Got a secret, can you keep it?

Oh, I don't have an actual secret. I've just been watching Pretty Little Liars...

I haven't posted in along time because...well, I am a great procrastinator.

There's a new pizza place in town called Sizzle Pie. The former owner of the delicious super-vegan friendly bar Tube has opened a late night pizza place with a lot of vegan options. Toppings include Daiya cheese, flavorful soy curls, vegan pepperoni, and creamy basil cashew spread. I've gone several times now. I usually get the $6 slice and salad deal.

This here is a New Maps Out of Hell slice (soy curls, basil cashew spread, 3 veggies- which this time was black olives, green peppers and onion) and the Caligula salad, which is just their name for a Caesar. Their Caesar dressing is made vegan and it's quite yum. Currently they only have bottled/canned beers, but when their bar (Quality Bar) opens next door, I can only assume there will be draft beers.

The pizza isn't the best ever (my favorite crust is still Hot Lips Pizza), but it's tasty. Normally, the two vegan slice options are New Maps and Spiral Tap (carmelized onion spread swirled with marinara sauce...good, but boring- i want toppings!), but occasionally they have others, such as Thunder & Lightning (vegan cheese with pepperoni!). They're open until 4am (I can't remember what the weekday hours are), so if you're out late downtown or at Rontom's on Burnside, it's a great after hours place to go. I just wish they had Dr. Pepper on their sode fountain...

I just made myself the yummiest boozy milkshake. I was mixing Silk Chocolate with some Kahlua when I remembered I had Coconut Bliss ice cream. Delicious combo, y'all!

Vegan Iron Chef

On Sunday, June 6 Try Vegan is hosting an event in Portland called Vegan Iron Chef. Yes, it's exactly what it sounds like. Tickets are all sold out, but there will be live-streaming!

The chefs:

Aaron Adams from Portobello Trattoria- yum! All new restaurant opening in a few weeks!

Quasu AsaaseYaa of Asaase Ital Palace- a food cart which I hear is delicious!

Wes Hannah of Blossoming Lotus- killer Sunday brunch menu and I hear the 4 "Cheese" Lasagna is amazing!

vegan chefs are dreamy...

If you watch the live streaming, look for me! I'm the judge (or chef...can't remember) liaison and will getting whatever they need so may end up on camera a little bit.

ARCTIC! BLAST!

I'm supposed to be enjoying 70-80 degree weather at this exact moment in my hometown of Sarasota, Florida. But no. I'm stuck in the winter wonderland that is Portland, Oregon. We've been dealing with snowy weather for 2 weeks now and it's gotten pretty old. I'm over it. I don't see how people deal with this as part of their normal winter weather. I prefer rain. Rain doesn't delay/cancel flights. I was supposed to fly out Monday night but i had to reschedule and now i'm leaving Saturday morning. I was looking forward to Christmas at home and New Years in Portland, but fate had it planned differently. So i'm trying to roll with it. My mother is none-too-pleased and thinks i should make them give me a flight since that what i was paying for or at least a voucher. 

I don't know what i would be doing without my new rain/snow boots from Rocketdog. (which apparently were being sold for only $15 on that website....i paid a bit more for them...but not $89) I probably wouldn't leave the house as much for fear of my feet being cold and wet. They have a trim inside of some kind of brown furry material. I've been wearing them nonstop. Kinda like my new jacket that i got from Papaya. (i'm the one on the far right). It's quite warm for being only $35. 

I've been spending a lot of time at Sweetpea Baking Co. They have soup nowadays, which is great.  I like having "real" food to choose from. They were out of it since Jessie, their soup guy, went on vacation, but i did see they had it again yesterday. It was the Chik N Noodle kind. It has chunks of seitan in a broth with noodles. Tasty stuff. I just would like to mention again, out loud, that i would love Lisa forever if she decided to make biscuits and gravy a regular menu item. I love Hungry Tiger Too's version since it's only $4 and it's got faux sausage in it and the biscuits don't suck (::coughparadoxcafecough::), but the one time i had Lisa's version at a brunch, i was diggin' it. It's a nice southern white gravy with no heavy spices but pepper and her buscuits are light and fluffy. HT2 has a lot of herbs in it, which isn't what i look for, i just want a good ole southern sausage gravy.

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah! It doesn't feel like Christmas Eve to me. Probably because i'm not at my parent's house that's all decorated. I only remember once not being home for Christmas and that was the year i went to Germany. I'm not a huge family-gatherings person, but it's tradition for me. And i like tradition. I'm glad that i do have a lot of friends that are still in town. My roommate is leaving tomorrow evening so we'll be together for our first roommate Christmas.   :o)

Be safe, y'all. Curl up under the covers and watch While You Were Sleeping or some other nice Christmas movie.....heh....seriously, love that movie though....

it's on the B.L.

Yesterday morning i woke up in a hotel room with snow flurrying about outside my window. It's like i was in a movie or something. But instead of being snuggled up next to a boy, i was in bed with 3 girl friends. One of those friends had gotten a free night's stay at Hotel Deluxe and we made the best we could of a king size bed in the smallest hotel room i've ever been in. They did have a "Make It So" motto, where you could call them and ask for whatever. One of those things was a wide selection of different pillows, like body or one of those special neck pillows. We totally made it so....By breakfast/brunch time there was 3 of us left.

We walked to Blossoming Lotus for breakfast. I had never been there for breakfast before. Me and Maeve's feet were about frozen when we got there. I was wearing Chucks and a thin pair of socks and she had on boots that had a hole in one of the heels and weren't wet-proof. 

They didn't have much in the warm side for breakfast. Really, there was only one choice and that was toast...So i ended up ordering lunch (which they serve after 10am). 

I chose the Smokey Maple Tempeh Sandwich. 

Yeah, look at that plate of deliciousness....mmm.....so it's copious amounts of vegan aioli (i don't know what makes this aioli, it tastes like Vegenaise to me...yum..), alfalfa sprouts, tons of ripe avocado, lettuce and slabs of warm smokey, mapley tempeh on spelt bread. It was so good. I was only able to eat half of it (i polished off the leftovers last night...).  This picture was taken by Jess. She herself had gotten one of their bowls filled with pinto beans, tempeh chunks, kale and quinoa (or rice?) with a peanut sauce/ginger sauce mix. that was pretty tasty too.

Unfortunately, i wasn't able to order some of their delightful vegan soft serve. The flavor of the day was Nog, which probably would've been fun to try.

I like Blossoming Lotus, but it's not for breakfast place unless you're looking for a muffin, juice, granola or smoothie. I'm looking for warm and comforting when i go for breakfast. Oh, they have oatmeal, but i don't usually roll that way...

What i ate...

I've been thinking of doing a food journal of what i eat each day. That would actually get me posting more (because that's what y'all are dying for, right?) b/c it's easy. I thoroughly enjoy looking at what people eat. Not even looking, just reading about it is fun. I work for a naturopathic doctor and sometimes she gives people a diet to follow and i just like reading it. It's not even meals to make, just a list of foods to eat or avoid. And sometimes patients send in what they've been eating each day and i read them. I don't know what it is about them that i like so much.....

So, so far today i've had:

Maple Sausage Waffle from FlavourSpot

Coffee with sugar-in-the-raw and soymilk

Yeah, that's it. I haven't gotten very far today....

Fundraiser meal- vegan style

A few months back I went to a fundraiser dinner cooked by Isa Chandra Moskowitz (of Veganomicon and Vegan with a Vengeance) that raised money for....hmm....good question...i don't remember what it was for, but it was an all vegan meal that used seasonal produce and was 4 courses long!

ok, so i looked into it and found out it was a benefit for the Let Live Conference. Here was the menu:

Soup
Spicy Cream of Sweet Potato with Lime
A creamy puree of sweet potatoes and a little parsnip, with a kick of lime and chili

Salad
Jicama Salad in Citrus Vinaigrette
A Thai inspired salad of crisp, sweet jicama in a tangy vinaigrette of orange, lemon and grapefruit. Served with grilled and chilled asparagus and garnished with beansprouts, cilantro, roasted peanuts and avocado

Main
Blackened Seitan With Corn Pudding And Chocolate Chili Mole
Cajun rubbed blackened homemade seitan and grilled zucchini over a sweet and savory creamy corn pudding, with a mild chocolate chili mole

Dessert
Raspberry Brownie And Vanilla Ice Cream
A warm raspberry brownie with chocolate drizzle, raspberry sauce and vanilla ice cream

Homemade ginger lemonade will be served. Please bring your own beer and wine.



The jicama salad was off the chain deliciousness! I do remember that my salad was avocado-less and my dining companion let me have some of hers. I love me some avocado....

Everything was good, but i'm really looking forward even more to the next one that Isa's planning. It's on Friday, October 24th and there's a limit of 40 place settings so go PayPal it up before it gets sold out. The price is sliding scale, from $40-100. All proceeds are going to the House of Dreams, a no-kill kitty shelter that a friend of mine works at. I'm not a huge cat friend, but i know that if it were for dogs i would tell people to go whether they liked them or not. Plus i am selfish and do it for the food.

Here's what Isa concocted:

Soup
White Bean And Roasted Garlic
A puree of navy beans and sweet smoky roasted garlic with leeks and fresh herbs

Me: leeks?? i love leeks!

Salad
Golden Beet And Shallot
Warm roasted golden beets and baby greens in a creamy vinaigrette with caramelized shallots and a handful of toasted walnuts

Me: beets! shallots! oh my!

Main
Autumn Plate
Cornbread and homemade sausage stuffed acorn squash, smoky grilled tempeh in a wild mushroom ragout served with garlicky purple kale

Me: smoky grilled tempeh w/mushroom ragout (whatever that is) with garlicky kale?? get in my belly now!

Dessert
Caramelized Apples
Warm apples in a caramelized maple sauce, served with crisp gingerbread shortbread and topped with homemade coconut based vanilla bean ice cream

Me: OMG!

Housemade hot chai will be served. Please bring your own beer and wine.

Me: don't you worry, i will




Yeah, i'm totes excited!
For reals...

Tubesdays....my favorite day...

My friend Jess(of GetSconed!) and her boyfriend occasionally meet up with friends at the hipster haven Tube on Tuesdays, therefore dubing it Tubesday. The place is downtown right down the block from Dixie Tavern and across Burnside from Dante's and Voodoo donut. I remember going into the bar before they renovated and made it bigger. you literally felt you were a hamster in a tube. It's still small but it's do-able. The bartenders are usually hipster hot and pretty friendly (which kinda defies the hipster's stereotype). They have the latest happy hour that i know, besides that of Portland City Grill. It's from 5-10pm and the well drinks are $2 and they're strong. They have a lot of vegan items, my favorite being the Professor McGonickle. It's a hot ham and cheese on an english muffin for $2 during happy hour. i think they misspelled McGonagall (it's from Harry Potter, y'all) because it may have originally contained a pickle....but that's me guessing. Maybe whoever named it doesn't actually read Harry Potter books...or can't spell......or maybe it has nothing to do with Harry Potter after all.....

Anyways, the piece of "cheese" on it is ridiculously small but it doesn't take away from the tastiness of the sandwich. i could eat those things all damn day long. They seem to use the ham log (that can be bought at Food Fight Grocery) and the menu says it comes with chipotle veganaise, but i would swear that wasn't true. there's something that kinda looks -not tastes- like balsamic vinegar on the muffin. It's just heaven...

They do serve a regular ham and cheese that comes on foccacia bread and with a good sized salad for $7. Here's the menu(click on it to enlarge):


and happy hour:

"FUNNY HOUR" MENU:

PROFESSOR MCGONICKLE MUFFIN - Sliced fake ham, vegan cheese, & our homemade chipotle veganaise on an english muffin, $2

VEGAN TACO - Our homemade tofu scramble in a grilled flour tortilla, topped with shredded lettuce and sliced tomatoes, $2

GHOST DOG - Real or fake dog on a bun with kethcup and mustard, $2

CHIPS AND SALSA, $2

POTATO CHIPS, $2

ZESTY TUBE PASTA SALAD - Big bowl of our amazing homemade pasta salad, $4


DINNER:

GHOST DOG - Real or fake dog on a bun with kethcup and mustard, $4.50

VEGAN MEATBALL SAMMY - Meatless meatballs with our homemade marinara sauce on a grilled hoagie roll, served with homemade pasta salad, $7

VEGGIE HAM AND CHEESE - Grilled slices of fake ham, vegan cheese, & our homemade chipotle veganaise on grilled focaccia, served with side salad, $7

TUBE SALAD - Tossed salad with our homemade Goddess dressing, cucumbers, carrots, red onions, tomatoes, and slices of grilled fake ham or real turkey served with focaccia, $7

VEGAN SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS - Just like mom makes, only with meatless meatballs. Served with grilled focaccia and side salad, $7

TOFU SCRAMBLE DINNER PLATE - Our homemade tofu scramble with veggies, served with zesty pasta salad and grilled focaccia, $7

VEGAN TACO DINNER PLATE- Our homemade tofu scramble in a grilled flour tortilla, topped with shredded lettuce and sliced tomatoes, served with chips, salsa, and side salad, $7


and now that i've read the menu i'm kinda suspicious of the veganness of the ham. they call it "veggie ham and cheese" but on most of the other vegan menu items they straight up call it "vegan"....jess, have you asked them about the ham?

The Tube is also popular with the vegans because the serve a vegan White Russian. I have never got this because it's $4-5 and i always end up with a $2 Cranberry Vodka with lime. I have heard mixed reviews of the White Russians, but i would still like to try them some day....

Donuts...or is it doughnuts?

Updated: April 7, 2008


My roommate is obsessed (see below) with the donuts at Sweetpea Baking Co. (SE 12th and Stark). Really there's lots to be obsessed about there: cheese danishes-if you're lucky and they haven't sold out yet, Bacon and Scallion cream cheese to go on your bagel, a few varieties of muffins, cheesecakes and cakes by the slice, big cookies, little cookies, cookies with icing in between them, cupcakes, hedgehogs (http://www.flickr.com/photos/nowheykatie/2256444358/....sorry, i can't take up more space currently with pictures, my computer may crash), fried apple pies, lemon bars, so-freakin-good peanut butter chocolate bars, hopefully-coming-soon toffee, brownies, coffee drinks with hemp, almond, rice or soymilk, and now there's an all-you-can-eat brunch, that includes coffee and o.j. for $10!



But back to the main topic...Voodoo's makes a few varieties of vegan donuts, true, but i don't count them as a real donut since really they're a cake donut, which, don't get me wrong, has a place in my life as well, but mostly what you crave about a donut is the delectable, squishy inside, the lightly browned outside (sorry about the long run on sentence that may or may not be correct english grammar)....and that's what Sweetpea has done right. Right now they do 2 kinds: the purist's Glazed and the Boston Creme plus they do one special one (not sure if they only do this on Saturdays or on Wednesday's as well). A couple weeks ago it was a Maple Bar and this past Saturday it was a Strawberry Glazed. It's like they read my mind or something because the 2 mainstays are my favorite donuts. My roommate and i always end up with the original glazed. We could eat the glazed ones forever....

The wonderful and dedicated Katie and Lisa make these donuts every Wednesday and Saturday only so make sure you stop by on those days. And then, of course, pick something else up for your snack later. I just love going to a 100% vegan place where i don't have to think. I don't have to ask what's in something, or be a lazy vegan and just hope there's nothing nonvegan about something i choose.

I don't know how much they are actually since i had a large giftcard that i used up without even looking at prices. I tend to still not look since i feel like supporting a great company....except for the $10 brunch thing, which is a bit much for me to go very often since i can't fit more than one plate in my stomach.

Blossoming Lotus Ice Cream

It must be summer, i'm doing another post about ice cream. This isn't something you can buy anywhere. This is pretty much a restaurant review, but i don't care. Blossoming Lotus is a all vegan organic restuarant here in Portland (though the original restaurant is in hawaii somewheres). It's inside a yoga studio in the Pearl district and they serve vegan soft serve. my gosh, it's a delight! They only have one flavor at a time and it's not surprising when you get there and they're out or the machine's not working. It's $1 for 2 oz which is just right in terms of size. It's unbelievably rich and creamy for vegan ice cream. The flavors they've had:

Chai- i haven't had this but i want to hella bad (yes, i used the word "hella"...)
UPDATE 8-11-07: i tried their Chai today(this is what is pictured above). there was some flavor in it i was totally not liking. kinda like anise or black licorce. my sister disagreed with that assessment and really liked it and said that it tasted like real Chai tea (as in not like Oregon Chai).

Chocolate- yum

Vanilla Bean- at events they usually serve this with chocolate chips and hazelnut pieces and it's so good!

Orangesicle- they called it something else, i normally don't like this flavor but it really grew on me when i had it the second day in a row

Raspberry- i don't like this flavor in anything i eat, but i tried my friends in it was more like a *hint* of raspberry and it wasn't so bad, tasted more like vanilla ice cream with taste of berry

Strawberry-Kiwi- or something, i don't know, it was a mix of fruit and it was weird and i didn't care for it...i don't really like when they have berry flavors b/c really i could go to any gelato place around here and have one of their vegan flavors, which is always fruit.

Banana Nut- tasted like Banana Bread and it was delicious.

Chocolate Cherry- chocolate, which is always good, with a hint of cherry.

Vanilla Almond- good, but i prefer the pure Vanilla Bean


My sister and i really wish they would do 2 things:
1. open an only soft serve place in the SE
2. get a machine that can do 2 flavors, with chocolate all the time (also so you could swirl!)

if you're in Portland, go get you some!