Chow Vegan

Bliss Cafe San Luis Obispo

January 2, 2012 By chow 8 Comments

While down south for the holidays, I picked up take-out from Bliss Cafe. They’re a tiny, all vegan place in downtown San Luis Obispo, CA. The “yogi style, karma free” menu offers wholesome raw and cooked food, sourced locally and organically whenever possible and as close to zero-waste as possible.

Since I couldn’t decide on what to get, the Peace Plate ($10) seemed like a great choice. I got to try a little bit of everything – eggplant parmesan, grain of the day with a chutney, curry vegetable and a side salad.

The eggplant parmesan was delicious – the flavor of the marina sauce and eggplant really comes through. The grain of the day by itself was nicely seasoned with bonus spiciness from the chutney.

The side salad wasn’t your typical pile of lettuce with a token piece of tomato thrown on top. It’s like a real salad – lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, red cabbage in a creamy dressing with a bit of nutritional yeast taste.

I also couldn’t resist trying a dessert – a pecan banana cream pie ($6). I’m not exactly sure of the name but it sure tasted good. Light and not overly sweet, it’s more than enough to satisfy a sweet tooth.

Very reasonably priced for the amount of food received, I had enough for two meals. The people working there are also super nice. So happy to have such an awesome vegan option in SLO town.

Savory Oatmeal with Crouching Tiger Spicy Tofu

December 15, 2011 By chow 6 Comments

Today, I guinea-pigged for you my hare-brained idea of Chinese food leftovers as a topping for savory oatmeal. I will now be eating all of my leftovers like this. It’s tasty, quick and so simple and easy.

Enjoy your favorite Chinese food the day before, something with a flavorful sauce. Either dine-in, take-out or homemade. I had a lunch special (I’m lazy like that) – fried tofu sautéed with vegetables in a spicy sauce at Crouching Tiger Restaurant in Redwood City, CA. Bring home the leftovers, make sure to get every drop of sauce into the box.

Make a serving of Trader Joe’s Quick Cook Steel Cut Oats or other oatmeal, zap the Chinese food leftovers in the microwave. If there’s big pieces of vegetables or tofu, cut into smaller bite size pieces.

I’ve never understood why some restaurants won’t cut their veggies into easier to eat pieces. Especially when using chopsticks and it’s extra slippery with the sauce and all. The worst is baby bok choy but I digress.

Scoop/pour the now ideal bite-sized Chinese food onto the oatmeal, see top photo. Stir to combine if desired. Breakfast is served.

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Sugar Plums

December 9, 2011 By chow 10 Comments

It’s that time of year for visions of sugar plums dancing in little heads. Only to be surprised to find there’s really no sugar or plums in said sugar plums. It’s actually a dried fruit and nut ball rolled in coconut. Apparently, way back when, “plum” used to mean any dried fruit.

Super easy to make since there’s no baking or cooking involved. With the dried cranberries and apricots, orange zest, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg, there’s a taste of the holiday season in each bite. But you can use pretty much any combination of dried fruits, nuts and spices for a healthy sweet treat.

Sugar Plums
Makes about 14 balls

1/2 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup raw pecans
1/2 cup Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup dried unsulfered apricots, chopped
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 tablespoons freshly-squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup shredded coconut

Pulse the nuts in a food processor until finely chopped. Add the dried fruit, orange zest and spices, pulse until well-combined. Add the orange juice 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing in between until the mixture sticks together.

Scoop out about a tablespoon, press together and roll into 1″ balls. Then roll the balls in the coconut. Keeps covered in the fridge for a couple of weeks or so.

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