Summer Potluck Season; currently in full swing!

Please head over to my new blog at TheUrbanHousewife.com, where you'll find this post & more!

It's been a whirlwind start to summer & although San Francisco's temperatures are their typically chilly selves, we're still celebrating with all sorts of food & fun! It seems like my social calendar has an Eat-A-Thon scheduled for just about every weekend until the end of time, but I don't mind, it gives me more to share with others!

A few weeks ago, Ryan, Strummer, & myself headed down to sunny Santa Cruz for a PPK potluck hosted by Amey from Vegan Eats & Treats. The weather was perfect & we stuffed ourselves with savories like Empanadas, Stuffed Mushrooms, homemade Bagels, Broccoli Quiche, Spring Rolls, Macaroni Salad, & more! Avocado Key Lime Pie, Rice Krispie Treats, Coffee Cake, & Banana Pudding made up some of the sweets, plus I made a Chocolate Butterscotch Chip Cookie Cinnamon Swirl Cake Pie with toasted Marshmallow Meringue. Yes, you read that right. Inspired by Jessie at Cakespy, I made a pie crust, chocolate butterscotch chip cookie dough, & cinnamon swirl cake batter, layered & baked them together, then topped it with Julie Hasson's Marshmallow Meringue from Everyday Dish TV. The most fun of this dish was busting out the kitchen torch & toasting the delicious fluffy topping, yum!

City from New Zealand, aka the NZ Cupcake Queen recently made her way through the United States & we were lucky enough to have her here in San Francisco! We had a great time showing her & husband Chris the sights of the city, but we also had to have a proper American cookout (all vegan, of course), as they were here for the 4th of July! We deemed the day the "Sausage Fest", as we had at least 6 types of veggie dogs & sausages to grill up. Erika made adorable Onigiri with Nori faces, while the rest of us seemed to fill the table with sugary confections from cookies to Lemon Bars. Thanks to Dandies Marshmallows, I was able to make a proper Ambrosia Salad, so the Kiwis could taste the classic potluck dish loved & feared by many!

Speaking of sausages, inspiration struck recently & I decided to make Pretzel Dogs! I started with a homemade seitan hot dog recipe, then made soft pretzel dough. After the dogs were steamed, I wrapped them in the pretzel dough, baked them golden, & boy, was this gluten wrapped gluten delish, ha! I made some classic soft pretzels as well, which were also a hit, & I can see these being a repeat offender in our household.

This weekend a milestone birthday occurred & friends Gina & Adam from the PPK were in town, so of course, an epic celebration with lots of food was in order. Since our friend Nate turned 40, his wife Jen threw the party, which was a surprise for the birthday boy! We had a good potluck assortment with dishes like Quinoa Salad & Pav Bhaji, then also fired up my chocolate fountain with an awesome spread of dippables like fresh fruit, Dandies Vegan Marshmallows, Chocolate Cake Truffles, Pound Cake & pretzels. As if that wasn't enough sweetness, Jen, Jordan, Erika, & I decided to construct the most metal cake around! Chocolate cake & chocolate frosting with oozing strawberry "blood" inside & out, we wrapped the cake in over-the-top marzipan decor & a decapitated groom to honor "40 Years of Brutality"! Not a bad way to celebrate a birthday, eh?!

By the way, voting is winding down for the 2009 Veggie Awards by VegNews Magazine & all votes must be in by July 31st. The Urban Housewife is nominated for "Favorite Blog" & you can win fabulous prizes, just by voting! Get to it already!

Summertime Fun; VBC, a Picnic, Gardening & Voting Mania!

Please head over to my new blog at TheUrbanHousewife.com, where you'll find this post & more!

San Francisco is finally starting to get summery weather, which means it's time for food related get-togethers! In one weekend I was able to attend two foodie functions, the anniversary celebration of the Vegan Brunch Cartel & a picnic with PPKers, organized by Mel from Veglicious!

Saturday afternoon is typically when the VBC crew starts rolling in to the selected location, despite the claim of an 11am start time! By 1pm food starts to hit the table & this particular brunch had an outstanding selection. While I made omelets with salty greens & sausage filling, other delights such as french toast, watermelon salad, blintzes, roasted potatoes, smoky veg-bacon, chocolate balsamic cookies, fresh fruit, & donuts filled our plates. The donuts were made by Joel, who always contributes deliciousness, & came in vanilla glaze, cinnamon sugar, or vanilla sugar; yum! It's safe to say this was the best brunch we've had in the culinary department, it must have something to do with it being the 1 year anniversary! Regardless, I hope we'll have many future brunches with the same quality spread.


Sunday was a gorgeous day, perfect for bike riding, which was wonderful since we had plans to ride over to West Oakland to check out Middle Harbor Shoreline Park with friends from the PPK. The park boasts a beautiful view of the Bay Bridge & the weather couldn't have been any better as we all noshed on the lunches we brought. Grilled peanut butter & banana sandwich, anyone? Mel hooked us up with cookies containing tasty Joe-Joes pieces, while Erin from Vegan Homemade, who just moved to the area, made cupcakes! All in all we had a fun day with food, old & new friends, & bike riding!


In previous posts, I've mentioned my garden & I'm happy to say it's doing pretty well! While the tomatoes never yielded any fruit, we ate many bunches of incredible kale, as well as a few green beans, fresh cilantro & basil, & onions are currently on the way. Instead of buying transplants this time, I decided to try some sprouting seeds; so far, so good! What you see is the start of Oxheart Carrots & Red Chard. Also, there's more kale & other unidentified greens in the background, although those came pre-sprouted. Harvesting my little planter box has been so rewarding, I hope to keep things growing to put on our plates year round!

On another note, in March 2009, SXSW is holding the SXSW Interactive Festival, five days of panel content & parties for entrepreneurs, nerds, bloggers, techies, & more. There's currently a vote going on to pick the panels & I just happen to be a tentative speaker for one titled "Growing Up as an Internet Oversharer" which deals with coming of age on the internet & baring it all for the masses. The panel is hosted by Maria Diaz from One Sharp Broad & of course, a vote to get on the schedule would be appreciated!

Finally, August 31st is the last date to vote for the VegNews 2008 Veggie Awards! This humble little blog is nominated for "Favorite Veg Blog", although the real reason to vote may be the fabulous prizes!

Portland, VegNews Party, CA Humane fundraiser, & a new family member!

Please head over to my new blog at TheUrbanHousewife.com, where you'll find this post & more!

Once again time has slipped away & the posts I've been meaning to make, just haven't made their way here. As I mentioned in my previous post, I went to Portland to check out the so-called "vegan mecca". Watch out kids, you have another convert on your hands, Portland is downright lovely! There's so many places to go & see, it was hard to narrow it all down, but I think I covered the city pretty well & even stayed in two different areas while there.

One of the places I knew I had to try was Flavour Spot, the hot new waffle cart serving up a few vegan options. I was a bit skeptical of the maple butter & vegan sausage combination everyone has been raving about, but HOT DAMN, they weren't lying! I found myself savoring each bite & Ryan had taken only 3 bites when he asked for another!


Of course, I also checked out the vegan mini mall, home of Herbivore, Scapegoat Tattoo, Food Fight, & Sweetpea Baking Company who's various goods I tried over my time there. I seemed to find myself at the mini mall every day, whether as a meet up point, a place to grab a treat, or a way to blow a bunch of money on vegan wares. I almost added a tattoo as well, but it didn't work out this time.


I was lucky enough to spend time with Jess from Get Sconed! as she let me crash at her place for a few nights. We went out to dinner at Blossoming Lotus one night & had delicious raw food, much like when she came to San Francisco & we ate at Cafe Gratitude. Of course, I ended the night with this Chocolate Mint soft serve & on another occasion I had Mocha, both were delicious!


Another blogger I met up with was Webly from Fueled By Popcorn who took me to No Fish, Go Fish, a food cart with delicious stuffed sandwich pockets shaped like fish! How can you resist this adorableness?! We finished up at Voodoo Doughnut where the vanilla Chick O Stick was my favorite of what I tried.

Overall, it was such an eventful trip! From bike riding to jumping on trampolines, meeting bloggers & attending a potluck at Isa's house, it's hard to cram all the places I went in to one post! In addition to the places I've mentioned above, I also ate at the very creative & delicious Nutshell, Hungry Tiger Too (with ShannieCakes), Backspace, & Papa G's Deli, plus I checked out the People's Co Op & New Seasons for snacks & supplies. All in all, I loved Portland & I'm happy Ryan & I will be back there at the end of the month for a camping trip & to celebrate 10 years of dating!

Shortly after Ryan & I returned home, an incredible (& strange) thing happened to us. While taking a walk to our co-op, we did our usual routine of fawning over every dog we see. As we approached a man holding a tiny dog, I couldn't help but comment on how adorable his puppy was! Next thing I know, I am being offered this dog for free & find myself walking down the street with a shivering, hungry puppy in my hands itching from fleas. Introducing STRUMMER, our new little chihuahua baby girl. She's about 11 weeks old, 1 3/4 pounds, & has been determined to be completely healthy by our veterinarian. She's already started getting her shots, going to puppy class, & is on her way to being (even more of) a well manner little bundle of joy!

As expected, the VegNews party was a success. I had a great night chatting it up with vegans from all over the country, including Amanda from Walking the Vegan Line who came all the way from Houston, as well as long time friends from the PPK. Food was provided by local restaurants & chefs, desserts were provided by Sugar Beat Sweets, & there were gals walking around with baskets of mini Clif Bars, Sjaaks Organic Chocolates, & Tofurkey jerky for the taking! Not bad, right?

Now for another important party I'm urging people to attend in the San Francisco Bay Area. On Saturday, July 12th please come Spread Your Wings for the animals at a benefit for Prop 2- the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act at the A.Muse gallery (614 Alabama St. SF) from 6-10 pm. There will be wine, beer, and vegan appetizers, desserts courtesy of Sugar Beat Sweets, comedy by Johnny Steele, plus door prizes & an awesome silent auction which includes items like original artwork by Dan Piraro, spa packages, and a Nintendo WII! It's a $15-20 sliding scale at the door & all proceeds go to the animals! I'll be there with mini cupcakes, please don't miss it!

Berlin; from Sweets to Seitan Döner!

Please head over to my new blog at TheUrbanHousewife.com, where you'll find this post & more!

After a fabulous 6 days of food & fun in London, it was time to move on to Berlin. I had only spent one day in Berlin a few years ago & even in that short time could see it was a cool city, so I was anxious to return. In the back of my mind there was a bit of concern about the language barrier & my vegan diet, but that concern was quickly laid to rest!

We started by hitting everyone's favorite veg*n fast food joint, Yellow Sunshine in Kreutzberg. Burgers, dogs, & snacks are the name of the game here with a hefty helping of fries or a salad on the side. While the vegan options are clearly marked, they also have an English menu for those not interested in guessing games. Ryan went with the masses & had one of the many burger options & I went for the Seitan Currywurst, as currywurst is everywhere in Germany & I was curious! Let's just say, curiosity killed the cat & I was less than thrilled to have a giant hot dog slathered in cold ketchup & sprinkled with curry powder on my plate. yikes! Ryan fared a bit better with his burger, but ultimately we're not the "vegan fast food" type. We also wanted the vegan tiramisu, but sadly it was not ready yet.

Yellow Sunshine is located at Wiener Straße 19, 10999.

After our fast food excursion, we headed the vegan grocery store Veni Vidi Vegi! It was comforting to have a safe place where I could buy as much as I wanted & not have to decipher a label in German! Needless to say, I went crazy & bought a plethora of items such as Streich sunflower seed pate, gummy bears, Wheaty spacebars, Oat Cream, two types of Chocoreale, & even a vegan white chocolate bar!

Veni Vidi Vegi is located at Pücklerstr. 32, 10997.

On the super adorable front, Maja's Deli is an all vegan cafe that has both takeaway & dine-in food options, plus a large selection of cakes, cookies, & other desserts. The decor alone is worth going there for; sunny yellow walls contain large banners with cows declaring, "Go Vegan!" & "Holy Cow, it's Vegan" & bottles top every table with a single tulip sticking out of them. This cafe would make anyone feel at home! They carry multiple hot dishes daily with a choice of grains or pasta to go on the side. I had a wonderfully creamy "cheesy" sauce over broccoli, cauliflower, peas, carrots, seeds & nuts with a side of couscous. Ryan had his dish of beans, TVP & mixed vegetables in a thick tomato sauce over pasta with a side of freshly squeezed orange juice. They were both very filling & hearty! Of course, we couldn't pass up some items from the extensive dessert options, aka it's review time!

Apple Raspberry Cake- A bit of a breakfast feel, this cake had a crumbly biscuit bottom & was topped with apple & raspberry chunks in a soft base & a sweet crumb top. Overall it was nice, doughy, & not too sweet. 3¾ stars


Chocolate Cheesecake- The nice, crunchy chocolate bottom layer & delicious chocolate crumb & melted chocolate drizzle top were unfortunately filled with a with firm center that tasted far too much like tofu. I can't say I would order this again. 2 ½ stars

Maja's Deli is located at Pappelallee 11, 10437.

Another great vegan option is Hans Wurst Vegancafe in Prenzlauer Berg. Based on their strange webpage & myspace profile, I wasn't sure what to expect here, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a gorgeous 100% organic, 100% vegan cafe with a lovely atmosphere. Unfortunately at this point my camera died, so you'll have to bare with horrible iPhone photos taken in a candlelit room! We shared a delicious pizza topped with pineapple, tofu, tomato sauce, & garlic olive oil. Ryan also had a large fresh salad & I opted for dessert.

Chocolate Mousse- Smooth & not too heavy, this lightly chocolate flavored pudding topped with cocoa & flanked with fruit slices was refreshing, especially after a dense meal. That being said, it was nothing spectacular & I could take it or leave it. 3 stars

Hans Wurst Vegancafe is located at Dunckerstrasse 2a, 10437.


Now you know I love a good cupcake, so it's no shock that I had to go to Cupcake, the 1st shop of its kind in Berlin! It's always nice when a bakery has vegan options & Cupcake carries a rotating selection of vegan cupcakes & the occasional vegan pie, along with soy milk & coffee with soy options! Dawn, the owner is just as sweet as her selection & we started to use this beautiful shop as our shelter from the falling snow outside. I have seen a lot of cupcake shops & bakeries in my day, but Cupcake is one of the most gorgeous ones out there with its retro 50's feel & mismatched vintage plates & cups. I was able to try 3 different cupcakes here, but that doesn't mean I only ate 3 cupcakes!

Chocolate Strawberry- A soft & sweet cocoa flavored cupcake, it was dense, but not heavy, moist with a chewy top & had a nice texture. The strawberry buttercream had a sweet berry flavor & this nice little morsel reminded me of a child's birthday cake. 3½ stars


Vanilla Lemon aka Blondie- A bit muffin-like, this vanilla cupcake was topped with a mild lemon buttercream that had a tinge of vanilla aftertaste. The flavors made a nice combination, but I'd stick to the chocolate! 3 stars


Chocolate Peanut Butter- Needless to say, Ryan was all about this & we actually put in a request for this flavor & Dawn graciously complied! Another soft & sweet chocolate cupcake topped with a sugary sweet peanut butter buttercream, it was nutty with a wonderful smoky roasted aftertaste! 4 stars

Cupcake is located at Krossener Strasse 12, 10245.


While that concludes the sweets of Berlin, I have to end with a place that blew our minds! We had heard rumors of seitan döner & with some internet research, Vöner was discovered. Vöner is a tiny little veg*n cafe in Friedrichshain with a simple menu of 2 burger options, pommes, & "vöner". Ignore those burgers & grab yourself seitan cut right from a rotating spit & placed in to fresh bread, pressed & filled with fresh vegetables, plus garlic & spicy sauces! They do have a non-vegan sauce option, so be sure to specify vegan. We loved this place so much, we managed to squeeze in a 2nd trip on our way out of town. We also mention it in conversation far more often than what is healthy. We tried to convince the purveyor to open a location in San Francisco & he said he'd love to so he can come surf here! Let's hope that happens. By the way, Cupcake & Vöner are not too far from each other & make for a perfect food adventure & a nice walk.

Vöner is located at Boxhagenerstr. 56, 10245.


As you can see, Berlin has a lot of vegan options in all corners of the city. I fell in love with Berlin & have been daydreaming of moving there ever since. If you have a chance, I highly suggest you take a trip to this vibrant city full of beautiful art, beautiful people, & wonderful food!

Do you know the Dosa Man?

Please head over to my new blog at TheUrbanHousewife.com, where you'll find this post & more!

I’m back from New York City with a plethora of information to share! While it may take me awhile to sort through all the photos, collect my thoughts, & catch up on blogs & comments, I thought I’d start with a post about NY Dosas!

In Washington Square Park on West 4^th Street & Sullivan, there’s a man who sells delicious dosas & other South Indian goodies, cooked to order, all from a curbside quick food cart. This is not quick food though, these are dishes made with care, kindness, & a smile from the generous Thiru, owner & chef of NY Dosas. Best of all, it’s all Vegan! It thrills the hell out of me to see a street cart selling Vegan dishes to the public & there was no shortage of people enjoying them!

On my first visit, I had the most popular selection; the Special Pondicherry, a rice & lentil crepe filled with vegetables & spiced potatoes. The first thing I noted was the freshness of the vegetables, lightly cooked & crispy in the delicious crepe. A coconut chutney & spicy sambar accompany the dosa, all for only $6! In addition to dosas, a small selection of lunch specials, veggie uthappam, and quick bites such as samosas, veggie roti, lentil donuts, and veggie drumsticks are available.

I decided to make NY Dosas my final meal before heading home from my trip. I left my selection to Thiru this time & was not disappointed! He loaded my container with a dosa, uppthapam, a portion of the idly meal, AND a veggie drumstick in addition to the standard sides! I was in shock, very, very full & toting leftovers.

I look forward to next time I’m in NYC, a trip (or three) to NY Dosas is definitely in order! Go support the “vegan dosa cart guy” & enjoy some fun & fresh food!

By the way, in response to NaNoWriMo, a Vegan Month of Food project has been formed called VeganMoFo! While I lack time to participate, there's a lot of great entries being churned out by the many vegan bloggers out there. I'm not sure if there is a complete listing of participant, but check out this listing from Isa & find a new favorite recipe or blog!

A Labor Day Potluck, In my Kitchen, & NYC!

Please head over to my new blog at TheUrbanHousewife.com, where you'll find this post & more!

Gathering with friends is always something I enjoy & I used Labor Day Weekend as an excuse to have a potluck! An awesome range of friends attended & I was excited many members of the "vegan brunch cartel" were able to make it. The culinary prowess was at an all time high & the food was insanely delicious! As planned, we all ate far too much, yet there was still a ton of food on the table! Luckily, I had my empty Earth Balance containers ready & sent people home with leftovers, as there was no way we could consume what was left!

For the bash, I whipped up Vanilla Cupcakes from my own recipe & topped them with both Lemon Cream Cheese frosting & Mocha Mousse frosting. No one guessed they were vegan, so I believe I'm finally happy with my vanilla cupcake recipe & will be sharing it here in the near future!
By request, another round of Lolo's Donuts were made, this time in Maple & classic Pink Glaze with Sprinkles. I'm done making these for awhile, I adore them, but there's so many other treats I've been meaning to make!

In the savory department, I made tamales, thanks to Dr. Stonielove! I have a constant craving for tamales, but had never made them myself, but her recent recipe gave me the courage to do so! One batch contained black beans, soyrizo, & jalapeños, the other was filled with corn, red & yellow bell peppers, & chilies. I was VERY happy with these & snuck some in to the freezer to enjoy later. We also made Tempeh kabobs to grill along side all the veggie dogs & burgers people brought!

As a joke, I decided to use vegan gelatin to craft a giant cupcake. Sadly, it's not the most stable product out there, so it started to melt pretty quickly. I shoved it in to the freezer, only to find it solid & much shorter than when I initially assembled it when I went to retrieve it. Use your imagination & we'll say it started out glorious & mind blowing, okay?!


Other attendees brought delicious dishes like Bruschetta, the Get Sconed version of New Farm Mac and Cheez, Curried "Chicken" salad in Endive wraps, Hummus with pita & cucumber, Spinach-Artichoke dip, & as you can see, an amazing display of Fruit Kabobs! (This is what happens when a caterer attends your potluck!)

I had a fabulous time & I can't wait for the next excuse to gather around a diverse setting of food with various people! I think I may have a potluck obsession & I'm perfectly OK with that!

***
In other news, I've been going crazy in the kitchen lately! I've been so inspired by all the blogs I've been reading, as well as the PPK, all I've wanted to do is try new recipes (& make sorbet, of course)!

Recent recipes have included Celine's L & H Seitan O'Greatness, which was used to make Lolo's Crispy Sweet and Sour Seitan. I'm also a tester for Joni's new cookbook about burgers, so I made her Ortega Burgers on homemade whole wheat french bread with oven fries. A desire for something besides Tofutti in the morning yielded Bryanna's Lemon Curd & let me tell you, it is FABULOUS! My crumpets will forever be covered with this insanely addictive spread!

On the sorbet front, I made a wonderful Strawberry Sorbet that we gobbled up quickly! Yesterday in a 12 hour span I managed to make Watermelon Sorbet, Yellow Peach Sorbet, & Bartlett Pear Sorbet! The plan is to have some in the freezer to be consumed when the mood strikes, but it seems to disappear pretty quickly around here! I'm happy to see others have caught the sorbet bug as well, like Amey at Vegan Eats & Treats!

In travel news, I'll be headed back to one of my favorite places, NEW YORK CITY! woo.
While I've been there many times, I'm always looking for restaurant & activity recommendations, especially of the vegan persuasion. I'm not a greasy spoon diner type (I can make a veggie burger at home), but I love a range of tasty foods, especially healthier vegetable heavy items or ethnic fare, so bring it on! I'll be in town for 2 weeks in late October / early November, so there's plenty of meals & fun to be had!

Hey NYC, let's have a Halloween themed Potluck!