3 dried Chipotle Peppers, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes, until soft
3/4 cup almond milk
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 carrots, diced
1/3 cup vegetable broth
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 (15oz) can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tsp lime juice
salt and pepper, to taste
For the Rice:
1 Tbsp vegan margarine
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 medium onion, small dice
1 tsp hot paprika
1 cup of rice
2 cups of water
Directions:
Preaheat oven to 400F. Toss the squash with the olive oil; place on a baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes until fork soft. Place the roasted squash in a blender with the chipotles and almond milk and blend until smooth; set aside.
In a medium pot over medium high heat melt the margarine; toss in the onions and garlic and cook for 5-7 minutes until soft. Stir in the hot paprika and the rice; stir to coat. Stir in the water and bring to boil; cover and turn to low. Cooking time will be based on the type of rice you use (white around 25-30 or brown 40-45).
In a large skillet over medium high heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil; add the onion and carrot and cook for 5-7 minutes until soft. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Add the vegetable broth, cumin and chili powder. Cook for 3 minutes.
Stir in the chickpea, lime juice and squash puree; cook for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Day 3 started off seeming like it was going to be good with breakfast at Le Pain Quotidien but boy were we wrong. First off our waiter was a bit of a condescending jerk. Then when the food came it was mediocre- the salad was overly vinegary and the tofu scramble was extremely oily. We were disappointed with the meal and then we waited for almost 30 minutes to get the bill …while the waiter passed by us over and over and over. Oh well one bad EXTREMELY overpriced meal over our entire vacation that’s not too bad. Ratings:
Value: 0/5
Food: 2/5
Vegan Friendly: 2/5
Atmosphere: 0/5
Amazing teas from Baked & Wired
After our disappointing breakfast we walked to Georgetown where we spent most of the morning enjoying the weather, the sites, and the shops. I indulged in a sale at Lululemon and then we had lunch at Chipotle and loved it. After enjoying our morning/early afternoon in Georgetown we headed to the Museum of Natural History. Once the museum closed we headed to RFD for a drink before our dinner at Zaytinya one of Jose Andres restaurants.
We had the most amazing dinner at Zaytinya! The concept around the restaurant is small plates that come out in waves. We let our server know we were vegan and she let us know the vegan options (there were a good number). We ordered 6 items as well as a yummy drink and turkish coffee. I would go back here in a heart beat.
Warning these photos below are lacking in quality because they are from my iphone but the food was amazing.
The Hubz and I loved our meal at Cafe Green so we were excited to try Java Green for breakfast the next morning before heading out to The Holocaust Memorial Museum. The Hubz and I split the So-Che and the Eggcentricity as well as a bottled iced tea. They both were really delicious and I would go with the Eggcentricity again next time for breakfast as it was delicious. Java Green also also has as tasty lunch menu that I would love to try. The only down falls with this place is that it is only open Monday through Friday and that there is limited seating.
After breakfast we were off to be tourist around the city and ended up spending 4 hours at the Holocaust Memorial Museum. I don’t have any photos to show you as you are not permitted to take photos in the museum. We had planned on doing lunch at Rasika but our time at the museum went longer than intended and we missed our 12:30pm reservation by an hour and half. We also had intended on visiting another museum after lunch but we were drained from the Holocaust Memorial Museum and decided that we would just walk back to the hotel and find something to eat along the way. To our delight we passed right by Maoz where I had another Groupon for $5 for $10 worth of food and we decided to use it on 2 junior meals which came with fries and a drink (I had iced tea and Neil an Arnold Palmer.)
We really enjoyed the food at Maoz and loved how things were marked vegan. The salad bar area was the best and really bulked up the falafel sandwich. The hubz and I even debated going back again during our trip but decided we should branch out and try new places, oh well there is always next time!
Ratings:
Value: 4/5
Food: 4/5
Vegan Friendly: 4/5
Atmosphere: 4/5
We headed back to the hotel for a little down time before our big walking tour of the monuments later in the evening and later decided to partake in the complimentary wine and olive feast while we waited for our friend Aaron to meet us for our tour. When he arrived we decided to have another glass with him, why not it was free and we were on vacation. Then it was time to make the loop around the monuments starting at the Jefferson Memorial and ending at the World War II memorial.
After walking around for hours we finally made it back to Dupont Circle and just a block from the hotel was a great pizza and beer place that I had read about Pizzeria Paradiso. We decided to stop in and have pizza and beer. We started with complimentary olives; I swear I ate more olives this vacation than I have this entire year. We then decided on our pizzas which Neil and I had with vegan mozza on a white crust withTomato, Mushrooms, Spinach, Red Onion (note the whole wheat crust has honey in it). Aaron had the same thing but a smaller one for him and with regular mozza. We also shared a salad which we had with oil and vinegar because the dressing has parm in it but it was still yummy.
Overall we loved this place- the food was great, the beer selection was good and the service was top notch!
After an early start to the morning we finally made it to Dulles and then eventually caught the Metrobus and then the Metro to our hotel at Dupont Circle. We stayed at the Palomar DC, it is located right off Dupont Circle and is in a great location. The hotel is kind of funky and youthful; a great spot for us.
Our Hotel Room
We checked in and then headed out to lunch at Cafe Green where we cleaned our plates and then headed down to the National Mall to visit the National Air and Space Museum.
After spending a few hours looking at airplanes and spaceships we decided to catch at metro back to the hotel so that we could sit down and relax a minute before we headed to the Adams Morgan area for dinner. On our walk back from the metro stop we checked the time and realized we were just in time for the complimentary wine and appetizer hour that the hotel hosts from 5-6pm. So we decided to enjoy a glass…or 2 of wine as well as some marinated olives and flatbreads.
Poor quality iPhone photo but you get the idea
After drinks and a quick change we made the 20 minute walk up to the Adams Morgan area for dinner at Meskerem an Ethiopian place that I had seen on Groupon and had purchased $15 for $30 worth of food. Our initial thoughts upon arrival that it was very bright, the staff seemed bored and overall not a great atmosphere at all. We were hopeful that the food would at least be good. We decided to start with the Sambusas both the collards and cabbage one. We enjoyed both but the collards was our favorite. Following the Sambusas we had one of our favorite Ethiopian dishes the tomato salad which is simply onions, tomato, chili and an acid (lemon juice maybe or vinegar?).
For our main event we got the vegetarian platter with more tomato salad instead of the Meskerem salad which has cheese in it. We really enjoyed all of the food however we were slightly put off by them not bringing warm wet towels to wipe our hands of prior to digging in like other Ethiopian restaurants we have visited. Overall we enjoyed the food but we wouldn’t return based on the service and atmosphere – I hear there are a number of other really delicious Ethiopian Restaurants in DC.
I generally don’t buy food at airports because it’s generally over priced. For our trip this past week I packed up bagels with tofutii, dried fruits, nuts, trail mixes and bananas for the flight and for our trip in generally. The only items that we purchased was this mediocre coffee and the smart fries which the Hubz and I had a few of and then decided they were just awful and we through them out; yes they were that bad.
I did not purchase any of these items but I did find these great vegan options at the JFK airport:
Sensible Foods- so good! Love the corn ones!
These aren't bad- more like a chocolate bar than a protein bar
