Kale Salad At French Meadow



Brunch at French Meadow in Minneapolis is one of our weekend favorites, so when my wife asked if we could goto brunch this morning there wasn't any hesitation.

The classic vegan breakfast (hashbrowns, tofu scramble, vegan sausage, and hemp toast) has been my favorite brunch item for several years, and then my wife suggested I try the kale salad. Yum! I've been getting it everytime since. It is quite tasty and more health promoting.

They use flat kale aka dino kale. They say it is raw, but they clearly have blanched or steamed it for a minute or two. The leaves are softer and slightly curled. They toss it with some gingered tamari and olive oil and sprinkle a generous amount of pumpkin seeds on top. I like mine most with some freshed squeezed lemon. The tangy lemon goes great with the savory seeds.





French Meadow Bakery & Cafe
2610 Lyndale Avenue S
Minneapolis, MN 55408
http://www.frenchmeadowcafe.com

Voodoo Doughnuts Portland

Voodoo Doughnuts Portland

Who doesn’t like tasty doughnuts? This past May, we visited Portland, OR for a long weekend with the goal of sampling all the tasty vegan food we could. Voodoo Doughnuts was near the top of the list due to all the positive things we’d read online about them.

While we were walking around downtown, we kept seeing people carrying pink Voodoo boxes. We must be getting close. A short walk from the train, and we were there. The line was out the door and around the corner. They must be popular.

Voodoo Doughnuts Portland

It was quite the scene inside. We waited at the door to be called in to one of the many employees helping customers. There were carts of doughnuts in the back.

Voodoo Doughnuts Portland

Our faces were plastered to the vegan doughnut case. The bearclaw was calling my name. I could almost taste it through the glass. It looked really good.

Voodoo Doughnuts Portland

We exercised a little restraint while ordering and managed to make it out of the store without buying a dozen doughnuts. It was hard!

Voodoo Doughnuts Portland

We quickly sat down outside and ripped open our pink box to eat the tastiness inside. It started to mist, but we weren’t deterred. 

Voodoo Doughnuts Portland

The bearclaw was delicious, and it was totally worth the wait. My wife ate her doughnut as well. We saved one for a snack after the movie. The box was a bit unwieldy to deal with, so we put the last two doughnuts into her purse and continued to explore the downtown area.

If you’re in the area, do check them out if you like doughnuts. They are quite good even if they are a bit decadent. Drink a smoothie afterwards to balance it out. ;)

Pizza Luce Duluth

Pizza Luce Duluth

It isn’t very often we can get pizza delivered since we went plant-based, so we jump at the chance when is presents itself. We were in Duluth, MN over this past weekend, and they have a Pizza Luce there. Every time we goto Duluth, we make sure to eat at two places. Pizza Luce and the Co-op.

Pizza Luce Duluth

Their delicious pizza goes great with the awesome views of Lake Superior. We ordered a build-your-own (BYO) pizza with their homemade rinotta cheese made from soy and nuts. It’s a nice change from the mainstream vegan cheeses.

This pizza had red sauce with vegan crumbles and roasted red peppers with mushrooms on one side and black olives on the other. We ordered a medium, and by the time we were done wished we had ordered a large. The pizza arrived right at the door to our room about 45 minutes after we called. One of these times we’ll remember to order ahead of time instead of waiting until the middle of the dinner rush. It was delicious.

Lake Superior, Duluth, MN

Poached Lion’s Mane Mushroom

Lions Mane Mushroom on Black Rice with Brussels Sprouts

I’ve been experimenting with growing mushrooms for the last several weeks and writing about it on my garden blog: Everyday Urban Gardener. Our Lion’s Mane mushroom kit has finally fruited! We have been excitedly watching it grow for the last two weeks. I’d read it is supposed to taste like lobster.

I wasn’t sure how to cook lobster, so I opened up a browser and read some recipes. One theme that kept coming back was to cook slowly. Ok. I can do that, so I decided to poach it in some veggie broth.

Neither of us thought it tasted like lobster, but it definitely had a chewy texture that my wife really enjoyed. The left-overs were slightly less chewy, and had an improvement in flavor. The mushrooms are like little sponges soaking up all the flavor from the broth.

I paired it up with a 50/50 mix of brown and black rice with a large scoop of maple glazed Brussels sprouts on the side. Yum. The combo of slightly sweet and savory was delicious.

Lions Mane Mushroom

Above: A cross section of a Lion’s Mane mushroom.

Ingredients

  • 3 Lion’s Mane Mushrooms
  • 3 cups vegetable broth
  • 3 cloves garlic

Method

  • Cut the mushrooms into 1/4 – 1/2 inch slices.
  • Mince the garlic and heat in the broth for a few minutes on medium heat.
  • Put the mushrooms into the broth and let cook on medium-low heat for 20-30 minutes.
  • Serve and enjoy!

Makes 4 servings.

Lions Mane Mushroom on Black Rice with Brussels Sprouts