California Does it Better Sometimes

I am the only member of my family that does not watch The Hills on MTV (though I will admit I am/was addicted to Legally Blonde the Musical: The Search for Elle Woods on the same channel). One of the characters on The Hills frequents a coffee shop in Los Angeles called Karma Coffeehouse, and so my dad mentioned that he was curious what it was like. His request for our Los Angeles/Disneyland trip this past week was that we stop at Karma. When he was reading me the menu online, I practically jumped for joy out of my good luck: Not only did I learn Karma sold vegan cookies, but they also have a significant vegan selection on their lunch menu.



After a stop at Santa Monica Pier and an overwhelmingly long search for a parking spot in Hollywood, the family stopped for a late lunch at Karma. I get really excited about new restaurants when I know I'm going to get some good eats as a vegan, so I was a block ahead of my dad, mom, and sister from our parking spot to the entrance of the coffee shop. The interior was all smiles and rainbows, kind of modern hippie? I don't know how to describe it, but it was a really cute place! The cashier was so sweet and patient with my omni familia and when my sister learned -- to her horror -- that 9 out of the 10 lunch menu items were devoid of meat, cheese, and all that she holds dear.

My sister and mother both got non-vegan sandwiches for their entree; my dad got a mocha and a vegan sandwich and requested to add meat to it (all vegans sigh here...); and I ordered the Monkey Munch, an almond butter sandwich complete with strawberries, bananas, and 100% pure maple syrup on hazelnut-raisin bread. As soon as my dad read me their menu on the internet back at home, I knew this was the sandwich for me. So understandably, there was quite a lot of anticipation leading up to this sandwich. I also ordered a decaf soy latte, my signature drink.

I'm really picky with my espresso, but I won't go into that -- the espresso was surprisingly tasty for decaf, but the microfoam/soymilk consistency I look for wasn't there. But the real star of the meal was my sandwich! The shop was empty except for one other person, but it still took awhile for the kitchen to turn out a meal for four; however, it ended up being worth the wait.



This picture does not even begin to do justice to the wonderfulness of my sandwich. The thick slabs of hazelnut-raisin bread were absolutely huge and were lightly toasted; the filling of the sandwich was incredibly decadent and heavenly. My mom took a bite of mine and really enjoyed the bite too -- but she said she wouldn't be able to eat too much of a sandwich that was so rich. Haha, I enjoyed my rich sandwich, thank you very much.

We actually had to go back to the shop later in the day. I was too full for dessert after lunch, but we were at some mall and my family was enjoying "their" cookies. They felt bad and offered to take me back to Karma to get an Uncle Eddie's Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie.



I enjoyed this in the (2 hour) car ride back to Anaheim from L.A. Traffic was horrible! Thank heavens I had my cookie to keep my belly happy. While I enjoyed Uncle Eddie's baked circle of goodness, I have to admit that I like this cookie recipe on Celine's blog even better -- the chocolate chip spelt cookies, which happen to contain peanut butter also. I think it is because spelt flour rules in cookies!

The next day at Disneyland, I already knew where I would be having my lunch: Vegyogini tipped me off to a place where I could get a kick-butt vegan meal in the park, near the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Here's my Vegetarian Gumbo, which was also vegan.



While it was just bread and soup, it was surprisingly delicious. The soup was thick and satisfying and I had to stop myself from eating the entire sourdough bread bowl. Sadly though, Disneyland is not as vegan-friendly as Disney World. I was just glad I only had to eat one meal inside the Disneyland park, or I would have been doomed to more meals of only white bread, oil, and vegetables.



During the trip, I did enjoy my little breakfasts of fruit and raw almonds, Cinnamon Puffins, and individually sealed 8-ounce packages of soymilk I brought from home, as well as the occasional Jamba Juice (conveniently located in Downtown Disney, literally in the backyard of our resort). But I must say I was very glad to have a homemade breakfast back in Texas after our vacation was over. Such as...



An Oatmeal-Banana-Peanut Butter Waffle, topped with dried cherries, raspberries, Earth Balance, and pure maple syrup, was the first thing I made for myself back at home. I adapted the Oatmeal-Banana-Raisin Waffle recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance by replacing almost all of the oil with peanut butter and omitting the raisins. This experiment was partially a failure... While it made a crisp, incredibly tasty waffle, the waffle kind of crumbled once I cut into it. And even though there was almost 2 tablespoons of PB in my individual waffle, I could barely taste it. Boo! Next time the PB is going on top of the waffle. I was still very pleased with my breakfast and with my splurge on organic fresh raspberries. Yum!

 

Native Foods

I think my cooking is going to be very, very different after dining at Native Foods in Costa Mesa, California. Native Foods is one of five locations of this all-vegan restaurant, and I have to say that I have never seen vegan food presented in a such a fun, playful way; all their dishes are so colorful and full of texture!

A week ago, I wasn't quite sure where I would be dining when my family arrived in California for our vacation, but I did know that vegan fare is plentiful in California and was not too worried about starving. One thing I love to do on the internet is read menus of vegan restaurants in faraway cities that I would love to visit, and the Native Foods menu is one I had looked at online many times prior to my visit. If you read VegNews Magazine, you have probably also seen Native Foods advertisements, with pictures of crazy-looking entrees with skewers poking every which way.



Upon arriving in the parking lot, I found this:



I was very happy. This, along with the built-up anticipation of finally being able to try another famous 100-percent-vegan restaurant, led me to literally run screaming to the door of Native Foods. I was so excited! But I had to stop for a few pictures, first.





Isn't it adorable? It looks like a little tin hut! The interior was just as impressive.



After a quick scan of the menu to refresh my memory, it didn't take long to decide what to order.



I have to be honest, I was really disappointed with some of my family members at this point of the trip. As much as I would love for everyone to be enthusiastic about vegan food and trying new things, my little sister is not adventurous in the least when it comes to these things. She's actually very close-minded, and the only vegan things she will try are my cookies and waffles. And she won't eat any of my baked goods if they have nuts or "warm" fruit (she only likes fruit cold). So basically, only chocolate and/or sugar are good with her. It's impossible to get her to touch a vegan entree, so needless to say, she sat at the table and ordered nothing. So frustrating! My mom disappointed me a little too; I know she is entitled to her tastes, and she can eat meat and cheese if she chooses... But she almost always likes everything she tries and always has a raging appetite, but she said she "wasn't hungry" when we got to the restaurant and would only order an appetizer for herself, which turned out to be "Save the Chicken" Wings: fake-meat chicken strips with ranch dressing.



She actually ended up liking them and said they really tasted like meat. So why eat meat when you have a cruelty-free substitute? That's my philosophy, and all the better if it tastes good. She gave me one and another half of her strips, and they tasted okay to me. They tasted like the kind of thing I would order from the kids' menu at TGI Fridays or something like that. They tasted meaty but not in a scary way, and they had kind of a dry-ish taste. They tasted like the kind of meat I didn't enjoy eating as a kid, but I think that is the kind of meat my mom does like the taste of. Anyway...



My dad ordered the Bongo Congo, a warm bowl of steamed vegetables, brown rice, banana yam garnish, a curried sauce, and grilled "Save the Chicken" spears. The presentation was absolutely gorgeous -- I love how they use the skewers. Eating an entree like this is so exciting; it's like an adventure! He really liked it, and I was happy that he got in a meal with whole grains, vegetables, and cruelty-free protein. Yesss!



I've had a reuben fetish lately, so ordering the Native Reuben was a no-brainer for me. Served with a side of light and refreshing Thai cole slaw, the reuben came with blackened tempeh, sauerkraut, Thousand island dressing, Native "cheese," lettuce, carrot, and red onions -- all served open-faced on an organic sprouted brown rice and wheat ciabatta.







The ciabatta bread was soft and delicious, and the sauerkraut added a ton of flavor to the sandwich. (But duh, I know, a reuben isn't a reuben without sauerkraut.) Truthfully, I completely forgot about the "cheese" while I was eating and I don't even remember tasting it. So score there -- at least it wasn't off-putting! I loved my sandwich and gobbled it up entirely too fast. I definitely could have gone for more veggies, but I chose something else to fill me up...





Native Foods' Peanut Butter Parfait is supposed to be legendary, so I didn't hesitate to order it for dessert. A creamy blend of peanut butter and Tofutti soy cream cheese, this dessert certainly hit the spot. It was completely satisfying and cool; it tasted kind of like peanut butter cheesecake in spoonable form, and the parfait was dotted with big chocolate chips and crumbled Boogie bars (keep reading to find out about those!). My mom and dad both enjoyed their tastes of my dessert, and I polished it off by myself, as my sister was completely uninterested in going near a tofu-laden dessert. Her loss. Vegans dine well at this place, my friends.



So this little visit wasn't quite enough for Ruby Red. I had to go back for a second round before my plane took off back to Texas yesterday! After keeping the paper menu in my purse for a couple days and reading it cover to cover, I entered the doors of Native Foods, ready for a Gandhi bowl.



Similar to the Bongo Congo entree my dad had ordered on our last visit, the Gandhi holds skewers of blackened tempeh supported by a slice of banana squash (which tasted just like a mango), nested with steamed broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, yams, kale, and crisp cabbage along with hot brown and jasmine rice. The whole thing was served topped with wild curry sauce and dried cranberries.


(Deskewered)

This meal was certainly a fiesta for the eyes, and it was a party in my mouth too, with all the interesting flavors and textures! It also kept me nice and full all day, because it was full of whole foods and yummy nutrients. I could eat this meal and many variations of it again and again, and this particular bowl of food is what makes me think that my cooking is going to go in a very different direction from here on out. My parents bought me a copy of the Native Foods restaurant cookbook, and I can't wait to recreate many dishes straight from their menu! I definitely need to buy some skewers to play with more creative presentations of tempeh, seitan, and tofu in the future.



I forgot to mention that Native Foods makes their own tempeh, with their own starter culture and everything! Homemade tempeh really makes a difference, and it wasn't bitter in the least. I feel a tempeh addiction coming on...



I saved my Boogie bar for a snack at the airport. It was seriously wonderful and reminded me of something I've had before, only it was a hundred times yummier than this mystery memory! The bar was moist and had the perfect amount of banana taste balanced with studs of chocolate chips: This wondrous Boogie bar contains slivered almonds, wheat flour, bananas, oats, coconut, chocolate chips, and vanilla, and better yet, I have the recipe for them in my newly acquired cookbook. And the best part is that they weren't sugar-crash inducing either. Yee-haw for Native Foods! I love that place.



I wanted to dedicate this entire post to my Native Foods adventures, but my other California adventures will be in my next post, so stay tuned!

Red Hot Vacation

Look what I made for din-din tonight:



This recipe hails from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan. Pan-Fried Tempt-eh! sits atop Sesame Lime Soba Noodles with Shiitake Mushrooms and Edamame. It's very good; I've been wanting to make my own sesame sauce ever since I first tried the sesame "chicken" at Texas's own Green Vegetarian Cuisine. Dreena's sauce is different but still pretty excellent. The best part was the tempeh, though. I steamed it in my electric rice cooker before marinating and frying and it made a world of difference: no more sub-par tempeh for me! Otherwise, I followed Dreena's tempeh recipe to the T and it is perfection.



I've been wanting to eat at P.F. Chang's China Bistro all summer. It's my favorite restaurant that serves both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food. I finally got to go yesterday with my grandparents in downtown Tempe, near the Arizona State University campus.



We ordered so much food there wasn't an open spot left on the table. The feast I assembled consisted of the Vegetarian Lettuce Wraps, Buddha's Steamed Feast, and brown rice. I had some cucumber thingies too but they aren't in my picture. They tiptoed their way onto my plate after I put the camera away.



You may only see a baby bit of P.F.'s amazing five-spice tofu in my little lettuce cup, but let me assure you that I did not share one bite of my heaping plate of tofu. If I had to guess I'd say it was an entire block of tofu on the plate, hehe. I was literally in heaven after this meal -- I had forgotten how good those lettuce wraps are!



Here I am, in my grandparents' backyard in Arizona. My sister was being really lazy and made me fetch her sunglasses for her while she was lounging in the pool, so I decided to wear them for a while before I gave them to her. I knew that she is actually too lazy to get out of the pool and take them off my face, so I thought I would have some fun with them first.

Now that the first half of my vacation is over, I will be embarking on part two: Disneyland plus Los Angeles, here I come!


Oh, oh! I almost forgot! I got my grades for organic chemistry: a B in lecture and an A in lab. And we didn't get curves, either. Not too shabby, for learning the entire course in five weeks. And, to brag even further, 2/3 of the original 75 people in the class dropped out, and 2/3 of the final number in the class failed. It was really really tough, but I made it through and I am so grateful! So thanks for putting up with my minimal blogging for the past month... I am back now and feeling better than ever!

How to Be a Vegan On-the-Go

Lately my life has revolved around my organic chemistry class. The good news is that there are only three days of class and four exams left! I have been awakening at 5:24 am each morning (that's after I hit the snooze) and with a 30 minute commute to class, I have no time for elaborate Ruby Red-esque breakfasts. So what's a girl to do?

Bake a heck of a lot of food at once, freeze it, and reheat each morning, of course!

Here's what I've been having for breakfast:

Carrot ginger almond muffins


Double carob brownie waffles


Low-er fat banana bread muffins from Veganomicon


Muesli with cherries, dried figs, almonds, soymilk, oats, banana slices, and cinnamon


Breakfast blondies with almonds and carob chips, adapted and super-healthified/breakfast-ized from the dessert blondies in Eat, Drink & Be Vegan




I've been in the mood for fruit all summer long, so I've been having smaller portions of the grain-items each morning to make room for awesome soymilk + banana + frozen fruit smoothies! My favorite right now is soymilk, banana, and frozen peaches, with and without almond or peanut butter. And the funny thing is that it's normally around 5:50 am when I'm eating breakfast, so there is zero light outside. I had to pose all these pictures in the daylight, on weekends, from my freezer stock of goodies.


There are actually really good frozen meals that have made my life much easier these past few weeks. Here are two I have had and would recommend:






Here's one lunch I packed for my (9+ hour) lab days:



That goo is Dreena's Creamy Cashew (er.... almond) Dip from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan. It's so good -- I highly suggest you try it! I spread it on my Wasa crackers. Yum!


But one of the best things I've made recently was some crispy five-spice tofu with bulgur, lime, broccoli, and the best Thai Almond sauce ever! This meal was so divine and is going on my standby rotation.





I've been sneaking peeks at your blogs during my breaks from studying -- I'll be back to commenting soon!