Big Changes!

As you may have noticed the Two Vegan Ladies have transformed into Plant Based Potential!

We're very excited about this change and cannot wait to share some new and exciting products with you!

Keep up with our Etsy shop to see the new items and expect some new (and long awaited!) recipes to show up on the blog shortly!

Peace, love, and compassion-
Plant Based Potential

Vegan Mofo! Spooky Stuffed Peppers!

Let's take a break from the Keys and our honeymoon for a bit and talk about something a little more festive for this time of year... how about some Halloween inspired stuffed peppers?

oooo...spooooky....

We saw these adorable little guys floating around the web last week, but just a picture, no recipe- so of course, we created our own!

They were so much fun to make and a little easier than carving a whole pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern. So our suggestion if the carving mood strikes before it's quite time- use this recipe as a delicious and unique hold-me-over. Not to mention something super different to serve your dinner guests!

You will need:
8 orange (or yellow) bell peppers
4-6 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 yellow onion
1 red onion
1 box of pearled couscous
1 bag Boca crumbles
1 jar of marinara sauce
1 bunch of kale
salt
pepper
dried seasonings (basil, oregano, garlic powder)

What to do:

Start by heating a medium skillet to medium-high heat and adding 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Chop 4-6 cloves of garlic, crush, and add to heated pan.

Next, chop both onions and add to pan.

Take your bag of crumbles and pound on counter a few times to break up large pieces. (You may even consider taking the bag out a few minutes before starting your cooking process to lightly defrost and make the crumbles easier to cook with.)

Cook together, adding salt, pepper, and other dried spices (basil and oregano would be great here) as desired.

Next, get out your pearled couscous (that's the larger ball kind) and prepare it according to directions. We went with the original plain flavor and it worked really well, but you can go with whichever you'd prefer.

Now, your crumbles should be getting nice and cooked. Add 1 jar (24-26 ounces) of pasta sauce to pan and continue to cook, adding more spices as desired.

As everything cooks start cutting the tops off your peppers, just as you would a pumpkin, and hallow out the insides. We found that just pinching and pulling away the thin white parts and then shaking/lightly pounding the seeds into your hand works best. Try to get all the seeds out if possible.

Now, it's time for the design portion of this recipe! Using a pairing knife, carefully carve faces into the hallowed peppers. We gave each on of ours a different look ranging from cute to totally spooky!

Try to avoid making the mouth too large (or try to block the large mouth with staggered teeth). As you'll notice in one of the later pictures the stuffing will start to spill out- giving the illusion that your little pepper friend may have gotten a little queasy at some point. 

If that's what you're going for though, then by all means, do it! Anything goes this month!

Next, take out your bunch of kale and a large mixing bowl. Shred the kale into pieces that are about the size of a quarter to half-dollar until they fill the bowl. 

Preheat oven to 350F and get out a large baking sheet. 

Now, pour the sauce and crumble mixture right on top of your kale shreds and lightly mix. The heat from the sauce should begin to reduce the height of the kale. Add the couscous next and any additional seasonings. 

Mix filling together well in bowl.

So now, fill each pepper with stuffing to a point of overflowing and then set the stem portion on top. (Lightly, do not jam on. Height will reduce as it cooks.)

Set those little guys on the pan and bake for 20-25 minutes. Then let set for a few minutes before serving with a knife and fork. 

Our guests love this dish! Not only because of the blend of flavors but also because of the presentation. We really got some great reactions. 

This is also a great way to sneak some kale into a dish for those dinner guests or family members who are not huge fans of greens.

These spooky stuffed peppers certainly got us in the mood for some more Halloween themed dishes! Hope everyone's October is going splendidly! We're half-way through MoFo month already, can you believe it?

More recipes and reviews from our honeymoon in the Florida Keys coming soon!

With peace, love, and compassion-

The Two Vegan Ladies

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

The next morning we rented some bikes and took a trip back to Help Yourself to get some of the veganized French Toast we had seen on the menu the day before.

We sat at the little nook overlooking the cash register and juicing zone. It's pretty cool to watch the ladies that work there pull the wheat grass from trays lining the counter and throw it into the juicer. So fresh! And the smell is terrific! Certainly a great way to wake up in the morning.

We ordered the french toast (make sure to specify to make it vegan!) and a sprouted whole grain bagel with cashew cream cheese, tomato, and avocado. We also grabbed one of their house-made bottled lemonades!

Our first breakfast at Help Yourself was pretty impressive. The french toast was thick and the syrup had a great flavor. The large green grapes and other fruit topping was a nice touch as well. The bagel was fresh and the cashew cream cheese was a delight. The slices of tomato and avocado were cut thick so even though it was just a bagel it was quite filling. Their house-made drinks all seemed really interesting so we had to give one a try. We settled on the strawberry lemonade and man was it tasty! A little pricey, ($4.50 for 16 ounces) but very refreshing! 

After getting pretty full over there we jumped on our bikes and rode around the town to do some shopping and see the sights for a few hours before bumping into another place we had heard of (and one that came highly recommended from our hosts at Deer Run) called The Cafe.

The Cafe is located at 509 Southard Street not too far from the corner of Southard and Duval. It is also not fully vegan/vegetarian but very vegan friendly! 

The atmosphere is cute and laid back with fabric covered benches and small tables. The waitstaff is helpful and answered all the questions we had. 

Unlike Help Yourself, The Cafe has full table service- so it is much more suited for a sit-down lunch or dinner than a quick-service breakfast.

We weren't crazy hungry when we arrived but really wanted to try a few snacks so we ordered the spring rolls and truffle fries. 

Everything is marked on the menu with a cute little star if the item is vegan (also a boxed letter G if gluten-free) and the truffle fries happen to not have an adorable little star by them. That's because they typically come with parmesan cheese. We asked to go sans cheese and the waitstaff assured us that that would make them 100% vegan. He also told us that if they hadn't been out of Daiya that day he would have offer it as a replacement. Cool!

Now, let us tell you... these spring rolls... wow, they will knock your socks right off! We consider ourselves experts in the spring roll field and these were just out of this world delicious. Very crispy, thicker than most spring rolls, and filled with an array of flavors and paired with a spectacular sweet chili dipping sauce- they are a must order at this joint!

The truffle fries were pretty good as well. Great flavor and good portion. But the springs rolls really took the vegan snack cake for this visit.

After our snack we spent some time at the welcome party for Womenfest and met some really interesting ladies then headed back to our hotel. We had planned to do a little sit down dinner at Amigos but after getting settled in we figured take-out would be just as much fun.

(This place also delivers. Not that we knew that until after we walked the four blocks to go pick it up!)

We're glad we took the trip to check it out though. It was very cute inside. Lots of atmosphere and tons of sauces all over the dining area labeled with intended spiciness. There's even a sign on the wall marking all the vegetarian and vegan friendly options they serve. 

Stars=vegan, again. Are they trying to tell us something? We must all be stars! 

We ordered corn tortillas with our veggie quesadilla and burrito because they were marked as being vegan while the flour were not. Unfortunately, we were then informed they were out of corn tortillas. The server seemed very knowledgeable about the veg options and then informed us that the flour tortillas were vegan aside from a final step where they were quickly sauteed in butter before being served.  She offered to tell the cook to omit that step and make them vegan. Sounded good to us!

We walked the four blocks back and got settled into the hotel room to enjoy our food. They had given us all sorts of side sauces and salsas to dip our food in, and they were all quite good. The quesadilla was packed with black beans and lots of sauteed veggies. Very filling. And the burrito was overstuffed with rice, beans, sauteed veggies, corn, lettuce, and tomato. 

This is another place that is open later than the other veg-friendly places and is great for a late night snack. It was reasonable price/portion wise. We got our two meals for under $20 and had left overs for the next day.

If you're craving some late night Mexican this is the place to go for sure. Well priced, right on Duval street, and extremely veg-friendly.

Day three coming tomorrow!

With peace, love, and compassion-

The Two Vegan Ladies

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