Vegan Fun In Ukraine

Thanks to everyone for all the great comments on my last post! Our time in Kiev so far has been great!

We arrived yesterday afternoon and were determined to make the most of our Day One - even after 18 hours of travel. We walked and walked and then walked some more. There were monuments to see, church bells to hear, parks to visit, festivals to watch and much great people watching to do. It was awesome! However, both of the vegetarian spots I'd found on Happy Cow were either out of business or impossible to find, because even after death marching around in search of them, it was about 9:30 pm and we had still not had dinner. Right in our moment of desperation, my mom spotted a divey little falafel spot and we went for it! In many ways, this was one of the worst falafels I've ever had - but in other ways it was one of the best. Namely, I was so damned hungry at this point it was just crazy. Between hunger, fatigue, and jet lag, I was practically spinning with delirium when my mom took this picture!

Nothing a good eight hours of sleep and some morning yoga can't fix! With our supplies from the grocery store, we had a nice breakfast of hummus, dark bread, bananas, and cucumber. A yummy way to start the day.

There are coffee carts and coffee trucks everywhere in Kiev, but we went to a proper coffee shop in order to mooch some free wifi. The coffees were great, and I finally got to put my SoyGo powdered soy milk to the test!

It's lightly sweetened, and you can see that it separates just a little. At home, I don't really like it when soy milk separates in my coffee, but I was actually pretty impressed with this stuff for being a powdered product. And if you're like me and really prefer cream in your coffee, I think these little packets are a good addition to your travel pack!

As we were cruising and meandering through town, we decided to try the local beverage called kvas, which is a very lightly alcoholic beer-like drink made from stale dark bread. There are ladies selling it out of coolers all around town. I'm not much of an alcohol drinker, but I loved this stuff! In fact, after we finished off this cup, we went back for more! It's even a bit sweet and very refreshing. Plus, a rare opportunity for a vegan to enjoy authentic street food! Yeah!

For lunch, we just happened to stumble across this place - because we noticed dozens and dozens of people pouring in the front door...

Here are some of the dishes up close:
Veggie ragout, cucumber and cabbage salad, cucumber and tomato salad with dill, a great radish and cucumber salad with loads of herbs...

Off to Ukraine!

Today I'm taking off for a trip to Ukraine with my mom! My mom was invited to go with a group from Santa Cruz (where we live) to our Sister City in Ukraine, Alushta... and I get to tag along! In total, there will be 5 of us from Santa Cruz, and everyone going seems very nice. Needless to say, I'm the only vegan!

One of my yoga students sent me the Wikipedia page on Ukranian food, which isn't really full of vegan delights. So, I thought I'd show you my travel kit that I've got going.

I got a lot of different bars from Trader Joes: one for each day of the trip, plus a couple extra just in case. I was looking for higher calorie bars than I usually get. 

Plus, I got a whole bunch of Wild Garden Hummus packets - and some crackers to go with them : Dr. Kracker Seedlander crackers and Mary's Gone Crackers Black Pepper crackers. These are two of my favorite crackers, in general, but especially for traveling! - the Mary's are great because they don't go stale after you open them (probably because they aren't gluteny) - and the Dr. Krackers are great because they are hearty and substantial and you feel like you are eating actual food when you eat them, if you know what I mean.

I also splurged and got two little Blue Monkey packets to turn regular water into coconut water! 

Plus, lots of ziplock baggies full of dehydrated black bean flakes and then various McDougall Soup Mixes (emptied out of their big bulky containers).

Last but not least, my mom and I both love to drink coffee - so I got some of the little Via Packets from Starbucks. My aunt L got me these before I left for Austria, and they were so great to have! Plus, this time I got some decaf ones, because I really usually just drink decaf.

AND! Just today my box of SoyGo Soy Creamer packets arrived - just in time! I am stoked. I always put "cream" in my coffee, and now with these little babies, I won't have to drink black coffee on the plane or at the hotel, or anywhere! Also, the folks at SoyGo were so super rad about shipping this to me via priority so I could get it in time. Mad props for such great customer service.

In my carry on, I'll have some crackers and hummus, plus a big bag of carrot sticks, some PB&J sammies for my mom and me, and a big bag of cherries from the farmers' market. Nothing like fresh fruit and veggies on a flight to freshen things up!

In addition to all this stuff, I expect there to be plenty of fruits and veggies around for me to munch on - as well as the traveling vegan's best friend: BREAD. I'm bringing my iPad and my blogging stuff, so as long as I can find internet access, I'll try to blog while I'm there. Otherwise, I promise a good wrap-up once I'm back!

Chesapeake Tempeh Cakes!

Chesapeake Tempeh Cakes!    Chesapeake Tempeh Cakes!     Chesapeake Tempeh Cakes! 

Those are the lyrics to a song that Mr. VE&T sings every I tell him I'll make Chesapeake Tempeh Cakes for dinner. This is the recipe from Vegan Brunch, and it so darned good, it's just crazy. We've  been trying to keep our meals pretty low cal - which means lots of soups and salads - but sometimes you just gotta live it up. These guys do take a little work, but it's not a huge project... and the payoff is a crazy delicious dinner full of amazing flavors and textures and spicyness and all-around greatness. So good. Plus, as you can see, I made a whole pound of asparagus to split between the two of us (don't worry, Yummers got some too!).

Bonus: here's a link to an old post - back when Mr. VE&T was still a bit chubby - with real video footage of him doing his special Happy Dance, in honor of Chesapeake Tempeh Cakes

South Indian Dinner Party!

I missed my super special friend's birthday, because I was off leading a yoga retreat... A valid reason, but still! I had to make up for it! So I invited Jane and her family over for a big South Indian Birthday Feast. Jane is the pal I went to India with together last year, and so I recreated some of our favorite foodie finds from the trip.

The first thing to make was the dosas! I love dosas so much... and actually they aren't that hard, as long as you get started at least a day ahead of time, so that the batter can properly ferment. Jane's awesome daughter B was such a big help! It turns out she is a really great little dosa maker! Snoopy was trying to help too, mostly just by being so damned cute.

Here's a finished dosa, doesn't it look perfect?! I made a potato malasa with lots of peas and cashews.

We also cooked up a few uttapam to share... Oh, how I love me some uttapam. Dosas and Uttapams are made of the same batter - from fermented dal and rice mixed up together (mad props to Kittee for her awesome yet-to-be published recipe - it's worth waiting for, I promise!) - so, uttapams are like a dosa, but they are thicker and full of cooked in yumminess. This one is sort of a classic: tomatoes, shallots & cilantro. So good. You cook 'em veggie side up...

 ... and then you flip 'em for another little bit. I was stoked on how nicely they cooked up.

This is a special top-secret dessert uttapam that Jane & I dreamed up when we were in Indian together. I think this was Mr. Vegan Eats & Treats' favorite thing of the whole night!

Yummy uttapam close up shot. Ready to be eaten!!

As is customary, I made a batch of coconut chutney to go with the dosas and uttapams. This was my most yummiest batch ever! I used a recipe from one of the South Indian cookbooks I brought home with me... it was perfect! This stuff really makes a dosa go from good to great... it's such an important part of the meal.

There was also a batch of my favorite Garlicky Spinach Dal... the recipe straight from our favorite spinach dal spot in Pune... As delicious as it is green!

Of course, I made some simple Cumin Rice too. Basmati rice cooked up with some cumin seeds for extra Yum Power. So good.

We even had lime soda - which is easy and delicious. Basically, it's freshly-squeezed lime juice + simple sugar syrup + sparkly water... mixed together to each person's tastes. It's so easy and so good, I really should make it more often - especially since we have such a productive lime tree!

Because this was such a special fun occasion, I even busted out my most prized "National Integration Party Tissues," one of my most favorite souveniers from our trip. The box features friendly drawings of Indian people of all different religions and persuasions. It's so cute.

All in all, it was a huge feast with TONS of food and great company, and we were all just glowing with love and happiness and Indian-food-bliss afterwards. It just goes to show, a birthday celebration is always better late than never!

Product Reviews: Beans + Rice = Delicious Chips!

Have you guys tried these Beanfields chips? They are really cool! They're made of beans and rice... They have about 160 calories per serving (6 servings per bag), 4 gr. of protein, 4 gr. of fiber, and lots of flavor. They come in 5 flavors, but the folks at Beanfields sent me these two to try out: Nacho and Pico de Gallo. The other flavors are Plain, Sea Salt, and Salt and Pepper.

I was never really a nacho chip fan - I'm much more into the classics and basics like plain or salted chips. I liked these nacho chips well enough, but Mr. VE&T totally loved them. Luckily, I was more charmed by the salsa-flavors of the Pico de Gallo chips - so we were able to divide our chip eating responsibilities evenly. I enjoyed mine with a big jar of Follow Your Heart queso - super yum!!

I can't wait to try their other flavors, because I loved the texture and crunch of these chips, I love the nutritional facts (not bad for chips!), and I love the flavor of these chips. But deep down I'm a real traditionalist. Salt and Pepper sounds crazy good to me. So, I'm gonna track some down, make some guacamole, open up a new jar of queso, and go to town. These will definitely be my go-to chip from now on. I really liked them!

Book Review: "150 Best Vegan Muffins"

I'm one of those freaks who always wipes the frosting off my cupcake, which I think makes me more of a Muffin Gal. So when I was offered a chance to review a copy of 150 Best Vegan Muffins by Camilla Saulsbury - I was stoked!

Muffins are awesome because they are just a little sweet - but not too sugary, and already perfectly portioned into individual serving sizes. This book has SO MANY amazing sounding recipes, it was crazy hard to pick which ones to start with. I made the Dutch Spice Muffins first. I loved the flavors - molasses, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, and cinnamon. They are one of the lower fat recipes and they came out a tiny bit dry. Next time I will just cook them for a bit less time and then they will be perfect. I loved the flavors and will definitely make them again.

There's also a whole section of the book for savory muffins - which are more like quick breads. I wanted to try one, so I made the NYC Onion Rye Muffins. Honestly, I found them a little confusing. I think I kept wanting it to be a sweetie and then I was confused when it wasn't. In truth though, they're really good. I put most of them in the fridge, and I will bust them out on nights when we are having soup or borscht or something that will go well with a little savory bread. I'm definitely curious to try more of the savory muffins, once I can wrap my head around that idea!

I also made the Orange-Cranberry Muffins, which were 5-star excellent. SO GOOD. Perfect hints of orange with fresh cranberries in there - not too sweet, not too naughty, but a great little great to start the day with some fruit and a cuppa joe. I've got a lot of frozen cranberries in my freezer, and I will most definitely make these again when the current batch runs out.

Just to give you an idea of some of the other great-sounding recipes in this book - here are some others I've taken note of: Fresh Apple Muffins, Quinoa-Multigrain Muffins, Spiced Winter Squash Muffins, Cherry Hazelnut Muffins, Mango Cardamom Muffins, Kale and Walnut Muffins... my god, there are so many! If you do get this book, and find some new favorite recipes - let me know what they are so that I can try them too! 

My Yoga Retreat Weekend

This weekend I was off in the redwoods co-leading my annual Spring Yoga Retreat. It's always such a wonderful weekend. It's a lot of work to get ready for it - but the weekend itself is just amazing. Beautiful place, great people, great food, great weather... Ahh...

One of my favorite things about retreat weekend is that someone else makes me vegan food all weekend! So luxurious! The breakfast is usually a big oatmeal bar: there's a big thing of freshly-made oatmeal and then all sorts of toppings that you can put on top. The first day I put on walnuts, raisins, flax meal, some peanut butter, and soy milk. Yums! Peanut Butter in oatmeal = good idea.

I don't usually have caffeinated coffee, but during retreat weekend I wake up at 5:15 to do my practice before I'm busy teaching all day - and I appreciate the little power boost at breakfast time!

Lunches at the retreat center are really nice. They offer fresh bread, a salad bar, and a few different hot dishes. Our first day they served glazed tempeh triangles, an onion-rice pilaf, and some really great kale. Mmmm.

Day two was enchiladas, a quinoa-corn-black meal concoction, and lots of broccoli. It's not that common that I make so many different parts of a meal when I'm cooking for myself at home, so this is a real treat.

The dinners were also great - but I forgot to photodocument them (too hungry!!). Dinner is usually soup and salad - and dessert! I especially loved the coconut pudding with tapioca balls that they served the first night. A good reminder that I need more tapioca balls in my life!

They don't offer dessert at lunch, so there is a little tradition that I bring some homemade cookies for Saturday lunch. We had lots of gluten-free folks and a few bean-free folks, and lots of vegans, so I met all those needs and made the Ranger Cookies from Manifest Vegan. Delicious, as always. Her recipes are so great - and her cookbook comes out this week! (the only thing I did differently than the recipe was that I used almond butter & tahini instead of cashew butter)

Last but not least, sweet Chloe. She's one of the two cats who lives at the retreat center and she is really, really sweet.

Hope you had a great and yummy weekend too!