What Vegans Eat – Day 352

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Breakfast: January 28th is National Blueberry Pancake Day. We celebrated with our favorite Blueberry Pancake recipe. Gary made his favorite syrup with agave and I topped my pancakes with Raspberry Coulis.
pancake-plate
 
Daily Green Juice: Kale, Collards, Celery, Carrots, Lemon, Lime, Ginger
 
Dinner: Gary and I were invited to the Querciabella Vegan Delights event by our friend
Sebastiano Cossia Castiglioni
. I interviewed Sebastiano back in 2012 on IT’S ALL ABOUT FOOD, where we spoke about Sustainable Biodynamic Farming and his organic, biodynamic, vegan vineyard, Querciabella.seba
 
The event was to take place at Exhibit C in Manhattan and had been looking forward to going for weeks. Chef Daphene Cheng launched this venue last year. Tonight was the night! When we arrived we greeted old friends and made new ones while we nibbled on hors d’oeuvres and sipped on Champagne. My challenge was to walk and talk and nibble and drink and take photos of food for this blog.
handsome-gary
 
This event was a work of grand art, live and in the moment. Every dish was unique, a beautiful blend of color and light. We all marveled, acknowledging the effort that went into the preparation and presentation. The artistry alone made the evening. That said, I did not enjoy every morsel that I tasted. There were good flavors and unpleasant ones for my palate and some flavors I did not enjoy being paired with each other. I shall focus on the food flavors that I enjoyed. I love Basil Aioli and can eat it plain or smothered on just about anything. A small dollop came with the Okinawan Purple Sweet Potato and Buckwheat Granola. The sweet potato was indeed sweet and creamy, the buckwheat crunchy and all together it was a fun and tasty moment in my mouth. The fingerling potatoes were my favorite of all the hors d’oeuvres and I was too busy grabbing them when they passed by to take a photo before popping them in my mouth. There was nothing exotic about it. These were just tasty, quality fingerlings, full of good, natural flavor.

Hors D’Oeuvres

Fennel Shortbread, Clementine, Cinnamon Paté.
rectangles
Lotus Root Crisps, White Chocolate, Maldon Sea Salt.
lotus
Okinawan Purple Sweet Potato, Basil Aioli, Buckwheat Granola.
buckwheat-purple-potato
Cranberry Bruschetta, Preserved Olive Leaf.
Beyond Meat* “Chicken”, Polenta, Douglas Fir Spring Tips.
Toasted Ravioli. Rosemary Mignonette.
ravioli
Mochi, Chestnut Butter, Maple. Served in a spoon, this was sweet and creamy, chestnuts and maple go very well together.
chestnut
Apple Vichyssoise, Gingko, Couscous. The server told me what was in this shot before I downed it. I grabbed a hint of apple and found myself chewing on something that reminded me of oyster mushroom. It was not something I wanted to repeat.
shots-soup
Fried Boba, Honeynut Squash, Leek. Also served in a spoon, these flavors were very nice.

Lemon Custard, Papaya Salsa, Chervil. The presentation was lovely, the texture was nice and creamy but I didn’t taste much.
custard
Coconut Nata, Shiso Granata, White Pepper Cream Coconut Nata is a chewy, translucent, jelly-like foodstuff produced by the fermentation of coconut water. Interesting yes, although not my favorite kind of texture for food.
coco-gel
Smoked Fingerling Potatoes, Pineapple Relish, Oyster Leaf. The best! I could eat these all night.
 
Cocktails
Sake, Orange Blossom, sage
Chartreuse, Basil, Kale, Lemon
Vodka, Caramel, Jalapeno,
Champagne, St. Germain, Thyme
Pomegranate, Hibiscus, Sparkling Water
Grapefruit, Ginger Ale, Rosmary
 
Dinner Menu
The dinner table was delightful indeed with small vases with white tulips (my favorite flower).
tulips
All throughout the meal we enjoyed lots and lots of bread. It was especially good dipped in the red wines.
bread
 
Snow, Melon, Lemongrass Milk. This first course was clean and fresh. The snow had a texture that was chewy and rubbery. The lemongrass milk was delightful.
lemon-verbena-milk
 
Parsnip, Natto, Brazil Nut Espresso. I often heard that it takes about eight introductions to a food flavor before you should decide if you like it. I have not had Natto many times. Probably less than eight. Natto is a traditional Japanese food made from fermented soybeans with a very strong flavor. Let’s just say I have not learned to appreciate it just yet.
natto
 
Smoke Green Jackfruit, Avocado, Tahini. We had a lively discussion about jackfruit when this tasty dish came out. We tried recently had jackfruit in What Vegans Eat – Day 345. And like basil aioli, I love anything with tahini.
tahini
 
Einkorn Wheat, Pickled Brussels Sprouts, Spiced “Yogurt”. Einkorn is considered the oldest cultivated wheat, grown 5000 years ago!
yogurt-sauce
 
Roasted Baby Romanesco, “Ricotta”, Miso, Lemon Verbena. I could have had a big bowl of this dish, getting my cruciferous vegetable plus the creamy ricotta to help digest all those delightful fat-soluble nutrients.
ricotta
 
Lobster Mushroom Risotto, Pear, Pandan. Here was another perfect dish I would have loved to had a lot more of; meaty mushrooms with creamy risotto.
mushrooms
 
Persimmon Carpaccio, Avocado Oil, Walnut, Pomegranate Gastrique.
sweet1
 
Earl Grey Ice Cream, Tarragon Syrup, Spun Sugar. We love Earl Grey Tea and it made a luscious flavor for dessert.
earl-grey-ice-cream
 
Mignardises. These delightful bite size chocolate morsels were just right.
chocolate
 
The wine flowed endlessly all night. This was a rare opportunity and not a time to be reserved. I drank them all with gusto. My absolute favorite was the Batàr, a white wine made with Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc grapes. I normally prefer red but this wine was heavenly. I could not imagine anything better than this. My second favorite was the Camartina, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese varieties.
glasses

Wines
2004 Batar (Double Magnum), Agricola Querciabella
batar
2012 Mongrana (Magnum), Agricola Querciabella
2010 Querciabella Chianti Classico (Imperiale), Agricola Querciabella
2004 Camartina (Double Magnum), Agricola Querciabella
2002 Clos du Bourg Premiere Trie Vouvray Moelleux, Domaine Huet
 
As we left this divinely delightful event we were given Chinese food to-go boxes with delightful treats. Thank you Sebastiano for hosting this amazingly delightful event!
 
When we got home we looked to see what was inside. Later I emailed Chef Daphne Cheng to find out what was in each: Goji and Mulberry trail mix, Cookie Dough, Ginger Shot, Papaya Butter, Rose Jasmine Tea.
gift-bag
 
Evening: Sleep was about all I could think of. Fortunately Gary had a little more willpower and he made us some peppermint tea before hitting the sack at 3am.
 
 

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