A {Vegan} Love Letter to LA in Two Parts (Continued)

This is a continuation from a previous post, wherein I heralded LA's amazing weather and several of the fantastic restaurants that we visited while traveling there. Here, I'll discuss a few more vegan restaurants, and another one of my favorite things about California: The desert...

| The Food |

\\ SunCafe //

Before going on any kind of trip, I always feel compelled to compile a list of restaurants, coffee shops, and bars to use as a reference during our frolic. In California, SunCafe's Studio City location made it onto said list. That's because it’s an entirely organic, vegan restaurant that offers fresh-pressed juices, smoothies, and several raw, and/or gluten-free options (if you’re so inclined).    

On our visit we began with the raw Lettuce Leaf Tacos, which consisted of romaine lettuce leaves filled with “sun chorizo,” cashew cheese, and pico de gallo, plus a drizzle of avocado and basil ranch dressing.

A {Vegan} Love Letter to LA in Two Parts

As a New Yorker it’s become apparent that I’m not supposed to fall in love with, or even really like, Los Angeles. Bestowing any type of warmth on LA beyond a stoic eye-roll is tantamount to declaring a fatwa on the crowded, filthy, noisy city that I call home. I mean, there’s a reason why the East Coast/West Coast Biggie/2Pac feud raged so hard during my youth, right? Even Chloe Sevigny agrees.

Nonetheless, at the risk of sounding like I’m betraying The City of Dreams, I’m gonna go out on a limb here and declare that I love Los Angeles. Like, seriously, LOVE it. Not enough to consider leaving NYC, mind you (even after being hit by a car!), but enough to wax poetic about it for at least two very long blog posts…

Buckle up.

Lemon + Cranberry Kale Salad

I'm feeling a little sheepish about this recipe.

You see, I recently declared my borderline obsession with kale, which means I'm probably crossing the line by revisiting the topic again so soon.  (Also, who am I to force yet another 'effin kale salad upon the internet?)

Furthermore, publishing a "recipe" for something void of any actual measurements makes me feel like I'm copping out somehow.  (I mean, what makes a recipe a recipe?  Are ingredient amounts clearly one of those non-negotiable prerequisites?  Is "to taste" an antiquated term?  Does Ryan Gosling even bother reading recipes this simple?)  

Instead of succumbing to pangs of self-doubt, I'm choosing to share this with you.  It's my favorite kale salad - a stunningly simple combination of sweet and bitter flavors, elegantly disguised as health food.

So, go ahead and roll your eyes about my kale overload/recipe rule infractions.  Just do it while shoving this glorious salad into your mouth.

{VeganMoFo} Kale Chips + a Brief Kale Primer

kale chips w/ nutritional yeast

 

It's official: Kale is finally getting its due.

These days, you can find kale salads in restaurants all over the country, kale in juices at gas stations/convenience stores, and even kale chips on the store shelves of non-health food stores (see:  Trader Joe's).

In fact, it has become so popular - so ubiquitous - that I'd be surprised if a backlash weren't a' brewing.  Soon enough, poor kale will be languishing on the "Not List," having been upstaged by some other food that vegans have been obsessing over for ages...

Regardless, its myriad health benefits (and fantastic, though some would call "acquired," taste) always keep me coming back for more.

VeganMoFo: The Best Roasted Cauliflower Ever

You know what drives me kinda crazy? When people say call-E-flower, instead of call-i-flower.

Yep, I'm picky like that.

Vegan Pizza Obsession: Classic Slice Pizza, Milwaukee

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  Cheese-less pizza is SO MUCH better than pizza with cheese!  No really, I'm being serious...

Don't roll your eyes - it is so true, but with one little caveat: the ingredients must be top-notch.  This means no wilted spinach, old sprouty onions, tasteless tomatoes, or scraps from the bottom of your fridge.  It also means that your sauce must be flavorful and - preferably - home-made.

VeganMoFo: Creamy Dijon-Dill Pasta Salad

Sometimes, nothing quite beats a rich, creamy, vegan-mayo-covered pasta salad. I mean, I'm all for healthier versions of pasta salad (and I usually prefer them) but like I said, sometimes...

For this dish, I basically just subbed in some alphabet pasta for the potatoes in my Creamy Dijon-Dill Potato Salad recipe.  It seemed kinda crazy at first - turning a potato salad into a pasta salad - but it's not that weird if you really think about it.

VeganMoFo: Vegan Black Bean Tostadas with Corn Relish

It's safe to say that I'm more than a little irked about last night's election results. And while I really don't wanna turn into a self-loathing Democrat, it's pretty tough when my beloved blue state has turned red on most electoral maps.

However, I refuse to wallow in negativity - I did that all night.

VeganMoFo: Shaved Asparagus Disaster

It's that time of year again! The time when just about every single vegan blogger (except me) participates in the very tantalizing, very delicious, very hard-core, Vegan Month of Food (aka VeganMoFo).

In case you haven't heard, the idea of VeganMoFo is to "write as much as you can all month, about vegan food. The blog entries can be about anything food related - your love of tongs, your top secret tofu pressing techniques, the first time your mom cooked vegan for you, vegan options in Timbuktu..."

Hummus Smeared Faux-Dillas (aka Quesadillas)

These faux-dillas will really get your motor running. They're perfect for a quick, healthy lunch, and are ideal for using up random bits of goodness from your fridge.

They're totally carnivore-friendly, too. In other words, you won't hear any of that "Where's the cheese?" nonsense if you serve them up for a half-time snack during the NBA Playoffs. Or mid-way through The Office. Or while TBS is playing a re-run of Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Or whatever.

Honestly, dairy-free quesadillas are the only way to go. You'll see, I swear.

Top 10 Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes, Featuring Pumpkin Cheesecake with Candied Cranberries

Ah, yes, Thanksgiving... perhaps the most anxiety-filled holiday for vegans (and turkeys!) alike. It's one of those days when your vegan/vegetarian values will likely end up on display, in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. However, it's up to you to handle things in a civil, kind-hearted way - especially if you want to save the family arguments for topics like politics or Adam Lambert's recent AMA performance.

Perfect Potato Pancakes

Potato pancakes (aka: potato latkes) have held a special place in my heart ever since I first discovered them in a book my grandma gave to me when I was around 10 years old. Oddly enough, the recipe came from a food-based science experiment book, although I just preferred to think of it as a really fun cookbook.

A Vegan Twist on Tapas, Featuring Gazpacho!

Anyone familiar with traditional Spanish tapas can attest to the fact that the phrase "vegan tapas" is almost an oxymoron. Which means, of course, that tapas are exactly what CH was in the mood for on his b-day a few weeks ago! (Not vegan tapas, per se, but I digress...)

As a result, when I decided to make him a delicious spread of vegan tapas for dinner, I felt like I was grasping at straws. So, I kept racking my brain for ideas based upon the food that we encountered in Spain years ago. Unfortunately, that method wasn't exactly fruitful, particularly since all of my "tapas memories" consisted of downing pitchers of sangria while CH enjoyed jamón ibérico and various cheeses. Ick.

Cheese-Less Flatbread Pizzas: They're Re-Vegan-Diculous!

So, here's the deal: I was never a big "cheese lover" when it came to pizza (even before becoming vegan). I always hated how the melted cheese got super-stringy, like an obnoxiously long strand of gum or something.

Basically (in my book) too much cheese = too much chewing + too many distractions, which does not make for an enjoyable pizza-eating experience.

That's why I always found it kinda crazy when people would go ballistic about vegans eating cheese-less pizza. ("No cheese, what's the point?" "You're ruining that pizza, ya know!")

Then I realized that all of this disdain had nothing to do with cheese-less pizza generally, but everything to do with BAD cheese-less pizza (and just the idea of cheese-less pizza for some) specifically. I will admit it, eating 2 or 3 terrible cheese-less pizzas will have even a stringy-cheese-hating girl like me reaching for the faux-cheese. Stat!

Oscar (or Any!) Night Pretzels

Like many of you, CH and I spent Oscar night basking in the warm glow of the TV and consuming tons of delicious food. And, since we had seen (and loved!) most of the nominated films, we decided to celebrate our excitement regarding the ceremony by preparing one of our favorite snacks: home-made soft pretzels.

Two hours before the show started, we set all of the necessary supplies/ingredients out and got to work.

Lettuce-Free Salads: A Terrific Trio

Unlike some vegetarians and vegans, I never tire of salads.

What I do occasionally tire of, however, are lettuce-based salads.

Maybe it's just me, but sometimes it seems like the old "greens + veggies" or "greens + fruit" thing can get a little boring. You know the drill: Throw some romaine lettuce into a bowl, add your tomatoes, toss in some broccoli, sprinkle a few sunflower seeds on top, drizzle it all with a bit of dressing... yea, yea, yea.

Predictable.

Happy Novemberween?

Okay, so I'm about a month late with all of this Halloween stuff. However, it's my all-time favorite holiday, so I figured I could steal a little bit of wiggle room...

Pictured, below, are the pumpkins that we carved (and summarily used to to fill our bellies).

There's a Hummus Among Us!

I'll tell you one thing: hummus doesn't survive for very long at our apartment. CH and I are completely and utterly obsessed with it. (We don't even flinch at the nearly 30 minutes it takes drive to our favorite Middle Eastern restaurant just to achieve hummus nirvana!)

And although we often buy big tubs of it from Costco, I also like to make my own whenever the mood strikes. That's why I was so excited to discover all of ED&BV's hummus recipes when I first got my copy several months ago. (FYI: The cookbook's hummus ingredients involve everything from sun-dried tomatoes to roasted red peppers and almonds. Cool.)

Lemon + Chive Garlic Bread

This is the quick, but delicious, garlic bread that I made to go with the "Sopranos"- themed Italian dinner that CH and I created.

And although I don't like to follow a particular recipe for this kind of stuff, I got some inspiration from Heidi Swanson (my new veg crush!) from 101 Cookbooks. The ingredients involved some Earth Balance vegan butter, a few cloves of minced garlic, some chives (which are currently growing in my Chia-Herb pot), and a bit of lemon zest. It was mmm-mmm good!

vegan garlic bread

Samosa Stuffed Baked Potatoes

Well, what can I say about the great "Veganomicon" that hasn't already been said? Calling it a fantastic cookbook is clearly an understatement, so I guess I'll just have to let this picture speak for itself.

Above, you'll find a shot of my very first V-con recipe. It's the Samosa Stuffed Baked Potatoes, which are really quite delicious! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find coriander seed (as opposed to ground coriander) when I made them, so I had to settle for the ground up stuff that I had on hand. Regardless of that minor setback, these turned out so well that I definitely can't complain.

So, when you don't have time to make samosas - and who does, by the way? - feel free to give these potatoes a whirl. I promise, you won't regret it.

And as for the recipe, I have so much faith in the good taste of my fellow bloggers, I won't even bother to post it. I'm sure page 60 is already tabbed in your copy of V-con anyway...

twice-baked potatoes