Dining Out in Miami - Green Gables Café

 Sautéed Vegetable Wrap - Green Gables Café

I stumbled upon this café while driving around the area. I was on the hunt for a lunch that would suit my vegan needs, as well as keep my boyfriend happy. Yelp led me to Green Gables. 

Green Gables Café serves organic and locally sourced food with a focus on sustainable practices. It's a small restaurant with a decent number of tables. As more of a lunch spot, they are closed in the evon the weekends. The menu has labeled vegan options, but unfortunately there aren't too many and they are the typical things you could pick out at a normal restaurant. Oatmeal, hummus, soup, vegetable wrap, and vegan burger make the list. I was impressed that they offer fresh fruit and veggie juices, like carrot, cucumber, beet, apple, orange.

I ordered the sautéed vegetable wrap with zucchini, red peppers, onions, tomatoes, arugula, and hummus on a wheat wrap, served with a side of greens dressed with balsamic vinaigrette. The size was decent and it was very tasty. For $12 I would expect a bit more, although you're paying a price for the organic ingredients and it was certainly fresh. If I lived in the area I would likely visit again and give the juices and vegan burger a try. 

Green Gables Café

327 Alhambra Circle

Coral Gables, FL 33134

Green Gables Website

Dining Out in Fort Lauderdale - Sublime Restaurant

Mushroom Ravioli - Sublime Restaurant

I spent a long weekend in Boca Raton, FL this month visiting my boyfriend's family. As with any travel, I do my research before boarding a plane to find great vegan places I want to try. This special restaurant wasn't even on my list! My boyfriend's mother found it and booked us a reservation. Sublime is a decent sized restaurant located along North Federal Highway in Ft. Lauderdale. It took a little while to get there, but in my opinion it was well worth it. 

Sublime Restaurant is 100% vegan which makes for a carefree and exciting sit-down meal. They also donate all profits to organizations that promote animal welfare and veganism. That is tough to find in the restaurant business. The owner Nanci is detail-oriented and strict with keeping the menu and the actual restaurant completely vegan. It's gotten good press and attention from some famous people, too. Pamela Anderson, Paul McCartney, and model Joanna Krupa have all dined here. 

Vegan dining with my boyfriend's family made me a little nervous since none of them are vegan. I've fed my boyfriend enough vegan food to not have to worry about him, but his father is a meat and potatoes guy. Despite not having your typical beer selection (all local breweries), and service that was a tad bit slow, it went well. We left the meal on a high note - the fabulous dessert! 

Sliders - Sublime Restaurant

We started with two appetizers, the raved about Frito Misto and the Sliders for the carnivores at the table. The Frito Misto is cauliflower battered and fried with a delicious sweet and sour chili sauce topped with sesame seeds. It was out of this world! I could have easily had it for a meal but of course that's because it was fried. The Sliders were Gardein patties with "cheddar", onion, romaine, and special sauce. The mock meat patties were tasty and left the meat-eaters at the table satisfied, but the wheat buns were tough and dry. 

Frito Misto - Sublime Restaurant

Thai Red Curry - Sublime Restaurant

For our entrees we ordered two of the waiter's recommendation of Mushroom Ravioli, along with Sublime Picatta (the "meat and potatoes" dish) and Thai Red Curry. The Mushroom Ravioli is house-made mushroom-filled raviolis, cashew cream, tomato butter sauce, and basil. These are popular for a reason, the pasta was delicious and the filling creamy. I loved the roasted tomatoes. My order of Thai Red Curry was huge! The flavor was excellent - Asian vegetables, grilled tofu, red pepper, onion, broccoli, celery, bean sprouts, and jasmine rice in a creamy coconut red curry sauce. I had this for lunch the next day and it was just as good cold. I didn't try the Sublime Picatta, but this was the dish that our waiter recommended for the meat-like flavor and texture - it's a Gardein cutlet served with mashed potatoes, green beans, and a lemon-caper sauce. My boyfriend's father cleaned his plate.

Sublime Picatta - Sublime Restaurant

Coconut Cake - Sublime Restaurant

The highlight of the meal was the Coconut Cake! We devoured it in minutes. I'll be craving this cake for a while until I can find or bake something similar. Rich, moist cake layered between creamy sweet coconut frosting, served with toasted coconut garnish and a delicious delicate almond cookie.

I would go back in a heartbeat and wish it was closer to home so I could!

Sublime Restaurant

1431 North Federal Highway

Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304

Sublime Website

Dining Out in Boston - Life Alive

Green Goddess - Life Alive

I don't know why it took me so long to try Life Alive, but I'm so glad I did. It has a surprisingly high number of Yelp reviews for a vegan place (440!), that's likely due to its proximity to colleges (hello, Harvard) and the more liberal, hipster population in Cambridge, MA.

Waiting in line to order...

The staff busy at work making smoothies

There were a few things about the dining experience that turned me off, but based on the food I would go back in a heartbeat, and contemplated doing so the day after I went! I did actually go back within a week. I really wish this was closer to me so I could have it everyday for lunch or dinner. I went with my parents on a Friday night and it was packed. What's so good about it? Fresh (almost raw), delicious, quick vegan food and drinks at a reasonable price! What I didn't like, which I can probably get accustomed to, was the unique dining atmosphere. The decor and staff fit with its earthy, hippie, crunchy-granola vibe. Seating is limited, but there are a few tables upstairs and some shared tables, "cubbies", and benches downstairs, which reminded me of a basement set in the 1970s. You wait in line, which unfortunately takes about 10-15 minutes, to place your order, cafeteria style, but luckily there is entertainment for the wait - the staff prepares smoothies and juices non-stop at high speed, grabbing fresh ingredients from a huge cooler. You are given a number to display on your table and your order is then brought to you when ready. 

I ordered a demi (or half) size of the Mystic Mountain salad - mesculin greens, corn, carrots, beets, cucumber, sprouts, granny smith apples, cashews, lemon-garlic hummus with lemon vinaigrette. This was far from a boring salad, and delicious! For my entree I got the Green Goddess dish based on high reviews, it comes with dark greens, broccoli, tofu, sprouts, avocado, and brown rice covered in a ginger sauce with flax oil and garlic. Yum! I couldn't help but order a smoothie from their delicious selection, it was a very difficult choice. I tried the Carrot Cake Alive smoothie - hemp protein, carrots, banana, cinnamon, ice cream and rice milk. The ice cream is coconut-milk based and actually comes from my favorite local vegan ice cream place, FoMu! When I went back the second time I ordered the same salad, but also tried the Goddess (their signature dish) with carrots, beets, broccoli, dark greens, tofu, short-grain brown rice, and ginger sauce. I loved all of my meals!

Mystic Mountain Salad - Life Alive

Goddess (To-Go) - Life Alive

Life Alive

765 Massachusetts Avenue

Cambridge, MA 02139

Life Alive Website

Also located in Lowell, MA & Salem, MA. 

Dining In - Chocolate Mug Cake

One Minute Chocolate Cake in a Mug - Chocolate Covered Katie

Mug Cake - Sold in the Grocery Store!
Not Vegan.

A single serving, delicious, quick, easy vegan cake recipe - what's not to love? Part of me wishes I never discovered this recipe because it makes it that much easier to eat baked goods whenever I want, particularly when I'm home alone and have a craving for sweets. This uses the same ingredients you'd find in a typical cake recipe, but on a much smaller scale. It cooks up super fast in a microwave. I spotted a Mug Cake product in the grocery store recently and thought psh, who needs this when I can get a much better, vegan version at home! The recipe comes from vegan dessert blogger extraordinaire, Chocolate Covered Katie, you can find it here. There are endless variations you can make, I'm sure I'll be testing out a few soon :)


1 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons evaporated cane juice (sugar)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 packet of stevia
2 teaspoons canola oil
3 tablespoons almond milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine all dry ingredients - cocoa powder, flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, stevia - in a mug or ramekin. Stir very well and make sure to press out any clumps. 

Add wet ingredients to mug - oil, almond milk, and vanilla. Stir again until well combined. Microwave for 45 to 60 seconds. Let cool. Enjoy with a spoon!

I added a scoop of peanut butter to mine for "frosting" so yummy!

Dining In - Mongolian BBQ Seitan

Mongolian BBQ Seitan - Chloe's Kitchen

This was my first time preparing a dish with seitan! I've tried it a few times in restaurants, all dishes were creative and delicious. It's one of the more difficult vegan foods to persuade non-vegans to try. To begin with there's the name and appearance that certainly don't make it appealing. Describing what it actually is may also turn people off - wheat gluten, the opposite of gluten-free friendly. However, there are reasons why it's worth trying - it soaks up flavors and makes a really nice substitute for meat because of its chewy texture. Seitan also contains a ton of protein, another name for it is "wheat protein." For 1/3 cup, there are 120 calories, 2g. of fat, and a whopping 21g. of protein. 

I've been wanting to give this Mongolian BBQ Seitan recipe a try for some time now, but I had to get my hands on some seitan first (I might try making it myself soon). Unfortunately Trader Joe's doesn't carry it and it's difficult to find in a local grocery store. Your best bet is Whole Foods, which is where I picked up the West Soy brand seitan strips (pictured below). 

This dish was delicious and filling, a little goes a long way. The sauce was sweet and tangy. I will certainly be making this again. It didn't take much effort and was ready in about twenty minutes! You can find this recipe and others in Chloe's Kitchen (buy your copy here). 

1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon agave syrup
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
2 tablespoons canola oil 
8 oz. shiitake mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
8 oz. seitan strips
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
4 oz. snow peas, peel off the strings
2 scallions, sliced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 cups brown rice, cooked

In a small bowl, whisk together hoisin sauce, water, soy sauce, agave, lemon juice, and chili-garlic sauce. Set aside

Cook seitan and mushrooms until slightly browned

Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Cook mushrooms and seitan until browned (5-7 minutes). Add in ginger, cinnamon, and cloves and cook a couple minutes longer.

Add the snow peas to the skillet and allow to soften a bit, then add in sauce. Stir so ingredients are coated in sauce. Cook until sauce thickens. Remove from heat. Stir in scallions and cilantro. Serve atop rice. 

Dining In - Pad Thai Noodles

Pad Thai Noodles - Chef Chloe

This simple Thai dish delivers with the traditional sweet and salty sauce, but does so using drastically less oil (only one tablespoon). With brown rice pasta, it can be gluten free if you use tamari sauce instead of soy sauce, and of course it is vegan. This was an easy and quick dish to prepare. It could be even better if it had more protein or fiber to make it a more filling meal, possibly adding some tofu or mock meat marinated in the sauce would do the trick. You can find this recipe on Chloe Coscarelli's website. Enjoy!


8 oz. brown rice noodles
3 cups broccoli florets (I used frozen)
4 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, extra wedges for serving
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon canola oil
3 scallions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
Cilantro, chopped, for garnish
Roasted, salted, chopped peanuts for garnish

Cook pasta according to package in salted water. Before the pasta is done cooking, add in broccoli. Cook for about 5 minutes. Drain, rinse with cool water, and then drain again. Set aside.

To prepare sauce, whisk together brown sugar, lime juice, and soy sauce in a small bowl.

In a large skillet heat oil on medium-high heat, add in scallions and garlic. Add the sauce, then add the cooked pasta and broccoli. Stir carefully until sauce is evenly distributed and the ingredients are heated throughout.

Serve with chopped cilantro and peanuts, with a lime wedge on the side.

Dining In - Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting

Chocolate Cupcake with Vanilla Frosting

I made a quick batch of cupcakes to bring to a friend's birthday party. I found the cupcake recipe online on AllRecipes.com and chose it because of the high ratings. I was pleased to see it didn't have a ton of fat in it, just 1/3 cup of oil. They came out great! The taste and consistency reminded me of devil's food cake, moist and light, but not too sweet. I wanted to pair it with a vanilla frosting so I used a recipe I found in Chloe's Kitchen and halved it. I had plenty to frost all the cupcakes, so I'm very glad I didn't make the full batch. You can find the frosting recipe in Chloe's Kitchen in the Happy Birthday Cake recipe. 



Chocolate Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup oil
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup water

Vanilla Frosting
1/2 cup nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons almond milk


To Prepare Chocolate Cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a dozen-cup cupcake pan with liners and lightly grease.

In a large bowl combine dry ingredients: flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Once sifted together add in wet ingredients: oil, vinegar, vanilla, and water. Stir until combined, don't overstire.

Pour into cupcake liners. I filled mine pretty high and that gave them the full dome shape versus the flat-topped cupcakes. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Remove from pan and let cool completely before frosting.

To Prepare Vanilla Frosting:

In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer smooth out the vegetable shortening for a couple minutes. 

Slowly add in powdered sugar, then add in vanilla and almond milk. Add more almond milk as needed, but not too much as it will make the frosting too thin. 

Using a bent icing knife frost the cupcakes, add sprinkles if desired.

Celebrating My One-Year Vegan-niversary!

Happy Veganniversary to me!

Time flies! It's been a full year since I decided to switch to a vegan diet. I can recall the moment clearly, it was at my cousin's wedding in North Carolina when I made a last minute decision to switch my meal to the vegan option. At that point I had already started incorporating a few vegan dishes into my daily menu, but I hadn't fully committed until that weekend. The vegan cake that was served at the end of the meal made me a true believer! It was the Wimbeldon cake from Sugarland Bakery in Chapel Hill.

I told myself that I would try the vegan diet, with no set end date, but if my health was ever at risk from the drastic shift I would make some changes and be more flexible. The first few weeks were a challenge. I had to take time to plan out exactly what I would eat at each meal in advance. My boyfriend at first was not excited about this major shift in my life, since it would most certainly impact his life, as well. We love dining out and trying new places, but the number of options, especially in Boston, is drastically reduced when you throw a vegan into the mix. After a month, he noted how great I looked (my skin was glowing, I had dropped a few pounds) and I noted how great I felt (more energy, lighter on my feet). Well, I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so I've stuck to the diet and have been very strict with it since. 

Even after a year, I'm eating or preparing new foods every week. There are probably a hundred recipes that I have stored up just waiting to create, and probably ten or more restaurants that I'm dying to try. 

Thank you for your support! I'd love to hear about your experiences with trying out vegan meals or transitioning to the diet. 

Dining In - Indian Buffet Trio - Saag Aloo, Chana Masala, Vegetable Biryani & Garlic Naan

Indian Buffet Trio - Saag Aloo, Chana Masala & Vegetable Biryani - Chloe's Kitchen

This dinner was a labor of love. I was feeling ambitious and decided to try a four-part recipe from Chloe's Kitchen. In retrospect I should have made this for a dinner party or a larger group, since I had tons of leftovers after my boyfriend and I enjoyed the meal. 

Indian food is generally veg-friendly, but you do have to make sure the food isn't prepared with yogurt or "ghee" which is clarified butter. For these recipes, canola oil makes a good substitute. I had never prepared Indian food before, but it wasn't too difficult. Many of the ingredients are repeated throughout the dishes - onions, curry powder, cumin, ginger, garlic, salt and pepper. The rice dish, called Vegetable Biryani, was the favored one of the meal. 

I have to admit the garlic naan was a bit of a failure. I used store-bought whole wheat pizza dough instead of creating it from scratch. It didn't have the chewiness or softness that traditional naan does. Better luck next time. You can find this recipe and others in Chloe's Kitchen (buy your copy here).

Saag Aloo
1 large russet potato, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
5 oz. baby spinach, ripped or chopped into bite-sized pieces
3 garlic cloves, minced
Sea salt
Ground black pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste

Chana Masala
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
Sea salt
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 large pinch cayenne pepper
15 oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup water
Ground black pepper
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Vegetable Biryani
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 1/2 cups basmati rice (I used jasmine rice and it worked out fine)
1 tomato, chopped
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
1/2 cup raisins
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

Garlic Naan
8 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb. pizza dough
Flour
2 tablespoons Earth Balance margarine

To Prepare Saag Aloo:

Boil potatoes until fork tender

Cook potatoes in salted water in a small saucepan. Bring water to a boil and then let cook until potatoes are fork tender. Drain water, set cooked potatoes aside. 

Boil cashews in a small saucepan with enough water to cover them for 10 minutes, then drain. Put cashews and water in a blender and process until very smooth. Set aside.

Heat oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add ginger, curry powder, cumin, and coriander. Cook a few minutes, while stirring. Add in spinach, garlic, cashew mixture, and potatoes. Let cook a few minutes, season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, add in tomato paste and stir. Taste test it and add more seasonings if needed. Serve warm. 

Saag Aloo - Chloe's Kitchen

To Prepare Channa Masala:

Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat, add in onions. Season with salt and cook until softened and browned, 5-8 minutes. 

Add garlic, turmeric, cinnamon, cumin, ginger, cloves, and cayenne. Cook for a couple more minutes. Add in the chickpeas, tomatoes, and water. Season again with salt and pepper. 

Reduce heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes, uncovered. Add in cilantro, brown sugar, and lemon juice, stir to blend together. Serve warm. 

Channa Masala - Chloe's Kitchen

To Prepare Vegetable Biryani:

In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat and cook onions until softened. Add in garlic, cumin ginger, curry powder, cinnamon and salt. Cook for a few minutes. 

Stir in dry rice, tomatoes, frozen vegetables, and raisins. Let cook for another minutes (it may seem odd to cook when rice is dry, but it works out by the end). 

Add in water and broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for about 10 minutes or until rice is cooked and most of the excess liquid has been absorbed. Remove from heat and let the pan sit, covered for about 15 minutes. 


To Prepare Garlic Naan:

Preheat oven to broil and have a baking sheet ready.

Knead the minced garlic into your prepared dough until it's evenly distributed, do this gently and slowly otherwise the garlic pieces will pop out as you stretch the dough. 

Split dough into 6 pieces, roll each into a ball, then roll out until flat and very thin (this is the part I struggled with, my dough kept bounces back and became too thick).  

Place flattened circles onto baking sheet and brush with melted margarine. Broil for 2-3 minutes then flip, brush more margarine on other side and broil again for 2 minutes. You should see some brown spots and hear some sizzling. 

Garlic Naan - Chloe's Kitchen

Congrats, you're done! Serve the three dishes together with the naan on the side.