Thursday, December 6, 2018

Stuff I Ate: Tacos, Banh Mis, & So Much Soup!

I mentioned here last week that one of my favorite vegan-friendly restaurants, Fuel Cafe, is closing on December 22. Super bummed about it. I'm trying to eat there as often as possible before it's too late. Since they've re-did the menu earlier this year, I still hadn't gotten a chance to try the famed vegan Oyster Mushroom Banh Mi, so I fixed that today at lunch with my friend Susan.


This hearty sourdough loaf (baked by my friend Don of Lulu's Baked) is stuffed with pan-fried oyster mushrooms, walnut pate, cilantro, and carrot pickles. AMAZING. Sad that I'll probably never get to eat this again (unless Don serves a version of it at a future pop-up!). Don will continue doing vegan pop-ups in the Fuel space after they close, so that's good news.

Last night, I made the BBQ Tempeh Tacos from Health Made Simple. This super-easy recipe was one of my faves on the plan, and I'll definitely be making it often. You just sautee tempeh in a skillet with BBQ sauce (I used Trader Joe's Carolina Gold) and top with pineapple, cilantro, jalapeno, scallion, and red cabbage. I added some Tofutti sour cream since I had some on-hand.


As part of my job at Crosstown Arts, I manage the social media for our plant-based cafe, Today & Always. That means I sometimes get to try the things I photograph! Today, cafe manager Nicole made this lovely cup of the drink special — Salted Caramel Apple Cider — for a social media photo. And then she let me drink it afterward. This has a vegan salted caramel syrup and coconut whip. SO GOOD.


Yesterday, I had a work meeting at French Truck Coffee, the coffee shop downstairs from my office. I ordered their drink of the month, Masala Cappuccino (made with toasted coconut-almond milk). It had hints of cardamom, vanilla, and black pepper. Very good!


And now for all the soup! On Monday, I didn't have an easy lunch prepared, so I grabbed a box of Pacific Black Bean & Kale Soup to take to the office. This soup is super whole foods-y with only ingredients I recognize!


I had one last serving of Lisa's Tempeh & Rice Gumbo in the freezer from Health Made Simple. Had that for lunch yesterday.


And finally, here's a bowl of RAMEN!!! I finally had my Sunday morning ramen after weeks of not eating ramen on Health Made Simple. But I made this as healthy as possible with Lotus Foods Brown Rice Ramen, tofu, peas, carrots, corn, and spinach. The flavor was miso, so it also had bits of seaweed.


5 comments:

Susan said...

Welcome back ramen!!!!

That banh mi looks incredible. I'm so sad that they are closing.

Ali said...

Ohhhh. Salted caramel apple cider, where have you been all my life? I need to get some place here in Portland to conjure this! I don’t do caffeine so I’m always looking for creative caffeine free hot drinks, and as a New Hampshire native apple cider has a special place in my heart anyway!

Sarah said...

Oooh what delicious eats and drinks! That is so sad about Fuel, I'm glad you are getting your fill before it's gone. The beverages look delicious and soup has been so delicious in the cooler weather.

Hillary said...

Oh man that banh mi looks incredible! I've only had them with tofu.
Trader Joe's Carolina gold is such good BBQ sauce!!
Yay for the return of Ramen!

Jennifer said...

That apple cider looks amazing! And I love the sound of that cappuccino! Sort of like a dirty chai, which always are tasty but too sweet usually.

Yey ramen! I've been wanting to try a recipe in a book for a kombucha ramen bowl. I have to make a lot of modifications, so I am thinking about posting the recipe on the blog when I am done!