So I had a wonderful (almost) Vegan Valentine's Day with my sweetheart. We drove up to Ann Arbor for the day and made a stop at our favorite sandwich shop Zingerman's. Seriously, I could write a love song to this place, it's that good! When you first walk in to your left is a smorgasbord of organic and local cheeses, meats, and smoked fish and to your right hang freshly baked breads and stacks of pastries, yum! Straight ahead is a wide array of house-made salads and traditional jewish treats like potato latkes and blintzes, mmmm...If you can make it that far without falling to your knees, the sandwich board has nearly a hundred sandwiches along with salads and sides. I chose the #5 Rodger's Big Picnic with oven-roasted asparagus, grilled portabello mushrooms, cheddar cheese (I got avocado spread instead!) and Dijon Vinagrette on grilled farm bread, it tasted amazing and was totally vegan!!! Plus, when I told the guy I was trying not to eat dairy, he asked me about any food allergies and went back to the chef to make sure the dijon vinagrette was vegan, have I mentioned that I love this place! Notice in the picture that the sandwich is half gone...I should have named this blog "half-eaten blog" because I can't seem to take a picture before taking a bite, it's like my brain shuts off and the primal instincts kick in, "rrr...food...arrr."
After that, I bought some gourmet chocolates from their cafe and sweet shop, which we feasted on later in the car. One of those was a vegan ginger pear truffle and there was also an aztec heart flavored with chiles and coriander, mmmm. We walked around town and my valentine picked me out a fair trade bracelet made in Ecuador from the Tagua nut, a renewable resource often called "the vegetable ivory!" I couldn't have asked for better Valentine's Day jewelry!
We walked around some more and then made a stop at Whole Foods Market to pick up a few last things to cook dinner (and as always, I "needed" to buy a bunch of extra stuff). When we got home, I whipped up some Kale Lasagna Diavalo (this is where the vegetarian part comes in!) from Vegetarian Times Magazine and some Creamy Broccoli White Bean Soup (totally vegan if you sub veg broth for the chicken and leave off the parmesan shavings) from Whole Living Magazine. We threw in some premade vegan garlic bread which I picked up from whole foods, just their french bread topped with oils, herbs and garlic, and some wine (he had red, I had white as usual). Finally, the meal was topped off with some lemon bars from Veganomicon which turned out amazing! They were so rich I needed a glass of almond milk to wash them down. See recipes for the soup and lemon bars below (I will leave the lasagna out to keep this a vegan blog ;)). If it makes you kind-lifers feel any better, the cheese in the lasagna totally ravaged my sinuses afterwards, guess there is something to this vegan diet!
Creamy Broccoli White Bean Soup (Veganized) From Whole Living Magazine
Ingredients:
1 head broccoli (1 lb), cut into florets, stems thinly sliced
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
15-oz can cannellini beans, drained
2 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 Tbsp toasted pine nuts
Vegan parmesan, for topping if desired
Directions:
Steam broccoli florets and stems until tender and bright green, about 3 minutes. Let cool slightly, reserve 1/2 cup florets to garnish. Heat oil in a soup pot over medium heat, saute onion and garlic until translucent, about 6 minues. Add beans and stock and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat, add broccoli and puree in a blender in batches until smooth (or use an immersion blender, I want one of these!!!). Season with sea salt and pepper. Garnish each bowl with broccoli florets, toasted pine nuts, and parmesan.
Veganomicon Lemon Bars
Recipe reprinted here: http://www.nomeatathlete.com/vegan-lemon-bars/
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