Nationals Stadium Vegan Fare

I am not a baseball fan, but I enjoy attending a live game once a year or so.  The Nationals Stadium surprisingly has many vegan options, which makes it a big draw for vegans.

On this particular evening, I wanted something very light so I went to the South Capitol Sushi. You'd hope that a sushi place, even one in a baseball stadium, could make all of their own food. Unfortunately, that is not the case. I ordered the one thing that was vegan there -- the avocado rolls. When I got back to my seat, I read the ingredients on the package and was horrified. I thought I was ordering fresh avocado rolls. But, they had some peanut sauce in them that was made with all kinds of artificial ingredients including modified corn starch, caramel color, acetic acid, and red no. 40. Wow. I still ate them, but reluctantly so. And I was not happy. They were filled with more lettuce, carrots, and cucumber than they were with avocado so it was more like eating a plain lettuce wrap with some chili sauce.

Of the other options I saw at the stadium, there is the Field of Greens that offers [supposedly] vegan veggie dogs, burgers, and more. Other options include vegan chili at Hard Times Cafe and Ben's Chili Bowl. But, my favorite place, hands down is Shawafel, which has vegan cauliflower and falafel sandwiches that are so good. Next time, I'm going back to Shawafel.

Play ball!

Cashew-Pine Nut Ricotta

This raw ricotta from Crazy Sexy Kitchen by Chad Sarno and Chris Carr can be used as a layer in raw lasagna, a spread for veggie wraps, or a topping for crostini.

Cashew-Pine Nut Ricotta

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water for a few hours to soften
• 1/2 cup raw pine nuts
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 Tbsp onion powder
• 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 Tbsp chives, minced
• 3 Tbsp parsley, minced

Instructions
In a food processor, blend cashews, pine nuts, lemon juice, onion powder, nutritional yeast, salt, garlic, and water until smooth. Transfer to a bowl. Add chives and parsley to the mix and stir well.

Woodlands Vegan Bistro, DC

In June of 2013, Everlasting Life Cafe in the Park View neighborhood of DC changed its name to Woodlands Vegan Bistro, but they still continue to serve the vegan comfort foods everyone loves. They were bought by Mickiyah and Vernon Woodland five years ago, but hadn't changed the name as the cuisine remained the same. Another Everlasting Life Cafe exists in Maryland and after enough confusion the Woodlands decided it was time to brand this restaurant as their own. I hadn't been here in a while so I headed over for dinner on a Friday night.

It was quite busy when we arrived.  We walked back into the back room where you order deli-style from the items in the case. There is always one featured entree and a number of hot sides and raw salads. We got our food, placed our orders for drinks and took a seat. The dining room is one big room with brown pleather-covered tables and heavy wood chairs. On this particular night, they were playing slow jams really loud.

Not too soon after ordering, they called me over to the counter to tell me that the wheatgrass shots we ordered were being made not from fresh wheatgrass, but from powdered wheatgrass. I had already paid so I told them that was okay. When I received them, they were huge like juices and did not taste good at all. Not at all what I expected.

We started eating while waiting for our juices. I ordered the Wild Mushroom Burger, but this was also not what I expected. It was described as a delicate patty with a delicious mushroom blend. It should have been described as a blend of mushrooms, battered, and deep-fried. I was not prepared for this. It was served with lettuce, tomato, onion, and cashew cheese. I liked the cashew cheese, but the burger itself was too big and too fried. It tasted okay, but wasn't at all what I expected.

On the side, I had the Caribbean Chickpea salad, which was really good. It was just chickpeas with a delicious curry spice mix. I also had the Garlic Kale salad, which is usually one of my favorites, but this time it tasted like the kale had been sitting in the garlic sauce way too long as it was particularly soggy.

For my fresh juice, I got the Incredible Hulk made with celery, cucumber, carrot, kale, collards, spinach, and parsley. It was really bad. I don't think I've ever had a juice I didn't like, but this one was pretty disgusting. It had a really harsh taste and I ended up just throwing it out.

Chris ordered the special of the day -- the pot pie. It was a pretty basic pot pie with not much flavor and a bit too much dough. It really needed a meatier ingredient on the inside like mushrooms or a faux meat. On the side, he ordered the broccoli and their famous mac and cheese. The broccoli was just steamed plain. The mac and cheese was pretty good, but also tasted like it had been sitting out for a while as it wasn't very warm.

All in all, I'd say I was disappointed. The food here is not cheap as our bill came out to be almost $40. For what we paid, I felt like the food could have been a lot better. The burger was deep-fried and not advertised as so, the drinks were disgusting, and the warm food wasn't that warm. That's not to mention that I should have been informed that the wheatgrass "shot" was not a fresh shot whatsoever before I paid. This was not the best experience I've had here and I only hope my next experience is better.

Woodlands Vegan Bistro
2928 Georgia Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 232-1700

JJ's Sweets - Cocomels

In the years between when I went vegetarian and vegan, one of the only things holding me back were caramels. There is nothing quite like the sweetness of caramel flavor in your hot chocolate, on your ice cream, or, even better, just straight out of the package -- hard and soft caramels.  It was really the moment I discovered JJ's Sweets Cocomels that I realized that vegan wasn't going to be so difficult after all.

When they started back in 2009, JJ's Cocomels were a game changer. At a time when caramels were made by mixing butter, heavy cream, corn syrup, and white sugar together, JJ's changed everything by not only veganizing caramels, but making them as healthy as they possibly could be.  They are everything you ever remembered in a caramel, but even better. Yeah, I actually think they are better than the typical non-vegan caramels made with milk.

JJ's makes both soft caramels and hard chocolate-covered caramels. They are all so good, I really couldn't say that I like one more than the other. I guess if I had to pick a favorite, it would be the chocolate-covered ones with sea salt. You bite into this semi-hard caramel and you get the sea salt followed by creamy chocolate followed by chewy coconut-inspired caramel. It's truly amazing. It's not too sweet and is just the right balance of chocolate and caramel. These would satisfy the most discerning caramel lover.

Other flavors include vanilla and espresso and how I love that the espresso has an coffee bean on top of it!  So what is a chocolate-covered Cocomel made of? The ingredients are coconut cream, brown rice syrup, evaporated cane juice, chocolate, vanilla extract, sea salt, and xantham gum. The icing on the cake is that they are organic and, therefore, non-GMO as well. How many chocolate candies do you know of that are certified organic? Not many. So they've really gone the extra mile.

Then there are the soft, chewy, naked caramels. By not coating these with chocolate, you really get the full coconut cream taste melting in your mouth. These are also truly amazing. They are made with the same ingredients of coconut cream, brown rice syrup, evaporated cane juice, sea salt, and xantham gum. That's it. I gave some to some non-vegans and they were floored by how good they were.

The naked Cocomels come in original, java, sea salt, and vanilla. I loved the java flavor as you can actually taste the java bits inside.

These decadent, melt-in-your-mouth caramels will transport you to a caramel wonderland from which you may never want to return. To get there, you'll have to buy some of these caramels, which you can find at Amazon here. While you are doing that, I'm going to bathe my body in a sea of Cocomels...one can dream, can't she?!

Olive Tapenade

After having purchased fresh olive tapenade at Whole Foods, I thought I'd finally try to make my own.  Using fresh olives, capers, red onion, jalapeno, lemon zest, and fresh herbs, I made an olive tapenade that could stand up to the best. The recipe is out of Crazy Sexy Kitchen by Kris Carr and Chad Sarno and is used in the raw lasagna recipe. You could use this as a topping on crostini, as a layer in raw lasagna, or as a topping on cucumbers. The possibilities are endless.

Olive Tapenade

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup capers
• 1 1/4 cups Kalamata olives, chopped
• 3 Tbsp red onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1/2 tsp jalapeno, seeded and minced
• 1 Tbsp lemon zest
• 1 Tbsp oregano, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 Tbsp tarragon, finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp olive oil

Instructions
Mix all ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Enjoy!

Salad Samaurai by Terry Hope Romero

We all know that Terry Hope Romero is one of the most accomplished cookbook writers and vegan chefs in the industry. But, I have to say that her new cookbook, Salad Samurai, could quite possibly be her best. Her definition of salad really rides on the edge as she creates beautiful, vegetable-based meals, some of which are traditional salads and others that look more like fancy tapas.

She starts off with a manifesto asking people to stop making salads that suck! She states that the real salads she craves are genuine, hearty meals. These are one-bowl wonders. The book is called Salad Samurai because you are the salad samurai, the master of your salad-making domain. Of course, as we know with her previous books, she continues to amaze us with her witty banter.

Perhaps most impressive is the layout and design of this book. Each recipe has its own page and most recipes have a beautiful colorful picture of the dish. These aren't ordinary pictures either -- these are professionally plated dishes with great lighting highlighting the ingredients. For just $12 on Amazon, I'd challenge you to find a nicer recipe book.

Out of this book, I tried two recipes.  The first was the Grilled Kale Salad with Spicy Lentils, which wasn't really a salad. Instead it really turned out to be an incredible gourmet vegan meal. I never really thought to grill kale before, but it turns out wonderfully! Seared kale and scallions marinated in a coconut milk and lime juice dressing served with tomatoes, onions, and almonds in a similar dressing with spicy sriracha and lentils. The mix is akin to a plate at an upscale restaurant.This one was a winner.

The second recipe I tried was as good or maybe slightly better. The Polish Summer Soba Salad mixes crunchy cucumbers accented by fresh dill and warm noodles with warm roasted beets, crunchy walnuts, beans, and scallions in a deliciously fresh dill dressing. If you want a dish that will impress your friends, this is it. And it is super easy to make. Roast the beets, boil the noodles, and chop the rest and you are done! And it is so beautiful.

I'm looking forward to making many more recipes out of this book. For now, you need to get on Amazon and buy it before they sell out. This book is worth every penny. Find it here.

Full Disclosure: Although the cookbook was provided to me for free to review, that in no way influenced my veracious opinion.

Best Thai & Sushi, Zephyrhills, FL #2

In the remote area of Zephyrhills, Florida about 50 minutes outside of Tampa, there are very few vegan options. Last year, I went to Best Thai & Sushi hoping for a good experience, but I left disappointed. This year, I found myself in this city again and my friends decided to go back to this restaurant so I begrudgingly obliged. I noticed a difference as soon as we pulled up as they had replaced the hanging sign with lighted letters that looked so much better.

Inside, the restaurant looked the same with its light wood tables and eclectic artwork. Our large party took a seat against the wall and took a look at the menu. The menu features a plethora of Thai and Japanese dishes -- lots to choose from. With appetizers like deep-fried tofu and edamame, they have all the staples.

We ordered a bottle of sake, which was really nice.

Then, we started with some avocado rolls from the Japanese sushi menu. They were pretty good.

For my entree, I ordered the Basil Sauce that was served with bell peppers, onions, scallions, and carrots with tofu in a basil sauce. This was a really tasty dish with lots of veggies in a delicious sauce.

All in all, I was really happy. The quality of the food appeared to have improved 100% since last year. I was pleasantly surprised. For just $9.50, the entree was a steal. The service was okay and the atmosphere was casual. It wasn't at all the best Thai & Sushi I'd ever had as the name would imply, but for Zephyrhills, I'd say this is one of the best restaurants in the city.

Previous review
August 19, 2013

Best Thai & Sushi
35354 State Road 54
Zephyrhills, FL 33541
(813) 782-2201