Il Cane Rosso

Soy cheese or no soy cheese? This is the age-old vegan question. But for my penchant for persistence, I would not have known to ask for soy cheese at Il Cane Rosso's Deep Ellum outpost.





When I called to make my standard vegan inquiries, the phone answerer was quick to say she could answer all of my dietary questions, but was like "Huh? Vegan?" She told me that the best option for me was the marinara pizza without any cheese. Wha?

I knew better. "Hold on," she replied. I recalled that ICR had participated in Steven Doyle's vegan bus tour with Dallas Vegan. So, I insisted that they MUST have something other than tomato-bread for me to eat.

She came back on the line and said "you know that you can get any of the veggie-based pies with soy cheese." Wow! Vegans eat vegetables AND they have soy cheese!

Maybe it wouldn't have been such a bad thing, though. I really enjoyed the melt-in-your-mouth, thin crusted, gooey, soy-topped, funghi pie. The crust was soft and pliable cooked to a perfect char-burnt doneness. Next time I think I will go for it without soy cheese, though.




I say let the double zero Italian flour and quality ingredients speak for themselves! Many vegans like soy cheese, me included. But, at ICR just say no to teese.

Il Cane Rosso
2612 Commerce
Dallas, Texas 75226

(when they're not tooling around with the mobile pizza oven)

CLOSED SUN AND MON

(To He@% w.) Torchy's Tacos

I couldn't wait to post this one from the corporate office of Torchy's Tacos, an Austin offshoot that just landed in Dallas.

Torchy writes:

"Howdy, Drew!

Thank you kindly for your e-mail! Unfortunately, however, I must burst your bubble of hope regarding vegan items on our menu. You see, we offer many vegetarian options, but there are small instances which involve dairy encounters. For example, our happy veggie beans contain a pinch of parmesean, the grilled vegetables are most likely sauteed in butter, and the fried avocado (as you requested), is battered in milk and egg. I do truly apologize for the inability to meet your dietary restrictions. The devil made us do it.

Regardless, we hope to see you soon!

Taco Dreams,
Torchy's Tacos Headquarters"

Hate to bust your bubble, Torchy, but you won't be seeing me anytime soon!!! Taco dreams? Really?

Whole Foods Sneak Preview

Whole Foods new Landmark store at Park Lane is set to launch tomorrow and we took a sneak peek:





A raw bar featuring raw vegan items, Kombucha taps, and more:

Design your own cupcake bar - yes, there will be vegan cupcakes!

Flavored olive oils and balsalmics on tap in the expanded bulk area:

An expanded selection of our favorite vegan products and new ones, including Upton's Naturals:

And, of course, the mysterious Cart-o-Lator to get all those groceries to your car:

Plus, much, much more!

8190 Park Lane, Suite 351
Dallas, TX 75231 USA

NEW WEBSITE!!!!

Same great content! New web address...

WWW.VEGANEATSDALLAS.COM

Chanukah Potato Latkes

I like mine crispy on the outside and just a little soft on the inside. How about you?

Here’s my recipe:

5 pounds potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 yellow onions, quartered
½ cup egg replacer
1 cup matzo meal (flour, bread crumbs, or panko bread crumbs can also be substituted)
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
Oil for frying

Grate the potatoes and onions together in the food processor. Mix in the dry ingredients. Let the mixture stand for about 5 to 10 minutes. Heat a sauté pan with a thin layer of oil to medium high. You can use canola, vegetable, or even peanut oil. Form about a 2 tablespoon ball gently in your hands so it does not fall apart. Drop it into the pan and flatten lightly with the spatula. Allow the pancakes to fry for a few minutes before moving them or else they may fall apart. Flip them over and press gently to flatten. Cook until golden brown.

Feeds about 8-10 people.

Serve with your choice of Tofutti sour cream or applesauce.

Thanksgiving Menu

I have a soft spot in my heart for Tofurky-so much, in fact, that I thought I would try making my own version this year! Bryanna Clark Groggan offers a well-tested recipe with extensive variations that looks pretty good to me. Generally, it's a combination of tofu and wheat gluten, to make a turkey that has some firmness, but is supposed to be more tender because of the addition of tofu.

Other items on my Thanksgiving '09 menu include: roasted brussels, butternut squash, parsnip, & carrot with pecans and maple glaze; mashed potatoes with crispy shallots; brown herb gravy; and cranberry chutney.

So, in case you want to give it a whirl yourself, here's an abbreviated version of her recipe that I'm gonna try...

Dry ingredients:
2 cups pure gluten powder (instant gluten flour; vital wheat gluten)
1/2 cups full-fat soy flour OR chickpea flour
1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
2 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic granules
1/4 tsp. white pepper

Wet ingredients:
12 oz. firm regular tofu
1 and 1/2 c. water
3 T. soy sauce
1 T. olive oil

Basting liquid:
2 cups hot water (hot water dissolves the broth powder)
1/3 cup chicken broth
2 T. olive oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed

Blend all the wet ingredients in a blender until very smooth. Mix all of the dry ingredients in the bowl of your electric mixer (or bread machine) with dough hook attachment. Add the wet ingredients and knead for about 10 minutes. Let rest for about 1 hour, covered. If you are like me, you can also knead by hand. Seitan dough is real tough and rubbery so I'm not looking forward to this step. Bryanna reccommends letting the seitan dough sit for a while to soak up the liquid more thoroughly before hand-kneading. The dough should be quite shiny and smooth.

Line a large, greased ceramic baking dish with parchment paper. (Bryanna recommends soaking the clay kind in water before baking.) Flatten the dough out and form into a large loaf. Pour the basting broth over the roast, and cover. Place into a cold oven and turn on to 325 degrees. Bake for 3 and 1/2 hours (or longer until all broth is absorbed), turning the roast over once after 1 1/2 hours, and once again after 1 more hour.

She also suggests an option to add a "tofu skin," by wrapping the cooked tofurky with chinese beancurd sheets. Sounds interesting, huh? I picked up some fresh beancurd sheets at May Hua in Plano. Wrap the turkey on a new baking dish or pan, and brush lightly with olive oil. Bake again on 325 for about 1 hr or until crispy.

Happy Tofu Turkey Day, y'all!

Who wants to join a CSA?

The concept has apparently been around for awhile, but with the recent locavore and organic food movements becoming more popular, CSA’s (Community Supported Agriculture) are gaining popularity once again.

Here’s the concept in a nutshell: a farmer offers a certain number of “shares” to the public. Purchasers make payments before the growing season and in return receive proportionate amounts of produce each week throughout the growing season.

EatGreenDFW reports that Jerry Tucker of Tucker Farms is offering shares right now! Depending on the growing season, he is planning on a 32 week growing season, but it may even last longer! By my calculation, that’s almost 8 months of farm fresh produce, weather permitting. You can expect 40 to 50 different varieties of vegetables, and herbs, upon request. Tucker will speak with you in advance, to ask you your likes and dislikes. He says that you can even customize your selection each week by email.

Both half and full shares are available with the half shares priced at $300 (or less than $9.50 a week) and the full shares at $500 (or about $16 a week). A full share is supposed to yield a half bushel (about 13"x13"x6" box) of seasonal vegetables, and can be paid off in installments of $125. More details are available here.

Here’s the catch: Tucker Farms is near Ennis, about 45 minutes south of Dallas on Rte. 75. If there’s anyone out there who wants to join the group or knows of any other good CSA’s, we’re trying to arrange a local pickup here in the DFW metroplex. Give me a shout at veganeatsdallas@gmail.com if you’re interested or leave us a comment.