30 posts tagged “vegetarian”
This might have something to do with a certain taco eating contest or just my general lapse in nutritious eating, but I've really been craving some healthy eats. When I think of health food, I instantly think of quinoa. It's a complete protein (very important for vegetarians) and packed full of fiber, magnesium and iron. Somewhere along the way, quinoa fell out of my regular rotation of food and I really don't know why, because besides being undeniably nutritious, it's also quick and delicious. A simple ratio of one part quinoa to two parts water and a cooking time of 15 minutes and you've got your quinoa ready to eat. I sauteed some farm fresh asparagus and sliced red onions to complete my salad. I diced up a few roasted rainbow carrots and romanesco florets that I had leftover, but really any vegetable would work. I tossed my fluffed quinoa with my vegetables together and for flavoring added a squeeze of lemon juice, cumin powder and a handful of mint leaves.
Here's to welcoming back quinoa into my life. Next up, I'm thinking a tabouli where I substitute quinoa for bulgur wheat. My body thanks me.
It's no secret that girls love sparkly, shiny objects. And I'm no different except my kind of "bling bling" is measured in quarts rather than carats, and conductivity rather than clarity. I'll take cookware over diamonds any day. I dream, drool and lust after good cookware - no joke. So I finally gave in. After surveying all the shelves of shiny All-Clad pots and pans at Willams-Sonoma one afternoon, my gift certificate from B's mom was just about burning a hole in my pocket. It was begging me to spend it. All the glitz had me mesmerized as I convinced myself that I needed that 4-quart saute pan with lid and splatter cover. There's no turning back now.
I chose the 4-quart since it would be the most useful in my kitchen and it wasn't too heavy. Yes, I was the Goldilocks of Williams-Sonoma and the pots were my porridge. I did a few bicep curls with each just to make sure the weight wouldn't be too much for my wimpy arms. Too heavy, too light... now this one is perfect.
To christen my new pan, and in honor of the Lunar New Year, I made a batch of potstickers filled with napa cabbage, carrots, mushrooms and ginger. The dipping sauce was a simple concoction of black vinegar, soy sauce and scallions. A bunch of bok choy in oyster sauce rounded out the meal.
Wishing you all a very wonderful year of the ox.
I would say B and I make pizza almost weekly. We both love pizza so much that it is definitely on our short list of foods we could eat daily - Cold pizza for breakfast, a crispy grilled pizza for lunch and a nice, hearty deep dish for dinner. The endless topping, cheese and sauce combinations out there make it all the more interesting.
I never thought I'd admit it but California Pizza Kitchen had the right idea with their Thai Chicken Pizza. I made a vegetarian rendition with tofu marinated in peanut sauce, julienned carrots, radish sprouts, onions and basil. I finish it off with a shower of Parmesan cheese.
In order to get to the root of "Los Angeles Cuisine", I recently attended a foodie discussion moderated by the one and only, Pulitzer Prize-winning, food writer Jonathan Gold. An impressive panel was comprised of Michael Cimarusti, Evan Kleinmen and Octavio Bercerra. Perhaps these acclaimed chefs and restaurateurs would be able to enlighten me on the truth of what exactly Los Angeles Cuisine might be because I had honestly never given it a second (or first) thought. Los Angeles - I have spent a bulk of my cooking years here, and therefore, much of my cooking style is shaped by the food culture here. So what is it all about? And how has it affected my cooking? That's what I kept thinking during the discussion. "Come on. Can we get to the point," I thought impatiently to myself. Our complex human brains like things to be nice and simplified. I wanted an XYZ answer but after 90 minutes or so of discussion, I realized that there was no clear cut answer. Los Angeles Cuisine was not one dish or style but rather an amalgamation of our diverse cultural make up and the availability of the freshest produce made possible by the most wonderful climate.
I immediately thought of a dish that I had been working on recently. I had been playing with glutinous rice flour, forming chewy, playful dumplings. almost bubble gum-like. Traditionally these dumplings (aka tangyuan) are a simple mix of glutinous rice flour and water. Cold water yields a smoother dumpling though the dough starts out more crumbly than with warm water. Online research mostly turned up the dessert version filled with red bean and served in a syrup. Not exactly what I had in mind though. I was thinking about the savory version... the kind that I had growing up, served in steaming bowls of chicken broth with daikon radish, napa cabbage and chinese sausage. Maybe mom had made it up. I took the basic concept of the dish and put my own little Los Angeles spin on it. I transformed it into a vegetarian soup filled with grilled king oyster mushrooms, crunchy wood ear mushrooms and zucchini. Instead of plain dumplings, I added some spicy chilies to up the ante. Does that make me so L.A. or what?
Freezing your tofu is the real trick to transforming the silken texture of tofu into a meaty one. The process of freezing and thawing your tofu draws out a significant amount of the water, yielding a spongy block of tofu that's just perfect for soaking up a marinade. Here I did a quick asian-inspired marinade of buckwheat honey, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic and green onions. I just love the contrast of sweet and salty. I also cut some shallow hash marks into each cutlet to ensure maximum absorption. All it needed was a quick pan fry on each side. Using the leftover marinade, I brushed the tops of each of the cutlets to add both flavor and a beautiful honey-colored sheen. Garnish with scallions.
This is by no means haute cuisine, but boy oh boy, is it delicious. I give all the credit of this ingenius creation to B. If he ever decides to change careers, Taco Bell would be foolish not to bring him aboard as a food conceptor. That boy comes up with some excellent gourmet junkfood. A taco and a burger in one. What's not to love right? Here's how it works... spread some refried beans on both ends of a toasted hamburger bun. My taco "meat" was chopped baby bellas, onions and corn seasoned with cumin and chile powder. Now layer "meat", cheddar cheese, tomatoes, avocado slivers and a fried corn tortilla. Top with your bean slathered bun and serve with plenty of salsa and Tapatio. Spicy, crunchy, creamy, cheesy flavor explosion!
Last week I was in a ravioli-making frenzy. I ate raviolis five nights in a row. Five. Count them. I'm on what they call the anti-South Beach diet. :) This carb loving girl never says no to fresh pasta. What brought on this carb loading you ask? Well it all started with a simple tiny little unassuming bag of flour. 00 flour (super duper finely milled) to be exact. Most pasta recipes I've seen ask for 00 flour, but since it's not easily or readily available, I normally substitute with all purpose flour. Since I was all stocked up on the good stuff, now was time to see what all the hype was about.
It was love at first knead. The flour is baby powder soft and absorbs the liquid in a flash. I used the proportion of one cup of flour to one egg. A few teaspoons of water helped bring it all together. I gave the dough about 30 minutes for the glutens to relax and rolled it out as thin as possible. I cut out rounds using a large biscuit cutter and then I set everything up assembly line style.
Wrappers, filling and egg wash to seal it all up. Hungry tummys want food fast.
Now let's talk filling. Sky is the limit here. I love mine creamy with a punch of flavor, so the first night we did the classic spinach and ricotta. Even though it would have been perfectly delicious with just butter and Parmasen cheese, I added some sauteed Opo squash, red chili pepper flakes and flat leaf parsley.
The next night we had raviolis filled with organic arugula and garlic quark from Spring Hill. I topped it with a quick heirloom tomato sauce. Raviolis are comfort food so I kept it rustic by garnishing it with hand torn basil and lots of Parmasen cheese.
00 flour is awesome. It yields the tenderest most delectably delicious dough.
00 flour is awesome. It yields the tenderest most delectably delicious dough.
Making vegetable stock has become somewhat of a weekly ritual for me. The increased frequency is in part due to a tip from Bourgeois Bee. He told me that he uses his carrot tops for stock. And though I enjoy eating the carrot tops, it's more of a once in a while, not a weekly sort of thing for me. Hooray for more stock ammo!
With stock production at its peak in Julie's Kitchen and the Lakers-Celtics series going on, there couldn't have been a more perfect time to entertain. I always like starting with something light to awaken the taste buds. Sometimes it's a salad. This night is was a soup. I roasted a bunch of yellow carrots to concentrate their sweetness and add a nice brown caramelization. That equals more flavor. When you are making a vegetable puree sort of soup, the more sophisticated and complex your flavors are the better. Simple ingredients are great. Simple flavor is not. Under season your stock and your guests will wonder why you are serving them mushy baby food! Ick!
Another way to keep the flavor of simple soup from falling flat, is garnish. A nice pop of flavor. Contrast is key. You've heard of people eating watermelon with salt, right? My parents have been doing this forever. As a child this idea seemed a bit alien to me. Now I love mine with a sprinkle of fleur de sel. There is no sweetness without saltiness. Since these carrots were amazingly sweet, I wanted to accentuate their earthiness with a salsa made with roasted beets, yellow corn, Fuerte avocados and red peppers spritzed with lime juice. This lent a nice touch of acid and sweetness. This soup was well received by both Lakers and Celtics fans alike.
Running egg yolks and melting cheese are two of my favorite images of food porn. To kick those salivary glands into high gear, here's a prime example of the latter. Tofu coated in a crunchy crust of panko and Parmesan cheese. Tomato sauce spiked with fresh hand-torn leaves of basil... just beginning to soak into the bakery-fresh/still warm bread. And now for the pièce de résistance... Spicy, mouthwatering Firehouse cheddar all melty and gooey. That's what does it for me.
What about you? What turns on your drool faucet? What image simply sets off your Pavlovian response?
When Elly of Elly Says Opa! confessed her preference for Bulgarian feta (over Greek), I knew that I was about to make an awesome food discovery. Something in my head said, "I have got to try that." Do you guys ever get that or is it just me that wants to eat the world?
After one of my routine Saturday mornings at the farmers' market, I made a pit stop at Bay Cities in search of the said cheese. I found a nice block of the said cheese and since I was there, I also picked up a loaf of their bakery (it's in their basement) fresh bread. Danger, I mean dangerously delicious!
I so badly wanted to start eating the bread on the way home. Just a nibble of the crusty end. I behaved myself and just left it in its sleeve. I felt like my parents' dog, Foxy. Her best "trick" is when my mom holds out a snack in her hand and says, "leave it". She'll turn her sad face away even though you can tell she's dying to snatch it out of her hand. Yup, Foxy and I sure have a lot in common. We both have these insatiable appetites. Must run in the family, right? :)
By the time I got home, my stomach was humming. Armed with farm fresh produce, warm bread and feta that I couldn't wait to test out, I whipped up this playful lunch. The white carrots from Weiser Farms are particulary sweet especially when eaten raw. I thinly sliced one up and marinated it in orange juice/zest, olive oil, parsley and S&P. Note to self: I should invest in a mandolin. For my salad, I sauteed asparagus and shallots with thyme. While this wilted down, I deshelled some snap peas and threw them in at the end. These are so sweet they taste like candy. I topped each piece of baguette with the salad and crumbled feta over it. I had also picked up some olives from Bay Cities, so a quick tapenade was drizzled over the feta. Lunch is served.
Thank you to all my fellow bloggers for all the food enlightenment and culinary inspiration. You guys are awesome.
My Groups
-
Foodies Updated: 1 hour ago
-
Vegetarians and Vegans Updated: 15 hours ago
-
What's Cooking? Updated: 2 days ago
Neighborhood
Explore friends, family, friends & family, or entire neighborhood.
