Veggie pasta, zucchini, garlic, tvp, tomato sauce… sprinkled with nutrional yeast and flax oil. All organic (except for perhaps the yeast).

The cute waitress at Hugo’s suggested I try the “Very Green Casserole”, so I did. Delcious. Thank god for cute waitresses. Here’s the lowdown from the menu: “Sauteed brocclini, spinach, asparagus, zucchini, with garlic and fresh herbs in a tomato basil pesto sauce. Topped with a black bean quinoa patty and melted mozerrela and goat cheese (they substituted with vegan cheese that was very tasty and had great texure and meltyness). Served with organic mixed green salad with sesame ginger dressing.

Inside view:

The “Green Power Salad” .This photo does not accurately convey the size of this beautiful monster! It’s so big that I’m really not sure how our tiny little waitress was able to carry it with one hand (I’m not kidding). Amazingly good, especially with their perfect peanut dressing. I ate about a third of it (along with the miso soup below) and was full, so I gave the leftovers to a homeless man.

Miso soup and iced chrysanthemum tea.

Rye Wasa crackers, hummus, cucumbers, tomatoes, grilled seitan.

Here we have Fingerling potatoes, asparagus and Szechuan flavored baked tofu. These were all steamed with some sprigs of fresh rosemary from my windowsill. The topping is peanut sauce which I made using the recipe in Vegan with a Vengence. You’re supposed to let the sauce cool to room temperature, but I was damn hungry and used it right away (it probably would have been thicker if I waited). You’re also supposed to use smooth peanut butter, but I had some fresh pressed chunky organic stuff so that’s what I used… gave the dish a nice bit of crunch and texture. For that matter, everything used in this was organic, right down to the oil and spices.

I realize that the photo makes it look a little bit like someone barfed on my plate, but it tasted far from it! The sauce was just perfect.

Thai balls of love called “Saku”. Made with tapioca, radish, sugar, salt, peanut, onion, chili and fresh cilantro. I like mine covered in lime juice. From Bangkok Express, found at Bangluck Market.

I tried Kelp noodles for the first time, and this dish came out really tasty. Quick sauté of shredded carrots, portobello mushroom, seasoned baked tofu, ginger, garlic and green onions in olive oil, Braggs and rice vinegar. Added in the kelp noodles at the end to heat, soften, and absorb the flavors. Yum.

The kelp noodles have a totally neutral flavor. They taste like nothing but have a very nice texture and consistency. They are fat-free, gluten-free and have hardly no carbs or calories, yet are a rich source of trace minerals, calcium and iron.

So awesome. This was the “Creamy Banana Pudding” from How it All Vegan, made with bananas, dates, tofu and I used agave nectar as the sweetner. Super easy to make and remarkably delicious.

This was my go with the “Rustic Tomato Lentil Soup” from How it All Vegan. I did everything as in the recipe, but I was hungry and getting impatient with how long the carrots and celery were taking to soften up… so I altered things by straining out about half the vegetables/lentils and pureeing them, then mixed back in. It made for a thicker soup than it probably should have been, more like a stew, but still very tasty.

The makings for the soup (minus the ginger, that was for something else).

Delicious bean cakes and deserts from a Japanese bakery in Northridge (I’ll have to find out the name and get back to you). From top to bottom:

Date cake: Tasted more like poppy seed to me. Just as well.
Sweet red bean cake: I am in heaven.
Taro cake = Love.
Rice mochi cakes with red bean: Tasty but too mushy/soft.