Vegan MoFo 2010: Day Fourteen

Day Fourteen: Brewing Brown Ale

Matt and I finally comitted to brewing beer this weekend! We've talked about it for ages, and everything came together yesterday afternoon. We went to the brew store as planned and purchased most of what we would need to complete the process. For this batch we'll be brewing a brown ale, similar in style to the Newcastle Brown Ale (which is NOT a vegan beer by the way; ours is!). After sanitizing every inch of our kitchen, the equipment and ourselves, we were ready to begin the process.

We started with our a bag of barley purchased from the brew store and set it to simmer in a large pot. After all the malty goodness was extracted we removed the barley husks, and munched on a few handfuls. The grains' sugars had been released and it tasted delicious! All that was removed will be composted, while the remaining liquid (wort) was set to a boil.

A powdered malt extract was added, creating more sugary food for the yeast to munch on. After some more boiling we tossed in the first set of hops, known as bittering hops. This was done to provide the basic "bitter" flavor component. After about twenty-five minutes we added another dose of hops in two parts. In order to bring a delightful herbaceous aroma back to the wort, we added a second, sweeter batch of hops during the last 7 minutes. This way they aren't in the boil long enough to have their aroma boiled away.

     

We then added the wort to our sanitized carboy along with three and a half gallons of distilled water. Before pitching the yeast, ice was added to the sink around the carboy to help the cool the wort. After about thirty minutes, the yeast was added, and the lid and airlock were in place. The carboy full of soon-to-be beer was set to rest in our back room; it'll be atleast a week before we can bottle. By tomorrow or Tuesday, the yeast should be having a frenzy, which I hear is really cool to watch. I'll try and snag a picture tomorrow.

And just so this post isn't completely devoid of food, we made baked polenta fries and festival. Festival is a slightly sweet fried bread popular in Jamaica and can be eaten with savory meals or as dessert. Why are they called "festival," you ask? Because eating one is like having a festival in your mouth. They are very similar to hushpuppies, but I don't think they contain as much cornmeal. Though traditionally oblong-shaped and sort of flat; mine were much too round and puffed up quite a big! But oooh were they tasty.

Jamaican Festival: because eating them is like a having a festival in your mouth!

 

Baked Polenta Fries

Vegan MoFo 2010: Day Thirteen

This day has been tolerably uneventful, with only a few moments worth noting. I slept in and wasn't hungry in the least, so cooking a weekend-worthy breakfast was not on the agenda. Last night, Matt and I went to Chelsea's Cafe for what has swiftly become our Friday night ritual. They offer excellent drink specials until 7:00 PM, which is just enough time to order a pitcher of beer and snag a table on their back patio. Dinner ensued as usual: two veggie burgers - hold the mayo! - and a side of french fries. Chelsea's offer several other vegan options, including a plate of grilled veggies over cousous or focaccia. The latter does come with cheese, but a request for the server can easily remedy that. The also serve a creamy hummus dip with toasted pita, chunky tomato slices and a few kalamata olives. The staff is great, as is the atmosphere. I've never been greeted with anything less than a smile and a couple of laughs. The interior is dressed with several large paintings by local artists, and blues  and jazz can be heard in the afterhours by local musicians. I can't vouch for the bands that play there (10PM is too late for me to be out on a Friday; I'd be falling asleep in my chair!), but they definitely draw a crowd. I recommend arriving a little early, ensuring you're able to find a table!

I ended up polishing off an entire burger and plate of fries (on top of a tall whiskey and coke), so breakfast was out of the question. Instead I made a green smoothie to prevent any late-morning hunger pains from sneaking up on me. Featured below is a green flax-berry smoothie made up of micronutrient-rich flax seed, banana, blueberries, blackberries and strawberries (originally fresh, but frozen during the peak of summer for the upcoming colder months), in addition a handful of kale and spinach. Vegetables in smoothies? Of course! The taste of the fruit is so much more powerful than vegetables, but the latter provide a wealth of hidden nutritional value. I blended this with almond milk to thin it out and drizzled a small amount of maple syrup for sweetness. A+.

Even puppies love green smoothies!

Our afternoon was spent having a mediocre lunch at Truly Free Bakery. I've written on this establishment before, and my opinion hasn't changed much. Some of their vegan menu items, like the Grilled Eggplant and Avocado Panini or one of their many burgers, are delicious and well prepared, while others appear to forgo any forethought or execution. Today I decided to venture out of my comfort zone and try again one of their wraps. Instead of getting a panini, I ordered a cabbage wrap to be filled with tempeh, eggplant, artichoke hearts, red onion, greens and hummus. Not only was there no hummus, but the eggplant and tempeh were not cooked. At all. Neither was even marinaded and everything was just...bland. I've also tried their vegan Rueben wrapped in nori (my first vegan Rueben!), and was pretty disappointed. Oh well, so they can't make wraps! There panini's are grand, Matt loves their garden burgers, they have a vegan thousand island dressing, and a plenthora of gluten-free baked goods that are fairly priced and pretty tasty. Did I mention that everything is gluten-free?! Because it is! Truly Free also makes their bread in house! Sorry, no pictures of lunch because it just wasn't good enough. Maybe next weekend!

Matt and I have decided to brew some beer over the next few weeks. We  picked up almost everything we'll need at Red Stick Home Brewing Supplies, and we'll begin sanitizing everything in the morning. The brown ale is our brew of choice for this run, and I can't wait to document the process. More on this to come!

One hour left for Saturday's MoFo...*submit!*