Showing posts with label Julie hasson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Julie hasson. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
VEGAN DINER BOOK GIVEAWAY AND REVIEW!
OUR 1ST WINNER DID NOT CONTACT ME AFTER 1 WEEK, SO WE HAVE ANOTHER WINNER, in2insight! I will contact you. Congratulations!
It's past due for me to do a review AND a book giveaway (see info at the bottom of this post) of my friend Julie Hasson's wonderful book, Vegan Diner, on this blog. If you haven't seen this book, or purchased it yet, you are in for a treat! Not only do we all have some diner favorites that we would love to be able to eat again as vegans, but it looks wonderful, with delectable color photos of many of the recipes, and stylishly retro diner scenes. The content is a perfect combination of familiar and original. There are old favorites like All-American Beer-Battered Onions, Ooey-Gooey Brownies, and Biscuits with Creamy Sage Gravy, and then innovations such as Spelt Chai Pancakes, Vampire Fries, and Philly Seitan Sliders, to name but a very few of the tantalyizing recipes in this book.
Recently we had a couple of really delicious and quick meals from Julie's book that I'd like to tell you about. I had a yen for "macaroni and cheese" the other day, and needed a quick meal at the same time. (Actually, I had just got home from work on the 6:30 ferry. DH usually has dinner waiting for me on Friday nights, but he's been teaching a photography course at the college in Courtenay for a few weeks, so we've both been coming home on the same ferry.) I had heard so much about Julie's Cheezy Mac that I decided to try it. It looked quick and easy-- and it was!
I was out of elbow macaroni, so I used medium shell pasta, and I think I'll use that from now on! The shells make little "cups" to hold more of the sauce, so each bite is sumptuous!
While the pasta boils, you make the sauce, which tastes much richer than it actually is. I cheated a bit and cooked the sauce in the microwave, which worked perfectly.The recipe specifies just mixing the hot pasta and sauce together and serving immediately, which is perfectly fine, but I want a crunchy topping. So, I sprinkled the top with panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and ran it under the broiler, watching carefully. So it looked like a baked macaroni and cheese:
It was creamy and rich-tasting-- a very satisfying meal!
Another night I made two recipes from Vegan Diner: the Smoky Soy Curls and the Dill and Garlic Potato Salad. They were both very easy to make and we could pretend that, despite the cold weather, we were having a scrumptious summer BBQ meal:
We served the two dishes together on a bed of lettuce with pickled beets and marinated artichokes-- fantastic! I love Soy Curls anyway (you can read about them here), but this simple recipe takes them to a new level! DH devoured them and we both can't wait to try them in a big, messy sandwich! The potato salad was creamy and tangy,complementing the Smoky Soy Curls perfectly. (By the way, DH tends to prefer my cooking, but he's a great fan of Julie's cooking and NEVER looks dubious when I say I'm trying out one of her recipes. He certainly wasn't disappointed in these dishes.)
I haven't even gotten to the desserts yet-- there are so many recipes to choose from! If you'd like to win a copy of Vegan Diner, comment below on why you'd like to lay your hands on this book and DH will choose a winner on Thursday night (the 27th). I'm afraid that the publisher has stipulated that only Americans can join in the contest.
All the best!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
FOODIE TRIP TO PORTLAND, PART 1-- FOOD CARTS ON MISSISSIPPI MARKETPLACE
NATIVE BOWL, Julie and Jay Hasson's wonderful vegan food cart at Mississippi Marketplace
It's been too long since I blogged! I've been in Portland, OR for 5 days, with 2 more days on either end for traveling to and from Vancouver. I took the Amtrak Cascades train from Vancouver-- what a nice ride! I got back on Monday, worked at the library on Tuesday, and intended to blog yesterday. I got all the the photos uploaded and resized, etc., and then our internet access disappeared yesterday afternoon about 3:00! It turns out that an underwater cable was sliced and many of us on or near Vancouver island were without internet access for about 24 hours (it came back on just a little while ago).
I did have a productive day doing chores, doing my weights, making a new bread (more about that in a later post!) and soup, and cake for yet another granddaughter's birthday, etc. The computer does take up alot of my time!
I have so many things to report on and lots of pictures, so I'm going to try to blog some of it every day this week!
Anyway, back to Portland! I had several reasons for visiting there-- to work with the Field Roast folks at their booth in the Culinary Expo at the IACP conference ("Portland and the new Culinary order"); to visit friends like Julie Hasson, who was my hostess, and seeing Fran Costigan, my friend the vegan Dessert Diva from New York, who was attending the conference.
Julie and Fran, two beautiful Vegan Dessert Divas!
I also wanted to meet Kittee, an internet foodie friend (creator and producer of the Papa Tofu zine) whom I'd never met in person and who had recently moved to Portland. As well, I wanted to see my friends Yongkie and Pokie. Kittee, Yongkie and Pokie are also friends of Julie's, and we all kind of met via my old subscription newsletter, The Vegan Feast. Julie had met another "Vegan Feaster", D., by accident. D., who is a fabulous cook and writes this blog, had attended a 5-day cooking class here on Denman Island and we all became friends. Her friends, Yongkie and Pokie, moved to Portland. D. told Julie that they were making fresh tempeh and could make it for her, so they met, too! Whew!
Kittee and Julie after a great meal at Blossoming Lotus
Pokie and Yongkie at Pittock Mansion, with the Portland panorama in the background.
It's been too long since I blogged! I've been in Portland, OR for 5 days, with 2 more days on either end for traveling to and from Vancouver. I took the Amtrak Cascades train from Vancouver-- what a nice ride! I got back on Monday, worked at the library on Tuesday, and intended to blog yesterday. I got all the the photos uploaded and resized, etc., and then our internet access disappeared yesterday afternoon about 3:00! It turns out that an underwater cable was sliced and many of us on or near Vancouver island were without internet access for about 24 hours (it came back on just a little while ago).
I did have a productive day doing chores, doing my weights, making a new bread (more about that in a later post!) and soup, and cake for yet another granddaughter's birthday, etc. The computer does take up alot of my time!
I have so many things to report on and lots of pictures, so I'm going to try to blog some of it every day this week!
Anyway, back to Portland! I had several reasons for visiting there-- to work with the Field Roast folks at their booth in the Culinary Expo at the IACP conference ("Portland and the new Culinary order"); to visit friends like Julie Hasson, who was my hostess, and seeing Fran Costigan, my friend the vegan Dessert Diva from New York, who was attending the conference.
Julie and Fran, two beautiful Vegan Dessert Divas!
I also wanted to meet Kittee, an internet foodie friend (creator and producer of the Papa Tofu zine) whom I'd never met in person and who had recently moved to Portland. As well, I wanted to see my friends Yongkie and Pokie. Kittee, Yongkie and Pokie are also friends of Julie's, and we all kind of met via my old subscription newsletter, The Vegan Feast. Julie had met another "Vegan Feaster", D., by accident. D., who is a fabulous cook and writes this blog, had attended a 5-day cooking class here on Denman Island and we all became friends. Her friends, Yongkie and Pokie, moved to Portland. D. told Julie that they were making fresh tempeh and could make it for her, so they met, too! Whew!
Kittee and Julie after a great meal at Blossoming Lotus
Pokie and Yongkie at Pittock Mansion, with the Portland panorama in the background.
Julie picked me up from the train Wednesday afternoon, we dashed to her house to drop off my luggage and change into something suitable for the IACP opening reception, which features some of Portland's best chefs, restaurants, breweries, and Oregon wineries. (We could have got totally blasted on all the samples of booze, but I'm just not much of a drinker! DH was jealous about missing all the micro-brewery samples!)
Unfortunately for hungry vegans, this was not a very vegan-friendly event (lots of people remarked that this was strange, considering that Portland is so vegan friendly!). In fact, we found few vegan items we could eat-- some bruschetta with a green pea spread topped by asparagus was the only plainly vegan item there. We managed to ask for a few things to be served vegan-- some bean quesadillas without the cheese; crostini with onion jam and arugula, minus the meat; and some pumpernickel with beets, also minus the meat. I tell, you, we were ready to steal one of the decorative red bell peppers to munch on!
(There will be more discussion in subsequent blog posts about the lack of vegan presence at the whole event.)
The next day, Thursday, I accompanied Jay and Julie to their food cart, Native Bowl, at the Mississippi Marketplace at N Mississippi at Skidmore. (If you don't already know about the Portland Food Cart phenomenon, check out this blog.)
The next day, Thursday, I accompanied Jay and Julie to their food cart, Native Bowl, at the Mississippi Marketplace at N Mississippi at Skidmore. (If you don't already know about the Portland Food Cart phenomenon, check out this blog.)
The covered area filling up with lunchtime customers
A lovely old mansion across the street
Colorful buildings right across from the food cart area-- the yellow building is a Thai restaurant
Native Bowl serves several rice bowls-- layers of fresh, fragrant jasmine rice topped with grilled tofu or Soy Curls™, crunchy vegetables, killer sauces and a topping of sesame seeds, or crushed pita chips, or other crunchy stuff. Yum!
Native Bowl Menu
Julie also makes a number of her famous vegan dessert goodies!
The Native Bowl dessert menu
Native Bowl serves several rice bowls-- layers of fresh, fragrant jasmine rice topped with grilled tofu or Soy Curls™, crunchy vegetables, killer sauces and a topping of sesame seeds, or crushed pita chips, or other crunchy stuff. Yum!
Native Bowl Menu
Julie also makes a number of her famous vegan dessert goodies!
The Native Bowl dessert menu
Jay stocking up
I had lunch at Native Bowl, of course! I had the Broadway Bowl: Grilled Tofu, house-made peanut ginger sauce, fluffy jasmine rice, shredded red cabbage, carrots, scallions & cilantro. De-licious!
The Broadway Bowl
The new lemony Hollywood Bowl topped with pita chips
Julie at the window
Jay at the window
Here are the other vegan carts at this spot (3 out of 10 are vegan and most have vegan options):
The Ruby Dragon:
Here's their menu. Here's their mission statement.
The wonderful Sushi Tree Vegetarian Sushi cart (I couldn't resist having some, even though I was full!):
Delicious Mock California Roll (made with Soy Curls™) and Smoky Tofu Roll. The lovely young owner very kindly made these especially for me.
Here's a review and their menu. Another review.
Stay tuned tomorrow for the next installment! (And I promise some recipes soon, too!)
Cheers!
Friday, August 28, 2009
THE BEST SCRAMBLED TOFU!
No, it's not really my recipe. It's my version of Julie Hasson's recipe, and we love it! It's not dry and almost tasteless like other tofu scrambles I've sampled. We have been eating very simply these days (between guests) and this recipe just seems to be the ticket when you want something quick, tasty, simple and versatile. Even my picky brother-in-law liked it!
I really like this recipe when made with medium-firm tofu pressed for 1/2 an hour in the Tofu Xpress gadget that I blogged about here, and Julie blogged about here. The tofu is firm, and yet has a silky texture that really "feels" like scrambled egg! UPDATE AUG 2012: Recently I blogged about a new tofu press, larger capacity, handmade wood, that would work much better if you are using this recipe for a crowd. You can order it here, and read about it (with pics) here.
Medium-firm tofu pressed for 1 hour. (Update: I now press it for only about 1/2 an hour-- it's your choice!)
In the recipe below, I use 16 oz. of medium-firm tofu pressed for about 1/2 hour in the Tofu Xpress, which results in about 12 to 8.2 oz. firm, but smooth and silky, tofu. If you do not own a tofu press, you can find various methods on the Internet. Here is a good one, but I don't think it's necessary to press for 24 hours, as it says! You can see how much water is in the press in the picture above, and you should get as much out with a similar amount of pressing time using the method I linked to.
We had Julie's Tofu Scramble over steamed asparagus for dinner the other night-- very satisfying!
Cooking the tofu
Printable Recipe
MY VERSION OF JULIE HASSON'S YUMMY TOFU SCRAMBLE Servings: 2-4
Julie says, "I love to serve this scramble with toasted bread for breakfast, or with gravy and quinoa for dinner. Any way you serve it, Tofu Scramble is great anytime of the day." I agree! We sometimes have it for dinner served over roasted or steamed asparagus, and sometimes I add strips of bell pepper, or a tablespoon of vegan "bacon bits" or chopped vegan "bacon" or "ham", or a bit of pesto, etc., to the mix.
16 oz. medium-firm water packed tofu, rinsed and pressed for 20 to 30 minutes
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
1/2 teaspoon granulated onion (or onion powder)
1 small onion, very thinly-sliced
Sliced mushrooms (I use about four 2-inch ones)
Optional: Freshly-ground black pepper
1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari (can be low-sodium)
Heat a medium to large nonstick, cast iron or hard-anodized aluminum skillet over medium-high heat. (I use a well-seasoned spun carbon-steel wok.) Add 2 tsp. of oil so that the bottom of the skillet is very lightly coated. Break the tofu into small pieces and add them to the hot skillet. You can further break up any large pieces of tofu with a spatula. Let the tofu cook, stirring occasionally, until the tofu is starting to turn golden.
Add 2 teaspoons more oil to the skillet, along with the sliced onion, mushrooms and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is no longer crunchy.
Sprinkle with pepper (if desired) and drizzle with the soy sauce, stirring until liquid is absorbed.
Remove skillet from heat and serve the scramble warm, with toasted bread or hash brown potatoes, if desired.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per 1/2 of the recipe): 196.2 calories; 52% calories from fat; 12.2g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 319.9mg sodium; 547.1mg potassium; 10.7g carbohydrates; 4.2g fiber; 3.2g sugar; 6.5g net carbs; 15.8g protein; 4.1 points.
Enjoy!
Friday, May 18, 2007
BACK HOME FROM PORTLAND VEGFEST, WITH COOKBOOKS AND GADGETS!
Veggies at the Portland Public Market
It was a lo-o-ong drive from Denman Island to Portland. We took the ferry from Victoria, BC to Port Angeles, WA.
Leaving Victoria's harbour
Arriving in Port Angeles
I had a wonderful time at the Portland Vegfest! Here is a short description:
"Portland VegFest: A Compassionate Living Fair — A Rockin' Success
VegFest: A Compassionate Living Festival was held May 11-12, at Benson High School in Portland. Speakers included John Robbins, T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D., Caldwell Esselstyn, M.D., Kelly Peterson and Jennifer Hillman of The Humane Society of the United States, and Jonathan Balcombe, Ph.D.. In addition cooking demonstrations and Veg 101 sessions were packed, often standing room only. A silent auction drew steady visitors bidding on dozens of items donated by businesses and individuals. Thanks to the organizers who made this 3rd Annual VegFest happen, and to the 150+ other volunteers! The support of businesses as sponsors and exhibitors was also key to the event's making a positive and significant splash in the community. Visit the VegFest website >> Photos are coming soon" (Check out their latest newsletter (PDF file)!)
It was standing-room-only indeed at the soy/tofu demo I did with Julie Hasson! Julie demonstrated a yummy "Chicken" salad made with Soy Curls, a product I really love, and a luscious tofu-chocolate mousse pie with crushed organic vegan Oreo-type cookies (Trader Joe's "Joe-Joes") on top! I made my Vegan Lemon-Lime Bars (recipe here)
and my Breast of Tofu. Everyone got samples a-plenty!
I think we converted a few people on the spot!
Later, we did a Q&A session, mostly on what to do with beans and grains, that was very well-attended.
There was a really great atmosphere at the Vegfest-- lots of families, samples, and very inexpensive, yummy food! Everyone was so welcoming! I was thrilled to meet Michelle of Herbivore, Chef Al (Albert H. Chase, Jr., Founder and Culinary Director of the Institute for Culinary AwakeningTM) and his wife Donna, and Zel (author of "The Nut Gourmet") and Reuben Allen from LA's vegparadise.com, a great resource! They were all so gracious and interesting!
I didn't get to meet him, but Chef Brian P. McCarthy very kindly gifted me with an autographed copy of his wonderful book "The Vegan Family Cookbook".
I'm so glad that vegan cooks and chefs are standing together to spread the word and help eachother!
Portland is such beautiful and vegan-friendly city! There are SO many vegan, vegetarian and veg-friendly places to eat. Check out this page from Northwest Vegetarian for a LONG list of restaurants. There is even a Peruvian restaurant (of interest to me because of my Peruvian father, as some of you may know already), Andina, which has a separate vegetarian/vegan menu! This restaurant has received awards for its food, too. I have to try this on my next trip to Portland!
We also appreciated the free tram service in the downtown area!
We had a wonderful time with our gracious and very generous hosts, the Hassons, and visited with three mutual friends, including Spice Island Vegan!
Enjoying an Asian-fusion meal
I could have shopped til I dropped, if my budget had allowed! I loved visiting New Seasons Market and Trader Joe's. I was restrained in my purchases, but I came home with some Fieldroast Smoked Apple Sausages, some Ricemellow Creme Fluff (you can order it from Food Fight, Portland's vegan grocery store); some canned hominy (I add this to masa harina to make tortillas-- they are really good that way-- but hominy is expensive here); some Soyrizo; hemp milk; and some California and Oregon wine, of course!
We also visited Powell's Books, the world's largest independent new and used bookseller (I like that!). I bought 5 cookbooks for $63-- no sales tax in Oregon!
My newest book purchases (no, I don't only buy or read veg cookbooks!):
Julie and I paid a quick visit to Sur la Table, where, again, I was restrained! But I came home with three great new gadgets! Here they are:
The "Palm-Peeler",
"Unlike conventional vegetable peelers that are awkward to maneuver, this clever stainless steel peeler fits right on your finger. With a simple brushing motion you can peel carrots, potatoes and more using little or no hand pressure.
Small, innovative peeler fits right on your finger
Natural ”sliding” motion reduces hand fatigue
Great for people with carpal tunnel or arthritis "
My husband and I both love it already!
A fine microplane grater
(yes, it took me a while to aquire this!) for grating citrus zest, garlic, and ginger-- and it really does a superb job:
And a new type of lemon squeezer
:
"If you love lemons for baking, cooking or for fresh lemonade, you’ll need to keep this Lemon Squeezer at hand. Literally. It’s so convenient and fast. Insert half a lemon at a time and press down. It turns it inside out and you get all the juice in seconds without the seeds and pulp. And it comes in an attractive yellow so it’s easy to spot in your drawer. Coated metal construction means it won’t rust or react with juices."
You get alot of juice when you use this squeezer!
One more gadget:
I ordered this one online:
This is the EMSA glass oil sprayer
. Julie has had hers for 8 years, and it gets way better reviews than the metal ones. I have been using plastic versions, but they are not recyclable, so I don't want to use them anymore.The EMSA works really well!
Lunch yesterday:
Grilled panini made with my sourdough-enhanced 100% wholewheat bread machine bread filled with grilled eggplant, grilled zucchini, basil, homemade Tofu Mayonnaise, and Smoked Cheddar Sheese. I sprayed the bread with oil from my new oil sprayer before placing in the grill. Yum!
Have a great weekend!
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