Miss Rachel's Lunch Club

I heard about Miss Rachel's Pantry awhile ago. Early last spring, a friend of a friend told me about some amazing soup lady, and slipped me a number on a piece of paper. But I lost the paper.

Then when I started chilling with Marina and helping her make the Better Butter, she mentioned a girl named Rachel and her soups. The plot thickened.

Then I saw a sign in Grindcore House for Thanksgiving Dinner Orders from Miss Rachel's Pantry, with an adorable retro sign to match. This had to be the same mysterious soup lady!

So I checked out her website, and realized I'd been missing out. It's more than soup. There's casseroles  and sides, and full catering and personal chef-ing. And it all looks and sounds delicious. And it's all vegan and homemade. YES PLEASE.

So when I saw on Twitter the other day that Rachel was staring a Friday lunch delivery service, I knew I had to get in on it. And I did. And let me tell you, it was the best part of my day. No lie.

 What did I get? A "chicken" salad sandwich, veggie noodle soup, an apple, and a chocolate chip cookie. A great healthy lunch delivered to my door!

The veggie noodle soup was perfect. I want a whole gallon of it next time I've got the sniffles. Carrots, celery, mushrooms and bow-tie noodles in a perfectly light veggie broth. So nice on a chilly afternoon.

The "chicken" salad sandwich was different than I'm used to, but a real winner. Cubed tofu (with excellent texture, BTW), in a dijon mustard sauce with lettuce on a hoagie bun. Tangy and delicious! But those of you who know your hoagies know it's all about the bun, and this was the perfect hoagie bun. Not too soft that it soaked up too much sauce, but not so tough that it was impossible to tear into. It was that magical combination of crunchy, chewy and soft that makes you want to crawl inside and stay forever. And not so huge it was overwhelming, but not so small I needed more when it was done. Obviously, I was a big fan of this sandwich.

The local apple was sweet and crisp and the NorthPortFishington chocolate chip cookie rounded out the lunch bag. I'll definitely be ordering again soon, because the menus change every week. And there's even a gluten-free option. This lady thinks of everything...

If you live or work in Center City Philadelphia, add this to your lunch roster. Just make sure you order by at least Thursday. It gives a whole new reason to look forward to Friday! For ordering info, check out Miss Rachel's website. Here's this week's menu:

The Jim - Tofu “chicken” salad sandwich - creamy with a zippy dijon mayo and crisp romaine on a local roll, a cup of tomato-tortilla soup, a local apple and a peanut butter sandwich cookie 

The Barb - Barbecue seitan piled high with cool slaw, avocado and crisp lettuce on a roll, a cup of tomato-tortilla soup, a local apple and a peanut butter sandwich cookie 

The Oprah Wheatfree - (gluten-free option, nothing to do with Oprah) - smokey, textured tofu, crisp lettuce and avocado on two homemade cornbread biscuits with spicy aioli, a cup of tomato-tortilla soup, a local apple and a peanut butter crispie square 

Make Every Day Earth Day

Not to get all Al Gore on you, but seriously people. I hope you spent your earth day doing things to reduce your impact on the environment. Excuse me while I hop up on my soap box for a minute. 

Some of the easiest things you can do:

Recycle!

Philadelphia makes it so easy to recycle. They pick up once a week on your regular trash day. You don't need to sort, everything can go in one bin. And you can use any old container you have laying around, as long as it's clearly labeled for recycling. The city does have restrictions on what it will and won't take, so check out the list here to make sure you're recycling properly. The city also just started a program with Recycling Rewards where you can earn points for stuff just by recycling. Learn more about it here. 

*side rant* Are you listening South Philly? Stop being so self-entitled as to think that it's perfectly OK to just throw your trash on the ground where ever you are. I've lost count of how many times I've seen a kid buy a popsicle from a corner store, leave the store, throw the wrapper on the ground and not break his stride as he walks down the street. Really? And the adults are just as bad. Whatever happened to Woodsy Owl? Why doesn't anyone down here give a hoot?? *end rant*

Reuse!

Reusable shopping bags come in all forms, including ones that squish down into cute little pockets that fit on your keychain. Keep extras in your car so you don't forget when you go to the store. And don't just use them at the grocery store, take them to the mall or other retail locations too. And stop requesting bags for purchases that don't need it, like a small basket, or lip gloss, and especially don't ask for a plastic bag for your reusable bag (I wish I was kidding about this one, but it happens lots). And if you do take a plastic bag, make sure you're recycling or reusing them!

Reduce!

One way is to eat less meat. I can't preach about being a vegetarian, because I'm not anymore, but I only consume meat about 2 times a week, and I never eat any red meat or pork products. My friend Maura posted a link on environmental reasons to go vegetarian, and it's pretty good advice. Even cutting out meat 1 or 2 days a week can make a big impact. And while you're at it, try to eat seasonally and locally. You food will taste better, and shorter shipping distances means less carbon dioxide emitted. That's a win win if you ask me. 

Speaking of eating, let's get back to the food, and what I ate for earth day. (This is a food blog, when I'm not getting all environmentally righteous). I did reuse the icing leftover from the bake sale to make some pretty delicious cupcakes (Vanilla agave with rosewater buttercream and an Irish Coffee Cupcake- I'm sure you'll hear about them soon). But I wanna talk to you about my lunch. 

My dear friend Maggie used to be my snack master. I'd stop by for breakfast, lunch and dinner at her place, and she'd fill me with delicious vegetarian snacks. Then she moved to Albuquerque. [Insert sad panda face]. But back when she would fill my belly with the goodness, my favorite recipe was for a vegan chicken salad. And so for those of you that are thinking about reducing your meat consumption this is a pretty great recipe. 

Even for someone who was a vegetarian for many years, I don't often cook with tofu. (Well, I don't often cook at all, I usually leave that to Ken...) This is a really simple recipe though, and answers that question, "What the heck do I do with this big block of firm tofu?" (I didn't think ahead enough to take pics of anything other than the final product. Sorry!)

Vegan Chicken Salad

1 Container of firm or extra firm tofu

Vegenaise

Fresh Dill

Chives or Green onions

Celery

Salt and Pepper

Sandwich fixins of your choice

Open the tofu and drain the water from the container. Keep tofu in container, place in a freezer bag/wrap in plastic wrap, and leave in freezer over night. (Freezing the tofu changes the texture. This is a very important step, so don't skip it!) The next day, take tofu out and allow to thaw. Once it's thawed you'll need to drain the remaining water. Take out of the container, wrap in paper towels and place on a plate. Place another plate on top of the tofu, and something to weigh it down (2 cans work well). Let sit like that for 20-30 minutes. After it's drained, crumble the tofu into a large bowl. Add the vegenaise to taste (I used about a 1/4 cup) and stir. 

From here on out, it's very easy to personalize. I add about 5-6 sprigs of fresh dill (and added more later, because I love the dill), a handful of chopped chives, two stalks of chopped celery, salt, pepper and some Herbs de Provence. I also chopped up some bread and butter pickles and tossed them in, but I'm weird like that. Mix it all together, and keep playing with it till you like the flavor. If you have time to let it sit you should, as I think it tastes better when all the flavors get a chance to come together, but if you can't wait, slap it in a pita and call it a day. It's also great on multi-grain bread or on top of leafy greens or on a spoon straight out of the bowl. 

This earth day sandwich consisted of toasted multi-grain bread with several hearty spoonfuls of "chicken" salad, spring mix lettuce, extra bread and butter pickles, and sliced avocados sprinkled with salt. Super yum!! And a pretty delicious way to be eco-responsible. WIN!

Snackin' in Scranton: Eden, a vegan cafe

I love vegan food and baked goods. But let's be clear about one thing: I'm NOT vegan. I hope I didn't break any of your hearts. I was vegetarian for about 10 years, and vegan for 2 of them. And of course, there's that whole lactose-intolerant thing. But every once in a while you'll catch me eating potato pizza or fish tacos or using butter in my pie crust. (My vegan crust is pretty tasty, but you just can't beat butter sometimes! sigh...) 

In Philly it's pretty easy to eat vegetarian. Most of the bar/restaurants I frequent have awesome menu standards and specials that are cruelty-free and delicious. But a place that's 100% without a doubt, no ifs-ands-or-buts about it VEGAN? None in Philly. You've got to go to Scranton for that. 

Yeah, you heard me right. SCRANTON. It's quite lovely up there. And they've got yummy places to eat. Like Eden- a vegan cafe. If you follow along with this blog, you'll know I stayed home an extra night while visiting for Easter just to make sure I could grab lunch there. That's how delicious it is. And the service is super friendly, and the place is bright and airy and pretty and they're on the coolest block downtown (on Adams Ave, right across from the best bar in town and the awesome Thai place, but those are for another post...). And the owners are big PHILLIES fans. And if you live in the Scranton area or if you're like me and from Scranton but go home frequently to visit, then you need to go. Immediately. And thank me later. 

Eden's got a full menu with soups, appetizers, salads, sandwiches (hot and cold), and desserts. They've also got weekly specials. I've yet to have anything from here that I didn't think was snack-tastic. 

Before hitting the turnpike on Tuesday, I grabbed lunch with friends. This time around, I got one of the specials- the Waldorf Chicken Salad sandwich. Soy Protein "chicken" salad with Vegenaise, diced apples, sliced grapes, walnuts, romaine lettuce and tomatoes. It came on a multi-grain wrap, but I got mine on a hoagie roll. (Sometimes I just want some bread, and they're really accommodating at Eden.) The result was super delicious. The textures and flavors blended so well: the tart apple crunch, sweet squish of grapes and earthy chewiness of walnuts. The "chicken" was also spot on. I'm always really impressed with the faux meat products Eden uses. I usually get freaked out by the texture of seitan (which most restaurants use for their veg dishes), but I don't think they use it at Eden.

With their sandwiches you get your choice of side. I usually order a super double secret side dish whose name I can't divulge, but I will show you pictures of it. As for the rest of you mortals, I'd recommend the slaw. I dream about their coleslaw some nights. OK, most nights. Alright, EVERY night. For REAL. Their smashed potatoes are most excellent too. (Surprise! The Irish girl loves potatoes too! Moving on...) I've never seen anyone order another side because both of those are so tasty, but I hear they have other options. 

Carolyn got the unofficial "Michelle Williams" turkey club, which is a typical turkey club but with avocado slices. Why is it called the "Michelle Williams"? Because that's what Michelle ordered when she stopped into Eden before the Wilco show in Scranton. Yes, that Michelle Williams. Yes, that Wilco. Yes, in Scranton. Yes, I was confused too. Let's get back to the food. 

The turkey club at Eden is the kind of thing that's so good I have a hard time ordering anything else. And I'm a firm believer that avocados can improve anything, so they managed to take this mighty sandwich to the next level of delicious. "Turkey" slices, vegan bacon strips, lettuce, tomato, Vegenaise, and avocado slices layered on whole wheat bread. But the avocado may have sent it over the edge, as it was pretty messy and Carolyn said she needed a bigger mouth to eat it (and she's got the biggest mouth of anyone I know). 

This led Carolyn, the philosophy professor, to start talking about the turkey club paradox: "How could there be a sandwich too large for the largest mouth to fit? If you take a layer off is it still a turkey club? Does it's essence change in any way?"... and then Louie started arguing with Carolyn (like they always do) about her Aristotelian snack-theorizing, and I stopped listening and continued eating my hoagie. At the end of it all she said the turkey club was like a "sandwich explosion, but an explosion of deliciousness." Which are the best kind, obviously. 

Louie had a Turkey Cobb Wrap (with avocado, bacon bits, ranch and lettuce) and Matt had the Waldorf wrap, both of which got two thumbs up. Dan joined us later and tried the Agave Nectar Mustard Salmon Wrap- grilled salmon strips, glazed with an agave nectar and Dijon mustard sauce, grilled pepper strips, and leafy greens on a multi-grain wrap. He was too busy snacking to get a comment, but it looked super yum!

Of course, before we left I had to try some dessert (it's research, people!) and got the Banana Chocolate cheesecake. I'm not a fan of cheesecakes (real or vegan), but I know the girl that they buy the cheesecakes from and I promised her I'd give them a try. I'm so glad I did. The filling was nice and soft, with a mild banana flavor marbled with smooth chocolate on a thick bed of graham cracker crumbs. Kelly, please keep making these delicious cheesecakes. So I can keep putting them in my belly. I also took some slaw for the road, and had a super yummy post-drive snack in Philly. 

I've only got one gripe about eden, and that's their hours. I wish they were open more! They close early most Saturdays and they're closed on Sundays and Mondays, which make it difficult for me to get there during my visits home. And leads me to stay in town longer than planned or beg friends to pick up orders. The slaw is that good! If I still lived in Scranton, I'd eat there everyday, and harass them into selling my treats. (Maura and Christian, I've gotta bring you guys some Casbah cupcakes or some Diddy cookies next time I'm home...)

So go to Eden! What are you waiting for? That trip you've been meaning to take to Scranton to take the "Office" tour? Do it now! And stop in Eden for lunch and you might see the sexy crew above. Or if you work or live downtown or at the University of Scranton, order some takeout and a cute boy who looks suspiciously like Buddy Holly will deliver it to you on his bike (though don't get too excited girls, his lady-friend is way hotter than Mary Tyler Moore). But whatever you do, eat there soon!

Eden- a vegan cafe

344 Adams Ave

Scranton PA 18503

570-969-1606

www.eden-cafe.com

(Become friends with them on facebook too!)