Asian Kelp Noodle Salad

Guess what??? I found kelp noodles at Whole Foods last week! Ever since I had them at a raw cafe in Austin, TX (you can read about my experience here), I've been looking for them. I was about to cave and order them online when, lo and behold, there they were. So I bought a couple of packages. I even sent one off to my care package swap partner, though she hasn't received her package yet.

Here they are:

Rinsed:

And here's a delicious recipe for you!

Asian Kelp Noodle Salad:

1-12 oz package of kelp noodles, rinsed and cut to desired length (I'd use scissors)
1 cup shredded cabbage (red or green)
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup shredded broccoli (or chopped very finely)
4 stalks celery, sliced thinly
3 green onions, sliced thinly
2 large leaves of kale, torn off stem and into bite-sized pieces
black sesame seeds for garnish (optional)


For dressing:


1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup almond butter (or peanut, sunflower, etc.)
1/4 cup agave nectar
a few drops of sriracha (optional)


wedge of lime for serving


Combine all of the vegetables except the noodles, into a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the dressing ingredients together. Whisk until well-combined. Pour the dressing onto the vegetables and toss. Just before serving, add the noodles and mix them them in well (they will stay crispy longer if you wait to add them). Serve, sprinkled with sesame seeds and a lime wedge (or sprinkle lime juice over the salad first).

Enjoy!

And Happy Anniversary to my S :)

Eat smart,
T.

My Whirlwind Trip to Dallas

First, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my husband, S!!!

Almost two weeks ago, we took a quick trip to Dallas. It was mostly business, but I wanted to fit in a couple of good eateries.  The first place we went was Bliss Raw Cafe. We were meeting up with my friend, Naoko, and she'd been there a few times already, but really liked it.

Me and S

The inside

The Menu

I HAD to start with the Cordial Sampler....and it was awesome! The minty one was like liquid mint chocolate chip ice cream:

My friend, Naoko, started with a cup of the Corn Chowder, which was very good:

(here's Naoko!)

S ordered the Pad Thai. I thought it was good, but it was a lot of food, and for me, would've done just as well in a much smaller portion as an appetizer:

Naoko ordered the Rawko Tacos:

I got the Coconut Kale Enchiladas, which were amazing!!!

(notice the kale goodness inside!)

Overall, a great place to eat! A little on the pricey side, which is what I expect these days when going to a raw vegan restaurant. Nice ambience, good service, and great food!

Next up: Spiral Diner.

If you want a break from all that healthy vegan food.....this is where it's at. It was VERY good...and highly recommended. But I can't say it was good for me......

Very cute and diner like. A MAJOR pain in the butt to get to from north of downtown, during rush hour. Grrrr, we made like 3 wrong turns.....things were pretty badly marked on the main highway! Booooo on that.

But we finally made it. 

S got the BBQ Salad. He liked it but would have preferred more vegetables, less seitan:

I got the Meatball Sub, because I used to love those and haven't had one in ages. It was delicious:

For dessert, we ordered an ice cream sundae. I believe they make their own ice cream (it's soy based), but the only flavor they had left was vanilla...was still amazing (although we could only eat about 2/3 of this between the two of us):

Awesome diner, all vegan! Delicious, but you know....it's comfort food :)

There's also a great pub that was walking distance from our hotel: Trinity Hall Irish Pub

S got this curry bowl, which was vegetarian, but I don't think it was vegan:

(that's rice in the middle)

The first night, I ordered the veggie skewers:

(they used olive oil instead of butter for me)

(I left the kale!! Who knows if it's been washed when used as decor only)

The next time, I ordered the most amazing barley stew ever:

(you can see my attempt to duplicate the recipe here)

S got a veggie/tofu wrap:

They have awesome beer too!

At the hotel for lunch, we were able to order a grilled veggie wrap which was actually really good (with some guacamole on the side):

And of course, I carried a thermos of soymilk with me for coffee along the way. There was also a Starbucks within walking distance of the hotel for my morning coffee and oats.

To see more about the beer I enjoyed on this trip, click here.

Over the next month or so, I won't be posting much. I'll try to post little bits here and there. You can still follow me on Facebook to keep up! But I'll be back full force in July with some possible blog changes....

Don't forget, NOLA VeggieFest is this weekend!!! I'll be there :)

Eat smart,
T.

Texas Trip and Good Eats: Austin and Texas Beer

Now for the best part of the whole trip! WE LOVED AUSTIN!!  That's my new favorite city. Never thought I'd say that about somewhere in Texas, but....it is.  There are bars everywhere, lots of vegan/raw food places, it's a very walkable city, great texas beer, and nice walking paths along the river.  What more do you need??? Oh....a job.  Hahahaha.....there aren't any full-time orchestras in Austin, so that won't be happening.  But, if you know of maybe 15-20 kids who need violin or viola lessons......we're in! Sign us up :)

Now for the food.

AUSTIN:

Borboleta Gourmet/Ambrosia. Yes, they've gone through several names, including The Talkhouse.  But they're still there and open! The woman inside was really friendly and talked to us a ton about Austin.  Their menu is very limited, but very good. I think they only had maybe 4 items to choose from, for an entree. 

"S" got the Raw Lasagna, which was really tasty and so pretty:

I got the Raw Pizza with kale salad. Delicious! The kale salad was pretty strong with the lemon juice, I think, or something sourish, but it was still really good.

And for dessert, a mesquite ball and chocolate macaroon. Both tasty.

And although I didn't get any, here's a picture of their fermenting kombucha, which they sell:

We walked a few miles to get to this place and it was definitely worth it. Besides, 6th street is awesome, so it's great if you feel like a beer along the way :)


Speaking of, we were dying of heat walking there and stopped in at an outdoor bar for water.  Well, I asked for club soda to go and she said they didn't have to go cups (geaux cups here in Louisiana).  We forgot we were not in Louisiana anymore.  So we sat down to drink it there.  She didn't even want our money!  I must've looked like I was about to keel over from walking 3 miles or so in 100 degrees.  Well we gave her a good tip at least....thank you whoever you are!!

The people in Austin are SO nice.

Mothers Cafe.  A friend of ours recommended this place to us and was supposed to meet us there, but came down with the stomach flu. Guess we'll meet up with them next time!  Anyway, this restaurant was awesome.

We started with a cup of the Tomato Artichoke Bisque (vegan), which was out of this world!!

(and that's "S's" wine)

"S" ordered the Spicy Tempeh Enchiladas, which were excellent:

I ordered the Vegetables Rancheros....also delicious. That sauce is awesome!

And we couldn't skip out on dessert.  But we even had to take some of the food back to our hotel! So I got the Belgian Mocha Fudge Chocolate Cake to go :) WOW! Delicious!!

The menu here is all vegetarian but shows you what is vegan and what they can veganize for you, which is a lot of stuff.  And the room in the back is really great.....a fountain, lots of trees and greenery.  Nice staff too.

Beets Living Foods Cafe.  Huge menu.....very bright, clean, and modern looking.  You can park free in the garage of the building, so that's a plus.  It's not far from Borboleta Cafe. The waitress was really nice and very smiley. This is raw vegan place. They also sell a few items (yes, I bought a shirt) like raw books, shirts, powders, etc...

We started with their special: Curried Carrot Chips with Tahini dip. So good.

"S" got the Portobello Fajita Plate with a side of TexMex Cabbage.  Tasty:

I ordered the Asian Style Noodle Salad with kelp noodles. It was almost too pretty to eat! But it was absolutely delcious and hit the spot on a hot summer day:

More pictures, because it was so pretty:

Got a brownie for dessert, but they had way more stuff....just didn't want to overdo it this time:

And the last place we ate was Daily Juice Cafe, on our way out of town. Also a huge menu.  We ordered what the woman behind the counter suggested which were both really great.

We got the "Tuna" Boat....really delicious, but probably high calorie!

...and some sort of Enchilada, which was also awesome (you can order one or two, we got one):

I also got the Chocolate Prana smoothie...tasted like liquid chocolate mousse....lots of coconut flavor.

It was a good drink/dessert for the road!

Our last morning, we walked to Little City Espresso Bar, near the Capitol building on Congress. Very nice place and really good coffee. They even played Queen the whole time we were in there!! (yes, I love Queen)

PS-I forgot....we walked to Aster's Ethiopian too (about 2 miles from our hotel).  Looks a bit like a "hole in the wall" kind of place, but the people were really nice and the food was great! They've got a vegan/vegetarian combo. Picture was taken on my phone:

BEER:

Texas has great beer! Who knew??

While in Houston,  I was able to have Saint Arnold's Amber on tap at our hotel.  Very good session beer. 

Saint Arnold's also has a Summer Pils that's a good session beer (tried that at the Ginger Man in Austin). And I brought back a bottle of their Wheat beer, which I had last night and it was excellent!

512-yes it's the Austin area code, but it also happens to be a great brewing company!

A kind gentleman at Darwin's Pub on 6th street told us we should try the Ginger Man on 4th and Lavaca for some 512 beer (I asked if they had any). Thank you, whoever you are. I told you, people in Austin are just too nice. So, back to the beer.

512 makes an excellent Pecan Porter that was recommended to us by several locals. Thank you, Ginger Man, for carrying quite a few 512 beers for us to try :)

They also make a very refreshing Wheat, called a Wit and a very hoppy/grapefruity IPA. Both very good!

Real Ale-it's real and it's good.  I had picked up a 6-pack variety when I was in Houston, without having tried any, so this was a good opportunity to have some (at the Ginger Man bar).  Actually, I'd had their Fireman's #4 Blonde Ale at our hotel the previous night.  Another good session beer....not too strong, but good. We had their Hans Pils (one of their summer seasonals) and that was pretty darn refreshing! Their Rio Blanco Pale Ale is one of their year-round beers.....pretty grapefruity.  All good.

Live Oak: yet another local Austin brewery.  Yup, they have a ton.  We had their Big Bark Amber Lager at the hotel and it's a darn good beer. Hmmmm, I thought we tried more at the Ginger Man, but I can't remember now.....too many beers?? They did have 36 taps and it was raining in there, so we were in there a while.  

The Ginger Man pub. It's where we tasted most of those beers.  The man behind the counter was oh so helpful and very friendly.  We tasted a lot, we had actual pints as well (what? did you think we'd just go in for free tastings?? Although that doesn't sound half bad...)

And last, but not least......I broke down and went to Whole Foods.  I guess Austin is the mother of all Whole Foods.......we ate there one day for lunch.  I went back on another day to pick up a tote full of goodies.  Expensive goodies, but.......here it is:

(No, those 3 TX hot sauces are not from WF.  Vegan granola, agave, raw almond butter, local coffee, Geeta's Jalfrezi sauce-amazing stuff, and local Strawberry Almond jam) Oh, and I picked up that one bottle of St. Arnold's beer there too.

And that's all....wow....that was a lot of food....and beer.  But seriously, Austin is my new favorite place. Who wants to hire me?

Upcoming giveaway: Dr. Neil Barnard's "Get Healthy, Go Vegan" book!!

Eat smart,

T.