seattle’s vegetarian fest

It’s been a while, my friends, but sometimes life shoves its fat ass into that space that isn’t really a seat, just a natural space you and your fellow riders have left so you can all be comfortable. You can’t blame it, it’s life, but come on, there’s clearly not enough room for the likes of you!

Well, one of the things I managed to do in these past weeks was meet up with Jess of Get Sconed! (here’s her roundup) to check out Seattle’s VegFest. It was vegetarian, not vegan, which was sort of a bummer, but whatever. A lot of people showed up to check out the meatless fares and wares. It was seriously crowded—I tried to get up high for a good shot of the floor, but this lady with a walkie-talkie and a really bad perm wouldn’t let me. Boo.

Why was it such a bummer to have nonvegan stuff there? Because when you walk up to a table, all excited to try a delightful-looking gluten-free cookie, and check out the ingredient label on the box as you’re about to pop said cookie into your mouth only to find BUTTER, well, it makes your heart hurt a little. Besides, aren’t all cookies vegetarian? Why would one bother to attend a vegetarian fest? I made sure to say to the girl behind the table, “Oh, this isn’t vegan. Oops.” But here’s the other bummer of the event: Practically all the tables were run by random volunteers. They had no knowledge of the products. When I volunteered at Portland’s VegFest, the rep for the frozen berries I was sampling gave us the full story of the farm, the process, the products, and how they made the electricity to run the processing plant—and that was only because he had to run back and check out of his hotel!

Ummmm, what else, what else, what else? (Trying to get through all my gripes before I show you what I tried!) They had separate waste bins there for landfill, recycling, and compost, but we had no idea what our cups and spoons and whatnot were made of, so these bins were just a mish-mash of everything. VegFest (Sorry to keep rubbing Portland salt in this wound, Seattle) required that all serving containers were fit for compost. It was easy and clean. Next time.

So what did I check out? I’m going to work my way from random to like to love:

OK, I didn’t try this, but look at the size of that pot! It’s a veg sauce/dip, like a warm, non-Mex salsa. I have no aversion to anything in it, but I just wasn’t drawn to it either.

This was interesting (to me). This woman’s a veg coach. I guess some people need hand-holding to get through the wild world of ingredient labels. By the assortment on her table, I think “vegetarian” means “vegan,” although I’m pretty sure those are honey grahams in the back of the “vegetarian” side. Oh, honey, how you divide us.

Here’s the new chocolate pudding from Wayfare. They’re super nice people over there, and they’re the ones who bring us We Can’t Say It’s Cheese. If I had this love of pudding from childhood I might be really excited about this, but I’m not good with the squishy and goopy, and this had a viscosity about it. It’s made from oat, and I could tell. The flavor’s pretty good, though, so if you’re not stupid neurotic like me you might dig it.

These guys had two halves to their table, very clearly marked “vegan” and “vegetarian.” I tried the original flavor and it was pretty good. Your standard vegetable spring roll, but crispy not doughy, and it didn’t feel like I was only eating cabbage. Kudos. I was let down to see dairy in the potato rolls, ’cause that sounds kinda awesome, but it was fun to exclaim (pretending I was at a vegan party and someone suddenly discovered) “There’s dairy in the potato rolls!”

And more Daiya to love! This is their new pepperjack. I tried a little quesadilla with it, but the photo turned out ultracrap. It’s got some decent spice to it. I’ve never in my life had dairy pepperjack, so I don’t know how this compares…but at the end of the day, who cares? I like this and that’s pretty much all I care about.

Also riding the pepper train are these drinks from Prometheus Springs. They all contain capsaicin, the hot stuff in peppers. Love it. These are pretty intense if you’re not expecting it. I just checked out the site’s store locator and discovered they have it at Food Fight! Guess where I’m off to.

And I’m closing this out with, of all things, yogurt. I always have and always will hate most yogurt. I don’t care for the consistency or the fermenty tang, but this stuff is damn good. It’s cultured almond milk and the flavor is mild, not out to prove anything, just being itself. I found some at a Whole Foods near me, and it was around $1.50 for a container. I don’t know how much other yogurts go for, but for an occasional treat (at work, not around any nut-allergic Toms) I’m willing.

So yeah, that was my day at Seattle’s Vegetarian Fest. I’ll try to follow this up fairly quickly with the stuff I ate outside the convention center. No promises, but I’ll try.

lunch-portion mofo: portobello pdx

My love for Portobello is hardly news here. I’ve gushed about them before and held back so much—what about you poor kittens who don’t live in Portland?  Well, today I’m not holding back. VeganMoFo is a celebration of vegan food and I’m gonna celebrate my lunch today. Y’all can eat here when you visit Portland.

Tom and I were able to carve out a moment in our crazy schedules to meet me for lunch at Portobello. Lunch? Yes, lunch. They recently started serving lunch 11:30–2:30 Tuesday through Friday! It’s a smaller menu, mainly soups, salads, sandwiches, and pizzas—and that’s A-OK with me.

Tom got the sausage sandwich and a side salad, because he’s a smart boy and smart boys eat their greens. On the sandwich is Daiya mozzarella, marinara and some spicy peppers. He said it was excellent and he could eat double.

It was my turn to get the arrabiata pizza. It’s slightly smaller than the dinner portion, but I still couldn’t finish it, donating a quarter of it to Tom’s “fill my belly” fund. It’s good and spicy, and the sausage is creepily sausagy. I had to take it off the pizza and eat it alone because the textures coming together weirded me out. I never did eat sausage pizza, even as a kid, so don’t blame the pizza for my neurotic behavior.

And if you’ve imagined Portobello too fancy for a lunch run-in, don’t be silly! Our waiter was wearing a Food Fight! t-shirt and our total (before tip) came to $15. Not bad for an absolutely delightful lunch.

portobello pdx. it’s just good food.

Having taken two sets of visiting omnis there now, I can confidently say Portobello, while totally vegan, is just good Italian food period. The chef (2010 Vegan Iron Chef competitor Aaron Adams), pastry chef, and bartender all have my deepest thanks (and a lot of my money now) for providing amazing food in a gorgeous location that I can take anyone to and not worry about whether they’ll like it.

Since they only take reservations for groups of six or more, the wait can be waity, but it’s worth it. Or you can be a smartypants and show up right when they open. One reason I love them is that even though the tables are packed, they don’t push you out. You leave when you’re ready. Now, if you’re an a-hole, you could sit and chat after the coffee and dessert dishes are cleared, but none of us are a-holes, are we?

Chances are your food won’t look exactly like mine, as they change the menu constantly. Instead of an apple tart, they may have apricot. Whatever, just order it. It’s all good.

 
Artichoke-tomato crostini, albeit a crappy photo. I’ve also had a corona bean-artichoke version. If you’re in a group of four this one will disappear super fast…but that’s all right because you’ve got to save some room for dessert.

Little T Slab with fleur de sel and olive oil. It’s a super simple and cheap way to stop your tummy from grumbling once you score yourself a table. And when it tastes this good you can’t consider it “filling up on bread.” 

Red pepper linguine with zucchini, corona beans, olive oil, and fried garlic. It’s no secret that I don’t care so much for most beans, but these are so good. When I got home after my first visit (I’ve had three different versions of the corona bean pasta so far), I jumped online to research corona beans. They’re fleshy and hold their body instead of getting mushy. The light flavor works so perfectly in a delicate sauce like this. Note: Get the half portion. I have yet to attempt a full portion but I can’t even imagine—remember, you’re saving room for dessert.

Pizza with sausage, fennel-tomato sauce, Daiya cheese, spicy cherry peppers. Tom orders this every freakin’ time we’re there. And when we’ve ordered pizza to go. He’s simply a fool for fennel, and the crust is fabulously chewy. I can’t go for the fakey sausage, but the straight-up Daiya one is tops.

Strawberry cheesecake with a shortbread crust and strawberry sauce. Anyone who claims vegan cheesecake can’t be as rich and creamy as the dairy version should be made to eat this then just try to repeat this claim without crossing their fingers. Can’t be done. I’ve also had the blueberry cheesecake—and it was good—but this one is perfect.

Apple tart with streusel topping and vanilla Coconut Bliss ice cream. Rich and buttery and flakey and rich and buttery and rich and flakey…yeah.

The Harper. This has to be enjoyed all by itself. Don’t try sipping along with your meal; you’ll only waste it. It’s black pepper-ginger vodka, strawberry puree, ginger, and prosecco. The flavor is so complex that you can’t even talk after your first sip. It keeps your mouth busy, picking out the layers of awesome, and your mouth has a nice, peppery buzz before your head does. Gorgeous. Oh, and $1 is donated to the SHAC7. (Look it up, fool.)

birthday gluttony

Oh, sweet sweetness, did I ever eat my way through my birthday. Nothing beats hangin’ out with my best boy and the other birthday girl, our kitty cat Mädchen. The day held nothing particularly noteworthy aside from the food, so let’s get to it, shall we?

My first attempt at homemade ravioli. I found a vegan pasta dough here and added a bit of salt, ’cause I just don’t trust a recipe that doesn’t list salt. And for the filling I used a head of roasted garlic, a handful of squeezed-out frozen spinach, and enough Daiya to hold it all together, like so:

The sauce is half a can of tomato sauce, half a can of tomato paste, a thinly sliced shallot, and spice, spice, spice. The pasta was a bit thick, but it worked. We used a little more than half of the dough and were stuffed to the gills.

Somehow we defied the laws of physics and made room for dessert. This is VCTOTW chocolate cake. The middle layer is the solid part of a chilled can of coconut milk, a handful of frozen berries, and just a bit of powdered sugar, whizzed up with my stick blender. I smashed some sliced banana in there before slappin’ on the top half of the cake, which I topped with some plain solidified coconut milk. I say damn, baby.

And throughout the night we sipped away at this sparkly berryrific punchy drink—between the lighting and the composition, it looks like I caught them doing something they weren’t supposed to be doing. Or like they’re in an American Apparel ad. Annnnyway, this was inspired by a story Tom’s mom told about her birthdays as a child in post-WWII Germany. As tough as life was, they always had strawberry punch on their birthdays. Sounded good so we took a crack at it:

• 1 bottle sparkling wine
• 2 cans ginger ale
• 1½ c frozen berries (blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries)

As the berries melt, they soak up the punch. Summer, meet your mate.