Tag Archives: #vegan

Pistou Sauce Recipe (Original Style)

Leave a reply

Pistou sauce is the French version of Italy’s pesto. Pistou translates to pounded. You are suppose to pound hand torn Genovese basil leaves, garlic, olive oil and salt in a mortar.

You keep pounding until you get something like this.

Pistou Sauce (Original Style)

The original Provencal Pistou Sauce is only basil, garlic, olive oil and salt. Over the years people made it more into a pesto sometimes adding cheese, nuts, and other herbs. Even Julia Child’s version of pistou contains tomatoes and cheese.

Ingredients for around two servings

1 cup torn basil leaves

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons sweet roasted whipped garlic (roast a spilt garlic head with a generous amount of olive oil covered at 375 degrees F for one hour. Then squeeze out the cloves and whip)

French sea salt flakes to taste (around a big pinch)

Directions

Get out your mortar and pound.

Pistou Sauce (Original Style)

Pistou is very good in salads, soups, and toast. It’s also good on grilled meats and vegetables and even eggs.

ENJOY!!!

The Forking Truth

My Forking Thoughts on Vegan Ramen Hero

Leave a reply

In our local Phoenix Newspaper (The Arizona Republic) our food critic Dominic Atmato highly recommended this mail away frozen ramen called Ramen Hero. After I read the article I wanted to try Ramen Hero. I went to the site and they were all sold out of all the flavors except for two Vegan Ramen varieties that come in a four pack so I ordered them. I got two called “Hippy Van” and the other two are called “Miso Impossible.” I got the four pack at around $73.00 that includes the shipping. They arrived about a week later and were packaged very well with dry ice.

They come in vacuum sealed bags with easy boil in bag directions. Each bag is filled with a frozen bag of soup, a bag with protein and vegetables, a bag with a sheet of seaweed (that you add at the end) and a bag of noodles.

Everything is heated up and I give it a try.

The soup is very good. It’s rich, developed with flavors and it’s good. Taste like I could have gotten it out from a restaurant.

The noodles are also very good and chewy. Not as good as the last ramen I had at a restaurant but nearly as good.

But WOW the protein is POLARIZING.

In the one bag with the protein I got strips of pepper, a squishy strip of zucchini, a chewy sun dried tomato slice. The protein has a nice texture that is similar to meat…..BUT WOW……. the protein taste like something that is IMPOSSIBLE to describe. (now I know why it’s called Miso Impossible) It’s FORKING INEDIBLE and is AWFUL to me……I can’t eat it. It doesn’t taste like food……and it’s painfully salty too like salt water. It’s like a combination of LOTS of salt, something burnt, something like coffee grounds and something funky. Even my husband can’t eat it. Thank God I made delicious ramen eggs so I’d have something good in this soup.

It’s not a total loss.

Well the soup and noodles really are very good….and the sheet of seaweed adds that just right flavor to it. Maybe the meat varieties of Ramen Hero are better?

I would NOT recommend the Vegan Miso Impossible many because I couldn’t stomach the protein it came with and wasn’t thrilled with the squishy and chewy vegetables. (now I’m afraid to try the other one…….I am hoping it’s better…..If it is I’ll write about it when I get the nerve to try it.

I think this soup would have been much better if it came with cubes of tofu instead of the vegan protein. Maybe a different vegetable like a mushroom would have worked out better here I’m thinking……

Those were my Forking Thoughts on Vegan Miso Impossible Ramen Hero and your Forking Thoughts may indeed differ.

www.RamenHero.com

Everything is subject to change and your experience may differ.

The Forking Truth

My Trip to True Food Kitchen Phoenix AZ – Healthy Delicious Food

Leave a reply

True Food Kitchen is a full service casual restaurant located in Phoenix Arizona at the Biltmore Fashion Plaza. There is another True Food Kitchen in Scottsdale and somewhere around forty other locations and many new locations to open in the United States. True Food Kitchen offers foods that are based on the science that to maintain your best health by choosing foods that don’t contribute to chronic inflammation by alternative medicine celebrity doctor Dr. Weil. True Food Kitchen offers vegetarian, non vegetarian, vegan and gluten free foods. They are happy to customize a meal for you. A few locations offer yoga brunches.

The Phoenix location offers a foliage lined patio.

Inside is bright, woody with green accents and modern light fixtures.

Today I went with the winter immunity bowl $14.00 (470 calories V) and added chicken $4.00 (160-180 calories)

This bowl was filled with mushrooms (That is why I wanted to try this…..OR THEY WERE SUPPOSE TO BE lion’s mane mushrooms????????), farro, quinoa, carrots, broccolini, garbanzo beans, bean sprouts, edamame, organic kale, garlic broth and added chicken. I’ve recently had lion’s main mushrooms a few times and these did differ in texture and taste and seemed very similar to shiitake mushrooms(???????????????). The bowl was tasty. The chicken was abundant and moist and tender. It was filling but didn’t weigh you down. I am sorry now that I didn’t pull out the mushrooms to photo…I can see one mushroom floating near the top. This does not look like a lion’s mane mushroom. It’s the wrong color, wrong taste and wrong texture. It’s the piece above the chicken and below the kale. But someone from the restaurant claimed it was lion’s mane mushrooms…………????????????? so I can’t say it wasn’t but I have my doubts. Most of the mushrooms in this dish seemed similar to shiitakes.

Here are raw lion’s mane mushrooms. They have a lacy texture and look like tribbles from Star Trek. Mine that I cooked were very very tender.

Here are the same lion’s mane mushrooms cooked

I did question my server about the mushrooms and she thought that my dish was made with lion’s mane mushrooms. I know that I did get one small piece of lion’s mane mushroom in my dish but most of the other mushrooms did seem different. A week after I contacted the restaurant management from True Food Kitchen contacted me back and said that I got lion’s mane mushrooms in my dish. They said that the texture might have changed because they soak the mushrooms. (???????????)

ANYWHO- the dish was still very good tasting and seemed very healthy. I really did like the dish. I apologies for doubting the mushrooms. I could be wrong but I don’t think I am. (That’s The FORKING TRUTH)

My husband had the grilled fish tacos $19.50 (570 calories GF).

We got two grilled red fish tacos with pickled jicama, avocado salsa, coconut crema, dried corn, radish slices and cold grilled lime with anasazi beans on the side. I tried a bite and I have to say this was very flavorful. Even the beans had very good flavors going on. This is enough food for a woman but most men might still be hungry after this.

Last time I tried the limited summer red fish ($26.00 480 calories). (this one was really delicious!)

My husband had the limited summer spinach and mushroom pizza $15.00 970 calories. (this one was made with vegan cheese)

The food we tried seemed to be flavored well and all of it seemed healthy.

www.TrueFoodKitchen.com

Every THING is subject to change and your experience may or may NOT differ.

The Forking Truth

Dog Haus made the Forking BEST Impossible Burger of the FIVE I’ve Tried (so far)

Leave a reply

I’m not a vegan or vegetarian but I am selective about the ground beef that I eat. I like that there are no ground beef worries with the impossible burger. The impossible burger (at this time) is the only vegan burger that contains an ingredient called heme that comes from soy roots that makes the patty taste meat like. It is also suppose to make the patty bleed but I have never gotten an impossible burger that bleeds so far but when and IF I ever do I’ll be jumping for joy and you will hear about it.

The first Impossible Burger I tried came from The Cuff in Glendale AZ.

It’s wasn’t bad but it was a little dry and crumbly. It left a sort of butter like aftertaste that I didn’t like. My husband took a bite and said, “I’m never trying an Impossible Burger again.”

He didn’t try my next one from PNPK in Scottsdale (now closed for business).

This one was slightly better. Still dry but not crumbly. No weird buttery aftertaste.

My 3rd one came from Orlando Florida at Disney’s Food and Wine Expo at Epcot.

Impossible Burger is on the right

This Impossible Burger was also dry but was covered in delicious wasabi cream and Asian style slaw.

My fourth Impossible Burger came from Burger King.

This is the first Impossible Burger that wasn’t dry but it is odd. It has a soggy mushy center. The exterior is almost like a shell. This one doesn’t have much flavor. The ketchup and pickle are very over powering to this almost tasteless burger.

The FORKING BEST IMPOSSIBLE BURGER I’ve tasted so far (as of January 2020) was The Impossible Burger from Dog Haus in Scottsdale AZ.

They did have their regular Impossible Burger on the menu and an Impossible slider but I went for the special of the month Impossible Burger. I’m not taking about the toppings here (But the did happen to be delicious). I’m really just talking about the burger. It was nicely caramelized but thin burger. It was the only Impossible burger that was actually juicy like a real burger. This one my husband tried and he also said that it was very good. This Impossible burger actually stood up to the very flavorful SPICY HOT toppings. This one was the December/January Special by Chef Ilan Hall. It was all Vegan and was adorned with chili oil, pickled vegetables, fresh jalapeño and cilantro, hoisin sauce, spicy vegan mayo on a ciabatta bun. It was FORKING HOT and FORKING SPICY but delicious and even with all that heat and spice the Impossible burger still did taste good.

Dog Haus made the FORKING BEST Impossible Burger that I tried so far. (as of January 2020…subject to change)

I just got this in an email that on February the 2nd is potato tot day and Dog Haus is dining away FREE potato tots when you order a sandwich. Thought you might want to know if you are thinking about trying the Impossible burger from Dog Haus.

Every Forking thing is subject to change and your experience may or may NOT differ.

The Forking Truth

Desert Island Eatery Phoenix AZ – Forking SCRUMPTIOUS Caribbean & Vegan Food

Leave a reply

Desert Island Eatery is a small Caribbean and Vegan Take Out Restaurant located in North Phoenix Arizona. You can dine in if you are lucky enough to get one of the three small tables the restaurant has.

Desert Island Eatery has limited hours. They are open for dinner from 5pm-9pm Tuesday-Saturday. They are located in an older strip mall on Bell Road behind a Taco Bell so you will not be able to see them from the road. The inside is very small but is decorated with homey things.

The mother and her youthful son will wait on you.

I look at the menu. What will I get this time?

Maybe next time I might change things up? I’m getting my favorites from last time again.

We start again with the lentil balls ($5.00).

I have been told that the recipe was changed. The lentil balls are now gluten free and do have a different texture. They are noticeably more lentil like and less falafel like. Still delicious and covered with a bit of jerk mayo and guava drizzle.

Last time I had the tri-plate with three kinds of chicken (jerk, curry and bbq). They all were delicious but for my taste the most special flavors were the curry and jerk so I had to get a combo plate of curry and jerk chicken ($16.00).

Both chickens are incredibly moist, flavorful and are falling off the bone. The curry is just as delicious as I remember from last time. Today the jerk is also delicious but maybe one notch spicier. I do believe this jerk chicken is the best jerk chicken I’ve ever had anywhere. The yellow rice is very flavorful (and abundant) and the cabbage is delicious. This is a very large portion and is two dinners for me (SCORE! WHOO HOO!). ((I love bringing home leftovers when the food is delicious))

My husband asked for a special combo of jerk chicken with jerk shrimp with rice and peas ($18.00).

Everything was prepared well and everything was delicious.

We expressed interest in the vegan Mac and cheese. We were told it was made with cashew milk, potatoes and carrots. That doesn’t sound so tasty to me but a small sample did come out and I have to I was wrong…It actually was delicious. It looked just like macaroni and cheese. It didn’t taste really cheesy but had a very good flavor and it felt like macaroni and cheese in your mouth. I think it might have been laced with vegetable soup flavor. I might order some next time.

The desserts do differ depending on the day.

Today they had Johnny Cakes with spiced apples ($5.00).

They weren’t what I was expecting….I thought they’d be yellow pancakes but we got balls that were sort of doughnut-like with a tasty not too sweet apple topping.

Last time we had-

Tri Plate Combo curry chicken, jerk chicken yellow rice with cabbage ($18.00).

Jerk Seafood Combo (Jamaican Jerk Style) Shrimp Swai, rice and peas ($20.00)

Desert Island Eatery is Forking SCRUMPTIOUS Caribbean and Vegan Food.

Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

www.DesertIslandTucson.com

Everything is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

My First Taste at Casa Terra Vegan Restaurant in Glendale AZ – Worth A Fork!

Leave a reply

Casa Terra is a fine dining vegan restaurant located in Old Town Glendale Arizona. This is small restaurant that offers fine mostly organic vegan Mediterranean – Mexican inspired foods. This is a small restaurant so it’s best to have a reservation to assure to be seated. They are without bar seating but cocktails and wines are available.

The building was built in 1940 and was originally a Smart and Final Whole Sale Company.

When you walk in you might notice to your left side a serving station, a waiting bench, and glass doors with a kitchen view of a wood oven.

The dining room is straight a head and it fills up fast. The old fashioned tables are small and plates might get crowded. Tables are close together but it’s charming and cozy.

They started us out with complimentary crisp flatbreads and tomatillo salsa verde. They were seasoned nicely and were delicious!

We then shared THREE appetizers, one dinner and one dessert. The appetizers we tried were all very small but all were delicious and very well seasoned.

My favorite appetizer was the Tapas Tacos ($9.00).

These are very small street sized tacos but are very well packed. The tortillas are house made and the filling is full of many textures and many flavors. They are delicious and very satisfying you sure don’t miss eating meat with this one.

The ping pong ball sized Truffled Arancini ($13.00). Were crisp, seemed free of oil and had a delicious mushroom taste.

The “Impossible” Albondigas with Polenta ($15.00) have spot on flavor that is exactly like chorizo. (also ping pong ball sized)

These albondigas have really great flavor but are on the mushy side today. The faux ricotta could pass for for genuine ricotta and is very good. The polenta was good but we both thought it was a scant serving as it only paints the plate. When I scooped up my half it amounted to about a teaspoon but it was good!

For dinner we shared the Chile En Nogada Special ($18.00).

We were told that depending on the size of the peppers the dish will be prepared with either one large pepper or two small peppers. We received two small peppers. The Chile En Nogada was filled with mostly bulgur and vegetables and was sauced with a creamy nut based sauce. It was sprinkled with pomegranate seeds and little cubed beets that look like gems.

I’m full by now but go for dessert anyway and try the Chocolate Torte.

I like the spiked vegan cream….It seems lighter and is more delicate than regular cream. The sauces and fruit is great too. The Cake is explosively steaming hot……This cake is made to order because of the hot steam coming out of it and we waited about 20 minutes for it.

Then with the check they gave us complimentary Convent Fudge (authentic Mexican Fudge) that was absolutely delicious!

I would say Casa Terra is Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

www.CasaTerra.com

Every THING is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

My Forking Thoughts on trying two Vegan Impossible Burgers in Metro Phoenix Arizona

Leave a reply

 

Table Tent on table at The Cuff in Old Town Glendale AZ

I’ve been excited to try the vegan Impossible Burger. These days I’m very selective about any ground beef that I will eat and there are no ground beef worries with the Impossible Burger.  I found that The Cuff Restaurant in Old Town Glendale now offers many Vegan items now and one is the Impossible Burger. The Impossible burger gets it’s meat like quality from something they call heme that comes from soy roots. The heme is also suppose to make the vegan burger patty bleed. Heme is also a protein that most people on a vegan diet don’t get so this burger in moderation can be beneficial to people on vegan diets.

Other side of table tent from The Cuff in Old Town Glendale AZ

At The Cuff you have the choice to go completely vegan with vegan cheese. I went vegetarian with real cheese that was cheddar. The burger was what I was going for here.

Impossible Burger from the Cuff in Old Town Glendale AZ

My burger arrived open faced and was topped with a slice of cheddar and caramelized onions. On the top bun half was mixed greens, tomato and a particularly good pickle chip. I cut my burger in half hoping for vegetable blood like on the Table tent photo.

Table Tent

 

It’s a little dry and crumbly but does have a nice sear.

It crumbles more when I break some off for my husband to try.

I put it together to try the way it’s meant to be eaten.

It’s not bad…….It’s almost like meat but with something textural wise I’m missing and more crumbly. The pickle and ketchup cover up a lot of the Impossible burger’s taste. I get a weird butter-like after taste that I’m not found of but I’m not sure if that taste comes from the cooking process of the burger, cheese or the bun. I think it taste something like margarine…..or an imitation butter.

It seemed like my Impossible Burger might have been over cooked?????

Maybe the Impossible Burger is Impossible to cook correctly?……… I don’t know?….

As luck would have it I found another Impossible Burger at PNPK in North Scottsdale so I decided to give that one a try and see if it differed any……and I was also hoping for blood….VEGETABLE Blood that is….

This impossible burger is offered as a slider. Both Impossible Burgers came with Impossible Flags on them. You have your choice of many different toppings. I tried mine with Brie and Mushrooms.

I’m going in for a bite and ……in a Vampire Voice like in a classic Bela Lugosi ….”I’m hoping for Blood…Blah Blah Blah Vegetable blood!”…….

No blood here either but this one does have juice and isn’t crumbly like the last one. It does have a texture that might be confused for meat.  This one really does feel like meat in my mouth. It’s very close to meat.  I think if I was a vegetarian I might fear that I was eating meat and be grossed out. This one taste better and I’m not getting that imitation butter flavor that the last one had…..My husband refuses to try this one after trying the last one……. He said maybe you can find some Impossible Meat at the store and make it into something better…..

I’m thinking maybe the Impossible Taco, Burrito or Meatball is next?

Who Knows?

Those were my FORKING Thoughts on trying two Vegan Impossible Burgers in Metro Phoenix AZ.

Everything is SUBJECT TO CHANGE and your experience may or may NOT differ.

The Forking Truth

My First Taste at Muse and Market in Phoenix AZ was Worth a Fork!****UPDATE NOW CLOSED FOR BUSINESS

Leave a reply

****UPDATE NOW CLOSED FOR BUSINESS Muse and Market is a casual order at the counter, pay, grab a number and seat yourself. This This restaurant is a gourmet modern global, mostly vegetarian, vegan and coffee bar restaurant located in Phoenix Arizona.  Today on my visit only two plates contained meat. The restaurant is located in a large building with a parking lot called The Marilyn. At the time of this review this restaurant is still in the soft opening stage and I didn’t spot any Market items for sale.

The executive chef is Dino Luciano a past Master Chef Winner from Gordon Ramsey’s competition cooking show called Master Chef.

Chef Dino Luciano

There is inside and outside dining. The decor is modern with a few standard tables, a few high tops and a community table.

A definition of Muse is to consider something thoughtfully……and also can mean to be a source of artistic inspiration.

The menu is interesting…….you’ll see.

outside seating

They offer an Appertivo Menu with a smoking deal of three gourmet plates for $15.00 or you can order FIVE plates off the Appertino Menu for for $25. ***(at this time subject to change)

We tried Eastern Roman Papaya with pistachio, harissa, orange and mint. Not sure if it was but this dish did taste fermented to me………It ran a bit high for me with acid but might be just right for people that desire more acid in their foods.

Caprese Panzanella that contained heirloom cherry tomatoes, bocconcini cheese, garlic focaccia croutons with blood orange pesto. This dish had a safe familiar flavors that most everyone is familiar with and would enjoy.

Beet Hummus with pickled asparagus, Italian Parsley, pecorino, radish greens and charred flat bread. This is a very light VERY non-traditional hummus. It felt like silky lightly pickled beets in the mouth. It came with strongly charred flat breads.

Here’s a closer look at it all.

The servings were generous in size for two people and I packed some up for latter.

We also shared one of the two non-vegetarian plates called Slow Roasted Jalfrezi Chicken.

We received soft as butter boneless chicken in a sort of tomato mild curry type of sauce and a big skillet of miniature charred cauliflower florets, zucchini and scallions. We both enjoyed the Slow Roasted Chicken Talfrezi. The Chicken was flavorful and very tender and melted in the mouth…..It was extra yummy went I came across a surprise pop of mint. The cauliflower was dosed heavy with lime for my taste but might be just right for others.

Lastly we shared the Arancini Nero that just might be the biggest MUSE (a source of artistic inspiration) on the menu.

It was a very satisfying, delicious, hardy,  vegetarian dish of Forbidden Black Rice, Kelp, Cantharellus Mushrooms, Kobocha Squash and Porcini Ragu. This had some earthiness going on but not too strong…it was just delicious. It sure wasn’t close to traditional Arancini in anyway……

The Food is Unique Global Farm Fresh……..It’s a little Hidaway that’s special. A great choice for vegetarians, people that want to eat more health conscious or just for anyone that wants to eat something completely different.

I would say Muse and Market is Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork! Doesn’t everyone need to eat more vegetables?

That was my first taste at Muse and Market in Phoenix AZ.

****UPDATE NOW CLOSED FOR BUSINESS

www.MuseandMarket.com

The Forking Truth is that every thing is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth