The Rich Vegetarian

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Category: Food (page 12 of 30)

September 14, 2012 / 2 Comments

Bounty from T.J.Maxx

T.J.Maxx is one of my favorite shopping joints. I have walked out of the store multiple times, clutching an assortment of tops, kitchen implements, leggings, handbags… not all at the same time! There is always an element of surprise when it comes to T.J.Maxx – you never know what you might find. I found a lovely pair of nude pumps marked at $39.99 on my last visit. If I find the pair again, I will pick it up, for sure! Neat little blouses, belts, glass containers, dinnerware, cute dresses… the list goes on. Nevertheless, I never thought I’d ever pick up food/snacks/eatables from T.J.Maxx. Until this week.

Snacks from TJ Maxx

My loot this time?

Kind Cinnamon Oat Clusters with Flax Seeds – $3.99
Yummy Earth Organic Lemon Drops – $1.99
Go Naturally Organic Hard Candies (Ginger) – $1.99
Oskri Sesame Date Syrup Bars – $3.99
Oskri Cashew Cranberry Protein Bar – $5.99 (I checked the ingredient list. Unlike other protein bars, this one only contains rice syrup, cashews, rice syrup, cranberries, rice crisps.)

Oskri Bars

Haven’t sampled the Kind Cinnamon Oat Clusters yet. The organic lemon drops are delectable. Tangy and perky, they are the perfect little size for an after-dinner sweet treat. P has been tucking in the ginger candies and he loves them! I bit into a piece of the Oskri sesame date syrup bar this morning – yummy! Date syrup has a mild sweetness, a flavor I prefer to the blinding sweetness of sugar syrup. Waiting to sample the Cashew Cranberry version soon!

Needless to say, I was a happy camper this week, as I walked out of T.J.Maxx. Next time, I will keep an extra-attentive eye out for such inexpensive, healthy goodies in the store. Interestingly, all these are placed along the checkout aisles… so don’t be in a hurry to check out!

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September 6, 2012 / 0 Comments

Pure Bliss Organics, Marietta

I am always looking out for tasty-healthy snack options. My fondness for Larabar has been well documented on this site. For a long time, I wondered if I would find another product like Larabar. As tasty, as healthy, as reasonably priced and as easily available… a tall order, I know! In addition, I am also known to be extremely picky when it comes to the ingredient list. As tasty and cheap a product may be, a long list of unfamiliar ingredients generally leaves me uncomfortable, and I find myself putting the product back on the shelf.

One day, I chanced on an Acai Coconut bar at a local Robeks outlet. Can’t recall the exact price but it didn’t make me wince. Plus it was made by a local company! I picked it up. Tasty, tasty! I have an issue with many energy bars in that they tend to be dry, almost cardboard-y in texture. Not this one. It was definitely not as soft/moist as Larabar but not dry/dense either.

Pure Bliss Organics, Marietta

Pure Bliss Organics is a Marietta-based company that sells gourmet nuts, energy bars, granola, etc. I sent a note through the website asking if I could sample the products and write about them on the blog. Soon after, I heard back from Jon, one of the owners, asking if I wanted to come check out the company’s facility. I jumped at the offer. And so it turned out that one warm Tuesday morning, I found myself at Pure Bliss Organics. I couldn’t have been more surprised at the location; it was mere minutes from my home! Literally in my backyard, you can say!

Jon and Antonio, the owners, welcomed me warmly and showed me around. The tiny office provides abundant evidence of the company’s philosophy on life, happiness and food. A sweet space with a cute little altar, incense and pictures… I couldn’t have felt more at home if I had tried!

Antonio (L), Lakshmi, Jon (R)

As Jon showed me around the bakery and store room, he mentioned that all Pure Bliss products are certified organic. A few of them are vegan while some are wheat-free. Not all ingredients are sourced locally. For instance, Jon mentioned that there are not many organic blueberry vendors in Georgia, and so, the blueberries come from Michigan. I saw two huge ovens, each capable of roasting up to 40 trays of nuts and seeds. Many of the products are made by hand. I saw one of the employees mixing blended banana with dry ingredients for making Banana Gorilla granola. Jon also showed me the packing and cutting machines acquired recently by the company. Pure Bliss Organics products are stocked at Whole Foods and Sevananda, among other locations.

Making Banana Gorilla Granola

I left the office clutching a generous bag of complimentary samples… Mmm.

Samples Galore!

P and I went through the samples pretty quick. The energy bar bites are a great idea… excellent for sharing! Each little bite packs a nice punch, perfect for the 3 p.m. snack craving. The Mocha Java Bites have sharp notes of espresso that jive beautifully with the crispness of brown rice crisps and the soft chewiness of dates. The Appleachia is a great combination of apples, walnuts, brown rice crisps, flaxmeal and a host of other delicious ingredients. Some of the gourmet nuts have a lingering heat, courtesy cayenne and chilli. Good in small bites!

Pure Bliss Organics is a company grounded in its philosophy of creating foods that nourish the mind, body and soul. Now that is a mindset I can totally get behind… 🙂

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July 18, 2012 / 0 Comments

Uncle Maddio’s

On a friend’s recommendation, we headed to Uncle Maddio’s for dinner. It was a good recommendation, I think. And I can happily recommend this place to other vegetarians as well!

Uncle Maddio’s is a nice little cheery place. We went on a Tuesday evening, there were few diners. I don’t think I have ever seen such an extensive list of vegetarian-friendly toppings at a pizza joint! Caramelized onions, eggplant, black bean corn salsa, zucchini, sun dried tomatoes, red onions, grilled tofu and more… There are six sauces to choose from including herb pesto, tomato-basil, tomato BBQ and others! Not to mention the option of a gluten-free crust! And Daiya vegan cheese! Ok, I was excited… 🙂 (Sorry about the annoying light on the pictures below).

What a menu!

We ordered the medium-sized Southwest Baja minus the chicken (mozzarella and cheddar, black bean corn salsa, jalapenos, cilantro, sour cream) on a whole-wheat crust, and a Custom Pizza (gluten-free base, herb pesto sauce, pineapple, eggplant, jalapeno, black olives, roasted garlic, green peppers).

Loved the Southwest Baja! The crust was hearty and crisp, the cheese + sour cream made for a nice and runny topping. The tomato-basil sauce had a fresh vibrance to it with none of the excessive sour acidity that tomato-based sauces are prone to having. Doesn’t that picture look absolutely divine?

Southwest Baja

I think we did quite well with the Custom Pizza as well. I liked the gluten-free crust. I would order this one any day, really. It was thin and crispy, had a nice bite to it. All the toppings except the eggplant worked great together. The menu simply says ‘eggplant’ but what they actually serve is breaded eggplant. It felt too greasy, too heavy. Wish they’d used roasted eggplant or caramelized eggplant instead. Oddly enough, this pizza was smaller in size (7.99″, I think) than the Southwest Baja. I can’t recall if we asked for the Individual size but that’s what we got. Or so I think.

Custom Pizza

All in all, a nice little place! Can see myself going back to sample some of the other toppings/sauces/cheeses, especially the Daiya vegan cheese. Btw, our bill came to a little over $25. Not bad at all, I think.

Uncle Maddio’s

Uncle Maddio’s
2955 Cobb Parkway, Suite 290
Atlanta GA 30339

770-955-5223
www.unclemaddios.com

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June 12, 2012 / 1 Comment

Blackberry Jam

A couple of weeks back, we saw rows and rows of bushes in our backyard bearing tiny red fruit. They looked like blackberries but I wasn’t sure. Finally, P tasted one and confirmed – blackberries, yes. And so many of them. Unexpected bounty from the backyard that literally sprung up overnight. Each day, we picked bowls and bowls of ripe blackberries. Sprinkled rock salt over them, threw them in salads, ate them plain.

Blackberry Bushes

And then one day, I made a batch of blackberry jam. This has to be the simplest recipe ever.

Ingredients
4 cups of blackberries
1 cup raw sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place the blackberries and sugar in a thick-bottomed steel pan. Don’t worry if the fruit-sugar mixture reaches up to the rim. It will cook down to less than half of the original volume. Turn on the heat. The fruit and sugar will begin to break down, reducing in volume, bubbling merrily. After it has liquefied completely, reduce the heat and let the mixture simmer.

The mixture will first gain a sauce-like consistency, and gradually start thickening. Keep stirring so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom. At this point, you can spoon out a little bit, lay aside to cool, and taste for sweetness. Turn off the heat as soon as the mixture achieves a jammy level of thickness. Add the vanilla extract. Stir well.

Simmering Jam

Cool. Store in a clean glass bottle.

Spoon the jam into a bowl of yogurt, slather on toast, eat straight from the bottle… 🙂 For a spicy kick, consider adding red pepper flakes as the fruit-sugar mixture cooks down. Another option is freshly ground black pepper. Enjoy!

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