Classroom poster, 2011-2012
It’s been a couple of weeks and things are getting taller, especially the arugula. It’s also sprouting flowers, which isn’t a good thing. They are seeding themselves.
I love that I can see the start of a Brussels sprout here…
and the beginnings of broccoli.
In other backyard news, the irises are blooming. Damn, these things are beautiful.
The potted beauties are happy to be outside, free from Frankenstein’s leaf-munching ways.
I find myself in Manhattan much these days. But every once and awhile I’ll run my errands across the river and I’ll remember that it still has a lot of unspoiled delights, despite widespread gentrification and irritating midwesterners mulling about in ridiculous eyewear. Like Peacefood Cafe. Peacefood made a name for itself as an all-vean Upper West Side’s high-end casual cafe and now there’s one by Union Square. 
We split a mini-Jenga of Chickpea fries–fried yet delicate and clean… creaminess inside a crisp coat and a dose of Indian seasoning. Since I had killed some time in Whole Foods eating a chocolate chip scone while roaming the aisles and reading product ingredients like story blurbs, I couldn’t eat many.
The Fried Seitan Medallion panini is my Peacefood favorite. Reading the rest of the menu is kind of a futile act. Fried seitan, cashew cheese, green pesto, arugula and tomato on warm house-made focaccia? Come on. Top that.
You only really need one half of this sandwich. It’s pretty heavy. Then you get to eat the rest at a later time, when the toasted bread loses its texture and each bite melds all the fantastic layers together intimately.
Plus you have to leave room for dessert. It was hard to decide on a sweet treat in the end. Their bakery case is loaded. In the end, I chose a tremendous piece of tiramisu.
It’s nice to have Peacefood more downtown. Union Square’s vegan offerings are now a bit more enticing.
It’s time to bake a cake for mom day! Here is my beautiful Mom holding a pint-sized me next to my sis.
And here I am photobombing a very proper picture of my brothers and sister in their Easter best. This became a bit of a common occurrence as I would grow older. I used to steal my mom’s camera mid-roll and take pictures of myself sticking out my tongue. (And I used to press ‘play’ and ‘record’ to interrupt my dad’s mix tapes with weird noises.)
Forecasts call for a light dusting of cocoa and soymilk powder.
Vanilla layer cake with chocolate frosting, as requested by Mom.
I love Isa’s thick, fudgey chocolate frosting from VCTOTW. It reminds me of the cakes my mom used to make. Jiffy cake and frosting mix… in the little blue box.
A delicious bite. I highly recommend subbing Earth Balance regular for the coconut spread. It gives a subtle coconut flavor and a yummy shine. Happy Mom Day, Mom!
The Electrician made me a garden!
I planted transplants because I’m not cool enough to sow seeds (yet).
In the ground: arugula, red bell pepper, plum tomatoes, eggplant, Brussels sprouts, broccoli and basil.
My grandmother’s garden gnome is finally back on duty.
In other plant news: Addy loving the cat grass my student gave to me.
Wishes are waiting…
Go to: Vegan Cuts
I was delighted to get a full-sized Teese heat n’ serve cheese in my April box from Vegan Cuts! I remember the first time I tasted Teese, Chicago Vegan Foods‘ vegan cheese, at the Boston Vegetarian Food Festival in 2008 (see here). It was vegan cheese satisfaction pre-Daiya. I am glad to see that Teese is still making new cheese products for the vegan faithful. I am waiting for them (please, please!) to make vegan Combos.
Of course, I had to squeeze its contents in a hot pot of elbow noodles asap. It oozed out like Easy-cheese. You remember Easy-cheese, right?
What a delicious nostalgic delight, a bowl of Mac n’ cheese! It is now a squeeze away. Support Chicago Vegan Foods because they make the best vegan non-dairy and they’ll never sell out to Kraft, which is a viable threat given market trends.
I have never baked gluten-free before… but I like baking challenges! I decided to try out both a ‘from scratch’ recipe (from the tried and trusted VCTOTW) and Cherrybrook Kitchen‘s yellow cake mix.
On the left, the Cherrybrook Kitchen’s mix. Batter was very sweet (the ingredients list both cane sugar and brown sugar.) and familiar-feeling although a bit granular. It didn’t rise all that much but was springy with a golden brown skin. The finished product held onto the super-sweet taste the batter had. It was yummy– it tasted a bit more like a packaged snack cake.
On the right, the Vanilla Gluten Freedom cake. This batter was also very granular. I subbed the ground flax for ground salba (cha-cha-cha-chia) for the egg replacement which did affect the taste a bit. Flax is more neutral. The cake did not rise all that much either, and came out of the oven a bit heavier, more dense. The hue was also a deeper yellow. It was very delicious but in a different way. Considering all, I prefer this recipe to the box. It tastes more… real, if that makes sense?
I would buy a box if I was in a bind… but a bind won’t likely happen soon. I have a huge collection of flours on hand and hope to experiment more with gluten-free baking. For now, I’ll feast on this vanilla layer cake.
The one challenge of living on Long Island once again is the availability of vegan options. There has not been much progress since I went vegan here 16 years ago. Though this fact helps me save discretionary funds I would freely give away at restaurants and pushes me back into the kitchen, it takes a bit longer to decide where to spend a special night out. Luckily there is an authentic Thai restaurant in Williston Park: SriPraPhai.
If the name rings a bell, maybe it’s from my visit to their Woodside location in October 2011. SriPraPhai is what I would describe as “the real deal,” the most accurate match to the street food and dishes I savored during my months in Thailand. I love that they have a location on Long Island, though it seems quite random. In a way it contributes to their authenticity. It’s not glamorous, Thai fusion on overly-sized white plates. It’s not a concept. It’s just great Thai food.
For an appetizer, we had to have something deep-fried. Deep-frying adds deliciousness, I’ll freely admit. We threw around the idea of ordering the “Stuffed Golden Bag,” just because it sounds funny. But we decided on the scallion dumpling, a simple deep-fried scallion and dough. It arrived glistening and tasted delicious.
Their vegetarian menu is a few pages and descriptions are simple translation. With an open mind ready to explore new bites, I decided on the exact same entree I ordered on my Woodside visit. A food blogging no no! But I know exactly what got me so excited: the coconut rice. If the whole plate was a pile of their coconut rice, I’d be happy. However, a pile of wettish mushroom disc shared the stage. The mushrooms didn’t have much flavor, so the pile remained intact. The papaya salad was outstanding, the perfect mix of sweet, salty and crunchy.
For dessert, the sweet treat I was obsessed with in Thailand: kow dom mat.
Sweet coconut sticky rice and a steamed banana… fantastic as ever.
After dinner we headed to Baci Gelato, a popular spot that offers a selection of dairy-free gelato. Creamy, delicious soy-based and coconut-based options–oh yeah! The whole case here was vegan-friendly.
I chose mango and coconut scoops, topped with a mini sugar cone. It felt like summer spooning that little bitty spoon in my mouth and enjoying this cold treat. Too bad it was a brisk, unseasonably cold spring evening.
With the green budding trees and the singing bird mornings, summer’s coming. And I’m ready!
Tea cake pan from Williams Sonoma.
Waiting for tulips.
Hadn’t been to Rockville Centre’s Three Brothers in awhile. It was time for a visit.
Their mozzarella sticks are the star of the show. I am happy they are a bit narrower in girth than the earlier recipe. I think most know how I feel about too much Daiya. A well-seasoned firm breading juxtaposed with oozy cheese: yum.
Cross-section. These would go on my Vegan Top 100.
Seitan cutlet hero. The seitan–housemade. The cheese–Teese.
My friend’s choice was a seitan bacon cheeseburger.
We got free cinnamon sugar knobs.
In other news, the winter clothes went away and the bathing suits came out! I don’t care if we’re barely over 50 degrees. I can’t take it anymore!
Orange chocolate Twinkies. Why orange? I ran out of vanilla.
The gang’s all here…
Bright and juicy…
Wearing our best grill marks
Everyone’s invited to this pilaf.
Vegan Reporting By Location
