I love fried rice, but I don't love the greasy-ness and the way it always makes me feel like a bloated cow afterward. No more cute little takeout box for me. I found a way to enjoy fried rice the vegan way: no egg, no meat, just veggies, rice and tons of flavor.
What you need:
Brown Rice (or wild rice, if your feeling...wild)
2 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 small red onion
1 yellow pepper
2-3 carrots, chopped
1 cup broccoli
1 cup cabbage
1/2 tablespoon white wine vinegar (or you can use rice vinegar)
1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
(Feel free to substitute other vegetables. I threw in some baked brussel sprouts and it was mighty tasty)
What you do:
Prepare rice according to package. I suggest you invest in a rice steamer if you don't already have one. Set aside when finished.
Chop all vegetables. Heat sesame oil over medium-high heat. Toss in onion, carrots and pepper. Turn heat down to medium setting and cook for about 2 minutes. Toss in the broccoli and cabbage, cook until tender. Stir in soy sauce, vinegar, and garlic powder and cook for a couple more minutes.
Remove veggie mixture from the pan and set aside in a large bowl. Add the perfectly steamed rice to the pan and cook for a couple minutes, stirring occasionally.
Toss the "fried" rice with the vegetable medley and enjoy!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
There's always thyme to make some salad dressing.
Chances are, if you like Lebanese, Indian, Spanish or Greek cooking, you have tasted or used thyme. These teensy leaves pack a flavorful punch, especially if fresh.
For my herb growing friends, early spring is the best time to plant indoors. Full sun and a light soil will ensure a healthy plant. I will be planting my first seeds this weekend. Hopefully it will look like this:
Then I can make lots of this:
Lemon Thyme Dressing
What you need:
Juice of 1 lemon (if you don't like as much lemon, feel free to use only half the lemon)
1 tsp Dijon or horseradish mustard
4 Tbsp of olive oil
1 shallot
1 garlic clove
2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme (dried thyme will not work)
Fresh ground pepper
Dash of paprika
1/4 tsp lemon zest
What you do:
Whisk ingredients together, chill and serve over a salad. Or be daring and drizzle over some baked sweet potatoes.
For my herb growing friends, early spring is the best time to plant indoors. Full sun and a light soil will ensure a healthy plant. I will be planting my first seeds this weekend. Hopefully it will look like this:
Then I can make lots of this:
Lemon Thyme Dressing
What you need:
Juice of 1 lemon (if you don't like as much lemon, feel free to use only half the lemon)
1 tsp Dijon or horseradish mustard
4 Tbsp of olive oil
1 shallot
1 garlic clove
2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme (dried thyme will not work)
Fresh ground pepper
Dash of paprika
1/4 tsp lemon zest
What you do:
Whisk ingredients together, chill and serve over a salad. Or be daring and drizzle over some baked sweet potatoes.
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Fat Tuesday!
That's right. Time to get fat before lent. I'm not religious, and I'm not giving anything up, but I will get down with a Louisiana-inspired meal complete with a king cake. Or in my case, a bundt cake topped with purple, green and gold icing because I had 1 too many drinks at happy hour. Short synopsis, it looked horrible, but it tasted good. There's even an almond in it!
On to the main course!
Creole Seasoning
1 tbsp black pepper
2 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp oregano
2 1/2 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp thyme
Mix all ingredients in an air tight container. Store for later use.
Vegetarian Red Beans and Rice
What you need:
3 cans of red kidney beans (You can use fresh bean, just make sure you soak the overnight)
Creole Seasoning to taste
1 large onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
5 ribs celery, chopped
As much garlic as you like, minced (I used 3 small cloves)
1 or 2 bay leaves
Crystal hot sauce, to taste
black pepper to taste
Salt to taste
What you do:
Place the red beans with the creole seasoning and bay leafs in a large pot. Cover with water and boil away for about 30 minutes.
While the beans are boiling, sauté the onions, pepper, celery and garlic until the onions turn translucent.
After the beans are boiled and drained, add the sautéed vegetables, salt, pepper and hot sauce to the beans and just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer. Simmer for 2-3 hours, or until the mixture has taken on a creamy texture. Add more water is the beans start to look dry and burned. Feel free to adjust seasonings as the mixture is simmering. Stir occasionally, making sure that the mixture doesn’t sstick to the bottom of the pot.
*Hint - If the mixture isn't taking on a creamy texture, remove 2 cups from the pot, mash in a bowl and return to continue simmering.
Serve over rice and enjoy!
I would love to post pictures, however, I was distracted by something shiny and totally forgot. Oh well. Better luck next time!
On to the main course!
Creole Seasoning
1 tbsp black pepper
2 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp oregano
2 1/2 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp thyme
Mix all ingredients in an air tight container. Store for later use.
Vegetarian Red Beans and Rice
What you need:
3 cans of red kidney beans (You can use fresh bean, just make sure you soak the overnight)
Creole Seasoning to taste
1 large onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
5 ribs celery, chopped
As much garlic as you like, minced (I used 3 small cloves)
1 or 2 bay leaves
Crystal hot sauce, to taste
black pepper to taste
Salt to taste
What you do:
Place the red beans with the creole seasoning and bay leafs in a large pot. Cover with water and boil away for about 30 minutes.
While the beans are boiling, sauté the onions, pepper, celery and garlic until the onions turn translucent.
After the beans are boiled and drained, add the sautéed vegetables, salt, pepper and hot sauce to the beans and just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer. Simmer for 2-3 hours, or until the mixture has taken on a creamy texture. Add more water is the beans start to look dry and burned. Feel free to adjust seasonings as the mixture is simmering. Stir occasionally, making sure that the mixture doesn’t sstick to the bottom of the pot.
*Hint - If the mixture isn't taking on a creamy texture, remove 2 cups from the pot, mash in a bowl and return to continue simmering.
Serve over rice and enjoy!
I would love to post pictures, however, I was distracted by something shiny and totally forgot. Oh well. Better luck next time!
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Work it!
I love my new kitchen. Everything is placed perfectly and there is plenty of counter space. It's also the fist thing I unpacked when we moved to our new apartment.
After many nights of making quick dinners and eating out, I was ready to get to work and start trying new recipes! This past Sunday, I woke up bright and early to make a fabulous breakfast for Tim and myself. We worked really hard the day before and I felt we deserved a nice treat.
Please excuse the blurry picture. My camera was packed at the time. This was taken with my silly droid camera.
Strawberry Panko Muffins (Inspired by a recipe found on foodbuzz.com)
What you need:
2/3 cup softened margarine
2/3 cup fine sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
Ener-G equivalent to 2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups of panko flakes
2 1/2 tsp yeast
1/2 cup of water
Slices strawberries
1 tsp vanilla sugar
2 tbsp soft brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
What you do:
Mix the margarine, sugar and salt until smooth. Beat in the vanilla and eggs.
Add the panko and yeast and mix well. Slowly add the water until the mixture becomes sticky. Add chopped strawberries.
Half fill a 12 cup muffin tray with the mixture. Top each bit with some berries for beautifulness.
Give the batter time to double in size. This should take about an hour on a relatively warm day. You can place the muffin tin in the oven with the light on ONLY if there is a chill in the air. Mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon and set aside. (Obviously I did not wait long enough. My muffins were kind of flat, but still tasty.)
Once the mixture has risen (all the way), preheat the oven to 370 degrees. Sprinkle the top with the brown sugar, vanilla sugar and cinnamon mixture.
Bake for 15 - 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and let the muffins cool for about 5-10 minutes. Remove from muffin tin carefully and enjoy! These little beauties go great with coffee or tea!
After many nights of making quick dinners and eating out, I was ready to get to work and start trying new recipes! This past Sunday, I woke up bright and early to make a fabulous breakfast for Tim and myself. We worked really hard the day before and I felt we deserved a nice treat.
Please excuse the blurry picture. My camera was packed at the time. This was taken with my silly droid camera.
Strawberry Panko Muffins (Inspired by a recipe found on foodbuzz.com)
What you need:
2/3 cup softened margarine
2/3 cup fine sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
Ener-G equivalent to 2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups of panko flakes
2 1/2 tsp yeast
1/2 cup of water
Slices strawberries
1 tsp vanilla sugar
2 tbsp soft brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
What you do:
Mix the margarine, sugar and salt until smooth. Beat in the vanilla and eggs.
Add the panko and yeast and mix well. Slowly add the water until the mixture becomes sticky. Add chopped strawberries.
Half fill a 12 cup muffin tray with the mixture. Top each bit with some berries for beautifulness.
Give the batter time to double in size. This should take about an hour on a relatively warm day. You can place the muffin tin in the oven with the light on ONLY if there is a chill in the air. Mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon and set aside. (Obviously I did not wait long enough. My muffins were kind of flat, but still tasty.)
Once the mixture has risen (all the way), preheat the oven to 370 degrees. Sprinkle the top with the brown sugar, vanilla sugar and cinnamon mixture.
Bake for 15 - 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and let the muffins cool for about 5-10 minutes. Remove from muffin tin carefully and enjoy! These little beauties go great with coffee or tea!
Monday, February 14, 2011
Hello there, old friend.
I miss my little blog. I've been cooking and baking, but no posts to share. There is a move in our very near future and all of my spare time is dedicated to packing and cleaning. Not to mention my black belt test is at the end of this month. So for now, enjoy some of my older posts. I will be adding many, many new recipes in the near future. The new kitchen is quite large and in charge and I can't wait to move in and start cooking up a storm!
Monday, January 03, 2011
Before I forget...
I've been meaning to add this recipe for a while now. I got inspired by a lemony green bean dish that I had at a restaurant a couple weeks back. I decided to use asparagus and add some panko and garlic to give it a little pizazz and it turned out great.
Roasted Asparagus
What you need:
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 C. panko
course sea salt to taste
1 1/2lb of asparagus
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
juice from 1/2 a lemon (take the seeds out before squeezing. no one likes lemon seeds)
What you do:
In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add half of the minced garlic and cook, stirring often until fragrant. Add the panko and toast, stirring constantly for about 3 minutes until golden brown and crisp. Remove and add a pinch of salt. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a foil covered roasting pan, lay the asparagus spears out in a single layer. Drizzle with the olive oil. Roll the spears back and forth until covered. Sprinkle with remaining minced garlic, salt and pepper. Roll the asparagus once more to coat evenly.
Place the pan in the oven and roast for about 10-12 minutes, depending on how thick your spears are. The tips should be browned and the spears tender when pierced with a fork. Transfer the asparagus to a serving tray and toss with the lemon juice. Add the panko, toss again and serve.
Roasted Asparagus
What you need:
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 C. panko
course sea salt to taste
1 1/2lb of asparagus
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
juice from 1/2 a lemon (take the seeds out before squeezing. no one likes lemon seeds)
What you do:
In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add half of the minced garlic and cook, stirring often until fragrant. Add the panko and toast, stirring constantly for about 3 minutes until golden brown and crisp. Remove and add a pinch of salt. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a foil covered roasting pan, lay the asparagus spears out in a single layer. Drizzle with the olive oil. Roll the spears back and forth until covered. Sprinkle with remaining minced garlic, salt and pepper. Roll the asparagus once more to coat evenly.
Place the pan in the oven and roast for about 10-12 minutes, depending on how thick your spears are. The tips should be browned and the spears tender when pierced with a fork. Transfer the asparagus to a serving tray and toss with the lemon juice. Add the panko, toss again and serve.
Sunday, January 02, 2011
Happy New Year!
My new year's resolution is to take more pictures of the food that I post on my blog. I know how irritated I get when a recipe doesn't come with a picture and I don't want to be that chick. Sometimes it really helps to have a visual reference. It can also be inspiring. Or make you really, really hungry.
So, while relaxing on this final day before heading back to work tomorrow, take 20 minutes to whip up some of my mom's blueberry muffins. They kick ass and will be a quick breakfast while your rushing out the door in the morning. Let's face it, your snooze button will probably be getting a work out tomorrow. I know mine will.
Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins
What you need:
2 1/4 C. plus 2 tbsp. all purpose flour
3/4 C. rolled oats
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. sea salt
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 C. soy milk (or you can use buttermilk if you chose not to go the vegan route)
EnerG egg replacement equivalent to 2 eggs (or you can just use 2 eggs)
1 C. sugar
6 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 1/2 C. fresh blueberries
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
What you do:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.
Combine 2 1/4 C. of flour, oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl. Sift ingredients together.
Combine milk, eggs, sugar, vegetable oil. Whisk just until combined. Pour liquid mixture into dry mixture and stir until just incorporated. Do NOT over mix. Toss blueberries with remaining flour and fold into muffin batter.
Spoon equal amounts of muffin batter into lined muffin cups, sprinkle with sugar and bake for about 20-25 minutes.
So, while relaxing on this final day before heading back to work tomorrow, take 20 minutes to whip up some of my mom's blueberry muffins. They kick ass and will be a quick breakfast while your rushing out the door in the morning. Let's face it, your snooze button will probably be getting a work out tomorrow. I know mine will.
Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins
What you need:
2 1/4 C. plus 2 tbsp. all purpose flour
3/4 C. rolled oats
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. sea salt
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 C. soy milk (or you can use buttermilk if you chose not to go the vegan route)
EnerG egg replacement equivalent to 2 eggs (or you can just use 2 eggs)
1 C. sugar
6 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 1/2 C. fresh blueberries
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
What you do:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.
Combine 2 1/4 C. of flour, oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl. Sift ingredients together.
Combine milk, eggs, sugar, vegetable oil. Whisk just until combined. Pour liquid mixture into dry mixture and stir until just incorporated. Do NOT over mix. Toss blueberries with remaining flour and fold into muffin batter.
Spoon equal amounts of muffin batter into lined muffin cups, sprinkle with sugar and bake for about 20-25 minutes.
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