Chow Vegan

I was down south for a day and stopped by New Frontiers Natural Marketplace in San Luis Obispo to check out their new store location on Los Osos Valley Road (the old Circuit City spot). It’s sooo much nicer compared to their old location on Foothill; it’s all shiny and new. And it’s huge! The feel and vibe now is very much like a Whole Foods.

The grocery section has many of the products that I’m used to getting including Daiya, bulk foods and what looks like a nice produce section. The pricing seems to be similar to Whole Foods, but there’s also sales that make some things a bit more affordable (at least on the day that I was there).

Since I was going to be in the area for such a short time, I only got prepared food from the deli/hot food section. There was a few vegan items including the Vegan Lentil Loaf for $7.49. I haven’t always been a fan of lentils but the loaf was savory and tasty. Well-seasoned, not too salty, and looks kinda like a slice of cake – I would totally get it again.

I didn’t get a chance to try anything else. Besides the deli, I skipped by a sushi bar, bakery, gelato bar, pizza station, a stir-fry station, and of course a salad bar. You would be skipping around the store too if you knew how deprived SLO had been of a store like this.

Guess what I saw at Costco the other day? Bolani!

You’ve probably seen them at any number of SF Bay Area farmers markets, they’re those baked stuffed flatbreads by East and West Gourmet Afghan Food. They also make the very yummy sauces to go with the flatbreads. I’ve written before about their spinach bolani in detail here.

They were doing a “roadshow” at Costco – giving out samples like there’s no tomorrow. Two packs of bolani for $8.99, the sauces come in 3-pack combos for $11.49 (At Whole Foods, the bolani is $5.79 for one pack and the sauce is $4.99 each). Everything is vegan except for the Garlic Mint Cheese, make sure you look at which combo pack has what.

They’re going to be doing the roadshow thing at various Costco locations in California through the end of the month, but I couldn’t find a schedule of where they’re going to be next. I’m hoping they’ll become a regular Costco item.

Strolling down the aisle towards checkout, there was another vegan food roadshow. What are the chances of that happening? This time it’s earnest eats with their baked whole food bars. I have to admit I’ve never heard of them before trying a sample.

They’re good! Whole foods, minimally processed, no preservatives or artificial ingredients and baked with almond butter – the taste and smell were great.

They were offering three flavors at the roadshow – almond trail mix (my favorite), apple ginger, and cran lemon zest. $10.89 for a box of twelve, they can mix and match the flavors for you. They’ll be a regular item at Costco stores in SF Bay Area and in the LA area starting in June.

A new product that I’ve been experimenting with lately is ecoVegan Orientals’ Joy. Although I am a little puzzled on the name, it’s not very descriptive and the small window to peek inside at its contents provides little clue. I suppose it’s par for the course as they’re part of the same organization as the Loving Hut chain of restaurants.

On first impression, Orientals’ Joy reminds me of a veggie version of pork, the texture and shape is similar. Which is nice, since there’s plenty of alternatives for veggie beef, chicken and seafood. But not much for a faux pork other than veggie ham or bacon.

It’s main ingredients are non-GMO soy protein and fiber, wheat protein and seasonings. The seasonings are light so it’s good plain or tossed with something else. I went with a stir-fry but I bet it’ll be good prepared as an American dish too, something like veggie pork chops and applesauce.

Veggie “Pork” with Vegetables
Serves 2-4

1 package ecoVegan Orientals’ Joy
6 ounces yu choy sum, about 1/2 a bunch
2 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 garlic clove, smashed and roughly chopped
1/2 inch fresh ginger root, smashed and roughly chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine

Wash the yu choy sum in several changes of water, trimming off any old leaves, tough stems and the bottom 1/4 – 1/2″ from each stalk. Cut the stems into 3″ pieces, halving the bigger stalks lengthwise.

Slice the veggie meat thinly. Heat a skillet to hot, add 1 tablespoon of oil and pan fry the veggie meat over medium heat for a few minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

Heat a wok to hot. Add the rest of the oil and swirl to coat the wok. Add the garlic and ginger, stir-fry for a few seconds. Add the mushrooms and greens, and stir until wilted, bringing up the greens at the bottom to the top. Add the soy sauce and rice wine, then the veggie meat and stir to combine. Serve with rice or noodles.

Swung by the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market in San Francisco over the weekend and tried the organic, vegan donuts from Pepples. That almost didn’t happen as the person working the kiosk was not there when I walked by the first time. It took three tries before she was back at her post. At least the donuts were worth the doubling back.

Pepple’s offers quite a selection of flavors from new to old standbys, the price ranges from $2-3 each or $13 for a half-dozen. I got Salt Caramel (new to me) and Blueberry (an old favorite). But after opening my bag of donuts, I see something missing. Where’s the hole?

Fortunately, these hole-less donuts (or maybe they’re just humongous donut holes) aren’t missing any flavor or taste. The Salt Caramel has a nice balance of salty and sweet. You can see the giant sea salt crystals on top, it goes well with the rich coconut caramel. The Blueberry has a beautiful color inside, not a super strong blueberry taste, but still good.

Both were very cake like and don’t seem as greasy as other donuts. Next time I would like to try the Orange Creamsicle and/or Green Apple. With donut flavors like this, you know there has to be a next time.

Vegan cookbooks nowadays are such an embarrassment of riches. There’s so many out there – the latest one that I’ve received for review is The Happy Herbivore Cookbook by Lindsay Nixon.

To be honest, when I first saw the recipe for Baked Tofu Parmesan, I thought how different can it really be from the Crispy Baked Tofu that I’ve already been making for so many years. I was surprised and delighted with the results.

It totally tasted like parmesan, with the tofu it’s more like a chicken type of parmesan (but I bet it would be just as good with eggplant). I served it up on a bed of spaghetti squash.

The secret seems to be the vegan parmesan. Early on, I must have tried a brand that was not that tasty and was a little turn off by it. But the flavor and texture of Galaxy Nutritional Foods Vegan Grated Topping “Parmesan Flavor” is quite good. The tofu just by itself seems like any other baked tofu. But combined with the marinara sauce, vegan parmesan and spaghetti squash – it’s delicious.

Flipping through the rest of the cookbook, the recipes cover many of the same types of dishes as other vegan cookbooks as well as dishes that I already make and love. But it’s always interesting to see how other people make their version of a certain food. And as with the Baked Tofu Parmesan, it’s possible to learn something new.

To see for yourself, I’m giving away a copy of The Happy Herbivore Cookbook.

To enter the giveaway:
Leave a comment in this post with the dish or food that makes you the most happy. Comment must be made by midnight PST on Monday, April 4th; one entry per person. No purchase is necessary to enter or win.

One winner will be randomly selected (using random.org) from the comments received and announced in a new post on Tuesday, April 5th. Winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be randomly chosen. Prize awarded is the cookbook that I received from the publisher (approximate retail value $19.95). I did not drool on it.

Official Rules:
Open only to U.S. residents age 18 and over. Odds of winning depend on the number of entries received. Void where prohibited by law. Any tax is the sole responsibility of the winner. Winner releases Chow Vegan from any liability arising out of participation in this giveaway or the acceptance, use or misuse of the prize.

Disclosure: I received the cookbook free of charge from the publisher to review. The opinions and experience with the cookbook expressed herein are my own. There was no pay to say.

This post also contains Amazon links, I get a few coins tossed my way if you click on any of the links and make a purchase of anything.

Too tired or too lazy to make your own Baked Mushroom Calamari? There’s now Vegan Calamari from Sophie’s Kitchen. I found it in the frozen food section at the Cupertino Whole Foods (only select locations in Northern California have it).

I thought it was yummy, kinda chewy like calamari but not really seafoodie tasting. The texture though is very similar. Of course it doesn’t compare to the baked king oyster mushrooms. But it’s pretty good for something that’s frozen and took 10 minutes to heat up. It’s best to cook it a little longer than the 6 minutes as directed on the package, it makes it a bit more crispy.

It’s main ingredient is Konjac powder, a plant native to Asia and grown in China, Japan, Korea and India. In Japanese cuisine, it’s made into noodles. It’s also used as a vegan substitute for gelatin. And it’s the same stuff used to make vegan shrimp that you see in Chinese vegetarian restaurants sometimes or at the Asian supermarket.

The Vegan Squid Rings are basically the same as the Vegan Calamari but naked (without the breading). So it’s more of an ingredient than a heat-and-serve kind of thing. I went with an antipasto type of calamari salad – combining the flavors of marinated fresh veggies and salty olives with the chewy texture of the squid.

I liked both products well enough to get them occasionally, both were $3.99 each. Besides the calamari, Sophie’s Kitchen also has Vegan Shrimp, and Vegan Breaded Fish Fillet. I figured the shrimp is probably close to what I’ve already had before but I would like to try the fish fillet sometime.

Vegan Calamari Salad
Serves 2-4

1 package Sophie’s Kitchen Vegan Squid Rings
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
Handful of kalamata olives, pitted and halved lengthwise
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
Salt and freshly grounded pepper to taste
Flat leaf parsley to taste

Thaw the vegan squid rings according to package directions, cut into bite-sized pieces. In a large bowl, combine the garlic, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Add the squid pieces, onion, tomatoes, olives and parsley and toss well. Chill for 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to develop.

Long jealous of other people’s bountiful gardens, I’m sad I can’t have my own garden (no place for it and the HOA rules won’t allow even a small balcony one). So when BTTR (it’s pronounced as “better” and stands for Back to the Roots) offered me a chance to grow mushrooms from an indoor kit, I was all over it.

It’s easy enough to set up the kit but for some reason I couldn’t get anything to grow the first go around. A couple of weeks later, on my second attempt with more frequent misting than the two times a day requirement, little pinheads of oyster mushrooms finally popped up.

Once those pinheads appear, the mushrooms really start to grow and fast too. In the photo sequence above, on the left is day 1. After 3 days, one small pinhead appeared. 5 days later is the photo in the middle, 24 hours after that is the photo on the right.

The oyster mushrooms that grew, looks a bit different that the ones in the product brochure. Instead of a cluster of mushrooms, mine just grew longer, sorta like king trumpet mushrooms with the big stems and all. Still, they taste amazing, so fresh and delicious.

Much to my surprise, after returning from a trip, I found mushrooms growing (see above photo) all by itself. No misting or anything, just sitting on the window sill. I thought it was all done with growing mushrooms but this happened twice after two different trips.

The soil used to grow the mushrooms is 100% recycled coffee grounds from Peet’s Coffee. Afterward, it’s rich compost for plants (when it’s done growing mushrooms for real), closing the recycling/sustainability loop.

Retail price for a kit is $19.95 to grow up to 1 lb/crop. Even though I can get fresh oyster mushrooms for a cheaper price at the local farmers market, it was fun to mist the little baby mushrooms and watch them grow. Not everyone is lucky enough to live in the SF Bay Area, in which case, nothing beats the freshness of growing your own.

Disclosure: I received the BTTR mushroom growing kit free of charge from the manufacturer for review. The opinions and experience with the product expressed herein are my own. There was no pay to say.

There’s so many tempting recipes in Appetite for Reduction, I can’t seem to put the cookbook down. The thought of trying any one of those 125 recipes follows me around all day like a little puppy. Besides the 2nd Avenue Vegetable Korma, here’s what I’ve made so far:

• Pad Thai Salad (pictured above) – one of my favorite Thai dishes but in a refreshing salad form. The Peanut-Lime Dragon Dressing that goes on it, totally makes the salad. The dressing is a little bit on the thin side. Blending it in a mini food processor, some of the liquid leaked out, but none of the flavor. I’ve been using the dressing on all sorts of other things.
• Easy Breezy Cheezy Sauce – so easy to make. I had it with butternut squash ravioli, but really I could just eat it by the spoonful.

• Scallion Potato Pancakes (pictured above) – it’s hard to find a good rendition of scallion pancakes in restaurants, usually they’re way too greasy. So it’s nice to be able to make a baked version at home out of potatoes. It doesn’t taste exactly like the ones made out of flour but it’s still very tasty.
• Cranberry-Cashew Biryani – not really a brown rice eater, but I like it in this recipe. The yummy flavors helped a lot.

I really liked cooking from this cookbook, I think you’ll like it too. So I’m giving away a copy of Appetite for Reduction.

To enter the giveaway:
Leave a comment in this post with your worst vegan junk food addiction (because you know, acknowledgment is the first step). Comment must be made by midnight PST on Monday, February 21st; one entry per person. No purchase is necessary to enter or win.

One winner will be randomly selected (using random.org) from the comments received and announced in a new post on Tuesday, February 22nd. Winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be randomly chosen. Prize awarded is the cookbook that I received from the publisher (approximate retail value $19.95). I did not drool on it.

Official Rules:
Open only to U.S. residents age 18 and over. Odds of winning depend on the number of entries received. Void where prohibited by law. Any tax is the sole responsibility of the winner. Winner releases Chow Vegan from any liability arising out of participation in this giveaway or the acceptance, use or misuse of the prize.

Disclosure: I received the cookbook free of charge from the publisher to review. The opinions and experience with the cookbook expressed herein are my own. There was no pay to say.

This post also contains Amazon links, I get a few coins tossed my way if you click on any of the links and make a purchase of anything.