Vegpod has started a twitter. Now I must admit had it not been for my lovely husband, I wouldn’t be so apt to joining yet another way to unsocialize our socialization. Does that even make sense?
For more vegpod happinings, and weekly menus for the farmers market, follow us on twitter.
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While it may be sometime before we see any locally grown produce for sale, the summer Sheboygan farmers market is back!
You can support your local farmers and vendors directly, every Wednesday and Saturday from 7am till 2pm. Located in Fountain Park, at the northeast corner of 8th Street and Erie Avenue, this market continues to have more vendors every year, with a growing demand for the local food movement.
Need some reasons to shop? I’ve made a simple list for you.
1. Taste the freshness. Treat your senses. The markets are held within hours from the field, and vegetables and fruits are usually picked within hours of the market. Your vegetables will have a better texture, and be at their peak of ripeness. Stimulate your senses from just seeing and smelling the food we eat can connects you to the land.
2. Environment. Yeah, yeah, heard it before. Only this time think about the cost of gas it takes you to shop at a grocer, and then think about the effect shipping food all over the globe takes on our environment. Did I mention packaging? Cut back on all that plastic junk, and silly bags veggies come in. Look at what plastic is doing to our ocean!
3. Community. You can actually talk to your farmers. What variety are you buying? Was it sprayed with anything? And not to mention the market is a perfect place to sit, have a picnic, and see familiar faces.
4. Support small farmers. Help to boost our local economy. Sustainable farmers struggle to survive. Helping them, helps us.
5. Vegpod. Come visit Erik and I at are little vegpod food booth, and grab a yummy brunch and sweet treats. As always, we promise no refined sugars or flours, 100% vegan goodness, gluten free options as well as options for diabetics. We will be there every Saturday. If you miss out on us there, stop by Goodside Grocery and look for our food. Soon we hope to be in natural food shops all over Wisconsin.
Whew, its going to be a busy summer.
This lovely lady rolled over 200 tamales!
Greetings from the western side of the vast Lake Michigan. Vegpod has been on hiatus to seek out and thus enjoy some soul searching. Through travels afar, hindered language(s), bewildered metric conversions, and a much needed cold and dreary winter, I can proudly say I have grown within myself, and re-inspired my idled culinary skills. Deciding to leave the vegan fast food industry was long overdue, and I am pleased to say my ‘studies’ abroad have brought me back to the gleeful fine dining chef I had once been. I miss San Diego almost everyday, but am pleased to find myself with more of an ambitious objective. And where better to find it then in the dairy state.
Wisconsin is mainly known for dairy & wheat production. So who could I possibly tempt with my vegans treats in a town of 50,000 cheese curd connoisseurs?
In the past, the thought of running my own food booth at the local markets in southern California had passed through my mind quite frequently. Since the restaurant had kept me busy, day and night, the idea had passed quickly, never thinking to return until the right time. Here in Sheboygan, Wi. there appeared to be no better occasion then Earth Fests’ 20th Anniversary.
Earth Fest is an annual festival showcasing an eventful two day weekend to help promote the environment through music, art, education, and food. And every Earth Fest needs a little vegan love.
Upon my arrival here, I had been approached by a women putting together this festival. I figured why not, and called in some worker bee troops for help. Luckily I didn’t have to look to far. We decided to stick to something simple, as well as something the locals could relate too. We went with three varieties of cold wraps, vegan ho ho cupcakes, and the winner of the weekend, a trio of Americana style tamales, complete with an array of homemade salsas. Sticking with the concept of choosing locally, we were able to arrange most of our veggie purchases from local farmers. And thanks to my new found favorite place, Paradigm, I had a certified kitchen, and a wonderful convection oven to work with
Bicycle powered smoothies, I heart Paradigm
The tamales proved to be the most popular by far, and with the hours upon hours worth of wo-man/man power that went into each hand rolled, and tied off cornhusk, it’s no wonder. They were by far the most labor intensive project I’ve ever seen attempted.
Before this weekend I had definitely been under the impression that Sheboygan had no desire in attempting to try any vegan eats. And though many of the Earth Festers traveled from other cities, I was definitely inspired to do more, feed more, and hence, start a vegpod food booth. There will be more to come possibly starting in spring 2011, and until then I will be trying to cater and shine my best through the wonderful Paradigm Coffee & music.
A big thanks to Kate and all of the Paradigm crew for being so darn cool, and making me feel like there is a warm place to just be myself. And a super, I mean super, duper, duper, big thanks to Melanie, Jared and Erik. For without them, I would’ve lost a piece of my sanity. You guys ruled it!
Love you Mel!
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
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!
What is a more grown-up way to get that sweet, tart, cranberry fix that goes along with your holiday meal?
Now I’m not trying to knock down anyone’s favorite canned cranberry mold, but how about a homemade orange ginger cranberry sauce, with crunchy, toasted pecans! Made with using fresh, yes fresh cranberries! This recipe is so much fun, and you and everyone that surrounds it will be amazed!
And you can feel like a healthy grown-up too!
This recipe is delicious served warm. You can pre make this in advance, if you feel overwhelmed with all the cooking on Thanksgiving. Just make sure you stir in the pecans minutes before serving so they hold a slight crunch. If you want to lower the glycemic level, agave nectar works as a great substitute for the sugar.
This recipe also allowed me to use my microplane, for grating that hard ginger. A microplane is a super sharp zester, you not only use for your citrus, but coconut, whole cloves and nutmeg as well! What better season than fall to go out and get one! They are heavy duty durable, and last a long time! Zesting has never been easier!
If you can find a juicing orange, you will have less of a hard time trying to get the fresh juice out of the orange. And as a bonus, they usually don’t have any seeds!  Fresh cranberries should be at any grocery store this time of year. If you can’t find em’ get your butt to the farmers markets! I know you can definitely find them there! Did I forget to mention all the Vitamin C this recipe has to offer?!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup organic cane sugar, granulated
1 orange
1 tea. grated fresh ginger
4 cups of cranberries, fresh
1/2 cup pecans, toasted
***To toast your pecans, preheat your stove to 350 degrees. Spread you pecans evenly onto a cookie sheet. Place in oven and allow 4-5 minutes to toast. Be careful not to let them burn! Allow to cool, and chop till small (chocolate chip size) pieces.
Pick over your fresh cranberries and make sure non are discolored or shriveled. I’ve heard that rip cranberries ‘bounce’ but I am not urging you to make a mess in the kitchen! If they are slightly firm and have a reddish hue, your good to go!
Grate the orange peel and ginger and place in a medium saucepan along with the sugar. Add the juice from the orange. Over medium heat, cook until sugar is dissolved. Add cranberries and reduce temperature to low, and cover. Cook for about 5 minutes until you hear them pop! Cool sauce till warm, and add those chopped Pecans!
Save some of the orange zest and pecans to garnish!
I don’t have a picture of my finished project this year yet, but I wanted to share this before the holiday! Have a safe and fun weekend everyone!
Recently, I’ve been using rice paper wrappers to make various versions of spring rolls.
If you haven’t worked with rice paper before, HAVE NO FEAR! When treated gently, and with care, they can be your new best friend. Not to mention they are unbelievably cheap! You can buy a package of rice paper wrappers for under $2 at a local Asian market. Rice paper is usually gluten free, only slightly cooked, and adds an edge to just your basic tortilla.
Here’s how to use em’
Fill a large shallow bowl, with filtered water. Submerge a rice paper sheet in the water, follow with another. Meanwhile, make sure you have a clean, dry, table to roll you wraps. After about 3-4 min. take one out, allowing to drip off excess water, and place on prep table. Follow with the other paper, laying vertically below, and covering the bottom 2 inches of the first paper wrap. Allow another minute to dry
Try to assemble your fillings in a horizontal line, across the bottom rice paper. Once you’ve stacked them, pull the bottom part of the rice paper over the fillings and start rolling upward, tucking and GENTLY securing to a hold. Slice in half, and serve.
Fillings can range from any favorite cold filling, a salad you bought at the market, leftover veggies with your favorite salad dressing. Go for color! They look so pretty when sliced and served!
My favorite fresh veggie filling consists of shredded purple cabbage, julienned yellow bell peppers, alfalfa sprouts, sliced avocado, fresh chopped cilantro and mint, with a sprinkle of sesame seeds. For a dipping sauce try nama shoyu with some thinly sliced scallions.
In the mood for something more hearty? How about some slices of Tofurky, a spread of tofutti cream cheese, fresh chives, sliced avocado, spring mix, and a dash of hot sauce!
These pack well for lunch in a plastic container, and will refrigerate well if wrapped tightly:)
Indian flare nights are always exciting at the homestead. Rich spices & flavors, fresh vegetables, and wholesome grains. I also love meals where there are plenty of condiments to choose from. Chutneys are a delicious accompaniment to Indian dishes. Traditionally they contain fruit, vinegar, sugar, and spices, and can range from mild to hot, chunky or smooth. So tonight we made a HUGE meal, with the hopes of leftovers carrying us through the following day.
If you live in San Diego, I have recently been introduced to our “Little India.” And might I add, I can’t believe its taken me this long to get there!
Over in Clairemont, by Black Mountain road, you can find all sorts of cheap, Indian grocery stores, restaurants, and other fun things such as fashion outlets for saroongs! I was blown away with the minimal prices, as well as the authentic selection of food. For a couple staple items, I grabbed a big sack of basmati rice, a bag of imported chick pea flour, incense, bulk turmeric, cold lychee drinks, and some culinary tips from the store-run family!
Saag Paneer tends to be a favorite amongst us veg-heads. I believe its a result of all the minerals we intake when we eat large doses of spinach. But whats a girl to do when most of her favorite Indian restaurants are consumed with using ghee, and paneer?
Get to work in the kitchen thats what!
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Paneer, it is a homemade cheese, made by curdled milk and lemon or lime juice. It is quite similar to tofu, so its easy to substitute. Ghee is actually a very healthy way of eating butter, but of course, I ALWAYS use my favorite, earth balance butter. I couldn’t give away my favorite saag recipe, but here is my pakora recipe. This is awesome for those of you trying to stay away from wheat and gluten. It is also *super* fun and simple to make! If you have a mortar and pestle, I suggest using that to grind your seeds and mix your other spices. If not, a coffee grinder will grind them just fine!
Assorted Veggies, broccoli & cauliflower florets are a hit! If your going to be using thicker vegetables, such as yams, or carrots, try steaming them first to soften up.
1 1/2 cups chick-pea flour (besan flour)
1 cup filtered water
2 tea. turmeric
1 1/2 tea. cumin seeds
1 tea. mustard seeds
1 tea. garam masala
1/2 tea. sea salt
1/2 tea. hing
1/2 tea. cayenne
***Start by mixing the flour and water in a bowl to make a stiff dough, then adding a little more while beating with wire whisk, to make a thick batter. Let sit for 30 min.
Meanwhile, grind and mix your seeds & spices.
After 30 minutes, mix spices in, batter should still be thick.
If you have one of those cute little home use deep fryers, they will turn out perfect, but those of us who don’t…..
Heat a pan with a fair amount of oil. (I use sunflower oil)
Submerge a vegetable floret into the batter, then quickly & gently drop into heated oil.
If entire floret is not covered, batter may slightly fall, so just be quick on turning them. When all sides are slightly browned, remove and drain on paper towel. Serve at once, accompanied by a sweet mango chutney.
