I’m eating something delicious!

A few years ago, after a series of mysterious and serious illnesses, a new doctor tested me for food allergies and discovered that I have many, including but not limited to: dairy, gluten, corn and sugar. Once I had eliminated the culprits from my diet, I felt much better, but was also exhausted by all the cooking I had to for myself. I had heard the legend of the Natural Products Expo West told to me for the last few years. A multi-day convention that is the Mecca for all things natural, including home-goods, beauty products, clothing and most importantly for this little alternative eater…food! After spending two full, exhausting days tasting, sampling, and feasting and two more days recovering and day dreaming about what I had devoured, I can say the Expo lived up to the hype. This expo proved that there are thoughtful, inspired food companies out there in America (and also Canada) who are attempting to make my limited diet easier and more delicious. Before I go for a run to burn off some convention calories I will share with you, in no particular order, my favorite gluten-free/ vegan eats.

1. The Gluten Free Bar:   Not just a product name that gets right to the heart of the matter, GFB is a snack bar that is all natural and low glycemic with 12 grams of protein, and it tastes great too. With a variety of flavors like Peanut Butter and Chocolate, Cranberry Toasted Almond and Oatmeal Raisin to name a few, the bars fit with your cravings and are not chalky and dry, but chewy and gooey instead. And it doesn’t hurt that the company’s founders are two very handsome gluten-free brothers. GFB also offers a money back guarantee if you don’t agree that theirs is the best gluten-free bar out there, so what do you have to lose?

Not my hand.

2. Hodo Soy: So many vegan meat products are made of wheat leaving a gluten-free vegan with very few delicious choices. Hodo Soy has risen to the challenge and is producing some of the best soy “meats” I tasted at the expo. I especially liked their curry nuggets (although I wish my sample had been hot) but even cold, this was some tasty tofu. Hodo Soy was recently tapped to team up with Chipotle so keep an eye out for that.

I don’t know why bee costumes were involved.

3. Carla Lee’s Nut Burgers: I tried these tasty falafel like patties on my first day at the expo and dreamed about them all night. The next day, I went back for more. With a crispy outside and a soft savory inside, these burgers are 100% vegan, gluten-free and non-GMO. The company’s founder, Carla Lee is “dedicating her life to educating and feeding hungry hearts and bellies across the planet.” She’s has had successful career in other industries and claims that 100% of the proceeds feed humanity through her non-profit, OneTeam Humanity.  If enjoying her delicious nutburgers will help her do that, then count me in.

Asherah’s Chipotle Burgers

4. Ashera Gourmet Vegan Burger: Sticking with the burger theme, Ashera Gourmet Vegan Burger was another delicious hit. I loved her hearty “garden style” patties in both the regular flavor and the spicy chipotle. An added bonus is that her burgers are also soy free.  Grab a gluten-free bun and go to town.

5. Lucy’s: Lucy’s has been one of my favorite gluten-free, vegan sweet makers for a while. In fact there is an open (almost empty) box of their Oatmeal cookies on my kitchen counter right now. I can’t say enough nice things about their cookies and brownie bites, which are all so delicious and addictive.  At the Expo this year they introduced two new flavors, Pumpkin Patch and Maple Crunch, that will be perfect with a nice cup of tea and a cold evening. Their cookies are small and crunchy with none of that gluten-free aftertaste. Dr. Lucy Gibney started making these allergy-free cookies for her grandson, and the rest of us get to reap the benefits.

6. Maggie’s Conscious Vegan Cuisine: Chef Maggie Radzwiller is a no-nonsense, eco-responsible food artist who has created a line of heat-to-eat meals that are ready after four minutes in the microwave. Full of veggies and beans and lots of spice and flavor, these jars can feed a small family quickly (did I mention they’re ready in four minutes?) or one very hungry vegan.  Her curried veggies would also make a great side dish. Maggie hails from North Carolina where she creates her product line and teaches. She even promises to answer my cooking questions over email, which I am definitely going to take advantage of.

7. The Elegant Vegan: My friends and “Partners in Dine” at the Expo, The Insufferable Vegan and Andrea Wachner and I found this company at the 11^th hour, and I only wish we’d found their booth earlier when I’d had more room in my stomach. Not only do they make delicious baked goods like brownies, cookies and cakes (I tried a gooey cake that they described as a cross between a cheesecake and a flan) but they also have a line of pickled veggies that were to die for. I tried two kinds of pickled beets and pickled kale that were more than a little tasty. This is a family-owned business that makes you wish that you were a part of their family.

8. Carmela’s Food Company: Speaking of family, Carmela’s is named after the founder, Daisy Romero‘s very own Nana who taught her to make delicious fresh pasta sauces. After learning that several members of her family were restricting their diets, she created a vegan, gluten-free, and sugar-free marinara sauce that tastes just as good as Nana’s. When asked why it’s called Carmela’s Food Company instead of just Sauce Company she told us she has plans to expand beyond just pasta sauce. We have more delicious treats to look forward to.

The Displaiya

9. Daiya Foods: I claimed that my favorite Expo foods were in no particular order here, but I lied. I left the best for last. Daiya Foods has come out with some gluten-free pizzas that were so tasty I went back two days in a row. The crust is thin and crunchy (without being chewy) and the daiya cheese toppings are melty and stretchy. I loved the cheese lovers as well as the mushroom and roasted garlic. Daiya also has a line of “cream cheese” spreads that they were nice enough to serve on gluten-free bagels. So creamy and delicious in both the sweet strawberry and savory chive and onion flavors. Andrea informed me that Daiya essentially started a vegan cheese war that has prompted all the other vegan cheeses to step up their game. Well, they’ve done it again, and it will be exciting to see how their competitors retaliate.

I haven’t mentioned all of the ice cream, and soft serve I tried and enjoyed because Andrea Wachner talks all about them in her review so check it out. Now please leave me alone while I run off all of the calories I ate this weekend…or maybe I’ll just take a nap instead.

This Saturday, March 16, the very funny, tall, and compassionate KEVIN NEALON will host Fun For Farm Animals: Celebrity Poker Tournament & Cocktail Party to benefit the work of Farm Sanctuary, America’s largest and most effective farm animal rescue and protection organization. This amazing night will feature tasty treats, delicious drinks, and yours truly! Did I mention you don’t have to play poker? You and I can play that game where we stand by the door where the hors d’oeuvres come out from and eat them all. Once that game ends (read: we get full) we can join the carnival atmosphere with psychics (I’m going to ask how fat food blogging is going to make me), magicians (I have bad eyesight, so they always amaze me), caricature artists (like my Bat Mitzvah!), cocktails (like my Bat Mitzvah!) and an intimate acoustic performance by Grammy winning artist COLBIE CAILLAT (like my… nope. Nothing.) If you do want to ante, poker players will battle Farm Sanctuary members, celebrity players, and poker pros to make the final table and win amazing prizes!

Funny, tall, compassionate Kevin Nealon says, “REGISTER HERE.

And if you can’t make it, consider donating anyway!”*

WHAT: Fun For Farm Animals: Celebrity Poker Tournament & Cocktail Party

WHEN: Saturday, March 16, 2013 7:00 p.m. Doors Open / 7:30 p.m. Poker Tournament Begins

WHERE: Petersen Automotive Museum
Connor Penthouse (4th Floor)
6060 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90036

COST: $200 per person for General Admission and $500 to enter the Celebrity Poker Tournament. Tickets are nonrefundable. Must be 21 or older to register.

PRIZES: Grand Prize: Choose one of three amazing experiences:
- A trip to the tropical paradise of Costa Rica
- An amazing Ski trip to Whistler BC and stay in one of the top hotels in the world
- A trip to the beautiful beaches of Bermuda

Additional prizes:
- 2 Tickets to see Grammy award-winning band FUN at their sold out Greek Theater show in September
- 2 Tickets to the Dancing With The Stars upcoming Season 16 Finale
- A LA Lakers ticket package and more! Read all the details here.

Farm Sanctuary’s three shelters in New York and California provide lifelong care for almost 1,000 rescued farm animals. These animals are ambassadors for the billions on factory farms who have no voice, and their stories help raise awareness about the harsh realities of factory farming.

*That was the Kevin Nealon in my head, not the real Kevin Nealon.

photo by Andrew Coate

I’m not so sure why I am bothering to write so many words in a row about what I ate/saw/heard/smelled at the Natural Products Expo West this year, seeing as it seemed to me that all of you were there, too. Snapping Instapix and live-blogging your way down aisles 100-6500 (there were that many aisles this year!) like my friend The Insufferable Vegan. But, for the seven to ten of you that were stuck at home cause of your baby/snow/flu I’m gonna break it down so it’ll feel like you were there, also too.

Imagine the airport the day before Thanksgiving. A big airport like JFK or O’Hare. Instead of gates there are booths and instead of travelers trying to make their way home so they can binge eat in private, there are vegans trying to grab free samples, take pictures of said samples, and Instagram that picture while eating and walking to the next booth. Now spend an entire day or two or three eating something sweet then something salty then something sweet then something spicy then something gross then a beverage that is probably tea/coconut/chia/chunky/vitamin’d. Surround yourself with chips or chip like things made out of everything from peas to potatoes, chocolate, ice cream, meatless technologies, robo-cheese (do you like that term for vegan cheese? I just coined it.) and a lot of a lot of a lot of things.

Here are my top however many things I learned tasted or took away from NPEW ’13 in iTunes shuffle-style order:

6. DF Mavens Ice Cream. Holy wow. The New Orleans Salted Praline and the Key Lime Creme were so creamy and so delicious it totally makes up for the fact that their name is Da Funk Mavens*

*a fact I totally made up.

17. Dennis Kucinich, who was not available to sample but was available for a photo op. He was this year’s Fabio, seeing as Fabio was devastatingly not in attendance, ruining my plan to get him to sign 8×10 glossies of US from the last two years, and then give them to him. At least Dennis didn’t dislocate my shoulder.

That’s Dennis’s wife Elizabeth who is very tall, vegan, works at Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and is checking out my vegan buns.

Fabio dislocates my right shoulder 2011

Fabio dislocates my left shoulder 2012.

32. Asherah’s Gourmet Vegan Burgers. These are gluten-free, soy free, flavor-full and one of the best “garden patch” style veggie burgers (as opposed to Meatless Technologies) you can get. Try the Chipotle flavor if you like a little kick.

21. Hodo Soy Beanery makes the best Tofu not in Japan and they have this guy!

I up’d the contrast so’s you can really see his shiner. Do you think he put cold tofu on it?

Prepare yourselves for their new Sofrito filling at Chipotle! And in the interim, try their yuba strips!

42. Califia Farms coffee drinks with almond milk are not only super tasty beverages, but their packaging belongs in the MoMA.

8½. LØV Organic Teas come from a land where the null sign is part of the alphabet and bright colors are not necessarily a sign of special needs.

1. The Elegant Vegan. PICKLED KALE people. Pickled Kale! The nicest family from Wisconsin you could ever meet at a vegan convention combines approximately eighty Portlandia jokes into one delicious food . They also have a B&B that serves vegan food called Ye Olde Manor House!

17. Did I do 17 already? Fine. 25. The people of Tofurky were so nice and handsome also and so were all the new Tofurky products like: three flavors of hot pockets (pepperoni pizza, turk’y broccoli & cheddar, BBQ chick’n), three new artisan sausages (chick’n & apple, spinach pesto, andouille), quiche, and pot pie, and a personal promise to me by Gregory Rekas, Research & Development Chef, that they will make a stuffing-less Tofurky.

3.14159. So Delicious’s new Coconut Milk Creamers will supposedly foam in coffee beverages the way “real” milk does! So, eff you Handsome Coffee Roasters who won’t serve freaky milk (read: non-dairy milk) because it’s “not good.”

35. Boca Original Chik’n Veggie Nuggets have such a different flavor than the 87 other brands of chik’n nuggs. I think maybe they taste like chicken! Use caution, not all Boca products are vegan.

Boca puts their meats on a pedestal.

11. Justin’s vegan peanut butter cups will now be sold in bags, Halloween style! I might actually be able to like that “holiday” now. Though one bag probably costs $8,000.

16. Follow Your Heart’s new Chipotle Gourmet Vegenaise and High Omega Bleu Cheese Dressing are the kind of good that if I ever decide to commit suicide, I think I will drown myself in this stuff.

99. Wayfare makes oat based ice cream! And they have a Vermont Maple flavor! It’s like being in a vegan ice cream parlor inside a sugar shack in Quebec.

3. Go Veggie! (GVEP [Go Veggie Exclamation Point])’s new products and top-secret new products in development (with a food scientist who happens to have the only PhD in Tofu in the world and created Silk) and partnership with the ever-adorable Spork Sisters who create recipes like Strawberry Cream Cheese Mousse With Graham Cracker Crumbles. I suggested they make a brie next. Wouldn’t that be great?

666. The Orange Owl. This was the best non-edible booth of the show. Akshata Nayak, the owner, was born and raised in Bangalore, India. She moved to the US, got a Masters in Biochemistry another Masters in Applied Clinical Nutrition (she’s a master master) and then started the best designed and most lovely body products company I know. Now where’s my vat of chipotle Vegenaise?

13. Haig’s Delicacies. Have you ever tried muhammara? You should. And their dolmas. And their hummus. Yum.

33.3333 Guacamame. This sounds disgusting, but sounds can be wrong. It was really good guac made from edamame!

59. Nutty Cow. These soft nut cheeses in a little tub were really good. If you want a soft spreadable substance, there are ricotta, a garlic herb and a maple pecan options that would work well I bet.

88². Maggie’s Conscious Vegan Cuisine makes ready-to-eat meals in a BPA-free container that can go right in the microwave. The Lentils with Curry and Lime flavor was really delicious and by far the best of the three I tried. As extra-credit for your mouth, they’re gluten-free, don’t have any saturated fats or added oils and are low in sodium!

48. The Real Deal Real! Veggie Chips Sriracha. These gluten-free all natural chips are made from peas! I don’t even like peas! AND, these have 80% less fat than potato chips AND AND one ounce of chip equals one and a half vegetable servings. Did I mention they taste like Sriracha and they’re super crunchy and I’m eating them with one hand as I type this with the other?

5. Mr. Dewie’s almond milk ice cream. Wanna know why it’s called that? Check-out this non-fictional fact. If that doesn’t make you want to eat their ice cream I just don’t know what will.

9. A gajillion new Gardein products! Including breakfast sandwiches, beefless jerky, GoGo Cuisines, wheat free chick’n strips, sizzlin’ szechuan beefless strips, and a lightly breaded turk’y cutlet! I think Gardein and Daiya are two-handedly keeping Canada in business.

The Gardein of Eatin… so tempting!

∞. Everything else. Like Daiya‘s new pizza (the garlic mushroom in particular, though I didn’t think their new cheese slices were very good), Maple Bacon Kettle Chips, and Objects With Purposes great smelling wearable candles made from organic coconut butter, Victoria Vegan arugula pesto Alfredo sauce, Earth Balance cheesy poufs and popcorn, Bolani Afghan dips, and a special SuperVegan Award For Sucking goes to Lightlife, for serving their vegan products on non-vegan buns.

Now visualize with your mind’s eye or some other new-agey part of you that the show is all over, your shoes are filled with blood, every part of your body hurts (especially your tum) and a S-M size piece of your soul was left in the basement of the Anaheim Convention Center,** But that is not the end of the journey! No! No trip to The OC is complete without the purchase of several boxes of Girl Scout Cookies, so it’s off to the nearest Food4Less to buy three boxes of cookies for twelve american dollars from a girl scout that looked older than me. And no, it does not make any sense that OC’s are vegan and LA’s are not.

**Dramatically enhanced for your enjoyment.

Did you go to the Expo? Do you know if Tums or AlkaSelzer are vegan? What were your favs/least favs? Stay tuned for a special report on all the gluten-free vegan products!

-The faces of The Facebook mounted a campaign to save a ‘Gay Dog‘ from being put down by a Tennessee kill shelter. Gawker covered the story and the dog was rescued! Yay!

-Want to know your state’s animal-related laws and their penalties? The ASPCA has made it easy!

-The European Union is set to ban animal testing for cosmetics forever!

-Will 2013 be the year of ag-gag bills? Our old compatriot Susie Cagle thinks so.

-Arizona lawmaker seeks ban on awarding live animals as carnival prizes. And he’s a Republican!

-”Going Vegan in the NFL” has zero mention of ethics. Do any of these guys care about the leather they’re fumbling?

-Gross. Professional athletes are spraying deer antler velvet into their mouths to stimulate muscle growth. Ew, also.

-Dust off those passports and book your tickets: the biggest vegan festival in the world is coming to London this October! 

-Or, if you’re not up for international travels, here’s the NYC Vegetarian Food Festival lineup for 2013, and there’s more to come! How soon is March again?

I have a secret to spill:

GoVeggie! or as I like to call it, Go Veggie Exclamation Point (GVEP), formerly known as Galaxy Nutritional Foods (which never had astronomical imagery as part of its branding, nor was it made on the moon), a switch I wrote about earlier, are the makers of the new vegan cheese products available at Trader Joe’s (a store that is so very good to us). Their new and improved shreds are their shreds, and their new and improved cream cheese is their Not Your Average Tub Of Cream Cheese (which I think should be called Above Average Cream Cheese). How did I find this out? I never kiss and tell! Wait. Yes, I do: some good ol’ fashioned sleuthin’ and um, this blog post.

To celebrate all the cheesy goodness, GVEP threw a rager last night that was hosted, and when I say hosted, I mean “Hi, how are you, thanks so much for coming, I’m Heather, let me feed your face!” HOSTED by the effervescent energy balls (but pretty), the Spork Sisters, Jenny and Heather. There were people; like Rory Freedman, who has given up cursing (oh, the irony for a Skinny Bitch!) and has a new book called Beg: A Radical New Way Of Regarding Animals coming out on April 23rd. Television’s Jason Wrobel who is waiting to hear if the pilot episode of his Cooking Channel show How To Live To 100 did well enough to get picked-up and in the interim told us all about the importance of Vitamin K2 (which sounds like Scrubbing Bubbles for your heart). And my friend The Insufferable Vegan and I both masquerading as QuarryGirl.

There was Sporktastic food:

Cream Cheese and Olive Tapenade Layered Dip, Mini Mediterranean Pita Pizza Bites, Saffron Scented Arancini with Mushrooms

There was drink:

Courtesy Frey Wines– America’s First Organic Winery

And there was a cooking demo, where I learned pepper is now just called ‘pep’ and a Vita-Mix is a ‘Vity’:

Heather & Jenny make basil oil!

And best of all, for one lucky SuperVegan reader (that could be you!) there’s a copy of Spork-Fed, the cookbook any vegan who wants to make Strawberry Cream Cheese-Stuffed French Toast must own, the cookbook I personally had signed by both sisters just for you, PLUS a coupon for one free GVEP product!

To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment (make sure to leave an e-mail address!) telling us about the best or worst vegan cheese dish you’ve ever eaten, by Monday at noon, PT. Good luck!

Well here’s how I make ‘em– it’s easy, I swear on Wikipedia that you can do it, too:

1. Make some cashew cheese. My recipe is HERE. Make it ahead of time, like day-ahead cause it it gets better once it’s been fully fridged. Disclaimer: this does not taste even a little bit like Swiss cheese, but it is darned delicious. You will want some in your fridge, always.

2. Make some One Thousand Island Dressing. Maybe even 1,001. This is simple: get a bowl. In that bowl put:

• 1 TBSP Vegenaise or vegan mayo of your choice
• 1 TBSP ketchup
• 1 TBSP relish

In other words, equal amounts of the three ingredients, then STIR until it’s well combined. You can do more or less of one ingredient if you prefer it that way. There is no way you can eff this up (that was not a challenge).

3. Choose your “meat.” I have tried everything (I’ve made a lot of vegan Reubens) and it’s always good. You can use deli slices, like Tofurky or Yves, you can slice up hot dogs or sausages, you can get seitan, you can even buy vegan corned beef or pastrami! My favorite is to make my own seitan from scratch, slice it thin and pickle it in beet juice for a couple days so that it is a nice red color and flavor (Seriously, there was a year where I pretty much made one for lunch every single day. It was some kind of ’tism, I think). Today, I used veggie pate that I made (want that recipe? Just ask!). If you want to, you could buy your favorite pre-made meat simulacrum and then pickle it in beet juice, but that would also need to be done ahead of time.

4. Choose your bread. Obviously, rye is traditional. I hate rye and I have trouble understanding how anyone with taste buds likes it, so I usually use sourdough or a nice whole wheat sourdough.

5. Sauerkraut. You need some. And however much you think you need, add a little more.

6. Margarine. I like Earth Balance, but whatever you pick, I approve.

7. A cast iron griddle like this one, or if you don’t have one or want one, a frying pan will do. For extra credit, a grill press makes things extra everything. Actually, now that I reminisce about my Year of Reubens, I made almost all of them in a George Foreman Grill, so you could use that or a panini press, too.

Once you have gathered your supplies it’s time to create!

• Put your griddle pan (I use the flat side, not the ridged side) on the stove and turn it on– to about the 4 mark. That’s medium, to you. Put your griddle press on top of the griddle so it warms up, too.
• Margarine-up one side of both slices of bread. Just a thin coating, no need to bathe it, but this step is crucial, don’t skip it, and if you do skip it, don’t be mad at me when your sammie sucks. Once it’s done, put the marg’d-up side DOWN– these are the outsides of your sandwich, i.e. the sides you touch when you hold it whilst eating.
• On one piece of bread, on the DRY side (not margarine’d), slather on some 1,001 dressing.
• On the other piece of bread, on the DRY side (not margarine’d) slather on some cashew cheese.
• Add some sauerkraut on top of the cashew cheese. Squeeze as much liquid out as you can though, before you place it.
• Add your “meat” on top of the 1,001.
• Put each piece on the hot griddle, no need to combine them yet. Let it cook for a few minutes (5ish), or until the bottom of the bread gets nice and toasty. Do not let it burn!
• Using a spatula, place the cheesy/sauerkraut toast on top of the 1,001/meaty toast. Just take a deep breath and flip it over quickly, don’t worry, it’ll be fine.
• Put the grill press on that sucker and let it work its magic. If your dressing goes from 1,001 to 980, do not worry, just slide your sandwich around and let the fallen islands absorb into your bread. If you don’t have a grill press just push down a li’l with your spatula. Just a minute or two more, or until you just can’t wait any longer, and voila! Reuben!

Please do let me know in the comments if you try it, or if you have a less Ikea instructioney way to Reuben up your vegan life.

*That was just for effect. I love you, Wikipedia.

**Hot Tip: If you order the vegan Reuben at Follow Your Heart Cafe, but ask for it on bread other than rye, which I’d like to remind you is disgusting,  you will actually get TWO sandwiches for some wonderful reason I can not explain.

Before you feel so bad you stop reading, her prognosis (so far) is quite good. They caught it early, and it doesn’t appear to have spread. But I’ve already lost one parent to cancer, and I’m not ready to be Orphan Andy just yet. So I did what I could do: I gave her a copy of Forks Over Knives, dropped a bill or two at Whole Foods, and While You Were Out-ted her kitchen into a vegan one.

Ordinarily, I would never ever do this. To anyone. Ever. I’m happy to share my beliefs (exhibit A: this blog post), but I have never been a proselytizer, nor have I ever judged anyone else’s eating habits. Actually, that’s not true– I make fun of my boyfriend all the time, but that’s because he exists on a steady diet of jerky, Oreos and soda and he’s not twelve. But I digress. People have to come to these sort of life-changing decisions for themselves, or else they won’t stick. But I know my Barbara (your mom’s name is Barbara, too?) and sometimes she needs help to get going (exhibit 1: she’s been on Nutri-System for years). I should also note that she has always been super supportive of me and my eating habits, loves her veggies, and has expressed interest in becoming a vegetarian before, so it wasn’t 100% crazy, only 97%. That’s a percentage I can work with.

So, if you or someone you know needs a vegan starter-kit, here’s what I got:

• A giant bottle of Bragg Liquid Aminos
• Gardein Beefless Tips
• Gardein Chipotle Lime Crispy Fingers
• Gardein Chick’n Scallopini
• 365 brand Chickenless Patties
• Original Almond Breeze Almond Milk
• 365 brand Unsweetened Almond Milk
• Earth Balance Buttery Sticks
• Follow Your Heart Creamy Garlic Dressing
• Follow Your Heart Grapeseed Vegenaise
• Galaxy Vegan Parmesan
• Daiya Cheddar Wedge
• Daiya Jalapeño Garlic Havarti Wedge
• Tofurky Italian Sausages
• Sabra Classic Hummus
• Amande Yogurt
• WholeSoy Yogurt
• SoDelicious Coconut Milk Yogurt
• Zen Almond Milk Pudding
• Vegetarian Plus Vegan Citrus Spare Ribs
• Tofutti Sour Cream
• Arugula (not pictured)
• Sweet Potatoes (not pictured)
• Red, Yellow and Green Bell Peppers (not pictured)
• Portabella Mushrooms (not pictured)

In addition, I also made her my favorite veggie pâtè (let me know in the comments if you want the recipe), some homemade pesto (her fav! Let me know in the comments if you want this recipe, too), and shared some ground flax seed.

Then I confiscated everything I could find that does not adhere to a plant-based diet:

• Eggs
• Yogurt
• Parmesan Cheese
• Sour Cream
• Butter
• Margarine
• Kakuana Port Wine Cheese Spread
• Kraft Cheddar Slices
• A gross of String Cheese

When she walked in the door, the surprise greeted her in aromatic form; the smell of dinner cooking– a pesto lasagne with a filling of Tofurky Italian Sausages, bell peppers, Brussels sprouts, and green beans, topped with a generous dollop of hummus (did you know pesto and hummus are amazing together?) and a sprinkling of arugula. It was pretty darn tasty, evenifIsaysomyself, and there were lots of leftovers for her.

So, how’s she doing? It’s only been a couple of days, so she still has cancer (it’s veganism, not magic).

But, “Us vegans be doin gooder!” she says.

Yes we be, Barb. Yes we be.

They now have 3 (that’s 1, 2, 3!) vegan flavors; Vegan Apple Cinnamon (M,TR, S), Vegan Cranberry Spice (T,F), and Vegan Carrot (W, SU), and a handy-dandy chart that can lead you to your favorite. I’ve tried two of the three flavors (my feelings on dessert made from vegetables are well known, so no W or Su for me, thanks) and they’re both delicious…though I’ve also made a request for another option that’s more chocolate, or caramel, or vanilla.

To convince YOU to give them a chance, the very kind folks of Georgetown Cupcake are giving away a gift card valued at one dozen fairy cakes (that’s what they call them in England, also that’s $29!) to one lucky SuperVegan Angeleno! THAT COULD BE YOU (if you live in Los Angeles)!

All you have to do is leave a comment (make sure you provide your e-mail address!) answering this question (in the form of a question, for extra points): Which would you rather have, a dozen flu shots, or a dozen vegan cupcakes?

There is but one restriction: YOU MUST LIVE IN L.A.

Winner will be chosen Monday (1/21) at high noon.

Here are the pertinent details:

$50/pp with an additional $20 wine pairing option

Thursday, January 17, 7pm

Pop tART Gallery - 3023 W. 6th St, Los Angeles, CA

If you go, please let us know how it was in our mighty fine comment section, ‘K thanks.

This Monday, January 14th, I am going to put on outside clothes and head over to Susan Feniger’s Street, an excellent and very vegan-friendly restaurant, to eat excellent and vegan food prepared by The Spork Sisters! Join me, won’t you? I mean, look at this menu:

If you can still get one, you definitely need a reservation! BYOS (Bring Your Own Spork)!

Have you tried Georgetown Cupcake yet? The name is singular, which is funny because they have approximately 80 billion cupcakes for sale. I went over there yesterday to get some celebratory vegan treats for my friend The Insufferable Vegan and failed…

It had just started to rain in Los Angeles, and if you’ve never experienced what it’s like to drive here during even the lightest of sprinkles, imagine everyone on the road white-knuckling the steering wheel and screaming bloody murder at the top of their lungs and you’re not too far off.

I walked in to the beautiful new shoppe on Robertson just south of West Third and looked in wonderment at the sea of attractive cupcakes before me. It looked good, it smelled good, but the people milling around looked shell-shocked somehow, which I attributed to the harrowing driving conditions.

I was a wee bit disappointed to have my internet research confirmed — there was only one flavor of vegan cupcake available, cranberry spice. Hey, one is all I need… one is infinitely better than none! So I tried to order some, and the nice woman at the register told me they were out of vegan frosting. Out of frosting? The cake is just a conduit for the frosting! But there’s at least seven frosted ones on display– what about them? “Trust me,” she said, “you do not want to eat those.” I did not want dry cakes either.

I turned to my trusty omni companion to let him order and he said he didn’t even want anything. What?! He is a grown man who subsists on a steady diet of Oreos and soda and it was his idea to seek this place out! He took another look around, “Do you have iced tea?” She said yes and I interrupted to ask if there was a restroom. The same nice young lady looked at me as though she had had the longest hardest day at Folsom Prison Day Care and I was asking her to read me yet another story and said, “Yes, but only the men’s is working right now.” “Wow, you guys are having a rough day!” She agreed, looking in need of a chair and a hug.

Upon my return from the loo I found my omni at the condiment bar and in his hands were a little white bag and a cup of iced tea … “They’re out of ice.”

A woman in an apron approached us and said, “V squared?” and handed us a pink box. If you’re confused, it’s because it was confusing. ‘V squared’ is a double vanilla cupcake, but he had only ordered one, and he already had it. She shrugged and walked away. We looked around at the other customer-refugees to see who they might rightfully belong to, but all we got were pleading looks, so we fled. I realize now we should have taken them with us.

We made it back to the car, opened up the little white bag, and pulled out a cupcake … that was not the one he had ordered. And inside the box were two more cupcakes, frosting sliding off the cakes like an avalanche in Candy Land in winter.

Running a business is hard. Really really hard. Running a business during the holidays? Madness! The kind of insanity where a fancy cupcake store is reduced to selling frosting-free cupcakes, iceless iced tea, something horrible has happened in the WC, and they get customers’ orders wrong three different ways. I have worked holiday retail, and I empathize with anyone currently doing so. So I guess I’ll have to try for my vegan cupcake and cold beverage again some day that’s no where near February 14th. Maybe I’ll call ahead. Congratulations, Insufferable Vegan?!

Have you successfully tried their vegan offerings? Please do comment and let me know what I missed!

If you follow us on Twitter, you might recall a call to eation (eating action) in the order of getting to Phoney Baloney’s in Irvine, CA before they closed. We made it there just in the nick of time with our binge eating buddy The Insufferable Vegan, and not only were the sandwiches fantastic (the grown-up grilled cheese in particular) but so was the conversation with owner, sandwich guru, and Vegan Vagrant, Kyle Domer. After a little time to recuperate, we thought we’d check-in with Kyle, pick his brain, and his recipe box.

SuperVegan: How long have you been a vegan person?

Kyle: Since March of 2002, so about ten and a half years.

What were you doing before you opened Phoney Baloney’s? And how did you become a super vegan sammy maker?

My background is in marketing, with prior business ownership in the skateboard industry. I was just doing freelance marketing for a variety of clients before opening up PB’s. Having been vegan for over 10 years, I’ve made myself a lot of good food, and sandwiches have been some of my favorites. The only food that trumps sandwiches in my book is Mexican food, but that’s a little more complicated to start as a business than sandwiches.

What’s your best/funniest story about serving vegan food inside of a gym?

Honestly, there weren’t that many. The obvious, “Wait, this isn’t real chicken?” was standard fare, but nothing too crazy other than that.

Hmm … nothing amusing or interesting about being in a gym? I can’t believe that! Were people lured away from their physical fitness regiment by the smell of your grown-up grilled cheese? Were any diners turned-off by the smell of sweat?

A lot of people said they, “Can’t work out while smelling bacon the whole time!” whenever we were making our coconut bacon. We actually had two or three gym members complain to the owner about it! Some people would mention the musty aura in the place but always said the food quality was worth the awkward ambiance.

It’s terribly sad that Phoney Baloney’s closed, but also exciting that you’re planning something newer and better for LA proper. We can’t wait to taste what you do next! What lesson did you learn from the Phoney Baloney’s experience that you’ll take with you to the next incarnation?

Location, location, location. Although something within a niche like veganism demands less emphasis on location, it doesn’t mean it can be neglected completely. Also, food costs and correct pricing may be the most important part of keeping the business afloat.

So any hints as to what will be next for you and when? Is it going to be another PB’s or a new place altogether? A food truck? Sit-down? Still just sandwiches?

I’d like it to be another Phoney Baloney’s, just in a different form. Still a sandwich-centered menu, but with the increased diversity that could come from a full kitchen. There will also be local craft beer involved. My vision for the next project is getting clearer every day and there are some things I just won’t compromise on. When the time is right, everything will come together like it’s supposed to.

In the meantime, can people hire you for catering or special events? Or if they’re having a sandwich emergency?

We are just getting into catering and it’s so much more than sandwiches, which is really nice for my culinary creativity. We had some amazing customers (and all around stellar humans) named Jessica and Kenny who are about to welcome a new vegan baby into the world and we have the honor of catering their baby shower this weekend. I’m working on doing some vegan grilled cheese parties, although the first one is a private event for the PETA office in Echo Park next week. I’ve got some cool guest chef nights lined-up, but you’ll hear more about those when they’re set in stone.

Where’s your favorite place to eat in LA? And what’s your favorite thing to get there?

I’m kind of a beer snob geek, so good draft beer is kind of a requisite when I go out to eat. That being said, I like Mohawk Bend and The Pub at Golden Road. Mohawk Bend buffalo cauliflower is always outstanding. For fancy date nights, it’s gotta be Shojin. Real Food Daily is always good too.

Share a trade secret! Is there one thing a novice sandwich maker can do at home to take their sandwich to the next level?

I’ve always been adamant that the way the ingredients are layered makes a huge difference in the overall taste sensation of a sandwich. Also, it’s amazing how adding some herbs/spices/lemon juice to Vegenaise can elevate the flavor profile of the final product.

I love the idea of layering ingredients, can you elaborate on that? What’s the right way to do it? Provide an example?

Sure. First of all, you have to have some sort of spread on both sides of the bread. There’s nothing worse than a dry sandwich. Then, my typical way of stacking, from bottom to top, is protein, lettuce, tomato and onion. Avocado will usually be the top layer but that depends on the dish. In our Veggiepalooza, we did the avocado on the bottom because it was the “meat” of that particular sandwich.

Can you share a recipe with us?

Since it’s smack dab in the middle of the holiday season, I figured I’d share one of my classic holiday party dishes. This is classic comfort food, sure to win over omnivores and vegans alike. Don’t get me wrong… this is vegan, but it’s no health food. You do get a nice share of spinach in it, but that’s about the healthiest part of this party favorite.

What’s great about this recipe is that it can be multiplied for large crowds or pared down for individuals or couples. You can also mix the ingredients and keep them covered in the fridge and use as needed for about a week. Oh yeah, here’s a secret from the sandwich master… smear some of this (baked or unbaked) between two slices of bread and throw it on a panini press or griddle for a seriously amazing grilled cheese.

Easy Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip

Ingredients

1 tub vegan cream cheese
1 cup shredded vegan cheese that will melt (I use Daiya pepperjack because I like a little extra spice)
4 cups fresh baby spinach
1 can artichoke hearts
3-4 garlic cloves
1/2 medium onion
1 medium tomato
2 tbsp oil (canola, sunflower or grapeseed)
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp nutritional yeast (optional)
Red pepper flakes to taste (optional)
Dried oregano to taste (optional)
Smoked paprika to taste (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. Empty contents of vegan cream cheese tub into a bowl to give it time to soften.
3. Mince onion and garlic and put in a pan with oil, salt and pepper on the stove over medium-low heat.
4. Give spinach a rough chop and cut the stems off the artichoke hearts. Break up artichoke hearts with hands into bowl of cream cheese and add the spinach, shredded cheese, nutritional yeast and any other spices you care to use. Feel free to use whatever spices/herbs you desire. Everyone’s palate is different and those mentioned are just the spices that agree with mine.
5. Pull pan off of the heat and empty all its contents into the mixing bowl. You don’t want your onions totally cooked through, and never burn your garlic. They will continue to cook in the oven. Also, the heat from the onions/garlic/oil will start to cook down the spinach and soften the cream cheese even more.
6. Fold all the ingredients currently in the mixing bowl until well combined. The last thing you want is a big chunk of unseasoned cream cheese in the middle of your dish.
7. Lastly, dice the tomato into larger chunks, add to the mixing bowl and gently fold that into the mix as well. Save this for last because you don’t want the tomatoes squeezing juice all over the rest of the ingredients.
8. Use a rubber spatula to spoon the dip mix into oven-safe bakeware and place into oven.
9. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 425 until the top starts getting brown and bubbly.
10. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes before serving. The middle will be deathly hot when it first comes out.
11. Serve with tortilla chips, bread, crackers, crostini, veggies, or whatever else you think would be good with it. Throw it on pizza crust for all I care.
12. Prepare to be praised unceasingly by your guests. Don’t wear a hat because your head might swell and rip it from all the compliments you’ll be getting.

Thanks, Kyle!

Remember way way back to last week, when the famous face of veganism, TV’s Ellen DeGeneres, mentioned, while interviewing Ellen Pompeo, that she gets eggs from her neighbors’ “happy chickens”? Well, who better to talk about Ellen, her diet, and veganism than Roberto Martin, her personal chef! Whether or not you subscribe to their beliefs, it’s wonderful of him to share his thoughts with us, dontchathink? Big thanks to Chef Martin for obliging our Qs with some As and especially for sharing his recipes for Chick’n and Mole Tamales and Black Beast Cake (with a crust!) from his cookbook, Vegan Cooking For Carnivores!

SuperVegan: How long have you been vegan and what’s the best change you’ve seen to the state of veganism since then?

Chef Roberto: Not long, three years. It’s hard to tell because I’m in the middle of it all but it seams that vegan food has exploded in last few years. It is being heavily represented in the best restaurants.

Were you a chef first or a vegan first?

Definitely a chef first! I hated cooking vegan food, I made fun of vegans and dreaded a vegetarian guest at the table. I was a successful personal chef for ten years when I was asked cook for Ellen and Portia. I took the job as a challenge to myself and I never dreamed I would start eating this way

How did you come to be Ellen & Portia’s chef? And do you get to eat the leftovers?

My agent Jack Lippman (Elizabeth Rose Agency) set up the interview and they hired me on the spot. Ellen, Portia, and I got along from the start. They were unhappy with the food they were eating at the time. They are all about the animals. There were a lot of non-vegan foods that they enjoyed in the past but their love for all living things made it impossible for them to go back. They wanted GOOD FOOD that was incidentally vegan and that became my approach.

The Vegan Police were all abuzz about Ellen’s comment on her show the other day about getting eggs from her neighbors’ “happy chickens.” I’m hoping that maybe it was just a one lettered mistake and that she meant ‘got’ instead of ‘get’, as in, past tense– especially seeing as they have you! Can you comment on her comment? Do they, in fact eat eggs? And if so, where do you stand on that?

I can’t comment on that as I have no personal knowledge of the situation. What I can say is my personal opinion is that being vegan is not a religion. It’s simply a non-animal based diet that one chooses to follow. I am not ashamed to call myself 95% vegan because I taste non-vegan food all the time (it helps me make better vegan food.) I couldn’t care less what the “Vegan Police” think of me. These so called Police have been at the helm of the vegan movement since its inception and they have done a lousy job of turning people on to veganism. It’s no wonder that folks are defensive about their meat. I like to think that my personality and cooking style is more relatable to the meat eating world. I see the value in individuals and families eating less meat. It’s about baby steps, we first show how a vegan meal can be easy and yummy…then they try a vegan dish at a restaurant or eat vegan twice a week. This is how you cut down over-all consumption.

I hope I didn’t upset you with the “vegan police” line– I called it that in jest, but I realize now it didn’t quite land the way I intended. I think your answer is really interesting and provides insight into an alternative position, I would hate for that to get lost by semantics.

No, I wasn’t upset at all! That’s the problem with print interviews, they can get read so many ways :)

So is what you cook for Ellen & Portia 100% Vegan or more like the 95% you mention?

I make Ellen and Portia 100% vegan food and I label myself 95% because I feel safer that way. I don’t want to give anyone an opportunity to be all, “Gotcha!” on some technicality.

Where’s your favorite place to eat in LA? And what’s your favorite thing to get there?

I know it’s not gourmet but I love Veggie Grill, It’s close by and I know what I’m getting. I always order the Carne Asada Sandwich but I ask them to make it in a burrito instead.

Any plans to open a restaurant in LA or elsewhere?

Huge plans in terms of a restaurant in LA, but it’s too soon to say anything more.

Wow! Please let us know more about your SUPER EXCITING restaurant news when you can! In the meantime, what’s your favorite recipe from your cookbook, that’s good enough for some Super Vegans?

It would have to be the tamales!! The mole is awesome and easy and The Black Beast (chocolate cake) will blow your mind.

CHICK’N AND MOLE TAMALES
Don’t be discouraged by what you hear, tamales are easy to make and delicious any time of year. The simplest way to prepare tamales is in three steps.
Step 1: Make the filling.
Step 2: Prep the masa.
Step 3: Assemble the tamales and steam them.

Step 1: Make the Filling
2 Bags of Gardein Chick’n Scaloppini, defrosted, diced medium and browned in 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil.
1 Batch Dark Red Mole
One Bag Dry Cornhusks (If dry cornhusks are unavailable in your area you can buy them on-line or use parchment paper cut into 6” x 8” rectangles.)

In a large bowl, add the Gardein and just enough mole to coat.
Thin out the remaining mole with a cup of broth and set aside to enjoy later with the cooked tamales.
Place the husks into a large bowl and cover them with hot water. Set a heavy item on top of the husks to keep them submerged. (As you go through the cornhusks, some will be cracked or too small. Save these unusable husks for the steaming process.)

Step 2: Prep the Masa.
4 cups masa harina
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. kosher salt
4 cups warm water
1 cup vegan butter, melted
½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Using a stand mixer and the paddle attachment, combine the ingredients in the order in which they are listed. Mix at a low speed until the ingredients are well incorporated. Turn the speed up to medium for a few minutes to fluff the masa. NOTE: This process may be done by hand if necessary. Cover and refrigerate the masa until needed. Masa can be made up to 3 days in advance. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes prior to assembly.

Step 3: Assembly & Steaming.
Assembly:
Have the dry corn husks, Masa, and the filling on one table, ready to go. Remove a large husk from the water and pat dry. Lay the husk on a flat surface with the long end at the top. The husk will resemble a rudimentary triangle with the narrow end pointing toward the bottom. Place about a ¼ cup of masa onto the husk. Starting from the upper left hand corner, spread the Masa about 3.5” across and 3.5” down. Try to keep the masa approximately 1/8” thick. Spread about 2 tablespoons of mole filling down the center of the masa. Fold the husk in half vertically (from left to right), encasing the filling in a pocket of masa. Roll any excess husk around the tamale. Take the bottom of the excess husk and fold it up towards the top. Lay the tamales flat, seam side down until you have enough to steam. It depends on the size of your steaming basket, but I usually can fit about 2-dozen tamales in one basket.

Steaming: 
Set the tamales upright in a steamer. They need to be crowded enough to stand on their own. You can buy large steamers made just for this purpose, or you can rig something up with a large pot and a good-sized steamer basket. The idea is to have simmering water on the bottom of the pot and a steam basket full of up-right tamales secured above the water. Cover the tamales loosely with the wet, unusable cornhusks, then cover the pot with a tight fitting lid. Steam for 1 Hour and 15 minutes over medium-low heat. When the tamales are done, carefully remove them from the steamer and allow them to rest at least 15 minutes. Remove 2 tamales from the husk and spoon a little excess mole over the top and serve. Tamales are good for 5 days in the fridge or 2 months in the freezer. To maintain freshness, it is best to freeze them the day they are made. They can be defrosted and re-steamed until warm if desired, however, I can’t think of any food that can handle being microwaved better than the tamale. Microwaves should come with a “Tamale button” right next to the “popcorn button”.
Makes: about 24 tamales.

Dark Red Mole
4 Cups Better than Bouillon “No Beef” Beef Broth or Vegetable Broth
6 Dried Pasilla or Ancho Chiles
1 tsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Large White Onion, chopped
4 Cloves of Garlic, crushed
1 tsp. Dried Oregano
2 Tbsp. Ground Cumin
2 oz. Unsweetened Bakers Chocolate, chopped
½ Cup Slivered Raw Almonds
2 tsp. Kosher Salt

Chile Preparation: Gas Range
Using a small saucepan, bring the broth to a simmer and remove from the heat. Rinse the chiles individually in cold water and shake them dry. Using metal tongs, roast each chile over a high flame. The chile will burn fast. Move the chile quickly over the flame and blow it out if it catches fire. Roast all sides of the chile. When the chiles are cool, cut them open with scissors, and cut out the stem. Remove the ribs and seeds and soak them in the pan with the hot broth to soften for 15 minutes.

Chile Preparation: Electric Stove Top
Using a small saucepan, bring the broth to a simmer then remove from the heat. Rinse the chiles individually in cold water and shake them dry. Working on one chile at a time cut them open with scissors and cut out the stem. Remove the ribs and seeds and open up the chile. Heat a large skillet on medium high heat. Using a spatula, flatten out the dried chiles skin side down on the hot skillet. Press down long enough for the chiles to soften and scorch. Remove the ribs and seeds and soak them in the pan with the hot broth to soften for 15 minutes.

Mole Preparation:
Heat a medium sauté pan over high heat. Add the olive oil and wait until it shimmers. Add the onion and sauté until translucent. Stir in the garlic, oregano, and cumin, and cook 2 minutes more. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chocolate. Allow the residual heat to melt the chocolate. Remove the chilies from the bowl and place them in a blender. Strain the broth into the blender and add the onion mixture, almonds, and salt. Purée until the sauce is completely smooth.

VEGAN LA BÊTE NOIRE “THE BLACK BEAST”
For the crust:
2 cups blanched almonds
¼ cup organic all purpose flour
¼ cup melted vegan butter
¼ cup organic brown sugar
One 9”-10” spring form pan

Toast the almonds in a large pan over high heat. Keep moving the almonds around (jiffy pop style) until the almonds begin to darken. Lower the heat to medium-low and continue to agitate the almonds until they are a uniform light brown. Place the nuts on a plate to cool. When the almonds are cool, place them in a food processor and chop them into a fine meal. In a medium bowl mix the ground almonds, flour, butter, and sugar with a fork. Secure the sides of a 9”-10” spring form pan. Using the back of a spoon, spread the crust mixture over the bottom of the pan. This crust does not need to be pre-baked.

For the cake:
1.5 cups extra strong coffee or espresso
½ cup organic white sugar
1/3 cup vegan butter
1 lb. chopped bittersweet chocolate (use the best chocolate available that contains no milk and is 70%+ cocoa)
1 (14oz) block silken tofu
2 Tbsp. cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 350°. Wrap 3 layers of foil around the bottom outside of the spring form pan. Be sure the foil covers the entire outside of the pan (This is to prevent water from penetrating). Using a double boiler whisk the coffee and sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Add the chocolate and butter and stir until the mixture is combined and the chocolate is fully melted. In a food processor puree the tofu, cornstarch, and chocolate mixture until smooth. Pour the batter into the pan with the prepared crust.

Place the foil-wrapped spring form pan in large roasting pan or hotel pan. Place the two pans inside the oven. Using a pitcher, carefully add enough hot water to the outside pan to come halfway up sides of the cake. Bake the cake for 45 minutes. Using a wooden spoon or wearing an oven mitt, carefully push the cake pan. When the center of the cake is no longer wobbly the cake is done. Carefully remove both pans from the oven. Then remove the cake from the water bath, and carefully remove the foil as well. Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan.

For the Chocolate Ganache:
1 cup soy or almond milk (unsweetened)
12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips (Ghirardelli chocolate chips are perfect)

In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the soy or almond milk to a simmer. Remove the milk from the heat. Add the chocolate chips and whisk until completely melted and smooth. Leaving the cake in the pan, pour just enough Ganache to cover the top of the cake. Save the remaining Ganache for another use, like truffles. Refrigerate the cake in the pan until Ganache is set, about 2 hours. The cake can be made up to 3 days ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated.

Cutting the Cake
Run a warm knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake before releasing the sides. Score the cake in half and then into quarters. Warm a thin knife under hot water and dry the blade. Cut one quarter of the cake, and then cut that quarter into 4 equal pieces. Serve with fresh berries.
Makes 1 9-10” round cake, which serves about 16 individuals. The cake is good for 2 weeks refrigerated.

Take a look at the spread they put in front of my face!

Top Row: Cocktail, Jicama Tostada, Hand Made Quesadilla with Corn and Mushrooms
Middle Row: Special Mushroom Crostini, Pommes Frites, a Special Tofu Dish
Bottom Row: Young Hollywood Salad, Farmer’s Market Heirloom Tomato Crostini

Everything was tasty, especially the things with ‘shrooms, and look at that cute copper cup my cocktail came in! Nothing’s fancier than one lady eating seven dishes.

Whatever you eat next Thursday, we suggest you Adopt A Turkey, such as the appropriately named Skip, as in Skip The Turkey, pictured here, at Farm Sanctuary!

I’ve said this before but I’ll write it now: Thanksgiving is the only good holiday for the following, inarguable reasons (please don’t argue):

1. It is a holiday where the holiday is eating your body weight in delicious foods, resting, and repeating. Then shopping, if you’re crazy.

1.* There is no obligatory gift-giving.

1.* There is no God or God-like entity involved.

1.* It’s not just an excuse for people to act like their worst (drunkest/sluttiest) selves.

*4-way tie for first place in order of importance.

But let’s face it, Turkeys like Thanksgiving even less than a single lady likes Valentimes. For years, and including this one, we here at SuperVegan have published a comprehensive list of places for NYers to eat other things, but now it’s LA’s time to shine in gravy. So, without further defrosting, here is a list of places where you can eat-out or order-in in the Greater Los Angeles area. Let us know if you know of anything missing at tips@supervegan.com– we’ll continue to update the post, just as we’ll continue to eat a steady stream of stuffed things on Thursday.

Babycakes
Thanksgiving baked goods for the gluten-free vegan set, available for pick-up or shipping.
Everything from Apple Cobbler to Pumpkin Pie to biscuits to cornbread!

Cafe Gratitude
While the Larchmont location is closed, CG Venice will be open from 11-3 and serving FREE meals. That’s right $0. THANK YOU!

Doomie’s
Dine-in or take-out, open from 12 – 6pm and a bargain at just $20/pp includes Turk’y, mashed potatoes and gravy, fennel glazed carrots, yams, cranberry sauce, stuffing, green bean casserole and dessert! You can also pre-order a pumpkin pie from Das Baker for $15! (323) 469-4897 doomieveg@gmail.com

Follow Your Heart
Open from 8am – 3pm on Thanksgiving, they are also offering a “Heat and Eat” service with with lots of options including a “complete Thanksgiving dinner” for $19.95/pp!

Hugo’s
Happy Holiday Platter special also comes for 6-8, take home $79. Choice of sliced veggie patty or grilled marinated organic tofu covered with mushroom herb gravy. Accompanied by harvest vegetable cornbread stuffing, (made with GMO -free corn), mashed maple yams, sautéed leafy greens, corn cakes and cranberry sauce.

Madeleine’s Bistro
Thanksgiving-To-Go! Order a la carte, or as a meal! Tons of delicious sounding items like rustic mashed potatoes, coconut whipped yams, brussel sprouts and garlic, sourdough sage stuffing, five different proteins, lots of desserts, and even a thanksgiving sandwich! range from $10 – $55. One four-course meal is $50 and includes soup, salad, entree and dessert. They are also now accepting reservations for three seatings of a Thanksgiving Day Chef’s Tasting Menu. It’s $100/adult $35/child and includes wild mushroom and walnut strudel, braised root vegetables, swiss chard, shallot creme, “chicken” veloute grilled “Beyond Meat” strips, sourdough croutons, rosemary oil, poached pear and endive salad, chardonnay cheese, baby arugula, candied walnuts, grilled Brussels sprouts with portobello bacon, potato “mille-feuille”, coconut-yam puree, caramelized turnips, herb-seared seitan, Yukon gold potato puree, savory bread pudding, gravy, cranberry gel, smoked cashew cheese, tri-colored baby beets, parmesan tuiles, orange-horseradish vinaigrette, trio of traditional holiday tartlets and gelatos, pumpkin, pecan and French apple, sweet potato-pecan, amaretto, spiced pear and beverage, tax and tip.

Masa Of Echo Park
Not quite Thanksgiving-ey, but a reason for giving thanks nonetheless, order a deep dish Vegan pizza on Tuesday and Wednesday and you’ll get a free pack of Mozzarella Teese!

M Cafe De Chaya
The Melrose and Beverly Hills locations are offering a feast for 2: $65 and for 4: $120 and includes a Roasted Seitan or new Gluten-Free Tempeh Loaf along with soup, salad, and accompaniments.

Mohawk Bend
Vegan Thanksgiving take-out menu serves 2-3 includes roasted Brussels sprouts with apples and almonds ($8 per pint); mashed potatoes ($8 per pint); gravy ($3 for 4 ounces, $6 per pint); sweet potato casserole ($8 per pint); dinner rolls (50 cents each); stuffing ($8 per pint); pumpkin bread ($5 per portion). A meal for four that includes all items listed is $80 ($20 for each additional person). Order until Nov. 16 to be picked up by 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 21. Meals cannot be canceled after November 16. No substitutions, no modifications. Limited availability. First come, first serve. Contact Zach or Dana to place an order or download form online from the website and submit via email/fax. 2141 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 483-2337

Native Foods
Open for Thanksgiving dinner seatings in Westwood from 11:30am – 7pm (make a reservation!) meals are $24.95/adult and $14.95/under 12s and includes The Native Wellington, Mushroom Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, Native Stuffing, Cranberry Compote, Green Bean Casserole, Green Salad with Maple Glazed Pecans and Pomegranate Pearls, Polenta Butternut Squash Terrine, Wheatberry Waldorf, Cornbread with Butter, Double Chocolate Brownies, Pumpkin Cheesecake, Pumpkin Pie. You can also order things to take home or get shipped right to you.

Real Food Daily
19th annual thanksgiving to-go $42/pp Includes Kabocha, corn & coconut bisque, faux turkey breast, corn sage stuffing, garnet yams topped with marshmallows, mashed potatoes & parsnips, herb roasted vegetables, mushroom gravy, cranberry relish and a slice of pumpkin pie.

Sage Bistro
Pre-order food to serve at home and pretend you made it yourself. The options sound incredible! Mac n cheese, stuffing, greens, maple yams, mashed potatoes, cauliflower au gratin, kale salad, pesto quinoa primavera, butternut squash enchiladas, butternut squash soup, maple cornbread, and a long list of desserts.

Seed Kitchen will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, but Chef Eric will be making some Thanksgiving Bowls available for purchase on Wednesday to eat on Thursday.

Shojin
Having a special 4-course Thanksgiving feast from 12-10pm, $50/pp with gluten-free options. Menu includes “Kuri” Chestnut wrapped in “Renkon” lotus roots in pumpkin soup, Crispy rice roll with “konnyaku” & “age tofu” inside with sweet “nasu” eggplant miso sauce and brussels sprouts & caramelized walnut, Tempura “maitake” & portabello mushrooms, crunchy “yamaimo” potato steak and mashed potatoes with quinoa soy butter sauce, and shojin fried apple pie with cranberry sauce and vanilla ice cream!

Street
Susan Feniger’s Street is offering a Vegan Thanksgiving To Go menu. Must place orders 3 days in advance. With tons of options like Pumpkin and Poblano tamales, Shaved Kale and Brussels Sprouts, and Traditional Stuffing with Caramelized Onion and Apple, a 7-pck of sides (each side serves 4) is $65 and Jackfruit tandoori is $18/pp.

Stuff I Eat
Open from 12pm-6pm and serving a special meal of BBQ Tofu, Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, Mac ‘n’ Cheese, and your choice of: String beans or Kale greens, Yams, Dressing with homemade Cranberry Sauce, Cornbread and Your choice of Corn Salad or Mixed green salad.Also includes a slice of Organic Sweet Potato pie. There is a separate live options menu. $40/pp

Sun Cafe
Sun Cafe will be open normal hours on Thanksgiving, 11am – 4pm, and will serve their normal lunch menu. Thanksgiving dinner service will begin at 3pm with a prix fixe coursed meal with a raw food or cooked-vegan option. $40 per person. They will also take pre-orders for To-Go meals through Wednesday. Here’s the cooked menu: Butternut Squash Soup served in a Bread Bowl with Garlic Bread, Autumn Kale Salad with Cinnamon Pumpkin Slaw, Dried Cranberry and Slivered Almond, Polentil Thanksgiving Loaf (Polenta with Lentils, seasonal Vegetables) served with Vegetable au Jus, Crimini Mushroom Gravy, Basil Infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Crispy Onions, Garlic Roasted Fall Vegetables, Mashed Red Potato with Crimini Mushroom Gravy, Apple Fennel Stuffing, Cranberry Compote, Cranberry Kombucha “Cocktail” and Pumpkin Pie with Coconut Cashew Cream.

Vegin’ Out
Home delivery meals for two with delivery ($79.99) or shipping options ($94.99) included Seitan Roast with Gravy, Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Fresh Cranberry Sauce, Green Beans with Camarelized Onions, Quinoa Stuffing and Cookies – To Be Determined.

Attention Los Angelenos!

Whatever you have planned for tomorrow, scrap it in favor of this:

Melie Bianco Sample Sale

Via warehouseweekends.com “Shop the runway-inspired vegan handbag collection of Melie Bianco during the company’s Sample Sale on November 10th. At 70% – 90% discounts, prices will start at just $5 with nothing priced above $30. Download the flyer in the details section to receive a free iPhone case. CASH ONLY!!”

Saturday, November 10th 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
9545 Brasher St.
Pico Rivera, CA 90060

Cause we like you to look goooood, Super Vegans.

Beyond Meat Sammy from Whole Foods

-Lucky us! LAEater informs us that we’ve won another Veggie Grill, this time in Westwood!

-Lucky streak? Local Whole Foods now carry Beyond Meat!

-Seriously, go buy a lottery ticket, that’s how lucky we are! Golden Road Brewery & Pub gets lots more seats and hours. Via LAEater

-Vegan food is mainstream here! And there’s a few restaurants you probably never knew had Vegan options! Thanks, NYTimes.

-Ecorazzi lets us in on Anne Hathaway’s Vegan Nuptials.

-A new raw restaurant opens, an old one closes. RIP, Cru. Hey, hi, hello, M.A.K.E.

-Check out my article Showdown! NYC vs. LA: Who’s #1? in the new November+December issue of VegNews Magazine! And stay tuned for a companion piece going up on vegnews.com next week! I hope I did you proud, Angelenos.

Got any hot Vegan news to share? Send us an email at tips at supervegan dot com

Top Row: Bistro Po’ Boy with German Potato Salad, Close up of the Po’ Boy, Close up of the Potato Salad. Middle Row: Root Vegetable Tacos, Mac and Cheese Ball, Quinoa Corn Cake. Bottom Row: Pesto Croissant Club Sandwich, Close up of the sandwich, Mashed Potatoes.

I am still recovering. Not sure what to eat from now on, as this place has raised the bar on face-stuffing ever so high! My favorite thing was the club croissandwich. I.V.’s favorite was the Po’ Boy. Everything else was a close second. I mean, who would think that root vegetables, kale and Hollandaise would make for a good taco? And now that’s all I can think about.

There’s also a Kind Kreme inside, which I found out is owned by the daughter of the Cafe Gratitude proprietors! I guess that soybean didn’t fall far from the stalk. As you can guess, there was not even space enough in our tums for a taste.

Make a Vegan pilgrimage to this place at once!

My sandwich is better than your sandwich! That one’s the New Lemon Pepper Chicken. Who’s that in the middle of the bottom row? Why that’s TeeVee’s Laura Innes! They still have Jamaica’s Cakes (I had Strawberry Vanilla). And have you tried their pea soup? It’s unlike any you’ve had before. Look at the steam rising off that cup!

The food is still great, and maybe a little more great, with some new menu items and special dinner specials planned, but I’m not so sure the 6+ months of down time was worth it. The new space, while supposedly a vast improvement for the staff (the nicest people ever), is less so for the diners, other than that our food should be ready faster now and apparently there’s a patio in the back (I didn’t see it). But the once big open floor plan is now broken up into several smaller-feeling spaces that don’t flow nearly as well. And though the chalkboard wall menu is still in the same spot, the registers are in a little nook off to the right. This is problematic because when huddling in the check-out, the menu is out of your line of sight.

Welcome back, Green Peas, we’ve missed you! NEVER LEAVE US AGAIN.

top row: Native Chicken Wings, Chimi Chop Salad with crispy chicken instead of seitan, BBQ Love Burger. middle row: Scorpion Burger, Maryland Tempeh Cakes. bottom row: Red Curry Soup, Nuevo Native Nachos, Strawberry Shortcake Parfait.

And here are some curious Native Factoids:

1. Chef Tanya is no longer with Native Foods. This explains why the food tastes different these days. Replacing her is Chicago’s Chef Kendall. What are you doing now, Chef Tanya? What has become of you?

2. A couple of lawyers from Chicago are responsible for the rapid expansion of Native Foods, and word on Soy Street is that they aren’t Vegan.

3. They didn’t have any Tempeh in the restaurants for awhile. At first they said they had “run out” or that their source had run dry. Then they said they had suspended use of it pending a lab test. On Wednesday, Chef Kendall told us they stopped making their Tempeh for over a month out of respect for some bad strain from Tennessee!? Check out this story that my friend-blogger Insufferable Vegan sleuth’d. Tempeh Salmonella?? EEK!

If you like upscale vegetarian and Vegan meals and are anywhere in the Greater Los Angeles Area, or anywhere near an airport that will get you to the Greater Los Angeles Area, go (or go back) to Fatty’s & Co!

Ate & Rate:

Far East Rolls
spicy ginger seitan, cabbage and carrots served with mango dipping sauce

These might have been my favorite part of the meal. If you like spring rolls, you must get these, they’re the best I’ve ever had. And I’ve had a lot of spring rolls. The seitan and the general texture and flavors of the filling inside the rolls was not fair to any food I’ll ever eat again. And the sauce!

Blackened Tempeh
organic cutlets pan fried w/4 spices, sweet red bell pepper sauce and lime zest on a bed of arugula

I don’t even like tempeh and these might have been my favorite part of the meal. Spicy!

Corn Tortilla Soup
soup of the day!

This soup might have been my favorite part of the meal. So much flavor and texture, I wanted to lick the bowl clean. Crunchy soup?! Gimme!

Corn Risoles
fresh organic corn ravioli with basil pesto, fresh tomato and multi-colored pepper salpicon

Have you even ever heard of a risole? Or salpicon? I’m pretty sure they’re French for scrumptious. Even though I was not expecting them to be fried, the ravioli (which were more like little dumplings) and accompanying sauce and garnish were sweet & sour & savory AND, dare I say, Umami? I’ve had pesto and hummus combined in a dish and it was delicious. Now pesto and corn! Is there anything that pesto isn’t good with? This might have been my favorite part of the meal.

Mousacca
a mildly spicy gratin of chickpeas, red lentils, mushrooms and onions layered with eggplant, garlic mash potatoes and tomato sauce Provencal

This was the most beautiful part of the meal. Tasty, too! Wasn’t my favorite part of the meal, but I was dang full by this point already, so it isn’t really fair to say that Mousacca wasn’t my favorite part of the meal. It was spicy in a middle eastern sort of way, and kind of like a shepherd’s pie, with a really nice and basil-ey pasta sauce.

Top Crust Apple Pie A La Mode
made with organic Fuji apples

This was one ginormo piece of pie, but sadly it was too dark and too delicious to be photographed. It was also so big it might not fit into one frame. It was Dollywood-sized. If you’ve ever been to Dollywood, youknowwhatImean. The soy ice cream was amazing, definitely worth adding. The desserts in general seemed really large. Every table around us got the amazing looking cotton candy that is spun to order from pure Vermont maple sugar and those folks went up a mountain and came down a hill.

These pics are from our Instagram account– wearesupervegan — follow us, won’t you?

This June 30th is not just the 22nd anniversary of my Bat Mitzvah, it’s also Vegan Pizza Day.

This is a glorious day where Vegans everywhere congregate in their local to distant pizza serving establishments and order up some pie topped with Freaky Cheese like Teese, Daiya, Galaxy, or Follow Your Heart.

To make it extra easy for you Vegalenos (that’s Vegan Angelenos) to celebreat (celebrational eating), I’ve compiled a list of all your options I can think of. Extra points to whoever goes to the most places in those 24 hours.

Cheezy Pizza
299 W Olive St
Colton, CA 92324
(909) 370-2644

Cruzer Pizza
This place is ALL Vegan ALL the time.
4449 Prospect Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 666-0600

800 Degrees
10889 Lindbrook Dr
Los Angeles, CA 90024
(424) 239-5010

EVO Kitchen
offering 10% off all Vegan fare including pizza, beer, wine, brownies, sorbet, and etc.
7950 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323) 375-3390

Follow Your Heart
Specials TK, but, I mean, these people MAKE freaky cheese.
21825 Sherman Way
Canoga Park, CA 91303
818-348-3240

Fresh Brothers
Multiple locations Here’s one:
4722 1/2 Admiralty Way
Marina del Rey, CA 90292
(310) 823-3800

Hard Times Pizza
2664 Griffith Park Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90039
323-661-5656

Lenzini’s
5044 Lankershim Blvd
North Hollywood, CA 91601
(818) 506-0200

Lucifer’s
1958 Hillhurst Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 906-8603

Masa of Echo Park
Offering 25% off all Vegan deep dish pizza
1800 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
(213) 989-1558

M Cafe
This is an extra special special with details TK
Two locations. Here’s one:
7119 Melrose Avenue
Hollywood, CA 90046
323.525.0588

Mohawk Bend
They are up to something…
2141 W. Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026
213-483-2337

Native Foods
Multiple locations. Here’s one:
9343 Culver Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 559-3601

Pitfire Pizza
Multiple locations. Here’s one:
801 N Fairfax Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323) 544-6240

Pizza Cookery
Offering 20% all Vegan orders, and did you know that you can get vegan cheese stuffed bread rolls for free with your order? FOR FREE.
6209 Topanga Canyon Blvd @ Erwin St. 
Woodland Hills, CA

818.887.4770

Pizza Guru
No, Santa Barbara is not part of LA, but it’s on the list anyway.
3534 State St.
Santa Barbara, CA 93105
805-563-3250

Pizzanista
These people sell slices, if you’re on a diet or something.
2019 E 7th St
Los Angeles, CA 90021
(213) 627-1430

Purgatory
1326 E 1st St
Los Angeles, CA 90033
(323) 262-5310

Tomato Joes Pizza
27732 McBean Pkwy
Santa Clarita, CA 91354
(661) 263-8646

Two Boots
1818 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
(213) 413-2668

Unique Pizza
180 S Glendora Ave
West Covina, CA 91790
626-593-1149

Urbano Pizza Bar
630 W. 6th St. Suite 116 B&C
Los Angeles, CA 90017
213-614-1900

Z Pizza
Multiple locations. Here’s one:
123 N Larchmont Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90004
(323) 466-6969

So tell everyone! Make an e-vite, spread the face-vent, meetup or however you do it. We want Vegans everywhere, attacking pizza, slice by xlixe. Can I get an Amen?

Have I accidentally left your Vegan Pizza serving establishment off this list? Or, would you like me to update your details with awesome special offers? E-mail me!

Where I come from, MFA stands for Master of Fine Arts, but those are just really expensive pieces of paper that don’t do a whole lot. A better use of the acronym is Mercy For Animals because they do awesome things like fight for farmed animals and against the cruelty they are subjected to. Not the other way around. Do you know about this organization? I bet you didn’t know they were this cute.

On Saturday, June 2nd, I was lucky enough to attend a MFA event called Justice For All: A Night For Creatures Big And Small. This was a $500 per VIP ticket cocktail party in the West Hollywood Hills. Pretty swank. Hillary Swank was not there, but other celebrities were, like honoree Emily Deschanel and her Bones co-star Michaela Conlin, Jackass Steve-O and that Skinny Bitch Rory Freedman. The host, Freeway The Dog, and his house were incredible and the bar was not only open, but staffed with swoon-worthy ‘tenders.

The party was catered by super Vegan chef extraordinaire Dave Anderson from Madeleine Bistro, a restaurant that is open on an intermittent basis, and Maddy’s formerly known as The Shoppe, which hasn’t even opened once yet. Culinary highlights included BBQ seitan skewers, cashew cheese stuffed dates wrapped in a smokey mushroom, filet un-fish sandos, and some sort of donut/beignet thing that I am considering starting a competitive Vegan eating team for.

The party was fun, fancy and kind of like going to the airport. You had to take a shuttle van to get there (Heeeeey, to the people on my party bus!), you had to take your shoes off, and you left with a giant bag (of awesome goodies). LAXPH (Los Angeles International Party House).

There was a silent auction of all kinds of great things n’ stuff:

And after a few hours of free swim there was a short program, the three important parts of which were:

Won.) Nathan Runkle, the founder of MFA is appx. 18 years old. Or maybe that’s how old he was when he started it, either way, I have not done enough with my life.

Too.) This video. Don’t you not even try to don’t not be affected.

Three …) people in the room donated $25,000 each. 3! Nathan raised 200K in less than 10 minutes. This was impressive, but it’s not nearly enough, I’m sure. They are fighting billion dollar industries and winning, but with ag-gag bills passing, life is about to get harder for them and Bessy The Cow. Do you have extra dollars? Doesn’t have to be five figures, if you’re so inclined, they would gladly accept whatever you can give. And/Or, you could invest in the highly anticipated Shift all Vegan restaurant & bar in Venice, as they are still in need of a few chunks of money in order to open before I die from a suspense O.D.

My friend Insufferable Vegan, the only person I have ever been responsible for helping, in any part, grow Vegan, who has only been Vegan for a wee 20 months, and is already more Super of a Vegan than I am, took me on a Vegan Field Trip.

At 10:30 am my anonymous friend collected me. He even showed me a sweet shortcut in my own neighborhood I never even knew which was good because there were several detours along the way: We had some french fries with little plastic red forks at a K-mart in Covina that has a Nathan’s in it and hung out with the other people that frequent the Kmart Nathan’s at 11 am on a Thursday. Surprisingly, they didn’t seem to be on a Vegan Adventure.

I bought an actual record album at Rhino Records in Claremont where I also photographed these orange flavored chicken suckers that are not orange chicken flavored.

We randomly spotted Covina Tasty, which claims to be the very first all vegetarian fast food in America, (there might have to be a showdown with Orean’s for the title). Though it was a compelling argument for a lunch break, we kept on keepin’ on.

We did need to eat (again) though, so we sought out The Press Restaurant in hopes that their veggie burger would be a contender in the VegLympics. It was a pretty good full-size specimen of the Garden Patch variety, but not deserving of it’s own full-length post.

Obviously we needed to have dessert so we got ices at Handel’s in Upland. Check out this mountain of Sour Green Apple and Watermelon-ness!

Then we actually finally really made it to our destination: Viva La Vegan Grocery, the Earth’s largest most amazing all-vegan store. This place is so amazing it’s uh-mazing. It has just doubled in size, too, so it’s about to be twice as uh-mazing, making it uhh-maazing!

VLV has everything from fresh produce to frozen fish hams (what is a vegan fish ham?!) and I bought a hundred dollars worth of it.

I got a cupcake that was eaten before the night was over, half a chicken, three kinds of Dillos, farro, a Halo S’more bar, candy bars x3, two different kinds of TVP, Justin’s peanut butter cups, drumsticks, butterscotch chips, butterscotch pudding, three different Dr. Cow’s cheeses, a Dr. McDougall’s Asian entree , two wedges of Daiya, three different Stonewall’s Jerquee’s, English Toffee, an Upton’s Tamale, some Healthy Top, and Bacon. Y’know, all the important stuff.

We shopped so hard for so long, that not only did we not make it out in time to make it to our last stop on the tour, but we got all sorts of insider scoop and samples from the lovely staffers there. I can’t wait till they open one or two more stores closer to me (lookin’ at you Loz Feliz!) so I can get fat and bankrupt! In the meantime, 3,000 more products are about to hit their new shelves, so you might want to clear out your cupboards and go, or ask Mr. Insufferable, who is quite tolerable, to take you.