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With time on my side, I set off on a culinary exploration of Atlanta, Georgia. After all, spring break was here! I was excited to escape New York… and to add another state to my veganvictuals headboard of sensual vegan eats.
And Atlanta has so much to offer! I was pleasantly surprised how many options the area had. I didn’t need Asian mock meats, Indian buffets, or pizza with Daiya on it. I needed proper Southern cuisine done vegan. Let’s do this! Starting with my breakfast stop: Radial Cafe
I had their Vegan Hash with a side of their House Grits… with a big cup o’ fresh squeezed orange juice. The Hash had tasty, marinated tofu sauteed with yellow onions, red bell peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, fresh sage and roasted red skin potatoes. What I loved about finally tasting this after a long morning of flying and driving, was that it was so flavorful. The veggies were diced tiny and kept their crispiness. Ok, a bit healthy for Southern cooking, but let’s go to the grits.
I’ve never had grits before (!) but I knew these were the real deal. Stone ground corn and its characteristic black flecks, creaminess overload. I wanna dip–uh, nevermind.
Had to zoom in here.
I was happy that Revolution Doughnuts was so close to my breakfast spot. Word around the interwebs was that they had vegan doughnut options. But like any traveling vegan learns, a vegan option baked good could be hardly worth the trip. Luckily, Revolution Doughnuts was mostly vegan!
I chose a raspberry glazed and a vanilla bean glazed. I buckled under a self-created pressure to order swiftly. I was, after all, down south. I did not have to jump the gun with my Yankee-mindframe. Had I composed myself at the counter, I would have order a cake doughnut and not two yeast-risen doughnuts!
The doughnuts were divine. Check out those vanilla bean specks. It’s all about the specks today.
So many vegan options, marked with the Ⓥ.
Time for an early dinner. Soul Vegetarian Restaurant II. Real-deal Southern soul food, all-vegan of course.
This is one of those vegan gems–all vegan, scratch-made, hearty eats from a place of positivity and wholesomeness. I had the lunch special: Their Chicken-baked “Kalebone” Steak smothered onion gravy with a side of collards, a side of mac n’ cheese, a piece of subtly sweet cornbread and a cup of ginger beer. The waitress said that this was the most popular choice!
Their “kalebone” (what an awesome name) is really their housemade seitan. The chicken-baked version was breaded with special seasonings and baked. I ate every morsel on this plate…
…because I eat the seed and fruit of the Earth.
Though this shot is a little flashy, the cross-section of the seitan deserves to be shown off.
Three bean and three pepper chili improves a dreary winter day.
Sneaking in salba (and its extraordinary nutritiousness) as an egg replacer, this scallion cornbread’s subtle sweetness balances the heat of the chili.
A winter load of chili. Not much beats a hot bowl of chili when toes are cold. One of my favorite tastes is the coriander. Chili powder, coriander, cumin, cayenne pepper…
Assorted chopped bulbs crunch up the texture.
And for dessert for my lunch: a half batch of golden vanilla cupcakes with dark chocolate frosting. Perfect! Am I kooky for requiring lunch desserts during the week? Didn’t think so.
I’ve discovered another vegan sprinkle! Wilton’s jumbo nonpareils, which aren’t really nonpareils, are little colorful and crunchy candy toppers free of carmine and confectioners glaze, or other aliases of these ingredients.
Here is one all dressed up.
Hello, pretty. Happy Monday!
Happy, safe, and warm… and foolishly skeptical of the much-discussed impending storm, Hurricane Sandy. This is moments before all the cats were stowed for a trip to higher ground. I thought it unnecessary at first but… I was kind of wrong. 
I needed to use up the sliced mango in the refrigerator so I started a mango chutney. Although I am a rigid measurer, I winged this by ear. My only mistake was putting too much clove. I never was able to enjoy this with the curried chickpeas I planned to make. It would spoil in the powerless refridgerator quickly. 
I used up the rest of the potatoes and made roasted onion and ‘tato hash. I love using up the last of things. Renewal is a important part of a functioning system. The storm would offer more of this as it flooded the basement. 
As the storm approached, the press was all over Freeport, Long Island, the small south shore incorporated village where I now reside. We were in an evacuation zone but the 100-year flood map I marked showed us right on the border. Pretty amazing. 
There is the house, right on the border of flooding. This map offered some comfort during Hurricane Irene as flood waters reached the exact location of the flood map’s boundaries and then retreated. This time, however, the powerful surge took advantage of some kinks in the house’s armor and penetrated. 
The final meal before high tide came in on Monday evening.
Winter is the time for chili. Chili is foolproof, reheats excellently and is packed with heartiness. Plus you can utilize those corners of your pantry long neglected. You know. The package of dried chipotles taking up valuable real estate. Here is Part 2 of the great pantry turnover. 3 Bean Chipotle Chili.
Food with a variety of colors is so much more appetizing. Especially after a week of that mutely hued Shepard’s Pie, I was ready to ingest some different carotenoids. I chose yellow, red and orange peppers, along with the requisite Vivaldi onion and chapped garlic.
Next, load the pan with some hot, hot heat: fresh jalapeno and several dried chipotles. Let those bad boys bathe in the fire-roasted stewed tomato blend with a hefty dumping of cumin (ground and seeds) and chili powder. 3 beans, black, kidney and cannelli give even more wonderful, color contrast.
Though I made this chili for my work holiday potluck next week, knowing full-well chili that sits only gets better, I just had to give it a taste. Spectacular! Who needs all that fake dairy stuff in a vegan chili when you got a stew of earthen jewels?
The only missing element is the corn bread, forthcoming, and a sprig of cilantro.
Dried chipotle closer to turnover. Done. Tune in next time for the great pantry turnover part 3: dried coconut.
Rawvolution in New York City’s East Village is the baby of raw chef and author Matt Amsden. The small counter cafe serves up delicious raw foods for the price-savvy. And with its food delivery service, Rawvolution provides accessible and healthful food for all.
After CP shared the lead a few weeks back, it was time to give it a try because, let’s be honest… real good vegan options are hard to find in the East Village. [I mean, there are ok vegan food options (like the brunch-y Organic Grill and Kate's Joint, a nostalgic favorite with its hit-or-miss waitstaff) but the characteristically bad service (Angelica Kitchen, Caravan of Dreams and the now-defunct Counter), cramped space, stunted veg food craft (Atlas) and annoying clientele of the East Village make it a good option for newbie vegetarians with considerably lower standards than a mature vegan foodie.] Considering, we were delighted to find great service and well-done raw options!
To wet the appetite, a sweet bite: Rawvolution’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ball. This very delicious ball of maca, raw chocolate chips and the unmistakably scrumptious taste of coconut-sweetened oil was a perfect couple of bites.
My tasty sandwich, the Cocophoria: curried coconut jerky, cashew mayo, onions and tomato on their own delicious “bread” made of flax and dehydrated onion. This sandwich is flavor-packed thanks to the amazing “bread” and the curried coconut strips, balanced by cool tomatoes and mayo. My only critique is to leave out the onion out because, paired with the mostly onion bread, it is a little too dominant. But an A+!
Here’s a cross-section of the sandwich showing off the goods: the curried coconut strips. Nevermind that thumb, battered and unkempt from putting together my classroom.
A final sweet (a Chocolate Haystack: chocolate and coconut mound of love) and on the house (!) because the new cafe is still working out the kinks. A kind gesture on top of an already great experience.
The Electrician‘s Betsy Ross flapping in the wind.
Fresh cut fruit. Oh watermelon, why art thou so temperamental?
I husked 20 ears of corn for a big party. Here they sit waiting for a boil.
Chopped peppers and onion prepped for the grill.
Dinner is served. Roasted corn, red cabbage slaw and a grilled Kielbasa from Tofurky. Oh, and a huge pickle. Yum.
‘Tis the season. Tofutti Yours Truly cones. Too many ingredients but hey, I’m celebrating America’s birthday!
Organic Village‘s Shiitake-Veg “Burger”. Quite good for a raw version of a burger, however, after horrendous service I’ll likely not return to this place. We ate in the car so to escape the mess of stress within the tiny restaurant.
Finally tried Dunwell Donuts at Champs Family Bakery, which is now home to Bone Shakers too. Yes, the Kingsland location is no longer. We were pleased to find pleasant service and an offer of free cupcakes. I tried Dunwell’s jelly donut and coconut-glazed. They were yummy but a bit dry. Of course.. once you go Mighty, your standard is way high.
With the weather finally cooperating, we had grilled eggplant sandwiches for a lazy day lunch. Scrumptious marinated sweet onion and sliced eggplant discs atop grilled under Mr. Blue Sky and onto toasted Italian. Then I ate a mango.
Do you know what’s going on with tomatoes these days? I’ve seen signage in the supermarket with weather-related explanations, but I forget… Besides this and my ordering only 2 measly plum tomatoes thinking I was ordering 2 pounds, they arrived a pathetic light orange red. My plan for a quick and easy lunch for the week was to roast up a bunch and mix ‘em with some artichoke spaghetti. But I couldn’t do much with the two orange and unripened mini-medicine balls that now stare from my fruit bowl. So I chopped rainbow chard and fired it up with some garlic, caramelized some onions, poured on a generous coat of nutritional yeast and sprinkled with some red pepper flakes. Done and done. Maybe I’ll get more complicated next week.
Wanting to use up my potatoes, I tried something like this. I mashed up the boiled Yukon gold beauties with some veggie stock, soy milk, nutritional yeast and assorted spices. Bam! That’s the bowl on the left. I steamed up some spinach and Brussels sprouts for some added texture. Pictured is the deep green of slightly over-steamed spinach.
Sausage (Tofurky) and some Vidalia onion saute in the pan. Vidalia onion is my favorite onion. That’s the protein… and more vegetables to add into the starch and greens. Do you want to know what I love about Tofurky sausage? I can eat it raw as I chop it in discs; I can eat it raw and not worry about tofurky worms.
Brussels. They’re probably my dessert-island vegetable. Oh my darling baby cabbage heads! I couldn’t find much on the interweb about ancient gods that worship their leafy bulb… so I will be the first. I want to say that I am highly suspicious of those who do not like Brussels sprouts but I wouldn’t want to insult my mom.
Here’s the finished dish, an easy transportable lunch for the week. With the above ingredients I mixed a wedge of vegan cheddar, Follow Your Heart, and broiled it for 7 minutes. Looks good, huh?
This week’s sweet treat is VCIYCJ‘s Call Me Blondies, which are like one huge moist delicious chocolate chip cookie. This recipe has been Post-it-ed since I got the cookbook. I think I never made ‘em because there was no picture next to the recipe to motivate me. I was foolish. I’ll admit it.
My 8×8 batch sunk a bit in the middle because I eagerly took them out of the oven and it was a bit too soon… maybe because I had been in the kitchen hours already… maybe because patience is something I struggle with… maybe I ought to use Blondies to analyze my personality.
Here they are. Prettier than most women but maybe not Blondie in her hey-day. And not cooler than one of my favorite film characters:
How to start a new year right:
Don’t do anything all day.
Load up on carbohydrates; it’s going to be another swift year.
Clean out fridge leftovers by piling them on pizza dough.
Eat the pizza.
Eat the pizza twice.
$4 from the local pizzeria and you need not waste time waiting for dough to rise. Fresh as the day is new, pizza dough from the source means no weird stuff added to prolong shelf life.
Layer one: marinara. It’s a holiday so, sure, go for a jar. I always had a taste for Francesco Rinaldi‘s marinara. No high fructose corn syrup: check!
Next layer: leftover pecan-crusted seitan and that half an onion in the fridge, sliced and roasted.
Final layer: Daiya cheddar… because you’re supposed to use the whole bag in 7 days.
End result: delicious, crisp pizza! Time and leftover-efficient!
Somewhere, sometime, I must have been privy to regular acts of gastronomy. I must have been a royal member of the court of Epicureanism of the highest rank. I must have tucked these food standards in the pocket of the soul that passes from life to life, like a little nagging gift. So like any true gourmet, I clip recipes from the Daily News‘s supplemental magazine! This recipe for wheatberry salad made it to my list of to-do’s for this week as I finally bed farewell to the huge batch of chili from last week. It’s texture; it’s variety; it’s color. And I am a huge fan of huge plump grains: Israeli cous cous, brown rice, arborio, wheatberries… Ah, it’s like eating berries off wheat. Yes, just like that.
Vegan Reporting By Location
