A Whole Lotta Loving (Hut)

Thought you got rid of me, did cha? Too bad, I’m all up in your internetz invading your reader. Although many wonderful, sparkly, glorious things came out of Vegan Mofo it was… to be honest… a mofo. Even with little weekend breakies, I was all puttered out come December. This blogger can only do so much.

It’s too bad because you best believe I have been eating, oh yes. Christmas break was basically one long sugar bath of cookies thrown in with bouts of splendiferous holiday feasting. I made what is sure to become my famous goodie tins, stuffed with Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles, Molasses Cookies, One Brownie to Rule Them All and the oblig Isa Chokie Chippers. I said to hell with it, threw the camera out the window, and stayed strong and carried on in a bloggie-free life. Joyfully liberating I’ll admit, but I’m back and I’m better than ever.

I should be updating on the state of the union (like how I arrived to FRANCE yesterday), but there’s plenty o’ time for such pleasantries. On to more pressing matters, namely a lovely little vegan restaurant called Loving Hut. Located a few minutes from “my” newly-deserted apartment, I couldn’t tell you why I haven’t been stuffing my face here every single day of my Chapman career. Its consistent culinary delights, smiley waiters, cosy (read: squished) atmosphere, and ridiculously cheap prices have left me fairly enamoured with its existence.

Sure, the Master Chiang cult faux-propoganda is bananas, but forget all such nonsense and turn your pretty little heads to the menu. Herro vegan deliciousity, you’re about to meet the famous Emily powerhouse of a stomach.

Now get ready, cuz it’s most def picsha time. Captioned underneath for your understanding pleasure.

Mango Delight: mango sorbet, fresh mango, and soymilk. Ordered twice because it was that good.

Raspberry Cooler which didn’t meet my taste buds. Friend’s verdict: a bit sour, but yumsville.

Strawberry Milkshake. Why the big ice cubes? My only complaint.

Fried Spring Rolls got an A + with me and the roommate. But, to be honest, it’s an extraordinary achievement to mess up deep-fried anything.

Vegan Pho! A whole new world of soup deliciousness that has passed through my lips! More, give me moaaaar.

Can’t forget all the fresh and saporous fixin’s: jalopenos (nixed), beansprouts (noshed), half unidentified yum sauce/half camera-shy siracha, thai basil, culantro, and lime.

Spicy Cha Cha with half shrimp, half chicken. I was irked over it’s pathetic heat factor; psh, false advertising can’t do nothin’ to get between me and my Siracha fest. The mock shrimp were a welcome addition. Overall twas an unhealthy variety of tasty- decent.

Tiramisu. While I can’t speak to its authenticity (I’ve never tried the eggy variety) I was thoroughly pleased with its taste and texture. Chocolate sauce upped it to the gold standard.

Double layer chocolate cake. Words are not necessary, dear readers. Simply mmmUMMmmm.

One last note: I have overcome my “don’t do it” reflex and gotten a tumblr. I know I made the wrong choice because within the first 24 hours I was firmly in the “obsessed” category.

Peruse, stalk, follow if you wish. Some of my foodie pics are bound to get reblogged, so keep away from all that and your eyes won’t burn from boredom.

Persimmons DESERVE a Party

This past Sunday at Pitcher Park in Old Towne (an extra “e” to authenticate its oldness) Orange was a glorious event: a Persimmon Party. I’ve never given persimmons their comeuppance, but that was before I was showered with the infinite glories of the Hachiya variety. Eff you fuyu! You ain’t got nothing on these babies; Hachiya are the super soft, sweet kind that are best when frozen and eaten liken ice cream. Head on over to Alien’s Day Out to learn more about this magical fruit from a persimmon-obsessed blogger herself.

Persimmon Party photos: onward!

I definitely loaded up on Hachiyas at the festival, adding to the bunch I already bought at the Thursday farmer’s market. I took my time picking out the best ones–feeling for hardness, checking for bugs, eyeing for bruised soft spots–and of course the persimmon vendor commented on it. So now I’m not only “the weird girl who takes pictures of fruit,” but also “the crazy persimmon picker.” It’ll make a great tombstone.

This looks like an innocent slice of persimmon, correct? OH NO, it’s a sheisty little McSheister that fools innocent people comme moi into taking large bites of its flesh while they proceed to pucker until their lips permanently recede into their mouths. Gross chalky aftertaste, supremely sour, bad bad bad. I have learned my lesson: never take free samples from an heirloom persimmon vendor without asking what you’re sticking into your trap. It’s a Trible, for the (masochistically) curious.

Persimmon ginger preserves! Persimmon chili preserves! Persimmon apple butter! Persimmon jam! More exclamation points! ! ! because I can. one last: !

I could have mooched on free samples at this booth all damn day. They also had lots of fruit leather, salsas, and other fun things (I’ll let the persimmon-gravy turkey meatballs slide). The lame wheat thin crackers truly peeved (isn’t that fun word? peeeeeeeeved) me off though. Invest in quality dipping apparatuses (aparrati?), you cheap mustards.

Everybody had one of these little persimmon popsies. Nothing mind-bending, but its concentrated taste of frozen persimmon with floral orange undertones hit the metaphorical spot. Definitely worth shelling out a buckaroo.

You simply haven’t lived till you’ve tried dried persimmons. They are everything I love about fresh persimmons but with a deeper sweetness and chewy texture. I’ve yet to meet a dried fruit I didn’t love, but these were supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. I averted my eyes as I handed over $4.50 for a tiny package: a sacrifice in the name of deliciousity.

Cute packaging made it all worth. Plus, the French writing gave me the warm fuzzies; being a language major definitely has its simple pleasures. On the back: “Á votre santé” (“To your health”) = major Emily points!

There were tons of (non-vegan) persimmon baked goods–cookies, muffins, scones, etc–all adorned in cute boxes and bows to make my heart aflutter. I may not have been be able to chow down, but I could take pictures! One lady commented: “Now that’s one way to save some calories.”

I was this close to buying a cute little cookzine of persimmon recipes, already dreaming of ways to veganize the eggs, butter, and milk called for in the recipes. I resisted in favor of buying actual persimmons. Good call.

Nice sign, but I can make my own for cheaper, methinks.

Overall it was a great day of persimmon tom-foolery at a location just a few minutes biking distance from campus. There was quite a good turnout, the persimmons were off the chang, and there was even a local band jammin’. If I weren’t graduating and making plans to conquer the world, I’d definitely be back for next year’s event.

If you’re interested, check out the rest of my photos on my flickr set. Tip: peruse while persimmon-munching for maximum Awesomez.

Grocery Shopping: a Love Story

I’ve got quite the penchant for gettin’ my grocery on. Nothing fills me with more jublilation and glee than the prospect of several hours to ooh and ahh over produce, eyeball the shelves for new products, and splurge on goodies I am certain I will devour far too quickly. Grocery shopping represents a smashing smorgasbord of cooking possibilities, hopelessly overwhelming in the best possible way.

I find it highly ironic that two of my favorite places to shop lie at complete and total oppostie ends of the price spectrum: Whole Foods and 99¢ Only stores. The former appeals me to my inner hipster foodie while the latter allows me to get my cheap-ass thrift on. Hello gargantuan cans of chickpeas, I embrace you! And when in Whole Foods: organic, no-salt, non-gmo, let’s-feel-good-about-this-purchase chickpeas for at least $2 more per can. Gotta love those living-wage prices.

So for your viewing pleasure: a side-by-side comparison of two grocery shopping excursions…

The 99¢ booty! From top to bottom, left to right: two cans of Hunt’s whole tomatoes in juice, two 32 oz. cans of chickpeas, a 4-pack of sponges, a box of 30 freezer bags, a 5 lb bag of potatoes, three bags of assorted pastas, recycled aluminum foil, two packages of firm silken tofu, a loaf of sourdough, two bags of dried figs, and a bag of dried prunes. Grand Total: $17.75 for 17 items! Makes me all giddy like a supermarket coupon lady.

And now less stuff, but insanely more expensive. Hoo-raah.

Silk Nog soymilk, Wildwood Aioli, Artisana coconut buter, Tempt Coffee Biscotti ice cream, one bunch of kale, two flavors of Amy’s canned soups, Dark Chocolate Dreams almond flavor, Westsoy Tempeh, Janagold organic apples (one in the front and more in the bag), Sunergia Soy Bleu cheeze, and a box of Sweet & Sara Cinnamon Pecan marshmallows. Total: $59.75 for 12 items. Ouch, that smarts gooooood.

Forever engraved in the Vegan Commandements: thou shalt always read the ingredients. I stupidly purchased a bag of organic gummy worms as I dashed to join my friend at the check-out only to later discover the word “gelatin” smacking me in the face. Sucky.

Oh, and one more thing: I strongly believe grocery shopping is a solitary activity. Apologies, but going with others just takes the fun out of it. I’ve yet to meet a person that loves to slowly meander the aisles, read food labels, and spend as much time in the produce area as I do. Grocery time is Emily time, plain and simple.

Product Review: Sweet & Sara Cinnamon Pecan Marshmallows

Oh lordy, these are deeeee-vine. Sweet & Sara Marshmallows are one of those products that I simply have to buy on the rare, relished trip to Whole Foods. No ifs, ands, or buts about it, these babies are flung without abandon into my (most likely stuffed to the brim) cart. No matter that they’re $7.99, no matter that they’re basically puffs of pure sugar, ain’t no matter no sir. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: if you’re going to splurge, why not on something that nourishes your body? Although I know the vegan health nazis are scoffing at this point, at least there’s no artificial ingredients, the ubiquitious high fructose corn syrup that haunts my nightmares (it’s in eeeeeeverything!), or the truly terrifying and very un-vegan gelatin. Come to thing of it, how does anything with boiled animal bones as its main ingredient qualify as “yummy” in any sense of the word? A question for the jello and/or marshmallow masters of marketing.

Cinnamon Pecan Sweet & Sara marshmallows are, dare I say it, even more decadent and out-of-this-world delicious than the original variety. Topped with small pecan pieces and a healthy drizzling of cinnamon-sugar, one of these puffy pillows is enough to satisify even the most crazed sweet tooth. Each one is perfectly light and airy, with a luscious texture similar to “normal” marshmallows but, as one of my omni friends said, much better.

I found myself sucking on each marshie for a good 5 minutes, allowing each and every sugary morsel to dissolve on my tongue as I dreamed of unicorns, rainbows, and…Joaquin Phoenix. But back to reality! Bliss in a marshmallow. And in the words of kooky Project Runway designer Daniel Franco, follow your bliss.

These are truly gourmet confections by a company that obviously cares about its customer base. Each marshmallow is handmade and handpackaged, as you can see in this Food Network clip about the S’mores-making process. A bit off-topic, but mondo-yays all around for a vegan company feature on meat-central, Paula Deen-buttery Food Network! That’s progress, y’all.

My how I would love to try all the other varieties of Sweet & Sara marshmallows, but lack of funds, as usual, trumps my foodie aspirations. But can you imagine? Strawberry, Toasted Coconut, Peanut Butter S’mores, Pumpkin Spice, Chocolate freaking Peppermint! I’m dyin’ here.

Pizza & a Winner

But with pizza involved everyone is a winner, right? I can’t believe I’ve waited this long to try Daiya on a pizza, but suffice it to say my bout of negligence is officially over. I haven’t had a truly decadent pizza experience in many moons, but Daiya has filled that gaping chasm in my foodie soul forever. It was melty and rich and fatty with only a slight touch of ”commercial vegan product aftertaste”. In my defense to the ubiquitous vegan police, I do NOT miss cheese in the slightest but sometimes find pizza a bit monotonous without it. Don’t get me wrong, I love a nice cheese-less veggie pizza but, as the cliché goes, variety is the spice of life. Ugg, how I despise clichés.

Making the dough was… well… an experience. I’ve never worked with yeasted bread before and now I know why. Oh the heart ache, the worry, the apprehension and that was just waiting for my yeast to proof! My first batch of dough was too dry and then the second was a bit more kneadable, but far from perfect. To make matters worse, I waited in vain for my first batch to rise to no avail. Feeling defeated and inadequate, I started a second batch and that one rose fine, of course. Murphy, you are illogical and a coup d’état to upheave your unjust system of law is in the works. Pitchforks will be involved and it’s gonna be ugly.

Anyway, you don’t care. Long story short: the dough rose (sort of) and made an “ehh” pizza crust. I’m definitely not on the path to open a pizzeria anytime soon, but it works for now.

I had none of the usual pizza toppings, so I chose my two favorite veggies instead: broccoli and carrots. The pizza sauce I got at the gluten-free store down the street was just as amazing as the owner said it would be. As Lorelai Gilmore would say, I want to take a bath in that sauce.

In case you’re wondering, I ate the whole thing. Gluttony is one of my best attributes, thank you thank you…

Finally, a meek call of thanks to all those who entered the muffin giveaway after my pathetic “pay attention to me” pity post. Each entry made me smile, so thank you again! And the lucky winner chosen by Random.org is…. Poopiebitch as comment #3! I will get in touch with you so I can send those pumpkin muffins ASAP aka as soon as I get my lazy ass to the grocery store to buy canned pumpkin. Ta!

You No Want Free Muffins?

You know what makes me sad? That no one entered my stupid little muffin contest. All it takes is one measly comment, people! Choose a muffin, any muffin: blueberry, chocolate, pumpkin, apple strudel, oreo, I don’t judge!  If there’s no entries by tomorrow, I’ll go throw myself off a bridge, or, more likely, I’ll extend the deadline ’till next week. Please don’t make me choose between the two and comment.

On a happier note, the sun is shining, I’m almost phlegm-free and Friday beckons. And I made soup. Lovely, lovely curried split pea soup. This is an easy peasy recipe from VWAV, minus cardamom and a few other spices I didn’t have. I grated a bit of carrot on top and ate the rest bunny-style (chomp chomp chomp) later.

Off to gallivant in the clouds, pet a puppy, and enjoy life. Oh wait, that’s right I have no life- just this:

Reeeeeeadiiing Raiiiinboooow

**Now I’m gonna get on my hands and knees here and it’s mighty embarrassing from where I’m groveling. But please enter the contest before tomorrow at 6 PM PST! Free muffins! FAH-REE, people.

Eh… dignity: who needs it?

Figs are not Scary Monsters

Fear not, little children, of the many-toothed fruit creature. When opened, this unique fruit has hundreds of tiny gooey pink tendrils that bring to mind memories of  jellyfish attacks. Not to mention the cavernous fig mouth with with a throat full of pink alien blobs that leads to nowhere. Let’s just say it’s assez terrifiant to land at least an interview for Monsters, Inc. As you can see, I still possess an (over)active imagination that often results in irrational blogging tangents.

Let get back to the point of this entry: figs. Fresh ones, to be exact. Today at the farmer’s market, I decided to throw caution to the wind and splurge on a four dollar basket of fresh figs. I worked it out: with 9 figs total, I paid roughly 44 cents per fig. I resisted these little yummies at first pass, but could not resist with a $5 surplus left after purchasing produce of the more economical and boring variety: beets, cauliflower, onions, avocadoes. I could simply could not, COULD NOT, resist the opportunity of trying a fruit with such a short season. In my defense, I have been better about impulse buys lately ($10 Fantastic Mr Fox dvd, you bother me not), but I’m hopeless while grocery shopping. When I see a vegan food that has invaded the pages of my Google Reader, I am weak to its power. Oh well, you only live once right?

To be honest, I wasn’t impressed out of my mind with these. Perhaps they are not fully ripe? They are definitely sweet, but not achingly so as the dried variety. The syrupy insides have a lovely bite. Their flavor is laced with floral undertones in a taste that I can only describe as summer.

A warning: the exterior is extremely prone to bruising (as evidenced above) so you must eat them pronto. No leaving them in the back of the fridge for a week or you might as well just chuck your money in the trash.

I have lofty plans of poaching these with some brown sugar in the broiler, but that may never happen. Figs are usually paired with fancy cheese of the expensive French variety, but I’m sure any equally pretentious vegan nut cheese (Dr. Cow, anyone?) would work. To be honest, I am busy and will probably just eat these plain when the sweet tooth calls. School has started and time is (study) money.

I’m not dead, promise!

If I had any regular readers since starting my blog, I’m sure I’ve all but lost them now. I am a lazy ass when it comes to blogging, not gonna lie. Ignoring my little MuffinTopped for a month… it’s pretty bad. I’ve just been crunched for time lately with school, travel plans, and work. Finals week has finally arrived. But really, I know that you don’t care about my excuses.

I must say, today has been simply splendid. I spent most of the morning sleeping in, which was a nice change. Finished my Statistics take-home final and spent some quality time with my friend Erika watching French movies and discussing our plans to visit Paris in Janury. Plus, this rain gives me a nice excuse to lounge around my apartment all day in my fuzzy sweats, drinking chai tea and watching The Office.

The cold weather lately has left me craving stew and other warm savory foods that stick to your ribs (in a good way). I’ve made this eggplant stew a few times, always altering it according to my fancy or what veggies/beans happen to be in the fridge at the time. The base is basically roasted eggplant, roasted garlic, and a little bit of veggie broth as needed. Then I add in whatever, this particular time sauteed carrots, potatoes, jalapenos, and bellpeppers; chickpeas; and lentils. Then I spice the hell out of it with tons of cumin and cayenne and anything else that looks good. It’s fairly simple to make, but extremely satisfying.

Not very pretty, but damn tasty.

Here’s some other food randoms I’ve photographed lately:

Basic pancakes with EB and (real) maple syrup. I made pumpkin pancakes the other day, but neglected to take pics.

Mmm look at that melty Earth Balance and maple syrup...

Finally… muffins! These little babies are Pumpkin Bran muffins w/added walnuts from Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s Vegan Brunch. Highly recommended book- everything I’ve made from it has turned out scrumptious and these muffins were no exception. My roommates loved them (“It’s like they’re from a bakery.”)

My apologies for the horrible pictures. No natural lighting is a problem.

A fairly simple teriyaki veggie stir fry with toasted sesame seeds on top. Lately I’ve been working on creating the perfect teriyaki and I think I’m getting close. More details when I’m finally happy with it…

A lemon poppyseed cookie that I always end up getting whenever I visit my local health food store (in the Orange Circle). I have no self-control when it comes to vegan cookies!

Hell yes.

I promise from now on to start blogging more regularly and to actually take pictures of my cooking adventures. Until next time, happy holidays!

My talented swap partner KatieUD made me this. Isn't it gorgeous?

TV(P) Dinner

I feel a little weird calling this baby a taco, but it’s taco-like in its inspiration. What’s going on is basically a mixture of TVP seasoned with Mexican spices, sauteed carrots and onions, and lettuce atop a hot tortilla. Sadly, no salsa because there’s none in my apartment. But, you know, it tasted good and that’s all that matters in the end. I am quite enjoying my cooking experiments with the big bag of TVP I got at the farmer’s market.

TVP Taco deliciousness

I want to interject here with a short(ish) boasting of how awesome the catering was on-set this weekend. On a student film the crafty usually consists of bagels with a tub of cream cheese for breakfast, lame supermarket sandwiches for lunch, Red Vines to snack on throughout the day, and a bag of chips for dinner. Being a vegan on top of that means even more limited choices- you can request vegan meals but usually they’re pretty lame/non-existent. Not so this weekend!

Aaaaand that's lunch! I'm the freakish looking one mid-drink on the left. Our fantastic caterer is the lady near right.

The caterer made a special effort to cater to me (the crazy vegan) and the DP who had gluten and nut allergies. She sure delivered! Gluten-free “meatballs” and pasta, EB-slathered garlic bread, Veggie Grill salad, beans and rice tacos, HOMEMADE potato chips, vegetarian club sandwiches, vegan stew and much more! I have no pictures, but trust me when I say I gained several pounds after gorging myself at crafty all weekend. Sometimes people are so accommodating you almost feel bad… well, not that bad

I'm on the left, behind my friend Joy in the purple shirt. Yes, this was the silly picture!

“A Brighter Palette” was such an amazing group of talented people. Good times were had by all. Great environment, fun conversation, and good food. What more can you ask for?