The Two Vegan Ladies take on Key West! (Day One)

So here it is! The long awaited Key West food review! 

For those of you who followed our honeymoon last month we spent half our time at a fabulous all-vegan bed and breakfast called Deer Run which is located in Big Pine Key, Florida.

It was AMAZING! The food, the people, the beach, the room- EVERYTHING. We have a full review coming soon!

For the other part of our honeymoon we went down to Key West (only a half hour or so from Big Pine Key) and we tore that place up scouting out the very best in vegan food (while enjoying Womenfest of course!) 

Our hotel was right on the main street, Duval, so we were walking or bike riding distance from just about everything. We arrived in the afternoon and decided to hit up a vegan-friendly place we had heard of from the chef at Kaya called Help Yourself which is located at 829 Fleming Street and is a few blocks off the main strip, but well worth the trip! 

There's a pretty wide selection here. Not all of it is vegan, but it is very veg-friendly, and just about anything can be modified to be vegan. 

On this particularly warm afternoon we were craving a crisp salad so we ordered the Mexican Salad which has romaine lettuce, black beans, corn, brazil nut ‘taco’ meat, tomato salsa, cashew sour cream, avocado, and a key lime vinaigrette. 

Now, the salad was great... the dressing stayed on the side. It was just a little too tart for our liking. But an interesting and cute addition none-the-less!

We also ordered a TLT wrap which came with marinated tempeh, lettuce, tomato, avocado, chipotle mayonnaise, mixed greens. We made sure to order it veganized so the chipotle mayo was made with Veganaise from what we understand. 

We ordered a chai latte and iced coffee to go with house-made coconut milk that was just divine! Then we got ready for a night of all Key West could offer!

Now, at the corner of Caroline and Duval is a little hot dog cart called Superdog. At first we tried to hurry past the smell of cooking meat but upon closer inspection the words "Veggie Dogs" proudly displayed on the cart caught our eye. 

We stopped and chatted with the gentlemen running the cart for a few minutes who eagerly showed us the package of vegan hot dogs and buns (which were also vegan) he had ready. We were hesitant because of the close proximity our vegan dog would have to the raw animal by-products on the cart but sensing our apprehension the gentlemen assured us that he kept the vegan dogs packed in a cooler away from the meat dogs and that he intended to cook them on a separate place on his large slab grill than he would the animal products. 

With all the eagerness, and the promise of extra grilled onions, we decided to give it a whirl. He sliced two jumbo sized Smart Dogs in half and grilled them throughly with a ton of onions. There were also a bunch of free toppings like peppers, raw onions, and sauerkraut off to the side along with the usual array of ketchup, multiple mustards, and relish. 

Overall, the taste was good. Each dog cost $6, but, in fairness it was one HUGE vegan hot dog. This is a great place to stop if you're coming out of a nearby club and really need a quick animal-free bite. Most of the vegan-friendly restaurants close rather early and they are not on the main strip. 

However, keep in mind even though they may be cooked in different areas- the vegan dogs and meat dogs are still cooked on the same grill. Other than that we highly suggest this little hot dog cart. (I mean hey, at least this guy is making an effort, right?)

So ended day one of our Key West adventure. But there are two more glorious days we can't wait to tell all about! Tomorrow's post will include more from Help Yourself as well as The Cafe and a pretty well-known and vegetarian friendly Mexican joint called Amigos!

Till tomorrow!

With peace, love, and compassion-
The Two Vegan Ladies 

Big Pine Key on Dwellable

Teriyaki Glazed and Grilled Tofu

Last weekend we went home to visit family. Now, home... home is an odd clasification. Because home to us is the house the two of us share with our animal friends in central Florida. The place lovingly referred to by many as the 'crazy hippy vegan farm'. But home is also in south Florida where we grew up. The place where we met, the beach where we shared our first kiss... It's where our parents live and where no matter how old we get we will probably always think of as "home".

The thing about going home is that there is always an endless amount of things that your parents will try to get you to take with you when you come to visit. It's always great when you're nearing 30 years old and your mother asks if you would like to take a plastic film tube full of all your baby teeth back to Orlando with you. (lol Love you Mom!)

This weekend we were offered a George Foreman Grill. Our first reaction was... no... I mean what the heck are we going to do with that if it's meant to cook oil off of meat? But upon further inspection we thought well... maybe it may be worth a try. It's just an electric grill... we could probably cook anything on it.



And boy were we right! We've been experimenting on it since we brought it in the house and not to sound too overly 90s infomercial but man this thing can do it all!

So far we have made grilled zucchini, garlic, bean burgers, and a few other things. But by far the best creation was the teriyaki glazed tofu. This was so easy we were almost not going to write out a recipe, but it honestly tasted too good not to share.

This recipe will serve two.

What you'll need:

1 block of Tofu
Teryaki sauce
Soy Sauce
Spray Oil
Iron Chef General Tso or Orange Glaze
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Sesame Seeds

First, take a block of tofu and cut it length-wise in half. You want to make two thick "steaks".

Next, fill a shallow dish with a mix of teriyaki and soy sauce (you'll want to do about 3 parts teriyaki and 1 part soy sauce) and let your tofu steaks sit in the mix for a few minutes, flipping occasionally to make sure the sauce is getting evenly absorbed.

Then, sprinkle some light salt, pepper, and garlic powder on your coated tofu. Heat up the George Forman Grill to medium/medium-high heat, spray with non-stick cooking spray, and set on grill horizontally. (If they're rectangular -if they're square this really doesn't make a difference.)

While the tofu is cooking take your teriyaki/soy mix and add a couple tablespoons of the General Tso's or Orange sauce. Mix well and then drizzle or brush on to tofu periodically as it cooks.

The tofu will probably need to cook for at least 10-15 minutes. We suggest flipping it once half-way thorough and coating the bottom side with your sauce mix. The top grill side also seems to make those 'char' lines a little faster. So if you want them to be even on both sides it will definitely need to be flipped.

Most of this sauce is probably going to end up in the drip pan. Not a problem! When your tofu is nice and grilled pop it on a plate and drizzle it with the left over and dripped off sauce then garnish with sesame seeds.

We put our glazed tofu on a bed of sauteed kale and chickpeas. The only special thing we do for that stuff is sauté it in soy-free Earth Balance and add salt, pepper, and garlic powder.... and then the special ingredient... shallots!

If you have never cooked with a shallot before, do so as soon as possble. They are these amazing little onions that add so much flavor to anything they are cooked with, specifically kale and other greens.

The chickpeas could probably use a dash of soy sauce while cooking but be careful not to turn this meal into too big of a sodium-fest! You could also try balsamic vinegar or just plain old salt, pepper, and garlic. Those staples always work. Fresh garlic would be nice here too depending on what you're in the mood for.

Someone mentioned that this dish reminded them of asian style ribs but we think of it more like a faux glazed salmon.

We've really been able to make some versatile dishes in this thing so far. We have a whole list of items like seitan and tempeh we are going to try soon. The best part about this 90s-era contraption is how evenly it cooks the items. So if you have one of these grills lying around from your omnivore days, bring it down from the shelf and dust it off! See what kind of magic you can make happen! It's time to reclaim this grill in the name of the vegan world and make some tofu!

With peace, love, and compassion-
The Two Vegan Ladies