Monthly Archives: January 2009

Karmany Yoga in Dallas

Posted on by
Reply

A new donation-based yoga studio featuring some of the city’s finest instructors is about to open in Dallas! Karmany Yoga (formerly Bend Studio) will offer various types of classes including Jivamukti Yoga, founded by David Life and Sharon Gannon in New York. Jivamukti Yoga classes generally include seated meditation, recitation of mantras, group discussion (often regarding the importance of a vegan diet), and a vigorous asana practice. The Grand Opening is set for Monday, February 2 at 6:00PM. Mark your calendars and dust off those mats!

5014 McKinney Avenue
Dallas, TX
(214) 564-7772

Open those wallets.

Posted on by
Reply

In December I attended a local group of vegans and vegetarians that go out once a month to volunteer at Serenity Springs Animal Sanctuary. It was an awesome experience that I loved being a part of. It was my second time to go and I can’t wait to go back again.

A lovely woman runs this place all by herself with only the support of donations and volunteers. She feeds the animals, cleans up after them and cares for their every need on a daily basis. I doubt she’s had a day off in years. Let’s open our wallets and support a sweetheart of a Texan and show her that her efforts are not in vain. Every single dollar helps so don’t worry that a small amount isn’t worth it.

While I was at Serenity Springs I chatted with another volunteer and noticed she had this adorable necklace. It was a pendant of a little pig that said “Friend not food” etched on it. I immediately starting asking questions about where this necklace came from and I was happy to hear that the maker of the pig necklace was a local artist in Dallas.

Her site is filled with adorable Eco and animal friendly pieces of jewelry. I highly recommend you stop on over there and support her. Let’s make an effort to wear our lifestyle on our sleeve, or neck or hand.

Vegan danishes, cupcakes, and brownies now available at Bouldin Creek in Austin

Posted on by
2

Okay, okay – so I haven’t been there yet. But Crystal and I are going! We are!

I am thrilled to announce that South Austin veg*n hotspot Bouldin Creek Coffeehouse is now offering a range of fresh items from Lone Star Plate contributor Crystal and Chris’s bakery, Always Baked! Be sure to check out her fantastic homecooking blog, too – it just won ApartmentTherapy.com’s Homie award for Best Home Cooking Blog of 2008!

Simple Migas…Brownsville Style

Posted on by
2


I spent much of my childhood watching cooking shows, experimenting in the kitchen, and gossiping with my grandmother while she prepared some fabulous meals! Not terribly exciting, but I grew up in Brownsville, Texas, after all. My grandmother is from a small Mexican village, where simplicity is valued, and native cuisine is a concoction of indigenous foods with a Spanish twist. One of my favorite breakfast dishes growing up was my grandmother’s simple, yet delicious migas! Grandma prepared her migas with freshly made corn tortillas, scrambled eggs, and a few Latin spices. Not overloaded with flavors, the simple dish made it possible for all of my family members to dress the dish to our own liking. My mother and aunt Sylvia usually topped theirs with a salsa picante and cheese (chilaquiles style), and my brother Michael and I often picked out most of the egg (we had a funny thing about eggs) and topped the remainder with ketchup…don’t knock it ’til you try it. A recent conversation with my mother about the dish inspired me to create a vegan version for myself…ketchup included! The dish is quite simple.

Migas Base
4 corn tortillas (cut in small squares)
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1 pinch sea salt

Scramble
6 oz Mori-Nu Extra Firm Tofu
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 small garlic clove (minced)
1 pinch cumin powder
sea salt to taste
black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
In a small skillet, sauté tortilla squares until lightly crisp. In a separate skillet, combine scramble ingredients and sauté evenly. Combine all ingredients and top as you wish…get crazy, even!

Participate in a university study on talking about your veg*nism

Posted on by
Reply

Lynsey Kluever Romo, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Communication Studies here at the beautiful University of Texas at Austin, is conducting a survey on how vegans, vegetarians, and pescatarians talk about their diet/lifestyle.

If you’d like to take part, click here to begin the study.

Thanks, and Hook ‘Em Horns!

StellaTex / Flickr

Taverna

Posted on by
Reply

The subject of Sunday brunch usually brings to mind dishes like eggs Benedict, French toast, and cleverly named omelets, none of which are options on a vegan diet, so many of us have become quite accustomed to settling for boring and/or fatty side dishes just to join friends for Sunday mimosas. Luckily, that is not the case at Taverna! Having learned of their $5 bottomless mimosas and bellinis, and remembering past vegan adventures at other Lombardi restaurants, my vegetarian friend Sara and I were excited to catch up over Sunday brunch at Taverna’s Knox-Henderson location in Dallas. Although Sara’s vegetarian diet allowed her to order from the brunch menu, we both ultimately ordered a fantastic butternut squash gnocci dish from Taverna’s regular lunch menu. The Gnocci di Zucca, normally drenched in an Asiago cream sauce with fresh sage, was prepared with a tomato and basil sauce and served with a large focaccia flat bread topped with rosemary and olive oil. We both added a salad of mixed greens that was well worth the additional $2. Sara selected a full bodied chardonnay to accompany her meal, but I decided to stay true to my Sunday ritual and chase my meal with bottomless mimosas!

Check out Taverna’s locations in Austin, Dallas, and Fort Worth for weekly specials.

More pizza – The Parlor in Austin

Posted on by
1

Last night my best friend and I went to the Parlor, famous in Austin for having vegan pizza. We tried to call in an order for pick up, but, apparently, the Parlor never answers their phone. Undeterred, we went to the Hyde Park location and ordered a large pie with artichoke hearts, garlic, and sundried tomatoes, with sausage on my half. The crust was very good; the cheese was great – melty, warm, and even a little greasy (although I could’ve had twice as much on there, but that’s my usual complaint at independent pizza places); the toppings were great. The sausage, while looking a bit like ground black olives, added a welcome burst of savory flavor. I’ll probably get a pizza from the Parlor once every two months or so, since the one I made from scratch proved more trouble than it was worth.
Cross posted from The Vegan Tree House.

Pizza Fusion in Houston

Posted on by
3

Vegan pizza in Houston!
Crossposted from Walking the Vegan Line

To celebrate the new year, we joined some good friends for dinner at Houston’s new “green” restaurant, Pizza Fusion. Well, calling it Houston is kind of a stretch since we had to drive 40 minutes to get there (which, I know, isn’t very green to drive that far for dinner), leaving the 610 loop which we rarely venture outside of. Pizza Fusion is a restaurant chain that prides itself on minimizing their ecological footprint through the use of organic ingredients, hybrid delivery vehicles, reclaimed building materials (the floors and tables in this one were from the basketball court of a local high school), LEED certification, and recycling. All good things if you ask me! Of course, the fact that they have a vegan cheese option as well as a vegan dessert, also helped lure me outside the loop.

It was kind of surreal to see the word “vegan” emblazed on a building in the suburbs of Houston. If that’s not progress, I don’t know what else is.

After some confusion over volumetric conversions with the bartender (the 16oz glass of beer came marked in a 0.4L glass, which is equivalent to about 13.5 oz, but we were still charged for the 16oz), our vegan breadstick order arrived with a mix of both white and multigrain minis and a marinara dipping sauce. We probably would have ordered two if we knew our pizzas would take almost an hour to arrive….
But arrive eventually they did. Two specialty pizzas, a veggie medley (mushrooms, broccoli, bell pepper, onions) and a Seattle (onion, garlic, basil, balsamic vinegar, and artichoke hearts) both with FYH mozzarella on a crispy white dough crust. The Seattle was my favorite with the bite of the vinegar, the sweetness of the onion, and the creaminess of the melty “cheese”, all the flavors melded into a perfect pairing. The pizza was definitely a hit with the vegan and non-vegan parties at our table.
To make up for the very slow service, the manager gave us a few freebies… “I’m a vegan” bracelets, coupons for soy cheese pizzas, and dessert! This vegan, gluten-free brownie was a nice ending to the meal. Not as good as my homemade brownies (they were a little grainy and could have been more chocolatey), but still good.
While I enjoyed out trip out to the boonies for a vegan pizza, it’s not likely a trip I’ll make very often. Luckily, Pizza Fusion has plans to open more locations throughout Texas and the country. Maybe one will be opening close to you (and me)!

Vegans Rock Austin! Pizza Potluck

Posted on by
1

“When the moon hits your eye like a vegan pizza pie, that’s amore.”

Pizza potluck? Yes please!

The sky’s the limit with types of pizza, be it a traditional pie or going crazy with ingredients (pineapple, fake duck, scotch bonnet peppers, etc.) or variations (deep dish? calzone? dessert pizza? NY style? quiche? thin crust? stuffed crust?).

Whatever type of pie you bring, just make sure it is sans any animal products (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, honey etc.), of course.

Friday, January 9 from 8:30PM

2625 Exposition Blvd.
Austin