Tofu Stir-Fry

I'm not a HUGE fan of tofu, but made this way, it's not mushy and it really has a lot of flavor. Here is one of the few ways I like to make it:

-1/3 package of extra firm tofu, cubed and patted dry
-2 carrots, shredded
-2 or 3 heaping tbsp of chopped cilantro
-1 tbsp of toasted sesame seeds
-11/2 cup of chopped snow peas
-5 tbsp of low sodium soy sauce
-1/2 tsp of garlic chili sauce
-1 packet of chinese take-out duck sauce
-1 tsp of sesame oil
- 1 scallion, chopped
-1/2 tsp garlic powder
-2 tsp of olive oil
-fresh ground pepper
-White rice or lettuce leaves for wraps

Use a non-stick pan and toast the sesame seeds under low heat.  Take the sesame seeds out when golden and wipe the frying pan.  Place the patted dry tofu with the olive oil in the pan and cook until the tofu is browned. Then, add the carrots, snow peas, soy sauce, sesame oil and duck sauce.  Add more soy sauce if it looks dry.  Also add the garlic powder and some black pepper.  Cook the vegetables a few minutes until a little tender but so that the snow peas are still crispy. Add the scallions and cilantro.  Mix and turn the heat off.  Scoop on top of white rice and sprinkle the sesame seeds.  You can also wrap these in lettuce leaves.

Arugula, Chickpea, and Apple Salad

I made this salad two days in a row.  Arugula has a peppery taste, so it is really delicious when paired with the sweet apples.  It is a really good option to use instead of regular lettuce, because it has a lot more flavor.  Arugula is a good source of vitamin A and C. The chickpeas have protein, fiber, calcium, and iron. Apples have fiber and vitamin C.  Almonds are excellent sources of vitamin E, B vitamins, protein, fiber, and they are a cancer fighting food. If you want a more filling meal, you can eat this with some bread, crackers, or even add croutons.

Salad:
2.5 ounces of Arugula
Half of one apple, sliced thin
1/4 cup of canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup of sliced and toasted almonds
2 slices of swiss cheese, chopped thinly

Dressing: Whisk in a separate bowl
1 tbsp of agave nectar
Juice of 1/2 lemon
4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Farmer's Market

Jackson Heights has a great farmer's market on 34th ave, between 77th and 78th streets. If you live in New York, there are many farmer's markets, and about nine in Queens.  Today I picked up just a few tomatoes, cucumbers, chiles, apples and peaches. 

I also bought some juice from Red Jacket Orchards.  If you live in New York, you have to try this juice.  Their Cranberry Apple Cider is so delicious.  They also make nectars, apple sauce and jams.  Today I bought just regular apple cider. Check out their website for all the info.  Aside from farmer's markets, they also sell their products at some stores in the city.  Last thing I bought was a sweet potato knish. It tasted ok, though the corn in it kinda threw me off.  This was nothing compared to the sweet potato knishes at Katz's Deli that I dream about.

Vegan Potato Salad

This recipe is easy, tasty, and especially awesome for people who don't really like mayo. There are no measurements here because you can adjust the amount to how many people you are serving or to your own taste, depending what type of ingredients you like the best.

-Yukon gold or red potatoes, chopped into large bite-sized pieces
-Fresh serrano or jalapeno chopped small
-Celery, chopped small
-Carrot, shredded
-Fresh chopped basil, you could also use fresh dill or parsley
-dill pickles, chopped
-tbsp or two or pickle juice
-salt and pepper to taste
-chopped scallions, or you could use red onion
-Dijon-Style Nasoya Nayonaise

Start with cold water and the chopped potatoes. Boil until tender. Drain and add to the bowl of vegetables. While still warm, add the Dijon-Style Nayonaise and the pickle juice. Stir and add fresh herbs, salt and pepper. Stir again.

Naysoya Dijon-Style Nayonaise tastes so good, you really dont need to add that many other ingredients.  It makes this recipe so easy and tasty. I also make a macaroni salad using it.  If you dont like spicy, omit the chile peppers.  If you like bacon in your potato salad, add some bac-os bits.  If you dont like pickles, you can omit these also, but it's my favorite part of the recipe.

I paired the potato salad with an avocado/tomato/swiss sandwich, topped with new orleans muffaletta olive spread.

Wrap It Up!

I've been making a lot of sandwiches and wraps lately. Buying some ingredients for wraps or sandwiches can save you money on lunch, and they take no time to make. I've been using Mission Multi-Grain Flour Tortillas. This one has swiss, tomato, arugula, orange bell pepper, hummus, and some Paul Newman's Balsamic Dressing.

Here is another one, with some of that Tabbouleh from yesterday, feta cheese, and hummus.

Tabbouleh

I mentioned on this blog once before about how delicious tabbouleh is.  It is a really great Middle Easterm salad, that is super easy to make and so good for you.  Bulghur is a good source of protein, iron, and fiber, and doesn't need to be cooked.  It is made similar to couscous. Lemon and parsley are excellent cleansing foods.  I eat it with chickpeas, hummus and pita, and sometimes feta cheese.

Here is my recipe:
1 bunch of parsley, cleaned and dry, chopped
1/4 cup of chopped mint
1/2 large tomato, chopped with the seeds out
1 persian cucumber chopped with skin and seeds
1/4 of a red onion, chopped small, or two chopped scallions
1 lemon
1/2 cup of bulghur
1/4 to 1/3 cup of olive oil, depending on your liking
1/2 tsp of sumac
salt and pepper to taste

Place the bulghur in a bowl and squeeze the juice of half of a lemon.  Pour 1/2 cup of boiling water on top nd let it sit until it is all absorbed.  While the bulghur is being absorbed by the water and lemon, in another bowl combine all vegetables and herbs.  When the bulghur is absorbed, add everything together, including the olive oil, sumac, the juice of the other half of the lemon, and salt and pepper. You can add more lemon if you like.

A few notes...if you don't have sumac, it's ok to omit it.  It adds a bit of lemony taste.  If you don't have persian cucumbers, just take the skin off and the seeds out before chopping.  Scallions are good to use instead of onion if you just want a mild onion taste. This is best after it has been sitting in the refrigerator for a few hours and has had time to aborb the flavors.

I Love My Rice Cooker

Kitchen appliances often clutter the kitchen, and most of them are unnecessary. Do you really need a sandwich press, waffle iron, George Foreman grill, and three types of blenders? I try to keep my kitchen appliances to a minimum ( I don't even own a microwave), but one thing I love is my rice cooker.  I have had this rice cooker for over ten years.  I bought it when I was living in the college dorms at Hunter College, and since then it has moved with me about ten times, across the country twice, through grad school, rested in storage, and is still going strong. One of my favorite things to eat is a big plate of warm white rice, topped with plantains and fresh vegetables. I like to drizzle it all with olive oil and add lemon juice or vinegar.

For this plate I used:
1 1/2 cups of rice
1 tbsp of sofrito, I used Goya
1 chopped serrano chile
1 persian cucumber, sliced
1 tomato, sliced
1/2 of an orange bell pepper, chopped
1 tbsp of spanish green olives
1 egg
4 slices of Tropical Queso de Frier (Frying Cheese)
2 tbsp of fresh chopped cilantro
vegetable oil
olive oil
fresh lemon juice or red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

The great part about a rice cooker is that you can do other things, like take a shower or walk the dog, without worrying about ruining your rice.  The rice comes out perfect each time.  Drop the rice in the rice cooker and stir with enough olive oil to coat the rice, then add the sofrito and the serrano and 3 cups of water and stir.  While the rice cooker is doing its magic, chop up your vegetables and fry your plantains in enough vegetable oil to cover one side. 

When the rice is almost done, fry an egg to your liking and then the cheese until is is just brown and soft.  Top the rice with all of the vegetables, egg, cheese, and plantains.  Drizzle wth olive oil, salt and pepper.  Add either lemon juice or red wine vinegar.

This type of dish is so easy and versatile.  Sometimes I add avocado instead of the egg.  You can also add other vegetables or use other types of cheese, such as feta.

Top Ramen Can Be Classy

It's 4a.m. I am home from work and I am hungry. You can't go to sleep hungry...What to make....? Ramen Noodles!  I like to "dress up" my ramen noodles so that they taste better and I get some actual nutrition (besides the 10% of daily iron in them).  Make sure if you use Top Ramen, use the Oriental flavor (wow what a politically incorrect way of naming noodles), because it is the only one that doesn't use meat broth.  Of course you can always use a healthier and more expensive version, such as Thai Kitchen Mushroom Noodle Bowl, which is advertises itself as vegan.

Put some water on to boil. I like to add more water than it calls for. While the water is boiling, chop up the vegetables and herbs and place them in a large bowl. Cook the noodles with their flavor packet and add some hot sauce or chili garlic sauce. Pour the soup over the raw vegetables that are in the bowl and add ground pepper. You can also add a dash of soy sauce and/or hot sesame oil. Tonight I added shredded carrots, snow peas, and cilantro.  Sliced mushrooms and red bell pepper are also great additions.

Now, does this have tons of sodium and MSG? Yes. Is this HEALTHY? Not really. But does this taste good and satisfy your appetite in a short amount of time? Yes.

Home.

It's been a rough couple of days.  I had a mouse in my house this week, and haven't slept much.  I won't even get into how upsetting it was, especially trying to figure out how to get it out. So, on my day off, I went to Flushing Meadow Park and had a relaxing time, where the fountain was on at the Unisphere. Checkout this beautiful pic I took. I walked around the park after a late breakfast of an egg sandwich with cheddar on rye and a side salad.

Later on I went to my parents house to sleep and had some comfort food. Mom's sauce. Delicious.

For a late night snack, I had some Trader Joe's Thai Vegetable Gyoza. Not only are they some of the best frozen dumplings you can buy, they are also vegan. I mixed some soy sauce with a few dashes of sesame oil and Melindas's hot sauce.

Vietnamese Bun Salad and Nuoc Cham

Vietnamese isn't the most ethnically common type of food to find.  In fact, I never even tried Vietnamese food despite my 4 1/2 years living in San Diego where there is a pretty significant population of Vietnamese.  I first tried Vietnamese food when I lived in Columbus, Ohio.  There is a wonderful market there called The North Market, whose history goes as far back as 1876.  If you ever go to Columbus, you need to go there.  There is a little food vendor called Lan Viet Market inside of The North Market, and this is where I fell in love with Bun. I would actually dream about the combination of fresh vegetables on top of rice or cold rice vermicelli noodles. 

Bun can be vegetarian, or you can get it with meat or shrimp.  Another common vegetarian topping for Bun is spring rolls. A few weeks ago, I tried a Vietnamese restaurant here in New York and the Bun was delicious! Rice vermicelli, fermented carrot and taro root, marinated tofu, fresh cucumber and tomato, and bean sprouts.  The best part of Bun is the sauce, called Nuoc Cham. Nuoc Cham is sweet, salty, acidic, and if you like it can also be spicy.

Here is my version of a quick Bun, which I made for lunch the next day:
-Two handfuls of rice vermicelli noodles
-sliced cucumber
-sliced tomato
-chopped scallion
-chopped cilantro (if you have basil and mint you can also add this)
-2 tsp of sesame oil

For the Nuoc Cham sauce:
-1tbsp of sugar
-2 tbsp soy sauce (typically fish sauce is used)
-2 tbsp of rice vinegar (you can also use lime juice)
-3 tbsp of water
-pinch of garlic powder
-1/2 tsp of chili garlic sauce

Boil a pot of water and drop the noodles in for 2-3 minutes. Do not OVERCOOK the noodles. They will turn to mush. Gross. Drain and rinse with just a little cold water. While still warm, dress with the sesame oil so the noodles don't stick together. Place in a bowl and add the rest of the vegetable ingredients.  For the Nuoc Cham, in a separate bowl, mix ingredients together, making sure you dissolve the sugar.  Add more or less chili garlic sauce, depending on how hot you like it. Now pour on top of the Bun. That's it! So easy and good for you. If you have other ingredients like marinated tofu or vegetables such as carrot or bean sprouts, be sure to add those too!

Tortellini Farmer's Market Salad

The last few days have been a little hectic. Not much time for blogging, but I've had some good food. Fresh mozarella/tomato/basil sandwiches, veggie tacos, veggie burgers, and veggie nachos. It's been a veggie fest! Here is a picture of some veggie nachos from my job. You see on there some cheesy goodness, black beans, sauteed vegetables, and shredded lettuce topped with Cholula.

I haven't had much time to go shopping, so I tried to use the rest of my produce from the farmer's market. During the summer, my family always made a simple but delicious green bean salad with tomato, cucumber, red onion and good seasons italian dressing. It's best to eat during the summer, when the tomatoes and cucumbers are fresh from the garden and the green beans are also fresh. I was lacking in tomatoes yesterday, so I made this variation:
-Fresh green beans, as many as you like. I used about 4 handfuls.
-4 or 5 radishes, sliced
-1 large cucumber, or 2 curby pickling cucumbers, sliced
-A quarter of a red onion, or half of a small one, sliced thin.
-Tortellini, about half a box. I used Giovanni Rana artichoke.
-Spoonful of chopped olives, I used trader joes olive tapenade spread.
-Two pinches of oregano
-Freshly ground pepper
-Extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar or balsamic dressing

Cook the green beans until just tender. You don't want them crispy, but you don't want them mushy. Then cook the tortellini in the same water. While the tortellini and beans are cooling a bit, chop the remaining vegetables. Dress the salad while it is still warm. It will absorb the flavor better. I like to use Paul Newman's Light Balsamic. It tastes delicious and Paul Newman's is one of the few types of dressings you can get in most supermarkets that doesn't have corn syrup, gelatin, or MSG. Many people fail to read the ingredients in their salad dressings and you are not doing yourself any good by making a delicious and healthy salad, and then pouring corn syrup all over it.

By the way, Giovanni Rana products are really great. They have so much flavor. The mushroom raviolis are my favorite.

Savory Peach Salad

I saw a recipe similar to this one in a magazine my mom had at the beach. The peaches are still so delicious at this time of year. Try this recipe before they are out of season. Last week I made peach cobbler, which did NOT turn out good. No point in posting the recipe. Though it tasted good, I was told the consistancy was like snot...which...it was. This salad on the other hand is so good. It is my second time making it in the last few weeks. My mom came over for lunch a few weeks ago, and I could see from the look on her face that she wasn't too keen on me putting onions, olive oil, pepper, and basil onto peaches. Now, I know what you are thinking. You are thinking the same thing as my mom. Trust me on this one, she did and she loved it. My father also loved it, and he's a tough one. Here is the recipe:

-Half of an onion, sliced very thin (I used red onion the first time)
-3 very large peaches or 6 smaller peaches, sliced (take off the skin if you want)
-Fresh basil, chiffonade (about 10 leaves)
-Half of a lemon
-Extra virgin olive oil
-Tsp of salt
-Fresh ground pepper to taste

Start off by placing the onion into a large bowl with water and a tsp of salt. Mix it around and let it sit in there for 15 minutes or so. Drain the water out and add the peaches, basil, juice of the half of the lemon, basil, ground pepper, and a few turns of extra virgin olive oil into the bowl.

Gently mix it. It is best eaten the same day. You can eat it as is, or you can put over rice or quinoa. You can also eat it with some Gardein Meatless Chicken.

I also had some sushi rolls today. An avocado/cucumber roll and an oshinko (a type of sweet pickled daikon radish) roll, then some poblano spinach enchiladas with salsa verde for dinnner, topped with lots of shredded lettuce.

Thai Food... I Love Thai Food.

Living by Roosevelt Ave, there are so many delicious Mexican restaurants. I was pleasantly surprised today by friends with a delicious fried corn quesadilla with oaxacan cheese and sliced avocado. I wish I had remembered to take a picture, but I ate it so fast. I am so lucky to live in Queens, which has every type of cuisine you can think of (and good at that). I can get not only traditional Mexican, but also Thai. Thai food is vegetarian friendly, and it is one of my favorite cuisines. For dinner I had some papaya salad (som tum). You can ask them to make it vegetarian (it traditionally has dried shrimp in it and/or shrimp paste and fish sauce). I made this from scratch once and it came out pretty good, but was pretty labor intensive. I prepared the green papaya the traditional way, by peeling the papaya and then using a large sharp knife to make cuts in the flesh, and then shaving it off with the knife. Click on THIS to see a video of it. It's pretty amazing. There was green papaya everywhere in my kitchen. Tonight, I also had red curry with vegetables (eggplant, baby corn, carrot, thai basil, broccoli, bamboo shoots), no tofu. Good stuff.

Labor Day Eats!

Today started out with some coffee, watermelon, kiwi, and some delicious plums I got from the farmer's market on sunday.

I ate a late lunch at Whole Foods in Columbus Circle. The Whole Foods in Columbus Circle is my favorite! They have a huge selection for their hot and cold bar. I got this yummy, healthy lunch for only around $9.

My box of healthy goodness had: -orzo salad wth feta and olives (my favorite thing I got) -lentil salad with parsley, tomato and carrot (also delicious) -tofu peanut broccoli salad (not too tasty) -some cucumbers, olives, and arugula (olives are my favorite) -quinoa with energy sprout salad and lemon parsley dressing (packed with protein) -a little taste of curry apple israeli couscous (kind of bland)

I washed it down with grapefruit juice.... I also tried these vegan kale chips. I love kale and it is SOOO good for you. I have been wanting to make kale chips and I found these which are made in Brooklyn.

For dinner I ate this at my job.

Shredded lettuce, avocado with lemon juice, rice and beans topped with pico de gallo, and tons of tabasco! :P I hope everyoe had a great holiday!

"Chicken" Pear Salad

So yeah, I eat a lot of salads. But I like salad, and salad can be a well-balanced meal and quite fulfulling. I make some kick-ass salads. Here is one of them.

-4 or 5 pieces of cooked and chopped Gardien "Chicken" (seven grain crispy tenders)
-1 pear (I used Barlett) not too ripe, sliced thin
-Handful of dried cranberries ( or cherries)
-Lettuce (whatever variety you like)
-Handful of pea shoots
-Handful of toasted almond slices
- A few drizzles of honey
-Extra virgin olive oil
-Half of a lemon
-Ricotta Salata (or you could use feta or grated cheese)
-Salt and Pepper to taste
-tsp of fig balsamic glaze

Lettuce on the bottom, the rest on top. To make this vegan, omit the cheese and use agave nectar instead of honey. Figs are in season so you could substitute those for the pears or use both. The fig balsamic glaze is sweet. If you don't have this it's ok...add a little regular balsamic vinegar and some more honey. Do not be fooled by the "seven grain" in the crispy tenders. This stuff is so good, you won't believe it. By far the best fake meat out there. My non-vegetarian friends and family eat it.

Rockaway Taco

I've been hearing a lot about Rockaway Taco. Since it's a seasonal place and the summer is almost over I had to check it out before it was too late. I haven't been to Rockaway Beach in quite a few years and I was pleasantly surprised at how beautiful it was, and cleaner than I remembered. Although with all of the new condos and hipsters I was thrown off thinking I was in Williamsburg for a second, I got over it pretty quickly. Rockaway Taco is steps from the beach, they pump reggae music, grow their vegetables on the roof and have some vegetarian and vegan options. I got a fresh water melon juice, tofu taco with guacamole, and a quesadilla with cheese, sweet plantain, and black beans. The black beans tasted deliciously homemade. The quesadilla was my favorite, and the tofu taco was pretty good. They also make their own hot sauce and vinegared hot jalapeno/onion/carrot mix.