In the time that has passed since the last update here we’ve been cooking alot. I owe a recipe for cornbread to Lesley. That will have its own post and I have been promising it to her for some time. The garden is yielding goodies, zucchini and okra so far with potatoes and cucumbers coming along. I have been frying what little okra we have had to this point. Boiled okra never did it for me, kind of like slurping and chewing snot. If you do grow okra then you probably know not to let the pods get very large, no larger that 3-4 inches and not too big. When they get too long they get tough and almost inedible. I use a mixture of vegan mayonnaise and soymilk to dip the pieces then dredge them in a corn meal/flour/spice mixture and fry them in a iron skillet until the coating is lightly crisp. I have done the same with zucchini but also sauteed it with olive oil and some fresh basil and oregano from our herb garden and served over spaghetti.

I’m not the greatest baker of sweets. I leave that to Elizabeth and she’s great at it. She recently got “My Sweet Vegan” and has baked a few things from it. The book includes nice pictures of each item but of what has been baked it is easy to see some recipes were not tested very well. Even reading some of the recipes makes you think a bit about what the author was thinking when she included the ingredients she did. Overall it is an OK book but by far not in the same class as “Veganomicon” or “Joy Of Vegan Baking”.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie with Soy Whipped Cream

Cocoa Crumble

Cocoa Crumble

We went to Atlanta last week for a short two-day trip. Nothing really notable about the trip, the usual eats (Veggieland, Sweet Tomatoes and Eats.) as well as lunch one day from the food bar at Whole Foods. The Whole Foods on Ponce in Atlanta has so much more in the vegan category on its bar compared to both Whole Foods (Wild Oats) in Nashville. There was Barbecued tofu, Teriyaki Tofu, Tofu Cacciatore, Jerk Tempeh, Eggplant and Tempeh Casserole and Coconut Curry Tofu to choose from as well as the veggies. All I ever see on the food bars in the local Whole Foods is Chik’n Fried Tofu, which I can easily make at home cheaper and better, and the occasional sauteed kale or spinach. I am slowly losing my love for the local Whole Foods, especially the Green Hills location. Whomever planned that store and laid out the design for the inside seriously needs some help. The aisles are too close together to fit two carts side by side when passing mid-aisle and the aisles even meet an end-cap in the section near the coldcase, you would think hey would make them free-flowing from aisle to aisle. I still get rude looks from the cashiers when I bring my Trader Joe’s bags in, do they feel threatened by a bag?

My love of Whole Foods is dwindling. I have touted them as my favorite store in many posts and was mildly excited at the acquirement of Wild Oats, I may have to reconsider. After going to the Whole Foods at Green Hills weekly I have noticed prices that were once in-line with Wild Oats gently budge upward on items I consider staples such as orange juice, bread and buns. At first the prices at Whole Foods were lower on some items in comparison to Wild Oats at Coolsprings but now the prices at Wild Oats have started to increase and some items are disappearing from shelves and I am told they will not return. Rudy’s buns and bread has gone from $3.29 to $4.79 and the lower priced, but just as good, Wild Oats brand bread and buns is being replaced by a higher priced, and lower quality, Whole Foods brand that contains honey. Orange juice has increased at Wild Oats by 60 cents since they began carrying the Whole Foods 365 label and they have stopped stocking no-pulp variety.

The produce section was recently changed out at Wild Oats and as far as I can tell prices were not. Changes are coming for the rest of the store as well I am sure. I just hope the prices and items that are left don’t change along with them.

I’ll save the story about the woman at Whole Foods who refused to put my groceries into my Trader Joe’s bag for another post.