miss rachel's pantry

boy have i been spoiled! i've attended not one but two vegan feasts! first let me tell you about the pop-up cafe with miss rachel's pantry on sunday. the theme was moroccan and the food so homey and flavorful. check out this menu!

Coriander spiced seitan kebobs with apricot glaze

Baked eggplant steaks with kale and lentil stuffing (GF)

Moroccan carrot salad with raisins, garlic and cilantro (GF)

Chickpea and potato tanjine with pickled lemon (GF)

Israeli couscous with parsley and mint

Jasmine rice with saffron (GF)

Agave and cinnamon oranges with mint (GF)

everything was so delicious, we all cleared our plates - twice! i'd especially like to recreate her lentil stuffed eggplant and carrot salad. miss rachel adds dates to her carrot salad. yum yum!

(isn't this tea kettle so pretty? is that how they got the term "tea light candle"?)

not only will miss rachel's pantry bring her pop-up cafe to your home or event, she offers weekly lunch club deliveries on wednesdays in philadelphia east and west of broad street, at temple university and university city.

miss rachel was a lovely, gentle hostess. she and i interacted throughout the get-together and she was just so sweet that i wanted to know more about her and introduce her to you all. so here's miss rachel and a q&a she and i did via email.

miss rachel

1) how long have you been whipping up vegan food? can you tell us a little about how miss rachel's pantry began? 

Miss Rachel's Pantry began at the end of 2007. It spurred from a love of cooking and a lack of vegetarian and vegan options in the city. (Back then, I did vegan and vegetarian cooking, but when I became vegan, so did the company.) I started by cooking for people in their homes and also selling snacks and sandwiches at punk shows. 

2) can you tell us more about the "pop-in cafe"?

Sure! We're opening a space in about a month for both catering and in-house events. We'll have a long farmhouse style table with seating for up to 14. You can reserve the table for the evening and your guests will enjoy a multi-course dinner. And a few nights a month, we'll offer a reservation-only tasting menu that's open to the public. 

3) if you could describe your food in two words, what would they be? 

Hearty and homestyle

4) do you have other passions besides vegan cooking? 

I'm a cat lady!

5) if you could eat only three foods for the rest of you life, what would they be? 

Mangoes, spaghetti and tacos (hard shell) 

miss rachel's pantry gets two paws up!=)

visit miss rachel on the web here. 

cat photo source.

coming soon: american vegan society spring celebration dinner photos

(ps - i'm thinking of fostering kittens! eeee!=)