President Evo Morales on the Daily Show

Baked Tofu Recipe

Here's a recipe my fiance came up with to help my dad remember the recipe for his baked tofu. Generally, this gets served with brown rice, broccoli and Bragg's liquid aminos. Yum.

Vegan Diet Kills?

Follow up to the op-ed piece written in the NY Times earlier this year regarding the news of the death of a 6 week old infant in Atlanta.

Apparently, the parents of the child fed him nothing but soy milk and apple juice. (No breast milk?) And he weighed 3.5 pounds at death!
I don't know the details, but I do know that a self-righteous, vegan turned carnivore decided that it was her duty to attack veganism in the NY Times, spurring a whole barrel full of fun for all! So, someone finally wrote a piece to counter it.

Picante - Berkeley, California

Picante
1328 6th St
Berkeley, CA 94710
Mon-Fri: 11:00am-10:00pm
Sat-Sun: 10:00am-10:00pm
Tel: (510) 525-3121
Fax: (510) 525-6876
http://picantecocina.citysearch.vista.com/
$-$$

Anytime we're in Berkeley, and craving a burrito, we hit Picante. And although they've got a few vegetarian items to offer, I repeatedly get the "Super" Picadillo de Legumbres - carrots, zucchini, & potatoes in red chile sauce (SUPER adds guacamole, cheese and cream, but I skip the cream). This burrito is huge! Enough so, that it is usually our only meal of the day. I especially love the house tomatillo salsa. But to really spice it up, we take our own Tapatio.

I've always been under the impression that the rice here is cooked with vegetable stock (as it says on the menu), but have read a few Yelp.com reviews that state otherwise. I'm going to check on this...


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Technorati Profile

Uva Trattoria - Napa, CA

Uva Trattoria
1040 Clinton Street
Napa, CA 94559
707.255.6646
http://www.uvatrattoria.com
$$-$$$

Tues-Thurs: 11:30am - 10pm
Fridays: 11:30am - Midnight
Saturday: 5:00pm - Midnight
Sunday: 4:00pm - 9pm

Closed on Monday


Vegetarian dishes on the menu:
Antipasti:
Olives (not on the menu - but these are the best!)

Zuppe e Insalate:
Insalata dell'Orto (vegan) - organic mixed greens, fennel, tomatoes, balsamic vinaigrette
Insalata di Spinaci - spinach, blue-cheese-balsamic vinaigrette, candied walnuts (fried)
Minestrone - vegetable soup with vegetable stock base (I practically live off of this stuff!)
*see my favorites below

Primi Piatti :
Capellini Pomodoro y Basilico (vegan) - angel hair pasta, tomatoes, basil, roasted garlic
Linguine con Melanzane - smoked mozzarella, tomatoes, eggplant
Lasagna Vegetariana - spinach, zucchini, mushrooms, marinara, parmesan
Ravioli d'Herbe - ricotta ravioli with brown butter, sage sauce
Gnocchi al Gorgonzola - house made potato dumpling-like pasta, with gorgonzola reduction sauce

Pizze:
Pizza Vegetariana - marinara, mozzarella, zucchini, eggplant, roasted bell peppers, arugula
Pizza Margherita - marinara, mozzarella, basil
Pizza Quattro Formaggi - blue cheese, goat cheese, mozzarella, Fontal, roasted red peppers

My Favorite Modifications:
I love the Insalata di Rucola e Prosciutto minus the Prosciutto. Arugula with a lemon vinaigrette and Grana Padana (a cow's milk cheese that is milder than Parmesan Reggiano). (vegan)
My favorite pizza is the creation of my fiance: zucchini, goat cheese, and arugula. But, properly ordered, it is: "The vegetarian pizza, no eggplant, no peppers, add goat cheese."

Uva makes all of the sauces for the pastas from scratch, so it's easy enough for the kitchen to make additions or subtractions from regular menu items. As far as I know, pesto is always available.


No meat, but...
Arancini (Chicken Stock in Risotto) - risotto balls with a bit of Teleme (cow's milk cheese) in the middle, fried and served with spicy marinara.
The special zuppa of the day is often made of vegetables, but usually has a chicken stock base. Ask your server if it's important to you.

Other perks:
-Live jazz Wednesday through Sunday nights. Check the website for schedule.
-Full bar.
-Corkage: $10.00 per 750-mL bottle. One bottle waived for every bottle purchased.

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Vik's - Berkeley, California

Vik's Chaat Corner
726 Allston Way
(between 4th St & 5th St)
Berkeley, CA 94710
(510) 644-4412
www.vikdistributors.com/chaat/chaatMenu.html
$

Hours:
Tuesday-Sunday 11:00am - 6:00pm

If you're in Berkeley, and you like Indian food, this place is a must!! Very traditional Indian chaat fare. Chaat is similar to the idea of Spanish tapas. Order a couple of dishes per person and eat a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Most everything on the menu is fried, but it's not greasy.
Their menu is mostly vegetarian and there are so many choices, that I'll just list my favorites...

Sev Puri
Crisp flat "chips" topped with potatoes, onions, mint chutney, tamarind chutney and garlic chutney.

Samosa Cholle
Two crusty pastries stuffed with green peas and spiced potatoes, covered with a spiced garbanzo, tamarind chutney.

Bhatura Cholle
Large puffed "flatbread" made of fermented white flour along with garbanzo curry, onions and mango pickle. (But if you're already getting the samosas, this is a lot of cholle.)

Mix Veg Pakoras
Crisp fritters of cabbage, spinach, cauliflower, potatoes and onion in chick pea batter served with mint and tamarind chutney.

If you're there on the weekend, try the Masala Dosa (Crepe made of rice and lentil flour stuffed with potatoes and served with coconut chutney and lentil soup.) which is huge, and better than the best dosas in Delhi.

Also served only on the weekends, the Dhokla (Steamed chickpea flour cake, mildy spiced and served with mint chutney.) is a favorite of my fiance, Todd. But get there early, because this is a popular dish that runs out quickly. Also, ask for extra mint chutney to flavor this deliciously spongy savory cake.

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