Baltimore Farmers' Market Haul

Here is a photo from my latest farmers' market haul, fresh produce from the Baltimore Farmers' Market & Bazaar. The market happens downtown at Holliday & Saratoga, directly beneath the Jones Falls Expressway, on Sundays from 7am to noon. Included here are strawberries, onions, asparagus, mustard greens, collards, kale, sweet potatoes, apples, button mushrooms, and garlic. Not photographed is the delicious vegan whoopie pie that I scarfed down in the street. I'll endeavor to photo my Dirty Carrots score next trip. Dirty Carrots is great local vegan bakery with sweets available at the market and around town.

Pita sandwiches at Kyro Pizza

Kyro Pizza, at 900 Cathedral Street, is another veg-friendly Baltimore restaurant, close to my new digs. They are best known for their brick oven pizza, including a trademark falafel-topped pizza. However this visit we tried the sandwich offerings.  

The sandwiches at Kyro Pizza are freshly prepared on thick pita bread, which makes them filling and easy to handle. Pictured here are the Ismailia, a falafel and tomato sandwich, and the sauteed vegetable sandwich (sans cheese). They were both tasty--the falafel was garlicky and the veggie sandwich included onions, squash, and mushrooms that were expertly sauteed in olive oil. We had sides of fries, salads, ketchup, and tahini sauce. I also ordered a mango juice that was painfully sweet.  (I think there was corn syrup involved.)    

We dined-in but they seem to do a brisk take-out business. The seating area is relaxed with booths and tables. It looks like they now have outdoor seating. They are also BYOB and cheerfully advertise "no corkage fee."  

Eating vegan at Meet 27

I've recently moved to Baltimore and have decided to start blogging about my culinary adventures in Charm City. This weekend my boyfriend and I ate at Meet 27 on the corner of 27th and N Howard St. Who'd have thought that a place called "Meet" could be vegan-friendly? Thankfully, it's listed in VegBaltimore's excellent guide. And veg-friendly proved to be the case--with welcoming, knowledgeable, and attentive service and some tasty vegan offerings on the menu.

The food at Meet 27 is a fusion of South Asian, Caribbean, and American cuisines. Pictured here is the chili paneer/tofu (sans paneer, of course). We also tried the veggie platter, a bata vada appetizer, and the house salad. The app was the winner; the cooks really know how to fry to perfection. However, all the food was inventive and fresh.

Potato Broccoli Soup

Had dental work done today, so no hard chewing allowed. My boyfriend pureed up some potato broccoli soup and we had soft brussels instead of rough salads. The soup was good, greener in person than in the photo. Lots of fresh thyme.

Queen of Sheba

Here is a lunch photo from Queen of Sheba at 1503 9th Street, Washington, DC. It is a veggie platter with misir wot (spicy lentils), atkilt (with cabbage and carrots but sadly no potatoes), collards, tomato and peanut butter fitfit (crazy, filling injera salad), and green beans. The alcohol, caffeine, gluten, and sugar cleanse I started this month is almost over. I'm glad I got some Ethiopian food into the mix.

Black bean burritos

Here are black beans (with garlic, onion, tomatoes, brown rice, and squashes) and corn tortillas. We ate these burritos with my cousin who is just returned home from a long stay in England. She confessed that Mexican food is hard to find over there. Although I'm not sure if this counts as Mexican food. More like hippie Tex-Mex.

Garlic stir-fry

This is a garlic stir-fry with tofu, fresh chives from PA, and fresh broccoli from the farmers' market. The baby corns were canned and the snow peas were frozen but not too awful. (Some vegetables freeze better than others. In my opinion, snow peas, green beans, and carrots are especially not at their best frozen.) Brown rice and garlic are great fall comfort foods. And big salads are wonderful year round.