Noodles with Ginger Peanut Sauce!

Boy was this ever good! I got this recipe from the latest issue (I think it's Sept.?) of Vegetarian Times. I forgot the actual name of the recipe but it was simple, quick and perfect for hot summer days. It only requires you to boil up some pasta (soba noodles in recipe but spaghetti here in real life), chop up some fresh veggies (in this case red peppers, cucumber, carrot and cilantro...I added steamed asparagus), blend up a quick peanut butter sauce flavored with yummy things like rice vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, lime and agave syrup and toss all together. It was absolutely divine.

Note: If you look at vegetariantimes.com, you will find the recipe there. I don't think it's up quite yet because I just got the issue in the mail but if you check back later next month, the recipe should be there.

Thai Karee Curry and a Frozen Banana Treat.

What to do with fresh asparagus, red bell peppers, zucchini, potatoes and tofu? Make a thai curry. I fall back on curry all the time when I have lots of vegetables to use up. I made a thai curry today using coconut milk and karee curry paste. It's super spicy and perfect with some white jasmine rice. I might turn this into a soup later in the week by adding water and lime juice.


To cool down from the furious heat of the curry I had this delightful treat for dessert. It's frozen banana chunks (that I froze last night in little ziploc bags) topped with warm unsalted peanut butter, a sprinkle of chocolate chips and a drizzle of agave syrup. Really really good.

Fruity Oatmeal and Asian Salad.

Breakfast: Yummy oatmeal (cooked with water and rice milk) with fresh bananas, nectarines, poppyseeds, cinnamon and a drizzle of agave syrup.


Lunch: Asian salad made with napa cabbage, baby spinach, onions, carrots, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and sliced toasted almonds. Dressing is white miso, cider vinegar, sesame oil, water, sesame seeds and a drop of agave syrup.

Veggie Fried Rice.

I haven't made fried rice in I don't know how long. I forgot how quick and easy it was and knowing that my household always has cooked rice at the ready, this meal was just right.

Veggie Fried Rice

2 TB canola oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 scallions, chopped
2 ribs celery, sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 TB chopped jalapeno or serrano chile
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (I used straw mushrooms from a jar but fresh would be better!)
1 tomato, sliced into wedges
3-4 cups cold cooked jasmine rice
2 TB mushroom soy sauce or regular soy sauce
1/4 cup ketchup (you may use less or omit)
lemon or lime wedges, cucumber slices and scallions for garnish

Heat oil in a wok on high heat. Add onion, scallions, celery, garlic, chile and carrots. Saute for a few minutes then add mushrooms and tomato. Cook until vegetables are soft. Add rice, soy sauce and ketchup. Stir together on heat until all rice is covered in sauce. You may add more or less ketchup and/or soy sauce if you wish. The ketchup lends a tomatoey sweetness. Serve with lemon or lime wedges and garnish with cucumber slices and scallions.

Mango Chili Chutney Hoisin Tofu

This meal came to be when my tupperware of Pav Bhaji fell onto the floor, cracked and propelled small pieces of plastic into my curry. :( Sadness. I had to either throw it out or risk eating small shards of plastic, no thanks! Luckily I didn't waste that much curry and I had some fresh tofu in the fridge. I made this recipe but substituting mango chutney for the plum sauce. It was delicious as usual. Seriously if you think you hate tofu, try this recipe. You just might change your mind.

Lip Smacking Sweet and Savory Tofu.

All I can say is this: anyone out there who is not a big fan of tofu because you never know how to prepare it, try this recipe. It's quick, simple and so tasty. It's a little sweet though, let me warn you. I always eat it with plain rice and plain steamed cabbage to offset the sweet. Go make it now! Recipe is here. If you're not into plum sauce and hoisin, you can always substitute your favorite bbq sauce.

Edited to add: I've also substituted mango chutney for the plum sauce with delicious results.

Dee Da Doo Day...

I'm bored. I know I should be getting to bed early (have to wake up at 6am for jury duty tomorrow!) but I don't feel sleepy. I've been going through old food pictures I took before I started this blog. Some of the yummy dishes I made I almost forgot about! I'd like to share them here with you.


This is Eggplant and Chickpea Kibbeh that I got from a book called "Vegan Planet". This was really good. It has bulgur, tomatoes, eggplant and chickpeas of course. I made a lemony garlic sauce to go with it along with roasted asparagus and boiled potatoes. i have to make this again soon.


Pineapple Tofu. So so awesome. I like to fry up tofu cubes after dipping them in cornstarch and then drowning them in a pineapple sauce. The recipe for the sauce is here.


Oven Herb Roasted Tomato Pasta. Now this looks very plain and almost boring but wow, does it taste good. The recipe is from "The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen".


How did I forget about these Grilled Yuca Tortillas??? Recipe is from Veganomicon. These are so gorgeous. It's mashed up yuca with lime, jalapenos and corn. I've made this a few times with fresh guacamole.


Cashew Coconut Curry Casserole. Wow, I remember this. It was soo rich and so delicious. Recipe is here. It's one of those throw in a baking dish and bake kind of recipes.


Szechuan Noodles. Easy and cheap and yummy. Recipe here.


Sexy Lowfat Vanilla Cupcakes from "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World". This book rocks.

Ok now, off to bed. Good night!

Pan Fried Tofu with Plum Glaze

Got this recipe a while ago from Vegan Dad's blog and I hadn't made it because I didn't have hoisin sauce. Got some today while "recreational food shopping" with a dear friend and immediately thought of making this. It was quick, easy and goes very well with steamed cabbage and jasmine rice.

Detox Week 3, Day 18

Hello! Time for some food porn! I totally dropped my camera a few minutes ago and freaked out. I thought I had broken it and lost all these great pics of food! Luckily I didn't break it as it still works. There are a few little cracks and dents though. :( I may have to shop for a new camera in the near future if it starts shutting down. Hopefully that won't happen as I love this camera.

Today was a busy day as I had to drive Grandma to a few appointments and then take her home to Torrance which I don't mind one bit because she lives around the corner from the 99 Ranch market! I only had $20 on me but was able to bring home this:


yams, chinese eggplant, broccoli, celery, bananas, baby bok choy, water chestnuts, vanilla essence, baby corn, golden plum sauce, wasabi paste and korean bbq sauce. But wait, you're thinking...I missed one!


That would be this intriguing item. Sweet Potato Noodles! I have no idea what this tastes like as I've never seen it before. I believe the ingredients are just sweet potato starch and water and the noodles are green! Weird. Can't wait to try it. I'm imagining a stir fry with peanut sauce or something...

Today's eats:

Breakfast: granola with soymilk (not pictured as I had to eat and run!)
Snack #1: a banana and a half (eaten in the car while driving)


Lunch: Oriental chopped salad. Green leaf, romaine, spinach, red peppers, shredded carrots, mandarins and almonds tossed in a sesame miso dressing recipe which I got from You Are What You Eat cookbook.


Snack #2: a small serving of brown rice pudding. I was so mesmerized by last night's rice pudding that I had to make some. This is Gillian's healthier version though which is only half as sweet as last night's pudding. It's made with brown rice, cinnamon, lemon juice, lemon zest, raisins, brown rice syrup and soymilk. It's good but only slightly sweet. I don't mind that though. It still feels comforting and is a nice dessert.


Dinner: Beautiful veggie stirfry with broccoli, baby bok choy, carrots, red peppers, zucchini, baby corn, water chestnuts and onions. I made it healthy by using only a little soy sauce diluted with water.


To go with the stirfy I made this korean bbq baked tofu. I marinated thick slices of extra firm tofu with 1/2 water and 1/2 korean bbq sauce. I also had brown rice with my meal.

Potstickers And Another Smoothie.

Another favorite at our house. Tofu and Veg potstickers. Yum yum gimme some!




The filling was tofu, collard greens, cabbage, carrot, garlic and onions. Served with sweet chili sauce and soy sauce/chinese mustard.

For lunch I had this light green smoothie that had banana, strawberry and collard greens! Good way to get some green leafies into the diet. It was so sweet and so good. Couldn't taste the greens at all!

Asian Food Night.

So this is what made for dinner last night from some of the stuff I bought yesterday. (Speaking of which I didn't show you all my purchases - I found two cans of coconut juice under the seat in my car!) Anyway on to the food...


I made this simple vegetable stir fry with broccoli, baby bok choy, onions and that mushroom oyster flavored sauce.


Sweet and sour pineapple tofu. I tossed them in cornstarch first before I fried them in oil. This makes them nice and crisp on the outside. Then they get covered in this pineapple sauce recipe here.


Here is the mock chicken from a can experiment. I stir fried it with broccoli and onions in oil and used a black bean garlic sauce. To be honest, this didn't go over very well for me. It had a weird aftertaste that I can only attribute to it being in a can. If you're going to cook with gluten/seitan (aka 'mock meat'), make it yourself. I recommend Julie Hasson's fool proof recipe. It says 'Spicy Italian' but you can easily change up the spices for a different tasting mock meat. And they're in sausage shape but once you slice it up, you can use it for anything!

Veg friendly finds at the asian grocery.

I took grandma to a doctor's appointment today and after I dropped her off home in Torrance I swung by the 99 Ranch Market around the corner from her house. I love going to asian markets. Whenever my mom goes, I always tag along. So many interesting things to look at and buy. I only had 20 bucks on me so I couldn't go crazy but I think I did pretty well for the amount of money I had. Here's my haul.

In the front: broccoli, red bean cakes, soybeef jerky, chinese hot mustard, two kinds of tofu, firm and extra firm. In the back: baby bok choy, cans of mock meat, almond cookies, vegetarian mushroom oyster sauce and potato fries.

I know I should be buying more produce than packaged products but these things are what lures me into these stores! You'll see what I mean as you scroll down.


These are so yummy. They are a tender flaky pastry filled with a generous amount of dense red bean paste sweetened with sugar. So good. I just had one at lunch. *smacks lips*


Soy beef jerky! I got this honkin' package for $2.89. What a deal! I tasted one. They are very chewy and more sweet than salty. Not bad at all.


Ingredients for the jerky. Gotta check labels. Just because it says 'vegetarian' doesn't always mean it's vegan. So after a quick perusal of the ingredients, I found no dairy or eggs in them so into my shopping cart it went. Hey and look! Free flossing pick included!


Mock Chicken and Mock Popk!!! (I'm sure they mean Pork!) I have to admit, I bought these for the novelty. I usually make my own mock meat so I don't necessarily need to buy stuff like this. But I couldn't help buying them just because. I'll probably use them in a stir fry with some kind of sauce.


Ingredients are pretty much the same for the mock chicken as well as the mock pork. By the way, these canned mock meats are pretty high in fat because oil is added to them.


Mushroom stir fry sauce. Really good stuff. I like to use this in veggie stir frys. I didn't take a pic of the ingredients but in case you're wondering they are: Mushroom extract, salt, sugar, modified starch, caramel color, hydrolysed vegetable protein and sodium benzoate.


Thousand layer cookies?? Don't know about that. But I do know that I love anything with almonds in them.


Ingredients for almond cookies. I bought these because they were practically the only cookie on the shelf without butter, eggs and milk. I think asian food companies like to put 'milk powder' in everything!

So that was my asian grocery adventure. I would love to have gotten more items like the vegetarian ham tube (which was $16!!), more bean cakes and other exotic items. I plan to use the tofu, broccoli, bok choy and the stir fry sauce for tonight's dinner. Will try to photograph it and post it in tomorrow's blog entry.