Welcome to “The Best Vegan Thing I Ever Ate”! This Monthly feature on GirlieGirl Army is inspired by a show on the Food Network where “famous” chefs are interviewed about their favorite foods, including where to get it and in some cases, how to make it. In this feature, Kathryn Hostettler will be interviewing awesome and influential vegans each month about their absolute favorite vegan dishes;
Melisser Elliott is one of my favorite vegan vixens of all time. A few years ago, I was in the midst of yet another existential crisis and emailed her to ask for some advice about how to parlay my passion for animals into something creative, useful, and interesting. She wrote back right away, and very generously and patiently answered all of my questions. Turns out I couldn’t have asked a better person since turning her passion for animals into something amazing happens to be her specialty.
As a result Melisser has created a creative, tasty, informative and totally kick- ass empire, all while continuing to participate in grass-roots animal right efforts. She is the mastermind behind various projects including two websites, multiple award-winning The Urban Housewife, where she shares her culinary adventures from vegan dining around the world to the sweets baked in her own kitchen, and the newly launched Cruelty-Free Face, a site for information on the often confusing world of cruelty-free cosmetics. Melisser was a professional makeup artist for a decade so she knows the industry inside out. As if running two websites isn’t enough, she is the founder of Sugar Beat Sweets, a wholesale vegan in San Francisco bakery (a storefront is in the works)and has written a new book titled, The Vegan Girl’s Guide to Life: Cruelty-Free Crafts, Recipes, Beauty Secrets and More, coming this fall. Follow the link to pre-order now.
Previously based in San Francisco, Melisser, her husband, Ryan, rescued Chihuahua, Strummer and two kitties, Beamish and Scurvy, are packing up and relocating to Vienna, Austria. She will still be hard at work on all of her current projects while reporting on how her vegan travels and findings all over Europe.
I spoke with her recently about all things Melisser and the Best Vegan Thing she’s ever eaten, a giant sundae from GirlieGirl Army favorite, Lula’s Sweet Apothecary.
KH: Tell me about your journey to veganism.
ME: I came to veganism as a long time animal lover and vegetarian, having grown up with a million pets in my home. I made the connection about what was on my plate at age 13, much to the chagrin of my parents. As a vegetarian and a baker, I started reading a lot of blogs and found myself especially enjoying vegan blogs, leading me to do more research about veganism. Since animal rights was the backbone of my vegetarianism, I knew I had to go vegan once I knew about the suffering of sentient beings.
KH: Tell me about your amazing website, The Urban Housewife. What was your inspiration?
ME: I started The Urban Housewife about 3 years ago as a way to share my baking experiments. At the time, I was reading blogs like Bake and Destroy, Cupcake Bakeshop, and wanted to join in the fun. When picking a name, I was trying to come up with something that would represent my life as a city gal, but also a baker, hence The Urban Housewife. I didn’t think much of it, I just thought it was a fun hobby, but it developed into so much more!
KH: What will become of the Sugar Beat Sweets while you are in Vienna?
ME: The bakery is still alive and kicking! We’re hoping our retail space will be done by the end of this year. What many people don’t realize is Sugar Beat Sweets is a vegan women owned and operated collective, so I’m not the only one elbow deep in flour these days. I’ll be running the PR from Vienna, while the other ladies are baking!
KH: I am so excited for your new book, The Vegan Girl’s Guide to Life: Cruelty-Free Crafts, Recipes, Beauty Secrets and More! Can you share a sneak peek recipe or craft idea from the book with the readers?
ME: Sure! Here is a great stew for cool fall and winters nights…which are coming soon, right??
Chipotle Hominy Stew
This warmly spiced Mexican stew gets a bit of zip from the chipotle peppers, and is full of chewy hominy and beans with a kick of lime. It’s a great dish to feed to anyone, vegan or not, and can be dressed up with an array of delicious toppings!
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium red onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon epazote or oregano
- 1 to 3 teaspoon adobo sauce from canned chipotles, based on your spice preference
- 1 chipotle chili, finely diced
- 1 (29 ounce) can of prepared hominy, drained and rinsed
- 1 (14 ounce) can of pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (28 ounce) can of diced tomatoes, preferably in juice
- 28 ounces of water
- Juice of 1 lime, 3 to 4 tablespoons
Garnish options:
- Chopped cilantro
- Radishes, thinly sliced
- Diced avocado
- Shredded lettuce
- Crushed tortilla chips
- Non-dairy sour cream
In a 5-quart saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook 3 to 5 minutes, or until translucent. Add the garlic, cook for 2 minutes, then add salt, pepper, cumin, epazote, chipotle in adobo, and diced chipotle. Stir to combine. Add the pinto beans and hominy, and then add the can of diced tomatoes. Fill the can with water, add it to the pot, and stir to combine. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, partially covered. After 10 minutes, add the lime juice. Allow the stew to sit for 5 to 10 minutes to combine the flavors. Taste for seasoning, then divide among soup bowls and garnish as desired.
KH: What’s happening with Cruelty-Free Face? Can you share what’s coming up?
ME: I will report on what makeup companies are up to and also what’s suitable for vegans. In the future, I will have special giveaways, keep adding information on vegan companies, add more NCLA Beauty – 100% Vegan makeup tutorials, and I’m embarking on a quest for the best vegan mascara!
KH: Your dog, Strummer, is ridiculously cute! Do you want to share her rescue story?
ME: I would love to! On the day before Fathers Day in 2008, my husband and I were taking a walk to our co-op, partaking in our usual routine of fawning over every dog we see. As we approached two men and a tiny chihuahua, I couldn’t help but comment on how adorable this pint sized puppy was! Next thing I know, I am being told to take the dog, as they didn’t want it and claimed to have found it on the sidewalk. Not one to leave an animal behind, we walked away with a shivering, flea-ridden, hungry 1.5 lb puppy. Over the next few weeks, we checked the area for lost dog signs, posted and read ads on Craigslist, but no one claimed the little one, so we acquired a dog! It’s one of the best things that has happened to me. She is my love!
KH: So let’s talk food, shall we? What the Best Vegan Thing you have ever eaten?
ME: It has to be a massive vegan ice cream sundae with the works at Lula’s Sweet Apothecary in New York City! I’ve had many incarnations of this, but my favorites include anything with caramel, toffee, marshmallows or better yet, all three! I’m a baker, so I know my way around sweets, but ice cream always wins for my favorite indulgence. This vegan owned and operated shop is not only adorable, but my daily dessert spot when I’m in NYC! I always finish a trip to NYC by sitting in Lula’s to enjoy a sundae, then I hop in a cab and head to the airport!
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KH: I am a huge fan of Lula’s Sweet Apothecary and on a recent visit had some PB&J ice cream that was divine! If you visit NYC, you must go! I caught up with co-founder, Blythe Boyd and asked her how Lula’s came to be and for more information on the shop.
BB: [Co-founder] Derek [Hackett] has a background in computer programming and I have one in biology. We both realized we didn’t want to work for someone else and that we wanted to work at something we believed in. As long-time vegans, this meant doing something related to veganism. We moved from New York to Philadelphia and started a vegan lunch truck, but soon knew we wanted to head back to New York. New York is home to so many extraordinary vegan businesses, so we wanted to make sure we did something original. Eventually, we came up with the idea of an old-fashioned, turn-of-the-century soda fountain where we made all of the frozen desserts in-house and served up vegan versions of the classics – sundaes, splits, floats, egg creams and so on – and Lula’s Sweet Apothecary was born!
It surprises people to learn that neither of us have a culinary background. When we came up with the idea, we initially planned to use vegan ice cream from another company. After more thought, we decided we should make our own – this would also allow us to make flavors that we dreamed of and that no other vegan company made (i.e., cake batter). We literally taught ourselves using a home ice cream maker.
KH: You are true artisans as everything at Lula’s is homemade, right?
BB: Yes, we handcraft all of our desserts on the premises in small batches. While this limits the hours we can open to the public, the trade-off is that the batches are fresh, literally made the day before. It also allows for a lot of creativity in the kitchen, which is why we can create so many different flavors. In addition, it means we don’t have to use a lot of unnecessary ingredients to keep the product stable – most flavors have fewer than five ingredients. It’s funny to watch people marvel at the fact that the strawberry tastes like strawberry and the banana tastes like banana – that’s because we use real fruit and not the flavorings that many palates have become accustomed to. We also make many of our toppings, sauces and ice cream ingredients. Our goal is to make as many of them as possible in-house – these include peanut brittle, peanut butter cups, toffee, caramel and brownies. Some of our most popular flavors include Cake Batter soft serve, Drumstick, Peanut Butter Fudge, Caramel Marshmallow Graham Cracker and Toffee Crunch. We proudly use Sweet & Sara marshmallows and graham crackers for flavors such as Rocky Road, Caramel Marshmallow Graham Cracker and S’mores.
KH: I know you are also committed to green principles, another reason I encourage readers to support your business.
BB: Along with being a vegan business, it’s important for us to incorporate eco-friendly practices in our work. For example, we only use natural ingredients and we source organic and local ingredients whenever possible. We use real glassware and silverware (even stainless steel straws) for those who enjoy their desserts to stay, while all of our to-go ware is compostable. We separate and dispose of everything appropriately – compost, recycling and trash. We use eco-friendly light bulbs, cruelty-free cleaning products and unbleached paper towels and napkins. Also, a lot of the shop is built with recycled and refurbished items. We are always looking for ways to improve our green practices. We strongly feel like being eco-conscious is an extension of the vegan lifestyle.
KH: I realize that Lula’s recipes are all proprietary. Do you have a recipe for an ice cream that the home cook could make?
BB: We make most of our frozen desserts using our house-made cashew milk – this requires special equipment and a lot of time and trial and error to get the consistency just right. You can still make a delicious, creamy non-dairy ice cream using basic equipment and without all the time and labor. To do this, try the no-fail recipe below which uses coconut milk as the base. Coconut has plenty of natural fat which guarantees a creamy, smooth result. All you need is a blender and an ice cream maker.
Coconut Milk Ice Cream Base
Makes about 1 quart (2 pints)
Ingredients
- 3 cups of coconut milk
- 3/4 cups of organic evaporated cane juice (or equivalent sweetener of your choice)
- 1-2 cups of your favorite mix-in (i.e., chocolate sauce, fruit, chocolate chips, coconut flakes, cookies, etc.) – Optional
- Extract or flavoring of your choice, added to taste (i.e., mint, vanilla, etc.) – Optional
Directions
1-Blend all ingredients until smooth.
2-Place blended ingredients in refrigerator to chill (about 2 hours).
3-Pour chilled mixture into ice cream maker.
4-Follow manufacturer’s instructions.
5-By hand, add your favorite mix-in and/or extract.
6-Place in freezer and allow to freeze until solid.
7-Scoop and enjoy!
Essential Information
Lula’s Sweet Apothecary: Formulator & Dispenser of Frozen Confections
516 East 6th Street, East Store (between Avenues A & B)
New York, NY 10009
646.481.5852
Hours of Operation: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday: 3:00pm-10:00pm
Thursday, Friday & Saturday: 3:00pm-11:30pm
And if you tell them GIRLIEGIRL ARMY SENT YOU.. you’ll usually get a free topping or some extra lovin’!
Kathryn Hostettler is a full time social work graduate student, pet nanny, animal advocate, and vegan ice cream lover. She volunteers for Rogers’ Rescues, a virtual dog rescue group located in NJ and PA.