Queen of Carrot (Flowers) Part 3

A blog about the eating part of my life, the vegan part.

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Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor

 

Vegan MoFo is back, muthafugga!

Well, it’s still a while away, but October is Vegan MoFo aka, Vegan Month of Food (MoFo coined by vegan goddess and author of those cupcake cookbooks we all love).

In the same vein as NanoWriMo (national month of writing), this October, you must (I don’t really know what i mean by “must,” or even “you,” really. Maybe by “you” I mean “me”). ) blog about vegan food all month.

Who has the story and the interview with Isandra? Veg News.

Well, it was my birthday last month. I had some people over to celebrate the fact that I exist, and decided, with great ambition, to cook some appetizers, including, yes, HOMEMADE sushi. Su, the sassy owner of “Santos Natural Food” (name is still a mystery) in Carroll Gardens, gave Adam and I some off-the-record sushi making tips: 1- Don’t put the rice vinegar/sugar in until AFTER you take the rice off the stove2 – Stir it until your arm hurts. Then, stir some more.3 – You can use cardboard instead of an official sushi roller. When I asked where else I could buy a sushi roller –> “Nowhere. I’m the only Asian in this neighborhood.” Cardboard it is… The actual preparation is pretty simple, and there are very few ingredient required. Warning: don’t get ingredients that are “almost” the ones they ask for. As in, get SUSHI rice, not just white rice. As much as this goes against my natural state of thrift, which tempts me to replace similarly named ingredients with another that I already own, my intuition told me that replacing Rice Vinegar with Apple Cider Vinegar probably wouldn’t fly. Ingredients 5 sheets nori 1 cup water 8 teaspoons rice vinegar Rice 2 cups sushi rice 3 cups cold water 5 1/3 tablespoons rice vinegar 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt So, the first batch came out pretty well, but I was too busy lighting tea candles and finishing the other food to grab a couple pieces before it was gone. However, I went back for take 2 this past weekend, and ate a glorious 12 pieces of Cucumber Avocado roll. Here is the rest of the recipe. I’m going for inside-out rolls next time, so watch out, world!

Well, it was my birthday last month. I had some people over to celebrate the fact that I exist, and decided, with great ambition, to cook some appetizers, including, yes, HOMEMADE sushi. Su, the sassy owner of “Santos Natural Food” (name is still a mystery) in Carroll Gardens, gave Adam and I some off-the-record sushi making tips:

1- Don’t put the rice vinegar/sugar in until AFTER you take the rice off the stove
2 – Stir it until your arm hurts. Then, stir some more.
3 – You can use cardboard instead of an official sushi roller. When I asked where else I could buy a sushi roller –> “Nowhere. I’m the only Asian in this neighborhood.” Cardboard it is…

The actual preparation is pretty simple, and there are very few ingredient required. Warning: don’t get ingredients that are “almost” the ones they ask for. As in, get SUSHI rice, not just white rice. As much as this goes against my natural state of thrift, which tempts me to replace similarly named ingredients with another that I already own, my intuition told me that replacing Rice Vinegar with Apple Cider Vinegar probably wouldn’t fly.

Ingredients

Rice

So, the first batch came out pretty well, but I was too busy lighting tea candles and finishing the other food to grab a couple pieces before it was gone. However, I went back for take 2 this past weekend, and ate a glorious 12 pieces of Cucumber Avocado roll. Here is the rest of the recipe.

I’m going for inside-out rolls next time, so watch out, world!

Hands down the best Vegan Carrot Cake I’ve ever had is from Smooch Cafe in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. My friend Marissa and I sauntered on over the Fort Greene, made a little Flea Market day out of it – I bought antique picture frames, she bought multicolored high waisted linen shorts – and topped it all off with some treats. It’s pretty fortuitous that I ended up with so many lactose intolerant friends, because now we can all be equally excited about vegan treats. Besides having great non-dairy desserts, Smooch has comfy chairs, attractive British waiters, and a water pitcher that you can use yourself (always a plus). It’s not fully vegan, so feel free to bring anyone. Deets:Smooch Organic Cafe and Wine Bar 264 Carlton Ave Brooklyn, NY 11205

Hands down the best Vegan Carrot Cake I’ve ever had is from Smooch Cafe in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. My friend Marissa and I sauntered on over the Fort Greene, made a little Flea Market day out of it – I bought antique picture frames, she bought multicolored high waisted linen shorts – and topped it all off with some treats. It’s pretty fortuitous that I ended up with so many lactose intolerant friends, because now we can all be equally excited about vegan treats.

Besides having great non-dairy desserts, Smooch has comfy chairs, attractive British waiters, and a water pitcher that you can use yourself (always a plus). It’s not fully vegan, so feel free to bring anyone.

Deets:
Smooch Organic Cafe and Wine Bar
264 Carlton Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11205

Look at this deliciousness! You want it, yes, I know. I’ll dig up this recipe later on, but I wanted to share the glory that was this brunch Adam and I recently made. And by recently, I mean months ago, and I’ve been drooling over this photo ever since, saving it for an opportunity such as this. I promise to document more timely meals as well. Menu - Vegan cinnamon French toast with ornamental confectioner’s sugar- Adam’s famous homefries- Bloody Marys

Look at this deliciousness! You want it, yes, I know. I’ll dig up this recipe later on, but I wanted to share the glory that was this brunch Adam and I recently made. And by recently, I mean months ago, and I’ve been drooling over this photo ever since, saving it for an opportunity such as this. I promise to document more timely meals as well.

Menu

- Vegan cinnamon French toast with ornamental confectioner’s sugar
- Adam’s famous homefries
- Bloody Marys

And so a blog is born…hello!

Hello – I’m happy to see you’ve ended up here The first Vegan I ever met ate sandwiches filled with Lays potato chips instead of lunch meat, crunching her way through the white bread mess and swallowing it all with the help of diet soda. At the time, in my college dining hall, I felt confused and a bit disturbed by her choice. Now, I mostly feel sad that is the best she could do in the cafeteria.

Being a Vegan was not something I had ever considered before I turned 20. I grew up on chocolate milkshakes (in fact, was forced to drink one a day for a few months to help encourage a growth spurt), Reubens, and Girl Scout Cookies. I was even known to heat up Boston Market frozen dinners as an after school snack. I didn’t give what I was eating a second thought. In brief, I was first confronted with regret about eating animals when I lived in Portugal for a few months in my Junior year of college.

Living in a country that processes food to a much lesser extent than the US brought certain things to light; let’s just say that when you were having chicken for dinner, it was very clear that you were eating chicken.

One thing led to another, I read up, and that was that (see the “About” section for more information, including what my last non-vegan meal was).

This blog is not an attempt to preach to meat and dairy eaters, or convert, but just to have a bit of fun and share my thoughts and experiences with you. Plus, I like making videos, make really delicious desserts, and encourage you to take some tips or recipes away with you!