Betty's Wok & Noodle Diner

Last night I ventured out to Betty's Wok & Noodle Diner, right by Symphony Hall.  I had purchased a Groupon for this place and was anxious to try it.  While they technically only have one vegan dish (the Va Va Vegan), they offer a vegetable bar where you pick your own veggies, sauce and accompaniment and they stir fry it for you.

We started with vegetable dim sum.  The dumplings were pretty good, but I was eager for the main course.  Mostly I was anxious to get to the vegetable bar.

I picked all the veggies ;)  I chose tofu, brown rice and the Kung Pao sauce.  The sauce was delicious and really spicy which I love, but they but just a little too much sauce for my liking.  No complaints here though as I had the leftovers for lunch and it was pretty awesome.

If you are in the neighborhood, check this place out. They have some solid vegan options and it a great place to take your carnivorous friends for a good meal.

Butternut Squash and Leek Soup

It's officially cold here in Boston and last week I was craving a creamy, wholesome soup.  I got the idea for this soup from my Potato and Leek Soup recipe.  It came out delicious and I ate it for lunch for the next two days.

Butternut Squash & Leek Soup
Ingredients:
1 medium butternut squash- peeled, seeded and cubed

2 large leeks, light green and white parts only

2 tablespoons of EVOO

1/4 cup of dry white wine 

1 teaspoon of dry thyme

1 teaspoon of dry rosemary

2 bay leaves

6 cups of vegetable broth

1 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon of curry powder

Rinse the leeks and cut them in half lengthwise.  Then cut them into 1/4 inch pieces.  Coat the bottom of a large stockpot with the EVOO and add the leeks. Sweat the leeks until they are soft (about 3-5 minutes).  Then add the white wine and sweat a little longer (about another 1-2 minutes).

While the leeks are sweating, peel and dice the butternut squash and cut  into small cubes.  Add the squash to the stockpot and make sure they are coated well with the wine/EVOO mixture.  

Add the rosemary, salt, thyme,and black pepper.  Then add the stock and bay leaves and bring it all to a simmer.  Cook for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.  

Using an immersion blender , process the soup until it is smooth.  Make sure there are no chunks.  I usually run a fork through it to make sure that I have gotten all of the chunks of squash.  Let it cool for about 10 minutes. Then add the curry powder and blend again.  Add more salt and pepper to taste.  Enjoy!

Denver Adventure's: Watercourse Foods

Prior to going to Denver I did some research on vegan spots so that I could be well prepared.  I knew that I would likely have only one chance to get to a vegan place because it is hard to get non-vegans to come along.  I read Yelp reviews and decided on Watercourse Foods because of their philosophy and approach. WaterCourse Food's philosophy, is simple and accessible. They have created an atmosphere that welcomes everyone which I thought would be accommodating to my non-vegan friends.

When I got there, I was blown away and it far exceeded my expectations in terms of quality of food and atmosphere. The sign outside reads "Eat the path of least resistance".  I loved this phrase because it reminded some about my reasons for becoming vegan- eating natural, healthful foods that are not highly processed.  When you walk inside you are faced with a case of gorgeous vegan desserts.  Beautiful pies, cookies, scones, and so much more.  

There was a 30 minute wait, but it was well worth it!  The menu was fast with a southern comfort feel.  We went for brunch and I was so torn on what to get- breakfast or lunch.  Watercourse is a vegetarian establishment, but most of their base foods (and all soups, dressings, and desserts) are all vegan.  The breakfast items could be ordered with eggs and most items could have cheese added.  This made it very accommodating for my brunch companions.

After much agonizing I settled on the Blackened Caesar Wrap with soup and french fries (you get two sides with every meal!).  My wrap included blackened tofu and a fresh Caesar salad stuffed in a whole wheat tortilla with tomato and red onion and I added avocado and cucumber.  It was so incredibly delicious that I don't think I can give it justice in words.  I have had other vegan Caesar dressings and they are usually not very good.  This dressing was delicious.

The tofu was cooked to perfection and the blackened seasoning was the perfect spiciness.  The soup of the day was a tomato, curry bisque.  It was so flavorful and so amazing.  I need to figure out this recipe...more to come on that ;)

I finished my meal with a delicious chocolate chip cookie which surprisingly light and delicious.  I think that they used almond flour which made it so yummy.


I loved this place so much, and it made me sad because there is really no place like this in Boston.  The few vegan restaurants that we do have are decent, but nothing like this place.  If you ever get to Denver, check it out.  You won't be sorry.

Denver Adventure's: Tokyo Joe's

Last weekend I ventured to Denver, CO for the WFTDA Championships.  Not only did I get to watch amazing roller derby, but I also got to eat some fantastic food.  On the way from the airport, Amy and I stopped at Tokyo Joe's, a healthy, fast food establishment.  This place was awesome and offered some great vegan options- just what I needed after the plane ride.

I did the build your own bowl with brown rice, tofu, broccoli, zucchini, carrots, bean sprouts, mushrooms, and snap peas all served in their fabulous Dragon sauce which was spicy.  I loved this.  It was healthy, filling and so awesome.  There does appear to be a few of these restaurants in MA, but not in Boston.  If you have a chance to check them out, I totally recommend it. 

Tortilla Soup

I love fall and soup and things that are spicy, so naturally tortilla soup sounds like a little piece of heaven to me. I had actually been craving this for a few months since I had it at Temezcal on the South Boston Waterfront.  This weekend, I decided to try to make my own and jazz it up a bit. 

Tortilla Soup
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon of grapeseed oil
1 chopped red onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 bell peppers, chopped (I did one red and one green)
1 zucchini, chopped
1 ear fresh corn (I had blanched corn late in the summer and frozen it- so I used it here)
1/2 cup green onion, chopped
3 teaspoon ground cumin
1 lbs of roasted tomatoes (I pre-roasted my tomatoes when making another soup)
1 red chili peppers, I kept the ribs and seeds in for spice (to make it more mild, remove both)
3 cups vegetable broth
1 cooked black beans
salt & pepper & crushed red chili pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon of fresh lime juice
Chopped avocado, for garnish
Tortilla sticks (corn tortillas, grapeseed oil, garlic powder, chili powder, to taste)

In a large pot over medium to low heat, add the grapeseed oil, onion, and garlic. Sauté for about 5 minutes. Preheat oven on medium broil setting.

Meanwhile, chop the peppers, zucchini, and red onion- set aside. Add the veggies into the pot and sauté for another 5-10 minutes.

Add in the roasted tomatoes, beans, cumin, lime juice and broth. Stir well and season with salt and pepper. Simmer on low-medium heat for 25-30 minutes.

In the meantime, make your tortilla strips. Slice corn tortillas into 2 inch strips Place in a small bowl and drizzle with grapeseed oil to coat. Sprinkle on garlic powder and chili powder  and mix well with hands. Place on a lined baking sheet and broil for up to 3 minutes on medium. Watch very carefully. When golden, remove from oven.

After the soup simmers, ladle into bowls, and top with chopped avocado and tortilla strips. Serve immediately.

Vegan White Bean Blondies

I am a terrible baker.  I was before I became vegan too.  However, I have made it a personal goal to try to learn how to bake things.  So when I so this recipe for vegan blondies on No Meat Athlete, I had to give them a try. I am sure glad that I did!  These came out delicious and because they are made with white beans, they are high protein and relatively low fat.  I also used spelt flour rather than pastry flour which means that my version is Gluton Free too! 

Vegan White Bean Blondies
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups spelt flour
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup of light brown sugar
2 cups cooked white beans (I soaked and cooked my own, but you could used canned.  Just rinse well)
10 chopped dried apricots
1/4 cup dark rum (I used Mount Gay)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
1 cup chopped walnuts nuts
1 cup raw cacao chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and brown sugar; set aside. Process your beans in a food processor with the chopped apricots and rum.  Add the water and vinegar and process until a smooth puree forms.

Fold the bean puree into the dry ingredients with as few strokes as possible.  Stir in the walnuts nuts and cacao chips.

Grease a 9×13 baking dish with baking spray and spread the batter evenly into the pan.  Bake for about 25-30 minutes, turning the pan around in the oven halfway through.  A toothpick stuck in the center should come out clean.  Mine took 31 minutes to get nice and  brown along the edges and golden on top.

Let cool, then slice into 24 squares.

Grilled Portobello Mushroom Au Poivre

This is something that I haven't wanted to try veganize for awhile.  Typical Au Poivre sauce is generally served over steak, but given the meatiness of portobellos, I was confident it would have the same taste.  Traditionally, a steak is coated in peppercorns and sauteed in butter and then a sauce is created by deglazing the pan with cognac and heavy cream.  Veganize that?  No problem.  This actually came out better than I thought it would, but be ready because you will need a hammer to execute this well.  Yep, you heard me right.

Grilled Portobello Mushroom Au Poivre
Ingredients:
1/2 of red wine (I used Boujelais)
3/4 cup vegetable broth
2 teaspoon tomato paste
2 teaspoon dark miso
2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp earth balance + 1 tablespoon for cooking your mushroom
3 tablespoons cracked mixed peppercorns
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
1/3 cup finely chopped shallots
salt and pepper to taste

Take a plastic bag and throw in 3 tablespoon of mixed peppercorns.  Using a hammer, pound out the peppercorns so that they are very coarse.  Set aside.

Rub about 1/4 teaspoon grapeseed oil on each side of the portobello and and rub in about 1/2 tablespoon of the coarse peppercorns. Set aside.

Heat the remaining grapeseed oil and 1 tablespoon of Earth Balance over medium high heat. When really hot, sear the portobello mushroom on both sides. Keep warm and make the sauce. Take the frying pan off the heat.

Using the same frying pan, deglaze the pan with the red wine. Add the shallots and remaining peppercorns and put the frying pan back on the burner and reduce by 1/2. Add the broth and reduce by 1/2 again. Take it off the burner, and add the tomato paste, miso and vinegar. Stir in the last of the Earth Balance. Check the seasonings and serve over portobello.

This sauce is super dense and concentrated. It will look like you didn't make enough, but once you taste it, you'll know. Just a little bit of this goes a long way.  I served mine with green beans and a baked sweet potato.  I love the sauce so much that I even some on my potato.

Apple Butter

After going apple picking twice this fall, I had an abundance of apples- even after hosting an apple themed party.  So what is a girl to do with all of these apples?  Apple butter of course.

Let me preface this by saying that this shit is amazing and I love it- particularly on my morning oatmeal or vegan cinnamon raisin toast.  Whoa! Heaven for real.  BUT with that said, this is most definitely labor a love.  I thought this process would take me about 3-4 hours...try 7-8!  Thank goodness Saturday was a miserable cold day and I had no desire to go out.  Thank goodness for my beloved crock pot which worked over time to create this masterpiece which made my apartment smell like apple pie.  It's Wednesday, and my house still smells like apple pie.  Yum!

So if you have the time to do this, I totally recommend it.  I also jarred it and shared it with some friends which is always nice :)  Please if you decide to go this route, follow the jarring procedure below to make sure you do it right.  Done properly, this apple butter should last up to 3 weeks.  Jarring can be a bitch, but totally worth it.

Apple Butter
Ingredients:
3 lbs cooking apples (I used a combination of McIntosh and Granny Smith)
1 cup prunes (I added the prunes instead of sugar)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons brown rice syrup, dark agave syrup or barley malt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cardamom
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon salt

Peel, core, and cut your apples into small pieces. Place apple slices, dates and apple cider in crockpot and set on high.  Sprinkle all your spices and mix.  Cover and let simmer for a long as time. 

After many hours (I stirred my apples about every 20 minutes) you will notice your apples slowly turn into a a smoother substance, though there will still be lots of chunks.  You will also notice that it your substance will start to get darker.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Process apple/prune mixture with your immersion blender until smooth. Pour and spread the mixture evenly into a 9 x 13 baking dish.

Bake in centre of the oven for about an hour, stirring every so often, making sure to scrape down the sides. Once done (you can test for doneness by seeing if the butter is thick enough that it will stick to a plate or something upside down), ladle the butter into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace, seal with lids and place in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes.Jarring Method (IMPORTANT)
Ball jars specifically designed for home canning are best. Jars come in a variety of sizes from half-pint jars to half-gallon jars. Pint and quart Ball jars are the most commonly used sizes and are available in regular and wide-mouth tops. If properly used, jars may be reused indefinitely as long as they are kept in good condition.

Sanitize your jars first.  I just run them through the dishwaster.  Make sure they are complete dry before you start this process.  Also, you may want boil your lids separately (without the rings) for extra sanitation.  I do.

Fill your jars with the apple butter, making sure there are no air bubbles.  You can check this by simple looking at the outside and if you see a space in the mixture, there is an air bubble.  Use a spoon to remove.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Your pot should be large enough to cover your jars with at least 1 inch of water.  Put your filled jars in the boiling water and keep them covered with at least 1 inch of water. Keep the water boiling. Process the jars in a boiling-water bath for 40 minutes.

Lift the jars out of the water and let them cool without touching or bumping them in a draft-free place for several hours until they are cool.  I use tongs to get them out of the water, but you can by a special jarring tool.  Be sure when you are doing this to lift them out evenly. so as not to shift your liquid to much.

Once the jars are cool, you can check that they are sealed verifying that the lid has been sucked down. Just press in the center, gently, with your finger. If it pops up and down (often making a popping sound), it is not sealed. If you put the jar in the refrigerator right away, you can still use it. Otherwise, your apple butter is good to go!  Feel free to give out to friends.  If you follow this method, your apple butter will stay good for 3-4 weeks.

Roasted Tomato Quinoa Soup & Spicy Asian Peanut Slaw

When starting October Unprocessed, I began with the Revitalive 2-day Cleanse.  Part of the cleanse involved amazing soups.  My favorite was the Tomato Soup because it included quinoa which made it hearty and super healthy.  So I decided to try to replicate this.  It came out awesome and I have been eating it all this week for lunch.

Roasted Tomato Quinoa Soup
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large carrot, finely diced
1 rib celery, finely diced
1/2 sweet red bell pepper, finely diced
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine (I used Savignon Blanc)
1 quart strong vegetable stock
4 lbs of tomatoes, pealed/chopped and roasted
2 bay leaf
1 teaspoon of oregano
1 teaspoon of time
salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
1/2 cup of uncooked quinoa

Preheat your oven to broil and dice your tomatoes, laying them out on a baking sheet.  I used 4 lbs of roma tomatoes because I needed 1 lbs for my tortilla soup recipe as well so I figured might as well do it all at once.  You only need 3 lbs for this recipe.  Make sure you peel your tomatoes.  Douse with a little grapeseed oil and sprinkle with some salt and pepper and roast.  I roasted mine in two sets.  Roast them on broil for about 10  minutes and then flip them and roast for another 10 minutes.  Set them aside and let them cool.

Sauté all vegetables with oil in a soup pot until they start to collapse and sweat. Add the wine, tomatoes, broth, and bay leaves.  Cover and simmer until veggies are tender.

In the meantime, rinse 1/2 cup of dry quinoa and strain.  Bring 1 cup of water to a boil and add 1 teaspoon of grapeseed oil and a pinch of salt.  Once the water is boiling, add the quinoa and cover.  Reduce heat and cook for about 15 minutes until all of the water is absorbed and the quinoa is tender.  Set aside.

Using an immersion blender, puree your soup until it is smooth.  Season with salt and pepper. You may need to add more stock if it's too thick- I added about another 1/4 cup. 

Add the quinoa a little bit at a time stirring constantly so you don't get clumps.  Once all of the quinoa has been added taste and add more pepper if needed.  You are ready to serve it up!  This is a great soup recipe and the quinoa makes it much more hearty then just plain old tomato soup.

I mentioned that I have been eating this soup every day for lunch.  I often enjoy it with some of my asian coleslaw which is light and delicious.

Spicy Asian Peanut Slaw
Ingredients:

5 cups thinly sliced green cabbage
2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
2 cups Napa cabbage shredded
1 green pepper , thinly sliced
2 carrots, julienned

1/2 red onion, thinly chopped
4 green onions, chopped

3 tablespoons of smooth unsalted organic natural roasted peanut butter (I use Teddie's)

3 tablespoons of vegan ponzu

3 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar

3 tablespoons of sesame oil

2 cloves of garlic minced

2 teaspoons of ginger (Fresh is best!)

1 tablespoon of my beloved Sriracha

sesame seeds to garnish

Whisk all of the wet ingredients plus the ginger and garlic together in the bottom of a large bowl.  Mine was a little thick so I added a little bit of water to thin it out. Chill in the fridge while you make your coleslaw.

Cut up all of your coleslaw ingredients and toss together.  Add the peanut sauce and coat well.  Voila!  Delicious and quick salad.

October Unprocessed Conclusions & Vegan Ponzu

I am so glad that I did the October Unprocessed Challenge set up by Eating Rules.  I would not have thought to do this on my own because it is not very different from how I eat already, but I am glad that I did.  The Challenge made me really look at what I am putting into my body on a daily basis as well as being more conscious of the choices that I make when it comes to food.

So without getting too hokie, here are my conclusions. (Brace yourself for some enlightenment...or not so much):

1. Being a vegan (for me) isn't just about not eating animal products.  Because of this Challenge, I am more aware of the processed foods that I eat regularly and their effect on the world around me and my body.
2. I suck regularly blogging.  I should have known it would be too ambitious to commit to write one blog post a day.
3. I love fall veggies!  I have a new found love of kale and man do I love all things squash.
4. Drinking more water is hard and you have to pee a lot.  This is something that I will continually struggle with, but I promise myself to keep trying.
5. I can survive life without coffee!  Holy Shit!  Who knew?  And, by the way, I can do this and still be a human being- even more impressive.
6. I love salt.  It was hard to cut down on salt, but I learned to make substitutions like Braggs and Ponzu sauce (see vegan recipe below!).
7. Eating "clean" is tough, but the benefits are amazing and I have found that I have had a lot more energy.

My take away is to try to keep eating this way as much as possible throughout the year.  In the meantime, I have a ton of recipes I didn't post from this month that are all unprocessed.  Check back in a few minutes for some yummy, clean food.

Vegan Ponzu
Ingredients:
1 cup  tamari
¾ cup lemon juice
¼ cup white rice vinegar
Cayenne pepper to taste

Ponzu sauce generally contains bonito which is fish.  However, it is easy (and cheaper) to make vegan ponzu! This is a great substitution for adding salt to dishes as well.

Combine these in a small bowl and whisk together to integrate the ingredients thoroughly.