September 30, 2018
To continue exploring the eats of my neighborhood, I have started a Take-out Thursday ritual. On this particular Thursday, with a bit of a dizzy buzz from after work drinks, I made the mistake of ordering Shangri-La. It always makes my belly grumble on with strange commentary throughout the evening. Read more…
September 23, 2018
Help, I can’t stop making Indian food. It’s kind of all I want. And now that it is autumn, I want orange things in my Indian food. Butternut squash… Turmeric-y spice blends on baked tofu A spicy sauce with the foundation of pureed yellow and red tomatoes from the farmers Read more…
September 16, 2018
Having 3 cans of chickpeas emptied of their juice for my Angel Food cake attempts, I had to make chickpeas the star of my week’s lunch. So my chickpeas took a scrumptious simmer in Vegan Richa’s Butter Masala recipe after a quick walk to Balady Foods in Bay Ridge. I love Read more…
March 23, 2018
Why is it that January through March passes so quickly? To follow are tidbits of time in March, starting with the lemon bundt cake I made for my mother’s birthday. You get up and work and go home. This happens most days. Hopefully you do something important and worthy enough Read more…
February 25, 2018
Returning to work after a week+ off is difficult. In preparation for the week, I made a flavor-packed lunch I’d look forward to all morning. And with rest and relaxation on my side, I wouldn’t mind a complicated recipe like Vegan Richa‘s Shahi “Paneer.” The traditional dish is built around Read more…
January 28, 2018
I love Indian food. What other cuisine would have me using 8+ spices to prepare? 8+ spices plus tons of garlic and fresh ginger… Heavenly. Because the warmth of those spices and it’s crockpot-friendliness, Tofu Pasanda is my lunch for the week. The recipe is from the master: Vegan Richa. Read more…
August 10, 2017
Like many neighborhoods along the L-train, Ridgewood, Queens, which sits next to Brooklyn’s Bushwick and East Williamsburg, is pretty hipster-invaded. There’s nothing that a natural born weirdo dislikes more than someone who is simply in a weirdo costume. Eh. If you still have your appetite, you can check out the Read more…
April 13, 2017
One thing that Europe does right is their train stations. Besides being within massive and ornate cathedrals, they are always wide open and airy, contain several flapping pigeons for effect, and are very easy to navigate. Like this here Amsterdam Centraal Station. Why are they so beautiful? Perhaps because the rails are so Read more…
September 24, 2016
Tofu is only going to be as good as you make it. It’s ready to suck in flavor and build its texture–but that takes you. After creating a powerful marinade and letting these Lincoln logs bathe in it all day, I build texture, roasting each side 25-ish minutes. Good tofu is worth Read more…
August 12, 2016
Bushwick, Brooklyn is now home to Elisa’s Love Bites, a gluten-free bakery with a few vegan options always on-hand. At the time of my vist, marked v-options included the Black Heart Cake, Original Sin Cake, Fig Buddies and Fluffers, aquafaba meringue cookies. The Black Heart Cake was what I devoured right Read more…
August 3, 2016
Wall Drug is a very well-known roadside attraction with a long history of enticing drivers. It all began in 1931 when a persistent couple bought a drug store in the middle of nowhere. Determined to bring customers in they began luring the travelers with promises of free ice water by way of numerous Read more…
April 10, 2016
Isn’t it amazing how days are neatly organized, bookended by the rising and setting of a bright, hot, great ball of fire? Goodness. Gracious. Inside them, other good things that bring you joy and sustenance, like a cracked chocolate-encased marshmallow… …Spring baseball in front of a plate of fruit-filled pancakes, with lots Read more…
January 4, 2016
Guittard‘s Cocoa Rouge is a wonderful red Dutch processed cocoa powder, the first in my quest of finding a go-to cocoa powder. The reddish brown is Earthy and clay-like. The deep brown chocolate cake boasts the cocoa’s richness. Those light chocolate smears are melted chocolate chunks. Once the cake is Read more…
July 22, 2015
Not too far from the New York-Pennsylvania border is a small vacation town of Hawley, on the Lackawaxen River and close to better-known Delaware river. Though this is a summer haven for campers and other nature enthusiasts (and hunters), a friend of mine had year-round residence here as a growing gal as Read more…
July 13, 2015
In my goal of V.V. hitting “all 50 states reporting” status, summer is the time to pack on the states. Getting out of New York and past the tristate area to make it to these unreported on states is a daunting task… as is the return to the tri-state area. So Read more…
May 25, 2015
Push aside winter grey, summer is unofficially here. The irises are blooming at the zombie house next door, triggered by nature. There Will Come Soft Rains-style. The backyard, once a bland backdrop along the walk to the back door, invites entry, holds glistening fruits and color in its open palm. Asks Read more…
April 19, 2015
When I lived in Brooklyn, I had better access to vegan food options. Living on Long Island, I make my food more often. This is a good thing. But on occasion I’ll hunt down food leads, determinedly, like I would if I was staying for just a day. I like the hunt–and Read more…
March 8, 2014
Quality time with the cats… after they had quality time in the basement by the saw. All-you-can-eat Indian lunches, in a strip mall. The day-after cupcakes for breakfast. Visits to a jaggedy smile-like skyline. A lounge in the sun inside. [A shaven Fluffster recouping from her spay.] Experimental stovetop [carrot Read more…
July 6, 2013
I love New England. This I knew but had forgotten. As the hours of watching the scenery went by, I remembered. Here are some food highlights from our Day 2 in New Hampshire. Spoon Revolution is Concord, New Hampshire’s only all-vegan eatery. They offer a small seasonal menu of all-vegan, Read more…
February 4, 2013
Paneer is an Indian cheese. Palak Paneer is the spinach and cheese dish I’ve long noticed on Indian menus. I was so excited to see that the amazing blog Olives For Dinner veganized it. Pressing tofu is step one. I opted for the TofuXpress then a nice press with some paper Read more…
April 9, 2012
Apna Bazar is a large Indian grocer in Hicksville, Long Island. I spotted it the last time The Electrician and me doorbusted Ikea for some stuff for my classroom. I knew I had to return. So with spring break upon me, I stopped by one lovely afternoon not knowing what Read more…
October 2, 2011
Shirley’s birthday dinner at Bhojan. Leftover 3 Brothers pizza, weekday, Electrician‘s. Chocolate chip cookies without the chocolate chips: “sweet treat” fix, weekend, Electrician’s Pancake’s vegan birthday cakes, Pancake’s 9th Birthday Party, Merrick
November 3, 2010
There is a little Indian convenience store next to my Sunday restaurant favorite, Dosa Diner, in Hicksville, Long Island. In this store you can find a ton of cheaply priced pantry staples, many aligned with Hindu vegetarianism. It is worth a stopping by– their products are tremendously cheaper than the Read more…
September 27, 2010
I’ve been working on my layer of blubber, getting myself ready. Inadvertently. Here’s what’s anchoring me in for a long winter: Roasted zucchini sandwich with way too big a bun X’s 5 days a week. Huge tofu dosa from House of Dosas in Hicksville, Long Island. Vegan cheese whiz. What Read more…
June 14, 2010
Living fairly close to Manhattan’s Little India and Curry Hill areas, going out for Indian is not so much something I do during a Long Island escape. However Hicksville’s vegetarian Indian restaurants have been on my radar after some repeated perusing of LI’s VegGuide. So a friend and I hit Dosa Read more…
February 22, 2010
Tall Guy recently hosted a hungry bunch for brunch. Though the theme of this event took on a life of its own, the delicious offerings of food and beverage were the constant. My offering was the pineapple upside-down cake from Vegan Table. This moist and sweet cake’s sugary drippings oozed Read more…