Clearly vegan is here to stay. Full-time, part-time or some of the time, almost everyone seems to be eating vegan meals these days. Easy-to-prepare plant-based food is abundant in our city. Many restaurants and food-markets carry it in great variety. No animal or animal products are used. Part of its success seems to be that vegans enjoy tasty well-prepared and presented food, seasoned and cooked to taste. All cultures have food that would be right at home in any vegan lifestyle.

Celebs have been laboring to establish their vegan cred lately, if that means anything to Brew readers. Martha Stewart did a vegan show this past week with Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter and a vegan for 10 years. (They prepared  Seitan Bourguignon. And, naturellement, they used good wine.) This winter, Oprah and her staff went vegan for a week and some of them reported that they will stick to it. (Most said that they would incorporate some vegan days or meals.) April Vogue discussed being a vegan with Alicia Silverstone, a topic the actress explores on her raunchy-but-interesting website.

Quick before you lose your appetite for it, let’s get back to critter-product-free cooking in Charm City. There’s plenty of it!

At One World Café I spoke with Sue Novak, Chef, and with her sister Cindy, owner of One World. The café is a community destination for everything from a cup of tea or coffee to-go to a celebratory dinner with wine. They are a coffee shop, a lunch and dinner destination, a bar and a take-out restaurant, designed so that each part of the place feels intimate. (It’s rare to find a vegetarian/vegan place that is anything but a comfortable and inviting place to eat. One World has the vibe.)

Novak has spent a lot of time developing recipes and studying varieties of vegetarian cuisines. Some of the dishes are clearly meant to be meat substitutes, such as the Philly steak-less cheesesteak, which exchanges seitan, a protein substitute, for beef. Same goes for their FBLT — fake bacon, lettuce and tomato. These are student favorites, as is the chili and the Thai noodles with veggies, soy protein and a coconut curry sauce. In addition to a variety of fair trade coffees and teas, they serve smoothies and juices. There is a full bar and food is served at the bar as well.

On Sunday breakfast is served all day. Other days the breakfast menu is concluded l 11:30, and is also great early lunch. The breakfast dishes are either vegetarian or vegan and may to the vegetarian ones can be made vegan if you ask.

Kelly Fritz is the baker. Her grandmother was a professional baker and Fritz benefitted from watching her. Now, she is excelling at everything from vegan cupcakes to macaroons made with no dairy products, some of which are gluten-free. You will also find party cakes and pastries. One World sells several hundred of the carrot cupcakes each week. They will soon be opening a bakery. Can’t wait.

(As a PS, I find One World is one of the best dining alone locations in the city. More about dining alone in a future Foodwise.)

Sarah Davenport has been the manager and a chef at The Yabba Pot Cafe for the past year. Her previous experience has been in vegetarian restaurants. Davenport’s enthusiasm is contagious. It is clear she takes pleasure in the satisfaction of her guests.

It was interesting talking to her, because clearly she has given the burgeoning vegan community a lot of thought. I asked Davenport why she thought it was popular among young and old and across socio-economic groups. Social networking — Facebook, Myspace, etc. —  was her answer. That makes perfect sense to me.  It’s surely the reason it is easy for even high school students to think it’s cool to be vegan.

On the Friday menu, among the offerings, were; Quinoa, aduki bean salads as well as sesame spinach and mixed cooked vegetables. There was also, Citrus Soul Ribs, and fried Chick-un, both made from plant-based proteins. Also,a shredded raw kale salad, with shredded carrots and beets and dressed lemon juice and Bragg Liquid Aminos (a liquid soy protein that is gluten and alcohol-free). Soups and desserts vary and the menu changes daily but you can usually find one or two “chick-un” dishes and the ribs. Davenport orders organic produce when reasonable and local. The Yabba Pot also offers classes in vegan cooking and baking. Check their website for more information.

Fresh-pressed vegetable and fruit juices are available, as well as some beverages that they bottle such as ginger beer and alkaline water. It was my introduction to alkyline water, which is supposed to be helpful in neutralizing stomach acid. I have no first-hand knowledge of the rewards of drinking it, nor have I researched it. If you want to share your knowledge of this with me, please comment below.

http://www.theyabbapot.com/

Kate Leonard is currently an at-home baker who specializes in cookies and tiny cakes.  I first met her at the Waverly Market, where she sold her baked goods last winter. I liked the cookies that were for sale and asked how Leonard got started. She said that her mother was a terrific baker and she learned a lot from her. Then, when Kate became a vegan, she craved desserts that would hit the spot like her mom’s did.

Leonard’s Tiny Cakes are upside-down cupcakes with dark chocolate tofu cream cheese topping and sliced strawberries. The Oatmeal Cream Pie is made using non-hydrogenated oils and only natural coloring.

I wanted to share a vegan recipe, not only to show how it is done but to make it clear that these ingredients are available at such markets as Whole Foods in Mt. Washington and the Giant at the Rotunda. Kate kindly offered us this one. Let us know how it turns out if you try it, readers.

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Kate Leonard’s Chewy-Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Preheat oven to 350º

Yield: 18 three-inch cookies

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons flax seeds, finely ground

2 teaspoons chia seeds, finely ground

½ cup rice or almond milk

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

¾ cup fair trade cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon finely ground sea salt

¾ cup canola oil

I cup brown sugar

1 cup unbleached cane sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup fair trade dark chocolate chips

Topping: Sprinkling coarse sea salt

Method:

Mix flax and chia seeds in rice or almond milk and reserve. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. In a bowl large enough to hold ingredients, cream the oil and sugar. Add the flax mixture and vanilla. Mix until well blended either by hand or with an electric mixer. Fold in the flour cocoa mixture until well incorporated and add chocolate chips. Using a 2 tablespoon ice cream scoop (or equivalent) Lay out 9 cookies on each baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Sprinkle very lightly with a bit of coarse sea salt let cool 10 minutes in pans, then gently remove to cake racks to cool completely. Best eaten the same day but are tasty for several days.

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ONE WORLD CAFE

100 West University Parkway

(410) 235-5777

Hours: Mon. to Sat. – 8 a.m. to  11:00 p.m. – Bar until 2:00 a.m. Sun. 8 a.m. to  9 p.m. – Bar until Midnight

http://www.one-world-cafe.com/

THE YABBA POT

2431 Saint Paul Street

410-662-8638

Hours: Tues. – Sat. 11a.m. to 9 p.m., Sun. Noon to 6 p.m.

http://www.theyabbapot.com/