photo by juan23for
I just had a DELIGHTFUL time visiting friends in Boston, MA over an extended weekend. Jamaica Plain, which is on the southern edge of Boston, is a fantastic area. It’s very artsy, small-business-loving, and very vegan-friendly. My first meal in JP was a short jaunt from my dear friend’s apartment, at a place called Fiore’s Italian Bakery. It’s a small little shop with several vegan baked goods and entrees. I had a melt-in-your-mouth fantastic vegan panini for dinner with roasted veggies and nut cheese. I also had a vegan coffee cake, which unfortunately was a bit dry, but still good. We also stopped by for breakfast one day and I had a tasty vegan blueberry scone. Sadly, I was only in town for four days, otherwise I would have tried more of their goodies.
To my surprise, there was a vegan co-op right next door called Harvest, which though quaint in size, had oodles of vegan options! So my friend (also named Emily), who recently took a cooking class in which she learned all about spices, created an amazing home-cooked meal with curried seitan, and seasoned cauliflower, roasted brussel sprouts, sauteed red cabbage, and seasoned potatoes (recipe to come soon). And later in the trip we made homemade breakfast tortillas filled with vegan sausage, mushrooms and vegan cheddar with Penzey’s sausage seasoning. MMMmmmm… so good.
It’s been a while since I really got creative with vegan dishes. My ambitions are rejuvintated and I’m ready to start experimenting again. Sometimes all it takes is some amazing spices to liven up your food options. I will certainly be getting some Penzey’s spices. After several rave reviews and now having finally tasted their goodness, I’m sold. I know very little about spices, and now I’m determined to learn more. I feel like a dope for going this long without really exploring the world of spices. Sure, I own basic spices, but I don’t really understand them. And I’m pretty boring with my choices. I usually always default to some sort of Italian seasoning blend. SO, now that my eyes have been pried opened, I’ll probably be discussing spices more in-depth in upcoming posts. And I’d love to hear recommendations for spices, if you have any.
Getting back to the trip, I had a lovely time visting Boston and a few surrounding areas, and highly recommend if you’re in the Boston area that you check out Jamaica Plain. Walk around and check out their cute shops.
Just two Emilys having a good time.
The other Emily P. Says:
I’m so glad you enjoyed the visit; I know I did!!
Here is the list of foods we ate on Friday night:
- Roasted cauliflower, brussels sprouts and potatoes were all lightly coated in olive oil and seasoned with kosher salt and Old World Seasoning from Penzey’s (Cooked at 400 degrees; 30 mins for the potatoes and 15-20 for the others)
- Red cabbage sauteed with caraway seeds (also from Penzey’s)
- Curried Seitan: For every pound of seitan or tofu, mix with 2 Tbsp. soy sauce, 4 tsp. curry powder (I used half hot curry and half sweet curry, both from Penzey’s), 2 Tbsp. white vinegar, 4 Tbsp. sugar or honey and ½ cup ketchup and let it simmer for about a half hour. Add a bit of water if it gets too thick!
My only suggestion (other than breakfast sausage seasoning and Old World seasoning) is Herbes de Provence. It’s an herb blend that tastes great with everything! I usually add a little extra Marjoram, because I love it!
March 9th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Emily Says:
Thanks, Em! Also- for vegans who do not eat honey, try replacing the honey with molasses. I’m going to do that when I make it.
March 9th, 2009 at 7:37 pm
Tanya Says:
Uhmmmmm I think making it with molasses would change the flavor way to much. Why not use brown rice syrup or agave syrup? I think it would be a mistake to use molasses. Just my opinion
March 10th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
Emily Says:
Thanks for the suggestions! I don’t cook with molasses often, so I don’t always know when it’s ok to use in place of other things, but I have a bottle just waiting to be used and thought maybe I’d give it a try. But you could be right about it changing the flavor too much.
March 10th, 2009 at 3:33 pm