Fueled By Tofu : Veggie Food Musings

Relocated to a new blog

Hi! Please change your bookmarks to the following address:

http://www.kaokao.tumblr.com

I will be updating from there now on! Thanks

Christmas Dinner, Afghani style

                      Borani Badim Jan vs. Kashk-O-Bademjan

                          And no meal is complete without….Kaava

Tofurkey, not Turkey!

While I’m not big on the mythology that is Thanksgiving and fully support the indigenous on this day of mourning, I am often forced to participate in the preparation of a feast including a traditional slaughtered turkey due to carnivorous family members. I prepared a few dishes to counteract the meat coup of my dinner table.

       Tofurkey, with basil olive oil baste and roasted vegetables

                         Red/Yellow Peppers and String Beans

                                Preparing to carve the tofurkey

           Afghani Kadu Bouranee (Sweet Pumpkin), with soy yogurt sauce

                      Veggie Loaf (at left), and Tofurkey

My plate, from top, clockwise (roasted potatoes, tofurkey with homemade homestyle vegan gravy, mashed potatoes, veggie loaf, kadu bouranee, wild rice and mushroom stuffing

Vegan Brownie Bottom Cheesecake, Red Bamboo Soul Cafe, West Village, NYC

Chicago Restaurant Review

My recent trip to Chicago was centered around (what else?) but discovering new eats, and I did manage to consume quite a fare share while there. Some might say ”excessive”. I call it “research”.  So here are some of my stomach and I’s findings:

South Side Chicago

Started off with this Mexican spot Camino Real. It’s a new restaurant that’s not 100% vegetarian, but when talking to the owner we discovered that their veggie items sell better than the meat. I forgot my camera when we arrived, so I wasn’t able to document the deliciousness, but they have a soy meat menu with mock chicken, steak, pork in tostadas, tacos, burritos, tortas, gorditas, and huaraches. It was probably the most extensive menu I’ve seen for veggie items in Mexican fare, so I was pretty happy to taste test. The best for me had to be the soy pork chorizo.

Next we headed to an Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN) sponsored event in the evening. This was the first organization I had heard of it’s kind, advocating to help Muslim and/or people of color youth and adults alike, focused on social justice and impacting poverty within the ‘hood, so to say. They also have a focus on developing and promoting the arts, especially to the younger generation. I was excited to experience the “arts” facet of their program, which included djing, freestyle emceeing, and breakdancing! The event was also catered entirely vegetarian, with falafel, hummus, tabouli, and pita in abundance. I discovered that the food was catered all veg to ensure everything was completely Halal.

Devon Street

The desi part of town, where we channelled our inner-FOB. What’s interesting about this area is that the first half is marked “Gandhi Marg” while the second half is named after Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. I saw a parallel between the also divisive barriers and nationalism within Pakistan/India. Which at which point I ask, can’t we all just get along?!. Anyway, we drove past the founder of our nation and ate in the Indian side of Devon (gasp, blasphemy!) at Viceroy of India. Here are our buffet findings.

Navrattan Curry. Eggplant Bhartha. Naan. Lemon rice. Vegetable Pakora. Onion Bhajia. Alloo Papdi Chaat. Mango Juice. and so much more.

Wicker Park

Veggie Bite

This is the recently opened 2nd branch of this organic vegan fast food joint.

Gyro, Pineapple Smoothie

Belmont / Boystown

Chicago Diner

This place has been around since the 80’s, and has been voted the #1 diner in Chicago for 2008. Many celebrities have been there, including Roger Ebert, The Spice Girls, Madonna, and Natalie Portman.

We had brunch and lunch all in one sitting.

Dairy free hearty pancakes with warm strawberry sauce and a side of bakin strips and homestyle potatoes and fresh fruit

CHICKIN ‘PARMESAN’ SANDWICH
Breaded seitan strips, grilled peppers & onions, melted cheeze & zesty marinara on multi-grain baguette with vegan parmesan and sweet potato fries

Lastly, and most importantly, was dessert.

Cookies and Cream Cake. Yellow and chocolate marbled cake with cookie crumb filling and vanilla icing.

Next Up: Tasty Vegan Treats from the City of Brotherly Love!