Native Foods Blog

Wild Mushroom Freak-uh-say, or Fricassee

by Chef Kendall Huff

Native Foods Cafe

Here is the final recipe from our last round of super fun cooking demos last month. Fricassee is a broad term used to describe a stewed dish.  So I guess this is like a stewed appetizer that I like to put on crackers or bread.  And I love shrooms.... so I REALLY love this recipe.  If you can't find all the mushrooms I listed in the recipe, feel free to substitute with other mushrooms... and enjoy!

Native Foods Cafe, vegan, vegan food, vegan restaurant, vegan recipes

Wild Mushroom Fricassee on Garlic Toasted Crostini

Serves: 12 to 16 bites

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Smiles: TONS

 

1 # Shitakes (cleaned and steams removed)

1 # Portabellas (cleaned, diced ¼ inch)                       

1# Maitake Mushrooms           

½ # King or Oyster Mushrooms

½ # Chanterelles or Lobster Mushrooms

2 cloves Garlic (minced)

2 each Shallots (minced)

¼ cup Garlic Oil                                                                       

1 each Mini Baguette (6 in long)                                   

2 tsp Sea Salt

½ tsp Cracked Black Pepper

1 to 1.5 oz non-dairy sour cream

 

 

1. Preheat oven for 350 degrees.

2. Slice baguette into 12 to 16 ¼ inch slices. Brush with garlic oil and season with salt and pepper.

3. Toast for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.

4. Clean all mushrooms accordingly (all are different). And trim/dice into ½ in or so pieces.

5. Heat sauté pan up on medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons garlic oil.

6. Add garlic and shallots and cook until transparent.

7. Add larger mushrooms first (lobster, portabella and king).

8. Sauté for 3 minutes then add all other mushrooms.

9. Season with salt and pepper. Add more oil if mushrooms start to “dry” out. Cook for another 5 minutes.

10. Remove from the heat and allow the mushrooms to cool down until you can handle them. Rough chop the mixture and transfer it to a bowl.

11. Add the sour cream, mix well and taste. Need more seasoning? DO IT!

12. Scoop or spread the goodies onto the crostini or Dip IT!

 

 

Native Foods Cafe, vegan, vegan food, vegan restaurant, vegan recipes

Purrrrfect Pear Tarts

by Chef Kendall Huff

Native Foods Cafe

Something sweet to get your weekend going.... these Pear Tarts first started out as Persimmon Tarts at the most recent cooking demos.  But as persimmons fell out of season, I switched to pears, and they were just as delicious!  Make sure the tartlette shells you buy are vegan, as there are some different ones out there.... and you are good to go!

Vegan Pear Tarts! Native Foods Cafe, vegan food, vegan, vegan recipes, vegan restaurant

Pear Tarts

Makes: 24 mini tarts

Prep Time: 10 minutes

 

6 each  pears

1TBSP Earth Balance non-dairy butter

4 oz organic sugar

1 to 1 1/2 cups  soy milk (or other non-dairy milk)                       

1 tsp xanthan gum           

24 each Tart Shells

12 each Raspberries, cut in half

 

1. Pre heat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Par bake mini shells for 7 to 9 minutes and cool.

3. Clean pear and dice into ½ inch cubes.

4. In a sauté pan on medium heat, melt the butter and then add the pears.

5. Allow it to cook for 4 to 5 minutes in the butter. The butter will begin to brown slightly.

6. Sprinkle the sugar over the fruit and allow the sugar and butter to caramelize slightly in the heat, 6 to 9 minutes more.

7. Add the soymilk and allow it to reduce by almost half.

8. Transfer the hot mixture into a vitamix and puree on low until smooth and creamy.

9. Add the Xanthan Gum and continue to puree for another 30 seconds.

10. Pour an equal amount of fruit cream into each tart shell. Place the tarts back into the oven for another 13 to 16 minutes or until the mixture is firm.

11. Allow the tarts to cool before placing the raspberry garnish on. Or garnish with mint, chocolate shavings….anything you want really!!                               

 

Native Foods Cafe, vegan food, vegan, vegan recipes, vegan restaurant

5 Reasons to Vegan this Week!

by Chef Tanya Petrovna Native Foods Cafe 1. Cause Jane Said So! Jane Velez Mitchell that is.  In L.A. we can say we knew her when! She was our most fabulous vegan customer in Westwood for many years and now you can see her on CNN with her show "Issues," and when Jane talks we listen! I caught up with Jane last week in from New York covering the Conrad Murray trial and we spoke about helping people, make sound food choices, and eating vegan. She said we should make the Sanjay Gupta Heart Attack video viral, so let's do it!    2.Rainbows!  This rainbow appeared after eating only one vegan lunch, imagine what you'd see eating vegan all the time! 3.Pheasant Hunting Season Begins Oct. 1 In Britain more than 45 million pheasants and partridges are produced en mass to be used as targets for shoot outs. Bah.  It's not a game. It's a disgrace. Find out more info www.animalaiduk.org   4.This Picture! In the New York Times about eating chicken skin... really?  Is this attractive? Ingrid Newkirk speaks up!  "It's downright offensive, not just to people who care about animals but almost to everyone. It's a plucked, beheaded, young chicken in a young pose," she said.  5. Spork Fed The fabulous Spork Sisters' (Jenny Engel and Heather Goldberg) new vegan cookbook is out.  If you are in West Hollywood you can also take a class with them in their studio... or from anywhere in the world you can do an online class! http://www.sporkfoods.com/

 

5 Reasons to Vegan This Week!

by Chef Tanya Petrovna

Native Foods Cafe

 

1. Easy Vegan Options! -From Whole Foods to Trader Joe’s and even regular old school grocery chains but just heard about the Hilton in…are you ready?....Dallas, Texas! Anatole’s Nana restaurant is riding wild with options. Yeeehaaaaawwww! 

 

2.Natural Disaster Preparedness-When power goes out, pull out your trusty butane stove, dried lentils, water, dried spices and make a great soup for you and the neighbors. Don’t forget to keep a pot in your kit. Did you see the picture of Irene from space?

3. Factory Farming-99% of animals raised from food come from factory farms and that means minimally 10,000 heads of animals are raised in one confined large area, not healthy or friendly. Even if you are just getting into the vegan thing you can still walk the walk…with Farm Sanctuary's Annual Walk for Animals. 

 

4. Cappuccino Milk Shakes and French Toast- Not necessarily together, but when in Chicago there is a fun diner called Pick Me Up Café that has what you need vegan style 24 hours on weekends at until 3am other days. 

 

5.Greek Street Food Goes Vegan-Try this vegan tzatziki recipe as an app, on a sandwich,  as a topping on  a warm meal. From my last cooking demo!

Vegan Tzatziki

1 cup unsweetened non-dairy yogurt

1/2 cup vegan sour cream

2 each cucumbers, peeled, seeded & grated

3-4 each garlic cloves, minced

2 TBSP olive oil

2 TBSP lemon juice

1 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp white pepper

2 TBSP fresh dill, chopped

Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate until ready to use!

Boston Cream No Lie Pie: This Is It!

by Holladay Allen

Native Foods Cafe Tribe Member

Now I have had some might fine Boston Cream Pie in my day.  There is something about the moist cake combined with a creamy filling and topped with a chocolate coating that really satisfies all sorts of dessert cravings.  I have had it vegan a few times as well and it has always lived up to its spectacular name... but when I tried Chef Tanya's Boston Cream No Lie Pe at the cooking demos in March at Native Foods Cafe, my heart skipped THREE beats!  Yep that's right... I saw the light... and let me tell you it would have just been just fine if I followed it and check out for good, because I had tasted perfection.  Chef Tanya, please add the Boston Cream No Lie Pie to the Native Foods Cafe menu forever.  xoxo, Holladay

Oh and be sure to take a look at this PIC our friend Michele posted on Facebook... after one of the cooking demos at Native Foods Cafe she went home and made the Boston Cream No Lie Pie!

(For #3, you are supposed to mix the milk with the vinegar and let sit... so it curdles a bit.... then add the vegetable oil and vanilla)

 

Chef Tanya doing her thing at the Native Foods Cafe cooking demo in Tustin! Mmmmm.... vegan food.......

Chef Tanya is Doin' a Demo at Bloomies!

by Native Foods Cafe

Chef Tanya will be at Bloomingdales in South Coast Plaza this Saturday, April 2nd doing a cooking demo for their Let's Get Cooking Series!  That's right you can get some shopping done, check out the cruelty-free make-up that Bloomie's has to offer and get some delicious vegan food as well...  

The Kick Your Asparagus Class with Chef Tanya

by Native Foods Cafe

The March cooking demos with Chef Tanya at Native Foods Cafe were super rad as always.... and we learned alot about asparagus... like where it naturally snaps!  Oh and of you wanna know why it makes your pee smell funny, read all about it HERE in our blog archives.  Check out the recipes below and go make some delicious vegan food... and report back!

Always give your asparagus an ice bath says Chef Tanya of Native Foods Cafe...

Chef Tanya Wines and Dines at the Palm Desert Food and Wine Festival

by Native Foods Cafe

Chef Tanya will be at the Palm Desert Food and Wine Festival tomorrow March 27th doing a cooking demo... Go visit her, drink some wine and eat delicious samples. Sounds like the perfect Sunday to us!

 

Stew on This!

by Chef Tanya Petrovna

Native Foods Cafe

 

Hey hey Native friends and family!  I already posted the Tomato Garlic Bread Soup and Chocolate Banana Baked pudding last week... so here is the follow up and final recipes from the February cooking demos at Native Foods Cafe.  Chile Verde Vegan makes a great one-pot meal that will please everyone... and if you are really hungry, serve over a scoop of rice with some avocado!  Stay tuned for March cooking demos... it's going to be a kick your asparagus class!   Psssttt... the cooking demos are free!

Chef Tanya Petovna slinging cilantro at the Native Foods Cafe FREE cooking demo.  Fresh veggies and vegan food served daily!

 

 

Chef Tanya's Ensalada Azteca for One Minute Meals on KMIR6

by KMIR6 Palm Springs

Native Foods Cafe

Chef Tanya was featured this week on KMIR6 Palm Springs for the food segment entitled One Minute Meals.  Check her out at Native Foods Cafe in Palm Springs!

Click Here to Watch Chef Tanya! 

 

ONE MINUTE MEALS:

Native Foods - "Ensalada Azteca"

We've come a long way from the "secretary's lunch" of the 1980s, consisting of a lettuce salad and a container of yogurt.  With the addition of a grain, pumpkin seeds, and currants, this salad is a complete, hearty, and satisfying meal.

The Mecca Azteca Salad (otherwise known as the Ensalada Azteca on the Native Foods Cafe menu) using deglet noor dates was among the nine finalists of more than one hundred entries in the 2002 Date Chef Competition at the Lodge in Rancho Mirage, California,
sponsored by the California Date Board.

The Mecca Azteca from The Native Foods Restaurant Cookbook

1 cup chopped tomato
1 cup peeled and chopped cucumber
1 cup chopped jicama
1 cup chopped avocado
2 cup chopped red onion
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp sea salt
2 cups mixed salad greens
4 cups cooked.quinoa, cooled 
1 cup Mango Lime Vinaigrette
2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
4 Tbsp roasted pumpkin seeds
4 Tbsp currants, raisins, or chopped dates
4 slices fresh mango
1 tsp chipotle powder or cayenne pepper (optional)

In a bowl, combine tomato, cucumber, jicama, avocado, and red onion. Toss with lemon juice and sea salt. Divide salad greens on four plates or bowls. Top each with I cup of cooked quinoa. On each serving, drizzle quinoa with about 2 tablespoons of the Mango Lime Vinaigrette. On each serving, place one-quarter of the tomato mixture on top of the quinoa. Drizzle a bit more Mango Lime Vinaigrette on top of the tomato mixture on each serving. Garnish each serving with cilantro leaves, pumpkin seeds, currants, fresh mango slice, and chipotle powder.

Chef Tanya's set-up at the Native Foods Cafe in Palm Springs.  Hey!  What's that Scorpion Burger doing there?

Mango-Lime Vinigrette

1 cup chopped fresh or frozen mango
1/2 cups safflower or sunflower oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup lime juice
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger

This dressing is thick, so you may need to drizzle it on salads using a spoon.  Place all ingredients in a blender and puree. When I use frozen mango, I sometimes put it in frozen, since blending defrosts it. Alternatively you may defrost the mango first.  Substitute tangerine juice for lime juice, and call it Mango Tango Vinaigrette.  Check out the Mecca Azteca Salad (page 167), which uses this dressing, and see why it's one of our most requested specials.