More Than Tofu

Oh, and indeed it is!

I found these little babies by Sunergia Soyfoods in my boyfriend's fridge, and they're rocking my no longer bland tofu world. Don't come a knockin'. You get yourself to a market.

I tofu-ed myself out many years ago. I would rather eat tempeh or seitan almost any day, but, by golly, I could eat these uncooked as a snack. Only freaks can say that about ordinary tofu.

The secret is that they integrate ingredients like mushrooms and peanuts INTO the tofu and then give it a marinade. Try marinading plain tofu for hours and it never really seems to soak up enough flavor. I've tried other flavored tofu, but this is much better. Sunergia Soyfoods actually put the flavor in there for you. (See the hunks in the picture.)

They have ten different flavors of tofu. My favorite is the peanut and ginger tofu used in pad Thai.

Their package says that if you contact them, they'll give you a $1 off two packages coupon. Try it.

I'm Gonna Eat London!

Photo by alalsacienne
I'm so excited! I booked my ticket to London for a two week stay this summer. I'm not sure what's on the agenda yet, but I'm looking forward to trolling the aisles of the supermarkets - Waitrose, Sainsbury, Budgens, etc.

I caught 28 Days Later - an excellent zombie movie, and I'm not a zombie fan - on TV the other day. The scene where the four heroes loot a Budgens market reminded me of all the fun I had going up and down the aisles of the grocery stores in the UK. I was there a few years ago on a whirlwind tour of gardens - woo, school was rough.

I found that the UK has the best pre-made sandwiches that you can grab from coolers at markets and convenience stores. I would never do such a thing in the US. Many times I would eat from the grocery instead of going to a restaurant. They do lovely things like put watercress on sandwiches! I also love eating the curry flavored snacks and the foreign candy. I generally just enjoy looking at foods I've never seen.

Hopefully I'll be able to report on my feedings and finds. What I don't care to find myself feeding on is a full English breakfast. English cooking manages to be both simultaneously dull and foul. Stick to the markets.

Now, if I could just find someone to pay me to travel and eat.

Horizons - New Vegan Cuisine

Update: no longer open.

Imagine going to a restaurant and being able to eat everything on the menu. That doesn't happen often when you're a vegetarian, and hell might as well freeze over first if you're a vegan. Well, hell just froze over in Philly. Horizons, a vegan haute cuisine restaurant, has cast it's seed from the suburbs and sprouted a more refined establishment in the city.

I'll preface this review by saying that I had about 5 glasses of wine when I stepped into Horizons for dinner, so images and clear memories are a bit blurry. I did have four other people with me who were not as blurry eyed as myself.

Horizons recently opened south of South St. and is not completely finished. Their upstairs is open, but the downstairs is still under construction. I had hesitated going, hoping to go when everything was finished, but I just couldn't wait any longer. I'm glad I went.

The decor is reminiscent of a dining experience you might have while on vacation at a tropical resort, at least that's how I felt. The walls are painted a warm coral, tropical plants are tucked along the stairwell and room, and dark wooden fans twirl atop the vaulted ceiling. The upstairs is one open room with a long bar one walks past before entering the dining area.

I've read that Horizons offers a selection of liquor and vegan beer and wines - apparently some ingredients used in producing wine are animal based. Who knew? Having already indulged in wine, I chose the Playa - a mixed drink of rum and tamarind juice. The first sip surprised me even though I'm familiar with tamarind, but those who are not may not like tart distinctive flavor of tamarind. The rest went down quite smoothly.

The food menu is the most exciting part, because again, nothing is off limits. We started with two appetizers - edamame hummus and the exotic olive tasting. The edamame hummus was a beautiful green color and had a lighter texture and flavor than traditional chickpea hummus. The hummus was served with kimchi and rice crackers. The exotic olive tasting was presented beautifully. Asian soup spoons, each filled with a different kind of olive, were lined along a rectangular platter. The consensus of the group was that the olives were bland. They could have offered a more flavorful variety of olives.

I had the tamarind rum glazed tempeh served with ginger whipped boniato and calabaza stew ($17). Oh. My. God. My dish was out of this world. The large steaks of tempeh had a tangy, sweet sauce. The ginger whipped boniato had an intriguing flavor, almost reminiscent of curry, and kept me shoveling it in my mouth and saying,"These are the best mashed potatoes I've ever had." All of this was surrounded by a stew of sweet calabaza squash and tomatoes. My mouth watered with every bite and I kept shoveling it in faster than I should have. I'm sure if I could have seen myself, I would be have been embarrassed.

I had a bite of every one else's entree, and they were all good. Mine was the best, though. In close second, with explosive flavor, was the smoked tofu with wild mushroom enchiladas, cilantro mint chimmichurri, black beans and jicima salad ($16).

The Caribbean udon ($14) swimming in a creamy Jamaican curry was spectacular. I would have stolen more off of my friends plate, but her seating position made the passing of slippery udon a bit difficult.

Also tasted was the pacific rim grilled tofu with kochujang glaze, ginger lime butter edamame mashed potatoes, and seared yuchoy tips ($17), and the pan seared peppercorn tofu with basil fregola, creamy porcini broth, grilled asparagus and charred tomato salad ($17).

The prices are not cheap, but are comparable to any other fine dining in the city, and that's what Horizons is trying to be - not a bland health food deli, but a restaurant that really shows that vegan cuisine can be just as flavorful, filling, and as exciting as any cuisine. The ingredients, presentation, and flavors are exceptional. It puts anything I do in my kitchen to shame, and that's what I want when I'm dining out.

I was hoping for a lunch menu with cheaper prices, but they are only open in the evening. I will have to settle for evening dining, but their food is definitely worth it. I'm sure vegans and vegetarians in the city who enjoy good food are jumping for joy. A restaurant just for me!

Good luck to Horizons and their new location in the city. My friends, literally, were exclaiming how good the food was every ten minutes the next day. I'm hoping to go back very soon. Perhaps, I'll be a little more cognizant.


Horizons
611 South 7th St., Philadelphia, PA 19147
215-923-6117
Tues. - Thurs., 6-10 p.m.; Fri. - Sat., 6-11 p.m.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

My friend and business partner’s birthday is a few days away from mine. It’s sort of like having to share your birthday with a sister. Since she’s younger, does that mean I get to beat her up, too?

She told me she loved red velvet cake, so I made cupcakes last year for her birthday and this year, as well. Next year she’s getting something different. I'm ready for something new.

My Aunt Mary Elizabeth (that’s four syllables and pronounced very quickly, an-mare-lis-buth) in Georgia was famed for her red velvet cake, and it is my brother’s all-time favorite. My aunt uses an icing made from flour, milk, sugar, vanilla, and butter that is cooked, but I once tried this with disastrous results. Instead, I'm using the other common pairing of cream cheese frosting.

Almost all recipes you find for this cake are very similar. The cake is traditionally known as a Southern cake, but has unknown and fabled originsthat sound quite dubious.Wherever it originated, the red batter screams to be used at Christmas, Valentine’s and special occasions.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

½ cup shortening
1 cup buttermilk
1 ½ cup sugar
2 eggs
2 ounces red food coloring
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 ½ cups cake flour, sifted
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vinegar
pinch of salt

• Cream shortening, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl.
  
• Make a paste of the food coloring and cocoa and add to the sugar mixture.
• Mix salt, vinegar, baking soda, and buttermilk together.
• Add the flour alternately with the buttermilk into the sugar mixture and mix until well incorporated.
• Pour into muffin liners and bake for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Cream Cheese Frosting
12 ounces cream cheese
½ stick of butter
4 cups sifted powdered sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla

• Allow cream cheese and butter to reach room temperature.
• Cream together cream cheese, butter and vanilla.
• Add the sifted powdered sugar and beat until creamy. Add more sugar for a thicker and sweeter frosting.
  

Chocolate Frosting

There are those that eat the cake and leave the frosting and those that eat the frosting and leave the cake. The only time I leave the frosting is if it's birthday cake frosting. You know the kind that's made from shortening and sugar and is on almost all traditional birthday cakes purchased from grocery stores or bakeries.

I've been eying a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting in the current issue of Cook's Illustrated. I like that magazine because they take a scientific/trial-and-error approach to recipes. In the end they come up with the best way to make a dish. It's very educational and we like learning!

A very astute person took my hints and made the cake for me. The cake was very good, but the frosting was the best. It's fluffy and rich, taking the fluffiness from buttercreams and the chocolate richness from ganaches. So good, in fact, that friends will resort to stealing it from your plate.


Chocolate Frosting
Adapted from Cook's Illustrated Magazine

16 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 1/4 cups cold heavy cream

• Melt chocolate in heatproof bowl set over saucepan containing 1 inch of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside. Meanwhile, heat butter in small saucepan over medium-low heat until melted. Increase heat to medium; add sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, and salt and stir with heatproof rubber spatula until sugar is dissolved, 4 to 5 minutes. Add melted chocolate, butter mixture, and cream to clean bowl of standing mixer and stir to thoroughly combine.
• Place mixer bowl over ice bath and stir mixture constantly with rubber spatula until frosting is thick and just beginning to harden against sides of bowl, 1 to 2 minutes (frosting should be 70 degrees). Place bowl on standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed until frosting is light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir with rubber spatula until completely smooth.
• Temperature is very important in this recipe. Remove the mixture from the ice bath and whip at 70 degrees. When they tested it at 75 degrees, the frosting was too warm and did not set up properly. At 65 degrees, the frosting was too cool and seized when whipped.

Restaurant Reviews A-Z

A
A Full Plate Café
Adobe Café
Ansill (no longer open)
Apothecary (no longer open)

B
b.b.go
Ba Le
Banana Leaf
Bar Ferdinand
Bebe's Barbecue (no longer open)
Beneluxx
Birra
Bitar's
Black Lab Breads
Blackbird Pizzeria
Blue Parrot Bar and Grille
Brown Betty Dessert Boutique
Buckley's Tavern
Burger.org
Burrito Bandido
Buttercream Cupcake Truck

C
Cafe Apamate (no longer open)
Café Chettinad (no longer open)
Café con Chocolate
Café Loftus
Café Nhu Y
Cafe Pendawa Lima
Cantina Dos Segundos
Cantina Los Caballitos
Capogiro
Capriotti's
Chabaa Thai
Chai Pani
Chhaya
Chick's
Chickie's
Chifa
Chloe
Circles
Citi MarketPlace
Continental Midtown
Cooperage
Cracker Barrel
Cuba Libre
Cupcake Heaven

D
Delilah's
Desi Chaat House
Devi
Devil's Alley
Devil's Den
Dim Sum Garden
Distrito
Divan
Dmitri's
Domaine Hudson
Dumpling House (no longer open)

E
Eclipse Bistro
Ekta
El Camino Real
El Diablo
El Rey
Elevation Burger

F
Famous Fourth Street Deli
Fare
Federal Donuts
Fish
Fitzwater Café
For Pete's Sake
Fork:etc.
Frankford Hall
Fresh Thymes
Fu-Wah Mini Mart
Fuel

G
Gaja Gaja (no longer open)
Garces Trading Company
Gayle (no longer open)
Geechee Girl
Genelle's (no longer open)
Gianna's Grille
Giwa
Gnocchi
Govatos
Govinda's Gourmet To Go
Green Eggs Cafe
Grindcore House
Groucho's

H
Han Dynasty
Hardena
Haru (no longer open)
Home Grown Café
Home Slice
Honey's Sit n' Eat
Hoof + Fin (no longer open)
Horizons (no longer open)
Hot Breads
Hot Diggity
Hotel du Pont

I
IKEA
ING Café
Izumi

J
J. Farmers
Jamaican Jerk Hut
Johnnie's Dog House
Jones

K
K.C.'s Pastries
Kahl-Bee
Kanella
Kennett
Khyber Pass Pub
Koo Zee Doo
Kraftwork
Kreutz Creek Wine Tasting Room

L
La Copine
La Lupe
La Michoacana Ice Cream
Lapp's Kitchen (no longer open)
Las Bugambilias
Latin Farmer (no longer open)
Le Shio
Lee How Fook
Little Baby's Ice Cream
Local 44
Lolita
Lorenzo's Pizza
Loving Hut
Lucky's

M
Mantra (no longer open)
Maoz
Marabella Meatball Co.
Maru Global
Mazag Café (no longer open)
Meju (no longer open)
Memphis Taproom Beer Garden
Meritage
Mi Lah
Midatlantic
Mikimotos
Mitsitam Café
Mixto
Moe's Hot Dog House
Monk's Café
Monsú
Morning Glory Diner
Moshulu
Mr. Joe's Café

N
Naked Chocolate Café (no longer open)
Nam Phuong
Nan Zhou Hand Drawn Noodle House
National Mechanics
Natural Goodness Market & Café
New Harmony
Nicholas (no longer open)
North Bowl

O
Olé Tapas Lounge
One Lucky Duck
Orillas

P
P. F. Chang's China Bistro
Paesano's
Palace at the Ben
Parc
Pastoral
Percy Street Barbecue
Philadelphia Chutney Company
Phileo
Philippine Bread House
Pho Cali
Pig Out BBQ Pit
Pink Rose Pastry Shop (no longer open)
Pizza By Elizabeths
Pizzi Pizza
P.O.P.E.
Presto!
PureBread
PYT

Q
Q Barbeque and Tequila Bar
Q.T. Vietnamese Sandwich
Qdoba

R
Rangoon
Rasa Sayang
Renaissance Sausage
Riverfront Market
Royal Tavern

S
Sabrina's Too
Salento
Sampan
Sansom Kabob House
Santucci's Square Pizza
Sazon
Shane Confectionery
Shank's Original
Shiroi Hana
Shouk (no longer open)
Siam Lotus
Silk City Diner
Sketch
Sonam (no longer open)
Soybean Asian Grille
SquareBuger
Stella
Sushi Planet
Sweet Basil (no longer open)
Sweet Freedom Bakery
Swift Half Pub

T
Tacos mi Pueblito
Talula's Garden
Talula's Table
Teri's
terra
The Abbaye
The Admiral
The Fractured Prune
The Ugly American
Tiffin Etc.
Tiffin Store
Tijuana Taco Shop
Toscana Kitchen and Bar
Tutti Frutti
Twenty Manning

U
Utage (no longer open)

V
Va La Vinyards
Varga Bar
Viet Tofu
Village Whiskey

W
Waffle House
Washington Street Ale House
Wild Chives & Rosemary (no longer open)

X
XIX Nineteen
Xochitl

Y
Yummy Yummy

Z
Zahav
Zavino

Veggie Hot Dogs

The quest for a hot dog street vendor selling veggie hot dogs started more than a decade ago when a street vendor pshawed my idea of selling veggie hot dogs, scowling,"That's a novel idea." Well, hon, I found some! It's hard to find a street vendor selling veggie hot dogs, but I'll take a veggie hot dog wherever I can find one, so not all of my hot dog adventures are on the street. And, some hot dogs are more like sausages.

Better Burger
Charleston Dog
Dog Almighty
Frankford Hall
Johnnie's Dog House
Lawrence, Kansas
Memphis Taproom Beer Garden
Moe's Hot Dog House
Renaissance Sausage