Rhizome Cafe

This little cafe is located on Broadway, a couple of blocks east of Main street. This is a very interesting space; the decor creates a very warm atmosphere that makes you feel at home.

The food is terrific too~I love love love the kamut-banana pancakes! Add a side of veggie breakfast patties and I'm smiling.

Words of warning: do not go to this place if you are pressed for time. They like to make you wait to earn your delicious meal!

Check it out ~ http://www.rhizomecafe.ca/index.html

SUSHI TIME

My friend and I took a sushi class a few weeks back and attempted to make some of the delicious dishes we learned this past wednesday...

Shrimp Sunomono Salad

1 pack vermicelli noodles

rice vinegar

sugar

white wine (we used barefoot's pinot grigio)

grapefruit juice

cucumber

shrimp

Yakiudon

1 pack udon noodles

1 pack udon sauce

dry seaweed

oil, for frying

Maki

rice

nori

cucumber

avacado

crabmeat

shrimp tempura

yam tempura

Tempura Batter

1 cup flour

1 cup ice water

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 egg

I think our teacher would be very proud! ^_^

Cafe Deux Soleils - Part II

I know I've previously written about this place before, but that was about breakfast.

This time it's about dinner.

This place makes the best veggie burger in town. I've had some argumentative debates about this topic - as some people believe the Naam's got the claim to fame in the veggie burger category - but cafe deux soleils' soft, chewy, fluffy patty has a special place in my heart.

They have lots of other delicious bites on their dinner menu as well!

Cowboy Cookies

I don't know why these cookies are called "cowboy cookies," I like to think it's because they are WILD with flavor. A mix of coconut, pecans, oats and chocolate chips is enough to keep me from singing the blues.

Cowboy Cookies

(adapted from Martha Stewart)

3/4 cup pecans

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups rolling oats

1 cup dark chocolate chips

1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet. Toast in oven, tossing occasionally, 10 to 13 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely chop.

2. In a bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder.

3. Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugars until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

4. Gradually add flour mixture to the electric mixer, beating until just incorporated. Beat in oats, chocolate, pecans and coconut until just combined.

5. Line baking sheet with parchment paper, and drop dough onto sheet, about 3 inches apart. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, 16 to 18 minutes.

Doi Chaang Coffee Company

Buy Doi Chaang Coffee!

Read all about their coffee, background and cause here: http://www.doichaangcoffee.com/

Broccoli Mushroom Popovers

These fluffy, nutty, cheesy, broccoli-y popovers are also coined "poor people's brioche," or, as I like to call them, "puffy pillows of perfection."

I would highly recommend doubling the popover section of the recipe to optimize the tastiness of the end result!

Stuffed Popovers

(adapted from vegetarian cookbook Horn of the Moon)

Popovers:

2 T butter, melted

3 eggs

1 cup milk

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp honey

1 cup all-purpose flour

Filling:

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

2 T butter, melted

3 cups chopped broccoli

3 large cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp dried thyme

2 cups sliced mushrooms

1/2 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups cheese (I use a mozza-cheddar mix!)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put melted butter, eggs, milk, salt, honey and flour in a food processor and mix until smooth.

2. Butter a 12-hole muffin tin and fill each cup half full with popover batter.

3. Bake for 15 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake popovers another 10 to 15 minutes more until lightly browned.

4. Take out of oven and immediately make a 1-inch slit across the top of each popover. Now gently go around the edge of each popover with a wide-edged knife. Lift up the sides and bottom of each one until free. Tilt onto its side in muffin tin and allow to cool.

5. On a cookie sheet, roast walnuts 5 minutes in the oven and set aside.

6. In melted butter, saute the broccoli, garlic and herbs in a 10-inch fry pan over medium heat. When broccoli turns bright green and tender, add mushrooms and salt. Continue to cook over medium heat until mushrooms are done. Remove from heat.

7. In a medium bowl, combine broccoli mixture, walnuts and cheese.

8. Make an opening in each popover (where slit is) and stuff with the broccoli-cheese filling until all the popovers are filled.

9. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes!

The Foundation Lounge

The foundation lounge is a popular East Van restaurant on Main Street which just happens to make amazing vegetarian eats.

This place is known for it's colossal nachos - which are cheesy goodness bedecked with black beans, corn and onions - but my heart lies with the OPPP and cheap beer.

Our Peanut Pesto Pasta - fusilli, brocolli, onions, spinach, sliced apples and tofu in a delicious creamy peanut and pesto sauce.

If you do check this place out, be prepared to wait in line, as it's consistently busy!

Oh and they like to play hip-hop music. Loudly.