One of my favorite snacks are almonds but not just any almonds, I love tamari almonds. As much as I enjoy them I don’t purchase them often because they are pretty expensive per pound so I usually just get regular almonds. Finally I decided that instead of spending $4 more per pound I’d make my own.
Wasabi Shoyu (Tamari) Almonds
2 cups raw almonds
1/4 cup shoyu or tamari
1/2 teaspoon wasabi powder
Pre-heat oven to 250F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a bowl mix the shoyu with the wasabi powder; toss with the almonds and spread in one layer on the baking sheet.
Bake for 25-30 minutes; tossing half way through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet. Once cooled store in an air tight container.
Day 3 started off seeming like it was going to be good with breakfast at Le Pain Quotidien but boy were we wrong. First off our waiter was a bit of a condescending jerk. Then when the food came it was mediocre- the salad was overly vinegary and the tofu scramble was extremely oily. We were disappointed with the meal and then we waited for almost 30 minutes to get the bill …while the waiter passed by us over and over and over. Oh well one bad EXTREMELY overpriced meal over our entire vacation that’s not too bad. Ratings:
Value: 0/5
Food: 2/5
Vegan Friendly: 2/5
Atmosphere: 0/5
Amazing teas from Baked & Wired
After our disappointing breakfast we walked to Georgetown where we spent most of the morning enjoying the weather, the sites, and the shops. I indulged in a sale at Lululemon and then we had lunch at Chipotle and loved it. After enjoying our morning/early afternoon in Georgetown we headed to the Museum of Natural History. Once the museum closed we headed to RFD for a drink before our dinner at Zaytinya one of Jose Andres restaurants.
We had the most amazing dinner at Zaytinya! The concept around the restaurant is small plates that come out in waves. We let our server know we were vegan and she let us know the vegan options (there were a good number). We ordered 6 items as well as a yummy drink and turkish coffee. I would go back here in a heart beat.
Warning these photos below are lacking in quality because they are from my iphone but the food was amazing.
The Hubz and I loved our meal at Cafe Green so we were excited to try Java Green for breakfast the next morning before heading out to The Holocaust Memorial Museum. The Hubz and I split the So-Che and the Eggcentricity as well as a bottled iced tea. They both were really delicious and I would go with the Eggcentricity again next time for breakfast as it was delicious. Java Green also also has as tasty lunch menu that I would love to try. The only down falls with this place is that it is only open Monday through Friday and that there is limited seating.
After breakfast we were off to be tourist around the city and ended up spending 4 hours at the Holocaust Memorial Museum. I don’t have any photos to show you as you are not permitted to take photos in the museum. We had planned on doing lunch at Rasika but our time at the museum went longer than intended and we missed our 12:30pm reservation by an hour and half. We also had intended on visiting another museum after lunch but we were drained from the Holocaust Memorial Museum and decided that we would just walk back to the hotel and find something to eat along the way. To our delight we passed right by Maoz where I had another Groupon for $5 for $10 worth of food and we decided to use it on 2 junior meals which came with fries and a drink (I had iced tea and Neil an Arnold Palmer.)
We really enjoyed the food at Maoz and loved how things were marked vegan. The salad bar area was the best and really bulked up the falafel sandwich. The hubz and I even debated going back again during our trip but decided we should branch out and try new places, oh well there is always next time!
Ratings:
Value: 4/5
Food: 4/5
Vegan Friendly: 4/5
Atmosphere: 4/5
We headed back to the hotel for a little down time before our big walking tour of the monuments later in the evening and later decided to partake in the complimentary wine and olive feast while we waited for our friend Aaron to meet us for our tour. When he arrived we decided to have another glass with him, why not it was free and we were on vacation. Then it was time to make the loop around the monuments starting at the Jefferson Memorial and ending at the World War II memorial.
After walking around for hours we finally made it back to Dupont Circle and just a block from the hotel was a great pizza and beer place that I had read about Pizzeria Paradiso. We decided to stop in and have pizza and beer. We started with complimentary olives; I swear I ate more olives this vacation than I have this entire year. We then decided on our pizzas which Neil and I had with vegan mozza on a white crust withTomato, Mushrooms, Spinach, Red Onion (note the whole wheat crust has honey in it). Aaron had the same thing but a smaller one for him and with regular mozza. We also shared a salad which we had with oil and vinegar because the dressing has parm in it but it was still yummy.
Overall we loved this place- the food was great, the beer selection was good and the service was top notch!
I generally don’t buy food at airports because it’s generally over priced. For our trip this past week I packed up bagels with tofutii, dried fruits, nuts, trail mixes and bananas for the flight and for our trip in generally. The only items that we purchased was this mediocre coffee and the smart fries which the Hubz and I had a few of and then decided they were just awful and we through them out; yes they were that bad.
I did not purchase any of these items but I did find these great vegan options at the JFK airport:
Sensible Foods- so good! Love the corn ones!
These aren't bad- more like a chocolate bar than a protein bar
8oz block Tempeh, sliced in half and then sliced in half through the middle to make four 2oz portions
1 cup vegetable broth
Juice of 1 apple or 1/2 cup apple juice
1/2 cup of cranberries
1 apple, diced
2T brown rice syrup
1/2T low-sodium soy sauce
3 sage leaves, sliced
pinch of pepper
Directions:
Heat a large sauce pan over medium-high heat, pour in the broth and place the tempeh in a flat layer. Bring up to a simmer, flipping once the broth has reduced by half. Continue to simmer until the broth is gone. Remove the tempeh and set aside.
In the pan over medium-low heat cook the cranberries, apple slices, brown rice syrup, soy sauce and pepper for 1-2 minute until the apple start soften. Stir in the apple juice and cook for 3 minutes until the apples soft and cranberries burst. Strain the liquid from the sauce and reserve both the fruit and liquid.
Place the tempeh back in the pan over medium heat and add the liquid. Simmer until the sauce has thickened and glazed the tempeh.
To serve top with some of the reserved cranberry-apple mixture.
Ciabatta Squash-Sage Dressing
Serves 2-3
4- 1/2inch slices of ciabatta, diced
1T vegan margarine
1T olive oil
7 sage leaves, sliced
1/2 cup onion diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup butternut squash, diced and roasted
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup vegan chicken gravy
1T vegan margarine
2T AP flour
1 cup vegan chicken broth
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400F. Toss the squash with a little oil, salt and pepper; place on a sheet pan and bake for 30 minutes until the squash is soft.
In a cast iron skillet or saute pan heat the olive oil and margarine until margarine is melted. Toss in the sage and cook until crispy and then toss in the onion and saute for 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 4-5 more minutes until the onion is soft. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and leave place in a bowl; set aside.
Place the bread in the pan and stir around, coating with the oil. Cook on medium-high until the bread is toasty. Remove from the pan and set in the bowl with the onions.
Place the squash in the bowl with the onions and the bread.
In the skillet heat the broth until bubbly and then pour over the bread; toss to coat and serve immediately.
We started our DC trip off with a visit to Cafe Green, a vegan restaurant near Dupont Circle. I lucked out and got a a great deal on Groupon. The lunch menu has a great selection of salads, sandwiches and raw entrees. We had a really hard time deciding on what we wanted but eventually decided to go with Cheeseburger and Raw California Pizza Platter. The Cheeseburger was really delicious however the slaw was really the star of the plate. The Raw California Pizza Platter was so delicious however unfortunately they were all out of kale chips so I had the kimchi instead and it was amazing. The Hubz and I were overall very impressed with our meal, the location, the service and it also had a great drink list.
Cheeseburger Soy patty on a wheat bun, topped w/ cheese, lettuce & tomato, sautéed pepper, and onion
Raw California Pizza Platter (GF) Our raw pizza with guacamole and raw cheese topped with tomato, cucumber, carrot onion and peppers. Served with Kale Chips and a petite spinach salad
Wasabi Shoyu (Tamari) Almonds
