A visitor named Michael has dropped in to bring the good word of a brand spankin’ new Los Angeles vegan restaurant and internet cafe that just opened up last weekend, Village Vegan Cafe. Now I must first pass along to you my disclaimer; that being that I have not yet visited this establishment and have not tried their food, so this is not a endorsement. I don’t usually promote anything if I haven’t personally first tried it myself. That said, Village Vegan Cafe sounds like it’s got the potential to be my new favorite restaurant, so I’m very eager to try it and of course will report back once I do. In the meantime, news this good shouldn’t be kept a secret, so here’s the lowdown:

We are proud to announce and invite you to come in and taste the Soul/Mex creations of the Vegan Village Cafe during it’s opening week. Below you’ll find further information about the restaurant and what it has to offer. We look forward to seeing you here!

You’ll be amazed by Vegan Villages tasty natural vegetable meals: BBQ dumplings, tostadas, burritos, wheat burgers, falafel sandwiches, vegetarian shrimp po boy and soy ice creams to name a few. Once again, Jewel Thais-Williams, the nationally honored community health activist is opening the Vegan Village Internet Cafe, serving up some of the best vegan Soul/Mex cuisine in the greater Los Angeles area. Located on the corner of Norton and Pico, The Vegan Village Internet Cafe is poised to be the closest thing to your mother’s kitchen, save the meat.

The menu is an eclectic mix with everything from a homemade apple cider dressed Wakame Salad to soy fried Hot Wings. Some of the menus highlights include the Nutmeat Chili Wrap made with Brazilian nuts and assorted veggies all wrapped in a marinated collard green leaf, or try the BBQ Tofu dumplings fried in sunflower oil and then smothered in a smoky BBQ sauce. Looking for a light meal? Vegan Village also offers salads ranging from Raw Kale Salad to the best Potato Salad this side of the Mississippi. Let us not forget about desert. Come in and try the Coconut and Almond Bar made with raw almonds, coconut, liquid lecithin, dates, agaves and carob chips or just sit back and enjoy the Sweet Potato Pie.

Jewel is also the founder of the Village Health Foundation which provides affordable, accessible, and effective professional services in complementary medicine to the community. She is an authority on Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture. Now she is, once again, reveling her love of cooking and healthy, sensual dishes for all to enjoy.

Vegan Village is located at 4061 W. Pico Blvd. It is open daily from 11am till 9pm seven days a week. For more information you can check out the website at www.veganvillagecafe.com, or call at (323) 766-9773.

Sure sounds great on paper, right? Can’t wait to try it! Note that this is in the same location as where Soul Vegetarian used to be, but it’s a new business with new managment. Considering how good Soul Vegetarian was, I’m now even that much more intruiged…

Now for something completely different: here’s a delicious new breakfast special on the menu at Hugo’s, the Mung Bean Fritters.

“Three fritters made with sprouted mung beans blended with zucchini, green pepper, green onion and Chinese 5 spice. Topped with two poached eggs, sauteed leafy greens and an apple-mint drizzle”. I had them substitute the eggs with grilled tofu.

This was a really great dish. Being that they’re called fritters, I was expecting something more… well, fried. I assumed they’d be kind of like potato pancakes (you know, with shredded stuff like latkes) but instead they’re like regular pancakes and they didn’t taste or appear to be fried which is actually a good thing. I’d say they were more like savory griddle cakes. The flavor was delicious, delicately spiced and not too oniony for my taste. The apple-mint drizzle is what made this a real stand-out, being both sweet and minty at the same time, much like an Indian chutney, but with apples. Overall, a perfect breakfast.

This is very exciting news! Nearly a year and a half of running this blog and I just got my first hostile anti-vegan comment… awesome! When I started this food blog I sort of expected a lot more of this sort of negative stuff. I was pleasantly surprised however to find that nearly all the feedback I’ve received has been exceptionally positive.

A charming fellow going by the name of “Leonard Bungard” dropped by to comment on my post about the Veganizing of Anthony Bourdain recipes that’s been going on over at Hezbolla Tofu. Leonard, clearly a master of the English language, took time out of his busy schedule of competitive baby back rib eating to say the following:

“fuck vegans long live the pig eater”

Short but sweet, don’t you think? And Leonard, you are so right… I’d love to fuck a vegan! Vegans smell nice and they taste good too. The next time I meet a sweet and sexy one that I take a liking to, I might just go for it. For a single vegan gal in Los Angeles, looking for some quality vegan lovin’ can be tough Leonard, so I appreciate the encouragement.

As for the longevity of pig eaters… well Leonard, I’ll leave you to do your own research in regards to the health effects of eating pigs. Here’s a good place to start: Top 10 Reasons Not to Eat Pigs. But Leonard, what I don’t understand is why it makes you so unhappy that we vegans do not eat pigs… after all, it means more bacon for you and Anthony Bourdain, right? Clearly it’s a win-win situation for us to stay vegan Leonard: less heart disease and colon cancer for us, more chicharrones for you.

While Leonard’s eloquent commentary has now been deleted (though I will cherish it forever in my heart), perhaps you’ve got something you’d like to say to him directly? Considering that he took the time to leave his email address I’m going to assume that means he’s interested in receiving more information about veganism, the health benefits of a vegetarian diet, animal rights, cruel factory farming, etc… You can contact Leonard at his more than likely bogus email address: lbungard@gmail.com

Do you ever feel left out by the whole Pinkberry thing? What’s a vegan to do in an age of mass frozen yogurt proliferation with nary a vegan option to be found among them? One option would be to head on back over the hill to Valley Village on the edge of NoHo for a dairy-free treat at Menchie’s.

Menchie’s could be considered one of the many Pinkberry knockoffs but they’ve got a pretty cool twist. Everything there is self service, from the yogurt to the toppings. You pick your size of cup and fill it with however much softserve goodness you want of whichever flavors you like, then pick your toppings. Your culinary creation is then placed on a scale and priced by weight.

They’ve always got at least one dairy-free flavor to choose from. This is the reply I recieved when I sent an email to ask if they carry anything vegan: “We typically have at least one non-dairy flavor everyday. Our non dairy flavors are sorbets rather than yogurts. Currently our sorbet flavor is Kiwi Strawberry.” The ingredients are not posted so I do not know if the dairy-free means it is 100% vegan or not. However given that it’s a sorbet (fruit+sugar+ice) and is advertised as dairy-free, I’m not concerned about something hidden being in there. Caveat emptor.

They also have delicious smelling waffle cones which I’m certain are not vegan… but they sure do make the place smell nice as they’re cooking. Ok, so then after you’ve got your cup of yogurt/sorbet stuff, you head over to the toppings sections. The first one’s got a nice selection of fresh locally grown fruit. Amongst the yummy yet non-vegan goodies like brownie pieces and cheesecake I was overjoyed to discover that they also had soft little bite-sized mochi nuggets (Japanese glutinous rice treats). The flavor is mildly sweet and the texture is perfectly chewy like a soft gummybear. The second toppings station has all the dry stuff like sweet breakfast cereals, nuts, sprinkles, candy pieces, etc… trust me, there’s a lot there for people to choose from and vegans will not be feel deprived.

On the occasion that I was there, the dairy-free flavor was “Mango Tango Sorbet”. I topped it with fresh mango and plenty of mochi- this combo made me one happy foodeater. The sorbet is very nice with strong mango flavor, slightly sweet yet also a bit tart. The fresh sweet mango on top livened up the whole affair and the chewy, gooey mochi-ness of it all was really making it work for me.

The colors inside are somewhat garish and I feel bad that the people who work there are made to wear those awful costumes uniforms. Also, if you’re going to try and take a picture inside like I did, be prepared to get chastised by the manager who will tell you that photographs are not allowed. Isn’t it ironic how some of these places flip out on you for taking pictures when most likely all you’re going to do with them is turn around and send some free advertising their way? That said, I liked my mango-tango and mochi indulgence a bit too much to let the no-photography smackdown police get to me. After all I still got my picture, didn’t I?

For weeks now I’d been looking forward to attending the local PPK brunch meet-up that was being hosted by Your Vegan Mom. I’d planned to make the delicious sounding recipe from Vegan Planet for the Pumpkin Rum Couscous Cake. The recipe seemed super easy to make and I liked the idea of trying couscous as an ingredient in something sweet.

I realize couscous is not something you usually associate with cake, or dessert for that matter, but trust me… this cake is really wonderful and doesn’t taste weird at all. It’s not much like a cake actually, the texture is similar to thick pudding (like bread pudding) or a lumpy cheesecake. The flavor is a lot like pumpkin pie… so basically imagine a textured, pumpkin pie cheesecake. Yeah, it’s kinda like that… only better than it sounds. And vegan. As hoped for the recipe is beyond easy to follow… there is no cooking involved, the most complex things you need to do are boil water, measure out some spices and run a blender. Since there were going to be kids at this gathering, and because I’m not big into the hooch myself, I left out the rum (though I’m sure the rum in the recipe makes it that much more extra special).

Anyone who likes pumpkin pie, or cheesecake, or even just the idea of those two being in the same room together should like this cake-pie-pudding. I’ll also note that this cake makes for not only a delightful dessert, but also a perfect breakfast. No one needs to be told it’s vegan or even that it’s made from tofu and couscous. Just tell them to put it in their mouths & shut up until they are ready to thank you and ask for more (believe me, they will ask you for more). I’m not saying that the fact that it’s vegan needs to be a secret at all, but you know how some people are… they’ll turn up their noses and won’t even want to try it if they hear the words “vegan” or “tofu”, so with these types of folks it’s best to hook ‘em in first through their tastebuds before laying your cards out on the table.

Now back to this party and why I titled this post “the cake that no one almost ate”. The thing is, I’m a moron. I somehow got my days confused and thought the brunch was on Sunday (today) when it was actually on Saturday (yesterday). See? Moron. So after bragging all this time to the PPK folks about how my couscous cake was going to knock their socks off, I ended up being a no-show. What a dork! I’ve heard since that the gathering was a smashing and delicious success, so all’s well that ends well.

Thusly my cake was to remain mostly uneaten other than by myself, but thankfully my mom came to the rescue wanting to taste the thing (I told you I’d been bragging about it). Once she’d had a bite it was no work at all for me to convince her to take it home with her (the last thing I need is to be left alone in a house with an entire cake all to myself.. it wouldn’t end well for me, or the cake).

The moral of this story is twofold:

1. Always make a note of important dates so that you don’t miss events you’ve been looking forward to attending. Especially if you’re planning to make cake and are going to brag about it.

2. You should get a copy of the Vegan Planet cookbook because it rocks and is full of awesome recipes like this cake, and everything else under the vegetarian sun. The book is a mighty tome of all things vegan and delicious.

ABOUT VEGAN PLANET:

Vegan Planet:
400 Irresistible Recipes with Fantastic Flavors from Home and Around the World
by Robin Robertson

“Vegan Planet is a Joy of Cooking for vegans. Like that book, it is authoritative, encyclopedic, and complete.” -VegNews

Vegan Planet introduces a world of delicious choices to the millions of Americans who are vegans or non-vegetarians who have food sensitivities or are simply trying to eat healthier. A vegan diet contains no eggs, dairy, or other animal products but is chock full of delicious nutritious, and satisfying whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and proteins from plant sources.

In Vegan Planet, Robin Robertson shows how to make vegan cuisine exciting, flavorful, and full of variety. First she provides a complete rundown on the vegan pantry and the tremendous health benefits of eating vegan. Then she presents 400 tantalizing new recipes for breakfast (Pumpkin Pie Pancakes), lunch (Portobello Fajitas) and creative ideas for entertaining guests (Ginger-Scented Pot Stickers, Curried Cauliflower Pakoras). Taking advantage of the many cuisines around the world with large repertoires of naturally vegan recipes, Vegan Planet is truly global in its culinary offerings.
Buy Vegan Planet Cookbook…

Robin Robertson is also the author of a brand new vegan cookbook:

Vegan Fire & Spice:
200 Sultry and Savory Global Recipes

Another Sunday, another visit to the Hollywood Farmers Market. Because today is Easter there were fewer vendors as well as fewer visitors, though it was by no means empty. Here’s a look at the bounty I brought home with me today…

Starting with the bowl in the center: asparagus, broccoli, cherimoya, Fuji apples, red bell peppers and strawberries. All local and organic. I paid $2.50 a pound for the cherimoyas, later this evening while at Follow Your Heart market I saw that they were selling them for $6.99 a pound.

The thing that looks like a log wrapped in plastic is called “kürtös kalács” and is a hollow, cylinder-shaped pastry, a traditional Transylvanian treat. The nice Hungarian man selling these offered me a sample and with just one bite I was sold. I bought this one for my dad. They are entirely vegan and have no preservatives (high gluten wheat flour, yeast, canola oil, sugar, vanilla, real lemon, salt) and come coated with different toppings. The one I picked is made with caramel and walnuts. Delicious.

The lovely hyacinth in bloom is filling my entire house with it’s full and heady scent, which has put me in the mood to listen The Doors.

For lunch I opted for the Korean food stand again, though my verdict this time around is that I just don’t love these pancakes. They are dairy free, made with rice & barley batter and vegetables… for all intents and purposes, something I should really like. The last time I tried them they were a bit runny in the middle. This time I asked the lady to make them “well done” for me, but even though they did come out sufficiently well cooked on the outside, the center is still just a bit too soft for my taste. They look like they should have a similar chewy texture to those scallion pancakes they serve at Chinese restaurants, but that’s not what they’re like. The taste is pretty good but the mush factor kinda ruins it for me.

This was my first time trying her tofu and it was just ok… looks a lot spicier than it really is. The noodles I like and adding the sweet & spicy chili sauce over the top makes them even better.

Obligatory celebrity sighting of the day: C-Diddy! He’s the champion of the World Air Guitar Competition, holder of the title “The best Air Guitarist in the world”. If you have no idea what air guitar is or what I’m talking about, you are not alone. I had no idea what I’m talking about either until a few short weeks ago when I saw the film Air Guitar Nation and it rocked my socks off. I highly recommend you see it, then you’ll understand why seeing someone like C-Diddy on the street is a cause for excitement… this guy brings it! Behold…

Inspired by a few different recipes I found online for roasted brussels sprouts, I took what I liked best from each and ran with it. I’ve never tried roasted brussels sprouts before so I wasn’t sure if I’d like them; the last time I had this vegetable it was not prepared well and the results were awful. I was pleased to discover however that when roasted this way they are delectable.

Below is what I came up with, my own version of a roasted brussels sprouts recipe - if something this simple can even be called a recipe. I’m not giving any exact amounts because that’s really just not how I roll when I’m cooking on the fly. Plus it’s all going to depend on how many brussels sprouts you’re planning to cook. Be creative and just season these according to your taste.

Chop off the knobby bits on the end then slice the brussels sprouts in half. The young, small ones taste the best.
In a large bowl mix together the brussels sprouts with:
- just enough olive oil to coat
- two splashes of balsamic vinegar
- one large crushed garlic clove
- couple dashes each of sea salt, black pepper, red chili flakes and nutritional yeast
Place on baking sheet and roast at 400 for about 15 min. Turn and roast for another 5 minutes or until the tops get nicely browned and slightly crispy.

I made a quick dipping sauce of balsamic vinegar, agave nectar and more red chili flakes.

At this point I’m addicted to roasted brussels sprouts and I’ve been making them almost everyday for the past week. They make for the perfect quick, cheap and super healthy snack, something I’m grateful for right now as I’m attempting to shed the winter weight.

I had been hearing about the great vegetarian Mexican food being served at Cinnamon in Highland Park for a while now, so I figured it was high time to gather up some of my homegirls and go check it out for ourselves. I’d read some mixed reviews and none of us had been there before, so we really didn’t know what to expect. I’m so glad we took this adventure upon ourselves because the food was fantastic.

For starters I had the “Jumping Shrimp Cocktail”, the shrimp of course was made of soy. Loved it. I’ve got a thing for the texture that this type of firm and chewy soy shrimp has, and there were both whole pieces and smaller chunks mixed in with the yummy cocktail sauce. It doesn’t taste fishy, or even really much like shrimp, but that’s probably a good thing. The sauce was both sweet & spicy, accented with lime & cilantro. You could tell it had just been made fresh.

You’ll notice in the background there that I also got a soymilk horchata, a traditional milk and cinnamon drink that one doesn’t often (ever?) find vegan. It was heavenly, and it took all I had to resist ordering another after finishing the first.

For my main dish I had to try the vegetarian “Chicken Mole” as it’s one of their specialties. This came in the form of delicious little fake drumsticks that had been cooked in their incredible mole sauce. I must admit this was my first time ever tasting mole so I have nothing to compare it to, but I thought this was outstanding. The flavor was slightly smoky but also rather sweet and heavy on the cinnamon. My friends tried it and mentioned that the cinnamon and sweetness was a bit overpowering, but I really liked it just as it was. The dish came served with rice and beans, both of which were very good, and pleasantly lard free.

The food was delicious all around. Even the salsa that came with the corn chips to start us off was lovely. The place was clean, the food came fast and the service was friendly. The one issue we did have was that our waiter (who I think is one of the owners) didn’t understand the difference between vegetarian and vegan. The menu and website state that they are “vegan-friendly”, however the menu doesn’t specify whether the meat and cheese substitutes are vegan or only vegetarian, and no one working there seemed to know, or understand the question. It was frustrating for us to try to explain what the difference was to him between vegan and vegetarian, he was unfamiliar with the words casein and whey. I feel that if you’ve got the word “vegan” printed on your menu, everyone who works there should know what it means, and should know about the basic ingredients in the food being served. Imagine going to a kosher restaurant but neither the wait staff or the cook knows for sure if the food had been prepared kosher or not. That said, waiter/owner man was very sweet and attempted to be accommodating, but the whole vegan vs. vegetarian thing is a matter that they’re going to have to iron out if they want the strict vegans to embrace them en masse.

That said, if you’re a vegetarian who’s willing to turn a blind eye to a little bit of mystery surrounding the nature of your soylent green once in a while, allow me to recommend a visit to Highland Park for some fine, traditional Mexican food at Cinnamon. For that matter, bring your meat eating friends with you as the food here is so good that anyone should be able to find something they’ll enjoy regardless of their dietary inclinations. Other menu items include vegetarian steak fajitas, soy chorizo with potatoes, flautas, tamales, carnitas… and I count 8 salads on the menu (including exotic delicacies like cactus and hearts of palm), breakfast and fresh squeezed juices… something for everyone. Go hungry, leave full and happy!

Here’s a great stick-to-your-ribs breakfast I recently tried for the first time at Follow Your Heart, the “Two Bean Hash”.

“White and Black Beans, Vegetables, Wheatmeat and Spices, Pan Fried Crispy. Served with Two Vegetarian “Sausage” Links, Guacamole and Sour Cream.”

This was delicious, a simple and straightforward combo of flavors and textures that all went very well together. Mixing in the guacamole, salsa and sour cream gave the dish a nice Mexican flair. If Emeril Lagasse were here he’d probably say that they kicked it up a notch. The sour cream was vegan but make sure your server knows that’s what you want just in case.

I didn’t like the sausages much at all; they tasted like your average fake-sausage from the freezer, and not of an amazingly realistic or particularly tasty variety. Spiced, smoked cardboard comes to mind. Nevertheless, the hash was lovely and I highly recommend it. Next time I’ll ask for a side of fruit or something instead of the snausages.

I may have just found my new favorite recipe, the Tamarind Lentils from the Veganomicon cookbook. Oh mama, were these good! I love this delicious vegan recipe not only for it’s inherent deliciousness, but also because it was super easy to make, and from start to finish I prepped, cooked and ate my food all in less than one hour. The recipe is pretty foolproof.

Described in the book as “savory, tangy, and sweet… Indian-inspired lentils”, that’s exactly how they taste. The flavor is full and exotic, the tartness of the tamarind cut nicely with sweetness coming from agave nectar, garam masala and tomato paste. You also get a nice spicy kick now and again from cayenne and ginger.

I did make some of my own modifications because I’m the sort that just can’t leave well enough alone. The recipe calls for onion which I wasn’t going to subject myself to, so instead I used fennel. Yes, I realize that fennel tastes nothing like an onion, however it does look kind of similar when cooked… and what the heck, I love fennel. Whatever change this gave to the flavor of the dish did nothing but enhance it’s greatness. The recipe also calls for 3 tablespoons of coconut or peanut oil, neither of which I had on hand, so I used canola instead and cut it down to 1 tablespoon. Really, 3 seems excessive, don’t you think? I needed to cook the lentils a little bit longer than the recipe suggested in order to get them tender, so I just added a bit more water and let them simmer until they softened up.

The recipe suggests having this with basmati rice but at the time I was making it I was already very hungry and wasn’t about to mess with making rice or the like. Instead I made a Jamie Oliver inspired (and veganized) raw-slaw of red & purple carrots, yellow beets and red cabbage* with miso-seseame dressing.

If you don’t already own a copy of the Veganomicon then you’ll want to get one now for your uncensored, all-access pass to the tamarind lentils recipe. If I were to tell you that your life will never be complete until you’ve made and eaten this dish, than I would only be slightly exaggerating.

*Why is it called red cabbage when we can all clearly see that it’s purple?