Are you in the mood for a delicious breakfast or a quick snack? This easy vanilla muesli bowl is a great way to spice up a healthy classic with fresh fruit. You can make this bowl without spending time in a kitchen cooking anything, though you will need access to a refrigerator if you’d like it very cold. There are several things about this recipe that make it sustainable. For one, few of the ingredients are heavily processed. Additionally, the milk alternatives mean there was no cow required, saving methane emissions and large water usage. Lastly, you can make the fruit more sustainable sourcing it from the most local providers. I’ve even grown strawberries at home, so you can reduce pollution and follow this recipe with fruit fresh from your garden. You can also modify this recipe to include as much or as little sugar as you’d like.
Ingredients:
1 / 2 cup old – fashioned oats
1 / 2 cup vegan milk
1 tablespoon honey
2 strawberries
1 banana
Nuts, chocolate, or any other fruits you’d like to use
Steps:
Step 1: To start, combine the oats with the milk and 3 / 4 of the honey. I didn’t have any old-fashioned oats so I substituted instant oats from the U-store. I also used soy milk from the dining hall, though I would have chosen oat milk if it was available. Oat milk is often creamier and uses less water than almond milk. Once combined in a bowl, you can put the bowl in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. If you don’t have access to one like me, it’s perfectly fine without doing so.
Step 2: Cut up your bananas into coins and strawberries into small pieces. Put these fruit toppings on the oat and milk mixture and add any chocolate, nuts, granola, or fruits you’d like. I had a little honey left over, so I drizzled that on top. Enjoy!
Welcome to the inaugural post of Level Up Your Leftovers, a series where I (Naomi) take your leftovers and turn them into a refreshed recipe!
First up, we have a submission from Lisa here at the Office of Sustainability. Lisa laments, “I have half a jalapeño left that I can’t figure out what to do with! We made tacos a few nights ago and didn’t use the whole thing. Would love some ideas otherwise, I can compost it :)” Well I have some good news, as I think I know a recipe that can ease your worries. It’s vegan/vegetarian friendly and is packed with hearty cauliflower!
0-3 jalapenos, diced, with or without seeds (can substitute with other peppers/hot sauce if needed)
One large onion, diced
2 heads of cauliflower, cut into florets
1 tbsp garlic, minced
2 ½ cups vegetable broth
1 ½ cups milk of choice
½ tsp each: dried sage, cumin, smoked paprika*
1 dried bay leaf
1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped + more for garnish (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
Feta cheese, for garnish
*adjust seasonings as necessary
Instructions:
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add diced jalapenos and cook until brown and crispy, around 3-5 minutes. Transfer the cooked jalapenos to a bowl and set aside.
Add the diced onion to the pot over medium and cook until the edges begin to be translucent, about 5 minutes. Add in the cauliflower florets and saute until they turn brown.
Stir in the garlic as well as all of the dried seasonings. Saute until fragrant, stirring frequently for about 1 minute.
Add the vegetable broth and milk of choice into the pot, as well as most of the fried jalapenos (reserve some for garnish). Cover with a lid and boil until cauliflower is tender, about 15-20 minutes.
Check the soup for seasoning, and add more if needed. Remove the bay leaf. Add in most of the fresh cilantro (reserve some for garnish) and hot sauce to taste. Using a regular or immersion blender, pulse until smooth.
Plate up the soup with feta cheese sprinkled on top as well as the reserved fried jalapenos and fresh cilantro. Eat with a crusty bread on the side and salad for an impressive meal.
Enjoy!
This recipe can be customized in terms of seasonings and spice levels. It can be made completely vegan with the omission of feta cheese.
Some fun facts about jalapenos:
They were the first pepper to travel into space on the 1982 Space Shuttle Columbia
They are an excellent source of vitamin C and contain copper, magnesium, vitamins A, E, and K, folate, manganese, fiber, potassium, and iron.
Surprisingly, a typical jalapeño pepper packs more vitamin C than an orange!
Incorporating more plant-based foods into your diet is a great step towards reducing your carbon footprint. According to this Economist article, just going vegetarian could cut your food-related emissions by 30%! It’s the small steps that count, and dietary changes can make a big difference in crafting a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle.
If you try this recipe, let us know over on Instagram or Facebook. If you want to try and stump me with your own batch of leftovers, send in a submission here! Your recipe could be the next one featured on the Tigers Go Green Blog.
School district goes solar: Arkansas’ Batesville School District recently installed 1,500 solar panels, enabling the district to produce roughly half of its energy needs from solar power. Batesville schools now join the approximately 7,300 school buildings across the country relying on solar energy. The district’s decision reflects the gradually decreasing cost of solar installation and increases in solar energy capacity, providing hope that more school buildings will soon do the same.
Businesses call for emissions reductions: This week, over 300 businesses executives representing companies with a collective 6 million employees and $3 trillion in annual revenue signed an open letter to President Biden asking for tougher American carbon emissions cuts as part of the Paris Agreement. The letter requests a target of a 50% reduction in greenhouse gases compared to 2005 levels by 2030. When the United States initially joined the Paris Agreement in 2016, the emissions reduction goal set by President Obama was 26-28% below 2005 levels by 2025. If adopted, this new proposal would constitute a near-doubling of current emissions targets.
Virginia restricts plastic use: Virginia’s Governor Ralph Northam recently signed an executive order to reduce plastic waste in his state by phasing out the use of non-reusable plastics at all state institutions, including state agencies and colleges, over the next 120 days. The order also mandates that state institutions craft plans to eliminate all non-medical single-use plastics by 2025. Given that Virginia either burns or sends to the landfill 23 million tons of solid waste each year, this new rule could provide some relief to the state’s infrastructure while being significantly more sustainable.
That’s all for this week! We hope to see you again next Friday, and contact us if you have any positive environmental news to share!
Welcome to the fourth stop of the Princeton Plant-Based Food Tour! This week we are hitting it off by exploring the vegetarian and vegan on-the-go options, as always highlighting the accessibility, cost, taste, plant-based ‘friendliness’ and creativity of the different restaurants on Nassau and in the vicinity. We hope that reading this post may inspire you to venture out to get some plant-based goodness, and next week we will be bringing you a review of Princeton’s high-end restaurants!
Jammin’ Crepes – Most Locally-Sourced Food
Price: $$
Bang for Your Buck: ★★★★★
Creativity: ★★★★
Plant Forward: ★★★★
Taste: ★★★★★
Ease of Access: ★★★★
Jammin’ Crepes is, hands down, one of the best, coolest places on Nassau. For starters, they sell homemade preserves – how cool is that? Jammin’ Crepes also have a great focus on sustainability: for example, they source from local farmers and food artisans, thus reducing the carbon footprint of the food that they serve. As I stood in the restaurant waiting for my order of a vegan veggie kimchee crepe, I noticed several posters about reusing and recycling and eating locally on the walls, reflecting the overall sustainability focus of the establishment. The Jammin’ Crepes indoor space is amazing – with wooden decor, their menu displayed on wooden-framed blackboards hanging from the tall ceiling, jars of preserves lining the walls, it is like a funky countryside house in the middle of pretentious Princeton architecture.
The vegan veggie kimchee crepe that I got had roasted cauliflower, kale, kimchee and baby spinach (the cauliflower and kale being the ‘seasonal vegetables’ components of the crepe). A little skeptical about this combination at first, I was astonished at how finger-licking yummy the crepe was. While the kimchee spoke to the pickle- and preserves-making skill of Jammin’ Crepes suppliers, the other greens worked very well together to make this crepe taste more like a home-made savoury pie. Although vegan and hence not containing cheese, the filling was soft and stringy and went well with the crepe itself, which, by the way, despite being gluten-free, was absolutely delicious. The portion size was very big; the kimchee made the crepe moderately spicy and also quite messy to eat, so I was glad I was back in my dorm, able to help myself with a knife and fork. Overall, would 10/10 recommend Jammin’ Crepes as a cool sustainability-focused place on Nassau that serves fantastic crepes!
Small Bites by Local Greek – The Biggest Small Bites
Price: $
Bang for Your Buck: ★★★★★
Plant Forward: ★★★
Taste: ★★★★
Ease of Access: ★★★★
Too tired to make the trek to Local Greek? No worries, Small Bites by Local Greek can satisfy your gyro cravings right on Nassau Street. They offer a vegan gyro that will easily fill you up. It was delicious too, featuring an assortment of vegetables and hummus. It even came with a bonus side dish. I also ordered a side of Greek fries which you can never go wrong with. On top of all this, they gave me a student discount as well, bringing my total to $12 which, for the amount of food I got, was a steal. I would highly recommend checking out Small Bites, especially on a sunny day when you can sit outside while you enjoy your gyro!
Princeton Soup and Sandwich – Cutest Restaurant and Most Complete Meal
Price: $$
Bang for Your Buck: ★★★★
Plant Forward: ★★★
Taste: ★★★
Ease of Access: ★★★★
Despite being located just behind the Nassau Inn in Palmer Square, Princeton Soup and Sandwich is undoubtedly a hidden gem. I ordered my meal (their soup and half sandwich combo, with fresh made lemonade) and immediately received a text saying that it would be ready in 10. I rolled up to the restaurant, which has a really cute little outside seating area, and found my food already ready and waiting for me. My soup was tomato and basil with rice, twinned with their vegetarian gazpacho sandwich. I thoroughly enjoyed both of these items and the tomato soup was especially delicious. Their freshly made lemonade was a really nice addition to the meal, which was finished off with one of their chocolate chip cookies. Ultimately I was left feeling very satisfied with my order; I mean, what more could I have asked for? Overall the Princeton Soup and Sandwich menu doesn’t have a huge amount of vegetarian/vegan options but those that they do have are extremely good. I would definitely urge you to check it out; if not for the food, then for the vibes of the restaurant, which are honestly immaculate!
Say Cheez – Most Cheese Options
Price: $
Bang for Your Buck: ★★★★
Creativity: ★★
Plant Forward: ★★
Taste: ★★★
Ease of Access: ★★★
This week on the plant-based food tour, I went to Say Cheez Cafe. This restaurant primarily serves grilled cheese sandwiches, but offers mac and cheese, empanadas, and soups as well.
There are various grilled cheese sandwiches on the menu, but I chose to build my own. This option means selecting one bread, two cheeses, one topping, and a sauce for a total of $4.95. I chose white bread, pepper jack, mozzarella, and Daiya vegan cheddar cheeses with jalapeno toppings and oil and vinegar sauce. The jalapenos were the highlight of my sandwich. The vegan cheese fell a little short of my expectations, but it was inoffensive and I appreciate it being an option for an extra $1.65. The bread was nicely grilled, the vinegar sauce added a nice acidity, and the sandwich was nicely wrapped for eating wherever.
I also tried the Tiger fries from Say Cheez. These are the standard fries dressed with “homemade Tiger sauce.” I liked the sauce, but it didn’t blow me away. It was creamy and slightly spicy. I mixed the ketchup packets in my takeout bag with the Tiger sauce and I much preferred that combo. The fries themselves were fine, though I would have preferred them to be a little more crispy and salty.
At Say Cheez, there is an acceptable amount of vegetarian options, but the only vegan one is to build a grilled cheese with only the vegan cheese. For non-vegans, two cheeses are free with extras costing more. Moreover, there is no vegetarian or vegan protein option. I received a plastic fork in my takeout bag without asking for one, so comment if you’re able to use reusable utensils.
Say Cheez Cafe is located on the campus side of Nassau Street in the same building as Thomas Sweet. There is outdoor seating, takeout, and delivery. Try the Daiya vegan cheddar cheese to see if you can replace dairy.
Ficus – Best Boba!
Food:
Price: $$$
Bang For Your Buck: ★★
Creativity: ★★★
Plant Forward: ★★
Taste: ★★★★
Ease of Access: ★★★
Boba:
Price: $$
Bang For Your Buck: ★★
Creativity: ★★★
Plant Forward: ★★
Taste: ★★★★
Ease of Access: ★★★
Since we came back to campus, Ficus has been my favourite location to catch up with friends over a drink. This restaurant/cafe opened in January 2021, and so it is most well-known as “the new boba place”. The menu is indeed pretty drink-focused, but they do also offer some light lunch options e.g. ‘lifestyle bowls’ and sandwiches. For instance, a vegan friend of mine whole-heartedly recommends the eggplant sandwich. Sadly, I avoid gluten, so when I went to do the review, I got a Beet and Orange Salad, a Chocolate Croissant (for a friend) and Brown Sugar Boba Milk Tea. The combination was a little strange, due to the limited vegetarian gluten-free options.
The salad came with some goat cheese to sprinkle on top and a zesty dressing that brought out the freshness of the arugula leaves. Not salty, but rather sweet and flavorful, it reminded me of the RoMa beets salad (for those who know it). It was not very filling though, so I probably would not recommend making it your lunch if you are hungry. As for the dessert, my friend said that she really enjoyed the chocolate croissant and to me the boba was, as always, supreme. I will definitely keep coming back to Ficus for the amazing bubble tea that they offer – while they have fewer options than Kung Fu Tea and slightly higher prices, I much prefer Ficus boba and I also love the friendly service and the general atmosphere at Ficus. There is a cafe/serving area on the ground floor, with a seating area for dine-in upstairs and one outside. The restaurant is a good 10 min walk past Green Hall on Nassau, but the yummy drinks more than make up for it and especially on a sunny day the walk provides even more time to chat with friends!
Diesel and Duke – Most Likely to be Cheap and Meatless on Mondays!!
Price: $
Bang for Your Buck: ★★★★★
Creativity: ★★★
Plant Forward: ★★★★
Taste: ★★★
Ease of Access: ★★★★★
Next Monday I highly recommend checking out the Meatless Monday deal at Diesel and Duke. Ordering online I was able to get a Beyond® Burger as a part of their Meatless Monday deal for just $5, a Kale Krunch salad for $3.28, and FREE order of fries! I was satisfied with the amount of food for a low price. The Beyond® Burger didn’t completely fool me like other plant-based burgers, but with all the toppings it gave me the feeling that I was eating a hearty burger. The kale krunch salad was not the freshest, but I appreciated the healthy side option. The free fries were a nice added treat! Overall, they have a variety of plant-based options and on any day of the week their regular burgers can be replaced with a Beyond® patty for just $3. It was super easy to order online and the food was ready in no time.
Olives – Most Options & Best Tasting!
Price: $$
Bang for Your Buck: ★★★★
Creativity: ★★★★
Taste: ★★★★★
Ease of Access: ★★★★★
Olives is a small but reliable stop for grab-and-go, located a short walk down Witherspoon. With a rather large menu, they are sure to have something for both vegetarians and vegans. I ordered the Santa Monica wrap ($9) on the vegetarian specials menu, as well as the baklava ($3), which was described as “the best in town”. I was extremely satisfied with both items. The wrap had an ample filling of hummus and vegetables. The baklava was also surprisingly good, and was not overly sweet, which is a common flaw I find in baklava. I will definitely be coming back to try some of their other menu items, and for the baklava too. Altogether Olives is possibly a somewhat hidden gem on Witherspoon and is definitely worth giving a try despite it being a small shop.
This series is a collaboration between student group, Greening Dining and the Princeton EcoReps
*** We are not food critics, but food enthusiasts. This is in no way intended to be a formal critique or review of any restaurant in Princeton, merely a way to encourage students to try more plant-based options when dining out.
Are you ready for your mind to be blown? This is the easiest and most delicious vegan curry recipe you could ever find. Not only will it make your taste buds happy, but it will make the earth happy, too. Legumes are twenty times less land-intensive and emit twenty times less greenhouse gas emissions than ruminant meat. Chickpeas are also a far more resource-efficient protein than meat. Check out this quick and climate-friendly recipe to make your diet more sustainable!
Ingredients:
2 cups of rice (for serving)
1 tbsp of any oil of your choice
1 medium chopped onion
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp fresh ginger
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp salt
½ turmeric
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp curry powder
1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes
2 14.5 oz cans of chickpeas/garbanzo beans
1 14.5 oz can of coconut milk
Steps:
Step 1: Start cooking the rice before you do anything else. The curry cooks quickly so you want to give the rice time to cook so that it is ready when the curry is.
Step 2: Chop the onion and prepare your spices. Drain and rinse the chickpeas.
Step 3: Heat a skillet with 1 tbsp of oil over medium heat. After a couple of minutes, toss in the chopped onion. Cook for two minutes until it starts to become translucent.
Step 4: Add the spices followed by the chickpeas. Give that just a minute or two to cook.
Step 5: Then add the diced tomatoes with all the juices and the coconut milk. Bring to a slight boil and cook for 5-7 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Step 6: Serve over rice and enjoy!
This series is brought to you by student group, Greening Dining
In its current state, only a fraction of the plastic types we use on a daily basis is actually recyclable, accounting for an 8.7% recycling rate. While the process may be limited, sustainability researchers have been working to make improvements in the materials we recycle in order to reduce our consumption of single-use plastics. In this interview, I discuss the chemistry of recycling with Paul Chirik, Edwards S. Sanford Professor of Chemistry, whose lab recently discovered a plastic material with the potential to be recycled more effectively.
Image Credit: Paul Chirik via https://chirik.princeton.edu/
Could you give a brief overview of your current research? What makes it interesting to you?
So, what I do is I study catalysis. That’s a key component of sustainability because what catalysis does is by definition it makes chemical processes use less energy. The question we asked is: Is catalysis as sustainable as it can be? That’s the cool part of sustainability research – you can always do better. You can always save a little bit more [energy] here and there. One of the big things we’ve been after for a long time is that we’ve looked at the way people use catalysts; usually, they’re based on rare elements like platinum and palladium (all the stuff in the catalytic converter in your car). Nobody would argue catalytic converters are bad, they’ve completely cleared up the air and the environment from car exhaust, but at the same time, we’re using elements that come out of mines that have really huge carbon footprints. So, the [goal] is to use these great catalysts with iron and try to make all these reactions go better with less energy input [and] generate less waste. I think the most exciting thing is that we started doing this trying to make catalysts to insert into existing processes, and then when you start playing with new metals and new catalysts, you discover things you never thought you would see.
Image Credit: BBC News via https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-45496884
What does the current recycling process for plastics look like? How would you like to further improve it?
I think people are now appreciating how bad it is. You know, I actually feel a little guilty as a chemist, I didn’t realize how bad it was until we started studying it. I figured every week we put our milk jugs at the end of the curb and they went away and all is well, and you don’t realize the percentage of plastic that gets recycled is so low. That tells me there’s a chemistry problem here, the biggest part of it is we need new materials. We use a lot of plastic that it doesn’t make sense to recycle.
What does sustainability mean to you? How do you engage with sustainability outside of your scientific work?
Sustainability to me means a way of life, right? I think it should be how you interact with the environment around you. Outside of my job, I try to practice what I preach which is looking at how much stuff I throw away, how much I consume […]. You have to ask yourself what kind of carbon footprint you think you have and compare that to what you actually have. I think the most impactful thing I can do is educate people, because of the kind of science we do.
What is your favorite source of sustainable energy and why?
If you ask me as a chemist where we need to be in 100 years, we need to rely on the sun. It’s free, there’s lots of it. The problem is we don’t know how to do most of [the chemistry] yet. We have a long way to go but that doesn’t mean you give up, because it’s a really hard problem.
What are some common misconceptions about energy sources?
I think the biggest misconception is that people think that fossil fuel is only for gasoline in their car. They don’t realize that you cannot live without interacting with multiple products [of fossil fuels], whether it’s your clothes or carpets, [even] the food you eat was grown from fertilizer that was made from fossil fuels. Just about every single product you interact with […] had an interaction or derivation from fossil fuels.
Are there any sustainability or climate science resources you know of that you would suggest for readers?
I pay a lot of attention to elemental usage. Hopefully, people worry about their carbon footprint, but that’s still very narrow, you should worry about your element footprint. Your cell phone has 65 of them in it, and some of those elements take a lot of energy [to obtain].
Discover where the elements which make up your smartphone are sourced from:
Welcome back to Good News Friday and happy Earth Month! I hope you’re ready to read some positive picks from recent environmental updates. This week, we have a conservation-themed edition, with promising news about the recovery of bald eagles, pygmy hogs and the Iberian lynx.
Bald eagles rebound: In 2009, conservationists estimated that there were approximately 72,000 bald eagles in the lower 48 states. However, the most recent 2019 estimates place the rebounding population at 316,700, meaning that bald eagle populations have quadrupled in the past decade. According to Deb Haaland, the first Native American secretary of the Interior, “The bald eagle has always been considered a sacred species to American Indian people. Similarly, it’s sacred to our nation as America’s national symbol.” Bryan Watts, the director of the Center for Conservation Biology at William & Mary, says that the bald eagle recovery indicates what can be accomplished when a culture collectively decides to value something.
Image credit: A. J. T. Johnsingh, CC BY-SA 3.0, no changes
Hope for pygmy hogs: The pygmy hog is the smallest and rarest pig in the world. They used to thrive in the sub-Himalayas, but habitat loss has resulted in their near extinction. However, a captive breeding and reintroduction program led by the Pygmy Hog Conservation Programme (PHCP) has raised their chances for recovery. There’s still a long way to go, but this program, in combination with grassland conservation, gives hope for restoring the miniature wild pig populations.
Iberian lynx populations recover: Another example of a successful target conservation story is the recovery of the Iberian Lynx populations. In 2002, the Iberian lynx was already extinct in its native Portugal, and fewer than 100 cats remained in Spain. However, a cumulation of targeted conservation efforts has allowed the species to come back from the brink of extinction, with more than 1000 wild members today. These efforts include captive breeding and reintroduction, rewilding of lynx ranges, wildlife corridors, and increasing prey populations.
That’s all for this week! Tune in next time for more encouraging environmental news. If you’d like to share some Good News with us, please feel free to get in touch!
Welcome to the third stop on the Plant-Based Food Tour of Princeton! This week we are continuing the international exploration with Mexican and Mediterranean cuisine. As always, we reviewed these restaurants and their plant-based dishes, using metrics like price, taste, and creativity. Next time you eat out, order one of the items we recommend. Follow the Office of Sustainability and Greening Dining on Instagram to see video reviews and come back next week to learn about the best plant-based grab-n-go restaurants!
Mexican
Tacoria – Most Outstanding, Full Stop.
Price: $
Bang for Your Buck: ★★★★★
Creativity: ★★★★★
Plant Forward: ★★★
Taste: ★★★★★
Ease of Access: ★★★★★
If you haven’t been to Tacoria, what have you been doing? Not only does this restaurant have a great range of vegetarian and vegan options, but each of these dishes is absolutely delicious and never fails to bring a grin to your face. At the time of undertaking this review I had never tried Tacoria’s brussels sprouts; having now tried them, I doubt I will ever order meat from them ever again. My order, the brussels sprouts burrito box, was absolutely spectacular. If you are a bigger fan of the mission-style burrito, Tacoria has you covered, also allowing you to customize your order to include a number of ingredients, but most excitingly their golden (fried) avocado. I cannot rave about Tacoria enough, and with the restaurant being located right on the middle of Nassau Street there is simply no excuse not to try it out. Just last week, Tacoria added a new plant-based option to their menu in the form of Beyond Tacoria burritos, which is great news for plant-based eating, but possibly bad news for my wallet.
Qdoba – Most Customizable, Best Fake Meat Options
Price: $
Bang for Your Buck: ★★★
Creativity: ★★
Plant Forward: ★★★★
Taste: ★★★
Ease of Access: ★★★★★
I can’t say I have been itching to go to Qdoba in a while, but when I learned that Qdoba was now serving Impossible™ meat as one of their protein options, I couldn’t wait to give it a try. I had a customizable burrito bowl with Impossible™ meat as my choice of protein; the best part about Qdoba is that you can customize your meal to be exactly how you want it! It tasted just like a burrito bowl with ground beef. Some of you out there may be looking for more of a veggie-based option, which Qdoba can provide. Rather than choosing a fake meat protein, you can make a veggie burrito/bowl/nachos, etc. However, if you are looking to satisfy your meat cravings without the meat, Qdoba has exactly what you are looking for! Go check it out and don’t forget to get a yummy side of chips and guac to complete your meal.
Taste of Mexico – Most Intriguing
Price: $
Bang for Your Buck: ★★★★
Creativity: ★★
Plant Forward: ★★★
Taste: ★★
Ease of Access: ★★★
In order to find Taste of Mexico, you have to know where to turn on Nassau street. Luckily for me, I can see the front of the restaurant from my window. Taste of Mexico is a really cute place with beautiful multi-colored lights out front, and a nice seating area for when the weather is nice. Their menu is not particularly creative when it comes to offering plant-based options and only really has a couple of different menu items to choose from. For this review, I ordered the vegetable enchiladas with chips and guacamole as a side. I was a newbie to enchiladas (I know, what have I been doing, right?) and thoroughly enjoyed them, especially the side of rice and beans that was honestly the star of the meal for me. When you order chips and guacamole at Taste of Mexico, be warned you receive A LOT of guac, but it is very tasty so if that entices you, you should definitely check it out. All in all, I would recommend Taste of Mexico, but keep in mind that if you are looking for a truly plant-based option you are going to be a little limited.
Mediterranean
EFES Mediterranean Grill – Most Beautiful Falafel Plate
Price: $$
Bang for Your Buck: ★★★
Creativity: ★★
Plant Forward: ★★★★
Taste: ★★★★
Ease of Access: ★★
This week on my plant-based food tour, I ate at Efes Mediterranean Grill. There I got a falafel plate and hummus.
The falafel plate was quite good. The falafels were a beautiful green in the middle, tasted great, and were cooked nicely. For $3 I added a large shepherd salad, seen on the left of the entree. This was perhaps even better than the falafel. I really enjoyed the tomato, cucumber, and seasoning. Before adding the tzatziki sauce and another sauce which I couldn’t identify, I found myself wanting the fries and falafels to be a bit saltier and more flavorful. Adding both sauces and mixing the falafels with the salad fixed this however, making a tasty combination. After my wonderful experience of hot takeout at Chennai Chimney last week, I was a little disappointed by the temperature of the entree when I opened it in my dorm, but I’m sure the cold shepherd salad factored into that.
I also tried the hummus and pita bread off of the sides menu. The hummus was no frills, plain hummus, but I did like it. I am someone who doesn’t prefer too much roasted red pepper or additions to my hummus, so take that how you will. The pita bread is store bought, but it does the job. I believe each $.40 order of pita bread is 2 pieces since I ordered $.80 of it and I got 4 pieces in packaging for a 6-pack.
Efes Mediterranean Grill is located at the intersection of Olden and Nassau, right across the road from Hoagie Haven. It took me 8 minutes to walk from there to the middle of campus and another 4 to get to Whitman. Google Maps says it’s a 17 minute walk, so come here when you aren’t pressed for time. I forgot to ask for no plastic utensils, but I didn’t receive any regardless. This pleased me, but remember to bring your own utensils or your reusable bamboo ones from the Office of Sustainability! There is limited indoor dining, takeout, and some outdoor seating, not in service on cold days. Though it is not the most value for your money, I recommend the falafel plate.
Mamoun’s – Most Flavourful
Price: $
Bang for Your Buck: ★★★★★
Creativity: ★★★★
Plant Forward: ★★★
Taste: ★★★★★
Ease of Access: ★★★★
Mamoun’s is a deceivingly long restaurant located at the top of Witherspoon street. I ordered the combo plate, a dish that allows you to select any three of their vegetarian options to be served over rice or salad. I chose falafel, baba ganouj, and hummus, whilst also ordering a side of baklava for good measure. I was absolutely blown away by the assembly of items I chose; each was a taste sensation arranged pleasingly on a plate. The rice and falafel in particular were extremely tasty, and once I had finished my dish I sincerely wished I had more left. If you have a sweet tooth I would 100% recommend the baklava, which is an absolute delight. The combo plate was just one of a number of plant-based options on offer at Mamoun’s, which are all well worth your time and money.
Another huge bonus of Mamoun’s is the speed with which they complete your order: I had ordered, paid, and received my food within 10 minutes! All in all I would urge you to go and check out the plant-based options at Mamoun’s, as you will certainly not be disappointed!
This series is a collaboration between student group, Greening Dining and the Princeton EcoReps
*** We are not food critics, but food enthusiasts. This is in no way intended to be a formal critique or review of any restaurant in Princeton, merely a way to encourage students to try more plant-based options when dining out.
Looking for a way to spice up your meals? Tteokbokki, or spicy stir-fried rice cakes, is a common Korean street food dish that you can recreate at home. Although traditionally made with anchovy stock, this vegan version substitutes vegetable stock that has a deep umami flavor developed using shiitake mushrooms, kelp, radish, onions, and cabbage. The dish requires a few special ingredients, such as rice cakes and gochujang, but they can easily be found at an Asian grocery store. Furthermore, the vegetable stock can be prepared in bulk and used as a substitute for anchovy- or meat-based broths in other Korean dishes—including kimchi and soybean paste stew—to make them plant-based. The kelp used to make the broth can also be stir-fried and served as a side dish. Not only is kelp a good source of protein, it can be sustainably farmed since it requires minimal land and freshwater resources. Give this recipe a try, and hopefully it will inspire you to explore plant-based versions of your favorite international dishes!
Ingredients:
Vegetable stock (makes 10-11 cups)
5 dried shiitake mushrooms
1 ounce dried kelp
1 pound daikon radish, peeled and cut into ½-inch thick slices
1 large onion, sliced
4 green onions, cut into 2-in. long pieces
2 cups green cabbage leaves, sliced
4 quarts water
Tteokbokki
1 pound tube-shaped rice cakes (if frozen, thaw and soak in cold water prior to cooking)
Step 1: Prepare the stock by putting all of the vegetable ingredients into a large pot along with 4 quarts of water. Cover and cook over medium high heat for half an hour. Then reduce the heat to medium and cook for another half an hour, until the radish is translucent.
Step 2: Pour the stock through a mesh strainer over a large bowl. The liquid should be clear and light. You can store the stock in an airtight container for up to a week in the refrigerator, and up to 3 months in the freezer. The strained vegetables can also be reused to make stir-fried kelp and radish pancakes instead of going to waste.
Step 3: Pour around 2 ½ cups of the vegetable stock you made in Steps 1 and 2 into a pot. Mix the red pepper paste, pepper flakes, and sugar in a small bowl and add to the vegetable stock. Add the rice cakes and chopped green onions as well.
Step 4: Cook uncovered over medium high heat. When it begins to boil, stir gently and continue stirring until the rice cakes are soft and the sauce thickens (10-15 minutes). If the rice cakes do not soften, add more water and continue stirring. The flatter the pan, the quicker the sauce will thicken as well.
Image credit: Maylin Horchler
Step 5: Remove from heat and serve hot. Optionally, you can add vegan mozzarella cheese (e.g. Violife) or make vegan tofu fish cakes to serve alongside the tteokbokki.
Image credit: Maylin Horchler
Recipe adapted from the Maangchi blog. Image and adaptation credits to Maylin Horchler, a sophomore at Rutgers University.
This series is brought to you by student group, Greening Dining
Hi! I’m Naomi Frim-Abrams (‘23), and I love cooking and baking (and eating!).
(Me being super excited about some good-looking fresh kale)
Though quarantine definitely fueled my cooking/baking enthusiasm, I’ve been in the kitchen for as long as I can remember. I eat a mostly vegetarian (and fully kosher) diet and am on a quest to convince my friends that dishes without meat don’t have to be boring! Here are a few of the yummy recipes I’ve whipped up:
Black sticky rice bowl with avocado, seaweed salad and a soft boiled egg
Linguini alfredo with spring vegetables
Orange poppy seed cake with strawberry cream cheese frosting
Tuna steak with seafood mushrooms, roasted potatoes, topped with caramelized onions, and a red wine pan sauce (fancy, right?)
This past year especially, I’ve really enjoyed what I call “leftover cooking,” or challenging myself to turn leftovers that are sitting in my fridge into entirely new dishes for me and my mom to enjoy. That container of takeout rice that’s slowly losing moisture each day? Add some coconut milk and warm spices, and it can become a luxurious rice pudding. Chili that’s been sitting in the freezer for more months than you can remember? Some mashed potatoes and vegetables can turn it into a hearty vegetarian shepherd’s pie.
The big question here is: why is rescuing leftovers important? Aside from being a fun way to develop creative cooking skills, we in America waste between 30-40% of our food supply which is way too much food waste! That means that not only the food itself is wasted, but the time, labor, and energy that went into growing that food is wasted as well, from the gas used to power tractors to the copious amounts of water needed for agriculture (especially meat and dairy products). Some of this is not on the consumer end; food spoils during transport, is damaged during processing, and gets thrown out by grocery stores if it is blemished. But we can significantly contribute to decreasing food waste by being intentional about what we buy and in what quantities.
And this is where Level Up Your Leftovers comes in. This series aims to be a fun way for readers to submit images and/or descriptions of their leftovers, and in return to receive a personalized recipe to utilize said leftovers! No fridge is too empty or full; what matters is that you can find new ways to use foods that otherwise would be thrown away.
Submitting your leftovers is incredibly easy and takes less than five minutes! Fill out this form, and the next post could feature a recipe designed for you! So, whether you want to reduce your food waste, learn new recipes with old ingredients, or just try and stump me (Naomi) due to whatever personal vendettas you may have (hopefully none!) submit to Level Up Your Leftovers! Looking forward to seeing your submissions.
