Bye, bye Santa Monica!
One last meal at Euphoria and we had to catch a plane. Hubby chose cashew scrambles and I selected a breakfast wrap.
It was my birthday, which entitled me to try a chocolate dessert – totally worth the calories!
We will be looking for inexpensive airfare and more opportunities to head west to LA for another cuisine vacation. It was so refreshing to see all the healthy, vegan places to eat and all the raw and gluten-free options.
Monday, breakfast was a total bust. We attempted to go to Raw Star Café since it opened at 9:00 and all the other places didn’t open until 10:00 or 11:00. When we arrived (a bit of a walk) it was closed. Since we were only a couple blocks from Urth Caffé, we decided to check it out. The only gluten-free vegan thing on the morning menu was a pumpkin pie. We had two slices. It was fantastic. I also had coffee, which I was really overdue for. On the way back Raw Star was open and we stopped in, met Chef Bryan and bought some raw chocolate walnut balls. They were $8 for four small 1” balls. I wouldn’t get more if we ever went back; they were not all that impressive, especially for the price. Chef Bryan was very friendly and raved about his raw breakfast and that he was normally open at 9:00, however, we drove by the next morning and the place was dark again, so we didn’t get to eat there.
After our pie breakfast, we hopped back on the bus to go rent a car for the day. We had reservations for the Tonight Show and taking a bus from Santa Monica to Burbank involved two hours and three transfers. Since we were headed through Hollywood, I wanted to grab lunch at Sun Café.
After sharing some raw tacos, (pictured above) it was fabulous Pad Thai (raw) for me and Mac and “Cheese” (not raw) for hubby. We were in a hurry because we had to get to the studio or we would have had some dessert and more pictures. I hope we can go back to Sun Café sometime!
Well, the Tonight Show turned out to be a total bust too. No one told us (and we should have done our research) that you have to get there REALLY early to have a better chance at a seat. We waited for almost three hours and didn’t get in. They offered everyone tickets (guaranteed) to another show, but we had to leave the next day, so no deal for us. I was sad and needing a vegan comfort snack. Also, I wanted to try Café Gratitude and had heard so much about it. We had a car so off we went.
Café Gratitude is just too cool. They have positive affirmations written for you on the bathroom mirror and the server asked us the question of the day, “What is your greatest accomplishment?” Hubby got the “I Am Strong” smoothie and I got the “I Am Awesome” encrusted eggplant (minus the panini). “I Was Delighted”! Too bad this place wasn’t closer to Santa Monica or we’d have gone back for “I Want Breakfast”. They open at 8:00 am.
We took our time driving back to Santa Monica via Bel Air, Brentwood, Beverly Hills and Sunset Blvd. Since M.A.K.E. was our favorite place near the hotel, we opted for one last meal there. To our surprise, they had several new items on the menu and we caught a glimpse of Mathew Kenney himself. He had his graduate students preparing new creations. While it was tempting to order the same fabulous dishes we had a couple nights before, we opted to try some new items and shared three main dishes.
We had Carrot Gnocchi, Peas, Mint, Horseradish Crumbs,
Bahn Mi Tacos, Maitake, Guacamole, Chipotle Creme, Carrot, Radish,
and Nori Roll, Jicama, Avocado, Shitake, Pickled Diakon, Pickled Ginger, Chipotle.
The dishes were beautifully presented, but this time, we didn’t feel the portions were quite as generous and while the flavors were nice, we weren’t blown away like we were the first night. There wasn’t anything on the desert menu that really grabbed us, so we opted to call it a night.
Since it was Sunday, we decided to walk to the farmer’s market for breakfast. If I lived in Santa Monica, I’d shop there every Sunday. It was a bit of a walk from the pier, but we like to walk. There were tons of organic herbs, fruits and veggies. But nothing for breakfast. And it really didn’t matter because by the time we walked there, it was time for lunch.
We opted for wraps and smoothies from a booth called Euphoria and learned we had just passed their restaurant a couple blocks back. Euphoria didn’t come up on HappyCow.net and it should be listed. We headed over there for a little more food on the way back. The place is funky fun and filled with raw goodies.
We tried their Indonesian Kelp Noodles and a cookie. The cookie was so-so, the noodles were very good. Not quite as good as the ones we had at M.A.K.E., but still yummy. I also had a raw “hot chocolate” drink made with almond milk, raw cacao and spices. It really hit the spot since I didn’t have any coffee or tea and I like a warm drink.
On the way back, we also stopped at a Vegan Thai café to check out an option for dinner. The owner was very sweet, but added soy sauce in EVERYTHING, so no gluten-free options. We decided to go back to Real Food Daily for dinner after a very long walk on the beach.
Hubby started with squash soup and I had the miso. Both good. For the main course, I ordered the Risotto and hubby had the Balinese wraps.
My dish was quite good. Hubby’s was an odd combo of sweet, salty and sour flavors and the dipping sauces tasted almost metallic. I shared some of my risotto with hubby and he ate the wraps, but passed on the sauce. We ended the evening with raspberry tofu “chz” cake which more than made up for the weird flavored wraps.
Oh Santa Monica! Your are an amazing city for gluten-free vegans!! Hubby and I went for a short trip last weekend and ate some of the best vegan chow we’ve had anywhere. First stop was lunch at Real Food Daily on 5th and Santa Monica.
After an early flight and a bus ride to our hotel, we were HUNGRY. I ordered the pizza and hubby ordered a burrito minus the tortilla. We also had smoothies and were just too full for dessert. We were impressed for our first visit.
Dinner was at M.A.K.E. While they do use honey, so technically not an all vegan spot, they can make just about anything without honey if you ask. Everything is raw and everything we ate that night was splendid. This food was so wonderful, we forgot to take pictures,.
We started with an appetizer: Tree Nut Cheeses, Market Fruit, Sweet & Spicy Mustard Seeds, Fennel Crisp. We’ve had some good vegan “cheeses” but these were the best we had ever tried. The Fennel Crisps were nice crackers with a great texture and flavor.
Next we ordered the Wild Arugula, Herb-Caper Cream, Sweet Potato Chip, Malted Vinegar Powder starter. This dish was designed to resemble the taste of “fish and chips” and was fun and very generous with the arugula.
We shared the Market Tomato Lasagna and Black Pepper Kelp Noodles. On a scale of 1 – 10 they were both an 11. And even though we weren’t hungry (which isn’t always the case with some raw places we’ve eaten) we had to try the Chocolate Walnut Cake with Licorice Pear, Fennel and Sassafras. Just terrific. We left the right amount of “full” and while it is pricey, we thought it was worth the money for such amazing food.
Dinner was so good tonight I just had to take a picture and share. I work a lot of hours and often get home pretty late. I’m hungry. I’m tired. Even though I love to cook, I just don’t have time to really prepare something. I need gluten-free, vegan grub and I need it fast! So tonight, while driving home, I started thinking about the fresh portabella mushrooms waiting for me in the fridge. We had some baked with marinara and pesto the other night and they were great. We also had lasagna so I wasn’t in the mood for Italian. What could I make that was fast, fun and a little different?
There’s a little place on Broadway in Denver called Sputnik with clearly marked vegan and gluten-free options on the menu. They have awesome sweet potato fries with a bunch of different dipping sauces. My favorite is berbere ketchup. If you’ve never had berbere spice, you really need to find some. It’s a slightly spicy mixture of chili and other spices used in Ethiopia and it goes great with tomato. I started thinking about that ketchup and wondered how it would taste baked with the portabella, kind of like a spicy “meatloaf” with mashed potatoes and dinner was imagined and 45 minutes from arriving home, it was served! Hubby loved it too. Here’s how I made it.
BBQ Berbere Portabella Comfort Bake
1 cup Berbere Sauce:
2/3 cup ketchup
1/3 cup spicy bbq sauce (not too sweet)
1 tsp of berbere spice
4 large fresh portabella caps washed with stems removed
2 cups mashed potatoes
2 cups chopped, fresh greens (I used kale)
Preheat oven to 375 Fahrenheit, place portabella caps uncovered in a glass baking dish (overlapping slightly is fine – see picture below) and top each cap with 1/4 cup berbere sauce. Bake for 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and slice into strips.
Arrange greens around edge of plate. Place 1/2 cup warm mashed potatoes in center with a pat of vegan butter. Arrange portabella strips on the bed of greens, spoon on a little extra sauce from the pan and serve. So pretty, healthy and tasty!
Hummus is one of the most versatile foods I can think of. It is good as a dip, spread and even as a salad dressing. And it’s chalk full of nutrients – fiber, calcium, protein just to name a few. I like the hummus I buy from the store, but it’s processed and usually contains added oils, so I eat it sparingly. Trying to eat more raw, vegan foods, I decided to work on perfecting a raw hummus. It took awhile, but I have now made this recipe a dozen times and it always turns out great.
It is made with sprouted garbanzo beans/chic peas. See my post on sprouting if you are new to the process. They take about two days to sprout to the length I like.
I also make my own raw tahini and have posted the instructions here. You can substitute tahini from the jar or canned chic peas, but I can’t guarantee it will come out right.
The raw version does taste a bit different than the store bought version but it’s so much healthier. I really like it and hope you do too!
Here’s my recipe:
1 1/2 cups sprouted chic peas/garbanzo beans
1 clove crushed garlic
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2/3 cup water
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup raw tahini
Add chic peas, garlic salt and tahini to food processor with S blade. Start processing and slowly add lemon juice and water to prevent liquid from leaking out the sides. Stop the food processor as needed to scrape sides of bowl and continue to blend until very smooth.
Mixture will seem runny, but once chilled for about an hour, it becomes the perfect consistency. Pour mixture into glass container and keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Mixture will keep in the refrigerator for about 10 days.
I love tahini. This middle eastern spread gives baba ganoush and hummus distinct flavors. Sesame seeds are loaded with calcium and protein. It’s just good stuff! But most tahini is made with toasted seeds so, while it’s delicious,vegan and gluten-free – it’s not raw. I am not a raw vegan, but I do try to choose as much unprocessed and raw food as possible. So I popped out and bought some raw sesame seeds and went to work to try a raw version.
A little over a year ago, I posted about making tahini using my my food processor and toasted seeds. This attempt resulted in delicious tahini, but about fried my poor food processor and took an incredibly long time to make. I decide to stick with the stuff in the jar for my sanity and compassion for my food processor.
Now I have a new kitchen gadget, the Blendtec Twister. I am not receiving anything for this endorsement, but I have to say, this little container rocks! I filled the Blendtec with a cup of seeds and in 30 seconds I had about 1/2 cup of smooth tahini. Smaller amounts seem to work better and blend faster, so I repeated the process and in a few minutes I had a decent sized jar or this raw goodness. Fast and super easy.
Keep in mind, tahini made with raw sesame seeds tastes different than toasted seeds. But I love this tahini and use it to make my raw hummus – something I’ve become totally addicted to and now keep as a staple in my fridge.
I had never heard of jackfruit until about six months ago. I’d seen it featured in vegan pulled “pork” sandwiches, tacos, even “pot roast” but never had a chance to taste it.
A few months ago, hubby came back from the Asian market with a chunk of ripe, fresh jackfruit. It is the inspiration for Juicy Fruit gum’s flavor and was really sweet. Way to sweet to use as a meat substitute.
We ate some fresh and it was OK, but not spectacular. I read that many people loved the seeds even more than the fruit, so we roasted the seeds in the oven with a little oil and salt. The seeds were fantastic! Very nutty and meaty and about the size of chestnuts. We dehydrated the remaining fresh fruit and it tasted just like sugar pop cereal. It made a great snack, but left me wanting to try the green variety.
A few weeks later, we went to a restaurant that featured jackfruit tacos. They tasted amazing and we were hooked! A little later we went to a brunch that featured jackfruit pot roast. Again, we loved this funky fruit and they way it worked perfectly as a replacement for shredded meat. I just had to find some to make jackfruit recipes at home.
Young, unripened jackfruit is used in recipes to replace shredded chicken, beef and pork. I finally found some canned at the Asian grocery and used it to make this super quick and easy dish.
Fiesta Jackfruit and Polenta
1 20 oz. can young green jackfruit in brine or water.
1/2 cup of your favorite salsa
Prepared corn polenta (I used 1/2 of an 18 oz. roll)
Vegan cheddar cheese shreds (I like Daiya)
Fresh chopped cilantro
Take jackfruit chunks out of the can and break apart into shreds. Discard any hard pieces. Combine in pan with salsa and heat on stove. Turn heat down and place polenta slices on top or microwave to warm. Place polenta slices on plate, top with jackfruit mixture, shredded cheese and chopped cilantro.
My first attempt at sprouting turned into a glumpy, moldy mess. I tried sprouting quinoa and used a sprouting jar, following all the directions. I’m not sure what went wrong, but I really hate to waste food, so I went to work, reading and learning as much as I could about sprouting. It didn’t seem like rocket science, but everything I read stressed the importance of good drainage.
My second attempt was perfect, but I didn’t use a sprouting jar or quinoa. Instead, I came up with this contraption and loved the ease it gave for rinsing and draining. First, I started with organic chic peas and soaked them for 24 hours. I poured them into the colander, drained and rinsed them . Then I placed the colander on top of the pan and covered it with the lid. The colander allowed good drainage and air circulation, allowing for easy rinsing and and eventually, perfectly sprouted chic peas. Rinse every 12 hours for another two days or until sprouts are desire length. I prefer them about the length pictured above to make raw hummus.
I used a similar set up with a smaller colander and buck wheat and again, perfect sprouts.
Once seeds have sprouted to the desired length, you can store them in the refrigerator to prevent spoilage.
This is one of my favorite recipes when I’m having guests over. It makes a great breakfast or a nice dessert. My non-vegan and non-gluten-free friends and family love this bread. I hope you will too!
Gluten-Free, Vegan Blueberry Bread
1 ¼ cups gluten free flour mix (I like to mix 4 parts brown rice flour to 1 part potato flour and 1 part millet flour”)
½ cup almond flour (I make my own in my Blendtec by simply grinding up almonds to a fine grind.)
1 tsp gluten-free baking powder
½ tsp xanthan gum
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup powdered sugar (I blend organic raw sugar to a fine powder in my Blendtec)
¾ stick softened vegan “butter”or coconut oil (Earth Balance works great)
2 egg vegan egg equivalent (I like En-R-G egg replacer)
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup warm vegan milk (I like almond)
1 ½ cup blueberries fresh or thawed and drained if frozen
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease loaf pan.
Mix gluten-free flour mix, almond flour, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt and set aside. Cream butter and sugar. Add egg equivalent, vanilla and vegan milk. Blend until well mixed. Slowly fold in the dry ingredients and mix well. Add blueberries gently and mix by hand.
Pour batter into greased loaf pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes. Cool, slice and enjoy.
