Pho is one of my favorite soups, I am always on the quest for the perfect bowl of pho, wherever we go.  With it’s rich broth and fresh garnishes it is both warming yet refreshing.  Alas…once becoming vegetarian, it was off the list.  A few years ago it was rare to find a vegetarian version at Vietnamese restaurants but it’s becoming more common.  Even thought they offer it, it’s nothing compared to the spicy rich flavor of it’s meaty counterpart.   Generally it’s just some vegetable broth with tofu and basic veggies, a lazy attempt to pacify us vegetarians.  Hence the challenge to perfect our own pho broth minus the meat became clear.   Here it is, so warm with it’s rich spices and topped with fresh basil and lime, ooohhh so good!

1 large onion, 3/4 chopped for the broth and 1/4 large slices for the soup
3 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 tsp whole coriander
5 whole cloves
Dash of cinnamon
2” piece of ginger root, large chunks
1 Tbl soy sauce
1 Tbl olive oil
3c. Vegetable broth
3c. Water
1 carrot, cut in large chunks
1 package tofu
1 package Rice noodles, either thin or fettuccini style
3 sprigs fresh Basil
1 Jalapeño, fresh and sliced
Hoisin sauce
Sriracha chili sauce
1 Lime, sliced in wedges
3 scallions chopped

Sauté the 3/4 chopped onion and garlic cloves until brown, this gives the broth a rich brown color and flavor. Add coriander, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger root sauté for about a minute to bring out the flavor in the spices.  Add the vegetable broth, water, and soy sauce, simmer covered for 20 min. Strain the broth, add carrots, tofu, and remaining 1/4 of onion to the strained broth and simmer for 5 min. You can add other fresh veggies such as snow peas and mushrooms if you like.

Meanwhile prepare noodles per package instructions.

Place cooked noodles in a bowl, ladle over with the broth, veggies, and tofu. Top with scallion, jalapeño, a wedge of lime, and a sprig of basil. Add sriracha and hoisin to taste.

Abby Lutz & Shane Walsh

Switching gears from the fast-paced hullabaloo to the bucolic countryside, comes our new foodie team, Abby Lutz & Shane Walsh.   A clothing designer and photographer respectively, this couple traded in their edgy Brooklyn address for a bit of paradise on a farm in rural Pennsylvania.  With a slower paced life now (though they still both work and turn out insanely gifted work), Abby and Shane have found themselves lingering in the garden and creating in the kitchen.  The result?  Mouth-watering, inventive concoctions crafted from the very food they grow.  Whatever is ready to be picked is what goes on the plate…  the very reason why they are The Accidental Gourmands.

A perfect dish on a cozy evening… now that the nights are getting cooler!
*We love love love the whole wheat pre-made pizza dough by Panebelle.  The packaging is what caught the eye first and when we brought it home, opened it, were even more enamored.  With the self rising box, it’s a no brainier, it’s as easy as pizza pie!  Plus the dough once baked is delicious, crisp outside, chewy inside, and vegan.

INGREDIENTS:
1 small onion, in 1/2” slices
1 head of garlic, peeled and cloves left whole
1/4c. small seeds such as sunflower and or pumpkins seeds
3 sprigs rosemary
3 sprigs thyme
5 sage leaves
3 Tbls olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 potatoes, 1/2” chunks
1/2c. cubed yellow squash
1/2 fennel bulb, 1/2” slices
And other various seasonal root veggies such as beets, turnips, and carrots

Preheat oven to 350.
Toss all above ingredients in olive oil, spread on baking sheet, salt and pepper liberally.  Bake at 350 for 45 min, turning every 15 minutes.

While veggies are roasting prepare the pizza crust…

1 pizza crust, pre-made or homemade*
2 Tbls olive oil
Salt
2 Tbls parmesan cheese – optional

Press pizza dough on oiled cookie sheet, brush dough with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  Spread roasted veggies on dough, be sure to remove the stems from herbs, and follow cooking directions on packaging for pizza crust.  Once cooked sprinkle with parmesan cheese and dig in!!

Que Bella!

Abby Lutz & Shane Walsh

Switching gears from the fast-paced hullabaloo to the bucolic countryside, comes our new foodie team, Abby Lutz & Shane Walsh.   A clothing designer and photographer respectively, this couple traded in their edgy Brooklyn address for a bit of paradise on a farm in rural Pennsylvania.  With a slower paced life now (though they still both work and turn out insanely gifted work), Abby and Shane have found themselves lingering in the garden and creating in the kitchen.  The result?  Mouth-watering, inventive concoctions crafted from the very food they grow.  Whatever is ready to be picked is what goes on the plate…  the very reason why they are The Accidental Gourmands.

When my wonderful sister came to visit we made this with all ingredients from our garden.
This was the first year we grew our own tomatillos, they are super easy to grow and require less maintenance than tomatoes. Perfect for a rooftop or fire escape garden. The best thing we found to do with these beautiful paper lantern looking fruits, is a quick salsa verde.  Trust us it’s so easy and quick, once you go homemade you’ll never go back to bottled!

Quick Tomatillo Salsa

6 Tomatillos, paper removed
1-2 heads of garlic (depending how garlicky you like it)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2c fresh cilantro
1/2c chopped onion
Salt to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350.
Leaving the bulb intact chop the bottoms off the garlic so the heads pop out easily once roasted.  Rub the garlic heads and tomatillos with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  Roast in the oven for 30 min at 350.
Don’t be alarmed the tomatillos become deflated and mushy.
Place the tomatillos, garlic (remove paper casing), diced onion, and cilantro into a blender.  Pulse until blended.  Add salt and cayenne to taste.

Delicious addition to your breakfast burritos!!!

Abby Lutz & Shane Walsh

Switching gears from the fast-paced hullabaloo to the bucolic countryside, comes our new foodie team, Abby Lutz & Shane Walsh.   A clothing designer and photographer respectively, this couple traded in their edgy Brooklyn address for a bit of paradise on a farm in rural Vermont.  With a slower paced life now (though they still both work and turn out insanely gifted work), Abby and Shane have found themselves lingering in the garden and creating in the kitchen.  The result?  Mouth-watering, inventive concoctions crafted from the very food they grow.  Whatever is ready to be picked is what goes on the plate…  the very reason why they are The Accidental Gourmands.

Our obsession with Banh Mi started in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, with one bite of the tofu version from Nha Toi tucked away on Havemeyer Street.  Easily passed by yet known by most as the best in the ‘Burg.  Sandwiches from Nha Toi were at least a weekly treat if not daily.  Once we left Brooklyn for the summer, to the hills of Vermont, we had to have our Banh Mi fix and created our own.

Sorrel was up in our garden, which has a delicate lemon flavor so we decided to use this as our tofu flavoring.  Once fried, the crispy sorrel leaves were delicious surprise!

Sorrel Tofu Banh Mi

1 package extra firm tofu
1/4 cup peanut or vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons soy sauce (Or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos) save a small amount
for the baguette
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/4 cup sorrel or lemongrass
Black pepper to taste

3 crisp French baguettes at least 6” long
Mayonnaise (or Follow Your Heart’s Vegenaise, which we prefer)
Cilantro

Drain tofu and place in a flat bowl with a weighted plate on top for
at least 15 minutes to squeeze out excess water. Meanwhile, crush
together the sorrel and garlic until smashed.  Mix oils, soy sauce,
garlic, and sorrel in a bowl. Slice tofu into 1/2” thick slices and
lay one layer thick in a square baking dish or cookie sheet.  Pour
mixture over tofu coating both sides thoroughly.  Marinate for an
hour, turning a few times.  Bake in oven at 400 for 30 min turning
once, or fry in a pan till crisp.  Let cool.

Slice open baguettes, scoop out the centers and discard (or as Shane
likes to do make bread balls out of it). Lightly toast the baguettes.
Spread a small amount of soy sauce or Bragg’s and mayo on both sides,
layer in the tofu, cilantro, pickled carrots, and cucumbers (recipe below). Enjoy!!

Quick Pickled Carrot and Cucumber

3 large carrots – sliced in thin match-like strips, using a mandolin
slicer is easiest.
1/2 cucumber – sliced in 1/2” thick by 3” strips
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 1/2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar, or more depending on how sweet you want your pickles
1 tablespoon salt

Mix warm water, vinegar, sugar and salt till dissolved.   Pack the
carrots and pickles tightly in a glass jar.  Pour liquid in jar till
carrots and pickles are covered.  Let sit for at least 1 hour, will
store up to a week in fridge.

AMAZING!

Abby Lutz & Shane Walsh

Switching gears from the fast-paced hullabaloo to the bucolic countryside, comes our new foodie team, Abby Lutz & Shane Walsh.   A clothing designer and photographer respectively, this couple traded in their edgy Brooklyn address for a bit of paradise on a farm in rural Vermont.  With a slower paced life now (though they still both work and turn out insanely gifted work), Abby and Shane have found themselves lingering in the garden and creating in the kitchen.  The result?  Mouth-watering, inventive concoctions crafted from the very food they grow.  Whatever is ready to be picked is what goes on the plate…  the very reason why they are The Accidental Gourmands.

We’re stepping it up, People!  As our retail big sister, Green With Glamour, grows and grows… we’re keeping in stride as any younger sibling might.   We’ll still be bringing you major, eco-chic bargains, letting you in on fantastic “green” design finds and ooh-ing & ahh-ing over all amazing things vegetarian and vegan, but now you’ll be getting more than just our 2 cents.  We’ve enlisted some serious (& delightful) experts to cover what you love!

Meet our new (& seriously stylish) team:

Celebrity hairstylist & make up artist, Vanessa Rose Price, will be schooling us all about sustainable make up, hair and skin care with The (Eco) Beauty Biz.  Not only does she tame those famous Justin Bieber locks (along with a scrolling list of other celebs), but Vanessa will be taking time out of her ridiculously jet-settery schedule to bring us “eco” beauty tid bits along the way.

Vanessa Price

Switching gears from the fast-paced hullabaloo to the bucolic countryside, comes our new foodie team, Abby Lutz and Shane Walsh.   A clothing designer and photographer respectively, this couple traded in their edgy Brooklyn address for a bit of paradise on a farm in rural Vermont.  With a slower paced life now (though they still both work and turn out insanely gifted work), Abby and Shane have found themselves lingering in the garden and creating in the kitchen.  The result?  Mouth-watering, inventive concoctions crafted from the very food they grow.  Whatever is ready to be picked is what goes on the plate…  the very reason why they are The Accidental Gourmands.

Abby Lutz & Shane Walsh

And from the moment I met writer Tiffany Romigh in her well-appointed home in the Hollywood Hills, it was obvious that she was a woman of style.  Seamlessly fusing Street Art with French antiques, bold pop colors with delicate metallics, Tiffany has a knack for merging genres and mediums – and boredom is her enemy.  Never one to ask others to do what she can, Tiffany rolls up her sleeves and dives right in – whatever the task might be!  Having recently relocated to Austin, TX… she’s now faced with a whole new house to grace with her good taste – and a whole new city to explore.  With Chic Re-do, Tiffany shows us how turn the simple into the sublime and the unexpected into the unbelievable!

Tiffany Romigh

Professional TV producer (and semi-pro shopper), Katie Vaughan, has traveled many, many miles and shopped her way across multiple countries in her young life.  And though her career is a demanding one, she always manages to find time to take several trips a year, snagging chic (and sometimes hilarious) thrift store finds all along the way.  By writing 2nd Hand Spotlight, Katie will be sharing with us her favorite vintage shops, thrift stores, flea markets and hidden shopping spots… and maybe she’ll even explain what possessed her to get those metallic high tops!

Katie Vaughan

Of course, I’m still here… wrangling stories from the inspirational, unique and supremely talented bunch above!  I’ll also still be covering divine architecture (both old and new) and must have interior design pieces (as some of you know… I’m an Interior Designer by trade).  On top of that, I’m writing a  new piece called Green Goodie Review. With it I explore great, sustainable finds that are exceptional and moderately priced (under $25).  Everything from brilliant hostess gifts to vegan dog treats to organic room sprays.  Stay tuned… it’s going to get fun!

Deana Bracken (pictured with very understanding husband, Nadim)

Read on, Friends!