Kale Chips

One of my new obsessions are Kale Chips! There’s a few people I have to thank for introducing these into my life. Primarily my sister, Joelle, who makes some serious kale chips from scratch. Recently, my roommate Alyssa brought  me boxes of “New York Naturals: Raw Vegan Kale Chips” from the Park Slope Coop. Holy crap. I was skeptical at first, but I swear they’re better than potato chips. Plus, there is nothing bad about them. They’re raw, so all the nutrients are intact and they are packed with iron, protein and other micronutrients and phytochemicals. Not in New York? No sweat. You can buy them on Etsy! They come in Spicy Miso, and my favorite, Vegan Cheese.

New York Naturals Vegan Cheese Kale Chips 3.5 ozNew York Naturals Vegan Cheese Kale Chips 3.5 oz

Feeling adventurous and wanna’ make some yourself?

Check these recipes! Raw Food Kale Chips, Easy Raw Kale Chips

4 Comments

joshuakatcher, January 11th 2010 | Tags: , , ,
Posted in Health, Uncategorized, food, raw, recipes, vegan, vegetarian

Végétalien à Paris

One stop on my European travels was a little city called Paris. Ever heard of it? We found a little health food store that had some amazing vegan cheeses and spreads. Le Sojami is a french company that makes some ridiculously good herb cream cheese and veg pate. PURAL makes one of the best vegan cheddars I’ve tasted. Carlie and I had a picnic under the Eiffel Tower and made warm baguettes with fresh fig and three cheeses! “Get out of town,” you might be saying to yourself… well I did! I went to France and it was great!
ParisCheese

Rory Freedman and I ate at a handsome little veg place called Le Potager Du Marais (mostly vegan) and enjoyed a delicious, traditional French meal with a super-rich chocolate mousse dessert. See the menu below for a descripion of what we ate. We were so thrilled to be eating French food, as oposed to just typical vegan food. One of the many things I loved about Europe is that the sidewalk cafes and bars are all set up to face the street, which makes people-watching so much easier.

JoshuaNRory

LePortager3SuggestionLePortager2

Another spot we hit up was La Victoire Supreme Du Coeur. This was fine dining at its best, and if you go to Paris, this is a must. It is totally vegetarian with many vegan options.

LaVictorieSupremeDeCroer

In addition to eating out, we also cooked a few meals! I dumpster-dove those gorgeous sunflowers, and we bought produce at little markets in the neighbohood to enjoy with a breakfast of multi-grain banana pancakes that I made from scratch. For dinner, Joelle and Carlie made pan-fried brussels sprout-cakes, roasted chickpeas, and herb-polenta with gravy.

ParisBreakfast

HomeCookedDinner

Finally, we went out in search of dancing partners, bars, and booze.

JoshJoelleCarlie

No Comments

TheDiscerningBrute, July 28th 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Health, Uncategorized, celebrity, fashion, food, green, holiday, organic, restaurant, sex, travel, vegan, vegetarian

Brown Rice Fusilloni with Cheesy Shiitakes

brnricepastshitake

I was skeptical of brown-rice pasta at first. I thought it would be pasty and have that ‘health-food’ taste. To my suprise, this vegan recipe cameVegan Cheese Sauce Mix by Leahey Gardens out so delish that I had to go back and make seconds! The pasta was firm and plump and could fool any Italian! For the sauce, I incorporated a new product that a friend gave to me as a gift. Leahey Gardens Cheese Flavored Sauce Mix. Wow! This stuff is the cheesiest sauce mix I’ve ever tried. The mix does contain wheat, so if you are going the way of the gluten-free, just use nutritional yeast instead.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED (serves 2)

  • 2 cups brown rice pasta
  • 8 shiitake mushrooms, chopped
  • 1 large or 2 small shallots, sliced
  • 1 tbs tahini
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 3 tbs Leahey mix, or nutritional yeast
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened plain rice milk
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
  • 1 tbs Parma

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Bring the pot of water to a boil, then add the pasta
  2. Let pasta boil for about 8 – 10 minutes
  3. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, sautee the shiitakes and shallots in the tahini, and olive oil.
  4. Once the mushroom and shallots begin to brown, pour in the rice milk, and Leahey mix (or Nutritional yeast).
  5. Strain the pasta, and mix everything together!
  6. Top with some Parma ! Yum.

6 Comments

TheDiscerningBrute, May 1st 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in food, green, organic, recipes, sex, social responsibility, vegan, vegetarian

Chelsea Boots, Melty Vegan Cheese, & Crabs That Feel

1. What’s simple, classic, and not allowed to be worn with baggy pants? Check out this 100% synthetic Chelsea Boot from TOPMAN.  Hot, and only $100! Next, if your metal-head babysitter from 1985’s wardrobe got turned into an amazing, urban, hi-top – these gold ‘n black faux-snakeskin foot-prizes would be it. Dang! Only $70 at TOPMAN.

2. Dr Cow Cashew-Bazil Nut & Macadamia vegan cheeses now available online! They are not cheap, but they are insanely yummy.

Aged Cashew Nut Cream Cheese

3. Speaking of cheese – I got to try the very-talked-about, soy-free, melty-as-hell Daiya cheese while mingling at a star-studded PCRM event last week. Yum! Not sure when it’ll hit stores, but it was stretchy and delicious when heated.

daiya

4. Has anyone tried the  So Delicious Coconut Milk Beverage? I saw it on the shelves in Whole Foods,  but I haven’t tried it yet and want to know: how does it taste? Can you steam it or foam it? Does it curdle in tea? Tell me!So Delicious Coconut Milk Beverage

5. Once again, the Canadian Seal Hunt is leaving a trail of blood. Please watch the video and click HERE to help.

[youtube="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9z4N7-yourw"]

6. A new study has found that crabs feel and remember pain. So that’s what a brain and nervous system do? It seems silly to even have to point this out, but unless scientists shock living things, the public thinks that brains and nervous systems are just for fun. As if you neeed one more reason to boycott Red Lobster? Duh, what’s trawling?

No thanks for the memories: The scientific study applied mild electric shocks to hermit crabs to determine if they could 'feel' pain.

11 Comments

TheDiscerningBrute, March 30th 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Health, Shoes, activism, animal rights, environmental justice, fashion, food, green, news, organic, sex, social responsibility, vegan, vegetarian

Fresh Friday Finds

1. Is My Whiskey Vegan?
Tuthilltown SprirtsTuthilltown Spirits

My favorite spirits are locally made here in New York State. They are Whiskey, Rum, and Vodka from Tuthilltown Spirits. Completely vegan, and although some are made from wheat, completely gluten-free. The Hudson Whiskey is the best whiskey I’ve ever had! Their rum is made from black strap molasses and aged in former whiskey barrels for a really distinct taste, and their vodka is made from New York State apples pressed into raw cider. Very discerning! You can find their spirits on this list of bars, restaurants, and shops!

For more info on vegan spirits, see The Vegetarian Society’s list on Vegan Spirits!

2. Girlie Girl Goes Live!
gg468x60.jpg

Chloe Jo of the Girlie Girl Army has gone live! Her new website is gorgeously designed by vegan web design icon, Lord J Davis. Go check out her amazing blog and tell your sisters, moms, girlfriends, and any ethically fabulous lady in your life. They’ll swoon over her fashion sense and her common sense! This week? The C02-output-of-your-diet-calculator! And dating tips for the tragically shy or unlucky!

3. Dr Cow Goes Nuts!Dr CowOur favorite cheese has a brand new website where you can order gift box assortments of vegan nut cheese! I might live solely on this stuff. If I am what I’d be eating, I’d be totally nuts! (ha…)

Nut Cheese Tower

Nut Cheese Tower

4. Splendid Mills Organics
Earn your organic stripes at Splendid Mills. If you don’t know why the United Nations has referred to conventional cotton as one of the “most staggering disasters of the 20th century”, WATCH THIS.

5. Is My Tattoo Vegan?
In certain tattoo inks, bone-char (black) and glycerin (derived from animal fats) are typically used. Make sure to ask your artist to check ingredients or to use a company like Stable Color, who claims their inks are vegan-friendly. My tattoo artist, Seth Wood is a vegan, so it’s also a good idea to get a vegan tattoo artist!

3 Comments

TheDiscerningBrute, August 29th 2008 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Health, activism, animal rights, art, fashion, food, green, human rights, news, organic, social responsibility, trend report, vegan, vegetarian
« Older Posts