Dovetail Bakery is Love

I love this place. It's my favorite bakery and on weekends one has the option of the super delicious biscuits and gravy with tempeh bacon.  Did I mention Dovetail is one of (at least) three vegan bakeries in Portland?  My friend and I stopped by this morning and had a serving each before I drove him to the airport.  I didn't have my camera with me.  I did, however, get some treats to go, which are photographed below.

Morgan, from Dovetail was one of the competitors in Vegan Iron Chef earlier this year.  And I was excited to hear that a more extensive menu (sandwiches! soups! salads!) will be rolling out of the bakery on NE Alberta St. soon.  I hope they stay in that spot forever, as it's really convenient for me :)

Oh the soft, moist goodness.

I usually love Dovetail's scones most of all, but today the lemon poppy seed muffins and cinnamon rolls beckoned to me to take one of each of them home.  Matt and I will enjoy them, along with some green tea, while working through a Halloween movie marathon based on some of the recommendations made by Katie from Don't Eat Off the Sidewalk.  Have you been following along with her Vegan Dinner and a Horror Movie theme?  It's fun!

I guess we're not really following Katie's dining suggestions, with the beautiful baked goods and all, but her recommendations are really imaginative and some of them sound downright delicious!

Sauvie Island

Matt and I took advantage of a comp-day he earned by working really late hours the week before, and headed to Sauvie Island on Friday. It was our first trip to the 26,000 acre island, even though it's just north of Portland.

Before leaving the city, we stopped to pick up breakfast goodies at Sweetpea Bakery. Just look at the size of that chocolate chip scone! I was really digging the lemon danish- flaky and moist in all the right places. Mmmm....danish.
Then we picked up falafel wraps from Wolf and Bear's, deciding to eat them at a nice spot on our island walk. I really recommend their wraps, which are all vegetarian, and can be made vegan. Their falafel is great, and with accoutrements like grilled eggplant, kalamata olive tapenade, and full-of-fresh-herb-flavor hot sauce, you really can't be disappointed!
Upon reaching Sauvie Island, we visited Oak Island, a park with grassy fields and, as the name suggests, many oak trees in all stages of life, surrounded by water on three sides.
We did the 2.5 mile loop and then some, picking blackberries all the way. Want to know a secret? The berries in the shade are sweeter than those in the sun! Lucky for us, we had drink containers left over from our lunch to collect the berries in.
It was a lovely walk, but also quite hot...which is why we were thrilled to find a "gourmet" snow cone and Italian soda stand outside a produce market on our way off the island. I decided on a strawberry lemon Italian soda, while Matt went for the blackberry peach.

Tula Gluten-Free Bakery

My plans changed for the morning, which allowed me to bike over to Tula, a new gluten-free bakery in my neighborhood. They opened a few weeks ago, and aside from getting an iced soy latte to go (quite good!), I haven't tried any of their fare. Contrary to their Facebook page, only about 50% of their baked goods are vegan.
I decided to get a lemon tart and iced latte to go. The tart got a little rough-looking from the bike ride home. Luckily, it stayed in one delicious piece. The tart was, well, tart, with a real lemon taste in the filling. The crust was a bit dry and cracker-like, but nutty and tasty all the same. The sweet pop of the blueberries complimented the tastes and textures of the crust and filling.

The latte was tasty too!

I'll be going back, for sure.

VeganMoFo: Dovetail Bakery

Okay. So I sort of fail at Vegan MoFo. I was pooped and jet-lagged and frankly, a little tired of cooking, so just before midnight (the night before a series of flights beginning at 6 a.m.) on Thanksgiving I realized I hadn't posted, and oh well. Then I didn't post my travel day. Then I didn't post the day after my travel day. Oy!

With only a few days of Vegan MoFo 2010 left, it's silly to not come in with a strong finish on my family food theme, but it appears I'll be doing so.

At least I have some wonderfully delicious baked goods from Dovetail Bakery, my local vegan shop of goodness, to soften my disappointment in myself!

I'm pretty sure this is my favorite bakery in the whole world. How could it not be with goodies like this cinnamon bun, maple pecan scone, mixed berry bun, and lemon poppy seed muffin? Their scones, including their strawberry darling, are soooo delightful. I love them because they're not overly sweet.
Oh! Oh! I also picked up some Lady Gray tea. My favorite!

VeganMoFo: Root Veggie Soup and a Sundae

I decided to take a very short break from my MoFo theme to bring you Fill-up-a-pot-with-leftover-veggies-from-farm-share Soup, starring heirloom leeks, beets, green onions, carrots, oregano, and parsley, along with cans of kidney beans and diced tomatoes, splash of extra virgin olive oil, and a bit of salt and pepper. You see, Thursdays are pick up days for our weekly farm share. I wanted to use up the remaining "old" stuff to make room for the new.

I also couldn't resist showing you the awesomeness that is the pumpkin/chocolate soft serve sundae I picked up at Back to Eden today. I had mine topped with housemade caramel sauce, rainbow sprinkles, and chopped peanuts. By the time I got it home to snap a photo of it, the sundae was a tad melty, but still so tasty.

PS- HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FRIEND JASON!

Recent Food Hauls

Well, Doc and I are in our new house and we love it. We've been busy getting settled, entertaining visitors, and fixing things! In the coming months I'm sure I will be posting many "before and after" photos of our progress.

Switching topics: I wanted to share my recent delicious food hauls.

We now live very close to Dovetail bakery (among many other wonderful vegan [and non] establishments), which means I can expect to put on a few pounds. Just under three weeks ago, after our LOOOONG day of moving, I stopped by Dovetail to pick up some breakfast goodies. I am in love with their assortment of scones. The people at Dovetail are so nice. I even got two free chocolate chip cookies!

cinnamon pecan scones

sticky buns with pecans

cinnamon buns

chocolate chip and black and white cookies

I'm loving the connectedness of this town. Our Realtor set us up with a great painting company, the hands-on owner of which told us about the farmer's markets that his wife coordinates, including one at their home, a couple of blocks away from us. After stopping by last weekend, Doc and I signed up for Late Bloomer Metro Market's CSA-like deal and last night we were delivered this:

two dozen Tokyo Rose, Gala, and Sansa apples

seven Stark Crimson pears

a bunch of purple and golden fingerling potatoes

three ears of corn

four beets

a head of cabbage, large cucumber, and large yellow onion

two zucchinis and two yellow squash
(I'm not a huge zucchini or yellow squash fan, but I have big plans for making zucchini bread, especially now that the weather has turned cooler.)

aromatherapy tea in a cute little beaker

All organic or transitional for $29!

The boys checking out the new digs.

The Belgian Cafe and Family!

I have family in town this week, visiting from Connecticut. On Monday I thought it would be a good idea to meet near the Art Museum and afterward walk over to the Belgian Cafe in the Fairmount/Spring Garden neighborhood. The restaurant has a good selection of vegan and non- items, so I figured that it would be a crowd pleaser.

On my way to meeting up with the fam, I traipsed through the lovely azalea garden behind the art museum. My goodness, we've had some lovely weather this week. Seeing a bunch of folks laying out on the grass reminded me of my Krishna lunch days on the University of Florida campus. Ah nostalgia. Ah Krishna dressing.

Back to the present time and place. Look at these (assuredly non-native) pretties:

Obligatory "running up the steps" shot.

Obligatory "posing with Rocky" shot.

On to the food.

DocDufresne and I shared:

Frites (with smokey homemade ketchup)

spicy BBQ Seitan Wings

Vegan Burger

Vegan Reuben

Belgian beer:
Brasserie Dupont Avec les Bons Voeux

Lambic Framboise (Raspberry- yum, yum, yum, says the non-beer drinker)

It was so nice to eat outside on a pleasant day, especially in the company of great family! I wish we could get together more often!

Rangoon Burmese Restaurant

This week DocDufresne and I headed over to Rangoon Burmese Restaurant in Chinatown for a Meetup dinner. There were several vegan dishes and a helpful wait person that had our backs when it came to ordering.

What an awesome group of people! Everyone passed around the dishes they ordered so that all at the table could sample.

Appetizers:

Crispy Taro Root


Golden Triangles (Burmese Samoosa)


Firecracker Lentil Fritter


Asian Spring Rolls

Main Dishes:

1. Jungle Tofu

2. Vegetarian Keema
3. Chili Tofu
4. Mango Tofu
5. Eggplant Pin Sein
Monsoon Vegetable (not pictured)

Overall, the dining experience was decent. The appetizers were good and I liked the Jungle Tofu dish the best. I felt the food wasn't quite worth the price. I hear they have a more affordable lunch menu. When in the area, I'll probably just go across the street to Kingdom of Vegetarians, a completely vegan restaurant, which, in my experience, has been a better value (just be prepared for greasy food!).

Also: Spring is almost here! My aunt came for a visit last weekend and brought along these lovely daffodils!

Seattlegiving 2009

Last week I returned from a wonderful trip to Seattle, where I met up with friends that I went to school with in Gainesville, FL. We were all part of an animal activist group at UF and have remained good friends since. Three of the group moved to Seattle recently and were gracious enough to take turns hosting the out-of-towners. Thanks, Shivels and A and J! TCat, Ladybeth, Nowheydude, and I traveled from all points in the country for this reunion. What fun!

We ate lots of wonderful vegan food (some of it too exciting to wait and take a photo of!), spent a good deal of time traipsing around Seattle, and best of all: catching up.

GoMaxGo bars are abundant in Seattle. Our first stop the morning after TCat and I arrived was at a UW bookstore that Shivels took us to. Why? GoMaxGo bars, of course! We even waited outside the store for several minutes until they opened! My favorite is the Jokerz (Snickers). TCat (who is well-featured in photos from this trip), poses with our early morning find.

In between thrifting and site seeing, we ate brunch on Day 1 at Silence Heat Nest.

Next stop was the outdoor market in Fremont, which was full of great finds and delicious treats like the truffles found below:

And the site-seeing continues:

TCat with her three (nesting) vintage suitcases acquired at the market.

The troll under the bridge.





No photos of the delicious pizza at Juliano's, but here's one of hemp ice cream at Healeo.

Day 2: Filled with wonderful thrifting, and walking around Seattle, was not picture heavy!

We ate from the superb Vegan Thai buffet at Araya's for lunch. Afterward, TCat and I spontaneously decided to get our noses pierced. (If ever she decides to post her photos from the trip on FB, I'll post some more here!) Dinner was a low-key meal at A and J's.
Day 3: "Tuna melt" at Cyberdogs

A brussel sprout-loving iguana spotted at Pike Place Market

Shots from inside the AWESOME main library.


Dinner at Teapot was meh. Apparently there were better items we could have ordered. Oh well!

Day 4: After volunteering at A's work, TCat, A, and I met up with Shivels at Wayward Cafe.




Next, we hit up Sidecar for Pigs Peace, also meeting up with J, and headed to Mighty O Donuts. When we got there, TCat and I were crestfallen with the selection of plain cake donuts they had left for the day. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a tray appeared with all sorts of wonderful delights, all at half-price. I bought half a dozen of donuts to take home with me. I ended up taking 3.5 home to Philly, which were devoured the next day.

Yay! I'm in a photo, and just look at that double vegan whammy!

This doesn't completely capture our ecstasy!
I was even able to meet up with a middle/high school friend that has also recently moved to Seattle!

Day 5: Thanksgiving!
Wonderful, wonderful J made delicious "sausage" with biscuits for breakfast. (I liked them so much, I made them for breakfast this morning!)

Then we headed over to Shivels' house to start preparing the meal. So many vegan cooks in the kitchen was great. It helped that her kitchen was so large! Unfortunately, I didn't take any preparation photos.


TCat posing with her namesake.

The meal (ALL VEGAN!):

Cranberry Orange muffins (Vegan Brunch) made my J

Cinnamon Rolls made by Ladybeth (and transported from FL)

Herbed Stuffing with cranberries, pomegranate, and celery made by A

Kale Slaw made by Shivels

Creamy Herbed Potatoes made by Ladybeth's friend Raf

Tofu Turkey (vegweb) with Miso Gravy (VWAV) and stuffing made by me

Cranberry Pineapple sauce made by me

Cornbread made by Shivels

Brussel Sprouts with Root Vegetables made by Ladybeth (and transported from FL)

Cashew Nutloaf (or casserole) (port wine sauce not pictured) made by TCat- The favorite of the night

Pumpkin Cheesecake made by Shivels

Pumpkin Pie made by J's friend Babs

Pumpkin Pie made by J

J and A....and Shivels deomonstrating how full we all felt after the meal.

Playing Telephone Pictionary

I would be remiss if I neglected to mention that while I was off galavanting with my friends, DocDufresne had daddy duty and took Andy and Emerson to his parents' home for Thanksgiving. I just had to include these photos of Emerson sleeping on his great grandfather's lap, taken by Doc's brother.