Sophie's Kitchen - Vegan Calamari

Vegan Calamari? It sounded kind of weird, but I tried it anyway...and loved it! Sophie's Kitchen is a Taiwanese-based company that is producing vegan seafood. The inspiration came from the founder's daughter who loves seafood, but has an allergy to it. So instead of giving up the tastes she loves, Sophie now enjoys the vegan versions of these products without the cruelty!

Sophie's Kitchen makes a variety of vegan seafood products such as squid rings, shrimp, prawns, and fish filets. I have only been able to find their calamari in my local Whole Foods so this is the only product I've tried thus far. The products are sold in the frozen section and it appears their distribution is expanding.

I started off by putting the frozen calamari on a pan, then put it into the oven. I didn't notice that you are supposed to thaw it in the refrigerator first so it took a bit longer than it should have to cook. After about 20 minutes, it appeared to be done.

I plated it with some marinara sauce and dug in. It was really weird, but only because I've never tasted anything like this. The breaded calamari was firm, but chewy. The rings are made of konjac powder, which is derived from the root of a plant native to Japan, China, Korea, and Indonesia and is used widely in Japanese cuisine. The multigrain breading made of wheat, rye, barley, millet, and flaxseed tasted great around the konjac-based squid ring. I dipped it in Mia's Kitchen marinara sauce, one of my favorites, which complemented it well.

Here you can see the konjac rings through the breading

So the question is: Does it taste like real calamari? I have no idea because I've never tried real calamari (I'm proud to say). Is it good? Yes! I really like that is a completely different taste than anything I've ever had.  It is funny though that the konjac powder has very few calories yet the box of calamari has 26 grams of fat!  But, you probably won't eat all 18 or so squid rings in one sitting either.  I'm excited that there are new vegan seafood products on the market and will definitely be buying this again soon! I can't wait to try their other products too!

Mark's Kitchen, Takoma Park, MD

While attending the Takoma Park Street Festival, we decided to stop in for a bite to eat at Mark's Kitchen. Mark's Kitchen is a small restaurant located in the heart of Takoma Park that serves diner-style Asian and American food with many vegan selections. Because there was a street festival just outside its doors, it was particularly crowded this day and we were happy to take the last open table situated behind a refrigerated unit in the back corner of the restaurant.  The menu had tons of options including appetizers, main courses, sandwiches, and pasta dishes.  All of the vegan items were clearly marked.

I started with a fresh cucumber, carrot, and apple juice, which really wasn't that great. It was very watered down.

For our entrees, I ordered the Ginger Tofu Foccacia ($7.95), which had grilled onions, lettuce, and sliced, pickled ginger on a foccacia bread. I had thought the tofu would have been seasoned or baked with ginger so the pickled ginger caught me by surprise. I thought it was okay, but it definitely wasn't anything to write home about. The sandwich was served with roasted potatoes.

The service was really slow, but, then again, it was extremely busy this day. All in all, I'd say the food is just okay -- nothing special.  When I'm in Takoma Park, I'll eat here, but it certainly isn't my first choice. The dining area is typically busy and loud, but the prices are reasonable.

Mark's Kitchen
7006 Carroll Avenue
Takoma Park, MD 20912
(301) 270-1884

Raw Shakti Chocolate

In response to an review I wrote a few months ago, a raw chocolate company asked if I would try their chocolate. I never turn down a chance to try a raw chocolate bar!  I had never heard of Raw Shakti Chocolate before and was particularly intrigued by their flavors, all of which are vegan. Some were made with black lava salt while others were made with medicinal herbs.  They all sounded so different. I asked them to send me their Mayan Afrodesia and Himalayan High bars.

While perusing their website, I noticed that they are based in Asheville, North Carolina -- an unusual place for a chocolate manufacturer to be located. The company was started by Don Rowe who first became interested in raw chocolate when he was living in Spain. After moving back to the U.S. seven years later, he began crafting his own raw chocolate made from the finest, minimally-processed ingredients. In 2008, he began selling his chocolate locally and in 2011, he changed the name of his company to Raw Shakti Chocolate and began focusing on small-scale, handcrafted raw chocolate.

The name "Shakti" is derived from the Sanskrit word "Shak" meaning sacred force or empowerment. Shakti reflects their commitment of being empowered and empowering others to use their creative energy to live in harmony with others and the environment. The character they use in their logo “生” means raw or unprocessed in Japanese and to give birth or to grow in Chinese. That character symbolizes their passion for creating raw chocolate bars that support the vitality of their customers, their community and the environment.

Well, by the time the chocolate arrived, after reading all of this, I was hoping I'd like it as it sounded like a great company.  I first tried the Himalyan High, which is made with ashwagandha root and ginger. The bar was slightly bitter, but not in a bad way, when I first bit into it, but it finished with a smooth creaminess that I just couldn't pinpoint. I took a look at the brochure they sent and apparently, the creaminess comes from coconut. There are also whole raw goji berries in the chocolate, which are delicious. Love this bar!

Secondly, I tried the Mayan Afrodesia made with raw maca root and fo-ti root. Again this bar had a slight bitterness to it, followed by creaminess, but this bar also had some spiciness to it! It is cinnamon and cayenne that gives it its spiciness.  I thought this one needed a better balance of spices. I liked the chocolate itself, but felt the proportions of spices were a bit off.

Each of these chocolate bars uses raw cacao beans, coconut palm sugar, and raw coconut. Coconut contains lauric acid, which helps stabilize metabolism making it one of the healthiest sources of saturated fats.

I found out a little more about their process as well because I was interested in it. They use Arriba Nacional cacao beans from Pacari Farms in Ecuador. They are fermented and dried at low temperatures, which preserves their rich flavor and nutritional properties. Pacari Farms provides educational and technical assistance to their farmers and pays them a living wage for their product.

Raw Shakti Chocolate seems like a great company that makes delicious raw chocolate. To try them yourself, go to Raw Shakti online. Now, I'd like to try their other bars as well -- Single Origin Ecuador, Loco for Coco, Citrus Sensation, and Energy Elixir. I only hope to see their product distribution expand as well. This seems like a great product for Whole Foods to carry. Hint, hint.

Soupergirl, Takoma Park, MD

When  "Soupergirl" began getting press several years ago, I was pretty intrigued with Sara Polon's unique business model.  Basically, she makes soup, you order the soup, then you pick it up at a location near you. Simple, huh?  So, I started ordering soup from her a few years ago. Each week I'd place my order by Thursday, then my soup would be delivered the following week to a store in my neighborhood and I'd be able to pick it up Tuesday through Thursday. She offers two sizes -- a pint for $6.75 or a quart for $12.75.

All of Sara's soups are made fresh with locally-sourced ingredients. In fact, it was only after reading The Omnivore's Dilemma that she was inspired to become part of the local food movement. Her mother, Soupermom, had always made amazing soup so she and her mom decided to start a business based upon soup. Soon after starting the business, Sara decided to go all-vegan by only making vegan soups and only selling vegan products including cornbread and brownies. I was so delighted when she started offering vegan cornbread!

The selection of soups changes weekly, but all are amazing. The soups have this amazing base, are low in salt, and did I mention they are all vegan?!  I've loved most of the soups I've gotten from Soupergirl. 

Her business has been so successful that on top of her delivery business, she recently opened a storefront in Takoma Park, MD. A few weeks ago, I went there to check it out and was amazed at how cute it was. It is a small cafe with glass windows and a big, bright Soupergirl sign. The cafe sells all of the same things she sells to her delivery customers including soup, croutons, cornbread, salads, and brownies.

In the store, you can either help yourself to fresh soup from the kettles or you can grab a soup to go, which is already conveniently packaged for you.  On this occasion, I grabbed a tortilla soup to go. I was delighted to find that Sara herself was ringing up my purchase. It was great to finally meet the Soupergirl herself.  The tortilla soup was as delicious as I had expected with black beans, tomatoes, corn, tortillas, and spices -- it tasted just like a tortilla.

So whether you pick the soup up in your neighborhood or visit her store, which is conveniently located across from the Takoma Park metro station, I highly recommend you try her soup.  I don't think you'll find better soup in the DC metro area.

Soupergirl
314 Carroll Street NW
Washington, DC 20012
(202) 609-7177

Earth Balance - Mindful Mayo

When I first stopped eating mayonnaise over 15 years ago, Nayonnaise was the vegan standard. I used to love Nayonnaise. Then when Vegenaise came along, everyone switched to that. Now, we have a new player in town -- introducing Earth Balance's Mindful Mayo! From the makers of the buttery spread we all love, Earth Balance's new product brings a new brand into a market that has been stagnant for many years.

I can't review this new vegan mayonnaise without comparing it to the one I eat regularly, which is Vegenaise. Mindful Mayo (original) looks more like your typical mayonnaise in texture, while Veganise looks a bit smoother. Right out of the jar, Mindful Mayo is delicious! I used it in a sandwich I make regularly and thought it was great. I just spread the Mindful Mayo on toasted multigrain bread, then topped it with Tofurkey Italian Deli slices and lettuce. It tasted great! It seemed to have a similar taste to the Vegenaise I use regularly.

I'm not sure I'd go as far as to say I like it more than Vegenaise. I really like them both. Comparing their ingredients, it appears that only one ingredient differs -- Vegenaise uses non-GMO soy protein while Mindful Mayo uses pea protein. So if that is it, no wonder they have a similar taste with a different texture.  If you happen to see Mindful Mayo in your grocery store, give it a try! It comes in original, olive oil, and organic varieties.

The Vegetable Garden, Rockville, MD

UPDATE: This restaurant has moved to Silver Spring.

The Vegetable Garden has been serving all-vegan, Chinese food for over 15 years. Located in Rockville, MD, about 35 minutes outside of DC, this low-key, casual restaurant has long been drawing patrons from Maryland, Virginia, and DC with its consistently good food and fresh juices.  On this particular trip, Zach and I were there on a Saturday night at 6 p.m. because we had other plans later that evening and it was already a packed house.

They sat us at our usual table against the wall and we began perusing their extensive menu. They offer so many dishes, all of which are vegan, which makes it very hard to choose. The menu is organized into different sections such as appetizers, steamed dishes, stir-fried dishes, macrobiotic, veggie chicken, and veggie beef, etc. They also have American selections such as veggie burgers and pastas.

As soon as you sit down, they always bring you a plate of their carrot bread, which has a nice flavor to it. It is especially good when it is served warm, but on this particular occasion it was pretty cold.

The service in this restaurant is quick, which can be a good and bad thing. The good thing is that you can get in and out quickly if you are in a hurry. The bad thing is that they make you feel rushed as everything is delivered very quickly.  Our waitress approached us and asked if we were ready to order pretty soon after we sat down. We requested a few more minutes. I typically order the same dishes, but this time, I wanted something different. I finally settled on the Veggie-Duck Hot Pot while Zach ordered the Garden Feast and a soup.

They immediately brought Zach's Hot and Sour soup out, which was pretty good. It had fresh tofu, lily flower, black ears (fungus), white mushrooms, and hot peppers. As he was eating, they were already preparing our table for our entrees, which made him feel very rushed.

Then, they brought our entrees out. Zach had one of my favorites, the Garden Feast, which is loaded with vegetables and meat analogs. The funny thing is that it is listed under "Chef's New Specialites" and while it was new at one time, a few years later, it is no longer new. This dish has textured soy protein, veggie beef, and veggie chicken along with prawns, snow peas, cauliflower, broccoli, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, tomatoes, baby corn, jicama, and kale in a brown sauce.  The true key to all of these dishes are their sauces, which are excellent.

The Veggie-Duck Hot Pot looked very appetizing, but I was disappointed to find that despite my request for them to make it very spicy, it had no spiciness to it at all. I requested some hot peppers, which they brought quickly and that definitely helped. It was tasty, but it wasn't as good as some of the other dishes I've had there. The "veggie-duck" was actually yuba, or tofu skins, which I loved, mixed with broccoli and mushrooms. It was cooked with fresh basil in a brown sauce and served with brown rice. But, not only was it not spicy, it wasn't even hot, temperature-wise. I requested that they heat it up so they took it back to the kitchen, then brought it back to me piping hot.  After all of that, the dish had some nice flavors, but definitely tasted like it was missing something.

Based upon this experience alone, I would not have given them high marks, but as I've eaten here more than 10 times, I have to say that it is usually a better experience than this. Not to mention that The Vegetable Garden has a benefit day on the first Thursday of every month during which they donate a percentage of their profits to Compassion Over Killing, which is awesome.  Some of the dishes that I have enjoyed here in the past include: Jian Pao Vegi-Gourmet, Double Delight, and General Tsao's Chicken.

So, all in all, this is a nice, casual restaurant that generally serves great vegan food. The entrees are a little on the high side at $12 - $17 each. One thing to keep in mind is that they are usually very busy and do not take reservations for small parties, so if you are going on a weekend night, be prepared for a short wait. The wait is usually worth it though.

Bobo's Oat Bars

Bobo's Oat Bars are homemade bars made of organic rolled oats and sweetened with all natural sweeteners such as brown rice syrup and sucanat (non-refined cane sugar) as well as Earth Balance, a vegan buttery spread. They currently make 14 flavors of bars, all of which are vegan, including coconut, cinnamon raisin, peanut butter, chocolate, almond, strawberry and banana. They even make four gluten-free bars. The company was founded by Beryl Stafford in Boulder, Colorado who developed these bars free of artificial ingredients, additives, or sweeteners.

I had never seen or heard of these bars before Zach brought me an almond one that he picked up in Pleasanton, California. I tried it and really liked it. The bars are large and dense, which makes them a great snack when you are on the go and can't eat regular meals.

Since then, I've tried the peanut butter, coconut, chocolate almond, and lemon poppyseed bars. The peanut butter bar was slightly dry, but sweet. The coconut bar tasted, well, like coconut - I really liked this one. I didn't like the gluten-free chocolate almond bar as much because it was sweetened with almond extract, which tasted too alcoholy for me.

Peanut Butter

My favorite one was actually the lemon poppyseed flavor. I say "actually" because it is made with gluten-free oats, but it is still just as good as the others. It had a great lemon poppyseed taste and was very moist and filling.

Lemon Poppyseed

The nutrition facts on the back show that there are two servings per container, which might be right on point. I had trouble eating a whole bar in one sitting. It isn't often that I wrap up part of a bar and eat it later, but I did so with almost all the bars. That said, the calorie and fat content is pretty high for an entire bar at almost 400 calories and 14 grams of fat (varies depending on the flavor). But, if that isn't a concern of yours, I would recommend trying them. They are sold all over the country in Whole Foods and other fine retailers. If you can't find them locally, you can also order them on Amazon by clicking here.