Biscuits and gravy

I know it has been forever since I last posted, but life has been crazy. After we got back from Seattle on Sept 5 we spent a crazy Labor day catching up on homework only to be thrown into a whirlwind of a week. The following Monday we found out we were accepted to the Sleeping Rainbow Writers Workshop and would be leaving that Wednesday night, Sept 15. We hurriedly attempted to get ahead on homework and then were off for another adventure. We had a ton of fun hiking and swimming in waterfalls. The food was alright, it was catered and we managed to survive on crappy white bread and jam. Here are some photos of our trip.

Our home for the weekend - the Capitol Reef Field Station

On top of the Sleeping Rainbow ridge

Hiking in Sulphur Creek

Isn't it beautiful? Unfortunately, I have now used up all the excused absences I had all in the first month of school. Hope I don't get sick anytime soon :p So when we got back last Sunday I was super exited to start using the recipes I had been hoarding for two weeks. THEN Ben got a massive toothache! This last week we hardly got any sleep, up all night with tooth pain and trying to find a medicine to satiate it. Finally on Wednesday Ben got an emergency appointment with the dentist and a few hours later was boozed up in bed on prescription pain meds. So for a few days he could hardly chew anything and the only thing I was cooking up in my kitchen were creative smoothies. Yesterday was the first day he would really chew anything of substance and we celebrated by going to City Cakes Cafe in Salt Lake and getting mac and cheese and dessert. Their mac and cheese was pretty good but nothing compared to the mac and yease we had in Seattle!

So this morning I woke up and felt like getting my hands dirty. Ben and I have been talking about making biscuits and gravy for a while since we had leftover ground seitan in the freezer, so I whipped some up and surprised a very sleepy Ben with a steaming pile of breakfast - as you can see from the picture. The biscuits could have been a bit fluffier but the gravy was spot on and all together it made a very satisfying breakfast. Over coffee we had a few more biscuits with jam and they were just as good that way. Speaking of coffee; Ben and I tried a new product today! So Delicious Hazelnut Coconut Milk Coffee Creamer! We are both in love. For those vegans out there who miss a good coffee creamer, So Delicious has done it. I already love their coconut milk products in just about everything and the coffee creamer is no different. The hazelnut flavor was FABULOUS but they also have original and vanilla. When we try those I will let you know.

Anyway, on to the recipe for biscuits and gravy. Hopefully I can pop out a few more this week! I actually just kind of made up both the biscuit and gravy recipes based off of what my mom told me she usually does, so the measurements may not be exact.

Biscuits:

2 C Unbleached white flour
2 tsp Baking powder
4 Tbs Shortening
1/2 tsp Salt
3/4 C Oat milk (around there, you can use soy, rice or almond milk too I just happened to have oat on hand)

Sift flour into a mixing bowl and stir in baking powder and salt. Sift the entire mixture again into a large mixing bowl. Cut in shortening with a fork or work it in with your hands. Add milk gradually, mixing with your hands until a soft dough is formed. Turn out onto a floured surface and lightly knead for 30 seconds. Roll the dough out until it is about 3/4 inch thick and cut out circles using a cup or cookie cutter. Place circles on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Makes about 12 biscuits.

Gravy:

1 Large onion, sliced
1 T Canola oil
1/3 C water
1/3 C Unbleached white flour
1 C Oat milk (more if you like a more watery gravy, mine was pretty thick)
1 C Seitan, ground and flavored (see the recipe and flavorings  I used here)
Salt, pepper, and granulated garlic to taste


Heat oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and saute it over medium-high heat for 15-20 minutes or until it is brown and caramelized throughout. Add the flour and water, stirring so that it all kinds of turns into a mush. Place the mush into a blender and let cool. While that is cooling, put the seitan and spices into a medium sauce pan and begin to saute. Add the milk to the mush in the blender and blend until smooth. Add this mixture to the cooking seitan and combine. Cook until heater throughout, adding more spices if necessary. Serve atop biscuits.

Eating our way through Seattle

I know it has been almost a week since Ben and I returned from Seattle but it has been hectic since the moment we returned. It's so hard to return to a busy life when you have such a nice vacation :( and such great food too! Though we didn't actually just go there for vacation, we were in Seattle for PAX 2010. PAX is a three-day game festival for tabletop, videogame, and PC gamers (so fun, i know). Although I am none of those things Ben is; as you can see from the picture. For those of you that don't know, Ben is dressed as Naked Snake from the game Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. BUT that's not why I went to Seattle. I went to support Ben, of course, and for the food! So, as the title suggests, below is a list of everything we ate while we were in Seattle. I (stupidly) didn't think of taking photos of everything so all of the photos below were just pulled off the internet.


Wednesday, September 1

We flew in to Seattle Wednesday evening and were picked up from the airport by Ben's friend who lives in Milton, which is about 30 mi outside of Seattle. We went to Thai Bistro for dinner and it was very, very good. The decorations inside were super cool and they even had this huge hand carved door frame/arch over the front entrance. Ben and I both got the 'Vegetables Curry' which had mixed vegetables in a red curry sauce. We also got our favorite drink, thai tea with soy milk and boba! The veggies in the curry were cooked to perfection and the curry was just the right consistency and heat for both of us. The tea was super sweet (just the way I like it) and there were so many boba balls I couldn't eat them all! Ben and I struggled a little bit talking with the waiter because he didn't understand English very well but eventually he figured out what we wanted and he was very accommodating. Overall, probably 4/5 stars.

You can visit Thai Bistro's website here for more information.


Thursday, September 2

On Thursday we woke up and walked over to Safeway for some juice and cereal. Then we went into the Seattle city center. We walked around the Pike Place market along the waterfront and sampled the juiciest peach I have ever had (the peach gets 5/5 stars). I was not very happy about the many shops selling fresh fish, so we avoided a few parts of the market, but for the most part I really enjoyed the fresh produce and little shops.

See the Pike Place market website here.

Then we went up to Boom Noodle for lunch. Boom noodle is this fabulous Japanese restaurant that reminds me of Wagamamas, a noodle bar I went to all the time when I was in London. In Japan, a “boom” is something you are currently obsessed with. Thus, Boom Noodle! I got the 'Shiitake Soba' veganized and Ben got the 'Yasai Yakisoba' veganized. Our waiter was super helpful and told us he could make anything on the menu vegan if we wanted it. The Shiitake Soba included soba (buckwheat) noodles, shiitake mushrooms (ahhh I love shiitake mushrooms...), plain tofu, green onions, and kaiware sprouts in a dashi broth. The Yasai Yakisoba included fried tofu, udon noodles, button mushrooms, cabbage, baby corn, bean sprouts, and serrano peppers. Probably 4/5 stars.

You can visit Boom's website here for more information.

After lunch we wanted dessert but were disappointed with local coffee houses and a cupcake shop that had no vegan options. We ended up getting a mocha with Ghirardelli's black label chocolate syrup and rice milk from a knowledgeable cashier at Tully's Coffee. I ended up getting 5 more of these in the remaining days we were in Seattle thanks to the Tully's located right inside in the Washington Convention Center. An enthusiastic 5/5 stars.


After getting coffee (dessert) we wandered around the city with Ben's childhood friends Billy and Adam. Billy coaxed us to try a vegetarian (vegan) hot dog from a street vendor and we were so glad we did! The hot dog ended up being my favorite brand, Field Roast Grain Meat Co. I was ecstatic to learn the company's headquaters are actually IN Seattle! The hot dog came with grilled sliced onions, stone ground mustard, ketchup, and relish. Mmmm. 5/5 stars.


Friday, September 3

On Friday we had cereal again and then went to Cyber-Dogs!!! I love this place to death. Right as you walk in it has pictures of Bob Dylan and David Bowie that say "If you are Bob Dylan or David Bowie, you can have a hot dog for free". How cool is that? I really wish I had got some pictures of the inside of the place, it is this tiny little one-room deal that used to be storage for the Washington Convention Center.The place is covered with cool old posters, records, and dog paraphernalia. We met Tania Harrison, the owner and creator of Cyber-Dogs, and she was super friendly and bustly. Hackers was even playing on the little TV in there in respect for the conference! So cool. Anyway, I guess the menu at Cyber-Dogs is usually pretty extensive but they had cut down their options to about 4 to save on time with the thousands of nerds coming through for those couple of days. So Ben and I both got the 'Coney Island.' It had really tasty chili, grilled sliced onions, a sort of vegan bean cheese sauce, and scallions on top. The bun was a whole wheat sub with sesame seeds and was pretty tasty. The hot dog itself tasted like a tofu pup or something though and wasn't all that good. For dessert Ben and I ordered these little cups of vegan tiramisu. Man, how we love our tiramisu. Ben said he thinks our local vegan bakery City Cakes makes a better tiramisu (and it is a bigger portion for the same price!) but I thought it was equally as good. Overall, the atmosphere and deco was a 5/5 and the toppings on the dog were a 5/5 but the dog itself was probably only a 2/5. Luckily we went to Cyber-Dogs again on Saturday and had a 5/5 dog.

Visit the Cyber-Dogs website here.

For an afternoon snack Ben and I got smoothies from The Juicy Cafe inside the Convention Center. We had a 'Cameron's Sunshine' made of blended kiwis, pears, strawberries, and apples. It was frothy and sweet. A 3/5.

Visit The Juicy Cafe website here.


For dinner we had the crowning meal (price wise) of our trip to Seattle. We walked over to Plum Bistro, a gourmet all-vegan organic restaurant on Capitol Hill.

With Billy's advice we got the 'Spicy Mac 'n' Yease' (picture #1) for an appetizer. I don't think I can go on enough about it. IT WAS SO GOOD. Ahhhhh it was to die for! Greasy, with crunchy crispy parts... I asked what the cheese sauce was made from but the lady wouldn't budge. Said it was a secret recipe. Grr. So I looked it up online and found a few recreations. Look for a recipe for this soon, my craving is not likely to subside. For our entrées I ordered the 'Black Pepper-Battered Red Potato Parmesan' and Ben ordered the 'Cornmeal Encrusted Seitan Steak.' I would have to say the seitan dish was the better of the two, but they were both pretty good. My peppered potatoes came with linguine and tomato basil sauce, vegan mozzarella and garlic-lemon broccoli. The potatoes and broccoli were kind of bland but the sauce and the noodles were pretty good. However I was a bit disappointed since it turned out to be a kind of over-priced spaghetti. Ben's seitan steak, on the other hand, was well worth the $17. It had a mushroom gravy over it and had the loveliest spices throughout. Mmmmm. It really made the meal. On the side he had thyme-roasted potatoes and sautéed red chard. The potatoes in his meal were a bit bland too, and the chard was not nearly as good as some I have had in the past. For dessert we got a strawberry cream filled crepe with strawberries and mandarin oranges on top. The cream was very tasty. We also got to try some of Josh's (Ben's brother) sweet potato fries with a sort of garlicy-ranch spread on top. THOSE were on par with the mac 'n' yease. Just fabulous. Overall, the appetizer, steak, pasta with sauce, fries, and dessert were good. Everything else was just a bit too bland and/or flavorless. SO I would chalk it up to a 4/5.

Visit Plum Bistro's website here.

Saturday, September 4

For breakfast Ben and I walked over to the Whole Foods near our hotel and bought some lovely chocolate cherry scones. Mmmm good. 5/5

For lunch I ran over to The Juicy Cafe again and got warm 'Thai Curry.' It turned out to be kind of interesting. It had a bed of warm rice followed by a huge heap of spinach! Then mixed veggies, baked tofu, and curry sauce topped with whole cashews. After I picked out all of the raw celery (ew not a fan...) and gave it to ben, I really enjoyed it. The baked tofu had been marinated in something and was delicious. The spinach made an interesting addition to a traditional rice and curry dish and I really liked it. Over all, 3/5.

For lunch Ben ran over to Cyber-Dogs again and he gave me a few bites of his a 'Mama Tatiana.' Man, it was SO GOOD. Probably the best thing I had while in Seattle. I'm really sad we didn't get a chance for me to get my own :( and I was too full from my curry to get one when Ben got one. It was on another one of the whole wheat sesame buns but the hot dog was....duh duh duh DAH! a Field Roast Italian Sausage! My favorite! It was topped with tomatoes, artichoke hearts, fresh basil, minced garlic, and tons of vegan Parmesan cheese. Oh man. I was in love. I am so sad I didn't take / can't find a picture of this one... 5/5!

For dinner we went to In The Bowl, a vegetarian (vegan) noodle bistro. We ordered two appetizers to share with Josh and Billy and they were really, really good. We ordered the 'Full-Filled Your Dreams' which was a
made from deep fried wonton skin wrappers filled with a 'meat paste' and tofu cream cheese, served with sweet and sour sauce. We also ordered the 'Vegetarian Duck and Chicken Rolls' which were deep fried rice wrappers filled with steamed 'duck,' 'chicken' and assorted vegetables, served with sweet and sour pineapple sauce. Both of the appetizers were super tasty. For dinner I ordered the 'Ginger Noodle' with udon noodles and 'chicken.' Ben ordered the 'Spicy Coconut Milk Noodle' with udon and 'beef.' Mine had fresh ginger, onions, carrots, green onions, mushrooms, broccoli, and snow peas. The taste of the noodles and the vegetables were divine. But the 'chicken' was actually kind of gross. It was little quarter circle salami-like pieces that just...didn't taste good. Thats really the best I can explain it. I had some of Ben's 'beef' and I really wish I had gotten that. His came with green curry paste, carrots, coconut milk, pineapple, Japanese eggplant, bell peppers, broccoli and basil. The beef was good. Like I said, I should have gotten that. But that wasn't the only mistake I made. I ordered a 3/5 spicy and it was WAY TOO SPICY! I mean, I can handle spicy, but this was over the top. My tongue hurt when I chewed it was so spicy. Ben got a 2/5 and I think that was probably just perfect. Maybe even a 1/5. Ben also got the Thai tea and Josh got Thai coffee, both of which were great. Overall, I give it a 5/5 since the gross parts were my mistake (namely the 'chicken' and the overwhelming heat). I wish I could go again and do it over... oh well :)

Visit In The Bowl's website here.

Sunday, September 5

Sunday morning we went to Whole Foods again and I got a really nice 'everything bagel.'

I actually took this one!

For lunch we went to the international district but the place we were planning on going was closed on Sundays. Bad planning on our part. So we went to the Uwajimaya market and got some inari from the deli. How could inari ever be bad? I don't know. We wandered around until we found a place that looked ok called Phnom Penh Noodles. There was a big pitcher of complimentary hot green tea on the table which made me happy. Ben and I both ordered the 'Vegetarian Red Curry' just to be safe since our waitress didn't seem to understand our questions. It had red and green bell peppers, bamboo shoots, and tofu. The portion was huge but the curry was super greasy so over all I would say it was probably only a 2/5.

On our way to the airport Billy suggested we stop by a gourmet chocolate and coffee cafe called Dilettante. Ben and I both ordered the dark chocolate mocha with soy milk. It was perfectly dark and creamy and definitely worth the gourmet prices. 5/5.

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Over all, Ben and I really enjoyed our trip to Seattle. We had some great food and had a fun time at PAX. We loved how easy it was to get vegan food and how many vegan or vegetarian restaurants there were (compared to Utah) and how almost all of our servers were very accommodating. After doing some research I found out that Seattle is rated #2 most vegan-friendly city in the US! Ben and I are now considering factoring it into our post-graduation plans in some way...we will have to see.