Eating Out: Rosamunde, San Francisco

If you live in San Francisco chances are you’ve heard of Rosamunde Sausage Grill. It's a fantastic little place in the Lower Haight. They have a small counter where you can eat, but most people take their order next door to one of two bars- The Toronado or Mad Dog and the Fog and eat their sausage with a nice cold beer. Yum.

I know, this is the Weekday Vegetarian, but at the bottom of a long list of amazing classic and gourmet sausages, is the lone vegan sausage.


To our surprise it was fantastic. Too bad we forgot to take the picture until until they were half gone!

They offer several classic toppings including grilled onions, hot peppers and sauerkraut. It did not taste exactly like a pork sausage, but it was absolutely delicious.

We’d love to hear your comments about any great vegetarian finds that you have discovered while dinning out.

Gnocchi

Homemade gnocchi. Special enough for a Sunday supper but easy enough to make any night of the week.

If you think gnocchi is hard to make, then you haven’t tried making it.
For 2 generous servings:
1 lb of potatoes
About a cup of flour

The best potatoes to use are boiling (waxy) potatoes- such as white round. Bake the potatoes in a 350 degree oven for 45 min to an hour or until soft. When the potatoes are cool peel off the skin. Puree the potatoes through a ricer. Mashing them works too but the ricer keeps the potatoes light and fluffy and helps make pillowy gnocchi.

Add most of the flour to the potatoes. Don’t add all of the flour at once, since some potatoes will need more flour than others. The dough should be smooth, but slightly sticky. Carefully kneed the dough and form it into a ball.


Cut the ball into 2 or 3 smaller balls and shape each one into a long roll about 1 inch thick. Cut the roll into ¾ inch pieces.



To shape the gnocchi take each ¾ inch piece of dough and hold it with your finger against the top of a long fork and roll along the tines and let it drop to a floured surface. Repeat until all the gnocchi are formed.

Cook in batches of about 20 gnocchi at a time. Gently drop the gnocchi into a pot of gently boiling salted water- the water should be well salted. Once the gnocchi float to the surface let them cook for about an additional 10-15 seconds. Once they are done, scoop them out with a large slotted spoon and place in a colander and drain. Transfer to a platter. When all the gnocchi are all done, spoon a sauce over the gnocchi, gently toss in a quick tomato basil sauce and serve.

Hemp Milk

Most people have heard of or tried soy, rice or almond milk. But what about hemp milk? This is a great alternative for people with dairy, soy or nut allergies. It is thicker and creamier than soy or rice milk and it does not contain any added oils such as safflower or canola oils like the ones found in rice milk One of the best reasons to try it is hemp is extremely rich in Omega 3 and Omega 6 essential fatty acids. Oh, and did we mention, it tastes great?

Check out two of the companies making hemp milk
www.worldpantry.com
www.manitobaharvest.com

Eco Tip of the Week

Lundberg rice taste great, but that’s not the only reason why we love it. Recently they removed the re-closable zipper from their 2 pound bags of rice. This saves about 15% of the material used to make each bag and they note that this will save 35,000.00 pounds of plastic from landfills every year! I never knew those convenient little zippers used so much additional plastic.

So in the future, opt for packaging without the zippers. Use your own containers to store unused portions.

For more information about Lundberg’s eco practices, visit their website at www.lundberg.com

Whole Wheat Tortilla Burrito

When eating a vegetarian diet it is easy to replace meat with pasta, bread and tortillas and most of time we use the white flour versions of these products. Unfortunately white flour has been stripped of the bran and germ- the parts with all of the fiber and nutrition. All that’s left is the white starchy part with no nutritional value. When white flour breaks down it turns into glucose.

Swapping out some of your favorite white flour foods with whole grain alternatives is easier and tastier than you think.

When choosing your wheat tortillas make sure they also have whole grains and no trans fats, many tortillas have trans fats (partially hydrogenated oil) as this is a way to extend shelf life.

Here we’ve made a bean and cheese burrito with a whole grain tortilla. Top this with avocado and salsa and I promise you won’t miss a thing.

Put a few spoonfuls of refried beans on a tortilla. Top the beans with a couple of slices of jack or cheddar cheese. Roll up the tortilla and grill on an un-greased skillet for about 3 minutes a side, or until the tortilla is crispy and the cheese is melted. Top with avocado and salsa. Serve with sliced red cabbage tossed in olive oil and vinegar.

Mild Vegetable Curry with Coconut Milk

This is one of those less than 30 minute meals. However, if you have a little more time I recommend making your own coconut milk and naan bread. If you are in a time crunch, use canned coconut milk and store bought fresh or frozen naan.

The broth in this curry is very mild and light in texture so it really lets the taste of the vegetables come though. Other vegetables that would work well in this recipe are green beans, peas and zucchini.

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons ghee, coconut or peanut oil
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1-3 hot green chilies, seeded and chopped, Serrano or Jalapeno
1 1-inch cinnamon stick
10 fresh or dried curry leaves
½ Head of cauliflower, cut into florets
2 Medium potatoes diced into 2 inch cubes
2 carrots chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups coconut milk
1 cup water
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves


Place the ghee or oil in a heavy saucepan over moderate heat. When the oil is hot add the ginger and chilies and sauté for 1-2 minutes. Add cinnamon stick and curry leaves, and sauté for another minute.


Add all the vegetables, turmeric, coriander powder, salt and sugar. Stir the vegetables until well coated.


Pour in the coconut milk and water. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Gently stir in the chopped fresh cilantro leaves and serve hot.

Serve with brown basmati rice and whole wheat naan.

Serves 4

Indian spiced Basmati Brown Rice

Most of us are used to white rice, especially when it comes to Indian food. If you are one of those people that don’t like to break tradition because you are afraid that it won’t taste right, I think you will very surprised at this recipe.

Ingredients
1 cup brown basmati rice
1 tablespoons olive oil
2 pods green cardamom
1 piece cinnamon stick- about 2 inches
2 whole cloves
1 tablespoon cumin seed
2 cups water
Salt to taste- optional

Rinse rice well. Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, cloves, and cumin seed. Cook and stir for about a minute until fragrant. Cook and stir the rice for a few minutes, until lightly toasted. If you are going to add salt do it at this time. Add the water to the pot, and bring to a boil. Cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 50 minutes or until all of the water has been absorbed. Let stand for 5 minutes, fluff with a fork before serving.