Category — Vegetarian

One of my friends from high school started a great food company, Hodo Soy Beanery. It’s an all organic, fresh, locally produced soy product company–from tofu, to soy milk, and special textures of soy that you typically can’t find at a market. They sell at farmers markets such as the Ferry Building in San Francisco, the Berkeley Farmers market, the Marin Farmers market and recently in Oakland and San Mateo. I’ve tried their tofu, soy milk and other products and it all tastes very fresh and light.

One of my favorite places in the Bay Area is a small community farm and environmental education center for children called Hidden Villa. I took my parents one day to go hiking in their public trails, and we first started by looking at their wonderful vegetable garden where we ran into Hidden Villa’s cat. We then walked by their farms and pasture and then at the start of the trailhead from the creek. We saw beautiful leaves of different colors as we strolled by the creekside. We then hiked up the mountain where we saw the skyline view of neighboring San Antonio Park. Better yet, you can stay at their quaint hostel, which interestingly is the oldest hostel in California. You can also participate in their CSA program where you can buy a share of their produce. Don’t miss this oasis! Hidden Villa is located in 26870 Moody Road in Los Altos Hills.

One Saturday morning, I took some very cool classes at a vegan cooking workshop in Oakland. Set in the First Unitarian Church near downtown, Compassionate Cooks is one of the few vegan cooking classes in the Bay Area.

In about three hours, we made:
-Hearty Three-Bean Chili
-Marvelous Mushroom Risotto
-Peanut Pumpkin Soup
-Polenta with Sundried Tomatoes & Fresh Basil -Farm-Fresh Apple Pecan Muffins

Even as a long time vegetarian, I enjoyed learning how to make vegan foods and I liked Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, the founder and head chef’s funky and energetic personality. She shopped locally and also recommended places to buy food like the Oakland farmer’s markets and the Old Mill, a natural food store in Oakland.

Compassionate Cooks won Veg News’ 2005 Veggie Awards. Come check out this cool series of classes! They offer classes once a month on Saturdays, or you can buy their DVD and recipies.

My sister got engaged a couple weeks ago in LA. To celebrate the occasion, we went to a beautiful restaurant, called Inn of The Seventh Ray, located near Malibu. It’s considered one of LA’s most romantic restaurant. Sitting outside next to a creek, we had a big selection of organic, local ingredients. It felt like a little fairy tale walking under the stung lights and beautiful outdoor surroundings.

We shared the portabella mushrooms, heirloom tomato salad (I recommend this dish!) and a vegan tapas dish for appetizers. For dinner, I split the summer corn risotto and the agave glazed vegan duck with my sister. To top it off,we shared a bottle of 2005 pinoit noir by Mendicino’s BARRA winery. This wine was probably the best I have drank that was organic.

Located at 128 Old Topanga Canyon Road in Topangam about 15 minutes north of Los Angeles. 310.455.1311

Considered the oldest farmer’s market in the Bay Area, Alemany Farmer’s Market is located in Bernal Heights area of San Francisco. Though this market is not as upscale as the Ferry Building, it has a local flair with ethnic food and much more affordable prices that the Ferry Building including certified organic produce.

The Alemany Farmer’s Market is open on Satursdays only from 6am on. Located at 100 Alemany Boulevard, San Francisco at the junction of 101 and 280.

One of my all time favorites in the Bay Area–the Rodin sculpture garden located at Stanford University. At the Cantor Arts Center, you can sip organic lemonade, have a nice organic salad at Cool Cafe, an outdoor cafe in the museum, while looking at Rodin’s famous Gates of Hell and his other works nearby. The menu is a little pricey for students, but worthwhile checking out at least once. The admission is free into the museum and there are guided tours as well. Don’t miss this place located at Stanford!

Yesterday, I got my CSA box for the month from Capay Farms’ Farm Fresh to You program. All the produce is organic and locally grown through Capay or one of their partners. I’ve been with them for about half a year and so far I’ve enjoyed it quite a bit. You just let them know what box size you want, and whether you want the mix of veggies/fruits. They come and deliver straight to your door each month or week depending on your preference.

For $21.50 a box (I get the smaller box), you get 4 veggies and 2 fruits. This week I got about 1 lb of heirloom tomatoes, 2 lbs of star frinson red pears (see picture to the left), 1.5 lbs of organic grapes, 2 lemon cucumbers (never seen this before!), and organic bok choy. In the picture below, I stir fried the bok choy for dinner today in fresh ground garlic and ginger and then tossed some salt, soy sauce and sesame oil to complete the dish. Give this CSA program a try! They deliver to most of the Bay Area.

Yesterday, my family and I went to a secret orchard in Cupertino where we picked fresh apples and heirloom tomatoes. This orchard is not open to the public but you can find their apples sold by Irene at the Palo Alto Farmer’s Market. Their Macintosh apples and heirloom tomatoes were delicious and much cheaper. Plus, it’s a fun and more fulfilling experience to see where the food comes from.

Here are some other locations to pick organic produce in the Bay Area:

• Gabriel Farm, Sebastopol (apples), must make reservations in advance
• Mariquita Farm, Hollister (heirloom tomatoes), Saturday, September 16
• Nicasio Valley Farms Pumpkin Patch, Nicasio Square (pumpkins, strawberries) Sunday, October 8
• Web Ranch Farm, Menlo Park (berries, flowers, apples, corn)
• Swanton Berry Farm, Davenport (strawberries, olallieberries, kiwi, Christmas trees). California certified Organic Farm.

Thanks to Om Organics‘ resource directory, here are companies that deliver organic meals to your door in the Bay Area:

• Aubergine Service: Catering, meal delivery Area: San Francisco & East Bay (Oakland, Berkeley, Albany & El Cerrito) p/e: 510.704.8847, joan@auberginecatering.com Specialty: Vegetarian & meat options.
• Convergence Catering Service: Catering, meal delivery Area: Bay Area p/e: 831.469.4643, converge@convergencefoods.com Specialty: Vegetarian & vegan options.
• Cook SF Service: Meal delivery Area: San Francisco p/e: 415.513.5328, info@cook-sf.com Specialty: Vegetarian and meat options. Specializing in California cuisine.
• Dining In SF Service: Meal delivery Area: San Francisco, Marin, East Bay, Peninsula p/e: 415.255.2433, traci@dininginsf.com Specialty: Vegetarian & meat options.
• Marcus Rios Service: Catering, personal chef, meal delivery Area: Bay Area p/e: 415.350.3113, marcus@chefmarcusrios.com Specialty: Customized vegetarian or meat menus
• Peal Cuisine Service: Meal delivery Area: San Francisco p/e: 415.826.2133, pealweb@gmail.com Specialty: Gourmet vegetarian & vegan options.

After kayaking in Point Reyes’ Drake’s Estero, an awesome bay full of hundreds of birds, wildlife, seals and more, my boyfriend and I tried some cool organic places on our way home from Marin.

Our first stop was at Point Reyes Station, a tiny cute village at the southern end of Tomales Bay, next to Point Reyes national seashore. We found a wonderful store called Toby’s Feed Barn, and inside were local and organic produce, honeys, grains, and even organic animal feed for ranchers in the area. Next to the barn was an organic coffee and tea shop and a yoga center. On Saturdays, this barn hosts the only all local, all certified organic produce market in the Bay Area sponsored by Marin Organic. Toby’s is located on Main Street in Point Reyes Station.

Our next stop going home was in Fairfax, another lovely town in Marin County, but much bigger than Point Reyes Station. We stopped downtown and passed a slew of yoga, alternative medicine, and funky clothing shops. But the best thing we found was Lydia’s Lovin Foods, an organic vegetarian restaurant with live and cooked foods. The decor was warm, the waitress very friendly and food was fast. We tried the Ocean Friendly Nori Roll, filled with sprouted almont pate, avocado, cucumber, lettuce wrapped in nori. Vivek got a detoxing special soup made out of cucumber, celery, and more. He also got a side of very Green Salad–this is the way a salad should be, not like the one in Flea Street Cafe. This salad was fresh, tasty, and had a great flavor (We tried the tahini ginger dressing). The cucumber soup and Nori roll really hit the spot. I’d definitely recommend this place; apparently other people have already, it’s won awards last year for best vegetarian and vegan cuisine and best caterer.

You’ve also probably seen Lydia’s sold at Whole Foods, Rainbow Grocery and other health food stores. They’re known for their raw and sprouted cookies and crackers. I definitely think this is worth trying. Lydia’s is in Fairfax, located at 31 Bolinas Road.