Eating out at Veggie Heaven

The last time the Blonde and I went up to Jersey to visit my folks, she introduced me to a restaurant named “Veggie Heaven.” (she blogged about her first trip there here.)

An Asian restaurant, Veggie Heaven is also all vegan, although they don’t call themselves vegan, just vegetarian.

We ordered an appetizer of “B.B.Q. Stick (Beef and Chicken),” and I was actively surprised when they arrived, because I was genuinely concerned for a minute that they were using actual beef.

I had the same thought when I got my entree, a Thai coconut Red curry hotpot, because of the flavor and texture of the meats.

One of the memories that I have of take-out Chinese food is that the cuts of beef were always thin, stringy, and fatty. As if they couldn’t afford good cuts of beef, and had to make do with whatever leftovers they could get.

Now, I agree that that doesn’t sound in any way appealing, but that is exactly what the meats at Veggie Heaven reminded me of.

They were more meaty than Gardein, Tofurkey, FieldRoast, or any other replacement meat, including my own seitan. They explain that that their “‘meat’. ‘poultry’ and ‘seafood’ are made from bean curd, taro root, wheat gluten, mushrooms, yams and other vegetables” right on their place mats, and that homemade recipe must be what really sets them apart.

Their dessert was also nuts. It was one of the specials, a chocolate-mocha ice cream cake, with hot fudge. Like all of their food, it was delicious, and just the tiniest bit unnerving.

I’m not sure that I’m ambitious enough to even consider trying to replicate their food, although the idea of putting some time in once school ends and summer is here is tempting. Of course, asking you to try it first is even more tempting, so if you were willing to try it, you could always let me know, you know. . .

Just sayin’. . .

Beer Wednesday – Hop Head Red

Happy Beer Wednesday! This week, I’m happy to bring you a review of Green Flash Brewery’s Hop Head Red Red IPA.

This tasty, tasty beer falls perfectly into my desire to only drink Summer beers until the temperature climbs, and it seems to be working, The high just last week was in the 80s, and I expect to see it get a bit higher each day.

The Hop Head Red had a really nice head, with some bright nose, and rich under layers. Pine? Strawberry? The usual suspects of citrus were present, but maybe more orange than grapefruit. The flavor was rich, but not overpoweringly hoppy, which was good, because I paired it with jambalaya for dinner.

The red IPA has a 7.0% ABV, and 70 IBUs makes it rich, but not too heavy, and it has good bite, but it has little to no harshness in it. Overall, as Ambers go, this one is really, really good. I’d give it a 4/5, if not a little bit better. . .

Someday, I’ll come up with a better rating system. . .

Looking back at an Awesome VVP

As you may or may not be aware, this past Saturday was the Virtual Vegan Potluck, version 3.0.All of the 168 posts went up at midnight, EST, but I couldn’t bring myself to back up 2 hours after I fell asleep to start reading early.

I waited until I got up and started reading while I ate breakfast.

By 9:30, I was exhausted from skimming the appetizers, beverages, breads, salads, sides,  and soups. I hadn’t even gotten to the main courses or the desserts yet!

I started reading them by just skimming, so that I could go back and spend hours pouring over the awesomeness that is the VVP, and tell what my favorites are.

It took me hours to read, examine, appreciate, and pick out which blogs and recipes I liked the best, and trust me, it was not easy. I decided to lay out my favorite in each category (appetizers, beverages, breads, salads, sides, main dishes, and desserts) and my overall favorite. You know, the “Best in VVP.”

Now, I know that Annie, over at An Unrefined Vegan, will be posting the voting for everyone’s favorites, so feel free to let my choices guide yours (unless you want to vote for me, in that case, ignore all the other competing advice. . .).

So, my favorites in each category are:

Appetizers:

  VS.

An almost impossible choice. I was torn between Vegan Richa‘s Roasted Sweet Potato BBQ Mung Bean Sprout Canapes, and Vedged Out‘s Mini Jackfruit and Kimchi BLT Slider Bites. (Just in case you’re read this, I hate you both for making your food so awesome, and mine look so mediocre.) In this head-to-head battle, I was just slightly more struck by the addition of bacon, and had to give the win to Somer over at Vedged Out.

Beverages:

 VS.

Another head-to-head battle ensued, between the Turkish Delight Martini over at Gormandize with A-Dizzle and K-Bobo (I want to laugh every time I see that name) and Matt’s Authentic Ginger Brew, over at We Go Authentic.Thsi choice, while difficult because I love ginger beer, had to go to the martini, despite the fact that I don’t care for rosewater or Turkish delight, because, well, it was the only alcoholic drink in the beverages section of the VVP!

Breads:

 VS. VS.

One of the shortest sections in the VVP this year was the bread section, but what they lacked in quantity, they made up for in quality. These three breads represent 50% of the options in the VVP, and that made it a nightmare to choose a favorite.

Bankrupt Vegan‘s Homemade Flour Tortillas are a favorite, because I just can’t get my tortillas right when I make them at home. Spontaneous Tomato‘s Sourdough Epi Baguettes are just amazing looking, and My Good Clean Food‘s Herby Olive Tomato Kale Bread looks unfairly delicious. I had a really hard time choosing here but I think, for flexibility and the way it woudl look bringing it to Thanksgiving next year (yeah, I probably will) I’m going to go with the epi baguettes, courtesy of Spontaneous Tomato.

Salads:

 VS.

So, In Pursuit of More and the French Lentil & Vegetable Salad presented me with a different kind of challenge in the salad category. I love the thought process behind In Pursuit of More (Living with {just a little} less), but I thought and thought and though about the Portabella Steak and Potato “Friendmaking” Salad by Barefoot Essence for like an hour after reading her post. So, in the end, I let my stomach decide (like all men) and went with Barefoot Essence’s Portabella Steak and Potato Salad.

Sides:

 VS.

Side dishes hold a special place in my heart (and not just because I’m vegan and when we go to an omnivore’s house that all we eat). When i was a kid, we would go to barbecues, and, while I did embrace the Standard American Diet with all my cloggy little heart, it was the stuff not on the grill that drew me in, but all of the goodies on the table next to the grill. These two sides, Annie, over at An Unrefined Vegan, made Sweet Potato Fries with Parsley, Garlic, & Lemon Zest, while over at Vegan Fling we were all offered her Artichoke and Chickpea Salad. Both have beautiful photography, and both look delicious. Not to mention that both dishes are really pretty easy. . . I was torn, but I was drawn in by the use of chickpeas, one of my favorite legumes, and went with Vegan Fling’s Artichoke and Chickpea Salad.

Soups:

 VS.

I’m a big fan of soup. The Bolnde prefers stews, but I like all types. These two seemed to me to speak of spring and summer, but while not losing the warmth and comfort of a grat soup. Eat, Breathe, Balance made a delicious-looking Caribbean Sweet Potato Stew, and House Vegan countered with a Mushroom Miso Ramen with Wontons and Spinach. Both recipies made me stop and stare, but as the Highlander said, “There can be only one!” I caved to my love of Asian food, adn gave the win to House Vegan and her Muschroom Miso Ramen.

Main dishes:

 VS.

Wow, dude. It was so difficult to choose a favorite Main Dish. Well, a second favorite main dish, after mine (of course). These two were just the brightest stars out of  many many amazingly awesome looking dishes. The Road to Serendipity made a crazy-good looking Serendipitous Stromboli, and Veggisima made Authentic Mexican Chilis Rellenos, and dual posted in both English and Spanish. I’m lucky I can post in English. The battle was tight, because I love Mexican food, and the prospect of authentic Mexican almostwon out here, but my utter and complete adoration of all things Italian took the cake. Or the Stromboli, so to speak. The kicker for The Road to Serendipity’s Stromboli may have been the fact that they actually included four recipes in their one: the Stromboli itself, the Stromboli Dough, the Sun-dried tomato and walnut pesto that went into it, and the vegan Colby Cheeze. Wow. . .

Desserts:

 VS.

Ahhh, dessert. The sweetest way to end a meal. Now, I know that there are some of you who do not like chocolate (although i don’t understand it) and I know that there are people out there who don’t like super-sweet desserts. I don’t get you either. For me, chocolate is king, and sweet is key. Thankfully the Blonde agrees.the very first dessert in the VVP curled her toes when she saw it, and i hag to tell you, I had to do a double-take. Sugar Coated Vegan created a decadent, multi-layered Chocolate Cheesecake, with Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge, and Chocolate Buttercream. Melt. My Brain. In fact, I was still coming down off of a virtual sugar high when i got to Happy to be a Table of Two, and found Nick and Jacks’ Chocolate Fudge Oatmeal Bars.

I just about blacked out.

In an almost impossible battle, I had to choose based on which I woudl rather someone else bring to my house, and then leave me alone with. I could (and will) make Nick and Jacks’ Chocolate Fudge Oatmeal Bars, but I may, may, just be able to convince the Blonde to make Sugar Coated Vegan’s Chocolate Cheesecake, and so I gave the win to her, on level of difficulty.

Best Overall Recipe:

And my overall favorite, which is, hands down, the hardest choice on here (It’s like choosing your favorite child, or, in my case, pet) goes to (drum roll, please):

In a tight, tight race, I have to give it to Sugar Coated Vegan, and her ridiculously amazing looking Chocolate Cheesecake. I mean, how could I possible fight that much chocolate and peanut butter? (You can send me some now )

To wrap up, however, I cannot thank everyone involved with the Virtual Vegan Potluck for making this one such a wild success. Annie from An Unrefined Vegan, Somer from Vedged Out, Jason from Jason and the Veganauts, and Lidia from Vegan Bloggers Unite! and Air Eater, not to mention the over 160 bloggers who took part in the VVP this time around. It made for a crazy difficult weekend, not only reading and drooling, but then choosing and writing. BY the end, I couldn’t even think about reading a single digital word.

To all of you involved in making this so awesome, thank you, thank you, thank you. I promise to do more visiting this week and this coming weekend.

Virtual Vegan Potluck: Homestyle Sausage and Peppers

Happy VVP!

I cannot tell you how torn I was about what to make for the 3rd semi-annual Virtual Vegan Potluck. I stared at the Blonde and begged her to think for me (she refused), I stared at our ingredients, and had no idea what to make. First, I thought of pizza, because, hey, who doesn’t love pizza? (I scrapped that because of Somer over at Vedged Out and her homemade pizza. . .) Then I thought that I could make tacos, because, well, I love Mexican food. (I opted against these, because, well, I still can’t get the tortillas right without a tortilla press, although The Bankrupt Vegan doesn’t seem to have that problem.) Finally, I remembered my Italian seitan sausages, and how popular they’ve been.

“Aha!” I thought, “This is somewhere that I can show off how I make my seitan. . . again. . . and maybe make some sausage and peppers (a dish I’ve been craving since before I went vegan).

True blue Italians might refer to this dish as “peppers and onions,” but when I was a kid, I didn’t like onions, so we called it “sausage and peppers”in the hopes that I would be fooled.  It worked.

The main ingredients here are, in case you weren’t expecting it, Italian sausage, bell peppers, and onions.

To make the seitan sausages, follow my recipe here or here and just change the ingredients as follows:

paprika – replace with 1/4 tsp. onion powder or onion flakes

mustard seed – replace with 3-6 garlic cloves, minced

clove – omit

molasses – omit

Worcestershire sauce – replace with 1Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Dijon or brown mustard – omit

Then just roll the seitan dough into sausage sized pieces, wrap, and steam (not boil) the seitan in just water or vegetable broth.

Once you have your sausage, the rest is pretty easy. Saute your onions, along with two or three crushed cloves of garlic in a heavy pan.

I use my cast iron, but whatever works for you.

Once your onions are starting to soften, add the strips of peppers, and cook them together until they start to soften. Then add the sausage, letting them heat up in the pan. You can slice the sausage, or slit them down the middle, and then serve them either in a bun, like a hot dog, or over pasta, like a very thick sauce.

Feel free to play with how much you heat the sausage, or, if you can time it, just cook the sausage so that you just finish it with the veggies, or full-on cook it, getting it to absorb some of the juices from the peppers. If you like your sausage and peppers hotter, add some crushed red pepper to the pan as you are preparing the veggies.

Enjoy!

This is the link to “The Vegan Green,” the post before mine in the VVP. If you started here, check this one out too!

This is the link to “the little foxes,” the post after mine in the VVP. If you started here, check this one out too!

Beer Wednesday – Dogfish Head

Happy Beer Wednesday! While in Delaware recently, the Blonde and I went to visit the Dogfish Head Brewery, in Milton. Before heading up, I checked the website, only to find that they were booked. The tours were full… I was crushed… I called, and asked what the chances were that we all four of us (me, the Blonde, and her parents) could sneak in. The response I got was to come by and worst case scenario, we could get some free beer for our trip.

I was sold right there.

The brewery was under construction, being expanded to more than triple the output of the 16th largest craft brewery in the country.

While I was standing at the bar, sampling the four free beers that were available for tasting, I made it a point to ask the bartender if he was aware of any beers that use any animal products. As it turns out, other than honey, there are no beers produced by Dogfish Head that use any animal products. No isinglass, no bacon, no weird lizard parts. Period.

I don’t love the fact that they use honey, mostly because I remain torn about vegans eating honey, but I do try to avoid it whenever possible. I mean, the vast majority of honey isn’t really honey anyway. It’s mostly re-digested high fructose corn syrup, so it isn’t really what we think of as honey anyway.

The tanks that are used to make the beer are sterilized weekly, using mostly just boiling water, and the mash, or grain that is used in making the beer, is processed into a few products, among them, cattle feed.

I’m not sure how I feel about that. The mash is used to feed cattle on a local farm, which then supplies Dogfish Head with locally raised beef for their restaurant. Do they have other options? sure, but not too many. According to the Beer Activist, there are a handful, like compost, animal feed, mushroom soil, and bioplastics. Will all of these be enough, well, maybe, and maybe not.

So, does every bottle of their beer go to supporting the beef industry?  I don’t think so, but I’m torn. I mean, I’m sort of supporting them, in so far as I’m taking part in keeping their costs down, but at the same time, everything we buy is supporting so much other than the immediate mission of the company we buy it from.

Ugh. . . When did everything get so complicated?

I’m going to make an executive decision, and say that Dogfish Head beers are vegan, but are not always vegan-friendly. Drink them, as they’re way better than a beer that uses animal-derived filtering ingredients, but be aware that some of the karma you get, you’re feeding to omnivores.

The Bottling Room, where cases of delicious, delicious beer are filled with happy bottles!

Are these bottles empty, or just waiting to be filled?

Samples of every beer are kept for years, so they can be sampled later for, ummm, awesomeness. . .

A pallet of grain seems like a lot, but really, it’s barely a drop in the bucket.

Now, imagine two of those four filled with lovely 90-minute IPA.

The day’s samples. I can’t recommend the Burton Baton enough.

The first real continuously hopping machine. The new one is called the “Sofa King hopper.”

Horse Racing and Wild Horses

This week, as you may or may not know, was the Kentucky Derby. All morning Saturday, the news was nothing but horse racing, horse racing, horse acing. 364 days a year, no one cares about horse racing, but on Kentucky Derby day, all of a sudden it’s hours of “news” coverage.

Look, I hated the bull$#it that went along with this day long before I was vegan, but now, it’s like adding insult to injury. The horses wo race well have on the genetic lottery. I mean, think about it; they win one race, and their job, for the rest of their lives, is be beautiful and have sex. Well, sort-of have sex, as they’re not really allowed to, since they might hurt themselves.

For the others, however, they live short, brutal lives. Horses who don’t race well are often killed, at 3 years old, and turned into any variety of food products.

The number of these poor animals that are killed is staggering. Approximately 120,000 horses are shipped to Mexico and Canada each year for slaughter. These animals are beautiful, kind, strong animals, but they’re expensive animals too.

This 2010 article in the Washington Post goes into an uncomfortable amount of detail about the plight of race horses in the U.S. It’s a really touching, honest look at what happens, from they eyes of a horse owner.

This day, Kentucky Derby day, is a little depressing, if we let it be, but to try to cheer up this day, I had the luck to visit one of the few places in the United States where there are still wild horses, Assateague Island, MD.

The Blonde, her mother, and our baby nephew drove in, and saw a handful of the animals just wandering around. The horses have the run of the island, which is really cool, and even though this is a tourist spot, when you enter you are given a sheet of the rules, like “Stay at least 10 feet away from the horses,” before you fully enter the park.

The wild horses are sort of shaggy, with slightly bloated stomachs from drinking brackish water: the only water source on Assateague Island.

These horses are not as huge as the heavily-bred horses in horse racing, but at the same time, there’s a majesty that is much more real after seeing what horses should look like.

After seeing the horses in Assateague to compare them to the thoroughbreds in the Kentucky Derby, I’m, again, happy about being vegan. Events that I can juxtapose like these two, seeing thoroughbred and wild horses,helps me keep why I’m vegan in perspective.

Beer Wednesday – Flying Fish Farm House

Happy Beer Wednesday! This week, I wanted to try another ale, specifically a summer ale, because I firmly believe that of I drink more summer beers that it will make summer arrive sooner.

So far, it hasn’t wireless, but I’ll keep trying.

The ale I found this week was Flying Fish’s Farm House summer ale.

It was a fine, pretty basic ale, without a ton to advertise it. It was a little thin for my taste, and was missing some of the hop bite that I enjoy so much.

There was a ton of honey in the nose, and out carried into the flavor, but didn’t carry through the flavor, if that makes sense, and so it was a little more of a tease than a real flavor.

Overall, I can set how this would be a very solid session beer, and I imagine it would be a terrific “lawnmower” in the dog-days of summer, but as far as rating, of say it would have to be a 2.5/5. Very mediocre.