Vegan in Rochester, Emphasis on the "Non-Fanatic"

A common refrain in a vegan’s life is “what do you eat?” It’s something I never get tired of answering, because I eat such fantastic food, but it’s something that surprises me. Are people so confused by veganism, and apathetic toward fruits and vegetables that they can’t envision a happy life eating only plant-based foods? But, I am luckier than most in that I live in one of the most beautiful, and vegan friendly parts of the world, the San Francisco Bay Area. Bemused reactions to my diet are surprising because there are so many people here who already feel the way I do about food.

I was particularly reminded of the unique situation of California when I visited my grandmother in Rochester, New York recently. While not Berkeley, Rochester is reasonably sized and relatively progressive, but not exactly the epitome of vegan friendly. But, this vegan does occasionally leave the Golden State, and eating compassionately is a priority even when traveling.

With a last meal, we took the red-eye from San Francisco. What do vegans eat in an airport? Nothing. You bring your own food obviously! Armed with a fresh baked banana bread, we survived our three hour layover in Baltimore quite peacefully. We arrived in New York around lunchtime, famished and pessimistic. Chipotle, my go-to vegan restaurant in every city, was too far from the hotel to be convenient. We kept our eyes open for options, but could see nothing from the highway. The only restaurant by the hotel was an IHOP; no, egg beaters are not vegan. So, we quickly gave up and went to the grocery store across the street. Vegan Life Lesson #1: Everywhere there are people, there are grocery stores, and every grocery store has peanut butter, jelly, and bread. It may not be natural peanut butter, cherry jam, or whole wheat bread, but it’s food. We ended up having a fend-for-yourself lunch of PB&J, chips and salsa, veggies and hummus. Not bad actually. Dinner that night was at my aunt’s house; a longtime vegetarian, we knew we would be well fed by her. And we were, with mixed green salad, stuffed portobello mushrooms, braised kale, and fresh fruit with almond milk yogurt.

Faster but Slightly Less Fresh

I hear from a lot of my friends how challenging they think it would be to eat vegan, or even just to eat healthy. It does take a certain amount of planning to eat good and good for you food everyday, but it doesn’t always mean buying a bunch of ingredients and putting something together from scratch.

I am a huge fan of leftovers; some dishes I can eat for 3 days straight and never get sick of, but sometimes I like to adjust and edit my previous night’s dinner to fashion something new and delicious. Like this meal: not quite enough leftovers of tomato and white bean soup became a tomato bread soup with spinach. In the spirit of Marie Simmons, I wanted to make something fast and (slightly less) fresh. Five minutes made this an entirely different, and entirely delicious dinner!

1 cup cubed bread, toasted
1 cup baby spinach, loosely packed

Heat the Tomato and White Bean Soup. Add the spinach and stir until wilted. Spoon over the toasted bread cubes., and top with spinach pesto. Serve immediately!

Make it a Meal: Tomato and White Bean Soup with Spinach Pesto

Sorry it has been so long since I have posted, dear readers, but I have been traveling, and let’s face it, just being generally lazy. It’s summer! But, back to Marie Simmons, and her extraordinary new book, Fresh & Fast Vegetarian.

One of the things I really appreciated about Simmons’s cookbook is its organization. She has chapters devoted to soups, salads, entrées and more, but she also categorizes things as main dishes and sides, which makes it incredibly easy to navigate your way to a delicious meal. On top of that, almost every dish has a side note, “Make it a Meal,” where she suggests recipe pairings that can take a dish from first course to main course. So, when I made Simmons’s Warm Green Bean and Tomato Salad with Mint, I knew I would need something else to make this a dinner.

Simmons’s suggestion was another salad, but two salads do not make a meal in my mind. Soup and salad however do, so I turned to the soup section and was stopped in my tracks by the phrase “spinach pesto.” Heaven. Make it a meal yourself, and try this delightful soup and salad combination!

1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 cups water
1 15.5 oz can of cannellini or small white beans
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
1 clove garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups baby spinach, loosely packed
Salt and pepper

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot. Add the onion and garlic, and sauté until tender and fragrant, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes with the juice, tomato paste, water and beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer covered for 20 minutes. Taste for salt and pepper.

While the soup simmers, make the pesto. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the nuts and garlic, and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add the spinach and process until coarsely puréed. While running, add 2 tablespoons olive oil.

Spoon the soup into bowl, top with a dollop of spinach pesto and some toasty bread. Enjoy!

When I Grow Up, I Want To Be Marie Simmons

Last week I had the extraordinary opportunity to meet one of my culinary role models, Marie Simmons. If you don’t know about Simmons, you should. Simmons was a contributor to Bon Appétit magazine for 18 years via the “Cooking for Health” column. She has won numerous awards for her cookbooks including the James Beard Award and the Julia Child Cookbook Award. Beyond her culinary expertise, Simmons was a warm, approachable, and learned speaker, displaying a thorough knowledge of ingredients, techniques, and flavors. I could go on and on about how admirable Simmons is, but when it comes to cookbook authors, food speaks louder than words.

It was with high expectations that I cracked open Simmons’s latest work, Fresh & Fast Vegetarian. Simmons is not a vegetarian, but she has a deep respect for vegetables, grains, and legumes. Her recipes are extraordinary in every sense of the word, deviating from standard flavor and texture combinations. At her signing, I had the opportunity to taste the Black Rice, Mango, and Sugar Snap Salad; Green Bean, Corn, Tomato, and Cucumber Salad; Shredded Tuscan Kale Salad; and Cabbage, Pineapple, and Peanut Salad. They were all totally mouthwatering, and this is coming from someone for whom no love is lost with salads. I actually can’t wait to make all of Simmons’s recipes, starting with this Warm Green Bean and Tomato Salad with Mint.

Warm Green Bean and Tomato Salad with Mint

12 ounces green beans, cut into 2” pieces
Kosher salt
1 garlic clove
1/2 cup finely chopped mint
1 pound tomatoes, cut into 1/2” wedges
2 tablespoons olive oil
Fresh ground black pepper

Steam the green beans in a pot or microwave. Lightly crush the clove of garlic, and rub the inside of a medium bowl with it. Add the hot green beans to the bowl along with the mint. The heat from the green beans will allow the garlic and mint to bloom with flavor. Add the tomatoes, oil, salt, and pepper, and toss gently. Especially delicious served warm.

What Vegans Eat

I had an interesting conversation with a coworker this morning about my being vegan. He is your typical skeptical man, who imagines veganism as a life sentence of wasting away while eating salad. But, as we continued talking, another coworker remarked, “At least beer is vegan.” The skeptic was immediately intrigued. “What about whiskey?” Yep. “Tequila?” Yep. “French fries?” Yep. “Sold.” It’s amazing to me how nebulous and strange veganism appears to people. Presented in the light of restriction and lack, it is completely unappealing. But, in reality, I eat so well! So, instead of continuing to emphasize all the stuff we don't consume, I was inspired to compile a list of all the wonderful things you still get to eat when you’re a vegan:

Tortilla chips
Salsa
Guacamole
Margaritas
Bread
Olive Oil
Pasta
Oreos
Fritos
French Fries
Tater Tots
Sweet Potato Fries
Ramen Noodles (Oriental Flavor)
Pie Crust
Phyllo Dough
Falafel
Hummus
Pita Bread
Dolmas
Cosmospolitans
Greyhounds
Bellinis
Mojitos
G&T’s
Popsicles
Wine
Beer
Tequila
Vodka
Rum
Whiskey
Scotch
Gin
Chocolate
Bread
Pizza Crust
Tortillas
Noodles
Skittles
Airheads
Dots
Dum-Dums
Jolly Ranchers
Mike and Ike
Smarties
Sour Patch Kids
Swedish Fish
Sweet Tarts
Twizzlers
Cracker Jacks
Club Crackers
Potato Chips
Pringles
Movie Theater Popcorn (often made with coconut oil and imitation butter)
Graham Crackers (watch out for honey!)
Teddy Grahams
Ritz Crackers
Pretzels
Triscuits
Cap’n Crunch
Cocoa Puffs
Froot Loops
Cheerios
Frosted Mini-Wheats
Chex
Trix
Blowpops
Nutter Butters
Nature Valley Granola Bars (The kind your mom used to put in your lunch box)
Wheat Thins
Bac-o Bits
Ketchup
Mustard
Relish
Enchilada Sauce
Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup
Curly Fries
Canned Frosting
Hash Browns (may contain butter - check the label)

*Special thanks to PETA for contributing to this luscious list!

A Vegan Birthday Party: Chocolate Cherry Cake

What kind of birthday would it be if you only had one cake? Fortunately, that’s not really the way we do things at my house. When it comes to dessert, more is more. So, of course, yellow cupcakes were not the end of Summer’s birthday celebration. On her actual birthday, she requested our traditional family birthday cake: Chocolate Cherry Cake.

My mom invented this cake for me when I was a kid, and I had it every year on my birthday. One memorable year, my 15th birthday, my mom had baked an especially beautiful cake for me. When my friends came over for dinner, 3 year old Summer decided to carry the cake out to show everyone. Well, two layers of chocolate cake, a can of cherry pie filling, and a serious amount of frosting proved too much for my baby sister. The cake landed on the floor, irreparable.

I decided not to hold it against her though, and even offered to make her a Chocolate Cherry Cake this year. Served in the afternoon with green mint iced tea, it was a festive end to Summer’s Birthday Weekend!

Chocolate Cherry Cake

2 recipes of chocolate cake baked in 8” round pans
1 can of cherry pie filling
1/2 cup non dairy butter
3 cups confectioners sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 to 4 tablespoons water

Turn cakes out of the pan onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before assembling.

Drain the can of cherry pie filling into a small bowl, and set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, whip the butter until it is smooth and creamy. Sift the sugar and cocoa into a medium bowl. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter, alternating it with tablespoons of water, mixing well. Add the vanilla, and mix thoroughly. Add more water if the frosting looks dry, or more sugar if it looks wet. Set frosting aside.

Place one cake on a plate. Spread a thin layer of frosting on top of the cake. Cover with the cherry pie filling. Set the second cake on top of the cherry pie filling. Cover the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. Refrigerate for at least one hour to allow the frosting to set. Enjoy!

A Vegan Birthday Party: Yellow Cupcakes

The most important part of any birthday party isn’t the dinner, though. It’s the cake! Or cupcakes in this case. My friend Jessica often says that the best test of any cupcakery is their simplest offering: yellow cake with chocolate frosting. It’s always the first thing she orders.

For a while now, yellow cake has been something of an Achilles Heel in my cupcake repertoire. My first attempt was culled from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s The Joy of Vegan Baking. While the taste was fine, the texture was too sticky and dense. When feeding non-vegans I never like to serve something imperfect. I want them to walk away exclaiming about how delicious everything was! So, the first batch was a wash, but I didn’t exactly have time for a lot of yellow cake experimentation.

Recently my mom and I have been watching the Food Network show “Cupcake Wars.” We had heard about the show after Chloe Coscarelli won her competition with a vegan cupcake. This was not a vegan cupcake competition, just a cupcake competition, and her light, fluffy, vegan cupcakes won! We looked her up and found this delightfully simple coconut cupcake recipe. Already having all the ingredients, we whipped up a quick batch, and waited.

They turned out absolutely perfectly. Light, soft, tender on the inside with a crisp, sugary edge. They are everything I look for in these individually-sized treats. Topped with rich chocolate frosting, they were the perfect end to a teenage vegan’s birthday party.

Yellow Birthday Cupcakes
adapted from Chef Chloe

1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup unsweetened non dairy milk
2 tablespoons vanilla
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Heat the oven to 350ºF. Prepare two 6-cup cupcake pans with paper liners. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Whisk until thoroughly mixed. In a small bowl, combine the oil, milk, vanilla, and vinegar. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and mix completely. Fill each cupcake cup 2/3 full. Place the pans in the oven, and bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack, and allow to cool completely before frosting.