The Peaceable Kingdom

So What The Heck Do We Eat? -- Day 115, This Is How I "Drown My Sorrows"

nobody@vox.com(Singing Horse) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 23:49:19 -0700

I just dug out these photos from my camera. They were all taken well before I got the stomach flu. Believe it or not, I still feel rather funny in the stomach when I look at them. Don't get me wrong. The pancakes were great; however, I'm in no position to swallow them now. It's just gruel, cucumbers and water for me. Anyway, my OCD dictates that I feel obligated to post these photos.

Fluffy Four Grain Pancakes

This is the better four-grain pancake recipe I found. The original recipe is by Vaishali of "Holy Cow!". It's already vegan and definitely a keeper.

Buckwheat Banana Pancakes

For people who like bananas, this is the one. So very dense and full of banana flavor, these pancakes are like a real meal. The original recipe, by Culinary Healing, can be found here.

Coconut Macaroon Pancakes

These are the best pancakes ever, for me, yet! I can't wait to see how good pancakes can get. Heavenly smell, texture, and taste. The original recipe - Coconut Macaroon Pancakes - by Heidi of "101 Cookbooks" calls for 3 cups of shredded coconut. I used only 1.5 cups because I still wanted a more flour-based texture. Boy, I can't wait to make the real coconut macaroon pancakes after making these babies.

Vegan English Muffins (Again!)

And I'm still not tired of English muffins. This batch is definitely my personal best so far. I probably should refrain from making them too soon. I know, you agree I really should.

Green Scrambled Tofu

This green scrambled tofu helped me in one of my hardest days. I lost all of my appetite because I was upset and run down. But nothing beats two zucchini and three green bell peppers with loads of chives in a good old scrambled tofu.

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So What The Heck Do We Eat? -- Day 114, The Mega Post

nobody@vox.com(Singing Horse) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 08:09:11 -0700

Time really flies. It's the middle of July now. I haven't been blogging much lately. I have a very good excuse this time. I was transitioning to Ubuntu Hardy (a very popular Linux distro) in the past two weeks. I was really busy configuring my system, getting our wireless network to work, and synchronizing the iPod Touch with my new Ubuntu system. I'm really excited about this move because I'm finally free of Windows and all the Windows woes. And I can cut our future expenses down - no more software purchase! And in the midst of setting up my own notebook, my husband's Windows Vista was actually wiped out by a serious and malicious virus. All of his files and his Windows system files were deleted after a reboot. We got no warning whatsoever from our expensive antivirus software. Yeah, what was I expecting a stupid little Windows program to do? The outcome is that now we are both using Ubuntu only. I guess Windows finally pissed us off enough. I'm certainly not gonna miss it.

Being inundated with setting up two Ubuntu systems, I haven't posted any food porn but I have been eating. Well, that goes without saying. I have been cooking, sort of. So this post may seem a little long.

The first photo is the Deep-Dish Sun-Dried Tomato Quiche. I saved the recipe from Vegetarian Times for several months before I felt perplexed why I hadn't made it earlier. It was worth the wait, I'm telling you. It's good for a summer dinner that will delight your taste buds, which keeps you refreshed and cheerful.

Deep-Dish Sun-Dried Tomato Quiche

Here's a closeup that you can't miss. Oh, I really loved this quiche! It's also the first time that I have made a pie crust with whole wheat pastry flour. I enjoyed the whole process for a good reason then.

Deep-Dish Sun-Dried Tomato Quiche

The second photo is the Lentil, Bok Choy and Potato Soup. The original recipe is Lentil, Spinach and Potato Soup by Carla of "But Did They Eat It?". I liked it very much, but didn't eat the leftover soup the second day. It's really not the soup's fault. I'm just going through a very particular food-crisis phase. I basically don't know what the heck I want to eat for the next meal.

Lentil, Bok Choy and Potato Soup

The third photo is my first attempt at making mochi. I bought a bag of mochiko a month ago and every time I saw it in my pantry, I felt guilty of not picking it up. One hot afternoon my cravings made me venture into the kitchen and made some basic sweet mochi. I was too lazy to make any azuki bean stuffing, and simply pan-fried (or rather, pan-baked) the mochi. The mildly sweet rice cakes came out so good. Boy, I love Japanese desserts! Oh, I almost forogt. I followed this recipe on Chow.com.

Pan-Fried Mochi

The next photo is Nicole's Four Grain Pancakes. I used the modified recipe by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen. Kudos to both Nicole and Aparna! It's a great recipe and I totally loved these healthy and hearty pancakes. These four-grain pancakes can be easily made into savory ones that will go nicely with some beautiful soup.

Four Grain Pancakes

Yet another photo of my regular udon noodle bowl. This one consists of asparagus, dried Shiitake mushrooms (soaked), and faux meatballs. The sauce is simple: a couple dashes of vegetarian oyster sauce, dark soy sauce or tamari, a pinch of hot smoked Spanish paprika and a lot of parsley.

Udon Noodles with Asparagus, Mushroom and Neatballs

And yesterday afternoon I made these beautiful Chocolate Oatmeal Macadamia Butter Muffins. The original recipe is by Katy of Legally Vegan. She used chunky peanut butter but I'm loving the unsalted macadamia butter now so naturally I used that. I also subbed a silken tofu "egg". Definitely a keeper!

Chocolate Oatmeal Macadamia Butter Muffins

This is after my two bites. It wasn't easy to put down my muffin to take this photo, so I didn't care much about the quality of the photo at all.

Chocolate Oatmeal Macadamia Butter Muffin (Closeup)

Finally, I made a very simple side dish - Summer Squash Sizzle. It's just what I needed in this summer. Crispy vegetables with a hint of lemon freshness. The original recipe is found in My Vegan Cookbook. I love that Web site! Many thanks to the man behind the curtain for all those wonderful vegan recipes.

Summer Squash Sizzle

I guess I won't have much time for regular blogging yet. But I'll try to, especially I've got so much to catch up in my

Vox neighborhood. Until then, take care and God bless!

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So What The Heck Do We Eat? -- Day 113, Diet, Diet, Diet!

nobody@vox.com(Singing Horse) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:15:48 -0700

The title says it all... I know I said it many times before, but this time it's not a choice any more. I've indulged myself enough and it's time to have some real discipline. Summer is here, for God's sake!

Garlicky Amaranth

This is a very easy stirfry dish. Fresh garlic and fresh amaranth stirfried in canola oil. Peanut oil will be good too. Less than 3 minutes and it's all done. Garlic and amaranth are really made for each other.

Borlotti Bean Porridge

This is the first time I've made any Chinese porridge. The key is to mix the rice with some olive oil and salt very well before cooking. The porridge will turn out very smooth and creamy. I used 5-6 times the water that I normally use for cooking rice, but I accidentally used a little too much rice without realizing. So this porridge could have been a bit more watery. I loved it though, especially in this heat.

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Vegan Coconut Bread With Bread Machine

nobody@vox.com(Singing Horse) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 04:23:03 -0700

Vegan Coconut Bread

This is the best bread I've made out of my bread machine. I must confess that I haven't used it that much. It's still a new bread machine. But this 50% whole wheat bread is so doughy and fluffy that we can hardly believe the result. So here's the bread machine recipe.

2/3 cup unsweetened soy milk
2 Tbsp. water + 2 tsp. if the dough is too dry
1 Tbsp. maple syrup
2 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
3/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/3 whole wheat flour
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
1/2 cup shredded coconut

Use "sweet bread" cycle.

This bread will be great toasted and slathered with vegan margarine.

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So What The Heck Do We Eat? -- Day 112, Spring Detox Vegetable Stew, and More

nobody@vox.com(Singing Horse) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 05:45:59 -0700

Oh, where did I go? I don't know how I just don't seem to have enough time to blog more often nowadays. I gotta quit the fast lane, as soon as possible, for my sanity. The good news is that we will have our long vacation very soon, in August. I didn't cook much, but I did conjure up a new vegetable stew for myself. It's really effective for losing a few pounds since summer is more or less here.

Spring Detox Veggie Stew

Spring Detox Vegetable Stew

(makes 7-8 servings)

1 large yellow onion, cut into half moons
3 green bell peppers, julienned
8 garlic bulbs, pressed
2 Russet potatoes, cubed
4 Roma tomatoes, finely chopped and juice reserved
1/2 hot water
1 large zucchini, halved and then sliced thinly
2 bunches of asparagus, tips reserved and the rest cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 cup fresh edamame, rinsed
1/2 cup (tightly packed) fresh basil, torn into pieces
6-7 fresh sage leaves, torn into pieces

1 1/2 tsp. dried thyme, crushed
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Sauté onions, peppers and garlic for about 10 minutes until softened.
2. Add potatoes and cook covered for 4-5 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes and hot water. Mix well and cook covered for 1-2 minutes.
4. Add zucchini, asparagus and edamame and mix well. Cook for another 10 minutes on low-medium heat.
5. Add herbs, mix and heat through. Remove from heat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

I had this veggie stew in the beginning of a difficult diet. It helped quite a bit because it was very satisfying but pretty light. Of course, I haven't been all that disciplined. I wish I had just stayed with vegetables alone. But making Lolo's Easy Tarte aux Pommes is a great pleasure, before, during, and after the process. It was really easy to make, and it smelled good and tasted good. If you want a little treat for your weariness after a long day, make this and you will have a smile on the face when you dig your fork into it.

Easy Tarte aux Pommes

And I'm ashamed to report that I also made the vegan English muffins again. I ate them with a lot of vegan margarine and apricot preserves. This was obviously for a fattening diet.

Vegan English Muffins Again

Until then, you all take care! I hope I won't disappear for long again.

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So What The Heck Do We Eat? -- Day 111

nobody@vox.com(Singing Horse) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 05:38:34 -0700

Thomas Keller's Ratatouille

Yay! I finally got the time and courage to make the "official" ratatouille (recipe by Thomas Keller) in the movie Ratatouille. Boy, it was worth hours of roasting vegetables in heat. It was the most tasty ratatouille I've had so far! And it looked so darn pretty!

Ann Brettingen's Swedish Apple Cake

This is the vegan version of Ann Brettingen's Swedish apple cake. The recipe I used is adapted from Dorie Greenspan by Gretchen Noelle of "Canela & Comino". It was a very soothing and mild-flavored fruity cake. Perfect for the afternoon tea.

Chômeur Pudding

My sweet tooth kicked in hard, so I made chômeur pudding - a traditional dessert from Quebec, Canada. The recipe is from Andrée of PPK. This is how it looked right after baking. Obviously my six portions of the dough all melted together and turned into one beautiful cake.

Chômeur Pudding

The tempting warm pudding on the plate now. I loved it very much after I made it. But I guess for the sake of my diet, I'll have to wait a long time before I can make it again. It's a little too dangerous for me.

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So What The Heck Do We Eat? -- Day 110

nobody@vox.com(Singing Horse) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 04:45:25 -0700

I don't really have time to write a post now but I do have some food porn to share. So let's get down to business immediately.

The first thing is Jamie Oliver's Asparagus, Mint and Lemon Risotto with Fresh Fava Beans. I found the recipe in Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen. I replaced dry white wine with Merlot (no choice), omitted cheese, and added fresh fava beans (a.k.a., broad beans). The risotto had a very nice and creamy Middle Eastern flavor.

Asparagus, Mint and Lemon Risotto with Fresh Fava Beans

The second thing is inevitably a dessert - Hot Fudge Cake (recipe courtesy of Jewish Vegan). Boy, it was such an ooey gooey hot cake! Hot fudge+chocolate pudding+warm chocolate cake. I wasn't so sure when the cake just came out of the oven. I'm never sure when I have to pour a lot of hot water directly over the cake dough.

Hot Fudge Cake (After Baking)

Now look at it again! After a slice was plated, I poured some of the hot fudge and pudding over cake. It was clearly the best chocolate fudge I've ever had! Everything just melted in my mouth.

Hot Fudge Cake

The last thing is Choklay's Tibetan Lentil Soup, recipe by "eat me, delicious". I don't need to say anything. The photo shows everything. Oh, just one thing: I didn't know Tibetan's eat lentils too. Did you?

Choklay's Tibetan Lentil Soup

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So What The Heck Do We Eat? -- Day 109

nobody@vox.com(Singing Horse) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:03:42 -0700

I tried out a very simple yet ultra-yummy recipe of Nava Atlas - Stewed Tofu with Corn and Tomatoes. I've always enjoyed Nava's recipes because they are simple, straightforward and often involve a balanced and tasty combination of commonly-used ingredients. No fancy schmancy, and no fuss. Vegetables, grains and tofu taste good on their own, and we shall try to remember that whenever we cook. My variation of this recipe: I added a small onion (cut into half-moons), 2 celery sticks, half a red bell pepper, bok choy, and I used fresh cilantro and basil as suggested. I also subbed packaged fried tofu so I avoided pan-frying firm tofu squares. The stew is full of different textures and different tastes that blend well together.

Stewed Tofu with Corn and Tomatoes

And I'm really glad to announce that I finally tried the chocolate pudding Purplesque made a while ago, recipe by courtesy of Jugalbandi. This is clearly the best chocolate pudding (vegan or non-vegan) I've ever had. It's so chocolatey and rich that we practically inhaled it. I didn't even have a chance to photograph its complete form before it was chilled. My husband, who doesn't like any dessert, ate half of the pudding when it was still warm. The photo below was what was left for me.

Vegan Chocolate Pudding

Thanks, Purplesque, for the wonderful recommendation of this pudding! Now it's a staple in our household.

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So What The Heck Do We Eat? -- Day 108

nobody@vox.com(Singing Horse) — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 20:35:19 -0700

In a desperate search for a green-heavy meal option, I dug out a really valuable recipe - Spring Green Quinoa - by Susan Voisin of Fatfree Vegan Kitchen that I had saved recently. I was so glad that I could kill two birds with one stone this time: a) I bought some fresh edamame, lots of asparagus and four large zucchini, so I would hate to waste them; b) we are trying to eat less wheat and more whole grains with more greens. Spring Green Quinoa offers a very wholesome and toothsome experience. I didn't have enough quinoa for this recipe (1/4 cup short) so I added in some white jasmine rice, otherwise this recipe could be gluten-free as well as wheat-free. I used more edamame and doubled the asparagus, and subbed one fresh Roma tomato with two teaspoons of tomato paste since I didn't have any sundried tomatoes left. Fresh basil also added more garden-feeling to the whole dish. This is definitely a keeper, especially when we have not been disciplined in our diet.

Spring Green Quinoa

I also made a tofu dish - Coconut Tofu with Curry Dipping Sauce. The recipe came from Tofu of "what the hell DOES a vegan eat anyway?", one of my favorite vegan foodblogs. Unfortunately, I didn't do justice to this great recipe. Some of the shredded coconut came off in the frying pan so the bare marinated tofu looked more brown than golden (compare with Tofu's photo). But the tofu was really tasty. It's like eating tofu and a coconut dessert at the same time.

Coconut Tofu

Lastly, I yielded to the temptation and made another batch of vegan English muffins. Yes, they are that good with vegan margarine!

English Muffins with Vegan Margarine

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So What The Heck Do We Eat? -- Day 107, Vegan Zucchini Rice Gratin

nobody@vox.com(Singing Horse) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 21:17:23 -0700

When I first saw this wonderful dish on Elly's blog, I knew that I had to give it a go, very soon. Roasted zucchini and tomatoes, creamy jasmine rice, and au gratin, what more can a man ask for? Nothing more! Oh, maybe a slice of blueberry cheesecake afterwards, but let's not get into that now. My eyes got bigger and my heart sang merrily when I saw Elly's creamy and colorful photos, so I followed Elly's link and looked up the recipe on Epicurious immediately. Wouldn't it be nice if I veganized the recipe? Yes! Do I have all the ingredients to do so? Yes! This is how it goes.

Vegan Zucchini Rice Gratin

Vegan Zucchini Rice Gratin

Adapted from Gourmet

Makes 4 servings

2 large zucchini, sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick
2 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
2 Roma tomatoes, sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick
1 medium onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3/4 cup white jasmine rice
1 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 package (12.3 ounce) lite firm silken tofu, drained of water

1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. thyme, crushed
1 tsp. tahini

1/3 cup unsweetened soymilk
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450°F with racks in upper and lower thirds.

Toss zucchini with 1 tablespoon oil in a shallow baking pan. Toss tomatoes with 1/2 tablespoon oil in another baking pan. Sprinkle salt and black pepper on both zucchini and tomatoes.

Roast zucchini in upper third of oven and tomatoes in lower third, turning vegetables once halfway through roasting, until tender and light golden, about 10 minutes for tomatoes; 20 minutes for zucchini. Leave oven on.

Meanwhile, sauté onion with 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large heavy skillet, covered, over low heat, stirring occasionally, until transluscent, 10 to 12 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add rice and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer, until rice is cooked (about 15 minutes).

In a blender or food processor, blend tofu, cornstarch, thyme, tahini and soymilk until very smooth.

Stir together cooked rice and tofu mixture. Taste the rice tofu mixture and add sald and pepper to taste. Spread half of rice tofu mixture in a shallow 2-quart baking dish, then top with half of zucchini and tomatoes. Spread remaining rice mixture over zucchini, then top with remaining zucchini and tomatoes.

Bake in the middle of the oven until set, about 20 minutes. Cool for 20-30 minutes and slice to serve. Enjoy!

Vegan Zucchini Rice Gratin (Sliced)

This vegan version came out really creamy and cheese-like and with one added benefit: no cholesterol. It was very tasty and not that heavy. So you can eat it happily without much reservation.

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