Last night my husband took me to a new spot for dinner, The Black Door on Main St in Montpelier, VT. Now we had been here before for drinks but never have had a chance to do dinner. Neil called to make reservations and check on vegan options and the hostess let him know that the Eggplant Bucatini without the shaved cheese was vegan and the Cumin Spiced Tofu was vegan. After hearing this I went on to check their wine list to see which ones were vegan and to my luck a variety of their wines, both red and white, were vegan.
We showered and got dressed up (it’s pretty nice and a bit pricey) and headed on our way. We were sat at a nice table for two and had great service and great wine and beer. Our meals came and everything was delicious! The meals came (we got one of each to share) and they were great. The Eggplant Bucatini was very good however the shining plate was the Cumin Spiced Tofu which was just amazing- my husband said it was one of the best meals he’s had in a long time, even better than anything I’d made! (I had to agree).
Our only issue with our meal is that they were particularly small and we were very hungry after having had a small lunch and working out we were ready for something filling. We came to the conclusion that this was the type of place you do appetizer, entrée and dessert- not just an entrée as we had done (oh well it was our first time). Just when we thought we’d have to go home and have a snack our waitress comes back to let us know that there is one vegan dessert tonight, our ears perked up, it was apple cinnamon sorbet. We ordered a bowl to share and let me tell you this was one of the best vegan desserts I’ve had. It was like apple pie in sorbet form without the crust. Overall our dining experience was great- great food, good service, great atmosphere. We’d definitely go back and the best part is they have a seasonal menu so we will hopefully get to experience a new and amazing meal once again.
Crofter’s Organic has come out with a great line for 4 different fruit spreads using super fruits from around the world: Europe, North America, South America and Asia. The Europe superfruit spread is filled with pomegranates and black currants blended with red grapes and morello cherries and is delicious the black currants give it a great flavor. North America superfruit is filled with wild cranberries and blueberries blended with red grapes and morello cherries (this is my giveaway so I haven’t tasted it but I’m sure it is great). The South America is really yummy with its maqui berries and passionfruit blended with red grapes and morello cherries. Lastly, my favorite Asia which have raspberries and yummberries which are “are native to East Asia and have been used historically for maintaining and restoring health”.
Since I was lucky enough to be chosen by Crofters Organics as the winner of their 4 Superfruit Spreads to review I decided that I would give one of my readers a chance to review the North America Spread.
To win this giveaway leave a comment stating your favorite jam or jam recipe.
For extra chances to win you can link back to this post on your blog, tweet it @cookveganlover and/or add me to your blog roll (if you do any of these extra chances make sure to let me know by posting in a comment)- so lets see 4 chances to win? why not try?
The winner will be announced on October 16th.
The Winner is………..
True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 4 Powered by RANDOM.ORG
I make a mean loaded oatmeal – flaxseeds, berries, nuts, soy or almond milk, etc – and top it off with a scoop of jam. It’s the morning equivalent of a bowl of ice cream.
I recently was sent some items from Oh Nuts! an online distributor of bulk products such as nuts, candy, dried fruit and chocolate. They were kind enough to send me the Raisin Nut Mix, Veggie Chips and Dried Apricots.
The Raisin Nut Mix and the Dried Apricots were great. We brought them on our cruise with us to snack on. The Raisin Nut Mix was the perfect balance of dried fruit, seeds and nuts and we ate it right up. The apricots were different than I usually buy (i usually buy unsulphered) but these were still good. Nice and juicy.
Mustard is one of my favorite condiments so when Dulcet Cuisine said to pick a few things and they would send them to me I went straight for the mustards. Dulcet Cuisine makes sauces, cooking spices & rubs, mustard and ketchup, however these aren’t your standard sauces, spices, mustards and ketchups they all have a little flare with added flavors. Like their exotic ketchups which come in Mild Indian Curry, Peppery Moroccan, and Sweet Orange Chili – don’t they all just sound delicious?
As I said I am a huge mustard fan so of course I went for their Moroccan Mustard and Madras Curry Mustard (they also have Sweet Chili Orange Mustard and Creole Mustard). Now I have been trying to come up with a creative use for them besides just spreading them on my Tofurky sandwich or veggie burger (which is an easy and delicious way to enjoy them) so I decided to checkout the Dulcet website and look at their recipes. This great resource has all of their sauces, mustards, ect listed with a variety of recipe ideas for their use. Under the Moroccan Curry there was a recipe for a bean dip which was basically beans, the mustard and orange juice – this combination sounded great to me so I used the orange juice and mustard as a base and created a dish of Sweet and Spicy Moroccan Mustard Glazed Tempeh & Green Beans:
Ingredients:
1 large naval orange, juiced
1-8oz pkg of tempeh, sliced
2 handfuls of green beans
1/2 c vegetable stock
1 T olive oil
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1/3 c Dulcet Moroccan Mustard
1 t agave nectar
1 t chili flakes
salt and pepper to taste
In a large sautee pan place the tempeh and pour the vegetable stock over, turn the heat to high and cook until the liquid is absorbed. Whisk together the mustard, agave and chili flakes.
Add the oil, red pepper and onions to the pan, turn the heat the medium and sautee until the vegetables are soft. Add the green beans and the mustard mixture to the pan and let cook for 7-10 minutes, until the sauce has reduced. Add salt and pepper to taste.
*I served mine over kasha.
The mustards I tried were great and I am excited to try other products by Dulcet.
This sparkling hibiscus drink is full of vitamin c and has a great sweet flavor – not flowery like you’d expect from hibiscus. There are 6 different flavors of Ooba: Hibiscus and Hibiscus with the following- Lime, Orange, Vanilla, Pineapple and Blackberry. I tired the original, lime and orange. Although they are all great, I really enjoyed the lime. The flavor was sweet but not too sweet like sugary fruit juices (also there is not high fructose corn-syrup or artificial sweeteners). This drink is actually very refreshing and although I wouldn’t have it every day it was a great replacement for my normal afternoon coffee and actually gave me a lot more energy and didn’t have the 5pm caffeine crash.
I’d really like to try the other flavors, especially the vanilla it sounds very intriguing. So check out the Ooba sight for more info and check out their adult beverage recipes (I think I might have to try the Ooba Margarita sounds so good.)
My husband I decide that we would runaway for the weekend and after he got out of work on Friday we headed to Connecticut – and then NYC for the day on Saturday. On our way down to Connecticut we decided to stop for dinner in Northampton, MA and had one of the best meals. I had heard from another blogger that Paul and Elizabeth’s was the place to go in Northampton for some great vegan eats; it is not vegan however most the menu is- also there is no “walking animals” served at their restaurant…i.e. they only serve fish and shellfish, and vegetarian items.
I ordered the Grilled Tofu Kebabs which were marinated and broiled tofu and vegetables on a skewer on a bed of brown rice with a garden salad. My husband ordered the Vegetarian Plate which was one of the specials for the night and it came with a big bed of bok choy, kale, onions and tofu with rice croquettes on the side. We also started with a small bowl the Sweet Potato Coconut Soup which was creamy and delicious. At first glance you might look at the menu and say wow prices are a little higher (around $12-15 a dish) however the meals a huge – enough for 2 – and the food is amazing. I unfortunately forgot the camera in our car so I didn’t get any photos but I am sure that on my next visit I will make sure to get pictures of their delish food.
On Saturday we headed into the city to wander around meet up with old friends and had planned on staying the night however life happens and we weren’t able to- which meant missing VegFest ….I guess there’s always next year. After walking for about an hour we finally made it to our first destination- Peacefood Cafe on 82nd and Amsterdam. It is this great little spot that is open from 9am -10pm and has breakfast, lunch and dinner, along with baked goods, coffees and juices.
There were so many things that we wanted to order and had the hardest time deciding however we finally came to a decision and got the Raw Key Lime Pie, Macaroon, Apple Ginger Soy (it had juice of an apple and some ginger topped with steamed milk- amazing), a Panini of Pan-seared French Horn Mushrooms with sun-dried tomatoes, arugula, artichoke aioli, mint & basil pesto and we ordered a Tempeh Avocado sandwich with baked marinated tempeh, creamy avocado, pickled radishes, shredded carrots and cilantro. We loved the Raw Key Lime Pie it was delicious and had a great key lime sauce on it, however the macaroon it was okay (but I think I make a better one). As for the 2 sandwiches the Panini was the winner it was warm and creamy and delicious. The temeph sandwich was okay but my husband and I both felt it was a little salty and that there were too many pickled radishes on it which just over powered the sandwich. I do however love this place and after seeing other peoples orders there is so much more I want to try.
We spent the remainder of our day wandering around the city and meeting up with friends. We met up with my bestie at this great little coffee shop in Soho called Ground Support on West Broadway across from Seven for All Mankind and next door to Anthropolige. We didn’t get any coffee because I had already had some that morning but it smelled amazing and Cate loves it there. After that we stopped in at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum Shop (which for all you vegans out there is just around the corner from Babycakes and down the street from Moo Shoes) this shop and museum is one of our favorites in the city and has a great selection of books and gifts. My husband picked up a great T-shirt from here as well as a book and I got a new vegan bag which I love. It was great too I asked the girl if it was leather and she was like I don’t know lets google the designer and see what their site says and to my luck the bags are all vegan faux leather (and I know you all are wandering well who makes it then? and i forget…there is no tag in the bag). We also stopped at our favorite candy shop in Chinatown Aji Ichiban which has a variety of Asian treats and are all labeled with their ingredients.
Before we left the city we met up with my friend from high school and went to Chennai Garden one of our favorite Southern Indian Restaurants. We had amazing food and the best part is everything that has dairy in it is labeled so you know which items you can order- oh and the place is all vegetarian. We always go with a dosa- this time the gunpowder one which was amazing and we went with a curry as well the Malki Kofta (not usually vegan but here it was! love it). We were so hungry I didn’t get any shots in but you can find pictures here from my last visit.
Our last stop before we headed home was in New Haven CT at Claire’s Corner Copia for breakfast Sunday morning. We had a great breakfast too- I ordered a coffee and Tofu Scramble with whole wheat baguette and Neil got an orange juice and the Pancakes with bananas. Our meals came and we dug in they were great. Mine wasn’t the best scramble i’ve had but it was good and the baguette was amazing with it. My hubz pancakes where really incredible – they were whole wheat and had cinnamon in them and topped with bananas and real maple syrup. Claire’s has become a favorite stop of ours and it’s all vegetarian with vegan items clearly marked and many dishes they can make vegan- and trust me their menu is huge!
Overall great trip but of course never long enough.
Whisk all of the marinade ingredients together and pour over the tempeh, making sure it is evenly coated
Bake 20-30 min or until tempeh has browned and marinade has been mostly absorbed
Potato Croutons:
2 small potatoes, diced
salt and pepper
1 T olive oil
Toss the diced potato with salt, pepper and olive oil.
Spread on a sheet pan and place in a 350F oven for 30-40 minutes, until golden and crispy
Soup:
1 T olive oil
1 Lg onion, diced
1 lb new potatoes, skin on, washed and diced
1 C sliced carrots
1 Quart Vegetable Broth
2 Cloves of garlic, minced
1 Bay Leaf
1 C unsweetened soy milk
1/2 C nutritional Yeast
1 T yellow mustard
salt and pepper
In a large sauce pan heat the olive oil over med-high and add the onion. Sautee until the onion is soft and translusent
Add the garlic and carrots and cook for 3-5 min until the carrots begin to soften.
Add the potatoes and toss together for 1 minute.
Add the vegetable broth and bay leaf. Bring up to a boil and then turn down the heat to a simmer.
Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until potatoes are soft.
Turn off the heat and remove the bay leaf. Stir in the nutritional yeast, mustard and sou milk.
With an immersion blender, blend all the ingredients together. (You can also use a regular blender to do this, however you will need to blend in batches)
Turn the heat back on to low and crumble in all but 2 of the tempeh bacon slices. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Ladle the soup into bowls and top with crumbled bacon and potato croutons.
