For my birthday, my twin sister took me to lunch at Tasty Harmony in Fort Collins. It was neat and somewhat overwhelming to go to a restaurant and have almost the entire menu available to choose from. They have a varied selection of different foods which is what I would consider cafe style. The selection does have a couple of vegetarian/non-vegan options as well as a lot of gluten free and raw options.
The atmosphere is a cozy cafe. The front room has a large bar, a couple of tall booths, and tables on the floor. The simple, warm colors make it inviting with a hipster at home feel. There is a back room and a side room that provides more privacy, and the space in the back room seems to be set up where tables can be arranged around the bench for large party seating. During the day, the cafe seemed to be more naturally lit which contributed to its organic vibe. The video above, produced by FCPAN 97 is very informational. This video you can find on Tasty Harmony's website which also has menu and pricing, some event information, ingredient glossary, directions, hours of operation, and pictures. The pictures are of people and sadly, not menu items. The website doesn't seem totally up to date.
My sister and I started with the Nachos de Ynez $11.50. I am always sheepish to order nachos because they have to be layered just right, and served right away. This nacho plate was so big that between just my sis and I we could have eaten it as a meal. This is certainly a healthy enough portion for 4 maybe 6, and with more people the faster it can be eaten and hopefully not get soggy. Black beans, guacamole, pico de gallo- all vegan by themselves. The cashew cheese and the vegan sour cream were very nice additions, but I did have a hard time discerning the difference between the two in flavor and texture. These nachos come without any spice, probably to accommodate those who do not like it, so if you like spice make sure you ask them to bring their chili sauce which made all the difference in the world for us. The pico and the black beans are piled generously on top and if eaten with some thought can be enough to distribute to the bottom chips. The guac didn't last long, but it never does, right? In the end, the chips did get soggy, but perhaps it was because it was meant for more than two chatty girls to eat.
By the time our lunch came out, I was already full. I'm a gorger though, and I ordered the lunch special $7.50 which came with half a sandwich and a soup. I chose the Reuben make with
tempeh (tasted like bacon to me, but not to my sister who eats it..), sour krat, and a version of thousand island dressing on a swirled rye. I love rye, my twin does not, but she didn't notice the flavor of the rye. Once again, this sandwich can get soggy if not eaten/served right away. Mine did not. The half sandwich was a good portion. On the Reuben it was easy to discern flavors and enjoy them together. I was hoping to have a little more texture out of it. Perhaps toasting the bread would have made a difference. I had my sandwich with the chili. The chili tasted a lot like the chili sauce we had with our nachos, but with a hint of cocoa which make it smokier. The chili could have used something more, so I packed it up and took it home. Besides, I was already full. The next day, I had it for lunch. I reheated it and added a squeeze of lime and cilantro. Whammo. The flavors came alive and it was delicious. I should probably put in the Tasty Harmony suggestion box to garnish with cilantro and then drizzle lime on top. Not only would it be visually more appealing, the fresh lime and cilantro really balanced it all.
Cool sisters are the best. I am lucky to have two of them, and I'm even luckier to have a twin for one of them. I've noticed that cool people really like Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches, and that
is what she ordered. On the side, she had their soup of the day, which was Tomato Basil. She let me take a bite of her sandwich and a spoonful of her soup. They were pretty good, but the sandwich was mostly messy. Again, it was hard to discern textures in this sandwich. Served on a hoagie roll with sauteed green peppers, seitan meat, and a cashew cream sauce it tasted good, but was somewhat unremarkable. The Au Jou served with it made it saltier, but it was overpowered by the amount of soy sauce used in the broth. The tomato basil soup was again good, but tasted like tomato soup. I didn't detect a whole lot of basil, and it didn't really leave a lasting impression on me.
All in all, it was a nice experience. It was a nice, clean, simple atmosphere with pleasant and
friendly service; excellent selection of vegan gluten free, and raw items; good pricing for organic items that take a labor of love; and good food, but unremarkable. Being one of the only vegan restaurants in Northern Colorado, it was certainly nice to go to a restaurant where the items that were marked were the ones that were not vegan for a change.
I feel like a dope. So, because my sister treated me to this vegan restaurant she insisted that I order dessert to go. The baker was not in house that day, so they did not have cake. They had a variety of raw desserts, bars, and a cookie. We had asked for one chocolate chip cookie because it would have been big enough for us to share. The waitress brought two, but my sister and I aren't ones to argue. Anyway, by the end of our day we were both still too full so she insisted that I take both of the cookies home. I should have insisted that she take one because the cookie was actually VERY good. Unfortunately, I gobbled them up (in two separate settings!!) before I thought about taking a picture (doh!). Anyway, the cookies are about 5 inches in diameter and 1/4-1/3 inch thick. It was soft and chewy with texture from the mini chocolate chips and the oatmeal. It had a really nice flavor of mostly brown sugar, not very much vanilla. It was sweet, but not overly sweet until the last bites.
I love baking. The complication with baking is that you do have to be precise because if you aren't you could invest from 30 minutes to several hours and then find out at the end that it was a total fail. Having grown up in a place and time where veganism was so foreign baking as a vegan seemed to some extent to be almost impossible. There are so many really great recipes out there that depend on some sort of animal product. Well, thankfully, now we live in a day and age where there are a lot of really great resources. I'm excited to explore them and share the results with you.
Okay, I also have to share this video with you, because even though it's kind of funny this is something that I really love about Martha- No Wasting!!
A common question I get from a lot of non-vegans regarding baked goods, "What about the egg?" Back in my ignorance my response was generally, "I just don't do things that wouldn't be the same without it." Then, the most amazing thing was introduced to me- egg replacer... no, not egg beaters, and not egg whites those are all still eggs. Specifically Ener-g Egg Replacer. I thought that stuff was the cat's meeeow. It still works in some very great applications, but today, for quick breads, pancakes, waffles, and a lot of bread baked goods I use ground flax seed to replace eggs.
I have tried purchasing already ground flax seed, flax meal, and then flax seeds and grinding it myself with a coffee grinder. Grinding my own flax seed has been my favorite method because it seems to have the most consistent results in baked breads. The crumb is fluffy and moist, and it maintains a very nice browning effect. The flax does not seem to contribute any sort of "flaxy" flavor, but that could change if a recipe requires a majority of eggs. ... Something I should test... It's on the list now.
To make one flax egg: 1 Tablespoon of flax seed 3 Tablespoons of warm water Finely grind flax seed then mix well with warm water until it become viscous. Use as needed.
This is my Mom's banana bread recipe. I found this in her recipe card file. I really love how easy and simple this recipe is, yet so delicious.
Ming's Banana Bread 1/3 Cup Shortening 2/3 Cup Granulated Sugar 2 Flax Eggs 1 3/4 Cup Flour (I did 1 Cup Whole Wheat and 3/4 Cup White for this) 1/2 teaspoon Salt 1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda 1 Cup Mashed Banana (Mashed and then measured to 1 Cup)
Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit, place rack in the middle-bottom rung, Grease a loaf pan (I use the wrapper from the shortening or vegan margarine). Cream together Shortening and Sugar until well combined. Add Flax Eggs and cream until light and fluffy. Meanwhile, sift together Flour, Salt, and Baking Soda. Once wet mixture is light and fluffy add 1/3 of the dry ingredients and 1/2 cup of mashed banana. Mix to combine then add remaining dry ingredients and mashed banana. Mix until well combined. Pour mixture into greased loaf pan and bake for 1 hour rotating once half way through in the oven. The loaf is ready when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with few crumbs and the top is the color of a dark caramel.
