Columbus Vegan

Sorry it took me a minute to post this. I got a little overeager with some spaghetti squash I bought and completely neglected to post this recipe. Have you ever tried spaghetti squash? You should.

There isn't much to say about this burger. I summed it up in my last post [[check it out for pictures]]. I'm a little ashamed of how frantic I became in the final hours. Mostly because I won. But maybe the "franticism" is necessary. Time constraints weigh on the best of us, anyway, so I shouldn't be too ashamed. If you don't believe me, watch the food network. Those people go nuts.

[[Spicy Seitan Burger]]
I really like this burger. It packs some heat, and a lot of flavor. I would recommend dressing it how I did: fried onions and Creole cream sauce. Tomatoes would be great, too.

Base:
2 cups finely chopped seitan
1 can black beans, drained and smashed
1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
dash of salt and pepper
Puree:
5 Serrano chilies, chopped and seeded
1 large Chipotle chili in adobo marinade
1/2 tbs adobo marinade from canned chilies
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp brown sugar
2 tbs finely chopped cilantro
1 tbs safflower oil

-- Preheat over to 375 F.
-- Combine all base ingredients in a bowl. Be sure the seitan is finely chopped. If the pieces are too large, the burgers won't hold well. You can leave some whole beans, but try to smash the black beans thoroughly. You may need slightly more whole wheat flour if your mixture seems excessively wet still.
-- Combine all puree ingredients in a blender. Be sure to remove the white part of the Serranos. You can find canned chipotles at Whole Foods.
-- Add the puree ingredients to the base ingredients and combine until they come together. You can test the patties, form some in your hands, and see if they are too wet or dry. If they are too dry you can add more water or oil.
-- Place them on a greased baking sheet and bake them for 30 minutes. Flip them over half way through baking.
-- You can then remove them from the oven and cook them on the stove with a little olive oil. They should be slight solid and easier to handle. If not, leave them in the oven for a little more.
-- Lightly brown each side in an oiled pan, about five minutes each. I wouldn't recommend placing these on a grill as they are slightly fragile.

The Burger

I can't tell you how many times I cursed this contest, wanted to quit and not show up, thought about punching Andrew in the face for getting me into this. It's one of the most discouraging things when patty after patty crumbles in a pan, won't adhere, or what's worse-- when it works out and tastes like crap.

Vegan burgers have the unique issue of trying to form patties without eggs to hold them together. And from that, I've discovered it's damn near impossible to make a vegan patty without beans. They're the vegan magical clue that binds all. Unless you're a big corporation with isolate soy protein and fancy chemicals. But I'm not.

My first burger was the black bean potato that I posted about a few days ago. I loved that burger, but I think Andrew was right to point out it was too soft. Coincidentally, one of the other contest entries was a Masala Potato Burger, so I'm glad we opted out of this one.


My second burger was suggested by a commenter [[Chris]]-- the vegan dad burger. I've only used this burger as gyro meat, and for whatever reason it failed for me as a burger. They were falling apart, and didn't get that stretchy, meaty texture I enjoy. I topped it like my Gambit hot dog: with creole sauce and fried onions.


Ultimately, I stuck with the gambit hot dog toppings, and made a seitan black bean burger. The road to this burger, however, was paved with many failures.

The night before I had tried making a straight sausage style seitan burger, but my ghetto homemade steamer wasn't getting the job done. I took the ghetto steamer off the stove, and stormed out of the kitchen. I told Andrew I quit and refused to go back for a good 10 minutes. It was about 11 at night, and I wasn't really in the mood for sudden apparatus failures.

I eventually came back, finished cooking the "sausage" seitan, instead boiling it in water like regular seitan. All the flavor and peppers were drained from the it while cooking and it wound up tasting like regular seitan when it was all done. At that point, I was really getting frustrated.

I didn't know what to do. All I had was a can of black beans. For some reason, I didn't want to do a black bean burger. I wanted to do something different. Alas, I chopped up all the seitan into tiny pieces, mashed up some black beans, and pureed a chili paste, pattied them, and baked them.

When they were done, my first two burgers just fell apart in the pan. I was about done with this contest, and began to satisfy myself with the idea that I was just not going to bring a burger. But I couldn't do it . . .

So, in the end, I made second batch, had Andrew help [[because he's awesome]] and he chopped up the seitan super tiny this time, and voila. I could only make 5 burgers, because I was out of ingredients, but they adhered and tasted great.

The contest itself was awesome. I won. I beat what I consider to be three very formidable opponents -- a masala potato, a meatless griller, and an artichoke burger. Check out the Cincinnati Beacon for more on the contest. Thanks again for all your help. The black bean/spicy combo conquered all.


[[I'll post the burger reciple tomorrow, too]]

I'm No Veggie Burger Cook

Thanks for your advice yesterday, everyone. With your suggestions, I decided to do a little twist on the black bean burger. I shredded some potato and added some cajun flavor. I really liked the flavor, but since I don't know what I'm up against, I'm going to keep working so I have several burgers to choose from.

This burger wasn't very spicy at all, in spite of my efforts. The potato gave it some fluffiness like a potato cake which I liked. It tasted more like a black bean burger though. The first burger I tried to cook, I just pattied and cooked in a pan. It worked well, but it was soft in the center, so the next patty I decided to bake it for about 1/2 hour and then cooked it in a pan to give it some crispiness. These would be really good on a grill, too.

I'm getting sort of burned out on burgers already. After having them for dinner and lunch. Thanks to some great suggestions, I think I know what I'm doing tonight. I want to dress up the burger a bit, too. The patty is a big part of taste, but toppings go a long way too. I'm not sure if this is a pure patty challenge or not. If I can work some topping though, I think I'll do alright.

[[Cajun Potato Black Bean Burger]]

2 medium sized red potatoes, grated
1 can of black beans, cooked, drained
1/4 cup zucchini and carrot, grated
1/2 cup red onion, grated (about 1/2 of a small onion)
1/4 cup finely chopped baby bello mushrooms (about 4-5 mushrooms)
1/4 cup frozen corn
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbs red pepper flakes
1 1/2 tbs cajun seasoning
1 tsp cajun hot sauce
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs tomato paste
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 tbs yellow corn meal

1 tbs freshly chopped cilantro
a dash of chili powder

-- Pre-heat your oven to 375 F.
-- Cook and smash the black beans. You can leave some whole black beans, but you want to get a little black bean paste.
-- Add the first set of ingredients to the bowl. You can grate the vegetables using a cheese grater. Mix until fully combined.
-- Divide burgers into 5 patties. Using the palm of your hand, scoop some of the black bean mixture into your hand and work into a flat disc. It will be fairy wet and difficult to mold. Place your formed disc onto a GREASED cookie sheet. Bake on one side about 15 minutes. Flip over and bake the other side for another 15 minutes.
-- When you are done, they should be fairy firm but still soft. You can now grill them or cook them on the stove top to give them a crispy, greasy exterior.
-- They freeze well, too. [[We had them for lunch today!]]

Burger Test Kitchen 1: Cajun Potato Black Bean Burger

Truth be told, I've never made my own veggie burger patties. And somehow, Andrew's got me up in some semi-official burger cook off on Sunday. It's between this amazing artichoke burger in Cincinnati [[that I've never tasted]] and some Trader Joe's brand burger [[that I also have never tasted]]. His friend Jason swears by the artichoke burger, and in a moment of sheer cruelty [[well, it was out of love of my food]] Andrew claimed that I could make a better one.

Today begins my "burger test kitchen". And even though I have no idea how awesome this burger is that I'm up against, I'm going to try.

And that's where you come in. I'm tettering between a black bean burger or maybe a seitan burger -- but I don't know. Does anyone have any advice? What's your favorite burger? I'll report back tomorrow. Any help is much appreciated.

Burger Challenge: I'm in deep

Today Andrew is at his first interview with a newspaper to discuss his sleep deprivation stunt. We've decided on September 2nd and it will be held in Columbus. He'll be hanging out in front of Liquid in the Short North while he stays awake for more than 11 days. As the date fast approaches, we're scurrying to finish all these last minute details while simultaneously getting Andrew in the right frame of mind for it all. My job during the whole thing is feeding him the right stuff so he doesn't fail-- keeping his blood sugar level, keeping him adequately nourished-- all while having no idea what I'm doing really. I can only guess based on the scant research I've found which all point to what I see as obvious. Keeping it raw and natural.

For now, we're slowing transitioning away from the fried green tomatoes and delicious Alfredo pasta I've been making. Lately it's been lots of spinach salads and bean/rice nights. Luckily, Summer brings in beautiful produce that make the transition easy.

For a long time, squash seemed strange and overly complicated to me. I've discovered it really isn't though. You can literally just chop and saute it. While I was staying with my parents in California, they turned me onto lemon pepper seasoning. It's zesty with a little spice that pairs beautifully with zucchini and squash.


[[Lemon Pepper Vegetables]]

one medium sized yellow squash
one medium sized zucchini [[organics are much smaller, unlike the regular, mutant ones-- they're HUGE!]]
about 10 slices of pickled jalapenos
2 tbs olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp lemon pepper seasoning

-- In a medium sized saute pan, heat olive oil over medium heat, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and let it cook for about 2 minutes.
-- Add the jalapenos, chopped squash and zucchini -- coat with oil in pan. Add the lemon pepper seasoning. Cook until squash and zucchini are slightly translucent and soft. About 6 minutes.
-- Remove from pan and serve.

Lemon Pepper Vegetables

I think Andrew and I come off strange to a lot of people. Many Friday nights are spent at the track, running, while everyone else goes to bars and drinks the week away. When we do go out, it's often to coffee shops and movies and great restaurants. Which isn't so abnormal, but we go to vegan spots, get soy lattes, and sometimes see independent films and that's odd to people. When we have office lunches, I often don't go or if I do go, I just don't eat. Andrew is a magician-- as awesome as that is, I think many people don't understand why someone with a Journalism degree becomes one. I was on my way to becoming a dentist, but I gave that up to be anything else. A cook, a painter, I'm still really not sure. I got married when I was barely 20 to a guy I knew all but a few months.

But of all these strange, alienating things, I think being vegan is the most bizarre to people. It makes it hard to go out to dinner or do most anything with people who aren't vegan. Whenever there's huge family events, I'm often stuck in the kitchen getting in every one's way making a whole separate meal for Andrew and me. Sometimes we just eat before, and show up after everyone else eats.

I think this is every one's story, too. Making any huge life change completely throws your routine off. And while surrounding yourself with supportive, like-minded people is ideal, it's not always possible to trade in your friends and family for "better" ones. I think that's why I started this blog. Beyond the fact that when I first moved to this city I had no job, no friends, and not much to do-- I was also a new vegan. I wanted to get help from other vegans and give it back.


With that, I give you an almost insultingly easy... I won't call it a recipe, but a sandwich idea. I used to never be able to eat a sandwich without cheese. I just wouldn't. Now I just try to top my sandwiches with more exciting delicious flavors.

[[BBQ Homemade Seitan Sandwich]]
Make seitan at home. I swear to you it's easy. You can find vital wheat gluten and soy sauce at whole foods. That's pretty much all you need. That way, you can have nice slices of seitan instead of large chunks like they come in the box.

1 slice of seitan
a little olive oil
your favorite BBQ sauce, Jack Daniel's spicy BBQ sauce is amazing
romaine lettuce
some pickled jalapenos
vegenaise, mustard, garlic
some grilled onions
2 slices of whole wheat, whole grain bread

--Slice the seitan about 1/4 inch thick. Cook each side about 2 minutes in a pan with some olive oil. You can even bread it a little to make it extra crispy. When both sides are crisp, add the BBQ sauce to coat. Cook each side another 2 minutes.
-- In another pan, add a little oil and some 1 inch long slices of red onion. Cook until soft and translucent.
-- Toast two pieces of bread. Add a little minced garlic to some vegenaise -- a little goes a long way. Spread on one side. The other slice, add the mustard. Lay some romaine, then the BBQ seitan, then the grilled onions, then jalapenos, and you're done.

BBQ Seitan Sandwich

Please excuse the splotches on that pan. Oven dishware tends to gain stains and wear over time, but I kind of like that. It gives the pan "battle wounds" and a more rustic look. Those Top Chef, Home and Garden photos are too pretty sometimes... if that makes sense.

Last night I made some green bean casserole. This was a bit of a pantry raid. I'm trying to limit my weekly food budget to 100 dollars, which forces me to make what we have. We had a bunch of canned green beans, a disgusting amount of earth balance, soy milk, and 1/2 an onion-- so this came about. It's kind of unfair to call this a true pantry raid, I must admit. The more you cook, the more stocked your kitchen is, and the more extravagant your pantry raids become. I don't think many people have corn meal or Dijon mustard laying around, but to be fair, those are easily substituted. That's the cool thing about casseroles. You can do flour, butter, garlic powder, milk, nutritional yeast [[all vegan staples I'd imagine]] and make this. It'll still taste awesome. The fried onions, while delicious, are hardly necessary. Throw some bread crumbs on top or even fritos.

This really rocked my socks off though. I'm a freak about green beans. I freaking love them. I'll eat a whole can of them if I can. Andrew will always shake his head and tell me how not healthy they are, and all I can really say is that their not unhealthy. It's like eating lettuce-- but slightly better. At 2 grams of fiber and a healthy dose of vitamin A and C for a 1/2 cup, with the amount I can down in a single sitting, I'm not doing too bad. You got to be careful with canned green beans, though, they tend to be high in sodium.

Anyways, this dish brings back sobby memories of Thanksgiving and all that. But I'll spare you today. These are creamy and flavorful, and who doesn't love a fried onion?

[[Green Bean Casserole a la Vegan]]

sauce
1 tbs brown rice flour, or chickpea flour, or white flour
1 tbs earth balance or olive oil
1/2 tsp minced garlic - about two cloves
1 cup plain whole soy milk
1/3 cup vegetable broth
2 tbs dijon mustard, or any grainy mustard
1 tbs tofutti sour cream
2 tbs nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp chipotle powder
dash of salt and pepper

-- Heat butter and garlic on medium heat. Once melted, add the flour and whisk until combined.
-- Add milk, broth, and whisk thoroughly. Turn up heat to medium high and allow to thicken. It will foam up a bit. It should take about 10 minutes.
-- When it's fully thickened, remove from heat and add the rest of the ingredients. Whisk together thoroughly.

onions
about two slices of a large onion, chopped into 1-2 inch long strips
2 tbs brown rice flour, or chickpea flour, or white flour
5 tbs water
1/3 cup cornmeal
salt and pepper
2 tbs vegetable oil

-- Whisk together flour and water. Place in shallow bowl. Combine cornmeal, salt, pepper, and place in ziplock baggy.
-- Dip onions in flour/water mixture. Shake off excess and place in bag. Shake them up in the bag until full coated.
-- Heat oil, and lay coated onions in oil to cook for about 15 minutes, flipping.
-- Lay on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.

casserole
3 cans of green beans, drained
sauce
fried onions

-- Preheat your oven to 375 F.
-- Lay green beans in a medium sized casserole dish.
-- Cover and mix in the sauce.
-- Top with homemade or store-bought fried onions.
-- Bake about 15 minutes. Put under low broiler for 1 minute.

Green Bean Casserole

Italian food is pretty amazing. It's rich and cheesy and has aromas of basil and oregano that as Americans, we're very familiar with. And it's almost always good. Except for this one Italian-Mexican hybrid restaurant my family loves for some reason. They don't even have guacamole or sour cream for their burritos? I never bothered to try their Italian, but I'm guessing it isn't pretty . . .

When you become vegan, though, and you eat out, it instantly sucks [[regardless of the restaurant]]. It's like you revert back to what you'd eat as a kid. Pasta with plain tomato sauce or just olive oil. No meat. No funny cheeses. Just pasta and sauce.

If you have the time to fuss over homemade lasagna or spaghetti and vegan meatballs, then it doesn't suck so much. And while I have created those at home, I don't think any of my vegan Italian creations have blown me away as much as this seitan parmesan. A little spiced, homemade sauce mixed with some crispy homemade seitan-- it's perfection. As far as a seitan recipe goes, most that I've found on the internet are really good. I use a variation of the PPK recipe, it's a great base to start out with. Add a little Italian seasoning or some extra garlic for this recipe.

[[Tomato Sauce]]
You can just used canned sauce if you want. Newman's Own makes some good sauces. I just thought this was fun.

1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 14 1/2 oz can tomato sauce
1/2 cup red wine or vegetable broth
3 tbs olive oil
about 1 1/2 - 2 cups diced red onion [[about half of a large onion]]
about 1 1/2 cups chopped baby bella mushrooms
2 bay leaves
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tbs dried basil
a dash of marjoram, oregano, salt, pepper

-- Heat oil on medium high heat. Add the diced mushrooms, onions, bay leaves, and minced garlic. Cook until onions are soft.
-- Add the seasoning. Fold in with a wooden spoon.
-- Lower heat to medium. Drain diced tomatoes and crush with your hands as you add it to the oil and vegetables. Stir in.
-- Add tomato sauce, wine, and stir.
-- Simmer on low heat, uncovered about 15-20 minutes.


[[Seitan Parmesan]]
If you don't have seitan or don't want to make any, this would go really well with sliced tofu, too. I'd press the tofu, then marinate it in a little oil, wine, garlic and basil first.

5 slices of seitan cutlets, about 1/2 to 1/4 inch thick
3 tbs whole wheat flour or corn starch, seasoned with salt/pepper
3-4 tbs brown rice flour, or chickpea flour, mixed with 1/3 cup water
1/2 cup bread crumbs, or cornmeal, seasoned with salt/pepper
2 tbs canola oil
1/3 cup follow your heart mozzarella, shredded
1 cup tomato sauce

-- Preheat oven to 375 F.
-- Set up an assembly line: flour, brown rice flour mixture, bread crumbs.
-- Heat oil in pan on medium high.
-- Dredge seitan cutlets in flour, then brown rice mixture, then bread crumbs. Be sure to allow excess to drip off before adding to the bread crumb. Firmly push down in the bread crumbs to ensure it's completely coated.
-- When oil it heated, cook each side about 5 minutes until crispy. As the pan gets hotter, you may want to check your next pieces sooner to ensure they don't burn.
-- Spray an oven-safe pan with some no-stick spray and lay the cooked seitan in the dish. Top with one cup sauce and shredded FYH mozzarella.
-- Place in preheated oven for about 15 minutes. Turn the broiler on high for 1 minute to allow cheese to melt. **Keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn!
-- Serve with a side of whole wheat pasta [[[preferably angel hair, but we use fettuccine]] and sauce.

Seitan Parmesan with Fettuccine

... well, vegan dogs at least. I wanted to create some hot dogs that you will probably never find as a vegan, or a meat eater. I hate the cheeky naming of food, but it seems to be hot dog culture so, I give you "The Reubenio" and "The Gambit". "The Reubenio" is a Mexican-styled, Reuben fusion dog topped with a Mexican thousand island dressing, sauerkraut, chopped red onion, and avocado slices. "The Gambit" is a southern, creole dog with cornmeal crusted onions fried in vegetable oil with a creole cream sauce.

I hate soggy, crappy buns so I got some fluffy, thick whole wheat buns and toasted them slightly. We also bought some chipotle dogs from Whole Foods. They aren't rubbery at all like other vegan dogs. They were hardy and when cooked right, get a delicious crispiness on the outside.

I Know Weiners Better Than Dirty Frank....

Lessner's new bar/restaurant opened last Wednesday in downtown Columbus. Inspired by hot dog stands [[and Ronald McDonald, it seemed]], the restaurant is meant to be a place where you sit and drink and order specialty dogs. The layout is very family, a collage of framed images -- Frank's featuring a small wall of cop photos as well as local artists' paintings [[including a saddening image of MJ]].

While the name of the restaurant is less than appetizing, Dirty Frank's menu as a vegetarian or meat eater is enticing and imaginative-- from sriracha cream cheeses to chutney dogs to taziki Greek dogs. The best part? She has 3, completely vegan, hot dogs to choose from: a polish sausage, a brat, and a dog. In spite of efforts to create a vegan accesible menu, you'll find that most of the items labeled "can be made vegan" are really just vegan because you remove all the toppings. For instance, the "Classy Lady" is topped with cheesy sauce and potato chips. Make it vegan, it's just a dog with potato chips on top. Or, the "True Love Always" is topped with cream cheese and olives. Make it vegan, it's just olives.

There are a couple other options that seem veggie geared like the "Chicago" or "Ohioana" loaded with veggies and great vegan flavors [[jalapenos, mustard, celery salt]]. But while you're eating your veggie loaded dog, you'll sit longing for the cream cheesy goodness.

Be careful, too, and double check stuff that sound vegan. The sriracha slaw has mayo in it. Also, the "Bollywood" dog, when we went on Friday, was labeled "can be made vegan" however there was fish oil in the sauce. Thanks to our awesome waitress who double checked, we ended up not trying that one. [[Although, Lessner has confirmed that they have since removed the fish oil.]]

I will say that the polish dog is out of this world. And I very much enjoyed the "Beano" with no cheese. I wish they were more inspired with the buns -- they only offer an all white poppyseed bun that doesn't seem to match all the flavors on the menu.

I ultimately left there inspired to make my own dogs. I don't think Dirty Frank's is anything to drive 25 minutes out of my way for, but if I'm down there, and looking for cheap drunchies [[3$ a dog!]], I'd go. And even though the vegan options are uninspired, Frank's is lucky to be in a world where they are seldom available.

Dirty Frank's: A Review of Vegan Options

Tomatillos are one of those things I always mean to try but never do. I finally saw them in the grocery store [[Kroger, for those in Columbus looking for some]] and I had to try them out. I suppose next time I should try something more creative than a salsa verde but I had to take a stab at it myself. Besides, I was really craving that tangy goodness.

I decided to make a tofu wrap. Whenever I used to make tofu burritos, Andrew's brother would complain that the tofu is too soft and doesn't really work well texture-wise. In a lot of ways, I agree. It's important to contrast textures in a burrito. Mushy tofu with mushy guacamole, while delicious, is too soft. So I baked the tofu and broiled it so it was both crispy and chewy. Topped it with some salsa verde and it was perfect.

I'm starting to think I have a crazy addiction to things in wraps. I've always loved burritos and it's a strange situation when you meet someone who doesn't like avocado/guacamole. I should open a wrap stand, or something.


[[Salsa Verde]]
I don't have a picture of this for one reason. I used a red onion, because I forgot to buy a white one, and it came out looking purple. But if you do it right, it should come out a pretty green. You can see a little purple in the picture above if you look closely.

4 tomatillos
1/2 WHITE onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 chopped cilantro
6-8 pickled jalapenos, chopped
a squirt of lime juice
1/2 tsp raw sugar

-- Remove paper husks from the tomatillos and cut in half. Turn your broiler on high. Place halved tomatillos on a cookie shit lined with tinfoil and roast until skim blisters. See photo aboved.
-- Remove blistered skin from tomatillos. Place those and all ingredients in a blender and blend until fully combined.
-- Chill before serving.

[[Chewy Baked Tofu]]
I don't really have an exact recipe for this. But I'll do my best to explain how to recreate it.

tiny, cubed tofu
nutritional yeast
whole wheat flour
cumin, smoked paprika, chipotle powder, salt, pepper
grapeseed oil

-- Wrap tofu in paper towels or a cheesecloth and cover with a heavy object. Press for about an hour.
-- Preheat the oven to 375 F
-- Lightly dust the cubed tofu with whole wheat flour until fully coated. Then do the same with the nutritional yeast. Obviously you'll be using a little less nutritional yeast since the tofu should already be pretty well coated with flour.
-- Then lightly dust with seasoning. Go light on the salt and pepper. You just want a trickle of flavor on each piece, so try not to over season.
-- Line the bottom of a baking dish with about 2 tbs grapeseed oil. Add tofu and cook in oven about 45 minutes. Half way through cooking, flip the tofu, mix it up a bit, so the other side gets golden. Then for the last minute of cooking, turn the broiler on low.

-- I put the tofu in a whole wheat wrap and topped it with salsa verde, avocado slices, lightly sauteed spinach with red pepper, hot sauce, and a little tofutti sour cream. It was off the chain.

Chewy Baked Tofu and Salsa Verde

I have a lot of issues with my feet. I'm a little more than 5'6'' and they're a whopping size 10. Most of the time when I go to the size 10 section, the options are slim. All of a sudden the cute stuff I saw on the size 7 rack has been relinquished to bright pink rhinestone heels and strange assortments of wedding shoes. Now that I'm vegan, I'll often see a pair of shoes that I love and then quickly realize they're made out of leather. And since the size 10 rack is bad enough, I'm pretty much out of options at that point. Even when I find pleather shoes, if they're closed toe, it's a no-go. I'm slightly ashamed to share with you all that pleather makes my feet sweat. And when they sweat, my shoes become horrendously smelly and completely unwearable. I think it's safe to say I have major shoe issues.

Recently, I wrote a post about Olsen Haus and how awesome her shoes are but how I couldn't bring myself to buy them. And as much as I love what she's doing, I'm glad I didn't. Payless has an eco, vegan line called Zoe & Zac that's really adorable, cheap, and doesn't make my feet sweat.

You should definitely check out this line. Their shoes are made of organic cottons [[which thankfully, breath well, heh]], 20% recycled rubber, and nickle-free metal and hemp. I'm a huge fan of the ballet flat [[at my height wearing heels makes me feel like a giant]] -- which is usually made of leather or pleather, all bad things for me. This weekend I picked up their cotton black flats, the Snapdragon Ballet, for 10 dollars. They also have some cool wedges and interesting sandals, along with a line of accessories.

A lot of people are concerned about the hidden ecological costs of these shoes. Importing these shoes from China isn't great for the environment, true. And the fact that they can charge 10 dollars for these doesn't speak well for the manufacturing conditions. To this I say, I do what I can. I'll buy American when financially able, but until then I have to settle for the lesser of the evils.

Zoe & Zac: An Eco Shoe Line

This is my "I'm sorry, let me bust out the most awesome meal ever" lunch wrap. I got short with Andrew on Friday and I felt bad, so while he was napping I tried to think of the most deliciously decadent wrap ever. This wrap is loaded with great stuff - a basil cream, roasted roma tomatoes, sauteed baby bellas, red onions, and cornmeal fried tofu. The result is a sweet and savory combination of flavors with a hint of garlic and basil.

If you've never roasted tomatoes at home, you should definitely try it. Your house will smell like garlic-y, basil-y goodness. They're also one of the simplest ways to make something instantly beautiful and fancy looking.

[[Basil Roasted Roma Tomatoes]]
This is enough for 2 wraps. You can also serve these as an appetizer. If you wanted to get crazy, when they're done roasting, grate some Follow Your Heart Mozzarella and leave under a low broiler for about 2 minutes.

one roma tomato, in 5 slices
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs dried basil
2-3 gloves of garlic, minced or pressed
a dash of salt

-- Preheat the oven to 300 F
-- Slice roma into 4-5 thin slices and place on a baking sheet
-- Coat each slice with olive oil, front and back
-- Season with garlic, basil, and salt
-- Roast in oven for about 15-20 minutes. They should look slightly withered and be sizzling.

Basil Oven Roasted Tomatoes on a Tofu Wrap

I wish I came in contact with these sooner. Before this, my only encounter with fried green tomatoes was the book my grandma gave my mom on her 40th birthday [[coincidentally it's about being middle aged and lesbianism -- so that was weird]]. It turns out, it's actually something delicious they make in the south. And from what I can tell, one of the easiest things you could veganize from the south. They aren't very vegan friendly down there [[lots of shrimp and andouille sausage]], so it was neat how easy it was to make them.

They aren't terribly low calorie or low fat or low carb, but that's to be expected with anything fried... and personally, I don't care about calories or all that. They are really high in fiber and protein and loaded with vitamins [[from the cornmeal and green tomato and chickpea flour]], which I do care about. And pretty freaking awesome in moderation. Like a fun appetizer? I'm reaching.


[[Fried Green Tomatoes]]
I thought it was funny that you're supposed to dip these in ketchup [[because it's a tomato?]]. We also had some Organicville ranch from the Clintonville Community Market.

one large green tomato [[I found them at Kroger]]
2-3 tbs chickpea flour mixed with 2-3 tbs water
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 tsp chipotle powder, or an any chili powder
a little salt and pepper
1-2 tbs vegetable oil for frying

-- Traditionally, I think you're suppose to cut these 1 inch thick. I cut mine into about 1/2 inch slices. Andrew thought they should be thinner. I guess it just depends on your preference in fried to substance ratio. I found slicing them into 1/2 inch slices to be pretty perfect.
-- Make a slurry with the chickpea flour and water. This you have to eye ball. Make sure it's slighty runny. You don't want it to be a thick goop, but you don't want it too watery. Aim for slightly thinner than cake batter. Set that aside in a shallow bowl.
-- Mix cornmeal and spices in a shallow bowl and set aside next to the slurry so you have a little batter station.
-- Heat oil on medium to high heat in a wide pan. Dip your tomato slices in the slurry first, allowing all excess to drip off. Then firmly press eat side in the cornmeal mixture. Make sure it's completely coated, but brush off any excessive clumps. Those will just fall off in the oil and burn.
-- Cook each side in the heated oil about 2 minutes until crispy.
-- Serve with ketchup or vegan ranch.

Fried Green Tomatoes