Luciana's Vegan Kitchen · Vegan Cooking, Stories, and Insane Ramblings

Vegan MoFo – Vegadeli, St. Louis, MO

October 5, 2009 in Restaurants, Travel, VeganMoFo 2009 | 1 comment

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My husband and I recently attended a wedding in St. Louis, and decided to see if there were any vegan-friendly restaurants in the area. We were lucky to have family that made a nice lunch for us, but were a little worried that we wouldn’t have much to eat at the reception. So, we were excited when we found an all-vegan cafe. It was about 10 miles away from our hotel, but since we had plenty of time between the ceremony and reception, we decided to check it out.

Vegadeli is tucked in a shopping center in Chesterfield, a suburb of St. Louis. If you weren’t looking for it, you could easily miss it. As soon as we walked in, we were greeted with a friendly hello, and an impressively huge menu of completely vegan food, including a couple of raw dishes. There were salads, burgers, pasta, lots of comfort food, smoothies, and a small selection of desserts in a bakery case.

After some contemplation, I decided on the chili cheese burger with a side of macaroni and cheese, Carl picked a spicy Jerk-style burger and a side of nachos. I also got a peach smoothie.

The food was really filling and I especially liked the nachos and mac & cheese. I think the cheese sauce for the nachos was made in-house, and the mac & cheese was nice and rich, but not greasy. It even tasted good cold, on the plane ride home, the next day. The burgers were okay, but I thought mine could have used a little more chili flavor. I finished the whole thing, though, so I guess it wasn’t too bad!

I apologize in advance for the phone-quality photos and poor lighting, but you get the idea!

We also decided to get a few things to go–carrot cake, a wrap, and a large order of mac and cheese. The carrot cake was moist, perfectly spiced, and had a wonderful cream cheese icing. The wrap was filled with brown rice, and veggies. It was basic, but tasty.

Vegadeli is definitely worth checking out if you’re ever in the St. Louis area and in need of some good vegan food.

Vegan MoFo – Spicy Black Eyed Peas with Greens and Mashed Sweet Potatoes

October 1, 2009 in Dinner, Tester, VeganMoFo 2009 | 5 comments

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This is a test recipe from the upcoming healthy cookbook being written by Isa of the PPK. The spicy, creamy beans and bright flavor of the greens contrasted really nicely with the warmly spiced sweet potatoes. This recipe is healthy, but it certainly doesn’t taste like diet food. It was so comforting and satisfying that I didn’t even think about dessert.

Vegan MoFo 2009

September 28, 2009 in Uncategorized | No comments

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Last year I started this blog for the Vegan Month of Food. This year, I’d like to start writing more regularly. Well, that’s the plan, anyway. For the entire month of October, Vegan bloggers will be writing about food. This year, the fabulous kittee is hosting, and you can read more about it on her blog.

So, stay tuned for lots of delicious posts coming up over the next few weeks. Hopefully I’ll continue posting regularly when Vegan MoFo is over!

Roasted Tomato, Pepper, and Garlic Soup with Sauteed Fresh Corn

July 30, 2009 in Dinner, Recipes | 6 comments

Carl picked up some lovely fresh vegetables from the farmer’s market last week. Usually we’d just toss them on the grill, which is delicious, but I wanted to do something different with them. I’d picked up some tomatoes and peppers, and started thinking about the soup we used to get at a local restaurant before we went vegan. It was a really tasty red pepper and corn bisque that I’ve been meaning to attempt a vegan version of for years.

The fresh vegetables were the motivation I needed to create my own version of it. While that soup was amazing at the time, it was also loaded with cream and butter. I wanted to keep things light and really let the flavors of the fresh vegetables shine.

Roasted Tomato, Pepper, and Garlic Soup with Sauteed Fresh Corn

8 large cloves garlic, peeled
2 lbs cherry or Roma tomatoes (I used multi-variety packages of heirloom cherry tomatoes that I picked up from Trader Joe’s)
2 large red bell peppers, seeded and quartered
1 TBS olive oil, plus more to coat the vegetables
1 sweet onion, such as Vidalia, finely diced
*corn cut from 4 ears of fresh corn (There really is no substitute for the taste of fresh, sweet, corn here; you can use 3 cups of frozen, but get a good quality, organic brand if you can)
2 tablespoons tomato paste (I use the double-concentrated stuff in the tube,
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
10 large leaves fresh basil, chiffonade, plus extra for garnish
3/4 – 1 cup water or light vegetable broth
1 – 2 tablespoons agave nectar, depending on the acidity of your tomatoes
1 tsp salt
lots of freshly ground pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 400° while you prepare the vegetables. If you are using cherry tomatoes, you can leave them whole, otherwise cut the tomatoes in halves. Toss the garlic, tomatoes, and peppers into two 9X13 glass baking pans, drizzle the vegetables with olive oil and toss to coat them well. Roast the vegetables for 30-40 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the vegetables are nicely caramelized. The peppers should be slightly charred, and the tomatoes should be shriveled, and release lots of juice.

Meanwhile, heat a large, deep pot over medium heat for a few minutes, then add 1 TBS of olive oil and the onion. Sauté the onion until it is softened and beginning to caramelize, about 10 minutes. Then, add the corn along with its milk, reduce heat to medium low, and cook, stirring frequently for another 10 minutes. Add thyme, turn off heat and set aside until the roasted vegetables are done.

When the vegetables are done roasting, remove them from the oven and let them cool for a few minutes. Then, puree them until smooth in a blender or food processor in batches. Be very careful, use the pulse function, and lift the lid (while the blender is stopped!) every few seconds to allow steam to escape. Pour the puree into the corn mixture and return the pot to medium-high heat, add the tomato paste, 1 TBS agave nectar, salt and pepper, bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning, adding more agave nectar if the soup is too acidic, remove from heat, and stir in basil.

*Notes: Cut the corn off of the cob into a large bowl with a sharp, serrated knife. I usually set the cob on its end into the bowl, then saw the kernels off from top to bottom. You’ll want to go over the cobs a few times, scraping them well, and catching all of the “milk” that comes off of them in the bowl.

Asheville Road Trip

June 28, 2009 in Restaurants, Travel | 4 comments

I’m still here, although I don’t know if anyone is still reading! I’m planning a new strategy to post more often. We’ll see how long it lasts!

In any case, the husband and I rented a house for an extra-long weekend in Asheville at the end of June. We visited the Biltmore Estate, which really has to be seen in person to be fully appreciated. Their servants lived in better conditions than some disadvantaged people in this country. We also hiked, shopped, saw some great live music, and of course, we ate and ate.

Asheville is a small town in southwestern North Carolina, near the borders of Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee, and they have a big concentration of vegetarian and vegan food, a vibrant music and arts scene, and the entire community seems to really be focused on sustainable living. There are quite a few all-veg restaurants, and most of the non-veg restaurants have a veg-friendly option or two that isn’t just a bread sandwich or iceberg lettuce salad. Since we were only there for five days and four nights, it wasn’t possible to eat everything, but we tried.

We ate at the Laughing Seed Cafe for several of our meals, but everything there was so tasty we had to stop ourselves from going for every meal. We were also kind of worried that the waitstaff would start to recognize us and think we were strange…not worried enough to stop us from going three times, though.

In addition to the meals pictured below, we also stopped at Rosetta’s Kitchen, the Mellow Mushroom for an amazing pizza with Cheezly, and a picked up a few things to eat at our rental house from the local health food stores. I was excited just to see Earth Balance available for bagels and such, but there was free Earth Balance in one store’s cafe to put on items purchased in the bakery. Whole Foods, take notice!

One day for lunch, Carl had a tempeh sandwich with black bean spread and I had the Mercury Not Rising–a really deliciously seasoned seitan sandwich with dill sauce. We both ordered the fries which came with onions and jalapenos mixed in:

We went for dinner another day, and Carl had a random assortment of fries, salad, and sloppy joe tofu, and I had the pasta of the day – Korean barbecued tempeh and Asian slaw over udon noodles in a garlic scape pesto. It was as good as it sounds.

Then, we went for Sunday brunch and I had the brunch platter which was biscuits and gravy, homemade seitan sausage, homefries, and tofu scramble, and Carl had a lentil flour omelet stuffed with asparagus and almond cheese, in a red pepper sauce.

Horizons in Philadelphia

April 20, 2009 in Restaurants | 2 comments

Well, our oven is broken, I have a nasty cold, and it’s the time of year where I’m tired of winter food, but it isn’t quite time for spring and summer produce yet, so meals have consisted of a lot of packaged food and soup. I have tested a couple of recipes, but I only have a photo for one of them. I know, so many excuses.

My husband, C* and I took a trip up for Philadelphia a few weeks ago to see a Death Cab for Cutie show, and eat at a couple of restaurants. Our first stop, the night of the show was Horizons. I’ve wanted to eat there for a while, since I’ve heard lots of good reviews. It’s nice to be able to order anything off of the menu, and not worry about whether the ingredients are vegan. I suppose I can’t really complain too much because the DC are has a nice (and ever-expanding) variety of vegetarian restaurants, and restaurants that offer vegan options. Horizons is nice, though, because everything on the menu is vegan, and it’s a little more upscale, so it’s a rare treat.

I had a mojito, to start, and yes, it really was that big. While we were waiting for our appetizers, the server brought us some focaccia and herbed olive oil. I had to stop myself from eating too much bread because I wanted to save room for the meal, but it had a wonderful flavor and texture. I didn’t want to lug my DSLR along, and all I have are camera phone photos, so sorry for the lack of quality. I took photos of everything, but some of the photos are just too blurry to share.

Giant Mojito!

Focaccia and Herbed Olive Oil!

We ordered two appetizers, the Jamaican BBQ Seitan, and the Vietnamese Bruschetta. They were both really good, but everything about the seitan was amazing. I don’t know how they create seitan that has the texture of pulled [not-vegan] barbeque, but if I could have taken a bucket of the stuff home with me, I definitely would have. It was cooked perfectly, with little charred bits here and there, and the sauce was incredible. We wished we’d gotten another order to go. I wish I was eating it right now. The seitan didn’t arrive with the big smear of sauce, C* was just a little too excited and grabbed some before I could snap a photo.

Amazing Seitan!

Delicious Bruschetta!

I ordered the Pacific Rim Grilled Tofu, which came with edamame mashed potatoes and trumpet mushrooms in a miso broth, and C* ordered the Pan-Seared Peppercorn Tofu, which came with creamed leeks and mushrooms, and some sort of Israeli couscous pilaf with tiny seared tomatoes. Both of our dishes were just indescribably delicious. Everything tasted very fresh, and was well-prepared, and perfectly cooked. The meal was rich and satisfying without being overly greasy. My tofu tasted like it had been prepared on a charcoal grill, but I didn’t think to ask at the time because I was too busy eating. I usually avoid mushrooms at all costs, but I had some of the creamed mushrooms and leeks from C’s plate, and could have eaten a lot more. We also ordered a side of sauteed spinach with a lemon-garlic aioli, which was also cooked perfectly, and I’m picky about spinach. There is nothing worse than a pile of overcooked, grassy tasting, mushy greens.

We were in a hurry to get to the show, so I ordered the Cherry Pie Cheesecake to go, and didn’t get a photo of it, but it was one of the best vegan cheesecakes I’ve had. The crust was tasty, it was creamy, tangy, just firm enough, and topped with lots of sweet, dark cherries. I can’t wait to go back.

Chewy Double-Chip Oatmeal Cookies

March 18, 2009 in Cookies | 6 comments

I’m obviously not going to be hired to name recipes anytime soon, but this is the best description I could think of. These cookies stay nice and chewy, even the next day, and contain both chocolate and butterscotch chips. I was looking for something to enjoy with a nice, cold glass of chocolate soymilk that I’d been craving for about a week. I also knew that I wanted to use the vegan butterscotch chips I scored from my visit to bazu, and that I wanted a semi-healthy, chewy oatmeal-based cookie. After searching through a few recipes, I came across this lovely recipe from Celine, of havecakewilltravel.com, which I adapted to meet my particular craving.

I decided to use white whole wheat flour, since it has a milder taste than regular whole wheat flour, yet still has a good deal of fiber. If you don’t have it, or can’t find it, I would suggest whole wheat pastry instead of regular whole wheat flour. I used almond butter since it has a more neutral taste, and dark brown sugar since I wanted a deeper toffee flavor. Then a shot of whiskey, just for fun, although I like to think it amped up the butterscotch flavor. If you can’t find vegan butterscotch chips (I’ve heard they’re available on the east coast at Price Chopper and Food Lion), just use 1/4 cup each of chocolate chips and pecans, or 1/2 cup chocolate chips if you don’t do nuts.

Chewy Double-Chip Oatmeal Cookies

1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup rolled oats (quick or old fashioned, not instant!)
3 TBS natural almond butter
1 TBS canola oil
2 1/2 TBS non-dairy milk (I used almond)
1 TBS whiskey
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 TBS chocolate chips
3 TBS vegan butterscotch chips
3 TBS coarsely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 425°. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt, then add the oats and stir to combine. In a medium mixing bowl, vigorously whisk the almond butter, milk, whiskey, brown sugar and vanilla extract until smooth, then add the flour mixture and stir until combined, and fold in the chips and pecans.

Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheet, flatten slightly with moistened fingers and bake for 7 minutes, or until barely golden. The cookies will look slightly underdone, but will firm up quickly as they cool. Let cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then remove to a rack to finish cooling.

Makes about 1 dozen cookies.

Curried Israeli Couscous with Currants

March 11, 2009 in Dinner | 1 comment

Another tester for Joni and Celine’s upcoming cookbook. This came together really, really fast, and was very tasty. I served it with some soy chicken that I baked in sesame/agave glaze with some other spices, and sesame garlic green beans.

Garlicky Kale, Lentils, and Tempeh Bacon over Quinoa

March 3, 2009 in Dinner | 3 comments

Try to contain yourself. I’m actually posting twice in a month, and I’ve actually written a recipe, if you can call it that. I’d been dreaming about something smokey, with tempeh, some sort of bean or lentil, and greens over a grain, and since I generally always have greens, beans, grains, and some sort of tempeh in my pantry and refrigerator. This dish comes together really quickly; dinner was on the table in about 45 minutes, which is great if you’re like me, and can’t decide what to make some evenings until you’re ravenous.

When I make this again, I’ll add lemon zest to the quinoa, and some toasted pine nuts to the greens mixture. It’s very tasty as is, but I think the extra elements would take it over the top.

Garlicky Kale, Lentils, and Tempeh Bacon over Quinoa

serves 4-6

Kale and Lentils:

2 tsp olive oil

3 large cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1 cup chopped onion

1 package Tempeh Bacon Strips

1/4 cup white wine or water

1 1/2 cups cooked lentils (I used French Green Lentils, but really, any lentils that hold their shape well after being cooked would work)

1 large bunch of kale (I used Dino Kale), rinsed very well, and chopped or torn into bite sized pieces

1/4 cup golden raisins (optional, if you simply must leave them out)

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Quinoa:

1 cup uncooked quinoa

generous pinch of salt

scant 2 cups water

Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat for a few minutes, then add the tempeh bacon and sautè for about 5 minutes, until the tempeh is nicely browned. Add the garlic and onion, and cook, stirring constantly, for 5-10 minutes until the onion is just lightly browned and fragrant. Add the wine or water, and stir to deglaze the pan. Add the lentils, stir, then add kale on top of the mixture, reduce heat to medium-low and cover the pot while you prepare the quinoa.

Heat the uncooked quinoa in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes until just lightly toasted. I learned this method from bazu over at Where’s The Revolution. It is much, much easier than rinsing, and works just as well. Add the water and salt, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook about 20 minutes, or until water is absorbed and the “little tails” appear. If you’ve never made quinoa before, you’ll see what I mean when it is fully cooked.

Add raisins to pot containing kale and lentils, and gently fold in the kale and raisins. Add the balsamic vinegar, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper, and stir again to combine. Cover the pot and let simmer for about 20 minutes, checking occassionally and adding additional liquid if the pot becomes too dry. I usually need to add about 1/4 cup of extra liquid, depending on how much water is clinging to the leaves of the greens.

When the quinoa is done, pile some on a plate with a generous helping of the greens mixture, and enjoy.

Breakfast Scramble

February 27, 2009 in Breakfast | 2 comments

The silver lining of being unemployed are weekday breakfasts like this. Scrambled tofu with swiss chard and peppers, a toasted english muffin with apricot jam, a vegan sausage patty, and mixed organic berries.

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