Searching for the Right Vegan Hollandaise Sauce Recipe

I was kind of a weird kid.  Whenever we went out to brunch, my go-to meal was always Eggs Benedict with no Canadian bacon and no yolks in the eggs.  I never liked the idea of ham, even when I ate meat.  And egg yolks, of course, are gross.  Runny egg yolks are even worse.  My mom joked that our server would think I had a heart condition.  But mostly what I was going for was the Hollandaise sauce.  Everything else was just a delivery mechanism. 

 

When I got a bit older I found that rather than nixing everything out of an order of Eggs Benedict, at some restaurants I could order asparagus with Hollandaise.  Or better yet, I could make my own sauce at home and whip it up myself in minutes.  Which I did.  Over and over and over again. 

 

When I became vegan it may not have been the thing I missed most, but every once in a while it would cross my mind.  And as I thought about it, I figured it should be easy enough to make in vegan form.  So why not give it a whirl? 

 

As a starting point, I followed this recipe from Vegetarian Times.  Unfortunately, I got a bit cocky and estimated all my measurements.  When I tasted round 1 the sauce had way too much lemon and a bit too much spice.  I promptly added more tofu, more salt, more oil (I used olive rather than corn) and tinkered around until I got a version I liked.  When I sat down to really eat the sauce on asparagus and toast, I found it was still too lemony for my taste, but it was definitely a decent approximation of real Hollandaise.  Definitely a good place to start, at least.  I enjoyed my asparagus, toast, and Hollandaise literally for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (not all on the same day).  This is definitely a recipe I'll continue tinkering with until I find the right balance.  And when I do I'll be sure to share the results!

Not Quite Vegan

Last Thursday I found myself pretty much out of all food, so rather than brown bag it for lunch I headed out to Potato Valley - a popular lunch spot just blocks from where I work.  Because it's so close, people go here all the time to eat in with coworkers or to just grab something quick to bring back to your desk.  I love the concept of a delicious baked potato loaded up with salad toppings - it's the perfect mix of warm and comforting plus fresh and healthy!  Since becoming vegan, my go-to potato has been the South of the Valley, which is advertised as "beans, corn, lime, mango, peppers, and garlic butter, served with greens and roasted onions."  I order it sans garlic butter and go on my merry way. 

 

Which is just what I did last week when, while I stood waiting for my potato to be prepared - they top everything right in front of you kind of like Subway or Chipotle - I noticed the bottom of that center sign.  Hard to see in this picture, but it reads "All potatoes are dressed with butter and seasoning on the bottom and a bunch of healthy crunchy things on top, such as shredded lettuce, cucumbers, bell peppers, and more.  And our customer's favorite: Imported Danish Roasted Onions (they're mild and sweet)." 

 

Well, I'd already ordered before I noticed that sign, so I got my food, brought it back to work, and ate it.  But the question now becomes ... should I ever go back?  This is really a popular lunch spot where I work.  It's the closest by far to my office, plus it's tasty and pretty healthy (especially when compared to a lot of the other "fast" food options out there).  And while the preparation may not prove to be completely vegan, it's pretty darn close.  But is pretty close good enough?  Especially when I know for a fact that it's not really vegan?  It's certainly one thing to eat something that you ordered thinking it was vegan but then arrives with butter or something, but can I order one of their potatoes again knowing ahead of time that it's got butter?  I could always order the veggie sandwich instead ... (Also not vegan, since it has honey mustard, but I don't take issue with that.) 

 

Knowing myself, I don't think I'll be ordering the potatoes again ... Such a sad revelation!  Do you agree?  Or am I being too militant about just a bit of butter? 

Spicy Peanut Butter Broccoli Wrap

If you've spent any time poking around my blog, it's probably pretty obvious that I'm a huge peanut butter fan.  I could eat peanut butter every day and never get bored - in fact, whether or not I mention it, you can rest assured I probably had some peanut butter at some point on any given day.  But for me the ol' PB usually pops up in sweet treats, whether it's mixed into oatmeal, peanut butter pie, protein breakfast shakes, or on a spoon straight from the jar.  (Love that white chocolate wonderful!) 

 

But peanut butter can also be a delicious part of savory foods as well.  I actually made this spicy peanut butter broccoli wrap before my trip to California last week and loved it so much I made another to stash in my carry-on for the plane.  It's healthy and satisfying, plus with only six ingredients it's so easy to make! 

 

Spicy Peanut Butter Broccoli Wrap

 

Ingredients:

1 whole wheat tortilla

1/2 cup broccoli florets, chopped

1 handful lettuce of choice (I used Spring mix bagged salad mix)

1 1/2 tablespoons peanut butter - if you can find "The Heat is On" by Peanut Butter & Co, that would be great for this, but if not creamy or crunchy regular is fine - just not White Chocolate Wonderful! :)

1/3 cup Israeli couscous, prepared following box directions

red pepper flakes to taste
 

Sautee broccoli lightly in a pan with red pepper flakes.  Add couscous and peanut butter and mix thoroughly.  Place lettuce along center third of tortilla, top with broccoli couscous mix, and fold tortilla over to seal wrap.  Enjoy!

Peanut Noodles

Last week I made a big batch of peanut noodles and enjoyed them for lunch, dinner, and everything in between.  Well, actually just for dinner once and lunch twice.  Next time I need to make a bigger batch ... Because these noodles are so easy to make and so tasty I just couldn't get enough of them! 

 

The recipe below is modified from my equally tasty sesame noodles, tweaked a bit for my flavor preferences and to make prep a bit easier (we all need that sometimes). 

 

Peanut Noodles

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried pepper flakes
• 3 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger
• 3/4 pound spaghetti
• 1/2 cup shredded carrot
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoon sesame seeds (crushed peanuts would be great here too!)

Directions:

1. Whisk together soy sauce, vinegar, oil, red pepper, peanut butter, garlic, and Ginger.
2. Cook pasta in boiling, salted water until just tender, drain, and rinse in cold water.
3. Toss pasta with dressing, carrots, scallions, and sesame seeds.

 

These are enjoyed best right after you make them, but if you must refrigerate leftovers for later, let them come back to room temperature before eating.  Enjoy!

Crazy for Quinoa

I've been a quinoa-eating machine lately.  It seems like once I started, I just can't stop.  And while there isn't actually any leftover prepared quinoa in my fridge right now, it's so easy to make I definitely think they'll be some more in their again soon. 

 

It all started when I came across this recipe for Quinoa Pizza Bites on Chocolate Covered Katie's blog.  I live right by a Papa Johns, so I'm always smelling pizza-y goodness, and these seemed like a great way to satisfy the craving for pizza without fully succumbing in the dark side (or is that the delicious side?).  The pizza bites proved super easy and really tasty - definitely a recipe I will be making again and again.  I've also already started to envision all sorts of modifications I could make too - Quinoa Mexican Bites, anyone? 

 

Of course when I was preparing the pizza bites I failed to notice that the recipe only called for one cup of cooked quinoa, so I promptly started off by preparing a cup of dry quinoa and ending up with more than two cups once it was made.  So what was I going to do with all that leftover quinoa?  Experiment, of course! 

 

Successful experiment #1: quinoa mixed with chalula and guacamole, then eaten as a dip with tortilla chips.  This may not look all that appetizing, but I can assure you it was delicious!  It was spicy, but still cool and creamy with the guacamole.  It also packed a big protein punch that made it a lot more satisfying than chips and salsa alone, but not as high in fat as if I'd eaten that amount of guacamole.  I really think this would be a party appetizer winner. 

 

Following along the same lines, I used more leftover quinoa as lunch one day by mixing in more chalula plus a generous helping of black beans and serving it with a bit more guac on the side (not shown in the picture).  All mixed together this didn't necessarily look too pretty either, but it definitely tasted amazing.  Plus the double protein punch of black beans and quinoa kept me full right through the afternoon. 

 

And maybe my favorite quinoa innovation yet?  Mixing quinoa with cashew cheese sauce and whatever other ingredients you feel like (or can imagine!).  I will definitely have a follow-up post on this soon.  The cheesy quinoa was so warm and satsifying - like mac 'n cheese without any of the guilt!  I had this twice - once mixed with black beans (shown) and once mixed with broccoli.  Amazingly delicious both times!  This is definitely one of my new favorite meals. 

Baltimore Visit

Two weekends ago Josh and I spent the weekend in Baltimore.  We visited his parents, friends, and some of our favorite Baltimore dining establishments.  Of course at the top of our list was Cafe Spice in Timonium.  We ordered tons of food and enjoyed the leftovers for breakfast the next morning.  Mmmmm ... Indian breakfast! 

 

For lunch Sunday we stopped by Land of Kush right by our old apartment.  I got my favorite plate of food: lentil burgers, mac 'n cheese, and kale salad.  Again, I got more than enough to save for lunch the next day. 

 

We're lucky we're not so far away from Baltimore that we can still make these little trips on a pretty regular basis.  Because nothing compares to these places.  And I hope the owners never close them down! 

The Monser San Fran Trip Post

I've been quite delinquent in my blogging lately, and a lot of that has been a direct result of a recent trip Josh and I took to San Francisco for six days.  Though I took tons of pictures, I didn't blog while I was there, so I definitely got out of the habit.  And once you're out of the blogging swing, it's pretty hard to get back into it. 

 

And then of course once you want to get back on track, you're stuck with a sh*t ton of stuff and photos to recap just to catch up.  San Francisco was full of Mexican food, delicious vegan food, plenty of sweets, and good times with friends!  So without furher ado ... I bring you one monster post to recap our six day trip. 

 

Day 1:

 

Potbelly Mediterranean sandwich minus the feta.  (Yeah, this was breakfast at the airport ... You take what you can get). 

 

Rubios burrito.  Huge A+ from me.  This was my favorite burrito of the trip ... and there were many.  The proportions are all perfect, and when I asked for no sour cream the cashier actually suggested I add extra avocado in its place.  Um, yes please! 

 

Indian dinner at Kennedy's with friends.  I tried to scale back a bit by *just* ordering a vegetarian chaat sandwich.  Yeah, it was still huge ... But oh so tasty. 

Day 2:

 

Yet another burrito.  This one's from Orale Orale, and was my least favorite of the bunch.  For some reason they went way light on the beans, but heavy on rice and lettuce.  They also don't add salsa to the burrito, so you have to sit there pouring it on every bite.  Too much hassle for my burrito preferences. 

 

Dinner at Millennium with Josh and a friend of mine from high school was epic indeed.  We went all out (and paid generously for it - both with busted guts and wallets!).  We split a bottle of wine and appetizers, each ordered an entree, and split one dessert between the three of us. 

Unfortunately their menu online doesn't show the entrees we ordered, so I can't share the specifics.  I know the second appetizer was a raw "risotto", which wasn't my favorite. 

 

My entree, on the other hand, was an entirely different story.  I ordered the Potato & Chard Roulade, which had cashew Florentine filling with smoked onion and sundried tomato, mushroom Madeira cream sauce, seared broccoli di cicco, red wine, beet & fennel reduction, roasted maitake & lobster mushrooms.  It was amazing!  As was dessert.  I didn't get a picture of the Chocolate Almond Midnight - almond cashew crust, mocha chocolate filling, raspberry sauce, and white chocolate mousse - but trust me, it was delicious. 

 

Day 3:

 

Josh and I started the third day of our trip by heading to the Ferry Building for a quick breakfast.  Sadly, I couldn't partake in our favorite empanadas (I just took a generous whiff of Josh's to get jealous), but I did indulge in vegan doughnuts!  That's right, that's doughnuts - plural.  I picked up one pumpkin pie and one salted caramel doughnut from Pepples Organic Donuts.  My eyes were a bit bigger than my stomach, so I saved one for breakfast the next morning instead.  They were both delicious - even the one that sat around for a day!

 

We grabbed Thai lunch with a friend in Oakland, splitting an order of avocado spring rolls between the three of us. 

For my own lunch I got the mock duck curry, which was tasty and smoky - and not something I'd had before.  Basically, you can almost never go wrong with Thai curry in my book, so I was pleased. 

For dinner on the third night Josh and I had a little break from all the socializing with California friends and headed out to dinner just the two of us to one of our favorite restaurants - Cafe Gratitude.  We had scare a while back thinking this place was going out of business, but fortunately for us not all the locations closed, so we rushed into their Berkeley location extra "grateful" that they were there!   

Their menu items are all named a bit "uniquely", so bear with me ...  We ordered the "I am Honoring" - raw nachos - for our appetizer to split, which were so incredibly delicious.  We were so sad it only came with a few chips, so we had to gobble up the rest of the nacho toppings with our forks. 

 

Then we each ordered the same entree, the "I am Extraordinary", which is a BLT with their own maple coconut "bacon".  This is maybe our favorite dish ever.  We order it almost every time we get to a Cafe Gratitude.  Mine came with a strangely oily bun (like they'd accidentally set it down right in a bunch of oil - and Josh's wasn't like that), but even with that I still loved it. 

 

For dessert we decided to try their vegan carrot cake (I am Rapture - I couldn't even bring myself to say that to the waitress), which unfortunately was really underwhelming.  Actually, I would say it was almost bad.  And it's pretty hard for me to dislike any kind of dessert.  I wish we'd just gotten another "I am Extraordinary" ...

 

Day 4:

 

After starting the day with my day-old but still delicious doughnut, Josh and I drove out with a friend to Pinnacles National Park to go hiking, rock climbing, and caving!  It was a beautiful day and we grabbed snacks on our way out to tide us over while we enjoyed the outdoors.  On our way back to the East Bay, we stopped by La Plaza Bakery and Cafe, just outside of the park. 

 

I ordered my third burrito of the trip - a simple veggie burrito with no cheese and no sour cream.  While I waited for my order I spent a fair amount of time drooling over the bakery selection, but didn't think there was probably anything I would be able to get, so I didn't even bother to try to ask.  Fortunately the burrito came out quickly and it was quite good. 

Plus as soon as we got back (a two plus hour drive later) we were heading to dinner with friends at their house.  When I'm a guest in someone's home I don't like to snap pictures constantly of the food, so I have no pictures to show from that evening.  But the spread was amazing.  They went out of their way to make everything vegan for me - which was so thoughtful I couldn't believe!  They had all sorts of appetizers - fruit, hummus, bread, crackers, olives, and baked chick peas.  For dinner they served a salad, pasta, and roasted brussel sprouts - all delicious!  And for dessert our hostess made a beautiful orange cake - which I loved, but unfortunatley not every guest cared for :( 

 

Day 5:

Winding down the trip ...  For brunch on Sunday of our trip we headed out with friends to Burma Superstar in Alameda.  We started with one of their famed dishes - the tea leaf salad.  It was so tasty and not overly salty (which it can apparently be). 

We all also snacked on lotus chips while we chatted and waited for our food.  They are so addictive you have to be careful not to eat the whole basket by yourself!  Fortunately there were a bunch of other people vying for the chips too, so there wasn't much chance of that! 

 

I wasn't terribly hungry (maybe all the food from the trip was finally catching up with me?), so I ordered the samosa soup as my entree and shared a bit of Josh's curry.  The soup was plenty filling and (like everything else) was delicious. 

For dinner we met Josh's sister at A16 for tasty Neapolitan pizza.  I talked everyone into ordering their own pizza, so I had a marinara pizza (naturally vegan with no cheese!) all to myself.  And, yeah, I finished it ...  Definitely no dessert after that huge meal. 

 

Day 6:

 

Before heading to the airport on our last day, Josh wanted to make sure we got chaat from his favorite spot in Berkeley.  Unfortunately, when we arrived we found that they didn't actually open for a half hour, so with a little time to kill we headed into a little cafe nearby, Bittersweet. 

Their signature hot chocolate is naturally vegan - actually made with hot water rather than milk, though they offer both soy and almond milk for an extra charge.  Though the hot chocolate was quite good, I think I'll try it with almond milk if I ever stop in here again - for the added creaminess. 

 

After briefly stalling with our hot chocolates, we finally stopped into Chaat Cafe.  We each got a chaat to go and quickly ran off to the airport, where we actually got to enjoy our food.  My chaat was so good I almost wished I'd had two! 

Especially when it got a little closer to our flight and I realized we'd be in the air for five hours with no meal service (not even a snack offered on flights anymore - cheapskates!).  So Josh and I ducked into an airport store to grab food to go.  While Josh went the sensible route with spring rolls, I grabbed a vegan Pumpkin Apple Cupcake, which I enjoyed a few hours into the plane ride.  It didn't exactly fill me up, but it kept my stomach from grumbling too loudly until we got home. 

 

Whew!  Any time we go to San Francisco I know we're in for some epic food adventures.  The city (and area) is home to some of our favorite restaurants, and whenever we plan a trip we make sure to plan a way to hit all our most beloved spots while we're there.  This trip was no exception.  (Hence our down-to-the-wire trip to Chaat Cafe on the way to the airport.)  But we also got the chance to see great friends and have tons of fun, which is what the trip is really about anyway ...  That and the food!

Work Lunch Out

Last week I found myself without a lot in the house to eat for lunch at work, and also without any goodies stashed in the cupboards to make an insta-lunch (soup, noodle bowls, etc.).  So after one very underwhelming peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I decided to treat myself to a take-out lunch the other two days I headed into work in Annapolis. 

 

For the first, I got the vegetarian lunch special at a local sushi place called Nano.  The great thing about Nano is that they are so quick, all you have to do is call in your order and by the time you've walked over there it's ready for pickup.  The lunch special comes with one cucumber and one avocado roll, plus two sweet tofu skins wrapped around rice - anyone know what those are? 

 

The next day I headed out to an old favorite, Potato Valley.  I've been hesitant to go to PV since becoming vegan since the last time I went and ended up with a very tasty but convoluted order.  This time I ordered the South of the Valley, which comes with beans, corn, lime, mango, peppers, and garlic butter, served with greens and roasted onions.  I meant to order it sans garlic butter but forgot ... whomp whomp.  I'll have to remember that next time, because otherwise it's a really tasty and filling vegan lunch.  Luckily I did manage to add avocado to my order - a delicious essential. 

 

I almost always bring my lunch to work, so I don't get a lot of chances to explore the local Annapolis offerings.  This was a nice opportunity to branch out a bit and also remind myself of what there is around just in time for session starting in January - aka, no time to cook, so lots of meals out! 

Lunch at Roti

Well, it's official ... I'm old.  Haha, just kidding.  Though I'm only a few (waking) hours into being 30, it really isn't so bad yet.  (Hopefully I didn't just jinx myself into throwing my back out later or something!)

 

I'm still super behind on my blog posts, so I'm also going to try my best to catch up a bit today.  Starting with Sunday's lunch (so long ago now!).  Josh and I ran some errands that day, and then stopped into Roti to grab a quick meal.  When you walk in the place looks and feels exactly like Chipotle, but they serve Middle Eastern food instead.  They even had these funny posters on the wall about how their food is all humane and locally sourced - also a major tenant of the Chipotle philosophy.  I thought this poster on "free range chick peas" was particularly hilarious.  I never used to worry about my chick peas living in cages ...

 

I was feeling a little overwhelmed with all the choices at ordering, so I decided to just go with one of their "favorites" - the Sultan Sandwich.  I subbed out the chicken for falafel, but otherwise got the sandwich as described - hummus, tomato and cucumber, red cabbage slaw, and mixed greens with s'hug, their "very spicy sauce" (it was!).  It was delicious and really filling, but also tasted so fresh and healthy.  This is the kind of fast food you can feel good about getting all the time.  I'll definitely be wanting to go here again soon!

Will Run For Burgers

Saturday morning Josh and I slept in incredibly late, and found ourselves waking up just in time for lunch.  Feeling (crazy?) spontaneous, we decided to head out to BGR "The Burger Joint" in Bethesda.  But rather than do something silly like drive the 4.4 miles to get there from our apartment, we decided to run there instead.  Since we hadn't eaten anything, I had a quick piece of peanut butter toast to fuel me for the endeavor, and we headed out. 

 

I did not feel like running at all.  My legs felt heavy, and I complained basically every time we started going even slightly uphill.  But eventually we made it.  By the time we got there, I didn't even really want a burger, but I was certainly happy to get a giant Mellow Yellow - I don't think I'd ever had one before ... it tastes like Mountain Dew, but perhaps slightly less intense (more mellow?). 

 

We each got one of their veggie burgers, and I topped mine with lettuce, tomato, onion, jalapeno, pickles, and their mushroom mix - which all made for one giant burger.  There was no way to eat this without making a huge mess.  I tried to pile my toppings back on as they fell off, but ultimately it was a losing game.  And I couldn't finish the whole thing anyway.  I'd say I got about 5/6 of the way through ... not too shabby.  Fortunately, after the giant burgers we opted to take the bus home rather than run or walk 4+ miles.  Extra win: the machine that accepts cash on the bus was broken, so we got a free ride! 

 

BGR's definitely not the cheapest place around ... $27 for two sodas, two burgers, and a cookie for Josh ... but I would definitely be interested in going back.  Maybe I'll even run there again.  It's a good way to earn yourself a giant burger.  Especially if there's a bus to get you home again! 

Brookside Gardens and Another 50 Burpees

Last Sunday afternoon (very delayed post) Josh and I continued our exploration of all the wonderful things the DC area has to offer by heading to the Brookside Gardens - only slightly north of Silver Spring in (not) lovely Wheaton.  We actually thought about living in Wheaton, but quickly nixed that idea after visiting it.  We thought all it had to offer was lots of Mexican food and a pub with vegan sausage. 

 

But it turns out they've also got a lovely (and free!) botanical garden.  The photo above is an amazing gazebo on the water, with roses (still blooming now) and all sorts of other flowers.  I could definitely see people getting married right there.  (Though the people who were actually getting married at the gardens on Sunday were using one of those big white circus tents instead ... to each his own.) 

 

We actually parked at Wheaton Regional Park, where we intended to go for a hike that day, but when we realized we were only a short walk from the gardens, we opted for that instead.  With all sorts of discrete garden areas - azalea garden, rose garden, butterly garden, etc. - it was definitely beautiful and amazing, and the kind of place we will probably be visiting again and again. 

 

A few more pictures from the afternoon:

After walking the gardens for a while, we stopped by Wegman's for some groceries and a late lunch at their prepared foods bar.  I always seem to get way more food than I actually want when I go there.  I need to be better about surveying my options and then grabbing food.  Otherwise, I think the one thing I'm putting into my box at that moment will be my entire meal and I get a ton of it.  This time I got falafel with vegan tzatziki, Gardein sesame chick'n, delicata squash with red onions and fennel, and shaved roasted brussel sprouts.  The squash wasn't great - I just got it because I thought I should get more veggies.  And I really should have gotten one falafel ... live and learn. 

When we got home I forced Josh to join me in a 50-burpee timed challege.  I wanted to beat my previous time of 6:32 ... and I did!  That's right, 50 burpees in 5:58!  (Beating my first try's time by more than 30 seconds!)  Of course, last time I'd already done an entire WOD first, but that's just semantics.  

 

For dinner we made vegan tuna sandwiches with my favorite ... Asmar's tuna.  I always make mine with just tuna and pickles, but Josh likes to make a tuna melt with melted sharp cheddar too. 

With dinner I sipped on a pumpkin pie soda I'd picked up at Wegman's earlier.  Hey, it's fall ... let's put pumpkin in everything!  The first taste was really odd and I thought I didn't like it at all, but since I hate to see things go to waste I kept chugging along, and about 1/3 of the way into the bottle I decided I really liked it.  It was really sweet (but I guess no sweeter than a Coke), and you have to get used to the flavor, but once you do it's kind of a nice treat.  I definitely won't be wanting one everyday, but I might get one or two more this fall ...