Recently in Vegan Category

Wednesday, June 30 is Social Media Day - and while that sounds amazingly niche and pretentious, I'm totally going and totally looking forward to it. Luckily for me, my employer is hosting a Social Media Day/food truck event from 3pm-6pm - there'll be guest speakers, little workshops, and a bunch of local food trucks, including Seabirds (vegan/organic) and Piaggio On Wheels (which comes highly recommended).

If you're in or around Santa Ana, stop on by and say hello!

It's interesting what a difference a year can make. When I stopped regularly posting to TofuFighting last August, the only place I'd seen Gardein brand meat substitutes was at Fresh and Easy and Whole Foods - they sell little two-to-three serving packets of pre-seasoned fake meats, in "beef" and "chicken" varieties. Easily one of the best-tasting products out there (though some of the flavors didn't appeal to me), and the consistancy is the most reminisant of meat that I've had (especially the chicken).

Fast foward to today. Gardein is everywhere:

Chipotle is serving Gardein as "Garden Blend" at select stores in New York, Washington DC, and California, and last week expanded to include many of their Los Angeles-area locations (sorry OC and the IE, none for us, yet). I tried it last week, and found it a bit dry - it didn't have the flavor I expected (and had heard about). I'm more than willing to give it another try.

The Yard House, a generally west-coast brewpub restaurant, is serving Gardein as a replacement for meat in almost all of their menu items. Some vegans are freaking out because the menu items themselves aren't vegan, but still, to have a vegan replacement that's not just a veggie burger is amazing to me. Right now it's available at their Irvine location, but it should go company-wide later this year.

Select Costco locations are now selling large bags of Gardein Crispy Tenders (fake chicken tenders) for $9.99 for 40 pieces. As is often the case with Costco, not all locations carry it, and it will likely disappear at some point as well. Keep buying it, and it may not. Such are the whims of Costco.

I'm sure it's found its way to other locations as well, but three major chains, in the space of a few months, is a fairly impressive feat for a vegan product. The best part is that it's actually good. I'm hoping more places jump on this bandwagon.

Hello Readers! A quick update to let you all know that yours truly has the cover story on this month's Vegetarian Network of Austin newsletter, "Austin Vegetarian Living". It's about how to eat vegetarian/vegan at Mexican restaurants (and how difficult it can be).

I'm hoping to start posting here more, with links to other great blogs and original stuff. Thanks for reading, and enjoy!

Quick question for everyone to ponder over and argue about: Outside the actually staff members I know, just about everyone I've met who I'd consider pretty hardcore vegans and vegetarians doesn't care for the practices of PETA. I happen to find them very, very entertaining, but a lot of people think they go to far.

What's your take? Are there specific things they do that you don't like? Are they generally a good group? Often I'll talk to people who say they hate PETA, but can't give me any real reasons. Do you have some?

A few years ago, I posted this to Insignifica, noting that I wanted to put it somewhere I wouldn't lose it. I figure my new food blog is as good as any other place.

This is my adaptation of my mom's tomato sauce. This sauce really is all about the tomatoes, so buy the best. You should use canned instead of fresh here, but go for something high quality - I prefer plum tomatoes for texture, body, and flavor. If your tomatoes aren't salted in the can, you're gonna want to increase the amount you add to the sauce. Total cooking time is at least an hour, but I often let it go all afternoon (3-6 hours) to let all the flavors meld.

I usually serve it over thin spaghetti, with a high sauce-to-pasta ratio (tradition be damned - I'm an American, and I like sauce). As listed, it's almost vegan - just cook your mushrooms in oil instead of butter, and you're set. Top with your favorite cheese (I've been using mizithra, grated over the top - I still haven't found a good Parmesan Reggiano that doesn't use animal rennet), and enjoy.


Mom's tomato sauce

Ingredients

2 28oz cans whole or crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
1-2 tablespoons Italian seasonings (premixed Italian seasoning, or a combination of basil, oregano, marjoram, thyme or rosemary, to taste).
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
1/2 small white onion, diced
8-12oz white mushrooms, sliced or chunked
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and diced
Red pepper flakes, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste


Directions

In a large pot, simmer tomatoes on medium heat. If whole, crush first with a potato masher or with your hands, making sure to remove all skins. Add olive oil, then Italian spices. Allow sauce to simmer for 30-60 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a medium saucepan, heat butter or oil on medium heat. Add onions, and cook for 4-5 minutes before adding mushrooms. Once this mixture is mostly cooked (onions should be clear, and mushrooms should have given off a fair amount of moisture) reduce heat to low and add garlic. Cook for another 3-5 minutes then stir into sauce.

Add red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste. After cooking for an hour total, the sauce is ready to be served over your favorite pasta. Sauce can also be prepared ahead of time and reheated.

I must say that I haven't been to a Little Caesar's in a LONG time - but back in the day, their $5 pizzas were a mainstay in our household. That said, I might start going back, because they're all kinds of awesome for having this kind of information on their website:

Vegetarian Options at Little Caesars
Little Caesars wants to help meet the growing needs of our vegetarian customers and offers them many appropriate menu choices. Vegetarian diets that allow dairy products can easily be planned to meet nutritional adequacy using any of the Little Caesars vegetarian-style pizzas. Little Caesars pizzas can be ordered with cheese-only or with any of our fresh vegetable toppings including onions, green peppers, and tomato slices. Mushrooms, ripe olives, and pineapples are also available toppings. Banana pepper rings can be added to give some "zip" to any vegetable-topped pizza.

Please note: Topping selection varies by location. Visit your local Little Caesars Pizza restaurant for topping availability.

For the Strict Vegetarian Diet (Vegan Diet)
A strict vegetarian diet requires a little more planning for nutritional adequacy because it may require special conditions such as no animal by-products. Little Caesars' pizza crust is made with a quality, high-protein flour and contains no animal products or by-products. The sauce is made from crushed tomatoes and is seasoned with a special blend of herbs and spices - it also is made without animal by-products. This means that customers who are strict vegetarians can order a Little Caesars vegetable pizza, without cheese, and still fulfill their needs.

There are other items that can be special-ordered from our menu that are acceptable for a strict vegetarian diet. For example, Crazy Bread® can be ordered without Parmesan cheese along with an order of Crazy Sauce® on the side.

If every restaurant (especially chains!) had a page like this on their site, my life would be much, much simpler. It doesn't take much to make me happy: Know what "vegetarian" and "vegan" mean, and tell me, simply, what's in your food. Little Caesar's does it perfectly.