Post punk cupcake adventures 🧁

Meyer lemon and coconut ones, to be exact.

Hello and welcome back to Five Things I Ate! This week, we make some vegan bakes. Check out past posts here, and please follow my Instagram @fivethingsiate.

Meyer lemon and coconut vegan cupcakes at my apartment

~ Brooklyn ~

Vegan cakes were one of the very first things I baked as a teen. Growing up in a Chinese American household, there was never any butter lying around. One fateful afternoon in the public library (which was where I was basically raised and spent most of my painfully shy and lonely adolescence), I stumbled upon the post-punk vegan movement in the far corner of the cooking aisle, and the rest is history. (As I write this, I realize that I've really ended up exactly where I belong, since I'm now living in Brooklyn, baking cupcakes inspired by the Brooklyn-based post-punk public access vegan baking show that was a lifeline for my isolated teenage years.) Anyways! Enough backstory. You want me to tell you about the cake. Vegan cake is really sublime — not only is it easier to whip together, it bakes up more moist than other basic cake recipes I've tried. I followed this recipe from Smitten Kitchen, using oat instead of coconut milk, adding the zest of one Meyer lemon, and baking them in cupcake tins greased with coconut oil. The texture is plush, moist and dense — like what I wished pound cake could be. The fragrance of the Meyer lemon really shines through. Finish with a simple lemon glaze of powdered sugar and a squeeze of lemon, and top with big coconut flakes for the drama.

Organic Gongmei tea at 29B Teahouse

29 Avenue B, New York, NY 10009

I last (first) wrote about 29B Teahouse in the fifth edition of this very newsletter. More than a year later, I’ve returned, this time with a group of friends. I’m sad to report that I still have not tried the matcha affogato, even though that was the whole purpose of the trip, and yes, it still haunts me. But maybe it’s a testament to just how lovely 29B Teahouse is — you come in, thinking that all you want is a matcha affogato, but then you order three different pots of tea, two plates of dumplings, fluffy buns filled with sweet pumpkin, someone whips out a sketchbook, and all of a sudden, the passage of time stops. Of all the teas and tisanes we tried, the organic gongmei was my favorite, a very fragrant and floral white tea. Half a dozen cups of tea and a few hours later, we all emerge feeling more zen and satiated.

Roasted cabbage with smoked paprika and lemon at my place

You can make this, too!

Everyone talks about roasted kale, but no one talks about roasted cabbage, which should be the real star of the show. Unlike kale, it doesn’t have a bitter edge, and toasts up super sweet and mellow, while still achieving crispy edges. Here’s how: Preheat your oven to 400F. Meanwhile, slice half a head of cabbage into half-inch or so slices (it’ll fall apart, that’s fine. All things do). Drizzle olive oil onto a baking sheet, lay cabbage down, and drizzle olive oil on top. Sprinkle with ample salt and pepper and smoked paprika. Roast for 20-30 minutes, till the edges are crispy and the center is soft. Serve with a squeeze of lemon.

Charred brussels with honey chili oil at Dig Inn

At major cities everywhere.

Dig Inn and Pret a Manger go hand in hand in the competition for “saddest corporate lunch and Penn station train meal ambiance.” It doesn’t matter that the food at Dig Inn is actually pretty good. (I’m really digging their seasonal charred Brussels sprouts with honey and chili oil lately.) Just like it doesn’t matter that I have friends, a social life, and plenty of hobbies. I am now eating dinner in Dig Inn alone, and thus I am a sad millennial. While I was eating there, they started playing Ella Fitzgerald on the loudspeaker to contribute to a romantic ambiance, but there is really nothing that can make a Dig Inn vaguely sexy. Truly, one of the most corporate millennial and sad places to dine. Don’t forget your laptop!

Okonomiyaki at DokoDemo

89 E 4th St, New York, NY 10003

Okonomiyaki, a savory veggie pancake coated in mayo and bbq sauce, is also known as “Japanese pizza” in some circuits. I mean, it’s more like pizza is an American okonomiyaki, amirite? Anyways, it’s my absolute favorite late-night snack food, and just between you and me, I like it more than pizza (even though it’s really not fair to make this comparison, as they are two extremely different foods). There’s not really a good way to explain the awesomeness of okonomi in words, because it sounds kind of gross when you describe it (cabbage? Mayo? Bbq? Fish flakes?) so you’ll just have to swing over to DokoDemo and try one out yourself. They do a good job here, the okonomi are topped with plenty of crunchies and has a nice ginger taste. I recommend getting it with pork, if you can eat meat.

Till next time,

Soph