Penzeys Spices & Vegan Eats World

Penzeys Spices, Tempe Marketplace, Arizona

Penzeys Spices is a national chain with three locations in Arizona; Tempe Marketplace, Paradise Valley Marketplace (Phoenix), and Tucson. They also sell their spices online.

I recently wanted to make Terry Hope Romero's Pistachio Date Quinoa Salad from Vegan Eats World. But I didn't have any sumac. I know the Middle Eastern Bakery in downtown Phoenix carries it, Lee Lee Oriental Supermarket most likely does, but I needed a place in the north east valley. Then I remembered I had seen this little spice shop at the Tempe Marketplace. I called ahead and they stocked several container sizes of the ground up Middle Eastern berry.

Vegan Eats World Cookbook by Terry Hope Romero- 2 very enthusiastic thumbs up!

Penzeys Spices is a cute little shop with a good vibe next door to the Men's Wearhouse. I also noticed they had smoked paprika which I had been looking for previously. I had been using regular paprika as a replacement, but I kinda want to go back and get some smoked paprika. They had both Hungarian style AND Spanish style and I wasn't sure which I wanted to sample.

Anyway, I got the sumac and made the Pistachio Date Quinoa Salad, and I have to say I was impressed with the salad. It has chickpeas, spinach, parsley, onions, ground coriander, fennel and cumin seeds, as well as the sumac and title ingredients. My first thought was this is interesting... because I didn't know how to process the flavorings.

But it's a really nice salad, makes a nice, bold statement. I used about 3 tablespoons rather than the called for 4 to 6 tablespoons. Sumac smells like lemon vinegar, and the flavoring is oddly similar though reported to be less acidic and milder. The salad would be great for potlucks and such when you want to blow people's minds, and because it can be eaten at room temperature.

Anyway, for those of you with some BIG plans for holiday dinners or for those of you talking Terry's global cuisine cookbook, you have a good chance of finding what you need at Penzeys Spices, so give them a try.

 The final product: Pistachio Date Quinoa Salad

Apple Annie's Orchard, Willcox, AZ

Picking chili peppers.



A photo journey.

My sis, bro in law, nephew and I visited Apple Annie's and picked some goodies from the land. We missed the apple picking season by one week, but we got some green beans, chili peppers, jalapenos, poblano peppers, eggplants, and okra. Sunflowers, pumpkins, bell peppers, tomatoes, and squash were also available for picking. We went kind of late in the picking season overall, so I recommend hitting them earlier in October or late September. Picking yourself is optional, all goodies are also offered already picked, but it is fun and cheaper to DIY.

Fuzzy caterpillar dancing to The Ugly Bug Ball song by Burl Ives.

Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Butters (didn't look to see if vegan, but betting so.)

Purty Corns.

Green Beans. My most favorite.

Yellow Eggplants. Not a fan of eggplant, these guys conned me into taking them home anyway.

Apple Trees. (er, I think)

Drying peppers.

Urbanites visitng the Farm. Phone call while picking peppers? No problem!



Gourds



Sunnies.



Pumpkin Patch

Our Harvest Bucket

Products Sampled at Earth Day Phoenix 2011

Here are the store-bought products we sampled at our vegan info booth at Earth Day 2011, as well as tips for locating them.

Vegan 'Meats'





Field Roast:

Lentil Sage Quarter Loaf



Mexican Chipotle Sausage (this is the chorizo like one)

Italian Sausage

Found at Whole Foods and New Frontiers Marketplace (Sedona & Flagstaff).





Gardein:

Beefless Tips

Found at Whole Foods and Frys Marketplace.

Lightlife:

Smart Links Breakfast-Style Sausage

Found at Whole Food, Sprouts Farmers Market, and some Frys Marketplaces.

***

Non-dairy Milks

Living Harvest

Tempt Hemp Milk (shelf stable)

Found at Sprouts and Whole Foods.

 

Pacific

Oat Milk (shelf stable)

Found at Whole Foods and Sprouts.

Blue Diamond Almond Breeze

Sweetened Chocolate Almond Milk (shelf stable)

Vanilla Almond Milk (refrigerated)

Found at Whole Foods and Sprouts.

Silk

Dark Chocolate Pure Almond Milk (refrigerated)

Original Soymilk (refrigerated)

Dark Chocolate- Found at Sprouts. Original- Found at Sprouts, Whole Foods, Frys Marketplace, Walmart, and many other grocers.

So Delicious

Vanilla Coconut Milk (refrigerated)

Found at Sprouts and Whole Foods.

Rice Dream

Horchata (shelf stable)

Found at Sprouts and Whole Foods.

The stores listed are not a comprehensive list of locations where these products are sold, just where I know they are. Check your local grocers, especially Fry's Marketplace, Sunflower Market, Whole Foods, Sprouts, etc. If you cannot find the products you are looking for at a grocer near you, ask them about ordering some in. The more requests they get, the more likely they will be to carry those items.

If you are open to shopping online, you can also buy many of these products from Pangea, Food Fight Vegan Grocery, Cosmo's Vegan Shoppe, and Vegan Essentials.

Stay tuned for the cookie recipes from Earth Day Phoenix 2011.

Veganism 101: Grocery Stores

Here are some of the best vegan-friendly grocery stores in the Phoenix area.

Whole Foods Market
By far, the best overall place to find vegan goods. They even have a dedicated vegan section in their deli area.
[Locations in Chandler, Tempe, Scottsdale, Phoenix, Paradise Valley, and Tucson.]

Sprouts Farmers Market
Good selection of vegan basics and healthier versions of convenience foods.
[Locations throughout the valley.]

Sunflower Farmers Market
I don't usually shop here, but I remember it being like Sprouts.
[Locations in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, and Tucson.]

Trader Joes
Hit and miss, but good vegan stuff. Check out their vegetarian and vegan shopping lists.
[Locations in Ahwatukee, Glendale, Mesa, Paradise Valley, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Surprise, Tempe, and Tucson.]

Fry's Marketplace
Good but incomplete selection of vegan basics, try their natural foods section first.
[Locations all over the valley.]

Lee Lee Oriental Supermarket
Great for all hard to find ethnic ingredients from all over the world. It's worth shopping here for the vegetarian finds, even with the fish smell and the giant fish/meat market.
[Locations in Peoria, Chandler, and Tucson.]


For more veg-friendly stores with herbs, health food, and more, please see:

Happy Cow [dot] net