Arepas with Mechada & Guasacaca, originally uploaded by fikustrees.
Have been cooking my way through the new cookbook Viva Vegan by Terry Hope Romero. It is amazing. These arepas have been the best yet, and that is saying a lot!
Monthly Archives: May 2010
Edible Earth- an all vegan trailer on South 1st
The other day I read the Statesman article about how some folks think that the trailers in Austin should be more heavily regulated. I figured that was just because someone else was very greedy since every trailer I have been to seems very clean and well run. But then I read the comments and couldn’t believe how many Statesman readers have never gone to trailers, someone said “Who goes to trailers anyway homeless people?”. If the homeless can afford to eat at the trailers I go to they are some pretty well fed people! It is such an absurd thought! Can you imagine the homeless population are supporting all these hundreds businesses. I guess they have to spend their huge incomes on something since they don’t have to pay rent. People are just so stupid at this point on the internet that it is hard to even read anything without skipping the comments. Except for my comments which are always wonderful and my commenters who are the best on the net!
I think at this point I prefer to eat at trailers. It is a lot cheaper, I don’t have to have someone wait on me, and I can leave whenever I want to. Plus, it seems like so many trailers are more vegan friendly than… just about anybody! Instead of trying to get through to third parties you usually get to discuss the food with the person that cooks it and they are happy to tell you all about it. Places like TaKorea, Bananarchy, and Frietkot are all so helpful and talk honestly about what does and doesn’t contain animal products. There are no corporate policies, hostility, ignorance, or pretentiousness that I deal with sometimes in restaurants regarding vegan food. If you like the trailers too, sign the petition to tell the city that if something is working out fabulously they should leave it alone!
All-vegan trailers have a very special place in my heart. When I first tried Edible Earth I stared at the menu not wanting to make a wrong decision.Even though I knew that they were an all-vegan trailer (it says so in big letters, right on trailer) I still questioned the veracity of everything and both times they were super friendly and helpful in response. Earth Balance, Daiya Cheese, Toffuti sour cream, and all of the other vegan dairy substitutes were well represented. The first time I went I thought the burrito was a little small and the price was rather high but they have since come down on prices since. I would love if they added a side to the burrito like gallo pinto style rice and beans or fried plantains. The next visit I checked out the Loaded Baked Potato with the added vegan taco meat. Six dollars seemed just a little but much for a potato until I saw it. The potato was massive! Maybe the biggest potato I have ever seen. I was really hungry after the beagle brigade and farmer’s market and I still couldn’t eat the whole thing. The potato itself was crunchy on the outside perfect and over-filled with toffuti, daiya, chives, taco meat, and salt and pepper. I loved it! I used to always get potatoes like that back in the pregan days of yore so it was wonderful to travel down that road once again.
The rest of the menu is filled out with salads, quesadillas, and an every changing array of sweets. I got a chocolate chip cookie to share with my mom and we both thought it was tasty.
Since I am personally not a big salad fan I wish that the menu had things like Tempeh Wings, BBQ Seitan Ribs or Smoked Tempeh with Mac Daddy, or an Eggplant Muffaletta but, then, that is my fantasy trailer and I am sure that tons of people prefer salad and…..um…. vegetables. Next time I go I am going to tell her to consider Jes’ Fried Green Tomato Sandwich for a special. God I love that sandwich and it is green tomato season!
So the next time you are on South 1st check it out and support vegan trailers!
Last Meal
My friend Krys asked what we would eat if it was our last day on earth. She said she would “fill up on a plate of Southern fried goodness: deep fried cajun spiced tofu, mashed taters w/gravy, fried okra, and corn on the cob. And of course dessert, something lemon”. I liked the sound of that! I immediatly thought of the meal Mr. Smurf made for us the other night, all recipes from the Veganomicon, Mac Daddy, smokey grilled tempeh, and delicious greens. We ate it on the back porch after the sun had gone down, it was immaculate perfection. If it was my last meal, though, I said I would add BBQ black-eyed peas, tots, olive poppers and a Michelada to drink. And some sort of decadent chocolate dessert that is, like, chocolate with chocolate surround by chocolate.
Mmmm last meal.
Beautiful Days at Blue Dahlia Bistro
Days are slipping from sunny and gorgeous to sunny Sunny SUNNY quicker than you can find your flip flops here in Austin Texas. It has been the most lovely spring, the water is flowing at the green belt, flowers are blooming everywhere, and all of my meals have been taken alfresco as of late. Yesterday Jodi at Tasty Touring asked what our favorite patios are in Austin and I first thought of Blue Dahlia. It is the kind of patio that I hope to recreate in my own backyard, except with less tables and more pillows. It is a beautiful atmosphere with lots of plants and shade. A perfect place to while away the hours.They also have plenty of good food on the menu. The lattes are fabulous. Most, if not all, of the bread is vegan. They have an olive bread that fills my heart with love for mankind. They also have a hummus plate, soup, sandwich (ask for no butter) and several entrées and big salads. I love to get the bread plate with several different fresh baked breads with different spreads. I haven’t tried everything because I almost always get the gigantic black bean salad. It has mixed greens topped with tomatoes, cucumber, avocados, black bean and a corn & bell pepper salsa that is just so fresh and bright that I can’t even describe. They also have a large wine list and happy hour specials. So if you are downtown and need to get out of the heat check it out.
Irish Sausages & planning a party
It has been busy days at the Smurf house. Although it is IDEAL hammock weather I have been as busy as…. someone that isn’t me…. with all sorts of activities. I have also been planning for my birthday extravaganza that is going down really soon. I have friends coming in from all over the country and we are going to camp out so I have been trying to figure out what I should make for ~20 people over several days.
Since nothing says Texas like a bowl of red I thought I could make frito pie one night but I was completely stumped for the second night. Then it dawned on me that what kind of Serbian-American vegan would I be without making sausages! They are the only thing that makes sense, I can prepare them ahead of time and then cook them on the grill and I have a million different recipes that I have tried. I liked the Korean dog I had at TaKorea and then I LOVED the Thai sausage taco I made a couple of weeks ago so I could just do it in dog form. And then I thought I could make Irish sausages and top them with caramelized onions and mushroom gravy. What do you think? Maybe I should call them something Irish though like O’sausages or Lil’ laddies, luckily there is till time to think more about that.
These sausages are kind of riffing on a tester recipe and they turned out fab. We cooked them with collard greens and garlic and ate it with some noochy grits. It was a fantastic quick meal.Irish Sausages (makes 8 )
1 cup cooked lentils
2 cups broth
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 1/2 cups vital wheat gluten
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
pinch of ginger, cayenne, and pepper
Tear off 8 pieces of foil. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl with your hand and knead a little bit. It will probably be pretty moist but you want everything sticking together. Divide into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a log and then wrap in foil twisting the ends like a tootsie roll.
If I ran the Alamo Drafthouse…
Austin Texas has what many people consider to be the greatest movie theater in the world. The Alamo Drafthouse isn’t just a place where you can enjoy beer and cocktails brought to you while you watch the latest blockbuster. It is also a place where you can sing along with the Buffy musical, watch comedians heckle star trek episodes while ultimately finding out who is better Kirk or Picard, ride in a canoe to watch Deliverance, or see all four tracks the Flaming Lips Zaireeka surrounded by 4 different screens with movies made to go along.
Many things on the menu of movie based titles like A Royale with Chesse or My Big Fat Greek Pizza. The only problem is that out of their MASSIVE menu of appetizers, entrée, salads, burgers, pizzas, and desserts very few of the options are vegan. I go there a lot and I think about what I wish was on the menu. This is my menu (with links!!!) to recipes from all over the veganblogosphere that I would try. What would you serve at a movie theater?
Summer 2010 Specials
Freddie’s Glove- breaded seitan fingers with tomato dipping sauce
A-Team, Asparagus and artichoke pasta in an apple cider vinegar reduction
Beer
Abita Satsuma
“Fuck that Shit” Pabst Blue Ribbon
Party at the Moontower Boulavard Lunar Ale
Dechutes Jubelale
Meet Joe Black Butte Porter
Green Lakes Organic Ale
Delirium
Chariots of Fireman’s Ale
Victory Hop Devil’s Advocate
Victory Golden Monkey Business
Drinks
“The Boy in the Plastic Bubble” tea
Pink Ladies Lemonade
A Clockwork Orange Julius
Vegan White Russians
Bloody Mary Poppins - Tomato juice & vodka mixed with green chilies, tamari, vegan Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Topped with a green olive and roasted peppers
El Guapo’s Michelada
Appetizers
popcorn with nutritional yeast & earth balance
Asparagus Tempura
Garlic Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers
Gimmie some of your (Tater) Tots
coconut tofu with curry dipping sauce
Feel the rhythm! Feel the rhyme! Get on up, its bobsled time! Jamaican Veggie Patties
Salads
roasted Edamame & Green Olives
Moroccan Eggplant Salad with Preserved Lemon
Sweet onion and soba salad with fat-free umeboshi dressing
The Hanibal: fava beans, roasted turnips & potatoes, smoked tofu, caramelized orange & chianti vinaigrette
Aztec Salad- black beans, quinoa, red onion, jicama, mango, pepitas, and cilantro with optional jerk tempeh
The American Beauty BLT Salad, raw kale with bacon style tempeh strips, spinach, and tomatoes in a veganaisse style dressing
2000 leagues under the seaweed salad
Sandwiches & Burgers
Good Morning Vietnamese Sandwich
Down By Law Eggplant Muffaletta
The Fried Green Tomato Sandwich
Reservoir jalapeno corn dogs
The Hulk- Fried Tofu in creamy cilantro sauce, mixed green, avocado, and roasted poblanos
BBQ Jackfruit
The count of Monte Cristo
Entrées
Tequila Sausage & Cornmeal Crusted Plantain Tacos
There will be Blood Orange Salsa with these sesame crusted tacos
Vegan Rellanos- A poblano stuffed with a seitan picadillo, breaded with nuts, and roasted in the oven.
“Did you have a brain tumor for breakfast” taco, veggie chorizo, lime rice, & pico de gallo with a side of hash browns
Second Breakfast tacos- epazote seasoned black beans with fried plantains, roasted potatoes, and guacamole on a corn tortilla
Pirates of the Carribean Jambalaya
Pizzas
Vegan BBQ- barbequed jackfruit with red onions and
Tiella — a thin crusted deep-dish pizza from Naples, stuffed with different combinations of vegetables — in this case, escarole, olives, capers and beautiful lion’s mane and maitake mushrooms.
Thai Chickun Pizza- Corn crust topped with peanut sauce, chickpeas, pineapple, yellow pepper, red onion, basil, and chives
The Ben Hur- a Fig & Olive Pizza with roasted leeks and garlic
Mystic Pizza- lotus root, marinated tempeh, mung bean sprouts
the Cubano corn crust, caramelized plantains, smoky black bean puree, pumpkin-habanero salsa verde, cashew sour cream, carrot & onion escabeche
Where the Wild Mushrooms Are
The Usual Suspects- Vegan Pepperoni, daiya or teese cheese, olives, mushrooms, and peppers
Se7en Kalamata, Manzanilla, Picholine, niçoise, gaeta, Alphonso, and Sevillano olives
a Mexican Pizza in Texas- taco bell style! 2 fried tortillas surrounding a layer of refried beans topped with ranchero sauce, melted cheese, green onions, and black olives
Thanksgiving Pizza- a soft crust topped with a roasted shallot sauce and then covered in potatoes, Brussels sprouts, pearl onions, garlic, pecans, and green beans.
Desserts
5 dollar Shake with nadamoo
Frosting VS Nixon
the Ice Cream Storm (with tempt hemp ice cream!)
Triple Chocolate Chipotle Brownie
There was money in that banana stand frozen bananas
Tres Leches from Mr. Natural
“A policeman’s dream”- a glazed doughnut, a chocolate eclair and a cup of coffee
Lazy Smurf's Guide 
