Big Sur Peppers

You could not step twice into the same river; for other waters are ever flowing on to you. - Heraclitus

Life happens. It can happen to or with you. My delightful host was telling me about a recent trip to California and how she lost some personal items in the Big Sur River. After fishing them out, what was a bummer turned into some inspiration for last night's dinner. The other inspiration was some leftover frozen Amy's Kitchen California Veggie Burgers.

Big Sur Stuffed Poblano Peppers with Toasted Pepitas
Makes 4

4 poblano peppers
4 Amy California Burgers
1 pkg oyster mushrooms
4 garlic cloves
28 oz fire roasted crushed tomatoes
1/2 c. red wine
1 bay leaf
2 pinches sugar
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Tal Ronnen's Chipotle Cream recipe
Pumpkin seeds recipe


Core peppers. Saute burgers with garlic and oyster mushrooms and add chipotle cream to bind. Stuff peppers with mixture and place in dutch oven, pour tomatoes, red wine, water over peppers. Add salt, pepper, sugar, crushed bay leaves and crushed garlic. Cover and cook the peppers for 30 minutes. If you have fresh herbs, basil and oregano would be nice additions. Plate peppers with tomato sauce, top with a dollop of chipotle cream and sprinkle with pepitas (toasted pumpkin seeds).

Seriously, good eats!

#Detroit

I hit the ground running and the weekend mornings have been a nice respite from work. On Saturday, we checked out Eastern Market which features everything imaginable from locally prepared kimchi to fresh pineapples. I had the most fun looking at the local Detroit farms and craftsman. There was a school teacher who sold mesclun lettuce mixes and the stand served as both a classroom in growing your own food and business and a booming business in a busy marketplace. With the colder months settling in, the prevalence of pickles was noted with saurkraut, pickled beets, green beans, you name it and someone pickled it. Raw food, vegan food, fresh veggies, baked goods, this place was bustling and making my mouth water. Having to keep it rather simple because I was going in to the office, I opted for the heavy garlic hummus from a stand offering several different flavors of hummus. This was truth in advertising :)

Sunday morning, I woke up late and my host had the idea to make a hash for brunch. To waken up the senses and my sleepy mind, we had some green smoothie which was a refreshing and zippy blend of pineapple, grapes and spinach. Yum!

For the hash, she combined sweet potatoes, fingerling potatoes, onions, garlic and bell peppers. I never think to use it but she added in and quick sauted some fennel seeds when the veggies were about done which led a great aroma and flavor to the dish. She also used a mix of shortening and olive oil to help crisp up the vegetables. At Eastern Market, we stopped at a stand that sells sunflower and pea shoots that they transport by bike to the market. Those pea shoots were a fresh note of sweetness on top of the hash this morning.

Woot! Woot! I did it! This is my 20th blog entry in the month of October for Vegan Month of Food. Yes!

www.veganmofo.com

Preparing for a Storm

My work trip schedule is pretty packed. Today I had about 8 hours of work commitments and the rest of the week promises to be late nights, so I need to plan ahead. Thanks to the help of my host we have some meal ideas in the queue. She's got a big bowl of rice and veggies salad recipe that is light and fresh and easy to grab and go. Multi-color peppers, onions and celery mingled with kidney and navy beans. This is one of those prepare on Sunday and have lunch through Wednesday kind of dishes that travels well. Perfect!

Recipe (via my host):

 

2 C Brown Rice Cooked

 

mix the following and pour over warm rice:

 

1/2 C olive oil  ( I usually don't use this much)

1/4 red wine vinegar

1t salt

1 t pepper

1t sugar

1/4t dry mustard

1/4t cayenne pepper

1/4t garlic powder

 

Add 1 can kidney beans

1/4C peppers chopped, colors of your choice (I usually add more)

1/2C red onion, chopped

6 green onions chopped

2T chopped parsley

1T chopped tarragon

1C chopped celery

Tip from my Tal Ronnen (via my host): To create a non-stick effect in your frying pan, heat it up, then add salt followed by oil and the ingredients you're sauteing.

Be safe East Coasters!

www.veganmofo.com

Inn Season In Michigan

Nestled in Royal Oak, a suburb not far from Detroit, is a small wunderkind of a restaurant: Inn Season Cafe. I got the tip from my gracious host that it had options for vegetarians and vegans and used local organic ingredients. I didn't realize though that when I opened the multiple page menu that almost everything in its pages would be vegan. The menu notes: All of our food is prepared without the use of animal products unless otherwise noted on the menu. Aw yeah!

Now that the world (i.e. menu) was my oyster I set to the task of narrowing down what to order. Did I want something uber-healthy and "granola" sounding like the macro combo with brown rice, kale, adzuki beans and sea vegetables in a shiitake miso sauce? Maybe Mexican or a stir-fry? A burger or soup and salad? The menu seems to have it all.

I decided to go with the Harvest Squash Risotto from the specials menu which featured squash, kale, leeks, onions, roasted garlic, arborio rice in a white wine and squash sauce and topped with a cheddar/mozarella daiya blend. The flavors melded nicely with the sweet richness of the carmelized garlic and the al dente rice was perfect. Also, the dish was massive, easily enough risotto for two people.

Not realizing I was going to be served such a large entree and eager to try one of the 6 vegan salad dressings  Inn Season Cafe offers, I ordered their basic Cafe Salad which featured a mesclun mix with marinated onions, grape tomatoes, cucumber and sunflower shoots with a side of thousand island. 

When I was looking up directions, I came across a review online that raved about the chai tea and its fragrance. Intrigued, I ordered a pot and wow did it fill my senses with warm, sweet and slightly spicy aroma  and flavor.

I ended up getting a to-go box for my leftover risotto and silently wept that I couldn't possibly eat dessert and passed up on even looking at the dessert menu for fear of not being able to say no. I'm hoping to go back before I leave with a smarter game plan that gets me to dessert because their opera cake looks amazing!

Good Food Fast

In the land of "how lucky am I?", I was treated to a multi-course dinner which was as beautiful as it was delicious. I thought I'd be leaning heavy on my work travel survival list of subway sandwiches and carrots and hummus, but luck be a lady I stumbled on a gracious and experienced maker of vegan delights! Here's just a sample of the divine things she's whipped up:

Starter super green salad with radish and a homemade Parisian dressing.

The main course was a sun-dried tomato cashew cream alfredo with chiffonade fresh basil and olive oil.

One of the things I'm most impressed with is the elegance of the dishes, but that they're pretty fast to prepare. The sun-dried tomato cashew alfredo sauce only took her minutes to whip up in the blender. A great meal with great company is a good way to spend a Friday no matter where you are.

Cool Hand Cuke

Well, I'm officially in Michigan "surviving on the road", but I have a secret. I lucked out and got a gourmet cook with vegan knowledge as my host. Seriously, what are the chances? I explained to her my predicament about working insanely long hours and wanting to meet my Vegan MoFo challenge of posting 20 blogs in the month of October, and she's helping make it happen. I definitely have to pay this forward.

Tonight, I got back to her place with a lukewarm bag of Taco Bell (they have some vegan stuff). She came to the rescue before I even unpacked the food, by presenting this little gem of a side dish (and by far my favorite part of tonight's dinner.) 

It was simple; yet refined... and made my taco bell purchase weep. This Persian Cucumber Salad is made with sweet vidalia onions, lemon juice, olive oil, plum white balsamic vinegar, himalayan pink salt and black pepper. The name comes from the type of cucumbers used. Apparently, Persian cucumbers are prized for the "trifecta of qualities" defined by Speciality Produce as: 1) smooth, perfectly textured thin skin; 2) crisp, sweet and succulent flesh devoid of developed seeds and 3) they're able to stay cooler than the average cuke. Get this, according to Speciality Produce, their flesh can be 20 degrees cooler than their skin. That's one cool hand cuke (yes, I get punny when I'm sleepy.)

On Saturday, we're going to check out Detroit's Eastern Market where apparently as many as 40,000 people gather to peruse 250 local food vendors selling everything from mushrooms to homemade jams and maple syrup. Then after I put in a few hours at the office, I'm hoping to catch up with a friend to check out Detroit's halloween weekend scene.

www.veganmofo.com

Vegan on the road - work trips

Tips for Work Trips:

1) Plan to stock the office or lodging with carrots, hummus, peanut butter, jelly, multigrain bread, bananas (don't let them spoil and attract fruit flies or you will be uninvited from staff outings), and make it so you can't possibly be stranded without at least basic good food. It's not good news to be away from home, working long hours and hungry.

2) Scope out your environs. Guides like www.vegguide.org are great for finding gems and just plain options when you're unfamiliar with your surroundings. Have fun on those brief breaks.

3) Tried and True. You're not going to want to blog about it, but you can get vegan meals at fast food chains.  Don't trust me, see what PETA's saying about fast food chains.  If you're near a Whole Foods Market they'll have prepared vegan options too.

4) Be friendly. There's a lot of buzz around vegetarian and vegan lifestyles these days and a lot of people who were maybe not before are now considering or taking part in this lifestyle (myself included). Before you get to hunger or real food desperation, ask people if they know of a place and see where that takes you :)

Earlier this year, I did the Engine 2 challenge which includes no-oil, low-salt vegan foods during a road trip.

Because I'm on the road, and my photo of dinner really didn't turn out. I'm substituting my adorable cat, Bubs, who I miss, along with my fiance.