Kim Chi Time!!

I have been itching to try to make my own kimchi for about a month.  It really amazed me how hard it was to find Korean pepper, gochugaru, in South Austin.  When finally presented the opportunity (excuse) to go to North Austin, I jumped at the chance to check out a proper Korean market.

I knew I was in the right place when instantly greeted with more napa cabbage than I've ever seen in one room.  It was kind of hard to not be immersed with authenticity with the quintessential Korean grandmother scolding her unruly brood of grandkids with only "that look."  Seriously, home girl meant business.  Even I felt ashamed for some reason.

Whilst perusing the aisles, I was suddenly overwhelmed with options.  What?  An ENTIRE LANE just for SEAWEED?!?  Pretty sure I squeed so loud I put kids in a candy shop to shame.  I picked up all kinds of vegan goodness on my way to the spice aisle:  Shirataki noodles, inari pockets, fancy nut oils, dried seaweed and kelp.  I got these cool little wonton wrapper things that I'm  not really sure what I'm going to do with.  Then finally, FINALLY... my precious.  GOCHUGARU!!!!

This magic spice is sold both in a pre-mixed paste and in dried "only pepper" form.  I opted to get the pepper flakes as to avoid all the unnecessary preservatives in the pre-made goo.  It's also 1/4 of the price and super easy to make your own paste anyways.

Here's how it all came together...

Ingredients:
1 head Napa Cabbage (2-2.5 pounds)
1/2 cup Salt (I used sea salt)
1/3 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
10 medium cloves of garlic
1/8 cup roasted sesame seeds
1/2 cup Gochugaru
1T Local Raw Honey

Wash, trim, then halve the cabbage.  Cut out core.  Slice the half into 3 lengthwise sections then coarsely chop into 1.5ish" strips.  Salt thoroughly, rubbing salt into each leaf.  Let sit, covered for 2 hours (or however many episodes of Supernatural that was).

Rinse cabbage thoroughly, allow to strain while preparing the paste.  Chuck the vinegar, garlic, sesame seeds, gochugaru peppers, and honey into the food processor, mix until paste-like.  Use hands to coatall of the cabbage with the spicy paste in a large bowl.

Transfer the cabbagy goodness to a large resealable jar or a gallon sized freezer bag.  Really pack it in there, trying to get all air pockets out.  Let sit on counter for 5 hours then transfer to the refrigerator.  Apparently this stuff keeps for about 3 weeks in the fridge!  Not that I think it will last that long... look how pretty it is...

I even treated myself to a new bowl to enjoy kim chi goodness in!  I love pandas!

Alright, time to get back to work :-(...  Laters xoxo

Vegan Cowgirl Queso!

One of my favorite things about Austin is the never ending list of amazing Tex Mex restaurants that are more than happy to put a bowl full of melted cheesy goodness in front of me. Oftentimes they get inventive and put a bunch of other things in it and call it a kitschy name. My personal favorites from my carnivorous days are Kerbey Lane's Cowboy Queso and Hills Cafe's white queso with brisket.

It's awfully sad that cheese makes me feel so awful. I was feeling quite emotional today and ended up picking up a cheese pizza. I had 2 small pieces and I now feel like death. This, my friends, is why I love cooking vegan.

So, after this crappy week I deserve a tall beer and a huge bowl of my very own Vegan Cowgirl Queso!

1/2 wedge of Jalapeño Garlic Havarti Daiya vegan cheese
1/2 cup canned black beans, rinsed
1 chopped avocado
1 medium chopped tomato
1/8 cup chopped onion
Small bunch of chopped cilantro
1T lime juice

I just crumbled the Daiya into a microwave safe bowl then dumped in the delicious little black beans. After 1:30 in our 1100w micronuker, the beans were chillin in a creamy sea of awesome. Top it off with the chopped medley of veg and you have the perfect bowl of vegan gluten/soy free queso!

Bon appetite! Arriba! Arriba!

Magical Bento Salad!

I love creative, compact ways of transporting fresh, healthy foods.  This little bento from Itzy Ritzy is not only cute, but incredibly practical for the hungry herbivore...



First, I chopped up 1/2 of a large (8") cucumber and put in the largest reservoir.  I poured on my choice of dressing (this time I used some sesame ginger leftover from yesterday's beet-pocalypse).  Usually I'll put my red onions in this reservoir as well, however, I knew I would have meetings all afternoon and didn't want to rock the onion stank.  Marinated cucumbers are one of my favorite additions to salads and this box is perfect for making sure the dressing doesn't leak into other reservoirs that may contain more fragile elements that don't hold up well to dressing.

I used the other two reservoirs in the bottom level to measure out a bunch of alfalfa sprouts, quinoa, and tofu.  At that point, I figured my salad could use a little color, so I quickly chopped up 1 carrot to toss on top of my veggies!

Please note:  You will fit way more tofu in the box if you cut a pre-measured chunk that fits in the box then chop it up after.

The upper deck of the bento is perfect for mixed greens and raw nuts.  Today I put in a fistful of organic, locally sourced spinach with some nori shreds and 1oz raw almonds.  MMM.  This is going to be great with the sesame ginger dressing!

Mmm... you know you want me...

The end result was a massive, filling, nutrient dense meal that appeared to be 3x the size of my compact little bento.  It's like the clown car of lunchboxes!

My only regret is that I did not season the tofu or quinoa.  It really made the salad quite bland despite the 1T of sesame ginger that spent all morning collaborating with my delectable cucumbers.  I think next time I'll have to put more love into the protein pit of my bento!

This meal is roughly 400 calories, 22 carbs, 29g fat, 24g protein per MyFitnessPal.

What's in your salad?

I find it oddly hilarious that I posted a picture of Gizmo's litter box on my food blog.  I fail at photography and/or presentation.

I do have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of salads.  Every once and awhile I'll look in my fridge and think "What I am I going to do with beets,  a quarter jicama, a handful of sprouts, 2 carrots, and some spinach?"

Well, I am pretty sure y'all can guess what happened.

This turned out very lush, flavorful, and filling.  Here's what I threw in my salad...

2 small (2" diameter) organic beets

1 handful homegrown mint

1T of some store bought sesame ginger dressing

1/4 large (4" diameter) jicama

1 handful fresh, local Texan organic spinach

1 handful organic alfalfa sprouts

2 chopped organic carrots

1/2 large (8" long) organic cucumber 

1/4 cup crushed raw walnuts

I threw the beets, mint, dressing, and jicama in the food processor Ninja thing and chopped the mixture coarsely.  Let sit for 10 minutes to allow the flavors to "mingle."  Chop up all of the other goodness and throw into a monster sized bowl.  Set in front of litter box to snap photo for all to see.

I'm stuffed!  Now it's time to get back to work!

Sesame Tempeh Stir Fry

Behold, the power of Tempeh.

One of the benefits of living in Austin, TX is the fact that being vegan isn't all that much of an anomaly.  I now have more vegan/vegetarian friends than meat eaters and even my carnivorous beauties appreciate a good green meal.  Most of the eateries in the area offer a variety of options for different palates and you don't feel like a complete douchebag asking for a gluten-free vegan option unless you're dumb enough to waltz into an Olive Garden.

It didn't really occur to me to count my culinary blessings until I found myself on an airplane to Michigan last week.  Let's just say I'm happy I packed extra Go Raw Live Pumpkin bars.

Do you know what they feed vegans in Michigan?  They don't.  I swear if one more waitress asked me "are you sure you don't want cheese on that?" I was going to go into a long winded rant about what cheese does to my digestive system (it's that kind of sexy talk that lands the hotties, I'll tell ya).

No worries, challenge accepted!

In effort to expand my parent's protein options into the realm of "plant based", I did my best to teach the 'rents how to prep and pamper some Tempeh into a filling and flavorful stir fry.  

Magical Ingredients

1 Brick Tempeh

3T Sesame Oil (1T for marinade, 2T for frying)

2T Rice Wine Vinegar

2T Tamari or Soy Sauce (I went with low sodium Tamari)

Hefty dusting of some kind of spice mix.  The one I used had garlic, pepper, coriander, and a bunch of other shit that I do not recall.  I don't tend to measure, I just let it rain on a dish.

Mixed Peppers (I used 1/2 of a Red and 1/2 of a Yellow Bell Pepper)

1 Medium Sweet Onion

5-7 Cloves Fresh Garlic, chopped

Rice and Green Beans to garnish :-).

Mom put the rice on to cook.  She has always bore the designation of expert rice maker.  Seriously, in all 32 years (33?  Ugh, I can never remember...) of my existence I do not remember her ever f*%!ing up a pot of rice.  Ever.  I guess there is a first for everything :-P (love you Ma).

While the rice was on the stove (sucking :-P), I crumbled the tempeh into a bowl and tossed with 1T sesame oil, the vinegar, tamari, and spice mix.  Covered and allowed it to hang out in the 'fridge whilst I chopped the veg. 

Mom steamed the green beans in a separate pan while I sauteed the tempeh mixture in 2T sesame oil in the wok until it browned up a bit.  Added the veg and garlic in after tempeh browned.  Cooked until the veg started to sweat and the rice was... um... doneish.

The end result was not my best dish ever, but at least it was quick, easy, and super tasty-healthy!

    

Black Eyed Peas: Mo' Money Mo' Power Protein Bowl

Many families share the honored tradition of enjoying a big bowl of black eyed peas on New Years Day.  My parents believed in the legend that a bowl of black eyed peas would bring luck to those who ate them for the entire year.  Apparently adding greens offer a huge boost by bringing the added bonus of wealth.  Kale + Cabbage = Dolla Dolla Billz, yo.

No wonder we were dirt poor.  It's what was missing in the peas.  Yo.  Ok, I'll stop now.

Even on my own I've managed to conjure up some kind of lucky bowl.  Some years were fancier than others, but even a quick Amy's bowl will do the trick in a pinch.  Of course, that's also the year our car was stolen in Canada, so meh... just to be safe, I think I'll make a proper batch.

I think I shall call it my....

Mo' Money Mo' Power Protein Bowl

1 pound dry Black Eyed Peas

2 cup Quinoa

3 large Carrots, chopped

3T Sriracha (or more if you do not value your tastebuds)

4 quarts (16 cups) Water

1/2 large Sweet Onion, chopped

1/2 head of Cabbage, chopped

1 bundle Kale, chopped

3T minced Garlic action

Salt/Pepper (if you're into that kind of thing)

I am using a 6 quart pressure cooker for this recipe.  There is no reason you cannot use a normal pot, but cooking times may vary.

Thoroughly rinse peas and discard any that have the ungodly ability to float.  Check to make sure no stray pebbles or other debris ended up with your delectable little nuggets of joy.  Pour into pressure cooker/crock pot/pot pot with the quinoa, carrots, Sriracha, and water.  Cook on High (or medium high on the stovetop) for 2.5-3 hours (peas and quinoa should be tender but not mushy).

Add all of the other ingredients, let cook for 10-15 minutes.  Let stand for 10-15 minutes to give the concoction a minute to think about what it's done and to allow all of those wonderful flavors time to collaborate.

Isn't it purdy...

Happy New Year!  May luck, love, and good fortune come to us all!