FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

Archives for January 2011

Not Yo Nachos

by

I spent the entire day at my desk, watching torrential downpours through the window, dreaming of a time when my top priority would be a solid couch lounge.  But first?  A not so quick trip through rainy, rush hour traffic to get some fun Friday dinner snacks.

I love snacks for dinner.

I only had one mission when I arrived at Whole Foods: buy the Daiya faux cheese that Emily (A Nutritionist Eats) suggested I try.  Side note, a good portion of faux cheese products contain milk proteins and thus do not qualify as dairy-free.  Deceiving?  Very.

So naturally, I was beyond starving as I strolled the aisles and so I, naturally, helped myself to samples.  Lucky for me, I came across Demeter’s Harvest vegan bean dip.  Come to find out, they have a slew of tasty vegan products that are made locally (huge bonus, by the way).

It was all coming together, bean and cheese nachos.  The bean dip was so stinking good.  And the Daiya cheese was normal, as promised.  And I spent the evening couch lounging, as promised.

Another Non-Dairy Day, In Pictures

by

Breakfast:  Lemon Soy Yogurt, Organic Blueberries & Ground Flaxseed

Snack: Go Raw Spirulina Super Chips

Lunch:  Brown Rice Fusilli, Leftover Marinara Sauce, Spinach & Mushrooms

Dinner:  Tijuana Flats Black Bean Burrito with Lettuce, Salsa, Black Olives & a HUGE Side of Chips (unnecessary!)

All of the above is my answer to the question I hear a lot lately – “what exactly do you eat?”.  Sure my twenty ten self would have opted for Fage Greek yogurt with honey, grated parmesan on my pasta, and every power lite dairy option Tijuana had to offer.  But these small substitutions allowed me to end the day feeling satisfied and, most importantly, good.  And darnit, I like feeling good!

Resolution Pants Pizza – Part Deux

by

I paid a long overdue visit to the friendly folks over at Viitals today.  I was in the mood for more pizza and thought it best to baby step my way to homemade.  Viitals offers pre-made, gluten-free pizza crust locally at their cafe AND they’re willing to ship if you’re not so local.

If you recall, I had already sampled this dough at Gourmet Pizza Company on New Years and knew it was a sure shot to goodness.

I ran my plan by Silvia, the owner, and she suggested that I brush the crust with garlic and olive oil.

So I did.

I spooned a layer of homemade sauce on the crust, topped with a layer of spinach, spooned a little more sauce, and then added sliced baby bellas.

I baked the pizza in a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes and sprinkled with nutritional yeast.

It was the first time this year that I missed cheese.  It was really good, but it would have been AMAZING with some mozzarella and feta.  So here I am, 16 days into the no-meat, no-dairy new year, missing real cheese pizza.

I’ve found the perfect crust, now I just need the perfect vegan cheese. Suggestions please!

Oooh La Lavender

by

Oh you read it right, I not only downloaded, but prepared a recipe from the ‘Vegan Yum Yum’ app.  Don’t make fun.  It could be cool.  After all, the recipe called for rosewater and I am  a sucker for anything rose.

The hunt for rosewater was a tad on the difficult side.  Fresh Market had orange blossom water, but had discontinued rosewater.  And Whole Foods…  I ended up finding it at Whole Foods, but not where one would expect.

Luckily I called ahead, because I would have never checked the Whole Body section for something that would soon be ingested.  And you better believe I fact checked the salesperson that told me rosewater was unavailable in the baking aisle.

It’s all good though, right?  I now have the ability to bake with a hint of rose, cleanse my face, and perfume myself and my home, all with the same product.

I cringed when I added the rosewater to the traditional baking aisle ingredients.

The verdict?  Undecided.  I didn’t love them, but I sure found myself making multiple trips to the kitchen to break off another piece.  Perhaps being the baker halted this cookie’s climb to my favorites list.