Monday, November 15, 2010

Vegan MoFo 15.1: Farmers’ Market, Brunch and Shopping

Sunday:


It was a good morning at the market though a little cold. Our farmers’ market haul this morning: acorn squash, delicata squash, red potatoes, poblano peppers, red kale, leeks, Brussels sprouts, red onions, parsnips, cabbage, cauliflower, and lacinato kale.  We actually have a litte room in the overflow refrigerator. I must be slipping. LOL


Dan thought it would be fun to go out for brunch and Ian agreed. This morning our brunch, made by Ian et. al, included: guacamole (a personal favorite), roasted veggies (artichokes, sweet potatoes, beets, onions, red bell pepper, red potato, portabello and cauliflower), tofu salad with edamame and black beans, szcheuan green beans, cucumber and red onion salad with tarragon and marinated mushrooms.   There was much more vegan food than I expected. To be fair Ian knew we were coming to brunch but still we didn't expect so many options. This is one of the reasons we adore Ian so much, he is too good to us. ;-)


Then I got a little fresh fruit.


After that I went back for a second plate of the items above. The tofu salad was particularly good. It included tofu, edamame, black beans and green onions.


There was also tofu scramble with mushrooms, green onions, spinach and tomato. Dan and I split this plate and that was all we could eat. We were both stuffed. To wash down all this food we had two pots of green tea.





Next we decided to do a little shopping at Cross Keys. For those of you that aren’t local Cross Keys is a gated community it northwest Baltimore that also has a small shopping mall in addition to housing, restaurants, a hotel, and tennis center. There is also commercial space (I used to have an office there) and medical offices. I took a few pictures to give you an idea of the neighborhood.



My favorite store in Cross Keys is Williams Sonoma. I also love Talbots but cooking has to come first in terms of priority for me. I stop into Williams Sonoma when I am looking for gift giving ideas. I found an interesting battery operated cold smoker. You place the food you want to cook in a bowl, cover it was plastic wrap and insert the hose into the bowl and then turn on the smoker. What an ingenious little device.

I was also smitten with the carbonated water/soda makers. They have two electric countertop machines. One of these may go on my Christmas list. This is what happens when I shop kitchen gadgets for other people I find stuff for myself, LOL.


Lunch with my folks was a simple Southern Italian red sauce with peppers, seitan sausage and cauliflower over quinoa. I didn’t write anything down but it was a simple red sauce with red bell pepper, poblano pepper, Italian seitan sausage and cauliflower. I finished it with red wine vinegar, fresh parsley and served it over quinoa. Even my parents liked it which is always a surprise. They seem to have embraced my seitan sausage and I think that is because I never serve it whole it is always a component of the dish. This may be something to keep in mind for the omnivores in your life.


Dinner for Dan and I was leftover soup from Saturday.

Dessert for Dan was strawberry banana soft serve and I had a few tablespoons that were left in the blender.

Happy Thoughts:

Today was busy and rushed but it was also good. Here are my happy thoughts for today:

• Lunch for Dan was extremely easy to pack this morning since we had a plethora of leftovers. I love having leftovers in the refrigerator.
• I was productive today and was able to cross quite a few items off my to-do list. Crossing things off my list always makes me smile.
• The tofu fra diavolo experiment today was a success. I will post the recipe tomorrow.
• We (Dan and I) both liked the butternut squash with chipotle and lime soup that I made this after. I will also be posting that tomorrow.

Signing out:

Sorry for the short post today. I was busy trying to catch up on the all the things I had to let slide last week due to all the errands. Things should be getting back to normal very soon, hopefully tomorrow.  I hope everyone had a great Monday. I will talk to you again tomorrow.

14 comments:

  1. What good eats! Tofu, edamame and black beans in a salad....YUM!

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  2. Yes that tofu salad sounds interesting, could you please give your opinion on how it could be made? Sounds like you've been happy and productive!

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  3. Your first photo with the lovely fall leaves and sunshine is beautiful. It sounds like it was a good day :-)

    Courtney

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  4. Can't wait to see the tofu recipe. Love it when I have nice productive days!

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  5. JL,

    Ian did a great job on the tofu salad. I need to ask him what he included so I can make my own version. Now all I have to do is remember to ask. ;-)

    Ali

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  6. Laura,

    I was so busy eating and socializing I didn't pay as much attention to the food details as usual. The salad definitely had a Asian/sriacha/sesame flavor, and I know he baked the tofu lightly to make it a little more firm. I will ask Ian what he included when I see him this week. He always tells me when I ask. As soon as I know I will share. :-)

    Actually I have been too busy and a bit frazzled lately, LOL. But I am glad I sound happy. Too many doctor appts and other stuff lately for my taste. ;-)

    Ali

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  7. Courtney,

    I am glad you liked the picture of the yard. I snapped that with my phone when we came home. I thought the colors were nice. It is definitely fall at our place.

    It was a good day, busy but good. :-)

    Ali

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  8. Heather,

    The tofu turned out really well, even Dan (my reformed tofu hater) enjoyed it. That recipe will be in my post today.

    Productive is good. You know me and lists, I love to cross things off. ;-)

    talk to you later,
    Ali

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  9. Looks like a wonderful brunch and a great fall day. I love how many different foods you were able to get on your plate.

    Also, thanks for the info on Forks over Knives. I really enjoy documentaries, I'll have to wait for it to come out here, though.

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  10. Jessica,

    I thought Ian did a great job on brunch for a chef that claims he can't cook vegan. *rolls eyes* There were even vegan chai flavored oatmeal pancakes. I only had one bite of Dan's pancake but they were good. I would never have thought of chai flavored pancakes but it was a brilliant combination.

    Regarding the documentary they continue adding screenings so you should check the website every once in a while. I will let you know what we think once we go. I have been waiting to see this one for months.

    Ali

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  11. That brunch looks and sounds amazing! If I make it out to Baltimore again, I definitely want to know where I can find Ian's restaurant. I'm seriously drooling at that plate of veggies, and it's 8:45 in the morning!

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  12. Brigid,

    If you make it Baltimore you have to let me know. We will get together for dinner. Ian does great vegan things if we give him a little notice. He claims he needs two days but he really doesn't. LOL

    I hope you are having a good Tuesday it is cold and rainy here. A perfect morning to catch up on my blog reading. ;-)

    Ali

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  13. You are so luck to have Ian to take care of you guys like that! :o)
    I love your first photo...I leave the leaves when they are changing colors.
    I saw one of those smoking guns on tv the other day. I thought it was way cool. I'm like you with kitchen gadgets. I find myself always looking at kitchen stuff.

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  14. Michelle,

    We are very lucky to have Ian. He is too good to us and we appreciate it immensely.

    I am glad you liked the fall leaves picture. I love the colors of the leaves changing. Fall is so pretty with all the red, orange and yellow.

    I have an indoor smoker or I might have to buy the cold smoker myself. I do love my cooking gadgets. LOL

    Ali

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