11/30/11

For perfectly steamed millet and quinoa

Use a rice cooker! I'm serious. I was in a hurry, and decided to just try it out to see what happens. I used 6 "cups" of the millet & quinoa (50-50 mix), and filled the water to the 8 cup line, just as if I were making brown rice. I hit start on the regular white rice cycle, and let it go. At the end of the cycle, the rice pot beeped, and I had perfectly steamed millet and quinoa, cooked at the same time. They were cooked to perfection, and not sticky at all.

I find that if I make quinoa or millet by itself, they don't cook up as nicely. The quinoa tends to the overcooked stage, with the little swirly thingies falling out. The millet tends to the mushy, and sticky as heck side, with the whole thing becoming a globby mass. No thanks! From now on, I shall cook it in the rice cooker, and wind up with fluffy, tender, perfectly done millet and quinoa. From there, it's easy enough to use the grains just like you'd use rice.

If you don't have a fancy rice cooker with all kind of cycles, fret not! I did it with the rice cooker at work (which just has an on and an off button), and it came out perfectly there too. I just did the same measurement: 6 "cups" (and by "cups", I mean for you to use the measuring cup that came with the rice cooker; if you lost it, 1 "cup" is equal to 3/4 cups by dry measure, so do the conversions as necessary) of millet & quinoa, with enough water filled to the 8 cup line. If you have a larger cooker, I'm sure you could do 8 "cups" with water filled to the 10 cup line with similar results, but I'd suggest you don't experiment with this one. I know it may be tempting, but I've tested this out a few times, and it's always worked out with this ratio.

11/28/11

It gets better


Even if everyone else tells you that something is wrong with you, we still think you're wonderful, just as you are.

In Belarus: Cliff's Great Grandma Leah



+ Grandma Lilly 2 the right, Great Aunt Helen in the middle & Baby Aunt Rose 2 the left: from bellicose Belarus.

11/26/11

rejointed + chickpea-rice flour recipe: g.f..

here's a little story bout me joints that i'd like to share w ye all.

i had been a avid weight lifter, 4+ hours every other day, as well as a long distance runner, 10+ miles on the days i wasn't lifting, and a committed vegan that loved his seitan sandwiches - especially my labor intensive hand-made seitan that i placed onto, my almost equally as labor intensive, hand-made sour-dough bread. this amazing bread was soured from a whole wheat yeast starter aka the mother, for those who grow their own starter. my starter was an old one, handed down through many generations to a friend of mine from Denmark. My friend, Rima, who I met while attending the Natural Gourmet Cookery Institute, gave me some of her mother, which i nurtured & fed 4 many, many years till a nyc black-out killed her. Rima also gave me an outstanding sour dough bread recipe that she was given from a friend of hers from Italy. Of course, this recipe was handed down thru the generations as well. I felt extremely privileged to have both; and boy this sourdough bread was out-of-this-world fantastic. it was combined with wheat berries & herbes de provence, which added an incredible chewy, crunchy texture along w the glorious taste of provence. the dough needed to rise & be punched down & kneaded 4 three days b4 it would be put in2 a mold 4 its final rising, and thereafter baked. mouth puckering sour & delicious like no other sour i have ever tasted b4 or after: w a thick, hard crust that almost felt & tasted like the hard crust found on many cheeses. this was the most flavorful sour i have ever tasted. when chow was on hudson street, we used to make this bread quite often, and 4 a while, we made sour dough bread sticks that were very, very popular.

near this time, my right shoulder joint began to ache like crazy, so i went to an upper extremity specialist to see what was up. he recommended surgery to remedy the joint pain that he claimed was commonly known as pitchers arthritis (from baseball), and told me that the success rate was 99%; i had the same surgery 4 the left shoulder as well. in both instances i was able to begin weight-lifting 3 weeks after surgery. i was happy, happy to be back at the gym.

then my elbows started to ache, and i went to another upper extremity specialist, and was told that i had tennis elbow, but that the rate of success was closer to 80%, and that recovery, if successful would be 6+ months. at this time, my baby boy had been born, and all i wanted to do was hold him, and also, i loved chopping veggies, as I was speedy fast. but i could not continue to lift weights, chop & hold huxley, carry groceries, heavy flour... something had to give. so i stopped the gym. it helped but not really.


then my fingers, then hips...oh man, i thought, maybe this is just the nature of my life now, and in2 the future. after all, i recalled, i had uncles, grandfathers...that suffered tremendously from the aches & pains they declared were from arthritis; so then, ergo...

oh but my baby boy, i really needed to have him close to me, in my arms, close to my face, to smell his breath, to feel his heart, to hear his gurgles...

then i started doing some research 2 learn more bout the liquid that lubricates the joints. i thought, "why wasn't the synovial fluid working to lube my joints probably? what leads to this? then i thot of cross referencing synovial fluid w gluten, and i discovered that for many folks there is an adverse interaction btn the two which often can cause joint pains. "B.S.!" i thot. of course, i couldnt imagine being wo seitan or my sour dough bread, or many other wheat based favorites. but i restricted any gluten intake, just for good measure. well, who would've guessed it, all my joint pain wi a week was remedied, not 80%, but 100%, not in 3 weeks, but in 1 week. i couldn't believe how well i was feeling, not one ache, no pain. of course, sadness too, no wheat; but eventhough, it was extremely liberating.

i do occasionally taste the amazing bbq or black olive seitan on the most delectable toasted whole heroes at chow, or i'll consume a whole wheat bun w a veg burger, but i do pay. it starts w my fingers, then goes to my elbows. but of course then, i stop, and the pain goes away again in a day or two or three.

it is a tad difficult, but i am fortunate to be building more and more recipes w dino that r incredible and gluten free.

for instance, the dough recipe for pies, tortes or tarts that we invented, or cake recipes, lb cakes.... are just fantastic that it is hard to conceive that wheat is not a part of the recipe, but alas, it is far from it.

i am grateful to be able to carry groceries, and chop, and...not have joint pain. hux is nine now, so i am no longer carrying him around in my arms. but he did say the other day in a pondering way, as we were walking down the street w my arm around his shoulder: "dahhhdid, do u think that there is another father & son anywhere in the world that are as close as we r? what do u think dahhhdid? there can't be right dahhhdid?" " we r pretty close," i said to hux, " so i bet ur right." w excitement, he said, "right dahhdid, right!" "absolutely huxley, absolutely!"

i worked real hard to make this perfect, so that u can do the same too. enjoy & good luck! any questions, please feel free anytime!

(chickpea-rice flour dough): makes 5 g.f. crusts at 1/2 lb each.

2.5 cups chickpea flour
2 3/4 cups rice flour
1/2 cup sticky rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup corn or arrowroot starch
1 t xanthan gum
1 T baking powder

w a wire whisk,& in a stainless steel bowl, mix above 2gether well.

make a hole in middle of flour, push flour aside & upwards.

add, 1 & 3/4 cup of earth balance.

put on vinyl or latex gloves.

push the flour mix on top of the solid fat, then rub the margarine in2 the mixed flours till lil balls of various sizes start coming 2gether. rub it gently in btn both hands till very well combined.

then make a hole again. next get 3/4 cup chilled water, use ice to speed the process. empty 3/4 cup chilled water, w/o ice, in2 the cup used for the solid fat, add 1 T of vinegar.

add to flour & fat mix. use a rubber spatula at first, then hands. bring 2gether till supple & soft, but not wet, roll, & shape in2 a log, then cut in2 5 equal pieces, use scale, @ 1/2 lb each.

oil & flour pie plate, spring form, tart shell, press w fingers in2 desired form. gently fork holes in2 bottom, rub a small amount of jam over holes, place in freezer till frozen.

time to make pie, & feel rejointed!

never give up on urself. there are myriad possibilities. just know that u'll be there; u will: 100%! REJOICE, REJOICE, REJOICE!

11/25/11

Another Fab Yelpster Review! (I am an addict!)

11/23/2011
I try to come here every time I'm in New York. On trip, I ate here three days in a row. And had the same waitress each day! (She probably thought we were nuts!)

But the vegan reuben sandwich is the best--I am an addict!

Everything here is delicious, yet it feels healthy and soulful at the same time. Prices reasonable for NYC and vegetarian/"health" fare. My only complaint is that it is small, and can be a little slow at time. But it's well worth it!

11/23/11

a stage of stooges: give thanks, it's not urs! (happy tofu day!)

human life is truly wondrous; a unique, resilient & amazing species. we have the ability 2 be so circumspect & mindful; a rare gift from the g*d's. i am thankful, thankful, thankful 4 my sense of compassion towards all forms of life; that a sacred chow lives solely due these rare gifts. and here i am in downtown nyc, far away from the hideous crimes perpetrated against my fellow beings.

how can it be that any other thing is more precious than the life of a newborn; yet it is meaningless through-out our criminal world. my heart dies when i think of a mother anywhere w/o milk 4 her newborn. i can see her looking down in2 his precious eyes, her pleas to the same g*d's: "please, please let my tears nourish his life." but his life is fading, and her tears r only tears. there is no milk b/c there is no food b/c ferocious greed is more precious than life. he withers in her arms only feeling pain; this is all she knows.

debates for a u.s. president: "no, no, no - if they r poor they should be rich therefore if they r not, they deserve nothing from the government." over & over, these privileged A-holes cant seem to stop themselves; her hair & lip-stick; his stammering on foreign policy; his humpty-dumpy, over-consumption; his constant changing of political positions, yet he's a front-runner. again & again... "no abortion, no gay marriage, send 'em back to where they came from..." it's all so boorish & tedious. and then there's mr. pres, w/ no real spirit of a fire in his belly - and the baby dies... oh mr. pres, oh mr. pres!

oh my, it's hard to breath, it is just unfathomable that they are all going home to carve up a dead fellow being, suck on its neck parts, chew on its bones, and various body parts; and then, "the audacity" of their thankfulness. where is the mindfulness? the grace? the sense of being connected to the all.

well then, that's where this amazing lil idea called sacred chow fills in the blanks. yes vegan! yes vegan! yes vegan! truly we can, truly we can, truly we can bond 2gether and make it happen: less violence, less judgment, less hatred, less rhetoric! sit down, contemplate where ever you are, connect to us, come, come, come, and let us be enlightened by one another. give hope to the tears, that the food then the milk will be on its way to the millions of mothers' falling tears. we r here 4 you mom, & dad,& lil baby kid. we love u, and we r so sorry that this world is letting u suffer so.

but yes, give thanks 4 ur kindness, gentleness, & ur courage to make change happen - despite the moneyed intensity opposed to ur values for all life worth being: harmonious, harmonious, harmonious; not just 4 a few insects on the stooges political stage. no, no, no! step down ye dog-sh*t on the bottom of my shoe. step down!

give thanks that this is not the stage we stand on. yes give thanks!

make less violence happen: we r all sacred! chow 2 all!

(happy tofu day!)

11/21/11

Yelp out loud!

11/21/2011
After three years of living down the street, I FINALLY tried Sacred Chow and am SO glad that I did. It and Ben (thank you!) helped my transition to becoming vegan easy, as their amazing cooking and his advice through the menu in incredible! ESP the olive seitan, roasted tempeh, and that amazing fajita special that I hope that you will make again soon! I have become a regular and am extremely thankful for this local establishment- its dishes and amazing servers that make stopping in to SC brighten my day! :)

11/19/2011
MY FAVORITE!!! Among all the restaurants in Manhattan, this is the one that I love the most! The majority of the dishes are SO tasty, and I don't really mind ordering the same dishes over and over again. The 3 Tapas deal is the best option to try more dishes in smaller portions - try the kale with Dijon mustard, it is surprisingly delicious! The desserts are also very good: some are healthy style (which I LIKE), and some are house-made decadent piece of heaven!
The place is simple but comfortable, and the huge windows make it very lit and perfect for an indoors Sunday brunch. Their brunch menu is SO good, I definitely recommend every dish there: banana french toast, walnut waffles, the scrambles, and sandwiches, etc - all delicious!

11/15/2011
Yum. This place was good for Brunch. There was quite a few options on the menu that really jumped out at me. I ended up getting the French Toast. It was delicious. My girlfriend got the Tofu Scramble (her favorite). If it's busy, the wait can be a bit long. I enjoyed this place enough to want to come back. I am a fan.

11/14/2011
The best vegan food in nyc, period. Get the better than biscuits and gravy and you won't be sorry. Any of the smoothies and shakes are delicious, and the desserts are always a heavenly medley of something or other.

11/14/2011
I haven't been to Sacred Chow in ages, but I finally tried brunch yesterday and it was great. (Although it was beyond packed and we had to wait 45 minutes for a table.) Our seitan sandwich and tempeh hash were delicious.

11/11/2011
Fantastic all around. Perfect food for your non-vegan friends. Although the menu items might not jump off the page-- they will jump off your dish. Amazing flavors. I asked myself, is this really vegan?! Amazing! A little bit pricey for the amount and types of food you get, but you are definitely paying for quality, and you can taste that!

Overview: The Kale Caesar is to die for. I tried a lot of things off their menu, one thing better than the next. Simply delicious.

11/7/2011
Only basing my review on brunch visits because i've yet to order any lunch items.

I've had 3 different items off the brunch menu and all were delicious! ESPECIALLY the vegan french toast!! I can't even describe how good it was.

This is one of my favorite restaurants due to the fact that they take everything into consideration. Organic, local when possible, compostable waste products, etc......these things should all be commonplace, but kudos to Sacred Chow for making it happen.

11/15/11

"Sacred Chow: trailblazer 4 the Tav HaYosher in the U.S.!"

Yum: Sacred Chow! A Downtown Manhattan Ethical Treat.
Posted on November 15, 2011 by ULT

When I walk through the door of Sacred Chow, and look at the Tav HaYosher displayed proudly on the front door, I am always excited and honored to eat there.

All vegan, all delicious, and with many gluten and soy-free offerings, Sacred Chow was one of the trailblazers for the Tav HaYosher in the United States.

Sacred Chow not only boasts unbelievably delicious food, but they also make a staunch commitment to using food to make the world a better place. Additionally, the people behind the counter would be pleased to speak with you about the intersections between food and activism. How cool is that?

Sacred Chow serves Tapas-style, and the best way to get the widest variety of tastes is to choose three items from their variety of delectable dishes. They’ll bring the three plates out to you on a multi-tiered platter.

I’m particularly partial towards Mama’s Soy Meatballs with Sicilian Sauce—steaming, rich, and perfectly seasoned tomatoes complete this incredibly desirable and hearty dish, and the so uniquely delicious Roasted Root Vegetable Latkes with Indonesian Date Butter. If you go before the end of the season, you’ll get in on Sacred Chow’s rich mulled pumpkin wine. Feel free to sip this next to a warm piece of their banana chocolate-chip pound cake served with hot chocolate sauce.

Did you know that you can also go there for a Shabbat meal? You can pre-pay and they will wait on you, Shabbat style. They even have a sign up in the bathroom that requests their customers to leave the light on during Shabbat hours for the convenience of their observant customers.

No, but seriously. Go here. You will be inspired by the deliciousness of the food, the friendliness of the staff and ownership, and their firm commitment to justice.

Join us on our blog as we countdown to the most fantastic, hip, whimsical, justice-filled party of the year, the Uri L’Tzedek FesTAVal! Each day, we will feature some of the amazing restaurants that have been ethical trailblazers in the restaurant industry and have signed on with the Tav HaYosher. Stay tuned for kosher restaurant secrets, little-known-facts, delectably delicious dishes, and more!

By the way, they’ve got a fantastic Thanksgiving prix-fixe menu., reprinted below:

THANKSGIVING PRICE FIX MENU:

Choice of Soup or Stew. Protein, Vegetable, and Grain of Day. Slice of Pumpkin Pie. Glass of Sangria: $45

Soup or Stew. Protein, Vegetable, and Grain. Slice of Pumpkin Pie: $42

Protein by the Pound: $12

Protein: Classic Nut & Grain Loaf (gf). Vegetable: Sweet Potato Mash. Grain: Mac & Cheese. Hummus: Sage Pesto. Beans & Rice: Japanese Kidney Beans & Kabocha w/Kombu. Soup: Silky Pumpkin Bisque. Stew: Sweet Potato-Tempeh Stew w/Tofu Dill Cream.

Desserts: Old English Pudding Cake, Classic American Pumpkin

http://utzedek.org/blog/2011/11/15/yum-sacred-chow-a-downtown-manhattan-ethical-treat/

Love for Bryanna Clark Grogan

Recipe here.

Thank you for being you, Bryanna. You're like a culinary mad scientist, with your finding ways to make everything work out really well. You are a goddess, and we love you. <3

11/5/11

"Sacred Chow: I idolize you!"

Saturday, November 5, 2011

After the Marathon orientation was over I wandered aimlessly around the village. It's what many people who are there are doing. Nothing's changed in 40 years and I like it that way. So my wanderings take me past the old "Googies" bar. It looks all slicked out Irish Pub style now but the bar itself looks like it did from back in High School. High School? Maybe I'm not remembering it right. Maybe. Since it is actually "Miller Time" I thought about grabbing a brew for old times sake but really, I didn't want to hassle with Barnivore, (a searchable listing of which beers and wines are vegan), and do a bunch of research at the moment. It's actually quite easy to use, just enter the name of the beverage or click on a letter but I wanted easy-ier. Perhaps another time for reminiscing.

A few doors further south, more importantly, I found Sacred Chow. This place has been on my radar.

I most definitely had a hankering for kale. A la nutritarian Dr. Fuhrman.
After having that Arepa a few hours ago I was looking for a home made, sit down, comfort food meal. I love sampling in house made seitan. And here it was. BBQ. What a bullseye.

It did seem like so much food but my waitress, (whose name I neglected to get but who was super sweet and helpful), suggested the Souper Hero. $14 for half a hero and side of kale caesar? Done. And a beer. Yes, what goes better with BBQ than a beer. Didn't even have to pull out Barnivore. No questions about chicken broth or other silliness. Just relax and put the mind in a good place.

Sacred Chow is a small place. It wasn't crazy the night I went and there were actually 2 open tables. I would imagine that this place ends up with a line out of the door, (and possibly down to Googies), on a busy night but I was lucky. The tables weren't packed in. I liked the vibe.

The meal surpassed my expectations in both size and flavor. I was truly impressed by a sandwich and a salad. The bread, which in my opinion can make or break a sandwich, was perfectly suited to the consistency of the filling. It had a nice toothiness but neither too hard to cause contents squirt or too soft to fall apart after soaking up the sauce. The seitan was excellent, having just the right amount of "meatinesss" without being rubbery or too soft like a matzoh ball. The onions were cooked to a sweetness and the tomato based BBQ was sweet without being clawing.

The kale salad also was surprisingly better than I had expected. The kale had picked up the flavor of the Caesar dressing and was nicely coated without being drenched. But, but but the croutons were the surprise. Less like tofu cubes and more like thick heavy bread in consistency. My hat is off to the chef on this simple meal that raised the barre.

The best part was that after eating half the food on the plate I was full. I can't imagine how much food a full sandwich and full salad wold have been. I had enough for a meal the next day. I do think I'll be back!

http://martysnycveggiereview.blogspot.com/2011/11/sacred-chow-i-idolize-you-nyc.html

Here's our tasty pick: "Sacred Chow!"

October 25, 2011

You’ve seen Part 1, you waited with baited breath for Part 2 [or, you checked both of them out just now]…so without further ado, here’s our tasty pick for Part 3 of VTB does NYC: Sacred Chow!

I had been dying to check out Sacred Chow ever since seeing it in Alicia Silverstone’s “eating my way through NYC!” video. So imagine my delight when I found out that it was just a few blocks away from our hosts’ apartment!

Remember the Vegan Meatball Hoagies recipe we posted a few weeks back? Well it was partially inspired by the Omnivore’s Sacred Chow order of Mama’s Soy Meatball Hero.

I, on the other hand, ordered yet another waffle [what can I say, I'm a sucker for brunch]. But this was not just any waffle, it was a wheat-free, Omega3 Waffle topped with fruit & coconut crème fraiche.

AMAZING! Not only did this brunch satisfy my morning hunger, it also served as sufficient fuel for an entire day of tourism. It was nearly 6 hours before my next meal, but I remained full & energized the entire time!

Go. Eat. Enjoy.

ONE AFTER-THOUGHT ON “VTB DOES NYC: PART 3:" Robyn on October 26, 2011 at 9:20 am said: "Oh how I love and miss Sacred Chow! YUM!"

http://veganstastebetter.net/2011/10/25/vtb-does-nyc-part-3/