Currently viewing the tag: "hummus"
2013 is officially here! To start the year off on the right foot, I needed a good meal and a sweet treat. First, the savory. Lasagna. Enormous noodles started the layered deliciousness. Then a creamy tofu ricotta with huge parsley kick. Then grilled eggplant. Repeat.
Next, while the lasagna bakes, something to smear on bread. I made a Northern bean horseradish artichoke hummus and doused it with Udo’s oil. Absolutely delicious!
Dinner is served! With more bread.
And now I have lunch for the rest of the work week. Ugh, back to work.
And now, these cookies that I have been meaning to make for quite some time. I was having a hard time finding vegan nonpareils. In fact, I am not sure that they exist. Even India Tree‘s has confectioners glaze. But I found these vegan rainbow sprinkles… so now I had no excuse!
The cookie dough was so good. I ate a lot of it.
It’s an involved recipe, requiring lots of kitchen goodies and wait time.
But then, adorable cookies–and lots of them. I actually froze half the dough and still had plenty of cookies to pair up.
My strawberry cream filling was over-whipped and seized up a little. No big deal.
Pretty butterfly cookies that I now get to eat.
Happy 2013!
Ariana Restaurant in Huntington Village, Long Island has the word vegan on its menu. These kinds of things excite people like me. It has been on my list for quite some time. Ever since I read their vegan menu. And ever since my friend nabbed a Groupon deal. But with said-friend basking in the Florida sun and some Long Island time on my hand, I found other company to help cross it off my list.
After ordering a small plate of hummus, eggplant salad, pickled cabbage, olives and fresh, warm pitas arrived. How wonderful is hummus?
We love hummus so much that we ordered a side of their famous house hummus, after our welcome plate of hummus. This larger portion was divine and topped with ample olive oil. 
Sure, we’ve all had hummus. I was ready for something new. Afghani food is brand new to me. I ordered the Vegetarian Kechri, “peasant-style brown rice risotto with mung beans topped with falafel balls and chickpeas in marinara sauce,” because that word “peasant” made me think I was ordering a dish of the common people… for $19.95. While we’re on price, Ariana’s entrees are a bit steep. However, if you visit their website and make a reservation, you can take advantage of one of their discount specials. We got $15.00 off our meal for doing so.
This hearty dish was very good. The fantastic textures of the risotto, chickpeas and falafel balls make it very filling. It is usually served with a mint yogurt sauce. Veganized, it comes with marinara sauce, which isn’t the most exciting addition. The dish was still a pleasure and I would definitely return to sample their other vegan delights.
The start of the a Vegan Foodie Weekend in Providence, Rhode Island started with a bang! Our hosts and their neighbors prepared a vegan spread that was jaw-dropping.
Lime tortilla chips from Food Should Taste Good; roasted garlic, grilled tomato and basil bruschetta; cherries; hot and sweet peppers; sangria and Tortas de Aceite.
Fruit salad and summer rolls. Fresh and flavorful summer goodness.
Summer rolls–rice wrappers stuffed with goodness.
Dinner in the yard with a plentiful plate. Many taste buds decided they couldn’t go on mid-way through my meal.
The meal ended with some vegan cupcakes. I am loving the Rhode Island hospitality!
I learned of Bay Shore’s Tula Kitchen after the New York Times got sloppy seconds to my thorough blog reporting of Three Brothers of Rockville Centre. After eye-balling the menu, with echoes of ”sesame-crusted tofu” and “speared seitan over coconut basmati”, I decided that Tula Kitchen was a must-hit. Overcoming a blizzard’s aftermath, the Greek’s hybrid chariot delivered us eager and ready for post-thriftshop meal.
Tula Kitchen, though an omnivore establishment, is an amazing addition to the Long Island veg scene! Tula’s vegan entrees were definitely worth the special trip and were a fairly good value, considering the great service and beautiful decor… and the V-bomb on the menu.
Free of charge bean salad and warm, scrumptious pita wedges to appease our discerning foodie sensibilities. They were an accurate indicator of the yumminess to come.
I got the tofu crab cakes with sides of smashed sweet potato and roasted carrots. These cakes were delicate and subtle, a perfect match for their vegan tartar and a generous squirt of lemon.
I sampled Ms. Greek’s seared seitan and asparagus over peanut sauce and coconut-infused basmati. Very delicious, though I’d prefer some more colors in the dish. The Greek kept it simple with the lentil burger topped with vegan cheese and some killer sweet potato “fries”. Yes, nothing at Tula Kitchen is fried.
We opted not to get their vegan dessert option, a chocolate creme-filled cupcake, most likely from fellow-Long Islanders Moo-Cluck, having filled up on the generous appetizer and huge entree portions. Next time.
Green
2240 N Scottsdale Rd # 8
Tempe, AZ 85281
(480) 941-9003
This adorable 100% vegan cafe seemed to congregate hipsters from Arizona’s woodwork (different hipsters, ones that smile at you) and rightfully so! Their “new American vegetarian” menu was jam-packed with options ranging from soup/sandwich-y to Asian-infused bowls to frozen treats and sweets. The large space also contained a small area for vegan pantry staples like Ricemellow, agave nectar and Newman’s sandwich cookies: many items they used to make their vegan “flurries” called tSoynami’s. Beside the selection of food, the operation was tip-top with a whole table of complementary drinks (iced coffee, lemonade, limeade, etc), local art on the walls and stellar service. In the bathroom, vegan hand wash and recycled toilet paper scored them even more points in my book. The only down point was drinking from a Styra-foam cup.
Pictured is our meal of Artichoke Gratine: a warm, creamy artichoke dip with a mean punch of nutritional yeast with corn chips
Mum’s meatball po’boy with a side of tahini cold slaw
A rocky road tsoynami with vanilla soft serve, chocolate syrup, walnuts and scoops of Ricemellow.
Mandala Tearoom
7027 East 5th Avenue
Scottsdale, AZ
(480) 423-3411
Mandala Tearoom is an small, upper scale organic vegan restaurant in Scottsdale. Well worth the trip into yuppie-ville, the restaurant exceeded my expectations at every course and the prices were right. The menu contains a good selection of vegan dishes, both raw and hot, hot, hot, along with an inspiring list of teas and “elixirs”. Knocking my socks off til the the very last course, I wished I had more time to sample the menu. Next door to the restaurant was their “Apothecary boutique” and spa services. On another note, it was nice to see that they offer take-out but at a surcharged price to cover the cost of eco-containers.
Our appetizer of tea crumpets: Rosemary spelt foccacia lightly toasted with 3 different spreads: artichoke + garlic, white bean hummus + sautéed greens and roasted tomato + fennel. Scrumptious.
Ziti al forno: organic pasta tossed with a creamy tofu ricotta cheese + spinach filling — topped with house marinara sauce + nut parmesan cheese-served with toasted garlic foccacia bread
Rawviolis Marinara: thinly sliced organic beets filled with nut “rawcotta” cheese + smothered in a living raw tomato marinara sauce.
Last but certainly not least was the tiramisu cake: layers of subtly sweet vegan creme, coffee-soaked vanilla cake and chocolate. Just perfect. Clean and not overly sweet.
Casbah Teahouse
624 N. 4th Avenue
Tucson, AZ
(520) 740-0393
The Casbah Teahouse is a eco-friendly vegetarian restaurant and teahouse in Tucson. During the summer months, the Casbah staff moonlights as a traveling caravan, doing the folk, bluegrass and world music festival curcuit in the Pacific Northwest. The place is adorned beautifully with gypsy garb and statuettes and oozes goodness and positive energy. The restaurant has a good selection of Middle East-inspired veggie fare, smoothies, teas and vegan and wheat-free desserts. And Although I enjoyed my visit to their gorgeous hemp tent eating area a good deal, I didn’t particularly like the food.
The hummus, the cornerstone of the Middle Eastern meal, was straight up tahini paste with nil flavor. My seitan casbah gyro was okay. Nothing I couldn’t make at home in a flash.
The banana mango smoothy was all chalk and little fruit. Still refreshing during the massive heatwave.
Vegan Reporting By Location
