Rainbow Grocery, located at 1745 Folsom Street in San Francisco is the only place to shop for groceries.  I wish I lived closer (or maybe they would consider expanding and opening another location down the peninsula… say in Redwood City?) so that I could shop there all the time.  I have a very sad confession to make:  in the 3 years that I lived in SF, probably less than a mile away from Rainbow, I never shopped there once.  Why?  Because the line of cars waiting to pull into their teeny tiny parking garage was such a turnoff!  Rainbow now validates parking for some of the garages in the area (or maybe it did the whole time and I never knew).  Anyway, the point is that this place is awesome and you really should make a point to stop by whether you are visiting San Francisco or whether you live there/nearby.

Why is this place so great?  First off, they are a worker-owned co-op, meaning that the people who work there are the owners.  Pretty cool, right?  Secondly, they are very vegan friendly.  There is a huge selection of vegan baked stuff (from local bakeries) like cupcakes, cakes, cookies, scones, etc.  They are also very Raw friendly.  Third, they have the most insane bulk foods section you’ve ever seen in your life.  I did happen to take my camera with me so that I could post some photos of it, but I chickened out at the last second.  I didn’t want to look like a weirdo taking photos of dried beans and rice, so I used my iPhone instead so that I could look as if I were texting/emailing/Facebooking all the while casually snapping photos.  Why I was concerned about looking like a weirdo in SF is anybody’s guess– the town is full of ‘em!!

Most of my pictures are blurry, but you can read some of the bin labels if you zoom in and look closely.  None of these are repeats (photos of the same thing).  I’m not joking when I say that the bulk section is HUGE:  bulk spices, teas/coffee, beans/legumes, rice, pasta, cereals, flours, sugars, candy (lots of vegan ones too), nuts and nut butters, olives, dried fruits, oil, soy sauce…. seriously, if you can think of it, it’s probably in the bulk section.

Above:  bulk candies… notice how many are vegan!  Vegan gummy bear things, peanut butter cups, nut cluster things.

Above: granolas galore!

Above: more cereals

Above: any kind of flour you could ever need

Above: more flours

Above: cereals… notice how many are Raw!  How cool is it that you can get raw granola in the bulk section?!

Above: Rice, rice…

Above: …and more rice!

Aside from the bulk section, Rainbow also carries lots of hard-to-find vegan goodies like Dandies marshmallows.  They stock them all the time!  They also have all kinds of vegan cheeses, even those soft ones that can be spread on crackers.  I’ve never tried them, but I’m impressed that they carry it.  The fruit/veggies section is all organic and mostly locally grown.  The peaches smelled so delicious when I walked by, but I just couldn’t bring myself to shell out $3.50 per pound for them.  Likewise with the plums.  We did, however, stock up on bananas and in addition to being fair trade, they were so sweet and yummy (and comparable in price to my local store or Whole Foods).

The vitamin section is also out of this world, but I didn’t take the time to look through it.  We had been there long enough and my kiddo was hungry and ready to leave.  I could seriously waste hours in this store just looking through everything.

The price of most items was comparable to or maybe a little bit more expensive than Whole Foods.  By that, I mean like the loaves of bread, boxes of cereal, etc. were comparable in price to WF.  The prices on the bulk items is very reasonable, the most expensive items being the Raw cereals at $8 per pound. I know that sounds like quite a bit, but for the Raw stuff that sounds like it’s probably the going rate.

Anyway, the bottom line is– if you’re looking for something and can’t find it at any other store, chances are good that Rainbow has it.  I just wish it was closer!

I haven’t had the motivation to cook lately.  Just one of those funks.  But I feel really bad every night when dinner time rolls around and (1) there’s nothing ready to eat or (2) it’s something easy and lazy.  Last week I decided that I would make a new dish every night from recipes on blogs that I enjoy reading even if some haven’t been updated in a reeaaallly long time (ahem!!!).  It didn’t really work out as I had planned it, but I did manage to make a fair amount of dishes that I’ve never made before.

6 Layer Bean Dip from Disposable Aardvarks Inc.

Dippers were hemp and veggie tortilla chips with flax seeds (hey, you gotta get in those Omega-3s!), and some veggie crudite.  This was good, but I put on way too much sour cream.  I think we all would have liked it better if I’d not been so heavy handed with the sour cream, especially since it has the same consistency of the beans and it was pretty impossible to scrape off.

While on the topic of sour creams, I tried a new brand that I’m not sure I’ve blogged about before:  Vegan Gourmet Sour Cream Alternative.  It was good and I would use it again, but I think I still prefer Tofutti.

Next up are Mini Samosa Wraps from The Veggie Guy.

I left out the crushed red pepper.  Even with that, these still had a little kick to them (good for me because I like spicy).  Emma even tried a few bites and, while she wasn’t wild about them, she didn’t spit it out.  These were good, but it was too much of the same texture for me.  Mushy potato inside and soft tortilla outside.  I was really missing the deep-fried crispy texture of a traditional samosa.  Flavor-wise, these were spot on.

Sloppy Joses over Polenta from One Frugal Foodie.

The original recipe calls for ground turkey, so I substituted a vegan ground “beef.”  Also, I couldn’t find polenta in a tube for some reason, so I had to make my own and it actually turned out really good.  To make the polenta, I used 2 cups of veggie stock and 2 cups of plain, unsweetened soy milk and 1 cup of polenta.  Yum!

This recipe was really tasty (and made excellent taco filling for a leftover night), but my hubby had the brilliant idea of just using corn bread in place of the polenta next time.  So much easier and a better texture.

Chili from Vegannifer.

I didn’t follow the recipe exactly, but I think it still turned out pretty close to the original.  Changes I made to the original recipe:

1. I omitted the cubanelle pepper and tomato.  I just used 1 onion and 2 green bell peppers and added some chopped celery because I had some that needed eating.
2. In place of water, I used veg stock.
3. In place of pineapple juice, I used a tropical carrot juice.
4. I don’t know what Vegebase is and I didn’t have any, so I didn’t use it.
5. I didn’t have red beans, but substituted one 15 oz. can of black beans and one 15 oz. can of garbanzo beans.
6. I omitted the rice.
7. I didn’t have cilantro flakes or chipotle powder and omitted those as well.
8. I had leftover Sloppy Joses and threw that in the pot too (just the beefy part, not the polenta).

After all those substitutions and omissions, this chili recipe was pretty good.  Next time, I won’t add the seitan chicken.  It’s good with it, but we’ve been indulging a little too heavily in the fake meats lately and I feel off.  I’d rather not eat those as often as we have been.  Later this month, I think I’m due for a fast/cleanse of some sort.

Spicy Jalapeno Pizza from Tofu N Sprouts.

I prefer a veggie heavy pizza as opposed to a cheese heavy pizza.  I think this pizza is a good blend of the original recipe and my personal pizza preference.  Please do read through the original recipe as there are LOTS of great vegan pizza making tips.  One such tip: prebaking the pizza dough and then broiling the cheese.  From now on, I will prebake my dough then broil the cheese to melt it, then put the veggies on, then broil some more.  When you try to make a pizza with lots of veggies and vegan cheese, the water in the veggies makes the cheese too wet and it’s not the most pleasant thing to eat.  But, if you broil it first to melt the cheese, then add the veggies, it makes a perfect pizza.

It’s probably also worth mentioning that I just used the Pepper Jack rice cheese and jalapenos.  I didn’t add any of the other stuff to the dough… as I mentioned previously, I am lazy.

The only picture we mananged to get of her smiling. Thanks, Kendal.

Yesterday was Emma’s birthday party and man, was it hot!  Perfect weather, actually, since there was a bit of a breeze.  She seemed to enjoy herself; although, every time I ask her if she had fun, she tells me that it was too tiring.  I agree.  Next year, she seems down for a trip somewhere in lieu of a big party.  The theme was garden/spring/bugs.

I bet you’re all wondering what was on the menu so without further delay, here you go:

Fruit:  pineapple, watermelon, grapes, strawberries, cantaloupe and blueberries (and a special thanks to Nana Sally for contributing the best tasting blueberries I’ve had all year– blueberries are one of Emma’s favorite foods).  I used the top half of a pineapple as the centerpiece of the fruit tray.  Then I cut some melon flowers and put them on skewers into the pineapple.  I used green leaf lettuce around the edge for a little something extra.  Turned out cute.

Snack Tray #1:  cherry tomatoes, edamame, spring rolls with Quick Peanut Sauce from Vegan Lunch Box.

Snack Tray #2:  mini pitas, crackers, baby carrots, bell pepper slices, cucumber slices and falafel.

For the kiddos:  PB&J flowers.  Centers are strawberry and grape halves secured with a toothpick.

Cake:

A cupcake tower of strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, chocolate mint, lemon and coconut.  The cupcakes were topped with fondant ladybugs, butterflies, caterpillars, and flowers.  On top of the tower was a “cake” with a candle for Emma to blow out.  I didn’t have time to make an actual cake, so I used styrofoam and covered it with homemade chocolate fondant.  The decor at the top is all made from gum paste and fondant.  Extra embellishments– i.e. the ladybug spots, etc.– are all done with a vegan royal icing (sub Ener-G Egg Replacer for egg white).

I know all of this looks like it took a long time to prepare, and it did, but the great thing about it is that a lot of it can be done ahead of time.  The faux “cake” I made about two weeks ahead of time.  The fondant decorations for the cupcakes were done about a month ago, as with the decorations for the faux “cake.”  All of the cupcakes have been leftovers from the various batches I’ve made over the last month, except for the chocolate and vanilla ones.  I cut up and arranged all the fruit the day before.  The falafel was cooked the day before and reheated the day of.  Yes, it was a lot of work, but breaking it up into more manageable parts made it much easier.

This past weekend, I was in Sacramento for my 10-year high school reunion and a friend’s baby shower.  I had offered to make cupcakes for the shower and the mama-to-be requested chocolate mint, mocha, lemon and coconut.  I’ve never made coconut cake before, but I figured I could alter my lemon cake recipe slightly to make it coconut.  Guess what?!  It worked!  To make the coconut cake, follow the lemon cake recipe exactly, but sub coconut milk (either light or full fat) for the soy milk and coconut extract for the lemon extract.  You could even add an extra teaspoon of coconut extract to the cake batter, if you wanted to kick the coconut up a notch.  For the buttercream, follow the lemon buttercream recipe exactly, but sub coconut extract for the lemon.  I’ve made this one more time since I made it for this batch of cupcakes, and I think it’s better with an extra 1/2 to full teaspoon of coconut extract.  After frosting, roll in flaked coconut.  All cupcakes were topped with fondant flowers that matched the theme.

I made the cupcake stand following these instructions and covered it in paper that matched the theme of the shower.  The one thing I did not do was glue the paper to the cake boards– I used double stick tape instead to make it less permanent.  To buy all the materials for this project is pretty pricy, but by making it reusable, I’ll get more life out of it.

Since today is Earth Day, I’ve put together a list of 10 easy things you can do to reduce your environmental impact.

1. Eat less meat.  It’s better for you, the animals and the Earth.

A few highlights from the video:

• It takes 12,000 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of beef compared to just 60 gallons to produce 1 pound of potatoes.
• The average American uses 106 gallons of water per day for domestic needs.  If you eat a quarter-pound hamburger, your daily consumption of water jumps to 3,106 gallons.
• 90% of deforestation is due to beef.  260 million acres of forest has been destroyed to provide cattle with grazing land.  Another acre disappears every 8 seconds.
• Farm animals consume 80% of American corn, 80% of grain and 95% of oats.  If people didn’t eat animals, this food could be fed to those who have none.  “World hunger” would not exist.
• Half of the fresh water in the U.S. is used to grow crops to feed the animals you eat.
• The other half of the fresh water in the U.S. is polluted by the waste of the animals that you eat.
• Your toilet is probably cleaner than the meat you eat.  Wonder why you have to cook it so long?  It’s because it’s covered in poop.  That is disgusting.

2. Invest in Reuseable Produce Bags. I’ve had my eye on these for a while, but have yet to take the plunge.  If everyone used these, think of the number of plastic bags we could eliminate from the landfill.  I always feel guilty tossing plastic produce bags in the trash, so I’m always careful to take them to the recycle bin when I take back all of my other plastic grocery bags.  On a related note, keeping your reusable grocery bags in the car is a great way to always have them when you need them.  I often make unexpected trips to the grocery store and get caught without my reusable ones.  I’m going to make a point to keep them in the car from now on.
3. Only use toilet paper and tissues that are made from recycled paper.  This one may not even occur to most of us but as a user of toilet paper made from recycled paper, I can assure you that it’s not that different from virgin fiber toilet paper.

Seventh Generation, one of the largest recycled producers, estimates that:

• One million trees would be saved if every U.S. household replaced just one 250-count package of virgin fiber napkins with 100 percent recycled ones.
• 544,000 trees would be saved by replacing a 70-sheet roll of virgin fiber paper towels.
• 424,000 trees would be spared by replacing a 500-sheet roll of virgin fiber toilet paper.
• 170,000 trees would be saved by replacing one 175-count box of virgin fiber facial tissue.

4. Buy organic whenever possible.  Organic farms do not use or release harmful pesticides into the environment.  Better for you and the environment.
5. Use green cleaning products/laundry detergent/personal care products.  For cleaning, some baking soda does a good job in the kitchen and bathroom.  Eco-friendly products are also generally cruelty-free (animals are often forced to have the products dripped in their eyes, applied to their shaved skin, or forced to ingest it just so it can be deemed “safe” for the consumer).
6. Change all of your lightbulbs to CFLs.  This one is so easy and with the price of CFLs coming down, you really have no excuse not to.  Don’t forget the lamps!
7. Seal all windows and doors to prevent drafts.
8. Read more.  This means you’ll watch less TV and use less electricity!
9. Be mindful of what you throw into the trash can.  Can a package be broken down and the individual parts recycled?  Take the time to do that.
10. Use both sides of the paper.  Whether writing notes, shopping lists, printing out directions, or kids coloring projects use both sides of the paper before recycling it.

The bento box giveaway closes tonight at midnight (PDT). Get your entries in now!!

I don’t know what happened, but I totally got out of the habit of enjoying fresh juice for breakfast.  *sigh*  As I’ve posted about before, I brought home oodles of citrus from my Dad’s trees and I thought I’d get some good juice out of them this morning.  I also had some broccoli in the fridge that I’ve intended to have for dinner the last several nights, but never got around to it.

+  = 

I used 4 small carrots, a bunch of broccoli with stems, 1 apple, and 2 grapefruit.  It’s amazing how filling this juice is!  And this is a neat tip (thanks, Dad, for telling me about it).  Put a plastic produce bag around the shoot and inside the collection bin of your juicer.  It catches all of the bits that sometimes fly out the back and all you have to do for cleanup is toss out the bag.  Voila!

I’ve been trying hard lately to eat more Raw dishes; salads obviously being the easiest way to accomplish this goal.  I get tired of the same salads with the same dressing.  In fact, I find myself getting tired of salads altogether if I eat them every day.  So, I try to change it up a bit and give each it’s own uniqueness.

A few days ago, I tried this Fennel Orange Kale Salad from Kristen’s Raw.  In place of the hemp oil, I used cold-pressed organic flax oil.  I also didn’t have any kalamata olives, which was SOOOO depressing because I bet they’re awesome in this salad, so I used some cherry tomatoes.  My salad base was a mix of romaine lettuce and chopped kale.  Raw kale in a salad is a bit much for me, so I had to mix it up a bit with some crunchy lettuce.

Yesterday for lunch, I whipped up this salad using romaine lettuce, fennel, raw beets and cherry tomatoes.  I made this Sweet Dijon Dressing to go over it and it was AWESOME!  I found it to be a little thick, so I thinned it out just a tad with a TB or 2 of water.  This dressing is seriously good.  I think I’ll even try a ranch style version using the raw zucchini as a base and incorporating some of the herbs found in ranch dressing.

Today’s lunch was the same salad from yesterday, except I used a box grater to grate some carrot, beets and fennel.  Once I put the dressing on, I squeezed some fresh lemon juice over the top, which really made it super delicious.  I’ll have to remember to do that from now on.  Today, I had my salad with a banana and some coconut water.  Fresh coconut water is so delicious.  If you’ve never tried it, you’re seriously missing out.  I put mine in the fridge right when I bring them home from the store so that the water is nice and cold when I am in the mood for having some.  And, I’ve found that Asian markets have the best prices on coconuts, about 20 cents cheaper than my Whole Foods.  Be sure to buy the young coconuts (they have white all the way around).  The brown ones are older and don’t have the water inside.  Intimated about opening up a fresh coconut?  Here’s a video to help you:

A while back, we had the Walnut, White Bean & Spinach Phyllo Rolls from ED&BV. They were SO good that I thought it would be a great snack to make for Emma’s birthday party, which will be totally vegan. Since the phyllo roll is better suited for a sit-down meal, I thought it would be fun to make the same filling, but use the phyllo appetizer shells instead. That was, until, I was at the store and saw that a box of 15 shells costs over $3! We have about 35 people coming to the party and each person will probably eat a whole tray once they taste how good they are, so we would be spending a small fortune on those pre-made phyllo shells.

It’s not very often that I get an idea that I impress myself with, so I had to share. I took one sheet of phyllo, brushed on a little olive oil, and topped it with another sheet of phyllo. I repeated this process until I had 3 phyllo sheets all piled up and ready to go. I used a cup as a stencil on the phyllo and traced around it with a paring knife. Each stack of phyllo sheets made 6 circles, which I then stuffed into a mini-muffin tin. Bake in a 350 degree oven just until the phyllo is starting to turn golden brown. Remove them from the oven and let them cool. I don’t want to spend the morning of the party making these shells so, as an experiment, I put a few back in the freezer after they had cooled. A few days later, I removed them from the freezer, put them back in the mini-muffin tin and back into a 350 degree oven until they were golden.

I was afraid that baking and refreezing them would make them soggy, but they turned out perfectly crisp! I will probably be making these all weekend in preparation for the party next weekend, but at least we won’t be dumping a whole lotta money on the pre-made ones.