While I was picking out gifts for others this holiday season, I decided to get a treat for myself, too: two of my favorite teas, which happen to come from the Tea Embassy in Austin, Texas. I discovered the teas (and the Tea Embassy) while living in South Texas a few years back. While I'm glad to be back home in Colorado, I have missed the tea.
The first is Mexican Winter Rooibos: a rooibos herbal tisane (or "red tea") blended with orange, cinnamon, coconut, chili bits and red pepper. It smells fantastic and tastes delicious, especially with a little honey.
The second is Almond Cookies Green Tea: organic green tea flavored with almond and coconut. "But, doesn't it have that strong green tea taste?" No, it actually really does taste like almond cookies. Which is probably why, whenever I place an order, I get a call from the Tea Embassy telling me that they'll need a few extra days to fill it, because they're currently out of the Almond Cookies Tea. But, it's worth waiting for, and it never seems to take that much longer, anyway.
Tea Embassy (orders are taken through their Tea Treasures website, here)
900 Rio Grande Street
Austin, TX 78701
512.330.9991
In anticipation of the upcoming Democratic convention, the New York Times recently featured Denver in its "36 Hours In. . ." travel series. As I perused the article this weekend, I was surprised to read that, "There's no getting around Denver's culinary specialty, red meat, the starring attraction at Old West-themed barbecue joints all over town."
For those who would prefer to "get around" red meat during their time in Denver, Ginger Beat humbly offers its own, vegetarian version of 36 Hours in downtown Denver:
1) Watercourse Yes, it's a bit of a walk from downtown. But, how often do you have the opportunity to dine at a completely vegetarian restaurant? (If you're feeling the altitude, consider taking a bike taxi from the 16th Street Mall.) I'm especially fond of the Andalusian Pasta (butternut squash, green olives, cannellini beans, fresh sage, and parmesan cheese tossed with fettuccine and lots of garlic...), the Sampler Plate (tapenade, hummus, basil, and cilantro pistachio pestos served with pita bread) and the Polenta Encrusted Portobello Cap (also available on a Po Boy sandwich). The related City o City serves up a limited version of the same menu, along with pizza, in an atmosphere that's a cross between a coffee shop and a bar.
2) Ahimsa Footwear Once you've made it to Watercourse, you're just a few blocks from Ahimsa Footwear, which sells shoes, purses and bags that appear to be made of leather - but aren't. That's right - vegetarian shoes!
3) Mad Greens No, it's not a gathering of riled-up Ralph Nader fans. Mad Greens is a local restaurant chain specializing in greens and other vegetables - basically anything that can be tossed into a salad or grilled in a sandwich. Veg salads include the Van Gogh (spinach, carrots, tomatoes, couscous, currants and dried apricots), Nobo Seagaru (romaine, asian slaw, edamame and tomatoes), and the Don Quixote (baby greens, mango, avocado, roasted corn and jack cheese). If you haven't got time for a sit-down meal, but want something quick and reasonably healthy, there's a Mad Greens on the 16th Street Mall (16 & Stout).
4) The Mercury Café A short walk from downtown, the Mercury Café serves up locally grown and organic fare. Although not exclusively vegetarian, the Mercury Café offers a range of vegetarian options. The building itself has a number of environmentally-friendly features and runs entirely on wind-power, some of which is created by wind turbines housed on the restaurant's roof. The Mercury Café is also home to a bar and a dance hall.
5) Tea at the Brown Palace After a few days of convention-eering, protesting or just plain old fashioned sight-seeing, wouldn't it be nice to sit down and relax a bit? Tea at the historic Brown Palace Hotel is one way to do that. Tea-goers choose between the classic tea (classic tea pastries, scones, and tea sandwiches), the Chocolate Sensation tea (chocolate tea pastries, scones, and tea sandwiches) and the Royale Palace Tea (a combination of classic and chocolate pastries, scones and tea sandwiches, also served with Kir Royale). While the tea sandwiches normally include some meat, vegetarian sandwiches can be prepared upon request.
6) Vitamin Cottage Want some soy milk for your hotel room fridge? Need a natural sleep aid? Searching for some organic fruit to carry as a snack? Denver has a number of natural grocers, but the closest one to the downtown area is the Vitamin Cottage at 15th and Platte Street, just across the river from downtown. Walk there by heading west on 15th Street, or use the Millennium Bridge to cross from the 16th Street Mall to Riverfront Park, and then head south to 15th Street on the bike path.
Back at the Cherry Creek Fresh Market this weekend, where the number of produce options (and the number of produce stands) had expanded greatly since my last visit.
Lots and lots of summer squash and other veggies...
... along with plums, peaches, apricots, cantalope, cherries...
... and dog after dog, just waiting for some food to drop.
Cherry Creek Fresh Market
Saturdays May 3 through October 25, 8:00 am - 1:00 pm
Wednesdays June 4 through September 24, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm
North Cherry Creek Dr. & University
The phrase "rice cake" conjurs up images of a dry, crunchy cracker made of puffed rice. But, "rice cake" can also refer to a soft, round cake of glutinous rice flour, filled with a sweet paste.
I tend to buy daifuku manju (大福まんじゅう) with a plain cake and a sweet red bean paste filling (pictured above, sometimes the rice gluten cake is white instead of pink so read the label!).
However, the rice cakes also come in other flavors, including macadamia nut (white, below at left) and mango (orange, below at right).
The macadamia nut cake was unexpectedly crunchy, due to chunks of macadamia nut in the cake's exterior. The filling was my favorite - red bean paste. The mango cake, with a mango-esque filling, was a bit cloying for my taste.
A Japanese confection, rice cakes can be found at Asian groceries. In Denver, I've found them at the Pacific Mercantile and at H-Mart. Sometimes they are in a refrigerated section (Pacific Mercantile), sometimes in the freezer (H-Mart), and other times they are on the shelf, or even by the cash register. I'm not aware of any reason why the rice cakes need to be refrigerated or frozen; they don't last long in my home, anyway.
Thanks to Deb in Denver for the Japanese translation.
Pacific Mercantile Company
1925 Lawrence
Denver, CO 80202
H-Mart
2751 South Parker Road (Parker & Yale)
Aurora, CO 80014
Do you ever notice an unintended theme in your eating pattern? The theme for me this week has been chocolate and bananas.
It began innocently enough, with a pint of Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey ice cream. Ben and Jerry's happens to be on sale at King Soopers this week, perhaps in connection with National Ice Cream Month.
Then, when I stopped into the Watercourse for a snack, I noticed chocolate-banana cupcakes in the baker's case. The cupcakes are chocolate with banana frosting layered between the base and the cap, and a banana chip on top. (For more on Watercourse's baked goods, including gluten-free options, click here.)
Finally, I decided to give in to the trend and make a banana-chocolate smoothie - vanilla yogurt blended with cocoa and a little sugar,* and a banana added to the mix. Excellent with peanut butter toast.
*Chocolate syrup could also be used, or else just start with chocolate milk or chocolate soy milk.
On my way to DIA to pick up some visiting relatives, I stopped by the City Park Fresh Market. Although it was early, the market had a number of visitors.
There were several stands selling produce, including organic produce. The spiced nuts, tamales, bread and pasta (including some gluten free pasta) found at other local markets were also present.
Edited to Add: Great tips for shopping at farmer's markets, including questions to ask when buying produce, here.
City Park Fresh Market
Colfax & City Park Esplanade (in front of East High school, across from Tattered Cover)
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sundays, through October 26
Growing up in Fort Collins, the nickname "the Choice City" seemed like a horrible joke. "Cow town" felt more appropriate.
Fort Collins has changed over the years, and my perspective has as well. True, the city still has its bovine residents. (See exhibit A, above.) But, I love that the the city is combating the growth of weeds on the Cathy Fromme Prairie by arranging for sheep to graze there. Having lived in parts of the country where green space is not a part of the development plan, I appreciate the city's commitment to bike paths and open spaces. And I think it's great that, through the Beet Street program, residents and visitors can engage in discussions with top scientists in the Science Café, or dialog with cultural commentators like Barbara Ehrenreich. (Beet Street events this summer include a jazz festival and a celebration of the Peace Corps, in addition to the on-going Science Café events.)
This weekend, I traveled up to Ft. Collins, and visited a few of my favorite places downtown: Avogadro's Number, the Cupboard, and Walrus Ice Cream.
Avogadro's Number
As your high school teacher may have explained, Avogadro's Number -- 6.023 X 1023 -- represents
the number of molecules in a mole of any given substance.
Scientific principles aside, Avogadro's Number is also a veg friendly restaurant in downtown Fort Collins.
The first thing visitors will notice upon entering Avo's is the macramé wall hangings and brightly colored murals. But, upon viewing the menu at the counter, you'll also be struck by the variety of veg options, from tempeh burgers to veg chili to a variety of meatless subs.
You know a restaurant is veg friendly when their web site devotes an entire page to the benefits of tempeh.
Not being a huge fan of tempeh (in spite of its many benefits...), I ordered the Grilled Tofu Sub: a tasty blend of grilled seasoned tofu, sautéed vegetables (including onion, carrot, celery, mushrooms and black olives) and melted mozzarella cheese served, with lettuce, tomato and a creamy dressing, on a sub roll.
Avo's also makes a mean berry shake, but I didn't get one on this visit because I was planning to have ice cream later in the day.
While the indoor murals and macramé wall hangings provide plenty to look at indoors, customers may also dine on the back patio, which was recently expanded.
605 South Mason Street
Fort Collins, CO 80524
970-493-5555
The Cupboard
How a little town on the prairie wound up with a top notch kitchenware store, I'm not sure.
The Cupboard's website describes the store's origins as such:
With no prior retail experience, a “market survey” that entailed a conversation with a gas station owner in Loveland, and $5,000 from a relative, The Cupboard was opened for business in the Fall of 1972. Pioneering customers encountered a few crocks of kitchen gadgets, some pottery, baskets, and a total staff of two (although only one manned the store at a time).
These days, the Cupboard is one of the only independent kitchenware stores around. And, by "independent," I don't just mean that the store is not part of a chain. Products are not available for order on-line, there is no mail-order catalog, and the selection of goods available is slightly different each visit. More than 30 years after its opening, it seems that the Cupboard is still marching to the beat of its own drummer - err, unique business plan.
While the selection changes each visit, it is the varied selection that makes the Cupboard so interesting. Every kitchen utensil you can think of - and some you may have yet to encounter - can be found there, along with a variety cookware, cutlery, kitchen appliances, cookbooks, dishes, glasses, pottery, and gourmet coffee, tea and groceries. While chain kitchenware stores may provide comfort in the consistency of goods available at different locations, the Cupboard offers an interesting and ever changing array of products that may not be found elsewhere.
The Cupboard
152 South College Avenue
Fort Collins, CO 80524
970-493-8585
Walrus Ice Cream
Walrus Ice Cream is another Fort Collins institution. The ice cream is made in-house; flavors change day to day.
Swiss dark chocolate ice cream is shown on left, huckleberry on the right. (Both were nibbled on before the photo was snapped; I'm getting better at photographing food before digging in, but with ice cream, it was hard to resist...)
Watch out for the joke flavor (not posted on the website); Sunday's was the somewhat obvious "meat chip."
Walrus Ice Cream
125 West Mountain Ave
Fort Collins, CO 80524
970-482-5919
The Cherry Creek Fresh Market is not so much a farmer's market as it is a gourmet food-oriented street fair. This weekend, there was only one table which I would consider a true farm produce stand, along with a tomato stand, an herb stand, and several flower stands. The Market was predominated by stands selling other types of food, including bread, baked goods, tortillas, tamales, dumplings, smoothies, kettle corn, spiced nuts and honey.
Perhaps because it was the only stand offering a variety of fresh produce, business at the farm stand was brisk.
I tried the vegetarian dumplings ($6) at the Sister's Pantry stand. The dumplings, which are stuffed with shredded carrots, cabbage, mushroom and celery, are lightly fried before being served in a lime-soy sauce. (While the filling does not contain any dairy, the dumplings are not vegan because they are covered in an egg white wash.) Peanut sauce is available for a dollar more. The dumplings were tasty, and quite filling.
I also had a green chili and cheese tamale ($2 each). It was much larger than the tamale
s I'm used to, with an excess of masa dough. Strict vegetarians might choose to steer clear of the green chili and cheese tamales, as they are steamed in the same pot as meat-filled tamales.
Another stand at the Market offered black bean and spinach tamales ($3 each). I wanted to sample them, but ran out of room after the green chili and cheese tamale and the vegetable dumplings.
Other vegetarian-friendly offerings included vegetarian crepes, made fresh at the Market, and Greek pastries. At least one participating bakery offered gluten-free goods.
While a variety of foods are available at the Cherry Creek Fresh Market, there were no agave marshmallows to be found. Only in Boulder, it seems...
The Cherry Creek Fresh Market has moved just south of its former location. While still located near the Cherry Creek Mall, the Market is now being held on North Cherry Creek Drive itself, next to the bike path. Those who drive can park in the Bed Bath and Beyond parking lot, where the Market was held in the past, or in the small lot across the creek on South Cherry Creek Drive.
Cherry Creek Fresh Market
Saturdays May 3 through October 25, 8:00 am - 1:00 pm
Wednesdays June 4 through September 24, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm
North Cherry Creek Dr. & University
Vegetarians are often asked, "But if you don't eat meat, why do you wear leather shoes?"
And, too often, the answer has been that it's hard to find cute, comfortable non-leather shoes.
Enter Ahimsa Footwear. Inside a little yellow house near the intersection of 17th and Park Avenues, Denver vegetarians can find shoes that match their beliefs and their sense of style. Prices range from $42 to $194 for women's shoes, and $25 to $170 for men's.
Ahimsa Footwear also sells vegetarian handbags, messenger bags, wallets and other
accessories.
The Ahimsa website states that all of the store's products come from manufacturers who have pledged not to use sweatshop labor.
Ahimsa Footwear
1688 Marion Street
Denver, CO 80218
303-860-VEGI (8344)
Photos taken from the Ahimsa Footwear website
Many vegetarian cookbooks feature a vegetable or chickpea dish with Indian influences, made from ingredients you can buy at the neighborhood market or health food store. But in order to create an authentic Indian dish,* it helps to have an Indian cookbook, and to visit an Indian grocery.
My exploration of Indian cooking has been guided by Maya Kaimal’s cookbook, Savoring the Spice Coast of India. With a helpful glossary of South Indian ingredients, simple recipes, and beautiful photographs, this book makes it easy to create delicious Indian dishes in your own kitchen. Although not exclusively vegetarian (of the 8 chapters, one is devoted to fish, and another is devoted to chicken, eggs and beef), most of the recipes are meatless. My one complaint is that the sole samosa recipe is meat-based.
In visiting Indian groceries to buy ingredients for these recipes, I have encountered dhal in a multitude of colors and sizes. The word “dhal” encompass a broad array of dried legumes used in Indian cooking. Because there so many different kinds of dhal, it helps to write down the specific type that your recipe requires before heading to the store.
Indian groceries also stock a variety of spices, including cardamom, cayenne, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, fennel seed, fenugreek seed, star anise, tumeric, and black and brown mustard seeds (the milder yellow mustard seeds are not used in India).
Ghee is form of clarified butter, but you won't find it in the refrigerated section of an Indian grocery store. Ghee is made by simmering butter until all of the moisture evaporates. It can kept at room temperature for extended periods, so long as it is tightly sealed and does not contain any moisture. Ghee is composed almost entirely of saturated fat, so I generally use canola oil or sesame oil in its place when preparing Indian food. If you choose to use ghee, Maya Saimal recommends making your own, and provides a recipe in her cookbook.
Curry leaves are used to flavor a number of South Indian dishes, and were a staple at Indian grocery stores until a recent (and hopefully temporary) ban on the leaves. As long as this ban is in effect, the best source of curry leaves may be a home grown curry leaf plant (murraya koenigii). Curry leaves do not have any relation to curry powder.
Papadum is a thin wafer made from legumes. If you've ever visited an Indian restaurant, you probably received a complimentary basket of papadum before the start of your meal. You can buy packaged papadum -- in flavors including plain, cumin, black pepper, and green chili -- at Indian groceries. Just as store-bought tortillas should be heated before they are served, store-bought papadum should be roasted in a hot skillet, turning occasionally, until it is covered with bubbles, and then cooled before being eaten.
I recently visited three Denver-area Indian groceries: Indus Imports, World Bazaar, and Star Bazaar.
Indus Imports
3020 W. Mississippi
Denver, CO
303-742-4443
Indus Imports is located just west of the intersection of West Mississippi and Federal Boulevard, in a neighborhood predominated by Vietnamese restaurants and Mexican grocery stores. Although it was the smallest of the three groceries I visited, Indus Imports was well stocked, with a variety of dhal and spices. Like the other two stores, Indus Imports also carries an array of rices, prepared foods (including papadum), curry pastes, chutneys, relishes and sauces, as well as some frozen and refrigerated foods, such as paneer. Indus Imports has a small selection of fresh fruits and vegetables.
World Food Bazaar
242 N. Havana
(North of First Avenue on Havana)
Aurora, CO
720-858-1112
I missed World Food Bazaar on my first pass, as the storefront does not face the street, and the grocery sits behind Massa Auto Pawn. The largest of the three stores that I visited, World Food Bazaar had the biggest selection of products, and slightly higher prices. In addition to Indian imports, World Food Bazaar carries groceries from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Iran, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. World Food Bazaar carries some fresh vegetables but does not appear to carry fresh fruits, although it had an extensive selection of dried fruits. A refrigerated case at the front of the store holds a variety of ready to eat sweets.
Star Bazaar
3102 S. Parker Road
Aurora, CO
303-755-6060
Star Bazaar is located in a strip-mall on the northeast corner of the intersection of South Parker and Dartmouth. It carries a comprehensive assortment of groceries, and its selection of frozen foods appeared to be more extensive than Indus Imports’. Star Bazaar also stocks fresh fruits and vegetables, including fresh chilies.
*Authentic, from this non-Indian, midwesterner’s perspective, means “like something I’ve eaten in an Indian restaurant.”
