My Oakland Veg Week Experience - With Recipe and Restaurant Ideas



I've been really remiss in posting, especially since this past week was Oakland Veg Week. I took the pledge and immediately broke it last Sunday, the first day, when I sampled a great Filipino soup (I'm going to try to veganize it for us) at a cooking lesson.  But I've been true to my pledge since then.

Here are a few of the dishes I ate this last week -- note - these are not recipes, just kind of lists of ingredients/technique for you to consider:

1. sliced Field Roast chipolte sausage sauteed with red bell pepper, poblano chili, new potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic and celery.

2. finger-sized slices of eggplant and fresh tofu cubes both cooked individually in the cast iron skillet until browned and cooked through.  Then a sauce of miso, soy, apple cider vinegar cooked until bubbly and the eggplant and tofu added back in and stirred until coated.  Over leftover restaurant white rice.

3. sauteed Chinese greens (partially steamed before stir frying) with stir fried fresh shitake mushrooms, onions and lots of garlic in mushroom vegetarian stir fry sauce (kind of a vegetarian oyster sauce) with chunks of wheat gluten.  Over fresh Shanghai style noodles.

4. stew of sweet potatoes, plantains, corn, carrots, onion, garlic etc. in mole sauce (watch for a recipe or use a canned brand that lists out ingredients to make sure there's no lard!) with white hominy corn (I used canned. If you use dried, soak and cook before using). Served over brown rice.

5. I haven't tried this one yet - but I sampled it at Trader Joe's and it was great -- cooked lentils mixed with TJ's Curry Simmer Sauce.  Reminded me of an Ethiopian lentil dish (messer-wot) I had at an Oakland Veg Week event. More on that later.

I also ate out -- a vegan Ruben sandwich at Nature's Express (an all vegan restaurant), a vegan bento box at Coach Sushi, vegan burrito (I get the Aztec veggie, ask for no dairy, specify black beans and add on the guacamole) at The Burrito Shop (multiple locations) and samples from the wonderful Ethiopian restaurant Cafe Colucci at the cooking class I had as part of Oak Veg Week.

Oakland Veg Week is over now, but the site has lots of info and resources including recipes and local restaurants that are veg-friendly.  Check it out here.

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Graphic from OaklandVeg.Com

Tofu Baked in Pomegranate Molasses BBQ Sauce

Here's one of those concept dishes, that I just did and didn't create an actual recipe.
I made a batch to bring to a dinner featuring meat so I would have something to eat.  The hostess left some potatoes plain for me before she made non-vegan mashed potatoes and there were steamed green beans and my vegan cauliflower "steaks" along side (watch for that recipe).  I may recreate this tofu dish soon and when I do I'll write down the proportions and update this post.

Tofu Baked in Pomegranate Molasses BBQ Sauce

The genesis for this dish is my sauce, which you can see below-- basically it's pomegranate molasses with tomato paste and brown sugar.  I added about 3/4 cup of hot water and stirred the sauce until smooth and added 1/4 of a small onion, chopped and 3 chopped garlic cloves along with a container of  extra firm (not super firm), tofu, drained, rinsed and cut into cubes.  Let marinate for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Put in an oiled baking dish in a preheated 425 degree oven, bake, stirring occasionally, until the tofu is creamy when you bite into a piece, onions are browned and the sauce is almost entirely incorporated into the dish (it shouldn't be liquid).

Serve hot, warm or at room temperature. Drizzle with additional pomegranate molasses before serving if desired.

I used a 12 oz. container of House brand tofu and it I could have eaten the whole dish myself, so I'm not sure how to rate the serving size. Maybe 2 if you are not ravenous.

Pomegranate Molasses BBQ SauceMakes about ½ cup

½ cup pomegranate molasses
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

Put all ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat. Mix well. Heat, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes. Do not allow to boil. Pour into container or serving bowl and allow to cool. Mixture will thicken as it cools.

10 Rules for New Vegans

1. Shake the soy milk carton
2. Plan ahead, make a pot of beans but not a kettle
3. Get a cast iron pan, take a multi-vitamin and look for foods high (normally or adapted) in iron and calcium.
4. Learn to explain to your friends that no you don't even eat cheese.
5. Learn to patiently explain to your friends that some times being able to eat cheese is not an inalienable right
6. Do not try any vegan cheeses or other "analog" products until  you haven't eaten the "real thing" for at least a month. That way you can enjoy them without a direct comparison. Then get Dairya mozzarella shreds.
7. Steer any restaurant meals toward Asian and Indian -- usually there is something delicious for you
8. Make peace with plain baked potatoes, pasta with veggies and simple salads, that's often the choice at more mainstream restaurants.  Focus on your family and friends not the food.
9. Try not to indulge in too much fried or processed food -- some is desireable, unavoidable or understandable, but too much will undo the good impacts of a vegan diet and make you the dreaded "French fry vegan"
10. Develop a 10-second "elevator" speech about why you are vegan and practice it.  Somehow it will be everybody's business.  To save time and aggravation make it about your own needs. Anything else can feel threatening and you will often end up finding friends and family feeling threatened and create mutally defensive confrontations.  Unless of course, that's your goal, in which case go for the extremes.