Off the Griddle - Review!

The HOT! OTG Burger

The Smokey Bleu Burger and the Veggie Volt

A couple of months ago,  Groupon offered a series of coupons for local Portland Food Carts. There were something like 6 different cart options ranging from $2-$8 for $4-$15 worth of delicious local food cart fare. Being the food aficionado that I am, I promptly snatched up all the deals with vegan options and set to trying them out. 

This particular food cart, Off the Griddle, was my favorite by far.

Starting with a simple and balanced house-made, gluten free/vegan veggie patty comprised of leeks, mushrooms and both brown and wild rice, Off the Griddle takes their burgers over the top with unique vegan toppings, executed beautifully. Their use of Daiya, house-cured tempeh bacon, perfectly grilled, fresh veggies, a variety of different sauces (like the spicy tofu avocado sauce), and of course, Dave's Killer Bread, makes these burgers among the best I have ever had. 

OTG burgers aren't trying to imitate meat; they are simply acting as veggie burgers in their own right, with their own textures and delicious flavors. They taste fresh and healthy and leave you with a satisfyingly full belly - something that many vegan meals fail to accomplish.

It is easy to see why this food cart has become so popular on the Portland Food Cart scene and I predict it is here to stay.

Special of the month: "The Peanut Butter Applegasm"

OTG patty, Washington apple slices, all-natural peanut butter, Daiya vegan cheddar, house-cured tempeh bacon and frizzled onion; all on a Dave's Killer Bread bun. 

Located at the "A la Carts" Pod at SE 50th and Ivon.

4926 SE Division St, Portland, OR

Live long and prosper vegan food carts!

Spinach and Black Bean Enchiladas

 

A couple nights ago, my mom opened the pantry cupboard, pulled out the hatch chili powder I brought her back from New Mexico and said "you need to make enchiladas." Being the creative, obliging and indentured daughter that I am, I went ahead and concocted this delicious enchilada recipe for the following evening. It was actually perfect because I've been looking for a recipe to try Daiya's new pepper jack blend (which I happily discovered at New Seasons last week) and this was just the ticket!

I used tofu in addition to the black beans and spinach, but you could also use sweet potatoes, zucchini or butternut squash; it's all a matter of what is accessible. I wanted the extra protein kick and I haven't been cooking with tofu very much lately, so tofu it was!

Whatever filling blend you decide on to compliment the spinach and black beans, the spices are what really puts these enchiladas over the top. My mom randomly has like 3 containers of saffron in the spice cabinet (either she has started hoarding expensive spices or she keeps forgetting that she has already purchased saffron, which, ironically, I have never seen her use, and purchases more - I'm not really sure) so I went ahead and helped myself to a little of that. If you have hatch chili seasoning that is awesome, but if not you can make a blend of paprika, cumin, garlic powder, and chipotle and/or cayenne seasoning work.

Spinach and Black Bean Enchiladas
Yield about 5-6 servings

For the Sauce

• 1 bottle Trader Joe's (or other) Enchilada Sauce
• 5 Tbsp Hatch chili powder (red)
• 3/4 cup vegetable broth
• 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
• 2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice

For the Filling

• 1 14 oz package extra firm tofu 
• 1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced or pushed through a microplane grater
• 1 can black beans
• 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 3 Tbsp hatch chili powder
• 10-12 strands saffron
• 2 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 4-5 cups fresh spinach 
• 10 "handmade style" (or truly handmade if you can find them) small corn tortillas
• 2 cups daiya pepperjack (or more if you like lots o' cheese)
• 1/2 cup Trader Joe's Avocado Salsa Verde (YUM YUM YUM - GET IT)

Preheat the oven to 425

Combine all sauce ingredients in a small sauce pan over low heat and place on the back burner. You want to give the sauce about 15-20 minutes to simmer so the flavors can all fuse together.  

Meanwhile, in a large saute or fry pan over medium heat, crumble your tofu into small crumbles (no oil necessary!) Allow it to "dry fry" for about 5-6 minutes and then add the onion and garlic. Continue to cook for another 5 minutes before throwing in the black beans. Cook for yet another 5 or so minutes and then sprinkle in all of your seasonings, distributing equally. Finally, throw in your spinach and allow it to wilt down for 2 or 3 minutes before removing the pan from the burner to let it cool slightly.

 

To prepare your tortillas, take a pan that is as close in size to the circumference of the tortillas as possible. Over medium heat, heat your tortillas one at a time with the lid on the pan to produce a steaming effect.

After each tortilla is lightly steamed (about 45 seconds on each side), dip the entire thing in enchilada sauce (either straight in the pan or, if you pan isn't big enough, pour the sauce into a bowl or plate and dip the tortillas that way). Fill each tortilla with somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 a cup of filling, roll it up like a big taquito and place into one corner of your baking pan (I used an 11"X 7" baking pan for these enchiladas)

Continue to do this with the remaining 9 tortillas until your pan is full! Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas and then sprinkle daiya pepperjack over the top (here is where you can add more daiya if you want a cheesier enchilada).

Cover with tin foil and place in the over for about 20-25 minutes. Remove tinfoil and continue to bake for an additional 5-7 minutes or until the cheese looks melty and gooey.

Remove from the oven and let cool for just a couple of minutes. Then use a spatula to dig some out, top with TJ's creamy Avocado Salsa Verde salsa and munch!

Don't mind the Christmas plates. I really like the size and weight of them so I use them year round. The point is the food!


Live long and prosper, loves! And always respect yo mama.

Rhubarb Mini Muffins

Rhubarb is often stereotyped as a "pie-only" food. Granted, it's not the most versatile fruit in the world (it is technically classified as a fruit if you didn't know) and, yes, its leaves are toxic which makes it even less practical, but its tart, tangy flavor can be utilized in so many different ways. Like, for instance, in these mini muffins!

Also, did you know that rhubarb is a strong natural laxative? I bet you didn't! Yep, the stems and roots have been used for centuries as tummy aids. So move over prunes!

Alright, to the muffins. These muffins are sweetened with agave and maple syrup and have a great tangy flavor because of the rhubarb. I also added lemon juice and a couple teaspoons of rosewater to give them some complexity. They turned out delicious-not too sweet-and the flax seed made them nice and fluffy :)

Rhubarb Mini Muffins

Yields about 24 mini muffins

• 2 cups whole wheat white flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup vanilla soy milk
• 1/2 cup agave nectar
• scant 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used grapeseed)
• 2 "flax eggs" (6 Tbsp water and 2 Tbsp ground flax seeds whisked and set aside for about 5-10 minutes) or other egg replacer if you have it!
• 5 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 3 tsp rosewater
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups chopped rhubarb (should be in small strips - 1/2 inch or so)

Preheat the over to 350 degrees. Grease a mini muffin tin (or two if you have two)

In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients until just combined.

In your mixer, combine the soy milk, agave nectar, maple syrup, oil, and flax egg and mix together on medium for about a minute.

With the mixer on low, slowly add your dry ingredients to your wet ones. Then add the lemon juice, rosewater and vanilla extract and continue to mix for another minute or until a pretty looking batter is created. There should be few to no lumps. The mixture will be a little sticky; don't worry, it's because you are substituting agave and syrup for the sugar. It may not be perfectly pourable but you can use a spoon to coerce it into your muffin tins.

When the batter is ready, take your chopped rhubarb and toss it into a small saute pan with just a touch of oil. Saute it for about 5-6 minutes or until the rhubarb begins to soften and "sweat." This is a great tip my dad taught me to help the rhubarb release some of its juice BEFORE you put it into your baked concoction in the oven. If you do this before making a pie, it will come out a lot less runny!

Fold the sauteed rhubarb into your batter until just combined. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins and bake for about 13-15 minutes!

 

The rhubarb has a great texture and flavor in the muffins. It off sets the lemony-mapley-rose goodness so nicely. See the little strings! What a funny fruit. 

A wonderful, non-pie summer treat!


Live ling and prosper. And get creative with your rhubarb!

 

Avocado Pesto Pasta Salad with Grilled Zucchini

 

Summer in Portland is the best anywhere. The beautiful clear days, lush greenery and plethora of outdoor related activities and events make all those long rainy fall/winter/spring days seem worth it. The Summer Farmers Markets alone make living in Portland worth it. The local food and farm community that we have here is so wonderful and they have taken huge steps to make local food affordable and accessible. Check out some of these great local farms (many of which offer CSAs as well!)

• Baird Family Orchards (Cherries are in season - EAT THEIR RAINIERS!)
• Groundwork Organics (Based in Junction City - they offer a killer CSA)
• Spring Hill Farm (They always have a huuuge booth at the downtown market)
• Unger Farms (The best strawberries I've ever had. And they have a U-pick as well!)
• Wag Eggs (The owner of this farm works with my uncle and let me tell you, he treats his chickens magnificently. The man knows his hens)

This week, aside from Strawberries being in the last week or so of their heavy fruiting season and blueberries hitting the beginning of their season, Zucchini (my favorite of the squashes) were 2 for $1 at my one of my favorite little farm stands (Spring Hill). And basil was $3 for a bunch as big as a small bouquet of flowers. Accordingly, I purchased four huge zucchini--two yellow, two green--and one giant bunch of basil, all for less than the price of a latte. What did I do with all of the delicious farm fresh goods, you ask? I did this: 

 

BBQ-Ready Summertime Pasta Salad!

The recipe is pretty simple and has no added oils - only the oil from the avocado :) The main thing with this recipe, however, is that you want to make it shortly before serving because otherwise the avocado will begin to brown and will make the whole thing look a little frumpy and un-summery. 

Avocado Pesto Pasta Salad

• 1 package bowtie (farfelle) pasta (whole what if you can find it!)
• 2 large zucchini, sliced and grilled
• 5 cloves garlic
• 3 large handfuls of basil (this is difficult to measure, but go overboard if you're worried - you can never have too much basil!)
• 2 ripe avocados
• 1/4 cup walnuts
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp Braggs or soy sauce
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper or 2 tsp Sriracha (optional)
• 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add in the bowtie pasta. Boil for about 12-14 minutes, depending on the type of pasta you are using. When the pasta is cooked fully, drain it in a large colander and run it under cold water until the pasta is cool to the touch.

Place the garlic, basil, avocados, walnuts, lemon juice and Braggs into the food processor. Pulse for 20-30 seconds or until smooth. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides as needed.

Add in the nutritional yeast and seasoning and pulse a few more times.

In a large bowl, combine the cooked pasta, the avocado pesto and both kinds of tomatoes until everything is evenly coated. Then gently stir in all but 8 or so slices of zucchini. Garnish the top of the pasta with the remaining slices and a basil leaf and pop in the fridge for 15 minutes or so and then serve!

Note on grilling zucchini: You can do this on a BBQ or simply on the stove top. I just coated a pan with a very thin layer of sunflower oil and then browned the zucchini rounds lightly on each side over medium heat (about 3 minutes on each side).



Live long and prosper! And support your local farmers!

Smokey Sweet Tempeh

After the past 10 difficult days of being camera-less, I am back on the blog and boy do I have a bunch of fun stuff to post.

I thought I would ease back into the blogosphere with this simple and delicious staple vegan recipe.

Smokey Sweet Tempeh

• 1 package tempeh
• 1 tsp canola/sunflower/other high temperature oil
• 3 tsp pure maple syrup
• 2 tsp liquid smoke
• seasoning of choice (I used a paprika-based cajun-style seasoning blend)

Cut your tempeh into cubes or strips.

Over medium high, heat up your oil in a large skillet or fry pan.

Toss in your tempeh pieces for about 3-4 minutes, turning occasionally, allowing them to begin to brown.

Drizzle in the maple syrup, coating all pieces relatively equally. Toss the tempeh in the pan until it is covered in maple syrup and the edges are beginning to caramelize.

Pour in the liquid smoke. It will produce a fair amount of smoke in the pan, but this is okay and will add to the smokey flavor.

Toss in the seasoning and continue to brown the tempeh until it is golden and crisp on all sides!

Throw on salads, sandwiches, pasta, whatever! I keep mine in a tupperware container in the fridge sometimes just to munch on, too :)

Live long and prosper blog world!

"Egg" Salad Snackies

The one thing I missed most in Mexico (besides Wyatt of course!) was cooking.

It was surprisingly difficult to go the duration of 6 days without cooking a single thing! So, naturally, my first day back I went on a shopping and then embarked on a cooking escapade! I've been making all kinds of delicious things to keep around the house and this "egg" salad is among my favorite.

It's made with a tofu base and Vegenaise and tastes strikingly similar to Toby's Tofu Pate only thicker and even more delicious.

 

There's so much you can do with this stuff. It's a great dip or you can make a sandwich out of it or add it to a salad or just do like I did and put it on some bread and snack it up! 

I love leaving it around the house because it's an easy, healthy and filling thing to just grab and go or snack on when you're hungry. Noms!

The recipe is also relatively flexible; after you get the base ingredients, you can really add whatever kinds of spices/sauces you want to it. Naturally, my version is spiked with a good shot of Sriracha but you can also reduce the Vegenaise and add in your favorite salad dressing or other flavored spread. 

Tofu "Egg" Salad

•  1 package extra firm tofu, drained and pressed
• 1/4 cup Vegenaise or other vegan mayo
• 3 Tbsp yellow mustard
• 2 Tbsp Nutritional yeast
• 2 tsp tumeric
• 2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp Bragg's liquid
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 stalks of celery, diced
• 2 large green onions, diced
• Fresh cracked pepper

Optional ingredients (pictured in my recipe above)

• 1 Tbsp Sriracha
• 1 large pickle, diced
• 2 tsp pickle brine

Start by crumbling the tofu into a large bowl.

Then add in all the wet ingredients and spices and mix em' in! Finally, fold in your veggies, top with some fresh cracked pepper and munch!

So easy! Double the recipe and leave it in a big bowl to snack on whenever!

Live long and prosper. Snackie style!

Vegan Travels -- Mexico!

It's been a crazy week!

Thumbs up!

Two pretty significant life events occurred this week:

1. I walked in my college graduation ceremony.

Really, quite exciting. 

2.  I went to Mexico!!!

Gettin my tan on!

 Woo woo! Such a nice reprieve from the Oregon weather.







I am continually shocked and pleasantly surprised by the increasing amounts of vegan options that are available everywhere I go. From the plane ride to the resort, an assortment of animal-product-free items were not only made options if requested but were actually prominently displayed on the menu.

Even airplanes have now jumped on the healthy eating, cruelty-free living bandwagon.

I'm not usually one for airplane food, but Alaska now has these neat little "snack packs" aaaand, yep - you guessed it - they now have a vegan and gluten free option!

I took photo evidence:

Multigrain chips! Snack olives (I don't know how I feel about those)! Hummus! Almonds! Fruit leather! Espresso dark chocolate!

I mean, yum! So great that airlines are making the effort to accommodate dietary restrictions. If you might have noticed, all of the items except the snack olives in this snack pack were also Kosher.

Neat!

Props to Alaska Airlines!!



The next vegan meal I had was at LAX - Starbucks fruit cup and a Clif bar because I didn't want to spent $10 on a salad but we won't elaborate on that.

When I actually arrived at the resort the first thing I had wasn't food either.

It was this:

Mango margarita for the win!

These things were like crack. So so good.

Other drink highlights included the sunset (half mango and half strawberry margarita) and these pomegranate tequila shots which we slurped up when we went into town.

Among the only drinks we actually paid for during our whole trip...

So totally worth it.









Now onto the food!

Every morning for breakfast I started with a plethora of fresh fruit including (but not limited to) papaya, mango, pineapple, water melon, apple, grapefruit and/or banana. Additionally, they had the most amazing refried beans that were totally vegan and made with vegetable oil so I ate some of those atop their jalapeno hashbrowns with pico de gallo, avocado and ketchup on top.

Strange amalgamation of food, I know. But after our daily morning gym routine, it was enough to get my my vitamins, fiber, protein and fats to really start my day off right! They also had these amazing little rolls that I ate at every opportunity.

Lunch was a little more simple; usually I either ate a salad or these delicious veggie tacos that they would make special for me :)

Also served with guacamole and beans. Yummy!

The sun was so bright it was difficult to take pictures, but you get the idea.

Dinner was where we mixed it up a little bit. The definite highlight was the sushi that they made - also served with edamame and vegan fried rice! They made the single greatest avocado rolls I have ever experienced, which of course I didn't take a picture of because I would get too excited and gobble them up. But I did manage to take a mediocre picture of the cucumber roll which was good but not as good as the avo roll.

Usually they were served wrapped with actual pieces of vegetable instead of whatever this orange stuff was but it depended on the sushi chef.

So cute though! They even served the rolls with a little beet flower in the middle and extra carrots and wasabe. I was totally in love with their sushi, it was so fresh and satisfying.


On one of the last nights we were there we went to the Pueblo Bonito Blanco - the sister resort of the Pueblo Bonito Rose' where we stayed - and ate at their slightly more upscale restaurant.

I was happy that they had vegan food listed on the menu, however it wasn't very good :/

We started with these rolls, served with a fruit flavored oil and vinegar combo (delicious).

The half eaten roll on the right was vegan, the roll on the left was not but we got 4 total so I ate the vegan ones and left Colin with the croissant-imitators.

On of the seafood dishes that Colin ordered had a pomegranate salad on the side which I took the liberty of eating that was actually really good.

But the main course that I ordered, the roasted veggies, tofu and mushrooms, was lackluster at best.

To be fair, this picture doesn't exactly do it justice, but you get the idea.

Veggies and tofu and weird tasting mushrooms. Grilled. And then DOUSED in oil and vinegar and spices. Seriously. They were practically drowning in liquid.

Just goes to show that sometimes cooking veggies can be more difficult than you would think. It's actually really hard to get them seasoned correctly, textured right and cooked evenly. The Pueblo Bonito Blaco, who gave veggie cooking a valiant effort to be sure, did not quite hit the mark. I tried everything ont he plate but ended up leaving most of it.

Still! Vegan food on the menu at a resort's upscale dining restaurant is a great step - now they just need to learn how to do it right ;)

Overall, this trip was a success in terms of vegan food and I was pleasantly satisfied with the healthy and well proportioned options I found as a vegan.

I even met two other vegans at breakfast one morning who had a similar experience! They were even a little more hardcore than me and talked to the chef who made them special vegan items like lasagna with veggies instead of noodles and some other pretty impressive sounding dishes.

That's not my style so much. I really like to see what I can do with the menu in front of me before I ask for special dishes. It's just an easier, more flexible and ultimately more sustainable way for me to do veganism. But to each their own!


Live long and prosper. And travel vegan!