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.

I love ethnic foods.

I am a big fan of cuisine from different cultures. It's kind of like armchair travel in a way. You get to taste the exciting flavors of specific countries and for me anyway, it's like being transported to that place. Well, sort of. I'd rather get on a plane and actually travel to these countries but this will have to be my best option for now.

Let's start with indian food. I've never been to India but man do I love their food! I am a curry-holic. It must have something to do with my Thai background (we Thais like our curries too!). I think I make curry more often than anything else. It's one of the easiest things to cook too. Just throw a bunch of garlic, onions, veggies, spices, water and tomatoes in a pot, let it simmer and throw on some rice for a spicy delicious dinner. My favorite indian curry is Aloo Chana Masala which is basically a potato and chickpea curry.

This curry is perfection. I add peas to mine for some color. Recipe can be found here. It has step by step instruction which you will find delightful.


I also crave Pav Bhaji at least once a month. This is a spicy mashed vegetable curry served with buttered rolls. I used this recipe and substituted Earth Balance margarine for the butter. It is soooo good.


Ah, Morocco! How I would do anything to travel there! I might be idealizing but it seems like such an exotic, colorful desert paradise. The food always looks amazing too. I recently purchased a vegetarian cookbook called Olive Trees & Honey where I found a recipe for this vegetable stew which has sweet potatoes, squash, chickpeas and carrots topped with an onion-cinnamon concoction. It was gorgeous on top of couscous.


Lebanese food is really simple and fresh. It is considered one of the healthiest of cuisines. It relies on an assortment of fresh vegetables and salads, lemon juice and copious amounts of olive oil and garlic. I am a huge fan of this type of cooking. This eggplant stew recipe which is from the Tables of Lebanon cookbook is a delicious and healthy meal served on top of rice. (Sorry about the dark photo.)


And from the same cookbook, hummus along side za'atar spice in olive oil and pita bread for dipping.


When you think of japanese food, do you think of sushi first? I do. I never ate sushi before going vegan because I hated seaweed and seafood. I went online to do some research and I found a way to make vegan sushi without using nori (the seaweed wrapper around sushi rolls). Spring roll wrappers make a perfect roll. When I make sushi, I usually use both nori (for my husband) and spring roll wrappers for mine. Check it out.




I'll end this post with some thai food. I grew up eating lots of it and unfortunately most of it was meat based. Here in Los Angeles, you will find a plethora of vegan Thai restaurants that serve delicious and tantalizing thai favorites like Pad Thai, Pad See You and Tom Yum Kai using mock meats and fresh vegetables. It's actually quite good! I go every now and then if I don't feel like cooking my own. When I do cook thai food, it's usually curry. Here is a karee curry with coconut milk, tofu and vegetables served on top of rice with a side of purple slaw. Mmm. mmm. mmm.

Feel free to comment if you want any of these recipes. I'd be happy to share them with you via email.

Chipotle Black Bean Burrito

We're watching the Dodger game on tv. Go Dodgers! My boyfriend is #30. (just kidding. but god, he's cute!) My husband was going to order a pizza and asked me if I wanted a veggie with no cheese. I declined. I was in the mood for a burrito. I would have rather gone out to Chipotle to get one but because I'm short of funds, I had to make my own. Luckily I had all the ingredients on hand.


I like to add this stuff to canned black beans to give them that smoky flavor.


Black beans simmering with a shot of chipotle powder and some ground cumin. Mmm...


Sauteed some peppers and onions. Burned them a little...


Homemade pico de gallo and jasmine rice skimpily dressed with lime juice and a few shreds of cilantro.


Assembly. I'm usually a big fan of white flour tortillas but I only had the whole grain variety this time. Boo. Well, at least I'm getting my fiber.


Yump. Don't worry, I poured all kinds of hot sauce in there!

Sharing at family gatherings.

Went to a family shindig yesterday (to celebrate 2 birthdays) and it was a great opportunity for me to bring a dish to share. I usually freak out a little when something like this comes up because I want to impress them with my vegan cooking skills and show them that I still eat great tasting food with lots of flavor and variety. I also didn't want to scare them away with 'weird' ingredients (like tempeh or any kind of fake meat) so I decided on a vegetable lasagna. Something familiar and comforting yet a little different from the usual. This one had a creamy white sauce instead of the usual marinara. To put this together, I used two compenents of two different lasagna recipes. I took the spinach white sauce preparation from the Florentine Lasagna in 'The Vegan Family Cookbook' and the creamy herbed tofu and soy cream cheese filling from the Cheesy Lasagna recipe over at vegweb. I thought it was ok for me to use tofu in this dish (which to some people is still weird) since it was going to be hiding inside the layers of lasagna.


Some of the ingredients. Cremini mushrooms, zucchini and carrots, tofu and soy cream cheese for the filling. Onions, garlic and a bag of spinach for the white sauce.

This is what the filling looked like as it bubbled away. See, you can't see the tofu!


After boiling the noodles and making the spinach white sauce (forgot to get a photo of this), it was just a matter of layering it all together. I had this idea to peel thin slices of zucchini to decorate the top. I think it worked well.


Before going into the oven...


And just out of the oven. How beautiful it looks in the dappled sunlight!


I also made Thai coleslaw which was really good except probably not that great as a potluck dish. Because it was sitting out most of the day, it got warm and wilty and lost it's crispness.

So the verdict? Everyone loved the lasagna and I was happy to see pieces missing as the day turned into night. The coleslaw, not so much but that's ok. The cookie dough brownies I made were a hit with the kids.

Comfort Foods.

Comfort food was something I never imagined I could have again once turning vegan. Foods I remember from childhood: Meatloaf, creamy casseroles, chili, thick stews, mac & cheese, grilled cheese, ohhhhhhh... I thought some dishes would never be vegan friendly. I was wrong. I've prepared ever so many comforting meals that made everything all right in the world. Here are some photos.


Chili really doesn't need meat to be warm, hearty and filling. This Sweet Potato and Veggie Chili really hits the spot. Recipe can be found here.


Meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy. Oh yes. This is a really good tofu/veggie loaf that I make often. It's perfect with a side of mashed potatoes and gravy (in this pic, a white bean gravy - recipe from Vegan With A Vengeance). You can find the loaf recipe here. (I omit the egg in this recipe.)


I love getting out my crockpot in winter time. I love getting out my crockpot in summer time too. It doesn't matter what the weather is like; if I want comfort food I am going to have it! This beautiful Lentil and 'Sausage' soup was sooo good. I adapted this recipe by switching out the meat kielbasa for Tofurkey brand tomato and basil vegetarian sausage. This soup thickens into a stew the longer it sits which is pretty damn awesome.


I used to love chicken pot pie. Now I love chickpea pot pie. This one is just like the pot pies I remember. I used Vegan Dad's pot pie recipe because he's such an awesome cook! For the crust, I used this fantastic "Cheezy Quackers" recipe from this great blog.


I once craved the tuna casseroles that my mom used to make for me when I was little. She would use egg noodles, cream of mushroom soup and slices of Kraft singles melted on top. None of these things fit my diet so I had to improvise. What I came up with was this creamy, mushroomy casserole with crushed chips and french fried onions on top. I've added mashed chickpeas to fill in for the tuna as well as provide the protein. This dish is great and well loved by all when I take it to potlucks. I've posted my recipe here.


I call this 'Meat Eating Husbands Love This Shepherds Pie". I adapted a recipe that my friend Becky made for her meat eating husband. He loved it so I thought my meat eating husband would love it too. He did. This one's a winner. It's got broccoli, carrots and potatoes in a rich mushroom gravy. The french fried onions on top was Becky's brilliant idea. I've since used them in other recipes like the casserole above. I've posted my adapted recipe here.


I had to save the best for last. Grilled cheese. While this doesn't taste like dairy cheese it's an awesome equivalent. It's gooey, rich and creamy and so very tasty. I used the Colby Chedda " block cheese" recipe from The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook. It has a cashew and pimento or roasted red pepper base.

I'd just like to add that I have made several mac and cheese recipes which were wonderful. Unfortunately I don't have pictures of them. I'll get shots of them next time. Hope all these dishes inspire you to make your own veggie comfort foods!

First Blog Post!

I've decided to write a food blog, particularly a vegan food blog. I am obsessed with food and cooking. I always was, even before I became vegan which was about a year and a half ago. I've discovered new foods and ingredients that I would have never tried before. It also feels good to know that all my favorites of the past can almost definitely be done without meat, eggs and dairy.

So I cook. A lot. And I obsessively take photos of my meals because I am proud that I can make food that is delicious, healthy and free of animal products. I decided to share them here in my blog to show those who don't necessarily know much about vegan food that it's not a difficult or restricting dietary choice. It's not all about salads and raw vegetables! Most of the recipes I work with are from cookbooks and ones I find online. I will direct you to the book or website of every recipe I post about. Every now and then I will whip up something myself but I have to say, it's pretty rare.

I've been asked many times (and I'm sure most vegans can say the same) this one question: "What do you eat???" Well, I plan to fill the contents of this blog with the answer to that question. Starting with...

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies! Why not start with dessert? Most people like dessert and if they are like me, they fantasize about cake, cookies, brownies and ice cream (the soy variety) all the time. My sweet tooth will be the death of me. And I think it's a good thing to start with a vegan dessert because most are surprised when I tell them that my desserts have no eggs, butter or milk. It can be done! These brownies are really lovely to look at and they taste downright decadent. It's more of a cake like brownie but I intend to try them with a fudgier brownie recipe next time.
This is not my recipe. I found the recipe here.


Yumm...