FoodBuzz Blogger Festival: Review of Millennium

After the cocktail reception at Harry Denton's Starlight lounge, we were turned loose in the city to dine at the restaurant of our choice compliments of FoodBuzz.

I chose Millennium, a mostly vegan restaurant located in The Hotel California. It was right around the corner from the Sir Francis Drake so I didn't have to walk very far at all. It has a more modern decor, which goes nicely with the local organic menu.

They had a very nice liquor and wine list, but I went with beer. You can check out the review of California Common on my other blog, Drink Vegan Beer.

As my appetizer, the minute the waitress described the soup of the day I wanted it. Cauliflower and leek puree with chipotle oil and fried potato chips. It was creamy but light. The leaks stood out without being over powering (a problem I have when making leak soup). And I loved the spice from the chipotle oil. And the potato chip was fried perfectly.

For my entree, I selected the Sweet Soy, Chile and Peanut Glazed Tempeh. It came with anise and coconut black rice, snow peas, and Asian pear pieces. The glaze on the tempeh was so good, a little spicy but balanced with a little sweet. The veggies were just a little crisp still, which I love. The anise in the rice was very interesting and went well with the spiciness of the tempeh. And the Asian pear was a nice complement to the whole dish.

I lucked out and scored a free dessert because of FourSquare! I checked-in and received a coupon for a free dessert with the purchase of an appetizer and an entree.

 I chose their signature, the Chocolate Almond Midnight. It was just rich enough without being over the top. The raspberry sauce drizzled over it provided a nice tart contrast. What really made this dish was the almond cashew crust.

As much as I loved Hawaii, I am happy to be back on the mainland where there are fabulous restaurants I can actually eat at again! I am so making Michael take me back here next time we go to the city for dinner.

FoodBuzz Blogger Festival 2012: Cocktails at Harry Denton's Starlight Room

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The first event for the FoodBuzz Blogger Festival was a cocktail reception at Harry Denton's Starlight Room, which is located on the 21st floor of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel. After my long and boring train ride to the city, I was more than happy to enjoy a drink and some conversation.

They had two complimentary cocktails, a peach spritzers and hibiscus martini. I hated the peach one but the martini was amazing. I had two!

There were vegan some hors d'oeuvres too! Sesame tofu with a little wakame, spicy melon skewers, mini beat salads. All went very well with my cocktails.








Another amazing thing---the view! It was a little foggy so we could not see the bay very well, so it was just a fantastic view of the city.

I had cocktails with two very lovely ladies, Brigitt from cook with b and Kristianne from My San Francisco Kitchen.  I also met the author of a blog I already love, Emily from Newly Wife. Check out their blogs too!

As for the Starlight room itself, the decor is a bit outdated and worn, but overall it's a nice place. The service was great too. I would definitely recommend it for a cocktail before or after dinner, especially for a fun date night.

FoodBuzz Blogger Festival

This weekend I attended the 4th annual FoodBuzz Blogger Festival in San Francisco. I would like to thank FoodBuzz for hosting such a great event. I had a lot of fun! I would also like to thank my friend Jacklin for letting me stay at her place in the city. It was so nice to catch up and to not have to take the train back to San Jose at midnight. I am going to break-up my recap into four parts:

Cocktail Reception at Harry Denton's Starlight Room
Dine About Town: Review of Millennium
Taste Pavilion
Saturday Night Gala at The Academy of Sciences

Pumpkin Waffles

I thought I would make a special breakfast this morning because this afternoon I am heading to San Francisco for the 4th annual FoodBuzz Blogger Festival! I wanted to go last year but I was in Hawaii and couldn't miss school.  Now I live in the Silicon Valley so I can attend!

One of Michael's favorite breakfasts in waffles. And he likes my homemade ones better than frozen ones. Michael was very sweet last weekend and took me to the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival (see my other blog for a review) and afterwards took me to Bob's Pumpkin Patch.

He bought me a huge pumpkin that I craved as soon as we got home (see my post from last year on how to crave a pumpkin). There were big chunks left over so I decided to save them. I roasted them, mashed them, and added it to my normal waffle recipe.

This makes 4 waffles.




Pumpkin Waffles
1/4 cup mashed pumpkin (I roasted and mashed my own, but canned is fine)
1 cup Bisquick
1/2 cup soy milk
1/4 cup apple sauce
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp agave








If you want to roast your own pumpkin pieces, I suggest 450 degrees wrapped in foil for 25 minutes.

Pre-heat your waffle iron and spray with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, mix together everything until combined. A few lumps are okay.

Pour half the batter into the waffle iron. Cooking according to the directions for your iron.

Once it's all golden and crispy, and remove and top as desired. I just did syrup (check to make sure your syrup is high fructose corn syrup free!).

My next post will be all about the fun I had at the Festival!

Vegetable Stew with Red Wine Gravy

I don't have a cute story behind why I made vegetable stew. I just thought of it and made it. Regardless, it was delicious and hearty. A lovely fall dinner! 

This makes about 4 servings. I made this in a slow cooker but it can be done over the stove as well.

Vegetable Stew with Red Wine Gravy

3 tbs of vegan butter (I used Earth Balance)

6 small red potatoes, cut in half

3 large carrots, chopped into bite-sized pieces

2 large parsnips, chopped into bite-sized pieces

1/2 a medium white onion, chopped 

3 tbs of flour

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/2 bottle of red wine (I used a Cabernet Sauvignon) 

2 tsp herd de provence 

Salt and Pepper

Water, as needed

Turn the slow cooker to low. Add the vegan butter and let it melt.

 Add the halved potatoes, chopped carrots and parsnips, and the chopped onion. 

Add the garlic and flour. Mix until all the veggies are coated in flour. 

Add the wine, herb de provence and enough water to ensure all the veggies are covered. 

Cover and let it cook on low to medium-low heat until the veggies are soft the gravy is thick. 

Season with salt and pepper. 

You can serve this with a big piece of bread like I did for dinner the night I made this. Or have it over rice like I did the next day for lunch. Both were delicous. 

Beanadilla? Noquesadilla? Something Like That...

My work has these quesadillas with mushrooms in them, and it sounds amazing. But, queso is not vegan so I can't have them. Then it dawned on me today that I could make a quesadilla with beans instead, like I often do at home. I originally got the idea from a recipe I saw on VegWeb for one with white beans.

I had the luxury of making this on the flat top grill at work. And I used the homemade slow-cooked pinto beans and the already marinated mushrooms and poblano peppers. But, luckily I have already posted a recipe for how to slow cook pinto beans and it's not that hard to marinade and sauté veggies at home.

As I was making this, the cooks all looked at me funny and asked what I was making. When I explained it was, they thought I was crazy, "Quesa-dilla, you need queso in order to make it, not frijoles!" So I said, "Fine, it's a noquesadilla...a beanadilla."


This makes 1 large quesadilla/beanadilla/whatever you want to call it.

Beanadilla
1/2 cup mushrooms, washed and sliced
1/2 of a poblano pepper, chopped
1/2 tbs of olive oil
Juice of a lime
Red pepper flake, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 large tortilla (read the label carefully to make sure it doesn't have lard)
1/2 cup of cooked pinto beans (try mine)
Salsa, guacamole, or whatever other condiment for dipping






In a skillet over medium heat, sauté the sliced mushrooms and chopped poblano pepper until soft.

Immediately add to a small bowl and add the oil, lime juice, pepper, and salt and pepper. Let it sit for at least 15 minutes. Drain off the excess liquid when ready to use.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, place the tortilla down in it.

Spread the beans evenly on one half.

Top the beans with the veggie mixture.

Fold the tortilla over to cover the filling.

Brown on the onside as desired.

Flip carefully and brown on the other side.

Slice into wedges and serve with the sauce of your choice.

My restaurant makes killer homemade salsas. I had some of the tomatillo, my favorite and our delicious homemade guacamole.

Forget cheese, mushrooms are good no matter how you serve them. And the poblano gives it just a touch of sweetness.

Sloppy Joes

This morning that commercial for an "unsloppy joe" recipe came on. Michael and I both turned to each other said we wanted sloppy joes for dinner.

Don't bother with pre made sauces in a can. Sloppy joes are just as easy to make on your own. It is really just tomato paste and seasoning. I used Gimme Lean Ground Beef Style in place of beef. And I added bell peppers for more nutrition.  

This makes about 4 sandwiches. 

Sloppy Joes

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 jalapeño, minced (optional)

1/2 tube of LifeLite Gimme Lean Ground Beef Style 

1 6 oz can of tomato paste

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tbs agave 

1 and 1/4 cup  water

Salt and pepper to taste

Buns or Rolls

Heat some olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. 

Saute the chopped onion and bell peppers until tender. 

Add the jalapeños and "ground beef".  Cook until heated through.

Add the tomato paste, agave and seasonings. Mix together well.

Bring to a simmer and cook until the sauce thickens slightly. 

Serve on the rolls or buns. 

I made coleslaw with a light vinaigrette as a side dish. This was exactly what we wanted, so good!