Restaurant Review: Vegan Factory (Tarzana, CA)

This is a new restaurant in the San Fernando Valley that has only been open 7 months. While I had this in my little book of places to check out, we pretty much were in the area and starving and this was a great surprise. It's tucked in a strip mall and looks like any other of a hundred Thai restaurants on Ventura Blvd -- only this one is 100% vegan.
'Cucumber Salad' $4.95 Sliced cucumbers, red onions, carrots in special sweet sauce.



'Fresh Spring Rolls' $7.95 Romaine lettuces, soy chicken, mint leaves, bean sprouts and rice noodles wrapped in rice paper. Served with house vegan sauce.

These looked better than they tasted, and were improved when the big leaves of mint were extracted. We left one behind. The sauce was outstanding though, and we kept that for the rest of the meal.



'Sweet and Sour Soy Chicken' $7.95 Sauteed with cucumbers, tomatoes, pineapples, bell peppers and onions. This was good, and we gobbled it up, but it was second best to the other entree we shared below.









Isn't it cute how they shaped our side of brown rice into a heart? The sauce from the appetizer rolls was great on this.










'Kung Pao' $7.95 Soy chicken stir fried with bell peppers, onions, peanuts, dry red pepper in hot & spicy sauce. This was our favorite dish. Art drank a Thai ice tea with soy milk, and I had a fusion tea with lychee. No room for dessert, and my drink satisfied my sweet tooth anyway.
Vegan Factory
19014 Ventura Blvd.
Tarzana, CA 91356
(818) 342-3286

Restaurant Review: Vegetarian New Stars (Fresno, CA)

We recently went to Fresno for a wedding and had our doubts about whether we could find a veggie restaurant. Before leaving, I consulted Happy Cow, and decided to give this restaurant a try. I'm so glad we did, because this was one of the best veggie restaurants we've tried as far as food quality goes. The atmosphere was OK, the service was OK, but the food... well, that was really outstanding.
'Imperial rolls' $6.95 V - cabbage, carrots, tofu, vermicelli, wrapped in a a spring roll wrapper and deep fried. Served w/a sweet chili sauce.


At the bottom is my meal, 'Fried BBQ Chicken' - Crispy pieces of fried chicken marinated in our own blend of a garlic BBQ sauce. Served with mashed potatoes and asparagus. $13.95 VO

At the top is Art's "mistake meal" 'Vietnamese Sandwich' - Toasted bread w/lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, cilantro, and sauteed tofu, Flavored with veganaise and green oil. $8.95 V




That wasn't what Art ordered. So, the nice waiter brought him this 'Side of Steamed Vegetables' $4.oo while the cooks prepared the sandwich he had his heart set on....








'Club Sandwich' - chicken, lettuce, tomato, and cheese layered between three slices of toasted bread. $8.95 VO and those are homemade chippers on the plate.


Each dish either has a "V" standing for vegan; or "VO" meaning it's vegetarian, but you have a vegan option. I took the VO with mine, and Art ate his vegetarian style.



On the menu, it says "We are proud to serve all of our dishes using fresh and nutritious ingredients - without harming our animal friends."

My empty plate speaks volumes! If you live in Fresno, you are so lucky! If you're a visitor, this is where you should eat:
Vegetarian New Stars Restaurant
Mon-Sat 11am-9pm
(559) 434-6363
1134E Champlain Dr. STE 108 Fresno, CA

We have returned from California and it feels great to be home. This post will be the first of five upcoming restaurant reviews. Looking forward to visiting you very soon! :o)

Ice Castles & Croquettes

To cool off the kids this summer, make 'Ice Castles'.

The night before just put water in several different sized containers, and freeze.

The next day, pop out the ice, and begin stacking and arranging to build an ice kingdom.

A pair of gloves will come in handy!




"For me? A giant ice sculpure water dish! Rrufff"

So yeah, ice castles even help keep a good dog like Jolie cool.









Once the ice starts melting a bit, it'll fuse together -- so it'd be possible to make The leaning Tower of Pisa.

A friend of mine suggested we try putting food coloring in our next batch. Cool idea. :o)








I couldn't resist making another recipe from the April '07 Vegetarian Times. 'Spinach-Basil Spread' is Julie Hasson's recipe and it's perfect for outdoor munching. It's a snap to whip up with only 6 ingredients (& would have been even easier with a food processor!), and nice to have in the fridge for anytime nibbling.





'Almond-Crusted Quinoa and Celery Root Croquettes' is from Vegan Planet (pg. 226) The original recipe calls for walnuts and millet, but this combination worked out well for me. I'm not into frying food, but really enjoyed these little nuggets. The quinoa gave it a nutty flavor, and I adore the subtle taste of celery root.





I might have to freeze the rest of my birthday cake, we just can't finish it. Is it possible for cake to be too rich?

We leave for California in a few hours, and will be there a couple weeks. (I'm seriously procrastinating all that needs to be done right now!) I anticipate lots of adventure, seeing family & friends, eating at fabulous restaurants, and shopping -- including for a new food processor. I'm sure there'll be times when I can post and visit you along the way & I look forward to that! XOXO

Double chocolate layer cake

from The Real Food Daily cookbook (pg. 220) is the cake I chose this year. Art was going to make it, but when he looked at the recipe, he said, "Are you sure you wouldn't rather make this yourself? I'll occupy the girls." He knows me so well! This was one of the richest cakes either of us have eaten, and the frosting is perfectly creamy, and oh so chocolate-y. There was some extra fuss that went into this recipe, and well worth it! A nasturium from my herb barrel & fresh raspberries add some color. Thanks for your birthday & Mother's Day wishes! <3

Coconut Lemon Cupcakes

Vegan cupcakes took over my world yesterday. I baked them for a friend's birthday soiree. Just follow the recipe on pg. 107, and add lemon everywhere it says lime! (no limes left after 5 May...) The coconut flavor is abundant: coconut oil, coconut extract, coconut milk, Let's Do Organic finely shredded coconut, and topped with LDO coconut flakes. Whew, that's a whole lot of coconut, and if you're a fan like me, you must try these cakes.



I see a cupcake carrier in my future, but they all made it to the party just fine, and the lemon on top helped protect them.

Today is my birthday, and I have it narrowed down to two cakes -- one of which Art will bake tomorrow...
For now, it's off to the YMCA for my favorite dance class. She plays hip music like Tribe Called Quest & George Clinton!

Real Food

A new cookbook! It was only $16 on Amazon, and I got free shipping -- a big savings compared to the $27 they wanted at the restaurant that day...
Without a store run, I made 'Corn and black bean salad' (pg.107) I had everything except whole-grain mustard & red bell pepper. So, I added 1/2 tsp. mustard seed along with dijon, and a 'cado left from 5 May. The ingredients are basic, the dressing is fab! What are your favorites from this cookbook?

Feliz Cinco de Mayo

May 5 provides the perfect opportunity to splurge on some avocados and make a batch of 'Guacamole'. Lime is my key ingredient. And I also like to use elephant garlic, which is noted for its gigantic size and mild, delicate flavor. To that, I added finely chopped onions, tomato, fresh cilantro, sea salt & white pepper. Leave the pit in the middle and that'll help prevent discoloration. Garnish with lime & fresh cilantro. Toast some flour tortillas in the oven to dip it up!


This is a bowl of 'Lentil Soup with Avocado' which is Irma Paz-Bernstein's recipe (she was recently a featured chef in newspapers). It's a tomato base soup with onion, garlic, lentils, and zesty spices including Sriracha. I garnished it with a dollop of Tofutti, fresh cilantro, and half an avocado sliced. It was yummy having some avocado in each bite, and the "cream cheese" added a nice creamy-ness. Left-over tortilla chips from the earlier snack came in handy.


The recipe for 'Vanilla Pound Cake with Lime Glaze' came from the April '07 issue of Vegetarian Times. There's silken tofu inside, which creates a moist and lightly sweetened cake. It would please company, and fresh berries would be a nice compliment.

Mi cumpleanos es cinco dias despues Cinco de Mayo! Art wants to bake my cake (he he!) And, he's taking me shopping for a new food processor! *cheers* I'd love to hear your food processor shopping tips. What kind do you have? Love it? or Hate it?

Belgian-Style Seitan Stew with Dark Beer

from Vegan Planet (pg. 307) was last night's dinner. It was a fun & rewarding dish to prepare. Fun, because I swigged the balance of the St. Pauli Girl special dark beer while slicing seitan, chopping fresh English thyme from the herb barrel, and carmelizing onions. Rewarding, because of Art's reaction, "This is one of the best meals you've cooked. Next time, I'd add more beer and some mushrooms." I agree, add more beer to the recipe (...and drink less). I served ours over spinach fettuccine noodles, and it'd be fabulous on a grain as well. Next time, I'll double (or even triple!) the recipe and put it on French bread for lunch the next day. It's a versatile dish, and it has now earned a spot in our rotation.

Mostly repeats

We ate yummy stuff yesterday -- some tried and trues! The Spring rain showers got me in the mood to stay inside and cook. I love days like that.

We started off with 'Wolffie's Banana Blueberry Muffins' from La Dolce Vegan! (pg. 274) I've made these before, but this time I left out the ginger & only did 1 tbsp. molasses, and the girls liked them much better this time.



When I'm inside on a chilly day, I like to have the aroma & promise of soup on the stove. I was in the mood again for 'Earthy Lentil Soup' from Vive le Vegan! (pg 75) but that's a little difficult when you're out of lentils! (bummer!) Fortunately, I noticed that I had almost everything for the soup on the previous page, 'Chipotle Corn Black Bean Soup' I only had one can of black beans, so I used that along with red beans. I also didn't have an avocado for the garnish, so I topped mine with a scoop of Tofutti 'Better Than Cream Cheese', sliced green onion, and fresh cilantro from my herb barrel, & a lime wedge. This soup is fabulous!
Only Organic Herb Barrel:

Starting at 11 o'clock you see the cilantro, an unknown spice, fernleaf dill, English thyme, rosemary, sweet basil, and in the middle is marjoram.


I enjoy going outside to clip fresh herbs for a recipe -- it's very satisfying on many levels to eat what you grow.


I've made both 'My Sauce' and the 'Cornmeal-coated Polenta Fries' before, and they are a big snacking hit at our home. The fry recipe is from a feature Dreena wrote for VegNews (#52), and my sauce goes like this:

Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce
Mandarin Oranges (drained and mashed)
Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
Smile-y face optional! :o)

Mini Meatless "Meatloaf" Sandwiches

What to do with left-over French bread rolls? Make mini meatloafs, of course! I remembered this post at Vegan Eats & Treats, and I had a copy of April's vegetarian times. When I realized the recipe was Julie's, I knew I was down because I really enjoy her 'cooking show', which is posted on her new blog.

Vegan Meatloaf. It sounds like an oxymoron, <----- looks like this, and tastes delicious.



Mini 'Meatless "Meatloaf" Sandwiches', on 'Easy French bread' rolls, with organic ketchup.
Watermelen balls & strawberry; beside Yukon Gold potatoes mashed with Silk and Earth Balance, on Kale ruffles.

Pick up a magazine for the recipe, but don't let the title fool you, the majority of the recipes inside are vegan, including 4 "Lickety-Split lunches" from Julie Hasson.