Jo Jo Potatoes for Brunch

I saw this recipe on Somer’s Vedged Out blog and the photo looked so much like Elk Creek Café’s Crispy Potatoes that I am obsessed with replicating. I left a comment for Somer that I was certainly trying them for Sunday brunch and I did! They are the closest thing to my dear Crispy Potatoes that I have made in my own kitchen.

Somer’s recipe is called Truck Stop Jo Jo Potatoes with Vegan Ranch Dressing and I made both recipes. Go on out to her blog and read the whole story and comments that follow. It makes the recipe all the more special.

I will note that of the options she mentioned I used the tapioca starch and the mixture of sea salt and celery seeds (grinding the latter with my mortar and pestle) for the potatoes. I don’t know if it made much difference but I used coconut milk for the ranch and the option of soaking the cashews and the whole thing separated a bit upon sitting.

Coated with seasoning, ready to bake but DO NOT do it on foil like I did.

The flavors were great and, upon realizing I might be getting closer to perfecting Crispy Potatoes, I researched other Jo Jo Potato recipes. Being from the east coast and having never heard of them before, I suspect that might be the key. I did find one based on a Cook’s Country recipe at Jenn’s Food Journey but didn’t like the sound of the panko bread crumbs nor parmesan cheese because that would make them less like what I was trying for.

Somer’s recipe turned out pretty darn close and in some ways even better. I love the seasoning in both the potatoes and ranch dressing. I really liked the tip both blogs shared about pre-heating the pan and did that but I was really stupid and foil lined my pan – DUH! When I went to turn the potatoes half way, I found it was a big mistake.

All was not lost, we unstuck the potatoes and enjoyed a brunch with some super yummy Jo Jo Potatoes in our own kitchen.

Breaking Fast, Vegan Style

November has been packed full for me, allowing little time to post the wonderful recipes I have tried, restaurants I have visited and many other good things related to being a vegetarian in Pennsyltucky. I have an nice backlog of photos, stories and even a plant-based milk taste test I have yet to post.

One thing taking up my time has been training for the local Nittany Valley Half-Marathon, now just 2 weeks away. With my plantar fasciitis still under control, I was able to trot out a very speedy 13 miles in Poe Valley last weekend (see video below). This allowed me to blow off a lot of the local stresses of the Penn State scandals and reward myself with some carbs at Elk Creek Cafe after a quick healing ice bath.

Since then, we have again been unsuccessful in trying to cook our own Crispy Potatoes at home. That was tolerable since we had enjoyed multiple servings of wonderful vegan food the day before while attending a fund raiser at the Pancake Barkfast and then visiting with many members of the Green Street Vegetarian Club at Broad Street Market and Espresso Yourself Cafe.

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The weekend before that, I didn’t get to photograph any of our trip to NYC to see Arron perform at New York City Center. His performance in Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room was well reviewed in the New York Times here (read the second to last sentence). We saw the closing night performance which was so amazing that we all went to celebrate with some tasty food across from the stage door at Topaz Thai. Lunch had been at Jekyll & Hyde Club prior to the ballet and I reviewed it in detail a few years ago here.

Here comes Thanksgiving week and another trip to NYC is planned! This road trip will include hearing vegan/ artist Dan Piraro speak at The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art. I know Jim is excited for this and then the highlight of getting to visit with Arron & Amy. Maybe even a trip to Terri is in store. Life is crazy busy and very good.

Crispy Potatoes²

It must have been some time in early September that I made a deal with myself that if I could build back to running 15k or 10 m that I would order myself a double helping of Crispy Potatoes from Elk Creek Cafe.

5 miles = one order of Crispy Potatoes

On and off for over a year and a half I had been struggling with plantar fasciitis. June of this year, after running poorly in a 10k race, it became enough of a problem that it was impacting my normal daily activities like walking uphill or carrying heavy loads. In August, I started physical therapy for it and slowly started running again around the same time.

A couple of weeks into September I was back up to 8k (5.4 miles) with no foot pain at all. I celebrated that victory with one order of Crispy Potatoes and hoped to keep working toward my goal.

Last spring I had been able to gimp out a painful ten miles from Sand Mountain Road to the tunnel past Poe Paddy State Park. It wasn’t pretty, nor fast but I am never really all that fast so I felt it was fine. Late May, I ran a 10 miler out in Poe Valley. I finished in 1:43 and my pace was an average of 10:22/mile. I was pretty pleased, except for the pain. I was stupid to put up with it and not do anything about it for so long but I didn’t want to have to stop running to heal. That is what I had to do in the end.

Last week found me in a pretty good place. I had chased away quite a few inner demons, finally got a good night’s sleep, ate a decent sized meal and my foot was still cooperating. I set out to tackle about 8 miles or 13 k. I finished slow but strong on a really windy but beautiful day. I ran through Spring Creek Canyon and finished well at the commuter lot at the top of a long hill on Shilo Road.

This past week, I thought about all of the hills I tackled over those 13k and I realized that adding 10% distance would allow me to reach 15k on my next long run. I chose Poe Valley route today for my first 10 miler since May 22.

Jim and a Mango Mimosa

The day was quite similar; sunny, cool and beautiful. The biggest difference was no pain. I ran strong on the downhills and saw that even on my uphill miles I was still averaging just a hair over a 10 minute mile. I have no GPS and my iPod is really just an estimate of my average pace/footfalls. I went mostly by the time on my watch and the awesome chalk mile markers my dearest love left for me the whole course.

Jim drove the whole way to Poe Paddy, marking the miles in chalk, dropping a water bottle for me at 10K, parked then got his run in by timing it to meet me about half the distance he planned to run. We met up soon after mile 8 for me, it was about 2 miles for him.

I was running really well at that point and knew I had dipped below a 10 minute mile (even with a 57 second dart into the thicket to… well, you know). I was pleased to have no pain the entire run and finished at the 10 mile mark in 1:36:02, an average pace of 9:36 mm.

10 miles = double order of Crispy Potatoes

The next thing I thought of was how I had finally earned my double order of Elk Creek Cafe’s Crispy Potatoes! I took my change of clothes, soapy wash cloth and towel into the cold rest room at Poe Paddy and changed as quickly as I could.

It was past noon by the time we rolled into Millheim and were shocked to see the old Millheim Hotel’s porch and balcony had been taken down! No balcony party tonight and we bee-lined it to Elk Creek anyway. Going late has the disadvantage of some of the best menu items are already gone but, thank the goddess, they never seem to run out of Crispy Potatoes!

I was hoping for a Mango Mimosa but the double order of potatoes was my victory treat. Did I eat them all? I had help – thank you Jim, for helping me with and supporting me in everything I do.

Crispy Potatoes = bliss

Late Summer Food Reviews

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We had the great fortune to enjoy many meals with our family this summer. Of the places we dined out, I am sharing a few food reviews from My Thai and
Home Delivery Pizza and Otto’s Pub and Brewery in State College, J.P. Edward’s Bar and Grill in Burnham and a brunch at Elk Creek Cafe in Millheim.
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My Thai
I have had mixed luck with service at My Thai as I blogged in the past. This past visit was a good one and we all shared some Drunken Noodles, Pad Thai, Veggie Spring Rolls, Thai Basil Tofu and Red Curry Tofu. My favorite is to mix the Red Curry over the Pad Thai. The Vegetable Spring Rolls (Poh Pia Tod) aren’t bad either.
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Home Delivery Pizza
Thanks to our cat being featured in PAWSitivly Pets Magazine, he scored us a gift certificate to Home D. We all enjoyed different salads, at least 5 big entrée sized salads for vegetarians, but I can’t say any of them were outstanding. We filled up on Mediterranean, Milan Pasta and Portabella Grill salads along with fresh iced teas as a huge storm blew through the area.
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Otto’s Pub and Brewery
Oh Otto’s, I really like you but your food just isn’t something I can count on anymore. Is it the difference between the departure of your talented Chef Tim and the arrival of your friendly Chef Pete? I know you have a some salads and pastas but now even your soups that sound vegetarian (Cream of Corn) will frequently have animal stock in them. As a Pub Club member, it really stung to have the message “A Vegetarian Alternative will not be available” tacked onto the Oktoberfest Pub Club dinner. Fifty bucks for beer, Cucumber Salad and Apple Crisp? I guess I will just go back to having folks poke at me that I am not a “real” Pub Club member since I don’t go to the events.

Your Baba Ganoush and Pita Points the other night were fun but a little skimpy even as an appetizer and your Tomato Bruschetta was the sorriest we had been served in town. It was twice the price and half the portion that Luna 2 offers.

Thanks for finally bringing back vegetable of the day and thank you for using local farmers. Thank you so much for, grudgingly, listening to your customers and bringing back the Nachos with melted shredded cheese as opposed to cheese sauce. Thank you also for keeping the Cheese Quesadilla but we really miss the Black Bean Ragout we used to be able to get with both.

Other things we really miss were the Helles Batter Dipped Tofu, Hummus Platter, Asian Slaw and the never ending list of vegetarian soup specials (AND chili). Even the Kimchi Soup that we joked tasted like Mrs. Weasley’s wand broke when making it was a welcome meal.

Lovin’ your beers Otto’s but lately your vegetarian options… not so much.
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J.P. Edward’s Bar and Grill
After cruising the Belleville Farmers Market this past Wednesday, we stopped in Burnham to have lunch at J.P. Edward’s. It is a rare occasion when we stop and there isn’t an aggressive-looking element to at least one table full of patrons. I refused to allow my Mom nor Daughter-in-law to go the bathroom by themselves because this restaurant draws in an element that seems to be looking for a barroom confrontation by the slogans on their t-shirts and slanderous conversations. It’s surprising because it’s a big, open and friendly looking place with more than the normal vegetarian options, a nice outdoor area and free Wi-Fi.

The big Greek Salad has a surprising portion of mild potato salad secreted at the bottom. I have gotten it a few times and it fills me up before I get tot the potato salad!

They have Vegetable Fajitas (also huge) that says it comes with rice (mine didn’t). The veggies are served on a hot griddle flavored with a garlic ginger sauce. It’s strange they would flavor these fajitas with an oddly friendly Asian theme since a good number of their customers give any ethnically diverse patrons the hairy eyeball.

I think we are going to have to pass on this place from now on. Between the feeling like a fight might break out, having to look at pro Hegin’s Pigeon Shoot t-shirts and the fact the place has a veal sandwich, I am going to have to look harder to find a Mifflin County restaurant that fits my BiNaH criteria to review.
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Elk Creek Cafe
I think you can see where this is going; I saved the best for last. If you haven’t yet read either of my reviews of Elk Creek Cafe, you can find the good review here and the better review here. If you haven’t visited Elk Creek Cafe yet, put it on your bucket list.

Some of my favorite Sunday plans have included filling up on their brunch foods after a nice long run through Poe Valley. My plantar fasciitis has limited my running distances lately but, thankfully, not from eating in Millheim. This past Sunday was just delightful.

We all started of with Mango Mimosas and, good golly, I can’t believe I had lived without them for 48 years of my life.

Amy got a thick stack of pancakes and a bowl of Mushroom and Squash Soup that just a taste made my knees go week. Jim and Arron were teased by some old menus that had the tofu scramble on them but settled on some very nice eggs scrambled with local squash.

I chose a Chickpea Spread Sandwich that was blessed by Marty’s Sprouts. I was on my second mimosa when I started mentally composing an ode to Matry’s Sprouts and I think it was the former that made me not remember the poem. I thankfully I remember the multi sized and variously flavored sprouted beans and seeds that made me look like I had happy cat whiskers each time I bit into my thick tasty sandwich – so much fun with food.

I wasn’t kidding when I said I was saving the best for last. I haven’t yet mentioned the Crispy Potatoes! I dream of them. When I mumble and Jim cannot tell what I just said, 60% of the time it has something to do with these potatoes. I have tried to replicate them at home and have failed. They have ruined The Waffle Shop’s home fries for me because they fall so short of Crispy Potato perfection. Someday, when I am able to run 15k again, I am going to return to Elk Creek Cafe and order a double portion of the Crispy Potatoes and that will be bliss.