Jeera Thai

A few months ago when I was doing some holiday shopping at the Project Storefronts pop-up shops in New Haven, I spotted a new Thai restaurant on Crown Street.  It's wedged between a Nail salon and Bubble Tea place, all of which are making a go of it across from the new cooperative arts and humanities school.  I made a mental note to give the restaurant a try next time I was in the neighborhood, which is where I happened to find myself today.

After a week of summer-like weather, today's chill set the perfect stage for a bowl of noodles.  Jeera Thai does not disappoint in this arena, as there are many options to choose from.  There are also plenty of soups and curries as well.  I decided on the Pad Thai Miracle Noodles, which came with a good amount of my favorite veggie, baby bok choy.  You can choose from noodles made from tofu, yam or rice; I went with the traditional rice noodle.  The dish was topped with ground peanuts and had a flavorful combination of citrus and soy with a bit of sesame oil.

I started the meal with an order of Triple Mushroom Spring Rolls with Hawaiian Pineapple Dipping Sauce.  This was a good portion of super crisp and hot rolls filled with smoky mushrooms and cabbage.  The sweet and sour dipping sauce was the perfect contrast.

I jumped ahead and ordered dessert not realizing how filling my meal would be, but I was intrigued by the Yam Coconut Custard with Purple Sticky Rice.  Most of the time I get Mango Sticky Rice for dessert and have never had this dish before.  My server assured me it was vegan, so I decided to give it a try.

Served warm, the custard is light and spongy, and the sweet coconut cream is a luscious contrast to the savory sticky rice underneath.  I'm happy to know I now have a place for vegan dessert in New Haven!

Jeera Thai is a lovely little spot for a quick bite to eat serving creative dishes that surpass most Thai restaurants in the area.  There are only 4 stools beneath a narrow counter for seating, so unless you're prepared to bump and twist during your meal to allow diners and servers to squeeze past, I recommend takeout rather than dining in.  Or, once the weather warms up again, be sure to grab one of the 2 streetside tables for dining al fresco.

This Week's Menu

We're seeing green here at Well on Wheels headquarters... that is, St. Patrick's Day and all things Irish.  This week's menu features a traditional Irish side dish, Colcannon, made by combining mashed potatoes with chopped greens.  Any kind will do.  I used parsley, green onion and kale, but you can do this with green cabbage instead.

I was also making butternut bisque soup today, so I decided to throw in a bit of the squash, too, turning the potatoes a bright chartreuse color.  I kinda liked the glowing quality of the end result.  The Colcannon was served with pan-fried tempeh and a tahini mushroom gravy.

Also on the menu was a Teriyaki Seitan Stir-fry with broccoli, carrots and red onion.  I love the color contrasts, as well as the sweet and spicy flavors.  For textural interest, I tossed some roasted salted peanuts on for a finishing touch.

The final item on this week's menu was a Stewed Black Beans with Dirty Rice and Cumin Spiced Zucchini and Yellow Squash.  I've been doing variations on enchiladas the past couple of weeks, and this was sort of a deconstruction.  A delicious deconstruction.

This Week's Menu

I've recently been playing around with various combinations of colorful quinoa after discovering a box of black quinoa at my local health food store recently.  The black quinoa look similar in size and color to poppy seeds, which is slightly smaller than the more common white quinoa.  They take a little longer to cook (otherwise, you end up with a slightly crunchy pop when you bite into them).... but I'm liking them.  This week I decided to try mixing black and white quinoa for a paella.

I sauteed some sliced Tofurky Italian sausage in a pan, then added chopped onion, carrots, and mushrooms.  I finished it off with a can of Muir Glen fire-roasted tomatoes, some sliced kalamata olives, green peas, and a squeeze of lemon.  The flavor combination was slightly smoky and savory.  I topped the dish with a fan of steamed asparagus which made a nice color contrast.

The second meal this week was Black Bean and Garnet Yam Enchiladas since a client requested something Mexican.  I topped the enchilada with some homemade sauce spiced with chili powder, paprika, onion powder and cayenne pepper, and paired it with Cumin Spiced Zucchini which had been broiled in the oven.

The final entree was a simple tofu tir-fry since I found some baby bok choy at my health food store and thought it would be perfect with the plump snap peas that are coming into season soon.  Sesame seeds make a nice garnish for this dish.
 

This Week's Menu

This week's menu is inspired by the tropics, and my memory of clean air, warm sunshine, tantalizing spices, and fresh fruit every morning.  I recently returned from a much-needed mini hiatus to the warmer climes of Nosara, Costa Rica, one of the world's five Blue Zones where people live longer and healthier.  This was like a literal and figurative oasis in the middle of winter which, although it has been a mild one, was nice to retreat from temporarily.

So I added a little spice in the form of cumin and chili powder to meal #1 which consisted of Fire-Roasted Tomato and Green Chili Black Beans, Spanish Rice, and Cumin Spiced Oven Roasted Yellow and Green Squash.  It felt like the middle of summer in the Well on Wheels kitchen.

Meal #2 was another spicy dish, this time flavored with fresh basil and red pepper flakes.  I've made this before with tofu and tempeh, but this week I featured seitan as the protein for the Teriyaki Stir-fry with Broccoli, Carrot, and Peanuts on Brown Rice.

The third entree this week reminded me that it's still the middle of winter, and therefore comfort food was in order.  This came in the form of Pan-fried Tempeh with Mashed Potatoes and Kale and Crimini Mushroom Gravy.  A perfect way to take the chill of a cold January evening.

Gourmet.com Top Healthy Restaurants

I was recently asked by the Executive Editor at BlogHer.com for my recommendation of a road trip worthy healthy restaurant in my hometown of New Haven, CT for an app that Gourmet.com magazine was compiling.  There are so many great restaurants in my little city that this request was initially a difficult proposition, but when I thought about my "go to" place that never disappoints, it didn't take long to decide it's always Miya's Sushi.   Whether dining with friends, family, clients, solo, or for romance, the setting is perfect and the cuisine is as healthy as it is creative and delicious.  Plus, owner Bun Lai is a great guy and really makes you feel welcome.

Here's what I had to say:

As a vegan, I am always on the lookout for restaurants that can accommodate my dietary needs and one of my favorites is Miya’s Sushi. Known for their sustainable sushi, Miya’s features a huge menu of creative vegetarian offerings, like the Kiss the Smiling Piggie roll (sweet potato tempura, mango chutney, and pine nuts), the Rikki Tikki roll (roasted garlic, mushroom, cauliflower, Chinese black beans, scallions, hot peppers, and pine nuts), and the Warm Grapes Falling on a Happy Head (a grape leaf wrapped around eggplant, avocado, pickled radish, scallions, and hot peppers). Miya’s cooks with ingredients that are natural and local when in season, and they also make their own sake and pickled ginger.

You can see the feature story here, and read about other bloggers' restaurant recommendations from cost to coast:  Gourmet.Com Road Trip:  To 10 Healthy Restaurants from Coast to Coast 

This Week's Menu

The Well on Wheels test kitchen was all abuzz this week with pungent aromas and exotic flavors.  After the holidays, I must confess that I get a little burnt out on food, so in times like these I poke around my spice jars for inspiration.  This week I came up with a winner in paprika.

I had always heard about Chicken Paprikash, but I've never made it, and yet that didn't stop me from pondering, "I wonder if I could make Tofu Paprikash."  So that was my mission.  I found a chicken recipe in Real Simple magazine which I tweaked a bit and came up with my own combination of savory-spicy-sweet that I think was a winner.  I started by sauteeing red, yellow, and orange bell pepper with some sliced onions in olive oil.  When those softened, I added mushrooms, garlic and sundried tomatoes to the mix.  The last step is to stir in some vegan yogurt, nutritional yeast, tomato paste, and paprika, then season with salt.  I used So Delicious plain coconut milk yogurt, which has a slightly sweet undertone.  The sauce cooked for a few minutes until thick and bubbly, then I poured it on top of baked tofu and fettuccini pasta.

Another test recipe this week was Millet and Sunflower Seed Patties with Roasted Garlic Aioli.  Both required several steps in the prep arena, but once they were out of the way, the process went pretty quickly.  If you've never roasted garlic, I highly recommend it, because after doing it once you'll think to yourself, "why don't I make this every day?"  Just lop the top off a bulb of garlic, drizzle with about a teaspoon of olive oil, wrap it in a little foil pouch, then bake at 400 degrees for about a half an hour.  You'll smell it when it's done... just be careful to let it cool before squeezing out the garlic goodness.

The last entree I've made several times for a client who had eaten Pecan-Crusted Seitan at Candle 79 and wanted me to give a try making it.  She said mine came out just as good, if not better, than the original.  The crust is made with a combination of pecans, rosemary, and tarragon, then it's topped with a citrusy tomato marinara.  I served it with a Potato Turnip Mash and Stringbeans.  It's a pretty and tasty combination.

Gluten-free Black Bean and Quinoa Cakes

We were in the mood for some Mexican food last night and I wanted to experiment with something beyond the usual burrito/enchilada/taco fare.  Not that there's anything wrong with these... but for someone like me who has a wheat and corn sensitivity, I wanted to create something a little different that wouldn't compromise my health.

I found a luscious looking recipe on VegWeb.com for Black Bean Chipotle Cakes that was made with polenta as a base, and so I thought to myself, I wonder if quinoa would work as a substitute? I decided to give it a try.

The key to making the recipe a success was to add a little more cooking water than usual to the quinoa so that it would come out slightly softer than normal and clump up after cooking.  [Note:  This is normally referred to as "a mistake."]  Then, after mixing and mashing the cooked quinoa with all of the other ingredients, I let the mixture cool in the fridge for about an hour.  This made it easy to form into balls that could be flattened into thick cakes, then dipped in tapioca flour before frying.  They held together nicely in a non-stick pan coated with a tablespoon or so of olive oil.  The key was to cook them on medium heat until the got a golden crust before flipping them.  Don't rush the process, or you'll end up with a messy pan of black bean and quinoa hash!

These came out crisp on the outside and tender on the inside.  They held together well with a mix of rice flour and Daiya cheese that melted from the heat of the cooked quinoa, and then again from cooking in the frying pan.   I topped them with guacamole and fresh salsa, and accompanied the cakes with a bed of mesclun greens tossed in dijon agave vinaigrette.  Pretty brilliant I'd say.

The next day's leftovers went really well with crispy oven roasted chili pepper fries drizzled with Sriracha and some steamed broccoli on the side.  Yum!

GF Black Bean and Quinoa Cakes
1/2 cup of quinoa, rinsed
1 cup of water

1-2 tsp cumin

1-2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup shallots, chopped fine

1 15 oz. can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup Daiya pepper jack vegan cheese
3 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour for dredging
2-3 Tbl olive oil for frying

In a medium sauce pot, combine quinoa, water, cumin, chili powder, sea salt, 1 clove minced garlic and 1/4 cup shallots.  Cover, bring to boil, then lower heat and simmer 15 minutes or until quinoa is tender.  Pour cooked quinoa into bowl on top of shredded cheese and black beans, then add green onions, remaining minced garlic and shallots, and rice flour.  Stir together, mashing ingredients as you mix.  When everything has been combined, place bowl in refrigerator to cool for approximately one hour.  Remove cooled quinoa mixture and form into patties using a 1/2 cup measuring cup to scoop out equal portions.  Flatten to about an inch thick, then lightly dredge in tapioca flour.  Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat and test with a drop of water to be sure it sizzles before adding oil.  Then add enough oil to thinly coat bottom of pan and fry quinoa cakes for 10-15 minutes on each side, or until lightly browned and crisp.  Serve immediately topped with salsa and guacamole.

Weekly Menu

This post represents a recap of meals for the past two weeks.  It's been a busy time here at Well on Wheels headquarters, doing some holiday planning, testing recipes, expanding services, taking on new clients, and training chefs.  The Fall Menu promises to be warm and comforting.

Pan-freid Tempeh with Mushroom Gravy, Colcannon, and Carrots

Spicy Peanut and Basil Tofu Saute with Brown Rice

Hearty Black Bean and Fire-roasted Tomato Chili with Brown Rice

RAW Red Pepper Romesco with Dijon Greens

This Week's Entrees

Baked Tofu Piccata with Quinoa and Yellow Cauliflower

Pan-fried Tempeh with Smoked Paprika Cashew Cream and Sriracha, 

Mashed Potatoes, and Brussels Sprouts Amandine

Baked Tempeh with Harissa, Garlic Greens and Quinoa

GF Pumpkin Spice Bread

As we brace for the first snow storm of the season, I seek refuge in the kitchen.  And what better way to fight the cold than to bake some bread?  Today's recipe comes courtesy of a former client of mine who forwarded me a recipe for a vegan pumpkin bread.  She assured me it was awesome, so I set out to see if I could make an equally awesome gluten-free version.  I think I succeeded.

I substituted a mix of garbanzo bean flour, tapioca flour, and rice flour for the whole wheat, then added a little xanthan gum to bind it all together.  The batter was smooth and thick, aided by the silken creaminess of some canned pumpkin puree.

As it baked in the oven, the sweet spicy aromas wafted through my house, almost making me forget the storm that was brewing outside.  I think this will be the perfect reward after shoveling the driveway later tonight.  The crumb was perfectly moist, yet tender, and it held together nicely.  Tomorrow morning I've already got my sights set on experimenting with Pumpkin French Toast for breakfast.

Gluten-free Vegan Pumpkin Bread

1 cup garbanzo bean flour1/2 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp allspice
¼ tsp cloves
1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
3 Tbl maple syrup
3 Tbl water
½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1 cup Florida Crystals vegan sugar

½ cup oil

Preheat oven to 350°F.  In a large bowl, mix together flours, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, xanthan gum, salt, and spices. In a small bowl, whisk together pumpkin, oil, syrup, and water. Add wet mixture to dry; combine until just moistened. (Batter will be very thick; don’t worry!) Fold in nuts. Pour into oiled pan and bake for 40-50 minutes or until top is browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool 20 minutes; use a butter knife to gently loosen bread from sides of pan, then invert onto a cooling rack. Yields 1 loaf.

Karyn's Chicago

A friend's wedding has brought me out to Chicago for a few days and while in town I figured it was my duty to sample and blog about some local vegan cuisine.  I put the call out to my Facebook friends for recommendations and immediately received about a dozen tempting responses.  Thanks everybody for coming through for me!

It was a tough decision prioritizing that list with favorites including Ethiopian, veg soul food, falafel, an organic bakery, and of course the legendary Chicago Diner.  But after my previous day of teaching, cooking, flying, and driving, followed by a bridal shower and Korean karaoke, I decided that the theme of the day would be "recovery."  So, I headed to Karyn's Fresh Corner, a raw cafe located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood to be pampered with healthful indulgence.

This was a wise choice.  My lunch began with a thick and creamy coconut milkshake made with fresh young Thai coconut.  It was icy cold and refreshing, not quite pureed smooth so that I was chewing while drinking, with a hint of natural sweetness from the coconut and no added sweetener.

It was tough deciding on an appetizer since everything tempted me, but because I need to stay away from gluten, the menu simplified my selection process by marking items containing gluten which I avoided.  I decided on the Cauliflower and Red Pepper Hummus with Flax Seed Crackers and Crudites mostly because I wanted something crunchy and I was intrigued by the inclusion of cauliflower in the hummus.  The smooth and rich concoction did not disappoint, and it also added a surprising kick of chipotle to the mix.

For my entree I chose the Empanada with Mexican Mole and Basil Gastrique.  The spongy "crust" was made with ground flax seed and corn that had been dehydrated and stuffed with a savory and spicy walnut, jalapeno, and mushroom pate.  This was topped with pickled red onion, dehydrated jalapeno, and fresh cilantro springs.  My description cannot do this dish justice because I couldn't possibly come close to capturing the depth of flavor of each component, not to mention the symphony of flavors that composed the entire dish.  This was not only one of my favorite raw vegan dining experiences, but perhaps one of my favorite all-time meals.

Not only that, but there are the desserts.  Next door to the cafe there's a little wellness shop with a smoothie/juice bar, raw desserts, and grab-and-go items.  The gorgeous display of sweets made for yet another difficult decision, all of which provided the promise of "sinful desserts without the guilt."  I opted for the Mint Carob Cake, which had the density of a fudgey brownie made with pecans, cashew butter, coconut oil, agave syrup, dates, and carob powder.  Yes, these were entirely raw as well, made without any refined flour or sugar, and yet oh so good.  In fact, these were so decadent you wouldn't even miss the chocolate.

Anyone who has ever had qualms about vegan food being bland or boring just needs to take a trip to Karyn's (yes, it's worth the drive/flight from anywhere).  This is what turns skeptics into believers.  And it will probably change the way you think about food when you realize how tantalizing vegan cuisine can be.

As I crossed the street, I looked down upon this message, perhaps sent to such skeptics who had previously been turned off by bland, beige, limp, lifeless vegan fare and vowed to shun it henceforth.  Second chances make all the difference.  

Old fashioned Peach "Slump"

I know, I know, it's not a particularly appealing name, but this dessert is heavenly, and even better when it's made with fresh local peaches.  I was fortunate to snag a bunch at the Edgewood Park Farmers Market this weekend and since they were perfectly ripe today, I decided they were ready to transform into something sweet and luscious.

I cut up the gorgeous peaches into wedges, then laid them in an 8" x 8" baking dish and sprinkled with some cinnamon.

I topped the peaches with the slump mixture, which was kinda like a runny muffin recipe, the batter filling in the crevices between the peaches.

When it cooks in the oven, the juice releases from the peaches and melds with the batter, creating an oozy, creamy pudding-like cake that tastes more decadent than it is (there's only about 2 Tbl of oil and 1/2 cup of sugar in there).

The end result is a sweet and comforting dessert perfect for a chilly late summer evening.

And it will probably make a pretty yummy breakfast tomorrow morning, I'm guessing.