What to do with all those New Spring RADISHES!!

So, are some of you growing little gardens or visiting the local Spring Farmer's Markets or getting CSA boxes? I love all the beautiful produce that shows up locally at this time of year, one of my favorites being the simple, often ignored RADISH!!

I've had a bumper crop already this spring, and while I LOVE them raw, there are actually several tasty ways to enjoy them cooked tender crisp...

This recipe is probably the most unique use I've discovered for cooking with radishes, Indian Spiced (or sort-of curried) and so so GOOD!! Definitely give this a try!!

A local Indian restaurant makes something similar and this is my attempt to copy.

Indian Spiced Radishes

8 French Fingerling potatoes or any similar, small, new potato

12 fresh radishes - ends trimmed and sliced into medium thick rounds (or quartered, if you prefer)

1/2 cup cooked garbanzos

1/2 cup frozen petite peas (or fresh if you're that lucky!!)

1 onion - finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 tsp cayenne or to taste

1/4 teaspoon of each turmeric (or curry powder) and salt (or to taste)

1 teaspoon of peanut oil

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

pinch fenugreek seeds (optional - not necessary, but nice if you have them)
pinch fennel seeds (optional, not necessary, but nice if you have them)

Parboil the potatoes until tender but firm. Quarter and set aside.

Heat peanut oil in flat, dry skillet and toast cumin, mustard, fennel and fenugreek seeds just until they start to "pop".

Add the potatoes, onions, garlic, turmeric and salt.
Fry and brown a bit until onions are cooked.

Add radishes, peas and garbanzos, and stir gently until radishes are seasoned, warm, and lose a tiny bit of raw crunchyness... serve garnished with chopped parsley or mint.

Serve with warm Indian bread of your choice.

Not-Quite-Raw Spaghetti and Sauce

I'm definitely not "going raw" on you here, but the zucchini "noodles" that raw foodies use in place of traditional cooked pasta have always interested me.
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And oddly enough, I've owned a spiral slicer since, like, forever - because I'm a kitchen-gadget-nerd like that: (evidently spiral slicers are a raw-kitchen necessity, and important for making super-skinny noodle-type slices of zucchini ...which look a lot like worms, ...but I digress...)

So tonight when faced with the dilemma (MAJOR crisis!!!) of not-quite-enough spaghetti for the hungry natives, plus a wealth of zucchini and some grape tomatoes, I decided to give this raw "noodle" thing a try... This is NOT a "raw" recipe because I did use cooked pasta as well, but it was definitely a fun experiment with tasty results.
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First:
I cooked the bit of pasta I had, and while that was cooking, I shredded (or sliced?) the zuchinni into long, spiraling "noodles". I ended up with a ratio of about 2/3rds raw zucchini and 1/3 cooked pasta.
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Next:
After I drained the cooked pasta, I tossed the zucchini with it and drizzled with a little olive oil. Yes, I suppose the heat from the pasta "cooked" the zucchini somewhat.
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Then:
I topped everything with the following "raw" tomato sauce which I've actually made many times before. The sauce is amazing on hot summer days when you don't want to heat up the kitchen!! I admit my tiny grape tomatoes weren't garden-fresh, but they had a nice flavor anyway.
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Uncooked Tomato Sauce

1 clove garlic, peeled
2 pounds fresh garden-grown tomatoes (strong, sweet ones work best - cherry, grape, yellow, roma, whatever you have)
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes
2(ish) packed Tablespoons fresh basil leaves, rosemary, parsley, whatever you like
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Blend all of the above in a food processor until smooth.
Add red pepper flakes and a splash of red-wine vinegar to taste if you like.... Pour over pasta of your choice. Enjoy!!

Have a great weekend, enjoy the sunshine (if any shines in your part of the world - lots of "liquid sunshine" here!!).

About Vegan Santa Fe; The Restaurant!

As I've mentioned in the last two posts, we enjoyed a great many vegan treats (perhaps too many *ahem*) while recently in Santa Fe.

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However; worth it's own blog post, and better than anything else we experienced, was our delicious lunch at my friend Mariela's cafe; Vegan Santa Fe.

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We arrived after the noon rush, so had the privilege of enjoying a leisurely lunch; savoring our food and some great conversation with Mariela before we finally headed out of Santa Fe.

Mariela has taken the cozy breakfast room of Casa del Toro Bed-n-Breakfast and turned it into a thriving lunch location for people in Santa Fe looking for organic vegan, raw vegan, gluten free or just plain delicious, fresh, colorful HEALTHY food! And she's off to an amazing start! And, when you're done reading, if my glowing review isn't enough to convince you to book tickets NOW, there are also lovely reviews written up (by "real" non-vegan restaurant critics, even!!) in The Santa Fe New Mexican and the Santa Fe Reporter.

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I tried to take pictures, but don't use them to judge, we were having so much fun that picture-taking wasn't a priority. Sad too, because everything was beautiful and colorful!

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First is my Moroccan Orange Salad with three types of oranges, kalamata olives and spices ( trust me, it was phenomenal!!). I'd never had blood oranges before. I was in the kitchen while this was being made earlier in the day, their deep red was so dramatic against the white cutting board, so pretty! I should have gotten a take-out to have for supper too, it was unique and soooo good!

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Shaun, always more adventurous than I, chose the raw "burger" (somehow I only managed to photograph the "bun", yes, there's also a burger there) and it was amazing too! I really am not a "raw" fan, but this was totally something I'd order again and again! I snitched several from his large pile of crisp, herbed raw sweet potato "chips" too. Interesting, and definitely tasty! The "burger" was topped with loads of veggies, lettuces, sunflower sprouts, and savory macadamia nut "cheeze" spread on a raw bun, the burger itself a mushroom-nut patty made in the dehydrator over night (we snook?-sneaked?-snuk? into the kitchen with Mariela after sushi last night, to check on them). Definitely tasty. I don't know all her secrets even after hanging around the kitchen, but it certainly was good!

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And of course, we couldn't leave without dessert, especially since Mariela knew what chocolate fanatics we were. We split a raw cacoa brownie topped with raw chocolate ice 'cream' that had cocoa nibs, coconut and other goodness in it. VERY chocolate-y and rich. And no refined sugar. Simply amazing. Garnished with a little rosebud, goji berries and pumpkin seeds. My mouth is watering even now. I've run out of adjectives! Ahhhhh. {contented sigh}.

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We left Santa Fe rested, content and full of good, healthy food and wonderful conversation.

Here's a sweet little Native-American made bear fetish necklace that Shaun picked up for me. Awww... I love the colors, and New Mexico has some of the most lovely silver and turquoise anywhere. I'm not a huge gaudy jewellery person so this was SO perfect!!

I love my friends, I love New Mexico, I love being vegan and sharing my vacations with such like-minded, generous, fun, loving people.

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That concludes my Southwest Vegan Review. Now back to our regularly scheduled blogging.

Hope your Spring has an equally tasty, fun-filled beginning.

Still more Vegan Santa Fe

I'm really not STILL in Santa Fe, (I wish I was!!) but I did want to share the rest of my vegan adventures before returning to the sometimes-boring every-day food in my own kitchen...
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Santa Fe hasn't had the best reputation for vegan options, but I feel that's unfounded. We've been there many times and never gone hungry. Always nice to have some recommendations to work with though. While there are too many to list, I wanted to make a point of mentioning several of the very vegan-friendly places (ones I haven't raved about before) that we visited while in Santa Fe, should any of you be planning a trip there (and you should!!). And, while I love traditional New Mexican options - green and red chile, beans, sopapillas, etc; However, this trip (in thinking back) we were in the mood for Asian type cuisine which may sound odd considering our location, but happily, I can report we weren't disappointed.
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Chows Asian Bistro had been recommended to us by friends several years ago and we returned for a late dinner Sunday night. (There aren't many options in town on a Sunday evening) Staff are vegetarian-knowledgeable (no hidden chicken-broth, etc) and friendly. Nice selection of vegetarian menu items. Plus they'll sub tofu in many of the other entrees. Totally LOVED the lettuce wraps and Kung Pao Tofu.
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Kakawa Chocolate House (since I'm a chocolate fiend) was another "must-do" stop. Kakawa is a small artisanal chocolate-maker specializing in Historic European and Mesoamerican Aztec Drinking Chocolate (I'm copying from their website here): "Kakawa Chocolate House chocolate elixirs span the time period 1000 BC to the mid 1900’s AD." Amazing stuff. And since I'm a history geek, even more fascinating!!
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The drinking chocolates are served in tiny demitasse cups. A good thing, as they're strong, dark, sometimes unsweetened and VERY intense. They're also almost all dairy free since ancient recipes didn't use dairy in their chocolate ("...based upon Pre-Columbian/Mesoamerican anthropological and historic culinary research" - YAY!) You need to try it if you're at all a chocolate fan, they even have free samples!
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My fave was the Mesoamerican Pepper-Allspice drinking chocolate. They also have truffles and molded chocolates (some vegan) so we got a few Kakawa 4 Chili Blend chocolates to take home. (Not for the faint of heart).
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ChocolateSmith was the next stop in the chocolate tour. More unique, handcrafted, local vegan options, more knowledgeable chocolate people. More samples. YUM! (If the name sounds familiar, they were recently on Food Network). Check out the Green-Chile-Pistachio chocolate bark. Or just step in and absorb the heavenly smell....

Chopstix was a nice surprise as a quickie take-out late-lunch option one day. Santa Fe restaurants seem to all take a siesta from 3 - 5 and if you've missed lunch, pretty much ANYTHING looks good around 4:00! But the lady behind the counter was helpful, friendly and understood our need for vegan Chinese food. We were well taken-care of. I'd definitely go back again.
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Shohko Sushi Cafe is also totally worth raving about. (Yes, vegans eat sushi, no fish, veggies only, if you haven't tried it, you MUST!!) Consistently rated as one of the best sushi places in all New Mexico (I know, not like you'd think of sushi actually being good in New Mexico but it was!! ).
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We went to Shohko with Mariela and Leif one evening and, along with the great company, (and *ahem* lots of saki) we had some of the best sushi EVER! The menu had lots of veggie options and we completely enjoyed every moment! Better yet, within a minute or so, walking distance, of the B & B!!

And finally, speaking of my friend Mariela, (<<-- Aren't they a CUTE couple - awww...) her lovely lunch café, appropriately named Vegan Santa Fe was definitely the highlight of our trip. So good, in fact, that it deserves it's very own blog post. (Yes, more Santa Fe blogging.) I'll add the yummy-ness soon!

Stay tuned!!!

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Return to Santa Fe

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If you've read even two posts in my blog, you'll know how I love the warm and sunny Southwest and all my friends there. What better choice for my Spring Break, than a return trip to Santa Fe?

Since I've already written more than anyone needs to read, you can go HERE or HERE or HERE if you need to catch up on my previous adventures.


Last year we discovered, completely by accident, one of Santa Fe's best-kept vegan secrets.

The charming and wonderful Casa del Toro Bed-n-Breakfast. We enjoyed our stay so much, I've been planning a return trip ever since. And, let me interject right now, every one of you should seriously consider them if you're ever in Santa Fe.
I sound like a vacation brochure, but seriously, their prices are better than any hotel OR motel, AND they are RIGHT on the Plaza, in the heart of everything.
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OK, but my real reason for loving Casa Del Toro?

My friend Mariela Rodriguez is the amazing chef, and creator of the luscious, tasty ALL VEGAN breakfasts we enjoyed while there.


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For example: Monday's deliciousness (Excuse the poor photos, I was HUNGRY!):

New Mexican Piñon coffee with Silk creamer, homemade coconutty granola with rice milk, tofu scramble with fresh veggies (kale! mushrooms! tomatoes! onions!), spicy mexican chocolate mini-muffins, Soyrizo stuffed mushroom and chipotle hash browns.

Yes, a vegan breakfast buffet quietly hiding out in downtown Santa Fe! Who knew!! (I know, I raved about that last year too).

However, it goes way beyond the food. .

We chanced to meet Mariela at breakfast last year and found her to be charming and the food incredible. During the year we kept in touch, shared recipes, discovered mutual interests and became friends through the magic of the Inter-webs!! .

It's been interesting to watch as Mariela expanded her talents and opened "Vegan Santa Fe" a Vegan and Raw food cafe there at Casa Del Toro. I'm so excited for her!

Several other friends from Albuquerque were lucky enough to go back and visit throughout the winter, but obviously Washington's a little far away for that, so I got left out of the fun! .

But the first of April found me back at Casa del Toro to drool over those amazing breakfasts, relax in the comfortable beds, sightsee and shop in Santa Fe and watch Mariela create magic in her tiny kitchen. Besides breakfast, Mariela's expanded her talents and opened "Vegan Santa Fe" a Raw and Vegan cafe . .

To make YOU drool too, here's another delightful breakfast: Southwest Polenta with scrambled tofu, homemade salsa with New Mexico green chiles, more of the amazing granola (with more soymilk than I intended), coffee, OJ, and STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE.

Yes.
For breakfast. SO yummy!!
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More adventures in Santa Fe later, stay tuned...
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