Dining Out in Boston - Dorado

Spicy Portabella Mushroom & Grilled Zucchini & Red Peppers Taco Plate
with Black Beans, Seasoned Rice and a Charred Jalapeño - Dorado

Spicy Portabella Mushroom Taco - Dorado

Dorado is a hipster Mexican food joint in Brookline that opened in 2009 and recently made it to the big leagues with a location in New York City. Named after a fish, their speciality is the fish taco, but they offer a wide variety of traditional Mexican fare - tacos, quesadillas, elote, chips with salsa or guacamole, salads, and a Mexican sandwich known as a cemita. If you're thirsty you can enjoy Mexican beers, sangria, or agua frescas (refreshing fruit juice). They also now serve brunch on the weekends!

There are two veggie taco options, both can be made vegan if you request without cheese. The Grilled Zucchini and Red Peppers taco comes with roasted tomato-habañero salsa and guacamole. The Spicy Portabello Mushroom taco has marinated chile and garlic, avocado, and salsa fresca. To make it a satisfying and very affordable meal order the taco plate to get sides of black beans, seasoned rice, and a charred jalapeño.

Grilled Zucchini & Red Peppers Taco - Dorado

The Brookline location, mid-way between Coolidge Corner and the bustling Harvard Ave. of Allston, is fairly small but does offer indoor and outdoor seating. You place your order, take a number, and your food will be brought to you. I've never experienced any service issues and the food is always fresh and tasty. I expect more locations to pop up in the future.

Dorado - Brookline Location

Dorado

401 Harvard Street

Brookline, MA 02446

Dorado Website
  

Dining In - Lemon Olive Oil Cake

Lemon Olive Oil Cake with Raspberries - Chloe's Vegan Desserts

I veered away from my typical baked goods that usually include frosting, chocolate, and lots of sugar to try something a bit more gourmet and grown-up. I made this for a dinner at my friend's house and everyone enjoyed it. What's unique and oh-so-tasty about this recipe is the use of olive oil, lemon (in three ways), and maple syrup instead of granulated sugar. Just a warning - It uses quite a bit of maple syrup, which can get expensive! I finally put good use to the Bundt cake pan that was hidden in the back of my cabinet. The cake was very moist and full of flavor. To sweeten and to garnish, add powdered sugar and serve alongside some berries. You can find the full recipe in Chloe's Vegan Desserts (buy your copy here) or on her website. 

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup olive oil
3/4 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon extract
2 tablespoons lemon zest

Powdered sugar, for garnish
Fresh raspberries, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use a cooking spray to lightly grease a Bundt pan. 

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and powder, and salt. In a separate, medium bowl whisk together olive oil, maple syrup, water, lemon juice, extract and zest. 

Add wet ingredients to dry and stir together, but avoid over-mixing the batter. 

Pour into prepared Bundt pan so it's distributed evenly and bake for about 30 minutes. Check the cake with a toothpick to make sure it's done. Let cool, then flip the pan to remove cake. 

Serve with powdered sugar sprinkled on top and raspberries on the side. 

Lemon Olive Oil Cake - Chloe's Vegan Desserts 

Dining In - Baked Macaroni & Cheese

Baked Macaroni & Cheese - The Almost Vegan

It's another Pinterest-inspired quick dinner recipe! The ooey, gooey, cheesy look of this baked mac 'n' cheese convinced me to try it. I've made quite a few vegan mac 'n' cheese recipes at this point (here's my favorite), but I'm always up for a trying a new one that has slight variations. This one incorporates shredded cheese into the dish and as a topping, so you get a creamier, cheesier sauce. My one issue with this recipe was the overpowering mustard flavor. This could easily be fixed by reducing to 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard or using a more mild variety. Otherwise I really enjoyed the thick sauce and of course the breaded-cheese topping is hard to resist. This was a pretty simple recipe, but did involve a stove-top, blender, and oven. I might serve this as a side dish for a future meal, since I felt like I needed to eat a few servings to feel full! You can find the full recipe on the blog The Almost Vegan (don't worry, this recipe is completely vegan!) - see it here.

10 oz. pasta (I used gluten-free shells)
1/4 cup Earth Balance margarine
1 yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup plain almond milk
1/2 cup raw cashews (soaked overnight or boil for 10 minutes)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard (See comments above, I recommend using less)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon paprika, use more if desired

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 cup vegan shredded mozzarella (now available at Trader Joe's!), divided
1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly grease an 8x8 inch square pan.

Boiling Raw Cashews

Boil cashews for about 10 minutes and then drain and set aside. 

Cook pasta according to directions on package, rinse, drain and set aside. 

In a large saucepan, melt the margarine and add onions with a dash of salt. Cook for about 5 minutes, until onions soften and start to brown. Add in garlic and flour. Stir until it starts to thicken. 

Add almond milk, cashews, nutritional yeast, mustard, tomato paste, paprika, salt, pepper, and pinch of cayenne. Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring throughout. 

Sauce Before Blending

Carefully pour mixture into a blender. Blend until well combined and creamy. 

Pour pasta into prepared pan. Add about half of the sauce to the pan with the pasta and mix together. Add 1/4 cup of the shredded cheese and stir again. Top dish with remainder of sauce, followed by remaining 1/4 cup of shredded cheese and breadcrumbs. Sprinkle with dash of paprika, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until crispy on top! 

Dig in!

Dining Out in Boston - Clover Food Lab

BBQ Seitan Sandwich - Clover Food Lab

Chickpea Fritter Sandwich - Clover Food Lab

Food truck turned brick and mortar restaurant! I like when that happens, it's inspiring. Clover Food Lab, originally a vegetarian food truck that started at MIT and spread to multiple locations around Boston, now has restaurants (four and counting..). For whatever reason there was never a truck near my office so I missed out on Clover's yummy vegan lunch options. I tried the food once when I happened to be on vacation and spotted a truck when wandering the city. I was impressed. Serving local and often organic food, I felt good about my choices there. They have some delicious beverages, too. When I learned a restaurant was opening up close to where I live in Brookline, I was thrilled! 

BBQ Seitan - Vegan Version

So far I have taste-tested two sandwiches, rosemary fries, and iced coffee. The Chickpea Fritter sandwich is essentially a falafel in a pita, but it's fresher-tasting than most Mediterranean joints. It comes with a handful of chickpea fritters, a generous helping of hummus, diced cucumber and tomato, shredded carrots and red cabbage, pickles, and tahini sauce in a warmed pita pocket. The seasoning in the chickpea balls is a tad different than falafel, but certainly not in a bad way. The other sandwich I've enjoyed here is the BBQ Seitan sandwich. This one comes with cheese and mayo so make sure you request it without, to make it vegan! It also comes with romaine lettuce and sliced tomato (you can tell how fresh the produce is by the bright colors!). I'm a fan of seitan on occasion for its high protein. This sandwich did not disappoint. I really enjoyed the sweet BBQ sauce and although it was lacking a couple ingredients, it felt like a complete sandwich to me. 

Give this place a try! Whether it's by truck or restaurant, Clover seems to be in a growth stage with good changes coming. I just saw a new sandwich on the menu - the Pepper Relish, I'm not sure how I feel about that one, but it's nice to see them experimenting and expanding!

Clover Food Lab

6 Harvard Street

Brookline, MA 02445

Clover Food Lab Website

Dining In - Hot-Fudge-on-the-Bottom Cake

Hot-Fudge-on-the-Bottom Cake - Chloe's Vegan Desserts

This was a fun cake to make, especially since I had no idea what to expect and was making it out of boredom and a sweet tooth craving. No pressure to impress a bunch of guests for this one! I'm glad I gave it a test run, because it was one of the rare occasions that one of Chloe's recipes wasn't amazing, it was...well, just okay. 

The texture of the cake was moist and yummy per usual, and the bottom was just as the name suggests - hot fudge. Therefore it was difficult to serve like regular cake, because you'd leave behind all the ooey gooey hot fudge! A spoon comes in handy. What threw this one off was the chocolate flavor. Using unsweetened cocoa powder gave it a mild chocolate flavor, but by the looks of it you'd expect a rich chocolate taste, and that it was lacking. Possibly swapping the powder for dark cocoa powder or using melted chocolate chips would do the trick. I've read comments from other bakers that enjoyed this, so I'll leave it up to you to make the decision. Luckily it's an easy one to prepare. You can find the full recipe in Chloe's Vegan Desserts (buy your copy here). 


Chocolate Cake
1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup almond milk
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Hot Chocolate Fudge
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups boiling water

To Prepare Chocolate Cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 8x8 inch square pan. 

In a large bowl sift together dry ingredients - flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.

In a separate medium bowl, stir together milk, oil, and vanilla. Add wet mixture to dry and stir until combined, without overmixing. Pour batter into pan.

To Prepare Hot Chocolate Fudge:

In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, sugar, and cocoa powder. Sprinkle over the cake batter. Slowly pour boiling water over batter - do not mix!

Carefully move into oven and bake for 45 minutes. Let cool for about 20-25 minutes before serving (tip: cut into squares, but use a spoon to serve to get the fudge).

Ready for the Boiling Water!

Dining In - Tiramisu Pancakes

Tiramisu Pancakes - Chloe's Vegan Desserts

I made these as a special surprise breakfast for my boyfriend. Pancakes are his most common choice when we go out for brunch so I was excited to test this gourmet vegan version on him. I'm not a big fan of tiramisu, but making a unique pancake flavor intrigued me. This was as easy as making regular pancakes. With a hint of rum and strong coffee flavor these were a more adult version. The added chocolate chips and whipped cream made them look even more mouthwatering and taste much sweeter. My only complaint is that they were a tad bit on the dry side, but that's where the syrup comes in! You can find the full recipe in Chloe's Vegan Desserts (buy your copy here). 

1 cup flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon dark rum
1/3 cup dairy-free chocolate chips
Canola oil, for cooking
Powdered sugar, for garnish
Coconut whipped cream (I used store-bought "Rice Whip" by Soyatoo! found at Whole Foods)

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, espresso powder, and salt. 

Pancake Batter

In a separate small bowl, stir together water, syrup, and rum. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until combined but do not overmix.

Heat canola oil in a large skillet or griddle on medium heat. Pour 1/4 cup of batter onto pan. You can make as many as will fit on the pan or griddle. Watch carefully and flip pancakes when you see bubbles start to form in the center. Let other side cook for about 1-2 minutes. Remove from pan and stack pancakes on a plate. 

Serve with powdered sugar and whipped topping, with maple syrup on the side!

Dining Out on Cape Cod - Green Lotus Café

RAWCO - Green Lotus Café

I was so excited to learn that a new vegan-friendly restaurant was opening on Cape Cod. With very limited options for vegan dining, it was a smart move for the owner to open up shop. Nate grew up on the Cape and spent time in the Marines. Living in San Diego he learned of the health benefits with the vegan diet. He moved back to the Cape and opened Green Lotus Café in Hyannis in March 2013. You can read more on his background here.

RAWCO Sandwich

The menu is entirely vegetarian, with vegan, gluten-free, and raw options available. All sandwiches can be made vegan with Daiya cheese and non-dairy mayo substitutions. With so many options it's difficult to make a decision, but I asked the staff what the popular sandwiches were and settled on the RAWCO. Raw foods usually come at a premium since the ingredients are more expensive, but I felt pretty good about paying $9.49 for this all raw sandwich - it's seasoned ground walnuts (that resembles ground beef like a taco filling), raw cashew cheese sauce, avocado, tomato, lettuce, and red onion served on crispy organic corn tortilla bread. It was delicious and very filling. If you've never had raw bread before, it's thin like a cracker and chewy, but it does its job at holding a sandwich together. The sandwich was a little too salty, but overall the taste and texture were pleasing, and I would be quick to order it again. My non-vegan boyfriend got the Roast Seitan, which comes with real cheese, but can be substituted to make it vegan. He admitted that it was really good. Soups and smoothies are also on the menu, along with a vegan-friendly breakfast menu. They also offer vegan desserts, which vary by day. There were two types of cookies when I was there.

I have a lot of sandwiches to get through to try them all, but I'm happy to report that my first visit was a success and I will be back for sure!

Sandwich Menu - Green Lotus Café

Sandwich Menu Continued! - Green Lotus Café

Visit their very active Facebook page for updates on daily specials and what's cooking (or not, if it's raw!) in the kitchen. 

  

Green Lotus Café

349 Main Street

Hyannis, MA 02601

Green Lotus Café Website

Dining In - Raw Kale Salad with Simple Sweet Tahini Dressing

Raw Kale Salad with Simple Sweet Tahini Dressing - Happy. Healthy. Life.

I found this simple and healthy "5-step raw kale salad" recipe on Pinterest. It's from a popular vegan food website I've visited before called Happy. Healthy. Life. You can find the full recipe here. Although I've tried to incorporate more kale into my diet, I have to admit I had not yet had it raw. It's much tougher than lettuce, with a slightly bitter taste, so I had my doubts on this one. Luckily I was mistaken. This salad is delicious! The dressing is the best part (as it often is) and I'm sure I'll be making it again to use on other salads. It was creamy, rich and tangy and still so good for you! This was a very quick recipe with little clean up, since you can easily make the dressing without a blender. The one note I will add is to make sure you have a breath mint around for after! Raw onions have a way of lingering on your breath. 

Kale Salad
4 cups raw kale, stems removed, chopped or torn into bite-sized pieces
3/4 cup carrots, shredded
1 small avocado, diced (I used half and it worked just fine)
1/2 cup sweet onion, diced
2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds (or pepitas)

Simple Sweet Tahini Dressing
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons maple syrup
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
2-3 pinches of cayenne
Salt and ground black pepper, for seasoning

To Prepare Kale Salad:

Prep veggies by chopping, as much or as little as desired. Toss together in a large bowl. 

To Prepare Simple Sweet Tahini Dressing:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk together.

Make salad by pouring dressing over veggies and toss together. If you are patient, chill the salad for an hour in the refrigerator to allow the dressing to set and marinate veggies. Enjoy!

Dining Out on Cape Cod - Earthly Delights

Fakin' Bacon Tempeh Sandwich - Earthly Delights

Tofu Scramble - Earthly Delights

I've been summering on the Cape my whole life. It's got a special place in my heart for it's natural beauty and fond memories of many fun summers. I'm lucky to still have a place to visit to escape the city on weekends and spend time at the beach. 

When I became vegan last year I "rediscovered" a great little natural foods eatery right next to my house called Earthly Delights. I knew it existed years ago, but never visited until last year because it seemed a little too healthy and too hippie (think sprouts and granola). I now go multiple times in the course of a weekend! It's very small and usually very busy during the summer, but it's worth the wait. You'll be entertained looking around at the enormous collection of quirky, humorous magnets, signs, and cards covering every inch. The owners, Tom and Mary are awesome! They work their butts off running that place all by themselves and I give them credit. You can tell that many people are fond of them by the Yelp reviews. I even ran into Tom at Trader Joe's stocking up after a long day and he recognized me right away, very good memory!

Menu at Earthly Delights

In addition to breakfast and lunch items they also sell some packaged natural foods. Though not 100% vegan, it is very vegan-friendly and many items on the menu can be made vegan in addition to the handful that already are (for instance, they only use non-dairy mayo). A couple of my favorites: Fakin' Bacon Tempeh, best when served in a wrap in my opinion, comes with tempeh lightly brushed with olive oil and cooked to golden brown, served with lettuce, tomato, and dairy-free mayo. Another is the Tofu Scramble, which isn't actually on the menu! My boyfriend went out and picked up breakfast early one morning while I was busy sleeping and came back with a delicious breakfast wrap filled with marinated tofu, tempeh bacon, tomatoes, spinach, and Daiya cheese in a whole wheat wrap. I ordered it again just a day later :) He also brought me back a yummy vegan Oatmeal Raisin cookie. It fell apart right away, but it didn't stop me from wolfing it down. I've also tried their smoothies, which are quite popular. The mango smoothie is so refreshing on a hot summer day! They also offer fresh juices and shots of wheatgrass, if you're into that sort of a thing. 

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie - Earthly Delights

It's very difficult to find vegan-friendly restaurants on Cape Cod, so I'm thankful to be right next to this gem! I recommend you give it a try and get to know Osterville a little bit better.

Earthly Delights

15 West Bay Road

Osterville, MA 02655

Earthly Delights Website

Dining In - BLT Baked Spaghetti

BLT Baked Spaghetti - That Was Vegan?

Pinterest delivers another successful vegan meal! I was scrolling through tons of mouth-watering vegan food pictures on Pinterest and found this comfort food recipe for a satisfying pasta dish posted by VegNews. It incorporates tempeh bacon, kale, tomatoes, vegan mozzarella, tomato sauce, and I opted for gluten-free spaghetti. There's something about a baked pasta dish that makes it so much better! Especially topped with melted cheese (the vegan kind works too!). I really enjoyed this dish. The tempeh fills you up fast and the sauce was so creamy from mixing it together with the cheese prior to baking, almost like a vodka sauce. My non-vegan boyfriend gave this a big thumbs up too! Only problem was we both had about 2-3 servings... oops.

You can find the full recipe here on the "That Was Vegan?" website. 

Ingredients for BLT Baked Spaghetti
 Everything is from Trader Joe's! (except the tempeh bacon and pasta)

12 oz. spaghetti (I used gluten-free brown rice spaghetti from Whole Foods)
1 cup kale, blanched
Pinch of garlic powder
8 slices maple tempeh bacon
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 1/2 cups red spaghetti sauce
1/4 vegan shredded mozzarella (now available at Trader Joe's)
Oregano, for seasoning
Sea salt, for seasoning
Ground black pepper, for seasoning

Tempeh Smoky Maple Bacon

Cook spaghetti according to package in salted water, stop cooking about 1-2 minutes earlier. Drain and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To prepare kale, boil water with a pinch of garlic powder in a small saucepan, add kale and cook for about a minute. Remove from heat. Drain. Rinse with cool water and drain again. Set aside.

Spray a small skillet with cooking spray and heat on medium. Add tempeh slices and cook both sides until golden brown. Remove from pan and slice into bite-sized pieces.

Put spaghetti in casserole dish, add in sauce, kale, tomatoes tempeh, mozzarella, salt, pepper, and a dash of dried oregano. Toss together. Top with vegan mozzarella, as much or as little as you desire. 

Cover dish with tin foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove tin foil and continue baking for an additional 6-8 minutes so cheese on top melts. Serve and enjoy!