Currently viewing the tag: "watermelon"
Planning this trip, an extravagant foodie frenzy of all the west coast vegan eats I have craved and bookmarked through the years, was a bit overwhelming. Time is sometimes a cruel thing… time and the whole getting full thing. With so much to eat in so little time, planning our days’ eats would require skill and craftiness. Here is the report on day one.
After getting the rental car, we headed out of the Los Angeles immediately. With a quick day trip to Las Vegas on the itinerary, it was quickly onto the interstate. Of course hours of flying left us quite hungry. So, our first stop would be quick, easy, and on the way… like a fast food place. Vegetarian “fast food” joints have started to sprout up in big cities as of the last 7 or 8 years or so, but Covina Tasty in Covina, CA, which declares itself the country’s first vegetarian fast food, opened in 1960.
Covina Tasty was the perfect first stop. The vintage A-frame facade and the sign against a bright sky is so very California. A welcoming sight of sky.
The windows of Covina Tasty are covered in sun-faded advertisements. And their peg-board menu, another vintage relic. It is likely that the place hasn’t changed much in the last 50 years. I ate era-appropriately and got their [veggie] hamburger, home-made french fries and a fountain soda. The hearty hamburger meal was certainly not the best I’ve had but the whole package of Covina Tasty is indeed very memorable. It is a true vegetarian landmark.
Our next stop as we headed east from Los Angeles was an all-vegan store in a massive space and exhaustive stock, Viva La Vegan in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. Wow, it was nice to see all the v-bombs all over the place!
Everything a vegan might need is there. Unfortunately with the dessert heat in our plans, we knew not much would survive our stay.
Behold the vegan cheese fridge! They had it all.
Las Vegas. Not the place you’d think of having gourmet, upscale vegan but… Steve Wynn, of the huge, luxury Wynn hotel on the Las Vegas strip, fancies himself a vegan. So everyone of his 10+ restaurants in the hotel have a separate all-vegan menu, crafted by individual head chefs of each establishment. Thankfully we had the menus in advance to study (link here). We chose the Sinatra, named after Old Blue Eyes (obviously.) We got the vegan menu and settled in at a table amidst the glamour and extravagance of the dining room, feeling slightly out of place.
We started our dinner with offering of vegan breads and Earth Balance. What a nice thing to hear without having to ask!
My antipasti: the Insalata Estiva… sweet watermelon, sliced heirloom tomatoes, topped with arugula and toasted pine nuts drizzled with a balsamic reduction. It was vibrant deliciousness in the best form.
My entree, Agnolotti… hand-made pasta packets filled with vegan ricotta and cashew cream in a pool of asparagus sauce. Soft, tender, delicious. Though scrumptious, it wasn’t the best value. The waiter was disappointed we did not try their Gardein-based entrees. I was close to passing my views on about the place for processed, frozen meat analogs in gourmet dining, but I bit my tongue.
Since we were being treated like princesses in fine dining setting, we opted to also go for dessert. I ordered the Mirtilli: a bowl of fresh blueberries and lime zest in a pool of sweet, delicious passionfruit consomme and topped with a coconut gelato. The flavor of this dessert was spectacular. Very impressive. I wanted a bit of more texture variety however. 
Well that is day one. After a long day of time traveling, it was time to hit the hay.
Goodbye, dear summer. You moved so swiftly through your weeks. But first, a few more bites…
Goodbye, peak season for juicy and tender summer fruits. Soon it’ll be time for apples, pumpkins and figs.
Goodbye, peaches and characteristically-summer stone fruit, best warm-skinned and taunt on the beach. Goodbye, grilled peaches, a different entity altogether, may the sparking lumpwood charcoal let you sweat your sugar.
Goodbye, real vanilla beans; coconut milk ice cream. You’ll pair up with some sweet goodies later, and I’ll see you then.
Goodbye, summer-ish marinade: Cindy’s Kitchen‘s amazing mango coconut marinade. Your sweet zing is perfect when infiltrating tempeh’s densely-packed atoms.
Goodbye, elaborate ice cream concoctions with aforementioned summer fruits, hot fudge and Smucker’s marshmallow topping. You’ll hardly seem appropriate after today. Warm, baked cakes and cookies soon will lessen the sting… till then…
Goodbye, Summer!
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!
Strawberry pancakes–golden, thick and fluffy pancakes pebbled with slices of strawberry. Food Perfection. Use this recipe for perfect pancakes.
Fruit salad with nothing but the best stuff. No pushing around boring cantaloupe and tasteless honeydew. Just the most coveted in the fruit salad: strawberries, pineapple and watermelon tossed with fresh mint. I am going to name this Karen’s Fruit Salad.
Spending an overnight with the entire 5th grade class of 2011 at a Club Getaway, I knew food selection would be lacking. I packed some goodies to ensure I wouldn’t waste away.
Packing essentials: glycerine soap, hand sanitizer, soymilk, corn nuts, sesame sticks, Happy Baby mango puree, Plum Organics super puffs–purples, Sweet & Sara‘s marshmallows, Larabars: chocolate chip cookie dough and tropical fruit tart and Probar s’mores bar.
Lunch and dinner consisted of a canned salad bar and watermelon. Far better than I expected.
What’s a campfire without a marshmallow. After a long day of bungee trambolining, inflatable bouncy house sparring, archery, etc, I needed this flame-toasted Sweet & Sara’s.
It’s too hot for 3 meals a day. Here are my recent dunch highlights.
Urban Rustic makes a mean Club Sandwich, the all-vegan Unclub. I’ve gone on about it before, yes. [Tofurky, Vegenaise, Dijon mustard, strips of tempeh bacon, local tomatoes and sprouts in between three slices of soft, toasted spelt bread.] Nothing fancy, I know, but great taste and texture from a unique and value-driven eatery/general store– a bit slim on the vegan options but stocked with quality food goods like pickled asparagus! And, being a sucker for a glass bottle of old-fashioned cola, in this case Boylan, I rounded out the kick of the Dijon and the smoky Tofurky with some sweet, sweet cane cola.
Slice is one of my favorite place to chow down on vegan pizza… and catch up with my gluten-allergic pal, Maximilian. We’ve hit the Upper East Side’s location several times, sharing in the joy of being able to eat real and delicious pizza. With Slice’s newer location in the West Village, it is a huge relief not to have to travel on the dreaded 4/5/6 to enjoy their good stuff. Slice is where I first tried Daiya. Sooo, why not get tattooed, however temporarily, to show my support for their take on the perfect food?
The Juice Press in the East Village offers grab n’ go sandwiches (in compostable packaging) in their tiny storefront. Juice Press: home of the $10.00 smoothie (“the succulent flesh and refreshing water from a young, whole coconut, mana blue green algae, vanilla, raw cacao, mineral rich sea salt, agave nectar, vanilla stevia and ultra filtered ice”), the $10.00 packaged “tuna” sandwich (or the $10.00 ground, soaked nut and chick pea, cucumber, tomato, onion, nori and “mustard” on sprouted bread) and… the kind of awkward, less-than-attentive service. I am not a needy patron, but the fact that employees coveted all of the small shop’s seating and that I was barely acknowledged upon entering makes this a sore $10.00 wasted on what I likely have already in my pantry. I scarfed down the sandwich and got my fresh-pressed juice a few doors down at the Juicy Lucy stand.
There is something about summer and Mexican food, as my previous posts highlight. So let me eat more! The Greek and I hit Greenpoint’s Papacitos after much deliberation, feasting on their west coast-style street grub. I had the vegan quesadilla, Daiya cheddar packed with seitan, folded in a satisfyingly greasy tortilla and topped with additional yummies like tofu sour cream. After, in accordance to summer and the Greek restaurant tradition of watermelon post-meal, we scored a perfect wedge of the pink stuff, my favorite: watermelon, to split over complaints about about the heat. Waaah.
I prefer to shop in musky, dank barns; I like the effort and reward of the hunt. A rack of all of the same thing is very unappealing to me. This is why I have thrift shopped since I was old enough to make my own money. Unfortunately the state of thrifting for apparel these days is sorry. Across the country consignment shops and eBay sellers have long claimed the majority of vintage wear as the passing of time renews stock with the characterless styles of the 80s and 90s. Luckily bric-a-brac turnover is far less sudden. There are still trinkets and thingamajigs worth the hunt, worth the walk to the back. While in Kansas, I caught the bug for antiquing, which works the same muscles as thrifting but is a little more “hit” than “miss” (though with a price) and a little more “adult”. But antiquing in Kansas is like thrifting in New York, price-wise. The I-70 offered a huge selection of antique shops, each with a personality all its own. With many limitations (discretionary spending, living space, checked bag limit for flight home, etc), I only picked up a few little things but plan to return to the hunt when one or more of these limitations alleviate. 
It was time to eat. We had made it through the length of Kansas to arrive in Kansas City, Missouri just in time for lunch. We dined at Füd, an intimate vegan restaurant on KC’s west side that sources organic and local foods to create pretty amazing dishes. Peruse their sample menu and you’ll get the idea loud and clear: clean, fresh and delicious. We had been chasing the clock to squeeze in for Saturday brunch before their 3:30 close time. Once Chef Heidi carefully and passionately described her dishes’ ingredients I knew… the way you know about a good melon… this was a special place to dine. And speaking of melon, fresh-cut complimentary organic watermelon refills? Pinch me.
Behold: the Jackphish Chalupa! Jack for the Jackfruit, a texturous fruit from SE Asia {included in my Thailand Foodie blog post from abroad} and phish for the ocean-y seasonings the chef-couple incorporated to deliver a sort of tuna-like feel and flavor to the fruit. The ground jackfruit could have been the only contents of the delicately fried tortilla case but no! This wonderful handheld marvel had a tangy cashew cheddar– like nacho cheese, cashew sour cream, chopped tomato, guacamole and a spicy cocoa-infused mole to heat things up. It was spectacular. All house-made and mostly local and organic. Probably the best thus far.
Füd didn’t stop there. Vegan soft serve. I repeat: Vegan. Soft. Serve. These folks don’t dollop a scoop of some national brand non-dairy ice cream on a plate and charge $5 (or $7.50! I’m talking to you Vertical Diner)… they make there own creamy cashew-based agave-sweetened version from scratch and throw on raw cacao sauce, superfood caramel sauce, raw cacao nibs and pecans. I devoured my sundae quickly and partook in a mutual momentary lapse in conversation that ended with the clank of the spoon in the empty glass bowl. What were we saying?
And dinner. Eden Alley Vegetarian Cafe is housed in the basement of Unity Temple, a non-denominational church in the Plaza section of Kansas City. 
I chose the Tasting Triplet, a sampling of 3 dishes of my choice from their regular and specials menu. It was a little on the costly side but hey, this tour of vegan eateries is winding down and I will likely not be in Missouri any time soon. So yes, the grub: soft bread spread with an agave-sweetened Earth Balance, 1) the super-fresh and delicious Avocado Vera Cruz [avocado served on brown rice stuffed with mung bean and zucchini Pico de Gallo with mixed greens, cherry tomato, carrots, and cucumbers topped with chili cumin aioli and mustard seed dressing], 2) Heavenly BBQ Seitan [seitan drenched in their house-made barbecue sauce with tomatoes, beets, spices, onion and garlic topped with sautéed with onions and minced mushroom over creamy mashed potatoes and black turtle beans plus a pickle] and 3) the Grilled Tofu Ruelke sandwich [grilled garlic, local sour dough bread with hummus, pickles, tomatoes, greens, and grilled organic central soy tofu encrusted in spiced nutritional yeast]. How’s that for a mouthful?! So like the descriptions hints, all dishes were bursting with flavor and freshness. 
And because they had vegan dessert available, I had to partake. After all, I’ll have time to work off this spare tire when the majority of my day is not spent in an automobile. I chose the chocolate cake with coconut vanilla icing. Darn track lighting doesn’t do it justice…
There is still some leads in KC to look into but for now… a SNL re-run on the hotel television.
I have a crush on this blog. Andrea’s images and lists and self-generated art projects make Hula Seventy a major source of blogspiration. In homage, here are shots from my day of observing the colors around me.
Layered peeling paint is always a beautiful sight. This will be the focus of one of my summer photo projects.
Primary color duct tape door, Powers street, East Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Orphaned children on Manhattan Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Restaurant in “Little India”, Houston Street, NYC
Imagine being the first person to discover the sweet pink melon flesh beneath the thick green rind? Heaven.
Inspiration for a quarter, C-Town, Graham Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
The odd couple, 5th Avenue, NYC
Prince Flower, Green Dome, McCarren Park, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Should I stay or should I go, Bushwick Avenue, East Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Ma’s cookies, Merrick, Long Island
Urai went out of her way to make sure I was properly nourished. She took great care in learning my taste preferences and dietary restrictions. Below is a partial list of some of the delicious food I’ve tasted in Bangsai:
My first lunch: Fresh spring rolls (tarot root, glass noodle and soy tofu wrapped in fresh rice paper), cucumber slices and fresh parsley from the garden, mango and rose apple slices. Rose apple is a new fruit to me. It was juicy and crunchy with a texture almost like celery, not too sweet. Perfect to clean the palet after a meal.
Lordy lord, I fell in love with this sweet Thai dessert, kaw dom mat, so much that we spend the next evening making it from scratch together. It consisted of sticky rice, banana and black beans wrapped in banana leaf. The pink banana frightened me at first as it looked like some sort of meat. After being steamed 2 hours, banana turns pink. Did you know this?
Some fried concoction we picked up at the market after the green attracted my vegan eyes. It was scallion and other greens in a flour dough fried to perfection and slices in wedges. Very satisfying as a vegan needs some fat in her diet sometime. Urai served it with a spicy dumpling dipping sauce.
My dinner of sauteed soy tofu (I say soy tofu as there are 2 types of tofu here in Thailand, soy and egg.) and sprouts, lemongrass, ginger and mushroom soup, sauteed morning glory with chili peppers. Amidst conversation, I ate a chili pepper and suffered a terrible bout of runny nose and eyes. Took me many scoops of white rice for me to recover.
Part of an absolutely huge breakfast. Bright red watermelon chucks, what I understood to be called “melonpom” – another new fruit: kind of like a little oval orange plum with less rubbery skin and a large mango-like pit, more traditional Thai dessert wrapped in banana leaves and these very interesting little critters: fried coconut milk dollops with scallion. The congealed coconut milk (the basis of all the Thai desserts to follow) gave the feel of poached egg. I chewed slowly, baffled.
Here’s a close-up of those coconut milk fried thing-a-ma-gigs. As far as I know, coconut milk is the only source of non-animal saturated fat. Being a vegan, I never eat saturated fat, spare of some curry now and again. I think my body is a bit confused by the texture and chemical composition of these coconut milk-based treats.
Along with the goodies above, this dish of fried veggies and rice was also part of breakfast! Since I’ve gotten to Thailand I have been eating Jai, the strict vegetarian style of food that also contains no onion or garlic… because it is more easily understood by Thai people. Tasting this fried rice with its scattering of diced onion, I realized how much I missed them.
Oh my gosh, this thing was kind of scary. That congealed coconut milk atop of these green little jelly things. I know, “things”? But I asked Urai several times what they were and I couldn’t understand what she was saying. I eventually just nodded and steered clear of them, thinking “jelly = gelatin”.
More coconut milk-based Thai dessert! Urai won’t be satisfied until she raises my record low LDL cholesterol (i.e. bad cholesterol). These dense babies wrapped in banana leaf were just delicious… banana and coconut infused gelatinous wonders. I am starting to fear this huge and drastic up in sugar intake.
Mmmmm. Fried rice noodles with the freshest vegetables: carrot, baby corn, kale with lots of garlic. This reminded me of home and I gobbled up every bit of it, and fast.
Fried spring rolls. I was glad to see that Urai was not wasting what I wasn’t eating. My first meal’s fresh rolls were fried up and served with fresh basil. I had to ask for chop sticks as a fork and spring rolls do not mix. Between all this sweet Thai dessert and fresh veggies, my body really craves this fried stuff. I gobbled up all of these to my surprise. Appetite comes with eating.
Well, what do you know. I made this bad boy. Slaved over a coconut shredder, squeezed out its milk like it were a cow, assembled sliced banana with a blanket of the coconut milk-infused sticky rice, dropped a few cooked black beans before Urai wrapped it tight in banana leaf, tied it with bamboo and steamed it for 2 hours…
Another new fruit: Jackfruit. Amazing texture, similar to that of an edible flower. Thick skinned with a messy bite, almost meat-like. It tastes a bit pineapple-y. I was surprised to see it was purchased in a bag. Oh, speaking of bags: street vendor sell cola and other drinks in plastic bags here. So you see people walking around with plastic bags with straws in em.
A delicious vegetable-based soup. Huge cylinders of soft soy tofu, parsley, onion and celery. The celery here is tiny, like little twigs. Not one for drinking food, I ate all of the solids and left the broth. I don’t know where this stems from. Food psychology!
Pumpkin and coconut bars, coconut milk-thickened of course. These were subtle and satisfying. I am getting used to the texture but still can’t eat too much. I know how much sugar is involved.
Urai is killing me with sugar and coconut. These coconut balls are filled with a delicious brown sugar and coconut compote, covered in coconut milk-thickened skin and dragged in more fresh coconut. Notice the theme.
This dessert I didn’t care for but I thought I’d share anyway. Sticky rice topped with what Urai called “custard” but tasted a bit like cat food smells, looked a bit like it too. Apparently most of her visitors don’t like this one.
Wonderful corn fritters. Simple and oh so yum. I wrapped them in the fresh basil and dipped them in the delicious apricot sauce, nibbling on a cucumber slice now and again to make the next fritter taste like the first. Notice that pink stuff in the upper left corner of the photo: more Thai dessert. Not sorbet or some new take on Neapolitan ice cream…
So onward to those pink balls. At this point, I was kind of filled to the brim with sugar and coconut milk-based wonderments. These tri-colored balls deserved a nibble, however. I was shocked to learn the green were colored with banana leaf, as the color seemed artificial. When I asked about the pink, Urai didn’t know how it got that color. Ok, just a nibble out of respect.
Vegan Reporting By Location
