Chow Vegan

Never mind why I was watching television at three o’clock in the afternoon, on a weekday no less. On the show The View From The Bay, Executive Chef Ken Frank of La Toque Restaurant in Napa cooked up fresh corn polenta with chanterelles and I just had to make it.

I’m amazed that the “polenta” is just fresh corn with a bit of butter and salt. That’s it. Nothing else. That made the sweetness and freshness of the corn really stand out.

Made a few tweaks to the recipe as usual – I used the new soy-free Earth Balance vegan butter (taste just like butter), swapped out the chanterelles for oyster mushrooms and added sautéed spinach. So simple and so summery.

Fresh Corn “Polenta” with Oyster Mushrooms
Serves 2
Recipe adapted from The View of the Bay episode with Ken Frank of La Toque Restaurant

2 ears fresh bi-color (part white and part yellow) corn
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup fresh oyster mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
2 ounces fresh baby spinach
Olive oil
Salt

Heat a saucepan to hot, add a little bit of oil and sauté the spinach until just wilted. Set aside.

Then sauté the oyster mushrooms in 1 tablespoon of butter and season with salt. Set that aside.

Shuck the corn. Over a large bowl, grate the kernels off of the cob using the coarse side of the box grater, resulting in a wet, coarse pulpy mixture.

Since I have a small grater, I broke the corn in half to make it easier to grate. (Although the corn that I got from the farmer’s market had like the smallest kernels I’ve ever seen. I was worried I wouldn’t have enough corn grated.)

Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a pan and add the corn mixture, season with salt. Simmer over low heat and stir to prevent browning for about 2-3 minutes. It’s ready when it just starts to thicken and set.

Divide the corn “polenta” between two plates, top with the spinach and mushrooms and serve.

What’s a trip to Southern California, without a stop at Disneyland? In the land of the mouse, vegan eating is possible but it’s also a bit “hit and miss” too, depending on where you end up eating.

Miss: After inquiring about vegan options at Tomorrowland’s Redd Rockett’s Pizza Port, the most they can offer is either plain pasta with just the marinara sauce (they won’t add fresh tomatoes or olive oil or anything extra) or a side salad with raspberry vinaigrette (the only vegan dressing).

I went with the salad ($3.99), it wasn’t terribly exciting or super tasty but at least it was fresh. Since it’s counter service, it seemed like they were limited in how much they could customized a dish.

Hit: I had much better luck at dinner over at Café Orléans in New Orleans Square. The pommes frites ($4.99) tossed with garlic and parsley, without the cheese, were awesome. So good! They arrived at the table nice and hot.

The Creole Ratatouille ($13.99) without the corn cakes and cheese is vegan, pictured above. It’s a savory vegetable ragout with tomato, eggplant, red onion, bell pepper, squash, zucchini and fresh garlic. Seasoned to be a bit on the spicy side. The asparagus on top had a smokiness to it – that was my favorite part.

Hit: Almost a miss at Carnation Cafe in Main Street USA, I was going to get the veggie melt without the cheese or mayo, but the pretzel bread that it came on is not vegan.

Happily, the waitress offered a bowl of vegetable soup that is vegan. The soup was pretty tasty with big chunks of vegetables and not too salty at all. Instead of the non-vegan bread roll, I got a bunch of crackers. At $5.50 for a bowl, it was definitely a hit and a way better choice than the sandwich. But since it wasn’t on the menu, I don’t know if it’s a regular offering. It might have been the cafe’s soup du jour.

Hit: A hit over at Blue Bayou in New Orleans Square, located beneath the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. As a kid, I always thought the people eating there were just part of the ride. I never knew it was an actual restaurant where you can eat. You’ll need reservations to eat there, but you can eat there.

The Portobello Mushrooms and Couscous Maque Choux ($27.99) pictured above is the only vegetable entree on the menu and is vegan. Instead of one measly mushroom, it’s a stack of three portobellos marinated in a balsamic vinaigrette and then broiled. Served with roasted corn and bell pepper couscous and sautéed spinach. Delicious and filling but pricey. Then again, you’re probably paying for the ambiance which is very nice but dark.

I would have to say, in all, it was a good dining experience at Disneyland. All of the food service people were very helpful and super nice. I had the best luck and food at the full service places, most likely because the kitchen can cook to order at those places.

My take is if you’re going to eat at the counter service places, you might as well bring your own sandwiches and snacks. If you want the whole experience of dining at Disneyland, enjoy a meal at one of the full service places.

Update
Vegan Dining At Disneyland Revisited – new post for August 2010

It’s always fun to check out the farmer’s market while traveling just to see what’s available locally in the area. While wandering around the Hillcrest farmer’s market in San Diego, I was happily surprised to stumble upon a raw food booth there.

Peace Pies offers organic, raw, vegan, and gluten-free food – various salads, wraps, pizza slices plus sweets and of course, pies. All made from scratch using locally grown ingredients.

With such a large selection of tasty looking items, I had a difficult time choosing. I finally settled on the mango curry salad. A delicious blend of crunchy veggies and sweet mangoes in a spicy dressing. I also got the raw carrot cake – it’s somewhat familiar like a regular carrot cake but different, lighter and just as sweet and satisfying.

I would have loved to try some of their other items but I was only in the area for a short time. I hear a cookbook is in the works so all may not be lost.