Eatin' vegan

[Guest guest]

ENLARGE

Brian Igarta cooks up a plate of soba noodles Thursday in his mobile vegan kitchen on Stephens Street near Northeast Winchester Street in Roseburg.

ROBIN LOZNAK/The News-Review

 

 

 

 

ENLARGE

 

A plate of spicy soba noodles and oriental shumai dumplings demonstrate the sort of fare cooked up by Igarta. The food is almost wholly vegan, meaning most animal-derived products (butter, eggs) are not used.

ROBIN LOZNAK/The News-Review

 

 

 

 

ENLARGE

 

Brian Igarta, his wife, Crystal DuBoyce, and their daughter Skye, 7, stand outside their mobile vegan kitchen parked along Northeast Stephens Street in Roseburg.

ROBIN LOZNAK/The News-Review

Brian Igarta’s dumplings are spicy bite-sized wonton wrappers filled with bulgur wheat, finely chopped water chestnuts, carrots and cabbage, and adorned with ponzu sauce over buckwheat noodles — and that’s an appetizer. Chicken doesn’t dance with these dumplings. Nor does the yard bird tango with any other menu items at The Maui Vegetarian. Neither does beef. Or pork. Or fish. Or any animal products, for that matter. Nearly strictly vegan, The Maui Vegetarian packs flavorful wallops in its cuisine with basic and limited ingredients. And though a vegan take-out cart in Roseburg might seem as askew as a jambalaya shop on Jackson Street, its lunch offerings are the flipside to the fatty and grease-filled meals that fill our lives.“We try to encourage people to live healthier through their lifestyles,†said Crystal DuBoyce, Igarta’s wife of eight years. In the white trailer

near the top of the hill along Northeast Stephens Street, Brian and Crystal, including their 7-year-old daughter, Skye DuBoyce, serve food that can trim the waistlines and stretch the minds of Roseburg. “You can eat as much as you want without feeling guilty,†Brian said, also conceding, however, that vegan food can be a tough sell to the uninitiated. “A lot of people are unsure and they don’t know what it is and they don’t want to try it.â€To be vegan is to take vegetarianism one step further. Veganism forgoes dairy products, seafood, eggs and any food that might include a derivative of animal products, such as butter. However, Crystal said they use a little bit of honey in their cooking. To not do so would be strictly vegan. Veganism also excludes leather and other animal products for clothing and other uses, but Crystal said she and her husband haven’t ruled out leather themselves. “We always

have a hard time describing it, because it’s our lifestyle,†she said. Brian and Crystal are from Maui and Oahu, Hawaii, respectively. Together, they have eaten vegan for about seven years.On their Web site, www.themauivegetarian.com, Brian is described as a former “ovo-lacto vegetarian†who subsisted “mainly on potato chips, beer and pasta for 10 years until he met his wife.†Brian and Crystal say they left Hawaii to live a more rural life. They now live in Myrtle Creek after a brief transition in Portland and have been on a “continual faith walk†since leaving their home, Brian said. But it was in Portland where the couple found their mobile kitchen, a trailer for sale that was previously used to grill hamburgers and sausages. The Maui Vegetarian trailer is parked in front of Blue Mountain Computers at 715

N.E. Stephens St., the parking lot where it opened for business Oct. 6.Brian and Crystal say their food is largely cholesterol-free and consists mainly of whole grains and organic foods. Meal prices range between $5 and $6. Crystal added that they use soy sparingly as a substitute for dairy, and prefer nut seeds, beans and legumes in its place. Instead of butter, The Maui Vegetarian cooks with olive oil, sesame oil, grape seed oil, coconut oil and palm oil. The Maui Vegetarian’s artichoke dip, which Crystal calls their “signature recipe,†comes with garlic-toasted bread that is slathered in olive oil. The dip itself consists of artichokes, onions, red peppers and green chiles in a creamy garlic cashew sauce.Garlic is “the main flavorizer†of The Maui Vegetarian’s dishes, Crystal said, and it’s served in balanced proportions with other ingredients. Salads, soups and stews are also available at

The Maui Vegetarian, as well as burgers made with whole grains and sunflower seeds or grilled mushrooms and millet. The Maui Vegetarian is open for lunch and early dinner from 11 a.m. to about 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, call (808) 264-5959. Also available at The Maui Vegetarian is the cookbook “The Maui Vegetarian Cooking with Aloha,†which Brian and Crystal penned together. Filled with vibrant photographs, the cookbook is available on the Web site and also at Borders bookstores. Brian said if it can’t be found on the chain store’s shelf, Borders can order it.

The “Maui Vegetarian Cooking with Aloha†book is an easy introduction to vegetarian and vegan cooking, the couple say, and retails for $18.95. It has sold about 8,000 copies since they first self-published it about two years ago, Brian said. “I think more people are trying to be more health-conscious,†Crystal said. • You can reach reporter Adam Pearson at 957-4213 or by e-mail at apearson.

 

Peter vvSend instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.

[Guest guest]

Only in Oregon...an article about vegans that isn't

derisive!

 

So the next step is replacing those junk trucks that go around to

job sites and biz parks with a vegan fast-food version. The only

problem is that wholesome food costs more than junk.

 

But then again, I read about a business in Oakland, Calif., that

delivered a basket of fruit (daily or weekly?) to workplaces to

provide people with a convenient way to choose healthy food over

junk.

 

At 11:51 AM +0000 10/19/08, Peter VV wrote:

 

 

ENLARGE

Brian Igarta cooks up a plate of soba noodles Thursday in his

mobile vegan kitchen on Stephens Street near Northeast Winchester

Street in Roseburg.

ROBIN LOZNAK/The News-Review

 

 

ENLARGE

A plate of spicy soba noodles and oriental shumai dumplings

demonstrate the sort of fare cooked up by Igarta. The food is almost

wholly vegan, meaning most animal-derived products (butter, eggs) are

not used.

ROBIN LOZNAK/The News-Review

 

 

 

ENLARGE

Brian Igarta, his wife, Crystal DuBoyce, and their daughter Skye,

7, stand outside their mobile vegan kitchen parked along Northeast

Stephens Street in Roseburg.

ROBIN LOZNAK/The News-Review

 

Brian Igarta's dumplings are spicy bite-sized wonton wrappers

filled with bulgur wheat, finely chopped water chestnuts, carrots and

cabbage, and adorned with ponzu sauce over buckwheat noodles - and

that's an appetizer.

 

Chicken doesn't dance with these dumplings. Nor does the yard bird

tango with any other menu items at The Maui Vegetarian.

 

Neither does beef. Or pork. Or fish. Or any animal products, for that

matter.

 

Nearly strictly vegan, The Maui Vegetarian packs flavorful wallops in

its cuisine with basic and limited ingredients. And though a vegan

take-out cart in Roseburg might seem as askew as a jambalaya shop on

Jackson Street, its lunch offerings are the flipside to the fatty and

grease-filled meals that fill our lives.

 

"We try to encourage people to live healthier through their

lifestyles," said Crystal DuBoyce, Igarta's wife of eight

years.

 

In the white trailer near the top of the hill along Northeast Stephens

Street, Brian and Crystal, including their 7-year-old daughter, Skye

DuBoyce, serve food that can trim the waistlines and stretch the minds

of Roseburg.

 

"You can eat as much as you want without feeling guilty," Brian

said, also conceding, however, that vegan food can be a tough sell to

the uninitiated. "A lot of people are unsure and they don't know

what it is and they don't want to try it."

 

To be vegan is to take vegetarianism one step further. Veganism

forgoes dairy products, seafood, eggs and any food that might include

a derivative of animal products, such as butter.

 

However, Crystal said they use a little bit of honey in their cooking.

To not do so would be strictly vegan.

 

Veganism also excludes leather and other animal products for clothing

and other uses, but Crystal said she and her husband haven't ruled

out leather themselves.

 

"We always have a hard time describing it, because it's our

lifestyle," she said.

 

Brian and Crystal are from Maui and Oahu, Hawaii, respectively.

Together, they have eaten vegan for about seven years.

 

On their Web site, www.themauivegetarian.com, Brian is described as a former "ovo-lacto vegetarian" who

subsisted "mainly on potato chips, beer and pasta for 10 years until

he met his wife."

 

Brian and Crystal say they left Hawaii to live a more rural life. They

now live in Myrtle Creek after a brief transition in Portland and have

been on a "continual faith walk" since leaving their home, Brian

said.

 

But it was in Portland where the couple found their mobile kitchen, a

trailer for sale that was previously used to grill hamburgers and

sausages.

 

The Maui Vegetarian trailer is parked in front of Blue Mountain

Computers at 715 N.E. Stephens St., the parking lot where it opened

for business Oct. 6.

 

Brian and Crystal say their food is largely cholesterol-free and

consists mainly of whole grains and organic foods. Meal prices range

between $5 and $6.

 

Crystal added that they use soy sparingly as a substitute for dairy,

and prefer nut seeds, beans and legumes in its place.

 

Instead of butter, The Maui Vegetarian cooks with olive oil, sesame

oil, grape seed oil, coconut oil and palm oil.

 

The Maui Vegetarian's artichoke dip, which Crystal calls their

"signature recipe," comes with garlic-toasted bread that is

slathered in olive oil. The dip itself consists of artichokes, onions,

red peppers and green chiles in a creamy garlic cashew sauce.

 

Garlic is "the main flavorizer" of The Maui Vegetarian's dishes,

Crystal said, and it's served in balanced proportions with other

ingredients.

 

Salads, soups and stews are also available at The Maui Vegetarian, as

well as burgers made with whole grains and sunflower seeds or grilled

mushrooms and millet.

 

The Maui Vegetarian is open for lunch and early dinner from 11 a.m. to

about 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, call (808)

264-5959.

 

Also available at The Maui Vegetarian is the cookbook "The Maui

Vegetarian Cooking with Aloha," which Brian and Crystal penned

together. Filled with vibrant photographs, the cookbook is available

on the Web site and also at Borders bookstores. Brian said if it

can't be found on the chain store's shelf, Borders can order it.

 

 

The "Maui Vegetarian Cooking with Aloha" book is an easy

introduction to vegetarian and vegan cooking, the couple say, and

retails for $18.95. It has sold about 8,000 copies since they first

self-published it about two years ago, Brian said.

 

"I think more people are trying to be more health-conscious,"

Crystal said.

 

 

 

* You can reach reporter Adam Pearson at 957-4213 or by e-mail at apearson.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peter vv

 

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