The Ex List

by meaghan // January 19, 2009 // No Comments

Kevin Sorbo (aka hercules) & Elizabeth Reaser, shooting at Alexanders on 30th, North Park

Aside from my busy veg adventures with opening the San Diego location of Nature’s Express, I’ve been doing some black market catering. Well not really, but I have had the opportunity of a lifetime. There is this new TV show, and the lovely lead actress just happens to be a vegan. Since the show is being filmed right here in San Diego, they needed someone to provide on set food for the actress, Elizabeth Reaser, playing the role of Bella.
When this first fell into my lap, I thought it was a one time gig. Turns out they needed more vegan goodness then I had dreamed of.
The show revolves around Bella, an early thirties woman who is trying to find ‘the one’. She meets a fortune teller that tells her she has one year, or she’ll never be getting hitched. the catch is that she has supposibly already met the one. So like most single women out there, she starts a list. The Ex-List. Each episode is centered around Bella reconnecting with a former ex boyfriend. Not a terrible idea for a sitcom.
So whats a vegan actress to do when a scene calls for food, and there’s no way she’s bitting into something thats not vegan? Well, she gets a personal vegan chef to cater her every acting bite! How darn cool.

Tea Platters in the wonderbread factory

I’m not sure if I should be posting these pics, but oh well. It’s too fun to not write about. I’ve done about 10 different dishes for the series so far, and up until 2 weeks ago, I didn’t even feel comfortable taking pictures on set. So far I’ve done vegan eggs benedict, penne a la vodka, chocolate cakes, thai stir-fry, cookies, gourmet dinner for 2, omlettes tea platters and a carpacchio salad. I know that doesn’t sound like much, but it’s not just one plate each. Every time they shoot a scene they film the shot from 4 different angles. Which means the food has to look the same every time. So for the one vegan chocolate cake, I needed to make 6. And so on.
There is usually a ton of leftovers, that everyone wants to take home, or I end up bringing to the treehouse kids…. lucky vegans. Its crazy to think about how much time, and energy go into a single 23 minute episode. From hair & make up to lighting and sound. It really does take a lot of manpower. It was so great to see all the beautiful places in San Diego turned into a TV sitcom. Newport beach, cool restaurants and pubs, and one of my most favorite places in all of San Diego, the mission hills nursery.
Heirloom tomato Carpaccio with vegan mozzarella, and balsamic reduction

In the end, the show started getting bad reviews, and CBS decided to cancel it. The Ex List had a total of thirteen episodes whom all aired on French-Canadian television in 2009.
Elizabeth went on to star in the motion picture Twilight, playing the role of Edwards’ ‘mother’. And I returned to dividing my time between Ritual Tavern, and Nature’s Express, yet again.
In the time of 2 months I received 5 paychecks from FOX studios. After hanging them on the fridge to show my personal A+, they will be framed, and saved in the grandkids box. Gold star for me.

My favorite Photo Queen

by meaghan // September 29, 2008 // 2 Comments

It’s been a long time since my last post. But I’ve been a busy little worker bee these past couple months. I know, horrible excuse. In trade for all the waiting and work that has filled my time this past month, Nature’s Express San Diego is well on it’s way! And I promise to post plenty more about that later…. But opening day should be October 21st!

I have had the pleasure of a friend stay with me a bit, who just happens to be a professionally stunning photographer. She’s more of a moment capturer, but her food pics are formidable!
I am clearly, not the best at food photography, but it sure was nice havin a pro around!
She got to eat well, so it was a fair trade off. Isn’t she good though?!?!

Your can view her other beautiful work here.

This was summer veggies sauteed in a butter balsamic sauce. What’s even better is that the squash was from my friends farm up north! Grown with love, and packed with nutrients! I served this lovely array of veggies over polenta. Dee-lish!

Well my time is limited, but I promise to blog again soon.
Duty calls 🙂
Here’s a cute pic of my little hero!

Eclipse Chocolat Cafe

by meaghan // June 21, 2008 // 1 Comment

Eclipses’ Blackberry-Sage chocolate bar

It was just like any ordinary busy afternoon in San Diego, until lunch.
After some lunch at Mama’s (always a hit!), Drew pointed out this somewhat hidden Chocolate Cafe. “Chocolate cafe?” It didn’t take longer than 2 seconds to get me to at least take a look!
The first thing obviously noticed was the bright teal painted walls. Their pledge is also stated boldly on the wall. Organic when possible, and maintaining ‘green’ operations in the store, as well as products. 10% of the annual profits go back into the community thru local charities. Pretty darn cool.

Now, as a vegan, walking into a chocolate shop, you have to be prepared to see a ton of delicious truffles, and beautiful chocolate delicacies, that more than likely contain milk, butter or other dairy by-products.
Then, as I glanced over the beautifully displayed truffles, I noticed that 2 of them were very clearly labeled, Vegan Friendly Hooray!!!
I knew it was my lucky day!

Ginger & Sea salt

I love the taste of salt. Not over-salty, but salt. After all, salt brings and enhances flavors together. But most importantly, I love the benefits of a good salt. So in the display case, the sight of coarsely ground sea salt with a ball of rich chocolate-coconut milk-caramel, got my mouth watering! And better yet a ginger kick to boot! Yum. On a side note, I’ve recently been reading about some of the pollutants that can be found in sea salt. So I’m strictly using on Himalayan mined celtic salt at the homestead now. It’s more on the pricey side, but a little goes a long way. Really, you only need a pinch for most everything.

Toasted Coconut

Want more? How bout some vegan toffee! Unfortunately, I’m allergic to peanuts, so I didn’t get to try. There was another vegan-labeled toffee bar, but it had honey, so be careful. I mentioned this to the girl working, and she was going to change it to say ‘dairy-free.’

Peanut butter Toffee

I hadn’t the time to stay, but I needed coffee, and what better to go with some chocolate! The girl working was very polite, and made me the most amazing organic soy-mocha! I think there was cacao nibs or something in it. Anyway, it was awesome. Glancing over the menu, I noticed they offered a vegan fondue, served with bread and fruit! Perfect for date-night! It’s been ages since I’ve had chocolate fondue! Next time when I have more time.

Hand rolled Truffles, 2 for $5

Another cool thing about this place is the 100% post consumer packaging. The owner and Chocolatier, Will Gustwiller, also has a food blog. You can read it here. They always seem to be expanding their menu, and enjoy catering to us vegans out there. Oh, and did I mention the free wi-fi. Trouble. I could be here all day eating chocolate and comfortably sitting at my laptop, while sipping my coffee. Trouble. The location was a bit odd, but easy if you are familiar with Mama’s Lebanese bakery or the Livewire bar. I can’t wait to go back….dreams of chocolate everything in my head till then!

Food from the north

by meaghan // May 25, 2008 // 1 Comment

I’ve been spending far too much time away from San Diego, and even more time away from Vegpod, for which I am truly sorry.
This past month, my days have been happily spent in a garden. Lots of heavy weeding, shovel skilling, soil turning, seed sprouting, water feeding, earth worm saving, compost smelling fun!
Yes fun!
And better yet? I had one of my best girls with me. Also an amazing vegan pastry chef.
In case you don’t know what 2 vegan chef’s look like in a garden….
If you took the art of being a chef one step further, I believe you would see a gardener. Gardening/Farming is arguably the oldest known occupation. Growing your own food takes you back to your roots, in the literal meaning. To see and learn just how food comes to be at our tables, from a tiny seed is magical!
And with hard work, comes lots of hearty meals…I could easily get used to this.

Starters from the farmers market: nasturtiums, radishes, romaine, dill, & oregano

A total of 4 gardens were worked on. And with those 4 gardens came early mornings to beat the 95 degree heat.
My morning breakfasts were usually some type of whole grain hot cereal (triticaleh, whole wheat, or steel cut oats) doused in almond milk, and sprinkled with cinnamon.
Lunch & dinner is where the real magic happened.
Homemade Black bean burgers, with roasted peppers, and grilled onions. Served with a cup of navy bean soup, and my fabulous Blueberry Acai Sun tea.

Megs Top 10 reasons to garden:
#1 Garden to be creative. Gardening provides an outlet for creative and artistic expression. You decide what to grow. You decide where to grow it, and how. Express Yourself!
#2 Garden to learn. The more you learn about plants and gardening, the more you want to know. Get out there and teach the youth! They need it most. Plus its fun to play with dirt!

WWII Poster, Build a victory garden!

#3 Garden to exercise. Gardening activities provide both cardio and aerobic exercise. Studies show that an hour of moderate gardening can burn up to 300 calories for women, and almost 400 calories for men. Yup.
#4 Garden for Urban Revitalization. Unless you are pimpin’ it up in the OC, chances are your neighborhood could use a little more love. Gardens are usually a pleasure to look at, and can change shady eyesores, into a beautiful array of colors.
#5 Garden for safe, healthy food. Contamination, pesticides, additives, preservatives…. do I need to go on?

OG Strawberries=yum

#6 Severe Allergies? Hardline vegan? Or just worried about how the food you eat is grown? Maybe you want to know what exact nutrients your food is grown with. Grow your own! Your veg-friends will be envious.
#7 Maybe even my favorite, garden for the sake of the sunshine! 15 min. a day provides your suggested daily amount of vitamin D. And you’ll have a healthy glow.
#8 THE FUTURE OF FOOD, get the movie, watch it. You’ll be growing your own food in no time.
#9 Meditation. We all need it. And you’ll feel a stronger connection with life, our planet, our environment.
#10 Vegan Mac-N-Cheeze! You might not be able to find this at your garden space, but help me in mine, and I’ll cook you up some grub!

The ripe vegetables had been picked over well from the winter and fall, but we made due with plenty of chard, parsley, celery root, fingerling potatoes, celery, chives, leeks, bay leaves, and mint.
There was leftover dried corn from the fall to which we made fresh popcorn with nightly.

Earth-balance butter….yummmm

El Corazon Celery Root

Crusted Tofu, Sweet potato/Celery root mash, Quinoa Pilaf, with walnuts and sun dried tomatoes, and sauteed greens, with yellow onion, and tomato.
We ate pretty good, no?!
Did I mention that all the food scraps, peels, you name it, ended up in the biggest compost pile I’ve ever scene. Well they did.

Sadly, our time at the farm had to come to an end. I came home and my lettuce bed had shriveled away with the heat wave that swept thru San Diego. Sort of made me happy there was more to do at home. They say the best fertilizer is the gardener’s shadow, and a true garden is never finished. But I’m still hoping it won’t be long before I’m back to diggin in the dirt up north again. Till then, watch out for snakes!

California kingsnake

Cajun Style Dinner

by meaghan // March 19, 2008 // 1 Comment

Creole vs. Cajun cooking.
Most natives will jump at the chance to tell you the vast differences in style. In fact, most Cajun’s get offended when you don’t know the difference.
Both styles tend to be heavy in flavor, and rich at soul. Which goes along with the city’s motto, “Laissez les bon temps rouler” or “Let the good times roll”. But getting technical, what is the difference?

When the Spaniards governed New Orleans they became known to Europe as Creoles. Today Creole style cooking has the influence of French, Spanish, and African cuisine. Cajuns are descendants of the French Acadians as they learned to live in the south Louisiana swamps. It is said the Creoles tend to use more tomatoes, butter and cream. Cajuns tend to use more spices and animal (pork) fat.
After flipping thru a few recipes, I decided to make a Cajun influenced meal….. Minus the pork fat of course!

For the protein of the meal, I used tempeh, marinaded and baked it, then patted it in Cajun spices and lightly grilled the triangles. Garlicky greens are an essential for me with any southern style food. For the rice, I used white basmati, seasoned with Lemon zest, black pepper, and fresh parsley. As a bonus, and to help with the spice factor of the Cajun tempeh, I made a naturally sweetened corn relish.

Here’s the corn relish recipe. Had I have used red bell peppers, instead of gold, the color would have been a bit more vibrant. I jut can’t help but love the taste of sweet golden peppers!

For the relish:

3 cups corn, fresh, or frozen, then thawed
2 Tablespoons tomato juice
1 cup diced yellow onion
1 Tablespoon of olive oil
1 cup diced red bell pepper, or gold:)
1 teaspoon sea salt
pinch of cayenne, or more

Combine 2 cups of the corn, with the tomato juice in food processor. You may want to add a tiny bit of water to help smooth it out.

in a medium sauce pan, heat the olive oil, and add the onion and bell pepper. When tender turn flame down to medium heat. Stir in the pureed corn mixture. Allow to simmer for a minute, then add the whole corn kernals, along with spices.
Garnish with some sliced green onion.
Serve warm!

I did find this cool blog about where vegans can eat in NOLA. Just in case anyone was planning a trip:)
And below is a picture of Sweet Mama Janisse, owner and chef at Bless My Soul, a veggie-friendly creole style restaurant in Eureka, Ca. She specializes in delicious sauces, all mostly vegan friendly. And her vegan hush puppies are delectable.

More Love for M Cafe

by meaghan // March 10, 2008 // 1 Comment

I’ve said it before, and will I say it a million times more, I LOVE M CAFE!
LA can be the most draining city on all levels. But with the help of good company, especially those who desire amazing vegan eats as much as I, LA can be sooo incredibly yummy!
In case you haven’t yet heard the scoop on this place, M Cafe “quoted” is Contemporary Macrobiotic Cuisine â€” featuring balanced, nutritious, creative cooking which can be enjoyed daily by everyone, not just vegetarians or people with dietary restrictions.
Instead of going for the amazing Tempeh Florentine, which is my favorite brunch option, (see my old post on M cafe!), I decided to go for the Japanese Bento Breakfast Special, pictured above. It’s starter was a Kyoto style miso soup. Thinly sliced shitake mushrooms, wakame, scallions, cubed tofu, and yellow miso broth.

When the Bento Platter arrived, I hadn’t even gotten thru 2 sips off my fresh celery lemon juice. And boy was the platter huge! Simple scoop of brown rice, salad with ginger dressing and homemade pickled radishes, grilled tofu drizzled with a katzu glaze. And lets not forget about the gingered-arame-cucumber salad to help the digestion of all the food I was about to pile into my belly!
My friends had the blueberry pancakes, served with fresh strawberries and sweet maple syrup.
You’ll have to admit that Brunch like this on a Thursday is quite impressive!

The following morning was a run around. But of course, I needed a little treat to help fuel my energy for the day. So where else to stop for a quick grab-n-go? M Cafe take out! In under 5 minutes, perfect for LAers, I grabbed a Chocolate Hazelnut Croissant, and a Raspberry Chocolate Muffin from the take-out counter. On a side note, I haven’t had a croissant in about 7 years, and more importantly, I’ve NEVER had a vegan croissant! Let alone chocolate drizzled.

Evan more exciting, I get to actually “work” in LA soon on the weekends. I’ll be demo-ing, and promoting the Nature’s Express Wraps at 20 different Whole Foods in LA county! So stop by and see me, and let me know what you think of the wraps! We are switching to bio-ware soon! Whole Foods is also making a movement to stop using plastic bags in all locations. It starts April 22nd. EARTH DAY! Pretty cool. Genevieve (in picture below) is so excited about the wraps being in Whole Foods LA, that she is forced to do a dance!

Nature’s Express Wraps!

by meaghan // December 2, 2007 // 3 Comments

Let me introduce to you my new friends…
I present you with the Raw Thai Ginger Collard Wrap, Raw Cashew Hummus Wrap, BBQ Tempeh Wrap, the Tequila Lime Chicken Wrap! All vegan, mostly organic.

I created these wraps for Kung Food, and now under Nature’s Express, they are sold in every Jimbo’s here in San Diego, as well as Whole Foods, and soon to be in every Whole Foods in LA county!!!

I’m so excited that some of my recipes are available to the public! My favorite is the Tequila Lime “Chicken”, or TLC as I call it.

Both the raw wraps are great for a light delicious lunch, plus we all need more raw veggies in our diet! If you’re in the area grab one for lunch on your way to work! Heck, grab two! If you aren’t in the Southern California area, we also ship through buykind.com.

Feedback on these yummy vegan wraps is always appreciated!

Nature’s Express Arizona should finally be open in 2-3 weeks. Its all coming together so beautiful. I can’t wait for the San Diego location! More to come soon!

Quiche with spring veggies, capers, & a pignolia crust

by meaghan // November 24, 2007 // 1 Comment

I won’t lie. I am probably one of few vegans that will admit to being an amazing omelette maker. Its been almost 4 years since I’ve tried, but there was point in which my first days spent as a crazy lady chef took place at a hip veggie spot in Brooklyn, called Goga. Though not a totally vegan place, my early brunches were spent with flipping lots of chocolate chip pancakes, roasting breakfast potatoes, frying tempeh bacon strips, scrambled tofu galore, and unfortunately mixing eggs for omelettes. There is a definite talent behind those egg masters. Luckily, I’ve always been more of a crust fan myself!
Unfortunately, Goga had to close due to the awesome owners getting pregnant, and wanting to escape the craziness before the baby. Whew! Those brunches definitely whipped my butt at times! I found this pic on the Brooklyn Vegan blog…. apparently, he loved Goga too:(

If there is one thing I learned from all those early mornings, its that people love to eat brunch! And when a vegan goes out for brunch, he/she does not want to be told that their are no options. So in case you don’t feel like venturing out into the egg-filled brunch spots, or you want to have breakfast in bed (!), here is a deliciously simple vegan quiche recipe!

I didn’t post the crust recipe, but the RFD cookbook has a great one, or if your lazy Whole Foods has a vegan pie crust in their frozen section.

For the Filling:

1 1/5 Tab. safflower oil
1 Tab. garlic
1/2 yellow onion, diced
10 oz. swiss chard, strips
1/2 red bell pepper, julienned
2 Tab. capers
2 tea. oregano
1 tea. thyme

1 1/2 lbs. tofu, drained well
3 Tab. white miso
1/2 tea. sea salt
1/2 tea. tumeric
pepper to taste
1/4 cup follow your heart vegan “mozzerella”

***Preheat Oven to 375 degrees.

Start by heating a medium saute pan. Add your oil and onion. Follow with your bell peppers, garlic, chard. Only lightly cook till tender. Add capers.

In food processor, add tofu, and blend till smooth. Add in miso, sea salt, tumeric, and pepper, puree till incorporated. Place in large bowl, and stir in vegan cheese & veggies.

Using a spatula, gently spoon into crust, and smooth out evenly. Bake for 40 minutes or until browning starts, and filling is set. Allow to cool for a couple minutes, then slice and serve! Quiche is great for lunch too! Try making roasted garlic rosemary potatoes to go along side!

Here’s a close up pic!