Scallion Pancakes

Scallion Pancakes

Scallion Pancakes. Just those two words are enough to completely grab my attention.

If you’re veg and live in the San Francisco Bay Area (anywhere not under a rock), you’ll hopefully know exactly what I’m talking about.

Garden Fresh, a popular vegan restaurant in Mountain View, serves scallion pancakes as an appetizer.  It’s a fried pancake (yum) served with a brown sauce on top of another fried pancake (double yum).

One day, I was at my local library and browsing the cookbook section.   Although I have the world wide web at my fingertips, and close to two dozen vegan cookbooks at home, I do like to occasionally check out a vegan cookbook at my local library so that it keeps them in circulation.

While in that general area, I randomly picked up this cookbook called Quick & Easy Chinese. I was flipping through it, looking at the color pictures. When, suddenly, I spotted scallion pancakes!  Okay, so the author calls them “Green Onion Pancakes”. The picture looks exactly like the scallion pancakes at Garden Fresh.

So if you also love the Scallion Pancakes at Garden Fresh, and want to try and make some at home, go look for this cookbook Quick & Easy Chinese.  I took a quick look through the rest of the cookbook, and it didn’t strike me as particularly veg-friendly.  So, you may just want to get it through your local library.

Truth in Fiction – Killer Kidney Beans

I can be an avid reader. Unless it’s something for the veg/animal rights book club that I belong to, I’m typically reading fiction. I picked up Dead Heat by Dick Francis. He’s one of my favorite authors because he writes interesting and suspenseful action novels, usually with a horse theme.

I’ve read many Dick Francis novels over the last decade. If I had to put a number to it, probably over 25. Yet, this one was a first in two ways – it mentioned vegans, and I actually learned a real fact about a food that I eat regularly.

The story involves a chef who caters two meals at a horse racing track. There is a nod to preparing food for vegetarians and “one vegan who had preordered grilled musthrooms to start, roasted vegetables for main course and a fresh fruit salad for dessert”.

Yeah, I can relate to being the vegan who has to preorder special meals. He got that part right. But then in an interesting twist, someone later dies, and the suspect is food poisoning from kidney beans. Francis says “Every chef, every cook, every housewife, even every schoolboy, knows that kidney beans have to be boiled to make them safe to eat.” (chapter 6)

Hmmm .. well, that is everyone except me! I finished the book last night, and this morning did a quick google search on “kidney beans toxic”. And it’s true, a few undercooked kidney beans can make you sick in just a few hours.

And I quote from the FDA

Phytohaemagglutinin, the presumed toxic agent, is found in many species of beans, but it is in highest concentration in red kidney beans (Phaseolus vulgaris). The unit of toxin measure is the hemagglutinating unit (hau). Raw kidney beans contain from 20,000 to 70,000 hau, while fully cooked beans contain from 200 to 400 hau. White kidney beans, another variety of Phaseolus vulgaris, contain about one-third the amount of toxin as the red variety; broad beans (Vicia faba) contain 5 to 10% the amount that red kidney beans contain.

The syndrome is usually caused by the ingestion of raw, soaked kidney beans, either alone or in salads or casseroles. As few as four or five raw beans can trigger symptoms. Several outbreaks have been associated with “slow cookers” or crock pots, or in casseroles which had not reached a high enough internal temperature to destroy the glycoprotein lectin. It has been shown that heating to 80°C may potentiate the toxicity five-fold, so that these beans are more toxic than if eaten raw. In studies of casseroles cooked in slow cookers, internal temperatures often did not exceed 75°C.

The onset time from consumption of raw or undercooked kidney beans to symptoms varies from between 1 to 3 hours. Onset is usually marked by extreme nausea, followed by vomiting, which may be very severe. Diarrhea develops somewhat later (from one to a few hours), and some persons report abdominal pain. Some persons have been hospitalized, but recovery is usually rapid (3 – 4 h after onset of symptoms) and spontaneous.

I’ll still eat and enjoy cooked kidney beans. But it gives me a new appreciation and respect for these powerful little beans.

Red beats Green

Red Bean Salad

I grew up eating the sad Standard American Diet, consuming animals by the mouthful.  Green Salad was one of those foods, as a young carnivore, that I  liked only when it was smothered with a creamy Thousand Island dressing and crunchy croutons on top.

As a vegan, I’ve educated myself and now enjoy a variety of different salads, from bean salads to green salads to fruit salads.

Recipes for three bean salads abound.  I basically use the one from Peaceful Palate by Jennifer Raymond.

I still don’t like green beans though.  So in my version of a three-bean salad, I replace the green beans with red bell pepper.  In this version photographed, I used both red and yellow bell peppers.

I brought this bean salad to a vegan food party (aka potluck) in Pacifica.  Purely by coincidence, I found this went well mixed with a green salad that someone else had brought.

And, thanks to Saucy Vegetarian, I can make my own creamy salad dressings for my green salads.  For crunch, I add walnuts instead of croutons.

Edible Flowers

Watermelon Flower

Downtown Santa Cruz is a great place to people watch and window shop.  During my last visit there, I spotted this beautiful edible “flower”.

This certainly gives new meaning to the concept of playing with food, eh?

Watermelon Carved into Flower

Televeganic Top Chef

Are you a top vegan chef?  In the San Francisco Bay Area? This could be your opportunity to share vegan food through one of the top reality cooking shows. And, the best part, when they ask you to choose your “protein”, shout “Seitan! Tempeh! Tofu! Kidney Beans! Lentils!”

Yes, Bravo TV is casting for season 7 of “Top Chef”.  It would be totally awesome to have some vegans on the show who choose BEANS as their protein! There is an open call in San Francisco on October 18th.

Here is the info, taken from the Top Chef website:

Chefs with a passion for food, creativity, a thorough knowledge of cooking techniques and trends and oodles of charisma are what we’re looking for. We want talented, experienced chefs with that flare that puts you over the top.

SAN FRANCISCO
Sunday, October 18th, 2009
10:00am – 2:00pm
The Parlor, 2801 Leavenworth Street, San Francisco, CA 94133

There are other open calls on various dates in  Miami, Chicago, Washington DC, New York, Dallas, and Los Angeles  through November 15th so spread the word to all the vegan chefs you know.

Or, even if you’re not a great chef, it might still be fun to bluff it with your fabulous personality and favorite vegan message t-shirt. Tell them to eat beans, not beings ….

Beware Frozen Bananas

Spotty bananas ripe for freezing

My favorite trick to making smoothies is to use frozen chunks of banana.  I let the bananas get really really ripe, until they are covered with dark spots.  Then I peel them, and cut them into chunks before freezing.

Frozen bananas defrosted and peeled

One day, ripe organic bananas were on sale for 0.49/lb. So I couldn’t resist buying a bunch, intending to make smoothies with them. As I had them on the counter ripening, and there were several of them, I wondered if I could use them for baking. I did some googling, and found that people do use frozen bananas for baking, and in fact said they freeze them whole (in their skin).

So I decided to try that, as it would save the extra step of peeling and cutting the bananas.  Later, I took my whole frozen bananas from the freezer, let them defrost on the counter for about 45 minutes, and made banana cake.

Mashed frozen bananas

However, I will never ever freeze bananas in their skin. To just be blunt, the defrosted skin was really slimy and horribly gross to touch. But once I got past that, the resulting banana cake was wonderfully moist and delicious, the same as made with fresh bananas.

Unfortunately, there aren’t any photographs of the finished cake because I was more interested in eating it than photographing it

Easy Vegan Pizza

Homemade Vegan Pizza

Have a yen for vegan pizza?  Well, it’s easier than you think thank to some widely available vegan products that have become staples in my household.

Pizza Dough:  Don’t feel like making pizza dough from scratch, or even kneading the premade pizza dough available from Trader Joe’s?   A very easy and delicious alternative is the cornmeal pizza crust from Vicolo’s.  They’re sold as a two-pack in the refrigerated or frozen section of natural food stores.  The last time I checked, New Leaf in Half Moon Bay priced it at $5.09.

Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet

Vegan Cheese: This isn’t entirely necessary for a vegan pizza, but it does provide another flavor dimension.  There are quite a few commercial vegan cheeses now available as well as potentially making your own tofu ricotta style cheesey sauce.

The Follow Your Heart “Vegan Gourmet” cheese alternatives are the most widely available, even in small towns on the San Francisco mid-Peninsula.  With this brand, the trick is to broil the pizza for the last few minutes of cooking to help the “cheese alternative” melt. (Hey, that’s what they call it on their website; cheese alternative photo courtesy of Follow Your Heart)

Vegan Pizza with Broccoli, Pineapple, and Olives

Sauce: I’m rather simple in this manner.  I take a can of tomato paste (Trader Joe’s house brand), and add some water and herbs to it and use that as my sauce base.  For herbs, I use a generic mix called “Italian Seasoning” that I’ve bought from the herb & spices bulk section at Rainbow Grocery.  Another alternative is equally simple – instead of the dried herbs, I’ll use freshly crushed garlic.  Or maybe both.  Then a pinch of salt.

Toppings:  Everything tastes good on pizza.  My favorites are:  bell pepper, onions, olives, pineapple, corn kernels, and broccoli.

Pizza is a very fun food to play with.

Trader Joe’s Vegan Foods

Trader Joe's Chicken-Less Beef-Less Meats

Trader Joe’s is a great place to shop,  for vegans and non-vegans.  First, they have great prices on staples, a large selection of which are organic, including tofu, jams/jellies, nut and seed butters, canned beans, bread products, frozen vegetables, and non-dairy milks, including soy-, nut-, and rice-based flavors.  (Hmm, now I’m stumped trying to think back to the basics of high school English to remember if that is the appropriate use of hyphens.  I think it is, but it’s been so long .. )

Recently I spotted a fairly new arrival at the Daly City location – a quadruplet of house brand faux meat products.  I’m not necessarily a big fan of buying faux meat products to prepare and eat at home, but they looked so darn appealing on the shelf.

Having a vague recollection of having brunch at Herbivore’s a few months back with friends, and hearing a rave review about stuffed cutlets purchased at Trader Joe’s in SF, I went for the fake meat in box number four.  Upon reaching home, it joined my other collection of vegan-foods-to-be-eaten-later in cold storage.

Flash forward to about a week later .. I’ve just been for a gorgeous hike on a late spring Sunday, didn’t feel like cooking, and so out came my home-frozen rice and O Organics broccoli, and my new stuffed cutlets.  Interestingly, the two cutlets were individually packaged, which is nice if you don’t want to eat both at the same time.

Well, I followed the instructions on the box and microwaved the cutlets (yes, in my tired and lazy state of mind, I microwaved them in the plastic bags).  It was simple to prepare, and when combined with the brown rice and broccoli, it made a decent meal.  The cutlets were good — the sauce had an enjoyable slightly spicy undertone, the fake meat tasted fine, the stuffing was okay.   I thought the cutlet on the package box looked more appealing than my actual cutlet though.

On a scale of one (low) to five (high), the average reviews from the two vegans in the household was a solid 3.0, which reflects our thoughts that while it was good enough to eat again, it seemed a bit pricey for what it actually was.

Anyways, if you’re looking for other ideas of what to eat vegan at Trader Joe’s, cheaply, check out Michelle’s recent video blog at Vegan Break.

Organic Tomatoes

Muir Glen and Trader Joe's Organic Diced Tomatoes

The best tomatoes are homegrown, picked at their peak flavor.  By comparison, ordinary grocery store tomatoes taste like red water balloons.  Just ask any gardener who grows tomatoes, or anyone who lives next to a tomato gardener.

I’m looking forward to this summer’s tomato crop, and the wonderful dishes that can be made simply with fresh tomatoes and fresh herbs.   But until then, canned tomatoes, organic, of course, are a big staple item in my pantry.  I used to buy Muir Glen tomato products exclusively, then Trader Joe’s introduced their own organic tomato line, at their everyday low prices.

Manufacturer's Stamp - Muir Glen, Trader Joe's

I’ve been satisfied with the organic Muir Glen and Trader Joe’s products.  I haven’t really done any scientific tests, just used them interchangeably, although I do favor the TJ brand since it’s Muir Glen counterpart typically costs 50% more.

A couple of weeks ago, within days of each other, I purchased 28 oz cans of diced tomatoes from Trader Joe’s and my local health food store.

Muir Glen stamp

Trader Joe's stamp

The cans are the same sizes, but that’s not the only thing they have in common. They’re both stamped with an expiration date and some type of numbering code. I thought they were identical numbers at first.  Then, after close inspection, I noticed that on the second line, of the four sets of numbers, one was different.  It’s “0553″ on the Trader Joe’s can and “1624″ on the Muir Glen can.

I think it is far more than coincidence that these two cans of diced tomatoes have nearly identical numbers. I’d venture to guess that they’re being produced by the same manufacturing company, who then just sticks different labels on at the end of the production line. On my next shopping trip to Safeway’s, I’m going to have to check out the stamp on the O Organic 28-oz can of diced tomatoes. Until then, I’m happy knowing that I’m getting the same quality of tomatoes for 50% cheaper.

The Mighty Peanut

You’ve heard the saying, “the right tool for the right job” ?  Well, that same goes for sauces!  If you’re looking for a versatile sauce that’s quick to make and packed with flavor, a peanut sauce fits the bill.

One of my favorite cookbooks is The Saucy Vegetarian by Joanne Stepaniak.  There are pages and pages of “Quick & Healthful, No-Cook, Sauces & Dressings”, including two peanut sauces.  We’ve used both, and now our favorite is a hybrid of the two — we make the Peanuti Salad Dressing with the dash of cayenne pepper prescribed in the Spicy Peanut Sauce.

Peanuti Salad Dressing (slight adaptation)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tbsp tamari soy sauce
1 tbsp brown rice vinegar
1 tsp dark sesame oil
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/4 to 1/2 cup water, more or less as needed
pinch of cayenne pepper (this is the adaptation)

This sauce is easy to make, and incredibly delicious. Some of my favorite suggestions on using this sauce are over pasta (tastes great with broccoli), topping for a baked potato, or a dressing for a green salad.

I particularly enjoy using this sauce over pasta when making food to share with others. It’s always a favorite, and I return home with an empty bowl. The peanut sauce doesn’t particularly photograph well, but don’t let that deceive you. If you take the ratio of  how good it tastes to how quick it is to prepare, trust me, this one is off the charts!

This photograph features the organic noodles from Trader Joe’s (16 oz for 0.99) with strips of organic red and yellow peppers and green onions.  Note, the recipe calls for creamy peanut butter, but I use whatever is already open in the frig.  Sometimes it’s nice to have the extra crunch from the chunky peanut butter.

The Peanut is indeed a mighty friend to have.  Thank you Joanne Stepaniak for introducing us to this wonderful recipe, and I highly recommend her vegan cookbook — The Saucy Vegetarian.  It’s a wonderful resource when I’m looking for new sauces for my favorite grains, beans and vegetables.