Sometimes I am late to the party. That is for sure. Such is the case with Modern Times Cafe. I don't know how long it's been around but I sure wish I had been going there for as long as it's been open. It's not a very big place and the first time I went there were only two seats open at the bar to eat. No big deal. I have been twice. Once for breakfast and once for lunch. Both times my food has been out-of-this-world. For those of us with diet restrictions this is a great place because everything is clearly marked. The staff is very friendly and most importantly-Great Iced Soy Mochas. My breakfast of Tofu Scramble with seitan and kale cooked in tamari and garlic was so delicious that it made me want to eat kale all the time. The garlic fries that you can get with your lunch sandwiches are the best fries I have had in a long time. They don't stay open for dinner which is a shame but get there if you can, you will not be disappointed.
What to Eat Wednesday, One Pot Pasta
I don't make a lot of pasta. I tend to cook a lot of curry and Thai food because they are my favorites. I decided I wanted to find a few easy to make pasta dishes and came across this One Pot Pasta recipe on the A Beautiful Mess blog. I like to read this blog but truth be told most of the projects on here are not my taste nor is the decorating my style and most of the food is not vegan. That said I still like to read it. I do pull a few things from it plus I find it inspiring that these two women made their own careers out of being creative. You should take a look at it.
Now back to the pasta. There was a storm for about the billionth time and I made the pasta for dinner that night when we were stuck inside and waiting for the snow.
It was really easy to make vegan by buying vegan pasta and leaving out the cheese. It's funny because you'll feel very skeptical that this is going to taste anything but mushy. It however, turned out great. And the leftovers I threw in a baking dish with crumbled bread crumbs on top and warmed it in the oven for lunch. Also, delicious. I'm going to try another one of their recipes soon and also make it vegan. Until then, Ciao!
What To Eat Wednesday, Jasmine 26
This is one of my favorite places. It is Jasmine 26. It is an elegant Vietnamese restaurant and bar. It is very vegan friendly and the food is wonderful. They also serve some of my favorite drinks in Minneapolis, such as the Pom Bomb (a pomegranate martini) and a Ginger Fizz (homemade ginger ale, gin). My absolute favorite appetizer dish is served here, Salt and Pepper tofu which even my hardcore carnivore friends agree is delicious. Have a look at some of the dishes. Some of which are served beautifully. It's nice to have a fancier place to go for holidays and such. A lot of vegan places are not very dressy. And I like to dress up.
Everything I've had here has been fantastic. I really cannot recommend it enough.
The Glamorous What to Eat Wednesday
My boyfriend has a strongly held belief that a bad vegan donut is better than no vegan donut. Since we lost the wonderful Donut Cooperative getting a vegan donut in the Twin Cities was no easy task, if achievable at all. Imagine the delight of vegans all over Minneapolis and the joy of people trying to eat less animal products during their New Year's resolution when the tremendously adorable Glam Doll Donuts announced they had added vegan donuts to the menu. They added them to the menu about a month ago in which time we've been in to have them 4 times but on the fourth time they were sold out(good for them, bad for me)!! Thus I learned no vegan donut was indeed a very sad state of affairs. I have liked them all, at least to certain degrees. I am still skeptical on the peanut butter sriracha donut.
The dark chocolate topping is OUT OF THIS WORLD that they created for many of the other donuts. In addition to having regular menu features they also seem to be having special editions. Including a vegan dark chocolate with salted caramel filling. Wow! That was yummy! I also really liked the vegan raspberry curd filled donut(the one with the heart on it).
To drink I have had the jasmine green tea and it was so fragrant! I loved it and the iced soy mocha, two thumbs up there.
The decor is very cute. However, I don't feel like it lends it's self to a night time hangout atmosphere. Maybe this is by design but the night time trip we took there a few days ago: the music was so loud you couldn't hear each other, the lights are uncomfortably bright and the chairs are dreadful for sitting on for more than 15-20 minutes. At some point a group of people came in and asked for the music to be turned down.
My experience with the staff has been completely positive and they are tremendously fashionable and attractive people(I'm just saying -having cuties work for you doesn't hurt).
One complaint I've read is that people think the donuts are too expensive but you know- I don't agree. As long as you are getting a well-made speciality item, shut up and pay a little more for it. If it was easy to make these kinds of treats everyone would do it. It's these unique, small places like Glam Doll Donuts that make a city special. Minneapolis struggles with this and we lose so many great places like Rusty Quarters(a wonderful retro arcade) and Heavenly Soles(a fabulous shoe store whose closure struck at the heart of women everywhere).
Needless to say, I'll be going to Glam Doll Donuts again. Although, as soon as the snow is gone it's gonna have to be by foot or bike because I have resolutions too. Sort of.
What to Eat Wednesday but on Thursday, Forks Over Knives
So this recipe is not one of mine but it is one that I tried and thought came out great. It is a vegan au gratin from the website Forks Over Knives. The mission of Forks Over Knives seems to be teaching people about a plant based diet as a means to fight disease. Now, this information is not new to me but everyone has to learn in their own time. I highly encourage you to try out this recipe. I thought it was very good and it's a nice winter comfort food. The only thing I really changed was not slicing the potatoes with a mandolin. I thought they were too thin so I used a knife instead. I also soaked my cashews for the cream sauce for a couple of hours as opposed to 15 minutes. I think they're easier to blend that way. I used Rainbow Chard, a green I've not cooked with before. I found that I liked it quite a bit. I plan to try out more of the recipes on this site. Here is the link again: Forks Over Knives Au-Gratin. Have a Yummy Day!
What to Eat Wednesday, Vegan Thanksgiving Pajama Potluck
After I moved out of my parents' house, I stopped celebrating Thanksgiving. I never really liked it all that much. I didn't celebrate it for some years until I started seeing my current boyfriend and transitioned to an almost completely vegan diet. We started off having a dinner with one or two other couples over the next few years until I started to realize that not only did a lot of my friends not eat meat or diary but a lot of them also had family that were too far away to visit every year. Most of my vegetarian and vegan friends who did go see family during the day were basically stuck eating whatever side dishes might happen to be ok for them. And for some of my lactose intolerant friends this was a nightmare as we all know most everything traditional and American is laden with butter or milk. So we came up with a new tradition a few years ago and one that has been working tremendously well. I hope we stick with it for many years. Especially since I have worked to make what I think is the best tofurky. Now, you can just follow the directions on the box. Which I have done. I have tried both the ways they list on the website but what I like better and have been complimented on time and time again is my own amended version of the instructions.
The other point of this evening dinner is to be as comfortable as possible. I encourage everyone to wear pajamas and to bring a vegan dish to share. We always have more food then we know what to do with. So today I'll leave you with my tofurky recipe and tomorrow I'll give you my mashed potato recipe and the link to the gravy we make to go with them and it is amazing.
Using the cooking time on the box of the tofurky is fine. I usually have mine completely thawed. My changes are all in the seasonings.
1. I mix up the 3 tablespoons of olive oil and one tablespoon of wheat free soy sauce mixture. I usually make three tofurkys so I do one mixture per roast.
2. Instead of ground sage, I mix in a seasoning mix from a favorite spice shop Penzey's. It's called Bavarian Seasoning. I don't generally measure this out. Since it's salt-free you don't have to worry about it drying anything out.
3. Now, for each tofurky I buy enough FRESH sage to make a bed of it for each roast to cook on. I'll line a glass baking dish with foil and make three beds of fresh sage. This gives the roast an amazing aroma and makes your house smell nice.
4. Use a brush to coat each tofurky with the oil and soy sauce mixture. This is really important: Brush the WHOLE thing with oil otherwise it'll dry out. Do the bottom and sides well. Don't use all the mixture as you'll want more to brush it again when you remove the foil from the top and bake it for the last 10-15 minutes.
5. After each one is brushed with oil and set on the sage, sprinkle seasoning on top of each one and then cover the whole thing with foil. I usually make a pouch with the foil. It keeps the moisture in really well. I do NOT add any of the suggested vegetables. This never worked out very well in the past and with all the other food that arrives there was no point in wasting it.
Following the directions on the box for time and temperature, I put them in to cook. After the alloted time has past I'll take the dish out and remove the cover. I'll usually slice the tops open a little so I can brush the remaining oil into the tofurky for the last ten minutes or so of cooking. This also will keep it from drying out if you have to leave it in the oven on WARM while people arrive or get settled.
It should be easy to slice and serve. We usually serve it with gravy which I'll give you the recipe for tomorrow.
What to Eat Wednesday
The place I'm going to write about is a favorite of mine if for no other reason than the atmosphere is great. The Bad Waitress in south Minneapolis has been a regular haunt of mine for sometime. If I were to be totally honest I'd have to say that the available vegan food menu is not very big nor are the breakfast dishes the best of those available in the Twin Cities. However, they do have some of the best coffee I've ever had and I very much enjoy the simple tofu scramble known as the Heavy Pedal. It's really a great dish to have when you've had a little too much to drink the night before. Judge me all you want, I have no problem admitting to enjoying a night out with cocktails and as such I've figured how to recover from them with what foods and activities (or lack thereof). The Bad Waitress also has a vegan sloppy joe that many of my friends really love. Not to mention a vegan chocolate cake to die for. Oh and the name? None of the service staff is anywhere near bad...in fact, I'd say they are the opposite.
What to Eat Wednesday
Next up on my What to Eat Wednesday we go to St. Paul, Minnesota. The capital of Minnesota. It's a nice city. Beautiful and quiet. Old trees, old houses, yummy food.
One of my favorite places in the Twin Cities to eat is Babani's. It is thought to be the first Kurdish restaurant in the country. I don't know if that is true but I do know the food is very aromatic, warm and unique. Some of the dishes seem to be a lighter version of Indian food. My favorites are the lentil soup, Niskena, the Kurdish bread, the Kurdish lemonade made with black lemons and the Garbanzo Bean Shilla with chickpeas that melt in your mouth.
What to Eat Wednesday
So, I am going to start regularly featuring subjects. I started last week with Friday now being CatDay. Now Wednesdays will be about food. What to Eat Wednesdays will be either a place to eat or a recipe to make at home. I am going to start with a place I ate at 4 times on a vacation about a month and a half ago simply because it was so great and so was the staff- they deserve any attention they get.
The place in question is Green Vegetarian in San Antonio, Texas. I was in Texas for 7 days and ate here 4 times and also stopped to buy a dozen cupcakes for a family gathering. The entire bakery is vegan and wonderful. I spoke with the resident baker one day and not only is she talented, she is super cool. I wish I'd taken her picture. She also makes vegan dog treats.
Vegan breakfast seems to be the hardest meal to find in restaurants. I was very pleased to have breakfast at Green twice and it was amazing both times. My favorite was the Vegan Migas which was a combination of tofu scramble with tortilla chips and refried black beans.
I do hope if you ever have the chance you'll stop by Green. The staff was very nice and had no problems with you asking a million questions. For other suggestions on where to eat when traveling check out Veg Guide. It is a website that has been an invaluable resource for me the last 10 years of traveling.
Have a cupcake filled day!