them. Vlad was found dumped at a construction site and Cassie was found hopping along the side of the road where she’d been abandoned. Vlad is likely the product of a local  breeder whose purchasers hadn’t appreciated that rabbits get aggressive when they enter puberty, not unlike human teenagers. There are 2 breeders in our area and it is also possible he was dumped because he’s small for a breed that’s valued for size. Cassie was probably the unwanted progeny of feckless rabbit owners who didn’t realize that when people say “multiplying like rabbits” they’re referring to a level of fecundity allowing rabbits to become pregnant within thirty minutes of giving birth. YIKES! What I’m getting at is that abandoned animals is a problem in a society where humans think animals exist as meat or entertainment and forget that they are more like us than we [like to] think.


They’re curious, remarkably intelligent, affectionate and wary of humans. I don’t blame them given their history. We’ve mostly earned their trust, but have a ways to go. They’ve become great additions to our family and the most adorable substitutes for garbage disposals EVER! They eat just about anything we would otherwise throw away including stems from broccoli, carrot tops, ends of beets and carrots (sparingly, rabbits are easily diabetic), stems from strawberries and apple skins among other things. We also learned that they love empty unbleached boxes, toilet paper and paper towel rolls, brown paper bags and other recyclables. We’re also composting their poo, hoping for some radtacular tomatoes! Rabbits aren’t for everyone but we’re happy campers. Vegan dog and cat foods are available if that’s more your speed and in your budget. Before you talk about ‘natural diets’ for cats and dogs (cats are obligate carnivores), read the ingredients on your average dry food. You’ll discover that there’s nothing natural about the grain based diets we give dogs and cats (among other animals). These foods are merely nutritionally adequate for your pet’s needs. Also know what “chicken by-product meal” and other unsavory ingredients are usually sweepings from factory slaughterhouse floors, male chicks that aren’t useful for laying eggs and are instead thrown into garbage bins to suffocate, feathers, feces and worse. Also, if you’ve got a dog or a cat, try giving them nutritional yeast. I haven’t met a cat or dog that wasn’t crazy about the stuff.

As far as being vegan and wanting pets goes, think about adopting animals instead of buying your favorite breed. You’re likely to find you favorite breed if you contact the right organization; purebred animals like Vlad are abandoned more often than you might think. Get them fixed. Know that you’re not contributing demand and encouraging people to breed animals  so that they can exploit them. If a breeder tells you they really care about their animals, ask why they’re selling them. This doesn’t have much to do with food but it has a lot to do with being vegan. Isn’t this why we stopped eating them, after all?

This is Christie, signing off.

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Oct 27 2012
2 Comments
Raw, Recipes

A Different Kind of Tofu Scramble

I’ll usually make a tofu scramble for breakfast on the weekend, but I wasn’t quite feeling it today. That said, I had a pressed block of tofu that was ready to be eaten. So I decided to make a different sort of tofu scramble.

This was easy and turned out great with just a few ingredients:

1 block extra firm tofu, pressed and drained using the wonderful TofuXpress
2 tbsp olive oil
1-2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp dill (I love dill)
chopped green onion or chives
salt and pepper to taste

I ‘crumbled’ the tofu with a fork and then added the olive oil, lemon juice, dill, green onion, and salt and pepper. I mixed it all up really well and then let it sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes. I served it on toast with a side of tomatoes.

This recipe reminded me of when I was in Israel a couple years ago and had the same thing for breakfast every day: bread with feta cheese. It’s kind of cool that I accidentally made a tofu-based vegan feta! I gobbled this up really quickly and am already planning to make it again with my next block of tofu.

Great on toast, great as a salad topping, great vegan deliciousness! –Melissa

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Oct 26 2012
1 Comment
Cooking, Reviews

Speaking of Shrimp…

After posting about lobster mushrooms I did get a hankering for shrimp. So these exist…

I know, right? They look vaguely like the real thing and I’m here to tell you about it.I was excited that they’re gluten-free and soy-free. The ingredients are pretty good, mostly starch and flavorings. They’re low calorie and non-GMO. I thought they were a little expensive at $8 per package, particularly considering the ingredients, but I also don’t know how to make pseudo-shrimp at home.

I decided to cook them like any self respecting lover of shrimp would; I heated up a pan with copious amounts of Earth Balance butter and garlic.

They smelled divine, not fishy. Shrimp shouldn’t smell particularly fishy anyways as long as they’re fresh.

Sauteeing them I got a better idea of their texture. They’re slightly rubbery, like shrimp that you’re likely to find at most restaurants. I personally like the texture a lot.

After adding some pasta, sun dried tomato and Teese mozzarella to the mix, things were starting to look delicious.

We topped it with some fresh basil. It was a welcome change so far as dinner goes. I think they’d be great in stir fry or in gumbo but I’m not sure about as a shrimp cocktail. I’d buy these again. Let me know what you think if you get to try them!

 

This is Christie, signing off!

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