Raw pizza

These pre-packaged raw items by Raw in the Garden have recently shown up in Sevananda‘s island cooler. So I picked one up to try for lunch.

With a pre-packaged item, I was worried it would taste fresh, but it was fine. I think the zucchini might have been marinated which was nice, gave them more flavor. It didn’t have a crisp crust, but the flavors of everything were definitely pizza like. With the nut-based crust and cashew cream it was also pretty filling. This could be pulled off without a dehydrator. I might try this at home.

Vegan banh mi: found

Our friends Taylor and Beth have been getting non-vegan banh mi at Lee’s Bakery for a while. They started asking about a vegan version and they said they could do that. Apparently, the menu changed about a week later.

Let’s look at that a little closer.

Yes, that says “vegan soup.” So you can get the tofu banh mi, just ask that mayo be left off, and a pho-like soup or a half sandwich and soup combo. We whipped together earth balance and veganaise and brought it with us for the sandwiches. I like the soup broth better than the Pho 96 one. It isn’t flavored with 5-spice powder. But it doesn’t have all the fake meats Pho 96 uses. Which is okay with me.

Our first visit, I did the half sandwich and soup combo. A half sandwich is about 6″ long.

And they have two sizes of the soup. This smaller one comes with the combo. Smaller, not small. Full of veggies, rice noodles, tofu, yuba, and sprinkled with green onions and fried onion. You also get a plate of sprouts and cilantro to add.

The combo is $6.95, a whole tofu banh mi sandwich is $3. I sure wish this was closer in town.

The $8.50 box from Healthful Essence

If you haven’t been to Healthful Essence yet, you should get on that. This is the $8.50 box. I’ve got rice and peas, BBQ tofu and greens with a few plantain slices on top. That fried thing on top is an unfish that Kevin ordered separately. The food here always feels like it’s pretty healthy, if you ignore that fried thing there. It’s always full of flavor without being oily or fatty. Again, don’t look at that fried thing.

The pie potluck

Yes, yes we did. Pies savory and sweet. Pies, pies, pies.

I made the Scalloped Potato Pie from Hearty Vegan Meals for Monster Appetites.

And, the Gingerbread Apple Pie from Vegan With A Vengeance.

More pie goodies…. quiche, I think.

Frito Pie

Spanikopita

My plate o’ pie

Of course there’s a dessert plate. Duh. Steph made two different ice cream pies. Both needed to be tried. Plus the gingerbread apple pie. With ice cream. *BLORT*

Potato-Kale Soup with Sizzling Chorizo

How do you take a simple potato-kale soup to the next level? Toss some chorizo on top! Which is exactly what Terry Hope Romero does in the Potato-Kale Soup with Sizzling Chorizo recipe in Viva Vegan! It was so good I ate the whole batch over the course of a week for various meals. Instead of making chorizo, I just picked up some from Trader Joe’s. It worked great but I did use it more sparingly since it’s kind of oily.

Also, Kale is awesome. Cooked or raw.