Sawyer’s Southern Spaghetti and Smokey Greens March 10, 2010
Posted by getsconed in LOST, Sawyer, Southern, Trader Joe's, dinner, fake meat, pasta, seitan.5 comments
Southern Spaghetti with Seitan and Smokey Greens
paired with an Australian merlot
We’ve yet to see this side of James Ford, but I know it’s there. There is one dish in this LOST character’s romancing-and-swindling-the-ladies repertoire, and this is it.
Smokey greens for three reasons: the name, of course, the Southern tradition, and because Sawyer knows greens help you look that good.
There’s really not much traditionally Southern about the spaghetti sauce itself – I simply discovered after a quick google search that a lot of ‘Southern spaghetti’ recipes called for ground beef or chicken and extra heat. Let’s just pretend that Sawyer’s parents used to eat this in Alabama, before you know who came along.
I browned diced, homemade seitan in a bit of olive oil, added minced garlic, crushed red pepper, dashes of sea salt and pepper, and tomato basil marinara I had made previously. I let it simmer for a bit, and served it over whole wheat spaghetti.
The greens were the ‘greens mix’ from Trader Joe’s (collards, mustard greens, kale, etc.); sauteed with garlic, vinegar, soy sauce, crushed red pepper, agave, pepper and liquid smoke.
Also a wonderful accompaniment to a good book.
Last night’s episode touched my heart, for the record! If you’ve seen my previous LOST related posts, you may know that I adore that you know who.
No spoilers, please.
back to portlandia, once again March 9, 2010
Posted by getsconed in Brooklyn, dim sum, falafel, isa's new book, jenny, nyc, soup, test kitchen, travel.6 comments
Flowers Restaurant, Seattle
once again, I’m back after a bit out of town. this time, it was for a few days in Seattle. while I was there, I decided my next realistic dream job involves frequent travel and keeping Portland as my home base. I certainly can’t afford to travel recreationally as much as I’d like, and I’m fortunate that my current job lets me travel a bit. I’m getting the teeniest bit restless living here for 5+ years, but it’s Portland! It’s amazing! Quality of Life! etc. etc. etc.
that being said, I have three travels’ worth of photos and thoughts to unload soon via flickr, this site and stumptown vegans! I’m hoping to get back to normal life and do this sooner than later. rationally speaking, naming my flickr photos should not overwhelm me!
heading into overwhelmingly awesome plans, Portland’s Inaugural Vegan Iron Chef is officially happening on Sunday, June 6th, 2010 in the early evening.
It’s being presented by Try Vegan PDX, and I am beyond ecstatic about it. The official contestant invites went out yesterday! So many wonderful local vegans are already involved!
Stay tuned for more by becoming a fan on facebook and watching the ‘lil twitter.
a few recent photos to get back into the swing of things…
Smokey Split Pea Soup, from Isa’s Test Kitchen
Soy Latte from K&F Coffeehouse in Portland
Dr. Cow Nut Cheese with Hemp Seeds from Lifethyme in NYC - my first time trying this, call me a fan! It’s sitting on top of a raw apple cranberry treat from Lifethyme, too.
My sister, Jen, agreeing to visit Vegetarian Dim Sum House in NYC, yet again. She’s a hip little flexitarian, and enjoys the Roasted Pork Buns and main dishes here.
Of course, something like this, which Millie and I really enjoyed, horrifies her.
Oasis Falafel, Brooklyn, NY. This was GREAT at midnight after a long night, but made me incredibly sick. fun times!
so much more to come.
New York State of Mind: Knishes March 2, 2010
Posted by getsconed in Jewish, knish, nyc, potato, vegan, vegan with a vengeance, vwav.13 comments
These are almost offensively non-traditional, but I’m proud, all the same.
Since returning from vacation, I’ve been feasting on a few magnificent, toasted bagels, all the while, being briefly haunted by another traditional food from my New York heritage – knishes. I have really fond memories of my very Italian family visiting Jewish delicatessens, and slurping bowls of chicken noodle soup after an obligatory knish. Throw a pickle in for good measure. Please.
I spent a lazy Saturday afternoon making these knishes. They’re made with love, and filled with boiled, mashed potatoes, mixed with olive oil, a ton of sauteed garlic and shallots, various greens, salt and freshly ground pepper. The jellyroll style knishes (I was having fun with this) have added roasted garlic, nutritional yeast and a bit of miso in the filling. All are brushed with a mixture of soy milk and olive oil. I overbaked them a bit, cause that’s what I do.
Knishes
The dough recipe is from Vegan with a Vengeance, of course. The knish recipe from that book is one of the first couple things I ever made from it! I simply didn’t have the patience to roast my potatoes this time, and was winging the filling.
<3 Po-ta-toes
And hey, bagel talk, coming soon. Straight from my bagel shaped heart.
Kudos to JFK’s Vegan Options: CIBO Express March 1, 2010
Posted by getsconed in Cibo Express, JFK, Millie, new york, nyc, sushi, travel.3 comments
Heck yes, vegan sushi at the airport!
Outside of overpriced chips and desperate, packaged Alternative Baking Co cookies, the only thing I’m consuming at an airport may be a glass of wine or cup of herbal tea before my flight.
On our way back to Portland last week, Millie and I perused the normal food stands at JFK’s Terminal 5, the land of JetBlue, and slowly noticed a trend – CIBO Express Gourmet Market had actual vegan food items. Warning, give their website a minute to wander into. At our first CIBO, we saw sushi and hummus, and that expanded into a lone packaged Thai noodle salad – with a couple dumplings!, which grew into discoveries of bean and grain salads, and into a small row of packaged vegan noodle salads and a few veg-salad sandwiches at the CIBO by our gate (the 3rd or 4th we visited).
They’re packaged cold options, but still! There’s also a Jamba Juice, a salad bar, and Lucy’s Asian Kitchen seemed like it might have had a veg-friendly dish or two.
There’s no bagel shop with rows of flavor tofu cream cheese, but CIBO sure beats crap or nothing. Check out CIBO in 8 domestic airports, include Tucson!
I was damn stoked to sit down with a reasonably fresh cucumber avocado roll for dinner on an airplane – and watch Sheer Genius for the first time ever. The roll came with little packets of soy sauce and wasabi, and the sushi itself was rolled in sesame seeds~
A delighted Millie exploring the vegan-y fridge
