Wild Mushroom and Vegetable Fricassee

With a bounty of mushrooms collected during my trip to the mushroom festival, I made a delightful Wild Mushroom and Vegetable Fricassee!  Served over freshly made polenta, you find fresh asparagus and wild mushrooms sauteed in Earth Balance Garlic & Herbs spread and high-quality olive oil topped with Parma vegan parmesan. Yes, it is as good as it sounds.

And actually this was the first time I ever used the Earth Balance Garlic & Herbs spread. I think it has great flavor and seems to be the perfect spread for sauteeing fresh veggies. I may be switching over to using this specific spread more often. And I just happened to have a new container of Parma vegan parmesan in Garlicky Green, which was the perfect topping for this dish. Try it for yourself!

Wild Mushroom and Vegetable Fricassee over Polenta
Serves 6-8

Ingredients for Polenta

• 6 cups water
• 2 cups corn grits (polenta)
• 3 Tbsp vegan butter

Ingredients for Dish

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp Earth Balance Roasted Garlic & Herbs spread
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 large shallot, minced
• 1 Tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 pounds mixed mushrooms (such as oyster, maitake, royal trumpet)
• 1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1.5-cup of fresh shelled or thawed frozen peas
• 2 tsp fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 sprig thyme, chopped
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• Parma vegan parmesan in Garlicky Green to taste

Instructions
To make the polenta, bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Add corn grits slowly while stirring. Reduce heat to low and stir often until thickened, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vegan butter.

Heat olive oil and spread in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and shallots and saute for 2 minutes. Add the flour and heat until thickened, stirring well, about 2 minutes. Add the wine and stir. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring regularly, for about 5 minutes.

Add the asparagus, peas, parsley, thyme, sea salt, and black pepper and cook, stirring regularly for about 7 minutes, until liquid has evaporated and asparagus is tender, but not overcooked.

Serve vegetables over polenta with Parma vegan parmesan sprinkled on top.

Enjoy!

Voodoo Doughnut, Portland

Ever since my last visit to Portland, I have dreamed of Voodoo Doughnut's vegan doughnuts.  Only Mighty-O Donut in Seattle has ever rivaled Voodoo in terms of vegan doughnut deliciousness. (I should mention that I have not yet been to Dun-Well Doughnuts in NYC--soon!) There is just something exciting about being part of the donut craze here. Voodoo is open 24/7 and at nearly any time of the day, there is a line to get in. Why? Some may call it hype while others call it good donuts. Either way, it generates a stir and makes people even want them more. You can't help but notice the iconic pink box being carried by people all over the city.

So we decided to go to Voodoo Doughnut that is less busy, Voodoo Doughnut Too, outside of the downtown area. And on this Tuesday in the afternoon, it appeared we hit the jackpot. No line! Last time I came here, I waited like an hour for a donut. I was so excited.

When you go inside, you see the spinning trays of beautiful donuts. The top tray is all vegan and features at least 20 varieties. It is overwhelming. While it has become easier to get vegan cake donuts with several Whole Foods now producing them in house, it is not as easy to get the yeast-based donuts.

Interestingly enough, the lady who worked there said that the donut itself is the only thing that is different between the vegan and non-vegan varieties meaning that the cream and frosting they use on all of the donuts is vegan. The vegan donuts use soy and egg-replacer instead of dairy and eggs in the donut itself and that is the only difference. Interesting.

I decided to try both the yeast- and cake-based varieties so I went with a plain glazed donut and a chocolate cake donut.  I just chose simple flavors, but if you want to go all out, they have donuts with cookies and cream, fruit loops, sprinkles, triple chocolate penetration with coco-puffs, and so much more.

So the first one, the chocolate cake donut, was a fine donut. It seemed to get better as it melted in the car as I liked the way it tasted later on in the day.

I was most impressed with the glazed donut as it had been a while since I had had one and it was just as good as I remember glazed donuts being. This donut rocked my world.

My friend, Corey, did something really interesting in that he chose the chocolate cream-filled donut in vegan and non-vegan varieties and tried to determine which was which. He ended up choosing incorrectly! He thought the vegan donut was creamier and richer than the non-vegan donut and thought it was the one with real cream! (This was before we found out that the cream used in both is the same.) How funny is that?!

Before I left, I used the restroom and was disturbed by the creepy donut monster that lurked inside. Beware.

Oh, Voodoo, you always rock my world. Please let me know when you decide to open a shop in DC. Better yet, stay over there. I'm not sure I could deal with you being so close. Keep rockin'. And remember, the magic is in the hole. Till next time.

Voodoo Doughnut Too
1501 NE Davis St.
Portland, OR 97232
(503) 241-4704

Annual Mushroom Festival in Kennett Square, PA

As I was hunting around for good mushrooms at the farmer's markets in DC, one of the vendors suggested I go to the Mushroom Festival in Pennsylvania. He told me it is a huge celebration of mushrooms and that sounded right up my alley.

The Annual Mushroom Festival is always held the weekend after Labor Day. I arrived right when they opened, which was great because I could actually walk through the festival! Later it got so crowded that it was difficult to maneuver through everyone. They close many streets in Kennett Square, the world's leading city for mushrooms, and they line the streets with booths and vendors. There was everything from local clothing stores and pursemakers to bonsai trees and, of course, mushrooms!  The coolest thing about this festival is that all of the mushrooms for sale are donated by the local mushroom farms so when you buy your mushrooms, the money goes to 50 different charities. I placed my order for maitake, king trumpet, and oyster mushrooms early. They also had button, portobello, and shiitake, but I can get those anytime.

For lunch, I tried some mushroom rolls from Lily and had a salad topped with smoked portobello with basil and hot sauce. Yum!  There was also veggie chili made with mushrooms, but I could only eat so much!

I picked up some great pasta from Pappardelle's. What a treat to have seen them here!

But, most of all, I enjoyed the educational part of this festival. There was a tent where you could learn about how they grow the cultivated mushroom varieties grown in Kennett Square. From the blending and autoclaving to the growing stage, there is a lot more to growing mushrooms than I realized.

I even got to take a tour of a shiitake factory, which is only open to the public during this festival. It was fascinating to hear that they receive 1,100 logs per day that they use to grow shiitakes in these warehouse-like grow houses. They even let us taste a fresh shiitake off the log. It was so good!

Upon returning, I opted not to stay for the fried mushroom eating contest though that would have been entertaining. Instead I headed over to the mushroom outlet and bought more oyster mushrooms. One pound for $4! Yes, please.

I had an awesome time at the mushroom festival.  My goal was to score some Pom Pom (Lion's Mane) mushrooms and even though they were not for sale that day, I convinced one of the guys in the educational tent to give me some. Score!  If you love mushrooms, I encourage you to check out the festival. It'll be back next September.

mad momos Giveaway #2 Winner!

The results are in!  I am pleased to announce that Emily O. of DC has won the $50 credit to mad momos in Washington, DC!  I hope Emily enjoys the Himalayan Momos and tries the Vegan Thukpa too!

Thank you to all who entered the giveaway. Even if you didn't win, I encourage you to check out their bottomless guava mimosas and the Scrambled Tofu Mad Wrap. You won't be disappointed.

The Bye and Bye, Portland

In 2009, I left Portland with fond memories of the vegan bar, The Bye and Bye. Now three years later, I got to return to that bar to see if it was how I remembered it to be.

The bar has a cool setup with a lot of outdoor seating both in the front and back as well as an open air dining room, which I assume has some sort of window that will close it off in bad weather. On this particular day, it was quite chilly, but in Portland, you have to take the sun when you can get it so the dining room was open to the elements.

It was a Monday afternoon and I was meeting four friends at The Bye and Bye. In the bar area where I was seated, there did not appear to be table service so I grabbed a table, then headed to the bar to order a drink. I asked if there was a spicy drink on the menu. They told me that there was just a ginger drink that had a little kick so I went with the North Williams made with Rebel Yell bourbon and Blenheim's spicy ginger beer in a pint. I also ordered pretzel knots with a nutritional yeast-based cheese sauce to start.

By the time I sat down, everyone had arrived and they eagerly awaited my pretzel knots. Yikes - I didn't realize there were only two. The pretzels were good, but the cheese left much to be desired. Regardless, they didn't last long and were a good starter.

The bar has the laid-back Portland feel to it with tattooed bartenders and limited table service. We enjoyed people watching and taking it all in. I wasn't all that excited about the menu. For some reason, I remembered having a great faux chicken sandwich several years ago. This time, I didn't see anything like that on the menu.

I went with the Weeping Tiger Sandwich. I felt like I had taken a step back in time when they brought out nutritional yeast-coated tofu cutlets on white bread with lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado and jalapenos with sriracha and vegan mayo. You don't see nutritional yeast-based sandwiches much anymore, but that kind of made eating here fun like back in the day. I enjoyed the sandwich, but not the bread so much as I'm not a big fan of white bread. I subbed the chips and salsa for a side of smokey collards, which I enjoyed.

My friend ordered the Samarai bowl, which had the same tofu with carrot-cabbage slaw, brown rice, and miso chile sauce. I found myself wishing I had ordered that as I liked it better. Oh well.

Overall, I enjoyed my time there and will be sure to come with different expectations next time. The Bye and Bye is a fun, laid back vegan bar. If you come for the atmosphere, you will love it. The food is so-so and more what I would deem bar food. The drinks are okay too. So, come with your friends, hang out, have a few vegan small plates, and enjoy a mixed drink. And realize that there really aren't that many vegan bars in this country.

The Bye and Bye
1011 NE Alberta St.
Portland, OR 97211
(503) 281-0537

Artichoke & Lemon Tagliatelle with Mixed Mushrooms

After taking a walk over to the Dupont Farmer's Market and scoring a bunch of gourmet mushrooms, I decided to prepare a dish that would highlight the mushrooms in their natural state. I just received a package of Pappardelle's Artichoke & Lemon Tagliatelle and thought this would be the perfect pairing!  Pappardelle's is this awesome pasta company in Denver that makes tons of types of pastas in many flavors and about half of them are vegan! The choices are overwhelming and the taste is always very good.

So I prepared Artichoke & Lemon Taliatelle with Mixed Mushrooms featuring oyster, beech, king trumpet, wood ear, crimini, and maitake (hen of the woods) mushrooms.

And what better way to feature them than to use a high-quality olive oil like Bill Sanders' First Fresh Extra Virgin Olive Oil that is certified to be of high quality by the California Olive Oil Council. Unlike many fraudulent olive oils, you can taste the genuineness as soon as you try it. Using this rich olive oil enhanced the flavor of these mushrooms and when paired with the soft, fresh artichoke and lemon noodles, I had myself a perfect dinner.

Artichoke & Lemon Tagliatelle with Mixed Mushrooms
Serves 8

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb. Pappardelle's Artichoke & Lemon Tagliatelle
• 1/4 cup high quality olive oil (I used Bill Sanders' First Fresh)
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 tsp dried red pepper flakes
• 1 lb. gourmet mixed mushrooms
• Sea salt
• 1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped

Instructions
Cook pasta for 8-10 minutes until al dente.

In the meantime, heat a saute pan to medium-high. Add half the olive oil and saute the garlic and dried red pepper flakes for 30 seconds. Remove from oil. Saute some of the mushrooms in enough oil so it covers the bottom of the pan. Only saute one layer of mushrooms at a time. Sprinkle sea salt as desired. Turn mushrooms regularly until fully cooked and seared, about 5 minutes. Continue until all mushrooms are cooked through -- it will probably take two batches.

When all mushrooms are cooked, add them all to the pan along with noodles and parsley and toss for a minute to heat and mix. Garnish with more fresh parsley, if desired. Serve warm.

Blossoming Lotus, Portland

During my second visit to Portland, the restaurant at the top of my list to visit was Blossoming Lotus. During my last visit to this restaurant three years ago, I was incredibly impressed with their raw organic options and was hoping to find the same on this trip. Blossoming Lotus is known as being the best vegan restaurant in Portland with an array of cooked and raw options.

Because they don't take reservations for parties smaller than 5, we arrived at 5:30 p.m. on a Sunday hoping to beat the dinner rush. That plan didn't work. When we arrived, the restaurant was packed and there was a considerable wait. When you walk in you just write your name on a list and at some point, they call you to your table. There isn't anyone there to give you an idea of how long the wait is or anything, so you just wait. After about 20 minutes, I finally asked how long the wait would be and was told 20 minutes. Twenty minutes later, we were still waiting. Finally, after an hour, we were seated. That was slightly frustrating.

The restaurant is very small with plain tan walls decorated with local artists' paintings, priced to sell. The dining room was adorned with a funky ceramic chandelier. I started by ordering Levitation's True Mystery. As mysterious as the name sounded, the drink was quite spectacular. Made with Mezcal, Herradura Silver, Green Chartreuse, pineapply gomme syrup, lime juice,  and Absinthe rinse, it was enough liquor to last the entire meal.

For appetizers, we ordered the Pesto & White Bean Dip as one of my friend is a huge fan of pesto. It was fantastic. We spread it on the toasted artisan bread and devoured it quicker than we could think about it.

For my entree, I didn't find any of the raw dishes to be that exciting so I went with a cooked dish and I'm so glad I did. The Caribbean Phyllo Roulade was by far the best dish I had all week in Portland. We are talking sweet potato mash and jerk-spiced veggies wrapped in phyllo dough and served with carrot habanero sauce. As soon as I took a bite, I tasted the broccoli, then the sweet potatoes followed by the habanero sauce. The sauce wasn't quite as spicy as I would have liked so they brought out their housemade hot sauce, which was amazing. I inquired as to which brand it was only to find out it was made in house. I wanted to buy a bottle! On the side was a nice mixed greens salad dressed with pickled onion and hazelnut vinaigrette.

One of my friends tried an entree from the daily specials list -- Sausage with Potatoes and Kraut. Wow - this housemade sausage was meaty as could be and when paired with their housemade grain mustard, was as good as a vegan sausage dish can get. Despite our attempts at joking about his large sausage, he really enjoyed his meal.

Another one of my friends ordered the Lasagna from the specials meal. This was a large piece of multi-layered lasagna made with seitan bolognese, cashew basil cream, heirloom tomato, sorrel pesto, mushrooms, and olives. He raved about this dish all week. I thought it was pretty good as well.

Lastly, another one of my friends ordered the Chana Masala. This wasn't your typical Chana Masala -- this was a gourmet take on that dish. Topped with seared cauliflower and steamed greens, the chickpeas really shined as they were coated in a spicy tomato ginger masala sauce with ginger crema and cilantro mint chutney. Impressive.

For dessert, I ordered the lemon cheesecake along with a tawny port. The cheesecake was as smooth as could be with a great nut-based crust.

By the end of dinner, I was amazed that not only was every dish we tried very good, it was knock-your-socks-off good. We were all impressed with the level of complexity in each dish and the amazing mix of flavors. The entrees were priced at $14-$16, which was pretty cheap compared to other meals I've had of the same caliber. But, we were in Portland - the land of cheap eats. All in all, the service was good, the prices were great, and the food was fantastic. It is definitely worth the wait though it would be much better if they just took reservations. Highly recommended.

Blossoming Lotus
1713 NE 15th Ave.
Portland, OR 97212
(503) 228-0048