Tag Archives: vegan

PB&P Sammich

Posted on June 14, 2012 | Leave a comment

I know!  You must think I’m strange or preggers (don’t get any ideas now), but this is incredible.  I love PICKLES and PEANUT BUTTER, so when I saw this at The Bricks of Ybor I had to try it.  Sure enough I’m in heaven.  The combination of sweet and sour flavors amazed me, as well as the texture – crunchiness of the pickles and fluffiness from the bread.  I made a YUM-O version of what I had at The Bricks.  This time around I used crunchy peanut butter and grilled the bread for a crispy outside.

Inspired by The Bricks of Ybor – Tampa Florida

Ingredients

  • Unsalted crunchy peanut butter (Choosy moms choose natural pb.  Try to stay away from JIF or Skippy.  There’s added sugars and all sorts of unhealthy ingredients)
  • Kosher pickles
  • 2 slices of wheat bread
  • Earth Balance Butter (non-dairy butter)

Instructions

  1. Spread peanut butter on two slices of bread.
  2. Press pickles between paper towels to absorb the juices from the jar.
  3. Layer pickles.
  4. Spread non-dairy butter on both ends.
  5. Grill both sides over medium heat until golden.
  6. Enjoy!

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Naked Veggie Cobb Salad – No Dressing Needed

Posted on June 6, 2012 | Leave a comment

I was not a fan of salads, but I didn’t appreciate the true taste of raw vegetables.  I hindered the freshness by drenching my salad with a very unhealthy bleu cheese dressing.  I thought I didn’t like salads because of the greens, but it was the heavy dressing that turned me off.

Now I like my salads “naked” – little or no dressing needed.  A bit of lemon juice, herbs, salt, and pepper usually does the trick for me.  When I order a salad I typically ask for the dressing on the side, so I take it by moderation.  Sometimes I find myself snacking on lettuce or spinach by itself.  I love how light and crisp leafy greens can be, so the combination of vegetables is simply delicious.

Here’s an extremely easy and healthy Cobb salad recipe.  You’ll get the crunchy texture from the lettuce, the sweetness from the corn, the creaminess from the avocado, and a grilled smoky taste from the artichokes.  Who needs dressing when you got all those flavors and textures coming together to form a Yum-O salad.

By Shelly Chiang, Makes 1 bowl or 2 small sides

Ingredients 

  • 1/2 bag of 10 oz romaine lettuce
  • 1/2 cup of canned chick peas
  • 1/3 cup frozen or fresh corn
  • 4 pieces of Monterey Farms Grilled Artichokes  (I got this from Whole Foods and it’s a key ingredient, so make sure to get this brand and get it “grilled”)
  • 1/4 medium avocado cubed
  • 1/4 medium red onion cubed
  • 1/2 large tomato cubed
  • 1/4 lemon wedge
  • Dash of salt
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • Pepper
Instructions
  1. Chop avocado, tomato, red onion, artichokes into cubes
  2. Boil frozen or fresh corn until tender
  3. Combine romaine lettuce, chick peas, avocado, tomato, red onion, artichokes, and corn in salad bowl
  4. Sneeze lemon, and sprinkle oregano, pepper, and a dash of salt.
  5. Mix and enjoy!

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Quinoa Party Boats

Posted on May 23, 2012 | Leave a comment

Endives are great for any appetizer combination. I like to call endives party boats because they’re a perfect dish to serve at a party. I always have endives handy in my fridge because they last for long time, so if someone plans to come over for a visit or if a potluck comes up I can whip up a quick app. You can simply put any ingredient in your party boat like hummus or marinated vegetables. Today I’m going to use quinoa (pronounced keen-wah).

I was at Costco the other day and came across a tasting station. My ears perked up when I heard “Try a sample of this delicious quinoa.” I can’t tell you how healthy quinoa is. People ask me where do you get your protein and quinoa is on my list. First of all, it’s a complete protein which includes all nine essential amino acids. Secondly, it has low glycemic index – a food rate based on how much they make your blood sugar rise. Its gluten free, diary free, and complicated cooking free. They call it the “gold of the Incas” and indeed it is. I typically season plain quinoa, but this Nature’s Earthly Choice Quinoa is easy peasy and cooks in 15 minutes. There’s a variety of flavors you can choose from: garden vegetable, sundried tomato, roasted garlic & olive oil, and mushroom. I happen to taste all of them, but I decided to get garden vegetable and roasted garlic & olive oil. I’m using garden vegetable for the party boats.

Makes about 12 party boats

Ingredients
1 box of Nature’s Earthly Choice Quinoa Garden Vegetable (stove top instructions are listed on the box)
1/3 cup mushrooms in cubes
1/3 cup orange bell pepper in cubes
1/3 cup yellow heirloom tomatoes in cubes
2-3 endives (depending on size)

Quinoa

1. I wanted to add more texture to the quinoa mix, so I chopped up a few vegetables I had in the fridge – mushrooms, orange bell pepper, and yellow tomatoes. You can mix any vegetables you want.

2. As you can see it’s very simple and fast.

3. Add mushrooms, bell pepper, and tomatoes 10 minutes into cooking the quinoa.

4. It should take 15 minutes to cook. My rule of thumb is waiting till the quinoa is translucent enough so you can see the rings.

Endives

1. Cut the core about 1/2 inch and a few leaves will fall. Remove the leaves from the outside, which are the bitter ones, and take the leaves that fell from the inside. The leaves in the inside are your party boats.

2. If there are a few leaves attached to the core, then you may have to cut a few inches of the core again. Gather the leaves that fall for your party boats.

Party Boats

1. Take a spoonful of quinoa and place it on your endive

2. Enjoy the party!

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Savory & Sweet Vegan Blinis

Posted on April 21, 2012 | 5 comments

Some nights I just want to have breakfast for dinner (aka blinner).  I wanted some form of pancakes or crepes, but they can get quite heavy.  My aunt use to make us miniature pancakes for lunch when we were younger.  Come to find out later that they were her version of blinis.  Blinis are small and light Russian pancakes made from buckwheat flour and usually served with caviar and sour cream.   These delightful cakes are also perfect as an appetizer, and can be dressed as a savory or sweet dish.  Traditional blinis can take some time to make, plus I’m omitting eggs and milk, so I made my vegan version of blinis.  I included a savory dish for dinner and a sweet dish for desert.  I knew I wanted zucchini for the savory dish, and I had orange heirloom tomatoes so thought they would be perfect to bring out that subtle sweet taste.  For the sweet blini, I wanted mango and thought ginger would pair perfectly.  I didn’t want that strong punch from raw ginger so I decided to use crystallized ginger to give it that sugary blend with the mango.  As they say in Russia “Prijatnovo appetita!”

By Shelly Chiang, Makes about 30 small blinis

Blini Batter Ingredients

  • ½ cup all purpose flour
  • ½ cup buckwheat flour
  • 1 ½ tbsp of baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 tbsp of ground flaxseeds (great egg replacement for pancakes and contains Omega-3)
  • 1 cup almond milk
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 tbsp and 1 teaspoon canola oil
  • ¼ cup water

Sweet Mango-Ginger Ingredients

  • ½ cup tofu sour cream
  • 2 tbsp agave syrup
  • 1 mango in small cubes
  • 2 large pieces of crystallized ginger sliced

Savory Zucchini-Tomato Ingredients

  • ½ of 0.75 oz package of chives
  • ½ cup tofu sour cream
  • 1 zucchini in small cubes
  • 1 orange tomato or 2 small orange tomatoes in cubes

Preparation

Tip: Blinis are best when they are fresh, so prepare the toppings first. If possible have another person help you plate as the blini cakes are done. I recommend serving them as they come out, because they can get soggy if you leave the blinis out too long.

Sweet Topping

1. Add agave to the tofu sour cream, mix, and then set aside.  I noted honey before as a mistake.  Please use agave if you are vegan

2. Chop mango in tiny cubes and set aside

3. Slice ginger in small strips and set aside

Savory Topping

1. Chop chives along the stems (I use cooking scissors) and add to tofu sour cream, mix, and then set aside

2. Chop zucchini in tiny cubes. For the tomatoes, take the seeds out so it doesn’t become watery and chop the tomatoes in tiny cubes

3. Sautee zucchini in medium heat until tender (approx 10 minutes) and then add tomatoes for approx 3 minutes.  Sprinkle a pinch of salt over zucchini and tomatoes.  Then set aside

Blini Batter

1. Combine and mix dry batter items in a bowl: all purpose flour, buckwheat flour, baking powder, sea salt

2. Then add wet batter items to the same bowl and mix: milk, maple syrup, canola oil

3. Add in ground flaxseeds and let it stand for 5 minutes to allow it to activate

4. Add ¼ cup of water so the batter is not too thick

5. Heat large skillet over medium heat and lightly oil the pan or spray with cooking spray. Pour about 2 tablespoons of batter or until blini is 2 ½ inches in size

6. Flip when batter starts bubbling. Cook until blinis are brown

Plating

1. For the savory dish, dab a small spoonful of your chive sour cream on the blini and top it with the sautéed zucchini and tomatoes

2. For the sweet dish, dab a small spoonful of your honey sour cream on the blini and top it with mangos with 3 strips of ginger

3. Continue plating as your blini cakes come out

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April NYC Digs

Posted on April 18, 2012 | Leave a comment

It was a gorgeous spring weekend visiting my sister in nyc.  My sister took us around of course and I looked up a couple places I’ve been dying to try.  I go to nyc often but we were only able to hit a few places from our research. I think we were very successful this time around.  We stayed in East Village – a place full of organic markets and vegetarian restaurants. We also ventured out to the meatpacking district and Brooklyn to discover a couple new digs.  If your vegan/vegetarian I’ll show you how to order at restaurants that mainly serve meat.  There’s always an option. You just have to be a little creative like Sally from the movie When Harry Met Sally.

Before heading to dinner my sister came over and gave me the most beautiful flowers.

My sister took us to Scared Chow, a very trendy vegan restaurant in Greenwich Village. We got a perfect seat by the window.  This adorable dig is known for their vegan tapas.  We ordered six delightful plates – a combo of 3 for $18.  The portions are quite large and heavy for tapas, so choose wisely.

We started out with the Sunflower Lentil Pate with crostinis (plate pictured on the bottom).  The consistency was very much like pate – thick and rich.  It was full of flavor with a crunchy bite.  My top 3 favorite plates of the night: Sautéed Shiitake Mushroom w/South Indian Dip (middle left) – The sauce made this dish.  It almost had a buttery taste.  Growing up I ate plenty of shiitake, but never with such a unique sauce.  Root Vegetable Latkes w/Indonesian Date Butter (top right) – Ok, so this is hands down my favorite of the night.  It was perfectly cooked – crispy on the outside but you can still taste the flavors of the vegetable root.  Korean Tofu Cutlets w/steamed kale (top left) – It was sweet and spicy, but not over-powering flavors like most Korean dishes.

We were much too full for dessert but we walked to St. Mark’s where my sister purchased the best gummy bears ever – Crown Natural Gummy Bears from Saint Mark’s Market.  They were soft and chewy tropical flavors.

The next morning my sister took us to a French bistro for brunch, Patis, located in the meatpacking district.  The brunch menu contained mostly diary and eggs, but here’s where you can get creative if you are vegan.  I opted for the granola and berries w/o yogurt, which was absolutely delish even without yogurt.  They gave us a fresh bread basket and jam.

Ok, so this is the highlight of my trip.  I always been a fan of Top Chef and when I heard that one of my favorite chefs opened a new restaurant I had to go.  Dale Talde was from season 4 and made an amazing comeback on Top Chef Masters.  He’s known for his Asian Fusion cuisine.  I went to Buddakan last year to look for him, but no luck.  Everything happens for a reason.  It just so happens he opened his own restaurant – Talde in Brooklyn.  Let me just say it was phenomenal.

What an experience!  We headed to Brooklyn early because the wait can be up to two hours.  Got there 5 minutes before it opened and the restaurant filled up quickly.

The place is bigger than I expected and we were seated at the best spot, right in front of Dale.  I love restaurants that open the kitchen up so you can see the chefs cooking.

Pretzel Pork & Chive Dumplings with spicy mustard – Heard it really does taste like pretzels.

Perilla Leaf – Perfect dish to cleanse your palette before the main course.

Hawaiian Bread Buns – There were three: Filipino Pork, Crispy Long Island Fluke, and the Market Vegetable.  The Market Vegetable bun melted in my mouth.  My sister claims that the vegetable bun was actually the best one.

Tofu & Kale Salad – The best salad I ever had in my life.  It was a bed of kale served with beets, tofu, and fresh water chestnuts mixed with cider ponzo dressing.  Every bite had a subtle and creamy crunch.  I still dream about it.

Short Ribs – My husband couldn’t find anyone that can make short ribs like his dad, until now.

Halo-Halo – I had halo-halo before, but not like this.  This one was special.  I heard people guess what’s in this dessert.  Here’s what I think it is: shaved ice, coconut milk, bananas, mangos, pear, jelly cubes, tapioca pearl, and drum roll….Captain Crunch cereal.

As you can see my sister thoroughly enjoyed this.

The finale – Dale came over to our table to greet us.  I was such a creepers staring at him all night, so I was star struck when he headed to our table.  He is such a humble person and appreciated how we enjoyed his food, nothing like what he seems on TV.

Later in the night we passed by Pommes Frits.  I heard this on the food network and didn’t mind a late night snack.  We got the sweet mango chutney.  Seriously, the best fries I ever had.  When I took a bite for the first time there was complete silence.

Our last day in NYC – My husband wanted to get a pastrami sandwich from Katz Deli for lunch, so we decided to go there first and then go to this vegan café afterwards.

His lunch came with pickles, so I was noshing on that while my husband finishes his sandwich on a bench we found outside.

My turn – we went to Altas Café.  This is a hole in the wall, and the menu caters to all vegan/vegetarians.  I got the Vegan Mediterranean Crepe.

What’s inside is full of deliciousness – tomatoes, olives, mushrooms, onions, tofu cheese.  I savored every bite.

I also ordered the peanut better layered bomb cake to-go.  It was so good I didn’t even notice it was vegan.  A perfect way to end my trip.

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