Eat Me.

Anything you can do we can do vegan.

Friday, October 26, 2007

New Orleans Therapy

The best thing I can say about moving from New Orleans is at least I don't live in Houston. (I am loving Chicago so far, don't get me wrong.) I was browsing through the New Yorker's website and found a short essay about leaving New Orleans for Houston. And it wonderfully sums up why New Orleans is so great in the first place. So I am going to link it for you to read if interested here. Because most people (and probably most primates) are better at expressing their feelings through the written word than I. So read it.

But I do feel luckier than the author of that essay because instead of being thrown into the beigeness of Houston. At least Logan Square seems warm because of the huge population of Hispanic families tempered by tons of indie kids on bikes. But I very well could have moved to a terrible neighborhood populated by high paid corporate zombies. And we all know how I feel about zombies.

Last night we had a New Orleans rap party with the CD's Amos bought at an estate sale for 2$. We also had dinner. I had too much wine by the time we actually ate it though to fully appreciate the butternut squash over pasta that was the original inspiration for the word "crackaliscious." So again I will have to come up with a name for that, consult Diana for the original recipe and possibly post it for you all.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Earwax

Hello All. It has been awhile since I have last posted. Since then we have moved into our apartment in Logan Square, gotten it about 45% organized and straightened out the kitchen to a remarkably usable level with some Ikea love. The square footage of our kitchen here is probably about the same as our old closet in New Orleans. It's a bit of a shock to the system. But we are architects. We overcame. I now have a breakfast nook jammed behind our refrigerator but it is nice and sunny during the day with a view out the window. It is a big enough space for a game of boggle and a place to sit and wait for your cookies to come out of the oven. Plus with a little luck we had a space for our "roll out chopping block" to well, chop, and store pots and pans.

Today I offer up a restaurant review and am going to tell you about the new cookbook(s) we bought. I say (s) in parentheses because only one cookbook is new. The other is from a used bookstore. If that does not make sense too bad.

Amos and I set off down Milwaukee to find Quimbys bookstore where on a previous visit we sighted the book How it all vegan!: Irresistable Recipes for an Animal Free Diet by Sarah Kramer and Tanya Barnard. I had heard an interview with Sarah on a Vegan Freak podcast and am always interested in reading up on more vegan stuff. But instead I was drawn to Vegan with a Vegeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. The recipes sound great (seitan-portobello stroganoff anyone?) and I was impressed with the way she urges you to get out there with your veganism. She has a vegan cooking show on NYC public access channels called Post-Punk Kitchen. What really got me is she urges you in the book to start your own weekend brunch joint if you can't stand another weekend of watching other people scarf down eggs while you sit with a bowl of oatmeal. Because brunch seriously sucks if you are vegan! But not as much as eggs suck.

But it was a hard choice. Because Sarah and Tanya rock too. But one thing at a time.

We also picked up The Miso Book by John and Jan Belleme at Myopic Books. (We actually walked in thinking it was Quimby's. "Did they re-arrange or something?" I asked Amos aloud.) There is a bit of fish at the end of this book but maybe I can just tear those pages out and focus on all the recipes that use tempeh, tofu and well, miso. For instance the recipe for creamy dill dip doesn't even have anything remotely related to cream in it. Rock. Walnut -Miso dip? Swoon.

Now gather around - it is time for a restaurant review. After our little book odyssey I really really needed some coffee. But is there a coffee shop anywhere in Chicago? NO. Is there good food anywhere in Chicago? I have not yet been convinced. We stopped in at Earwax, a semi-vegan/veg place, that was sporting a circus theme. Take a second to get over the name. There. After reading reviews upon our arrival home I realize it has a video store in the basement but this is besides the point.

First of all I am SICK and TIRED of paying an extra 3/4 of a dollar for goddam soy milk. Amos wanted pancakes so 7.50$ later we got some pancakes that I thought totally BLEW. I don't care if they are vegan - everything should be vegan anyway and it should taste good! Oooh - look at your fancy-pants vegan pancakes. Well too bad they SUCK! Amos liked the pancakes. (He did however get pissed when my half-eaten pancake launched across the table back at him. It was stuck in the syrup! It was all stuck then it unstuck and just flew at him.) Be your own judge. I might try there again for lunch. They offer a whole section on just veggie burgers. But next time I am bringing my own soy milk.

Monday, October 8, 2007

Bucket of 'Tots


Sticky Rice in Richmond was one of my favorite places to eat in Richmond while evacuated. Within walking distance. Great bar. So when we drove through town we had to meet up with Amos' friend and his wife for some vegan sushi and tater tots. Tater tots you say? Well yes. A whole bucket for 6$. Crispy and deep fried. None of that oven-baked nonsense. Eat them with chopsticks.

Also visit the restaurant's bi-weekly blog stickyricefan. Because Sticky Rice is friends with everyone. The only thing I regret is not visiting Impanema when in town...

Alleghany Mountain Orchard




Beautiful.

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Chicago Time!


Finally I can say we made it to Chicago. For the last week we stayed with my sister in Logan Square where one can buy all the produce you need to make a fresh spaghetti dinner for four, bread and a bunch of bananas for the next morning for less than $7. Need tomatillos? Only three minutes away and one pound will set you back a whopping 49 cents. Already we have favorite restaurants in the neighborhood and thats a good thing because we found a fantastic apartment two blocks down the street from my sister's place.

If you are thinking maybe we spent the week eating our way through Chicago you would be correct. We did go to El Cid three times but who's counting? Hit up Lula Cafe for brunch one day (excellent coffee, terrible bagels) and tried out Dunlay's on the Square another. And I was seriously making headway on becoming a regular at Cafe con Leche. Then before heading back to my hometown of Morris we rounded off the week with a few glasses of wine with Melissa and Iris.

The roads are smooth but I haven't found food to compare with New Orleans...

More stories and pictures to come soon. I have some beautiful shots of the apple orchard in the Alleghenies I want to share.

Walnuts and Maple Syrup?!

This looks fantastically simple and good.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Interesting Fact...

From the University of Chicago:

A vegetarian prevents approximately 1.5 fewer tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere each year than a meat-eater does.

Would you believe I read that on a shoe website? As if meat wasn't icky enough...