Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts

Thursday, September 19, 2013

The Gay Vegans: Review of Immaculate Baking Company's products


By Dan Hanley
 
Reviewing Immaculate Baking Company's baked goods is the topic of my post for Day 13 of Vegan Mofo, a month of vegan food blog posts. Since I am not a food blogger, most of my posts for Vegan Mofo will not be recipes, rather experiences I have with vegan food and sharing people, places and things that have brought me and continue to bring me amazing vegan food.

Mike and I were shopping one day with our friends Spencer and Amy one day and Spencer tossed a tube of cinnamon rolls into his cart. I was thinking that they could not possibly be vegan, and he told me that of course they were.

You all know that Mike makes the best cinnamon rolls ever. I have posted his recipe twice. Nothing honestly beats them.

These come close.

There are many times that I would love a cinnamon roll but Mike doesn't have time to make them from scratch. Enter Immaculate Baking Company's pre-made, all ready to be baked in your oven cinnamon rolls!

They only take about 18 minutes to bakes, you dab on the frosting that comes with the package, and you have five super-delish vegan cinnamon rolls.

Try not eating all of them at the same time!

Immaculate Baking Company also makes different flavors of scones, and we have tried the blueberry scones. They are delish as well and the package makes eight.

They also make cookies and pie crust. We have yet to try those (or see those in our markets).

When you don't have the time to make delicious breakfast creations, turn to these. You will not be disappointed!


This post originally appeared on Dan Hanley's website The Gay Vegans. Republished with permission.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

The Gay Vegans: Daily Doses of Goodness

By Dan Hanley

Welcome to Day 5 of Vegan Mofo, a month of vegan food blog posts. Since I am not a food blogger, most of my posts for Vegan Mofo will not be recipes, rather experiences I have with vegan food and sharing people, places and things that have brought me and continue to bring me amazing vegan food.

I have always felt like being vegan is super easy. It's also easy to forget that food sustains and that it is important to get all of the right foods in you to be healthy. As one who loves sweets, I have to pay particular attention to this.

I'm not a nutritionist. I'm a 47 year old guy who tries to be as healthy as possible. So I read a lot and pay attention to people who are food nutritionists, especially ones who are vegan. ( I have web links to a couple of them on the main page of our blog.)

Here are a few things that Mike and I always have in our fridge and cupboards. They might be for a snack, a full dinner or as a side.

Kale. Yes, we hear all about the goodness of kale and I sure am a believer. Whether it is from our garden, one of the local Farmer's Markets or a grocery store, we buy and consume a lot of kale. I like it in smoothies and lightly sauteed with salt, pepper and garlic. Mike makes kale chips which are delish.

Blueberries. Frozen blueberries to be exact. A constant in smoothies. In season we buy fresh ones for cereal and salads.

Swiss chard. Oh my. This is one of my all-time favorite veggies and another one of those that is uber good for you. In a salad or pasta, smoothie or with garlic as a side dish. Mmmmm.

Vegan yogurts. Vegan yogurt? Yes, there are plenty of choices out there. Great for snacks or for breakfast. I like any peach or dark cherry flavor.

Hummus. No surprise here. Store bought or home made. So good for you and so delish.

East Pastry cookie dough. Vegan cookie dough. In your fridge. Enough said.

This is a very short, just some of my favorites. For people newly vegan or checking veganism out, I hope this helps. For everyone else, I hope there is something here that you are curious about if not already eating a lot of.


This post originally appeared on Dan Hanley's website The Gay Vegans. Republished with permission.

Friday, September 6, 2013

The Gay Vegans: VeganMoFo

By Dan Hanley
 
Still feeling pretty new in this amazing world of blogging, I didn't feel that I had what it takes to commit to VeganMofo, a month-long celebration of vegan food.

VeganMofo is Vegan Month of Food.

Bloggers from all over the world will spend the month of September writing as much as they can about recipes, dishes they love, vegan food items they love and places they love to go to get amazing vegan food. Now this is not the official definition of Vegan Mofo but I think this is the general idea.

I didn't sign up for this because with work, home, etc. I can barely get two blog posts out a week. But starting September 1st, I am going to give it a shot. I'm going to try to write as often as I can about what to me is the best part of being vegan: vegan food.

If you would like to know more about VeganMofo, check out this link: http://www.veganmofo.com/about/ On this same page you can connect with all of the bloggers writing for VeganMofo.

I am super excited!


(Editor's Note: Click here for all of Dan's VeganMoFo recipes so far this month!)

This post originally appeared on Dan Hanley's website The Gay Vegans. Republished with permission.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Cocktail Chatter: Homemade ‘Smoked’ Salmon Elevates Dinner Parties

By Ed Sikov

This week’s column is about how a single great hors d’oeuvre can elevate an easy dinner party into something truly special. The most common mistake hosts make is trying too hard. Unless you’re really sure of yourself and have at least a full day to prepare for your dinner party, don’t set yourself up for failure by overextending yourself. Your guests want to relax and have fun, not be wowed by your culinary expertise. So don’t be afraid to make a big bowl of spaghetti (and use bottled sauce if you have to), get two bags of salad mix and some bottled dressing, and heat up a frozen pie. Put your energy into a “wow” appetizer: homemade “smoked” salmon.

First things first: stick a bottle of Absolut in the freezer. That’s your cocktail. You’re not a bartender, and your home is not a bar. You do not have to stock everything on earth just in case somebody might want a (insert name of cocktail here). Icy vodka is classy, especially when you serve it with something as delicious as this easy-to-make salmon.


Wild Copper River Salmo
Your local supermarket should carry “fresh” salmon; I put “fresh” in quotes because the salmon has almost certainly been frozen between sea and store. You want salmon filets, not steaks, and you need a pound or a pound and a half. You won’t be cooking this salmon but rather preserving it, so take a particularly good look at it before you buy it. If possible, smell it, too. It should be moist but not greasy or dry looking, and it should smell faintly like the sea. If it has a strong fishy odor or just plain looks bad, forget it; buy some cheese and crackers and make this recipe another time.

Buy a box of kosher salt. No, you’re not converting to Judaism; you’re merely going to be using coarse salt, and kosher salt fits the bill. Make sure you have a cup of sugar at home; if you don’t, buy some sugar, too. Now proceed to the tea department and look for Lapsang Soochong, a Chinese tea with a distinctly smoky flavor. If you’re lucky, they’ll have it loose-leaved in a tin; if not, you’ll have to buy teabags and cut the bags open at home. Buy some unsalted butter or whipped cream cheese and some party rye, and pick up a bunch of dill if it looks good.

Two days before your dinner party, mix 1 cup of Lapsang Soochong tea leaves with 1 cup of coarse salt and 1 cup of sugar. Place 2 layers of plastic wrap crosswise in a Pyrex loaf pan (or other nonreactive square or rectangular deep dish), and layer the salt/sugar/tea mixture with the salmon filets until you run out of both. Fold the plastic wrap over the top, weigh the fish down with a stack of small plates, and put the whole thing in the refrigerator.

The day of the party, remove the fish from the fridge, and – in the sink, because it will drip – separate the fish from the now-wet salt/sugar/tea mixture. Using a knife, scrape off as much of the mixture from the filets as possible. Do not do this under running water!You’ll lose too much flavor that way. So what if some specks of tea leaves remain on the salmon? Then, starting at the thin end of each filet, carefully slice them on a sharp diagonal – almost horizontally, really – so that you have nice looking slices about half an inch wide. Put the butter or cream cheese out on the counter to come to room temperature – it’s spreadable that way. Put the fish back in the fridge.

Right before serving, spread some butter or cream cheese on the party rye, put a piece of salmon on each slice, top with a sprig of dill, et voila!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Nice to See StevieB: Panda Express

By StevieB

I spent the entire day yesterday writing my term paper. I have entitled it my "Mos and Po-Po" paper. Not realizing that I had wasted an entire day sitting at the dinning room table with nothing but the dog staring up at me, around seven p.m. my stomach decided it was time for me to stop clicking away on the keyboard and throw some food in it.

Without considering the social norms of good grooming, I grabbed the Shar-pei and headed out onto the streets for nourishment. I have a level of guilt for patronizing the new Panda Express fast food chain that has opened up recently. I have always dined at the locally owned and operated Chinese take-away, but after a day of writing in my sweat pants, I feared that Mr. Wok would assume that the zombie apocalypse had begun, and this particular zombie had a taste for Asian brains, and I would be shot in the head.

One should not fear being mistaken for a zombie and shot just because one desires Chinese food, but one should also take a shower and remove ten hour old Pop-Tart crumbs from one’s beard before heading out into public. So I went to Panda Express.

They don’t judge.

As I did my zombie shuffle up to the “Order Here” sign, the guy behind the glass sneeze guard smiled and said “Hey, we chatted on Scruff!”

Peering into his dreamy blue eyes and swimmers build wrapped in a fast food uniform, I recognized him as well. My stomach and other bits growled. I thought, it’s Mr. “watts up” and “your hot.”

Pondering his very bad grammar, I quickly thought, who am I to judge the proper use of you’re versus your? This hot twenty-two year old wants to give me his egg rolls. Under the panda embroidered polo shirt is a six-pack that thinks I am hot. I smiled my best “How YOU Doin?” smile and ran my hand over my right pectoris muscle covered by my coffee-stained tee shirt.

I then grabbed my to-go bag and retreated out of the restaurant like a defeated Mongol warrior, yet giggling like a Japanese schoolgirl.

This post originally appeared on Steven Bennet's website Nice to See StevieB. Republished with permission.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Culinary Tourism Workshop to Debut on October 10 at Governor’s 2012 Colorado Tourism Conference in Steamboat Springs

From game cuisine and fresh farm-to-table fare to award-winning restaurants with top chefs at the helm, Colorado has an agricultural heritage all its own. 

On October 10, the Colorado Tourism Office Heritage and Agritourism Program and Northwest Colorado Cultural Heritage Tourism, an initiative of the Community Agriculture Alliance, will host the first annual Culinary Tourism Workshop in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

This tracked workshop, led by Erik Wolfe, International Culinary Tourism Association, offers invaluable insight into the culinary tourism industry and can benefit anyone who is in – or wants to join – the industry: tourism organizations, aspiring chefs, restaurant managers, event planners, farmstead producers, winemakers and microbrewers, etc.

The workshop includes sessions on culinary tourism product development, food culture, strategic brainstorming and more.  A special lunch in the Yampa Valley is included in the workshop registration, as is transportation via shuttle bus from the Steamboat Grand Hotel.

This is the perfect time for this workshop, since culinary tourism and agritourism are more popular than ever, according to Laura Grey, heritage and agritourism manager for the Colorado Tourism Office.  

“Those want to break into the industry and those who are already in the industry and simply want to take the next step can both benefit from attending the workshop,” said Grey.  “The sessions cover everything from the production and operations end to the business and branding aspects, which are equally important in the culinary tourism world.”

Scholarship applications will be accepted.  Scholarships cover the cost of the workshop, lunch, workbook and shuttle to the event.  For additional information on the workshop, including schedule and registration details, visit www.coloradotourismconference.com/culinary.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Health and Fitness: Advice on what to put inside yourself

By Thom Seehafer

I'm talking about food, of course! 

Can I eat this? Can I eat that? What should I eat? How much should I eat? People are obsessed with food.

Today I offer up a list of foods that have been proven to help the body in a variety of ways. These foods can help to shrink your waistline and keep you healthier throughout your life. They will help your body increase lean muscle mass and will help prevent fat storage.   

Additionally, different foods offer proven benefits including building muscle, promoting weight loss, strengthening the bones, lowering blood pressure, fighting cancer, improving your immune system and also fighting heart disease.  

This is a list from SimplyShredded.com. Try to add two or three of the foods from this list to your breakfast, lunch and dinner and throw one of them into each of your snacks.

• Almonds
• Whole Grain Breads and Cereals
• Peanut, Cashew or Almond Butter
• Turkey and Other Lean Meats
• Beans/Legumes – chickpeas, pintos, soybeans
• Spinach and Green Veggies
• Dairy Products - fat free milk, yogurt, cottage cheese
• Instant Oatmeal or Quick Oats
• Whey Protein Powder (watch for sodium and sugar content)
• Eggs
• Olive Oil
• Raspberries, Apples, Grapefruit

This is a very basic list of ideas for you to play with.  Again, there are many health benefits from eating these types of foods – they can fight against obesity, cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis—the list goes on and on. And it's important to remember that, as you vary your workouts, you should also vary what and how you eat your foods.  You don't have to settle for simple or plain.  It’s YOUR body – make what you put into it and what you do for it exciting! In an effort to keep from getting bored eating the same foods - boiled, steamed, lightly sautéed - try to vary the types you eat.  

Put out good energy into the world (and good food into your body) and you get it back!

Thom Seehafer is part-owner of Body Solutions Rx, a company dedicated to helping people release excess weight in a short amount of time with the use of Hcg.
 The views in opinion pieces and columns do not necessarily reflect the views of MileHighGayGuy.com.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Nice to see StevieB: Thai Me Up

By Stevie B

I have found myself addicted. Again.

I go through phases where I cannot get enough of one type of food. Last fall I stood in front of my favorite, and recently closed, Japanese fast-food restaurant and shook my fist and the locked front door. I had been eating lunch there almost every day for six months and without even consulting me, they closed the location. The betrayal of closing my favorite restaurant helped me spiral down into a cheese pizza tirade that lasted four months.

Although I still visit the cuisine of Japan regularly, I have gone to Thailand to find love. Peanut sauce and curry love. My fascination with the food of Thailand has grown to the point that I’m now the love slave of a nineteen year old Thai boy, named, Chad. I am at the point where I’ve visited his family’s tiny restaurant so many times that Chad now puts in my order as I walk through the door. As he places my over sized plate of chicken and veggie stir-fry, with extra peanut sauce and crispy garlic, he says, “Your favorite, Keith!” He calls me Keith, but that’s okay. Because I love him, he brings me spicy Thai peanut sauce.
Yesterday I found that I am cheating on Chad, as I have started to teach myself Thai cooking at home. After spending thirty bucks in the “Oriental Food” section of my local grocery store, I have all the ingredients to make a  เตะตูด Thai curry. Ya know, coming from a nerdy Mormon boy, I think I'm learning how to make a great stir-fry. This weekend there will definitely be a trip to Sakura Square and a shopping spree for more supplies. Please, don’t tell Chad. He’s sensitive.

This post originally appeared on Steven Bennet's website Nice to See StevieB. Republished with permissio