The TND Blog

Some Like It Hot

2010-06-12T10:42:00.000-07:00

I was at a movie this week, and I found myself walking towards a poster of Zach Efron, mezmorized by his sweeping bangs....
Enjoy!

Aaaaaaand, we're back!

2010-03-14T20:29:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's been a long time since we've posted pictures. But in the lives of TND movers and shakers, there are so many dinners and so little time to blog about 'em!

Check out our latest: TND Mash-Up! We mixed and MASHed different foods with one another, to create delicious combinations, such as Vegan Mashed Potato/Cashew/Cheese-stuffed Portabellos, Rosemary n Garlic French Fries with Curry Ketchup, "Shandies" (beer + lemonade), Coconut Custard, and Molasses Cookies infused with Love.

Nov. 20 - Tacos 2 Widows Show!

2010-02-21T14:41:00.000-08:00

Nov. 15 - Loco for Local!

2010-02-21T14:35:00.000-08:00

TeaND Party in Wonderland

2009-11-08T11:39:00.000-08:00

In October, we dined Alice In Wonderland style, with a lovely Tea Party themed TND.

Also celebrated MB's very important (birth)date!

Some people got more into the theme than others!

TND Kung POW!

2009-11-08T11:34:00.000-08:00

Viva la France!

2009-11-08T11:21:00.000-08:00

Behold, our TND avec la cuisine de français! And it's ALL VEGAN. Incroyable!

This picture features Maribeth and Adam doing their best frenchie impressions.

Ooh la la!

Sausage Fest!

2009-11-08T11:12:00.000-08:00

It's true, we often end up with a festival of sausages at TND. So this fall we decided to officially celebrate sausages. Check it out!

TND: The Salad Days

2009-10-05T10:29:00.000-07:00

After our booze-soaked extravaganza, we decided to take it down a notch. Our choice of detox was an all-salad dinner. How did we make a meal out of a side dish? Let these pictures tell you the story of our culinary journey:

Tour du Booze

2009-10-01T19:12:00.000-07:00

Friends, drinks and delicious, alcohol-infused foods were aplenty at the Tour du Booze TND. On the menu:

-Hearty Guiness Vegetable Stew
-Beer-battered Onion Rings w/ Jack Daniels Dipping Sauce
-Tequila-Lime Tempeh Tacos w/ Chipotle-Cream Sauce
-Cabernet Marinara Bolognese Pasta

-Roasted Tomatillo Tequila Salsa
-Grand Marnier Orange Chocolate Cake

I'm getting drunk just thinking about all of these yummy dishes! Check it out.

TND: Movie Night

2009-09-09T13:22:00.000-07:00

Probably the most original TND ever - as far as cuisine titles go. Thanks to everyone who came out!

- Silence of the Yams

- The Curious Case-adilla of Benjamin Button

- Christian Bale-ognese

- Ratatouille

- Pi

- Blue "milk" from Star Wars

- Cupcakes from Election

Vinaigrette Varieties

2009-08-30T18:15:00.000-07:00

A few folks have asked about how to whip up a nice 'lil vinaigrette dressing. Here's my take:

Ingredients
-1.5 parts vinegar to 2 parts olive oil (I know that sounds weird, but the exactly amount doesn't really matter...just that you have a bit more olive oil than vinegar. Also, I usually use balsamic, but you can use red wine vinegar, or other kinds.)
-salt
-pepper
-squirt of mustard
-just 1-2 little pinches of fresh-chopped or dried basil or oregano

Add vinegar to jar first. Whisk oil w/ fork while adding to vinegar, to break it up. Add all other ingredients and whisk/shake 'til it's mixed.

Possible additions, for variation:
-fresh minced garlic
-tablespoon or so of plain yogurt (makes creamy balsamic vinaigrette)
-a couple pinches of sugar
-splash of orange juice
-teaspoon of raspberry or blackberry preserves

Food creations!

2009-08-30T17:53:00.000-07:00

Look at all these colorful dishes, from Potato Bar night and Breakfast at Dinner! Thank you everyone for your creative contributions to recent TNDs.

NANA BARS!!!

2009-08-18T06:16:00.000-07:00

Okay, I am finally going to post this Banana Bar recipe. It is extremely easy - it's basically just a simple vegan banana bread, with chocolate chips and vanilla frosting to make it a dessert (although, I have been known to eat these for any meal!) They are VERY addictive, so enjoy responsibly!!!!!

you'll need:

egg replacer (1 egg worth)
1/4 cup vegan margarine for the cake, + 2 tablespoonsish for the frosting
3/4 cup sugar
2 bananas (overripe)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract for the cake, + another teaspoon for the frosting
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup powdered sugar for the frosting
2 tablespoonsish of soy or rice milk for the frosting
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 and oil a cake pan. Blend the egg replacer, margarine, sugar, bananas, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the banana mix into the flour mix and stir gently (til "just mixed"). Mix in the chocolate chips. Pour into pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Frosting: mix powdered sugar, margarine, vanilla, and soy milk together to taste.

Cool, frost, and serve! YUM!!!

On the left in the picture is a variation i did recently, making cupcakes instead of bars. So good!!! Happy baking, everyone :)

Terrific Tapas!

2009-08-17T09:43:00.000-07:00

On the menu:

Sangria

Pan y Tomate

Tomates Fritas

Patatas Fritas

Pepitas Fritas

Ceviche Salad

Ceviche Tacos

Mushroom Tacos

Queso Fresco

Gardein Stir-fry

Pictures!

2009-08-05T10:30:00.000-07:00

On the menu: Sloppy Joes, Stuffed Peppers, Salad, Garlic Bread, and some (very late) Carrot Cake - all vegan!

Pan Asian Feast

2009-08-04T22:02:00.000-07:00

Good friends and great cuisine headlined this weeks TND. With a spicy Szechuan stir fry and a coconut curry, all diners declared: "deee-lish!"

Brian Doell's usual crass humour kept those tickled by fart jokes in stiches, while the more sophisticated diners enjoyed a glass of cool sake.

Fresh basil made it's dessert debut in a supberb coconut-lime sundae topped off with mango puree, and afterward the men dominated a late night game of catchphrase with the help of hostess Sarah Grams. (<-- this was written by a man.)

We look forward to seeing you all next week for TND!

Dessert Creations

2009-08-04T21:47:00.000-07:00

People are getting creative with their desserts here! It doesn't take a pro, and you don't need to pay restaurant prices for it, folks. Check out these yummy conconctions.

Food for Thought!

2009-08-02T11:05:00.000-07:00

Yo, this is Grams. I thought of you all when reading an article today. Congrats on going against the grain of American food culture today! Here's an excerpt:

Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch

...Cooking is no longer obligatory, and for many people, women especially, that has been a blessing. But perhaps a mixed blessing, to judge by the culture’s continuing, if not deepening, fascination with the subject. It has been easier for us to give up cooking than it has been to give up talking about it — and watching it.

Today the average American spends a mere 27 minutes a day on food preparation (another four minutes cleaning up); that’s less than half the time that we spent cooking and cleaning up when Julia arrived on our television screens. It’s also less than half the time it takes to watch a single episode of “Top Chef” or “Chopped” or “The Next Food Network Star.” What this suggests is that a great many Americans are spending considerably more time watching images of cooking on television than they are cooking themselves — an increasingly archaic activity they will tell you they no longer have the time for.

What's wrong with this picture?

FULL ARTICLE AT: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/02/magazine/02cooking-t.html?_r=1&hpw

Easy Vegan Ranch Dressing

2009-07-23T16:01:00.000-07:00

Hey TN-Diners, I'm posting a recipe for a fairly popular item at the Prospect residence, the Vegan Ranch Dressing. So far, it's been a topping for our Avocado-Kale Salads, a dipping sauce for our Vegan Empanadas, and been quickly converted into a Mediterranean-inspired sauce for our Sauteed Mushrooms over Hummus. I'd drink the stuff if it weren't bathing-suit season. Here's the "eyeballing" method I use:

Whisk together:

1 cup of Follow Your Heart Veganaise (or Wild Wood Ailoi)

A couple tablespoons of White Wine Vinegar to thin it out

A few pinches of freshly chopped Dill

A palm-full of freshly minced Chives

A pinch of freshly cut Parsley

A few sprinkles of freshly ground Black Pepper

1 clove of fresh minced Garlic

1 tiny dash of Cayenne

Add salt as needed, and mess with the ratios based on your particular tastes. For instance, you can leave out the cayenne entirely if Stacey's at the table - she's got that delicate palette :-) Kidding! It's also really easy to convert this into a Vegan Tzatziki by adding a handful of diced cucumber and some lemon juice.

Cheers!

Pictures!

2009-07-22T21:50:00.001-07:00

To help illustrate the fantasticness that is TND, here are some photographs from one of our recent dinners.

This particular evening was a celebration of Sarah G's return from a trip to Argentina. We cooked up three different types of empanadas - perhaps not the MOST authentic, as they were all 100% vegan, but super delicious nonetheless.

The menu was: sausage and pepper empanadas, creamed corn empanadas, and soyrizo and "cheese" empanadas. We topped it off with a giant vegan pizookie... for those not "in the know," this is a ginormous chocolate chip cookie baked in a pizza pan, topped with vanilla ice cream, and shared by a great group of friends.

See for yourself:

Enjoy!

TND Blog - Take I

2009-07-22T20:57:00.000-07:00

Girlish screams fill the room.
Onion-induced tears roll down the cheeks of 9 excited diners.
"WOOOOOOO!!! TND BLOG!"

Vegan Soul Food - no, folks, it's not an oxymoron: It's TND.

Tonight's menu:
garlic mashed potatoes
vegan riblets
mac n cheese
cornbread
collard greens

This is the first known documentation of the decadent weekly dining experience known as Tuesday Night Dinner. While it often falls on a Wednesday, Thursday, or any other night of the week, the essense of TND remains. Vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores travel from Santa Monica, Glendale, Hollywood, and Hermosa Beach to gather at the Los Feliz home of Nicole, Sara G., and Sarah G.

We hope you will join us in the near future. Your belly will thank you.

The TND Blog

Some Like It Hot

Aaaaaaand, we're back!

Nov. 20 - Tacos 2 Widows Show!

Nov. 15 - Loco for Local!

TeaND Party in Wonderland

TND Kung POW!

Viva la France!

Sausage Fest!

TND: The Salad Days

Tour du Booze

TND: Movie Night

Probably the most original TND ever - as far as cuisine titles go. Thanks to everyone who came out!

Menu:

- Silence of the Yams

- The Curious Case-adilla of Benjamin Button

- Christian Bale-ognese

- Ratatouille

- Pi

- Blue "milk" from Star Wars

- Cupcakes from Election

Vinaigrette Varieties

Food creations!

NANA BARS!!!

Terrific Tapas!

Pictures!

Pan Asian Feast

Dessert Creations

Food for Thought!

Easy Vegan Ranch Dressing

Pictures!

TND Blog - Take I