After a lovely dinner of barbequed oven-baked tofu, Nate I are settling in to watch Disney’s Alice in Wonderland in protest of the Burton abomination presently sweeping the nation. (Has anyone I know actually seen it yet? What did you think? Or, if not, why are you avoiding?)
One of my favorite scenes.
These days I drink only a handful of times a year; tonight I’m enjoying a lovely beer called Éphémère by Unibroue, a Canadian brewing company. According to their website, it “possesses a fresh apple aroma with reminiscent notes of ‘Granny Smith’ and ‘McIntosh’ a subtle flavour of green apple is complemented by delicate notes of fruit and spice topped by a rich white head.” I first tried it in October at Chicago’s vegan bike-themed restaurant, Handlebar; Nate picked up a couple more bottles at the famous Half Time party shop in Poughkeepsie, New York, over Christmas. It’s best served in a champagne flute.
If you’re a vegan who enjoys spirits, you’ll do well to check out Barnivore: your vegan beer & wine guide. It proved an invaluable resource last fall as I bought for Nate’s Hobbit-themed birthday bash. I was surprised that every specialty beer I looked up was accounted for: Gulden Draak (more at Beer Advocate), Weyerbacher (Merry Monks; Quad), Hitachino Nest Ginger Brew by Kiuchi, Trappistes Rochefort (#10, bebe), Lagunitas (Censored & IPA), Unibroue (La Fin Du Monde & Trois Pistoles), and Rogue (Rogue’s Hazelnut Brown Nectar makes me melt!). They’re not all available in Indiana; I had to pick up the Lagunitas in Michigan while visiting Jina beena.
Speaking of, check all this gorgeous bottle opener she brought back from Greece in 2007:
Thanks, Jiji. You are one classy lady.
For our sumptuous tofu dinner I used Isa’s “BBQ Pomegranate Tofu” recipe as a guide. Have you been eyeing that one in Vegan with a Vengeance but haven’t yet tried it because it calls for crazy ingredients? Well, don’t be bullied by the inclusion of pomegranate molasses–I’ve been using plain ol blackstrap & the dish always turns out fine. I also subbed a finely-chopped onion for the shallots tonight & used crunchy peanut butter instead of plain.
Don’t have Vegan with a Vengeance? Buy a copy! It’s one of the best vegan cookbooks out there for new & seasoned vegs alike. You won’t be disappointed. (And, of course, if you’re in the Richmond area you’re welcome to use my food-spattered copy.)
(PS: I typed this entire post tipsy. How obvious?)
more...
Friends,
I’m relieved to report that it is quite easy to find vegan eats in Ann Arbor. Last night we dined at Seva, the city’s most popular vegetarian restaurant. The menu is about 70% vegetarian, 30% vegan, yet many of the dishes can be made vegan. We started with the yam fries, though if they were made with true yams or just plain ol’ sweet potatoes, I’ll never know. They were certainly delicious. (Note: the accompanying dipping sauce is not vegan, though you can sub for another). Jiji and I caught each other up while sipping the outstanding Ginger Julep (Fresh ginger shot with Maker’s Mark Bourbon, sugar syrup & soda, garnished with a lemon wedge)–a very good complement to the crispy yam fries.
At Jiji’s generous treat, I chose the curried eggplant. The menu describes it thusly: “tender chargrilled eggplant with tamarind-coconut-peanut sauce, served with a really spicy vegetable-brown rice biryani and a cooling beet-soy yogurt raita.” The eggplant was cooked well but the sauce lacked the depth of flavor one might expect from its triple-noun nomen, and instead simply tasted rather sweet. The biryani was not nearly as spicy as advertised–on a scale of 1 to 10, it was a three. Nevertheless, all of the flavors–raita included–danced nicely together, and I am looking forward to enjoying the leftovers this evening before heading to see “Nico Icon” at the University of Michigan Museum of Art.
Today we went marketting at the tremendous Ann Arbor farmer’s market. It is so big, with so many vendors from all over, that the City of Ann Arbor devotes substantial space to it on its website. I made off with three bunches of organic heirloom kale, organic mizuna, organic arugula, un-sprayed spaghetti squash and “sweet potato” squash, and a half gallon of cider for just around $15–not bad! Best of all, my BFF treated me to 8oz of pure Michigan maple syrup. (At a dollar an ounce, it’s quite a treat.) I plan on baking the squash and serving it with the syrup for our lunch tomorrow.
We left the market for Zingerman’s, where we stood in line outside for about 10 minutes before we were able to enter & order. It was totally worth it. I chose Stewart’s Farmer’s Hash, Zingerman’s vegetarian hash. From the menu: “Oven-roasted sweet potatoes & redskin potatoes, piquillo peppers, sautéed spinach & crispy shallots. Served with buttered onion rye toast & sour cream on the side.” To veganise the meal, I subbed wheat for the onion rye and asked for it dry; I also requested that they prepare the hash with olive oil as opposed to the usual butter. No problem!
We sat down at the coffee and pastry house next door, where our food was delivered. There, we snagged an Americano (Jiji) and, because it was featured and I was feeling decadent, a cup of Vosges’ Aztec Elixir haute drinking chocolate, prepared by the barista with soymilk (no extra charge!). Composed of only ancho & chipotle chillies, Ceylon cinnamon, Madagascar vanilla bean, cornmeal (for thickening), and dark chocolate, it is divinity in a cup. I shared; we swooned.
Now I’m back home, trying to decide whether to grab a quick nap or head out to do a little exploring. Though I miss my sweetie very much, I am happy to get away for the weekend and experience someplace new. And while the food is quite good here, it is no match for the company. :) It will be hard to say goodbye!
more...
