Vegetarian for a Day

By no means am I a vegetarian. But as I have incorporated better quality and more natural ingredients into my diet, I thought it would be a good idea to eat vegetarian one whole day a week. I'm definitely not able to go vegan - I love my eggs and cheese! But for one day a week, my boyfriend and I have vowed to eat vegetarian.

I was inspired by a story of a food critic (whose name I can't recall) whose doctor recommended that he eat vegan. Being a food critic, he knew that this would be virtually impossible. So, he

found a solution where he could compromise - he would eat vegan after 6pm every day. I thought this was a great way to balance his diet. So, in my baby-step attempt to improve my health and diet, I decided to be a vegetarian for a day one day a week.

I thought this would be quite challenging for me as I am a pure omnivore on the verge of carnivore =) I love my meat! In my house growing up, there was always a meat dish around which our meal was centered, whether it was chicken, beef, pork, fish, shrimp, etc. And my cooking as an adult has also been centered around meat. I have been known to make vegetarian meals now and then, but not very often. So when I started this new thing 3 weeks ago, I though it would be difficult. But in reality, I found it challenging in a good way and very satisfying to find flavorful ways to be vegetarian.

For lunch, we have had homemade egg salad sandwiches or a delicious salad with lots of fresh veggies like baby bella (or cremini) mushrooms, red pepper, snap peas, and carrots. Sometimes we'll toss in a fried egg ;-) Dinner time is when it's time to shine...

The Menu:

Week 1:

Mediterranean Inspired Meal

- Grilled Eggplant w/ Tahini Sauce - Inspired by a dish in Tyler Florence's book "Tyler's Ultimate." The tahini sauce has greek yogurt, tahini, lemon juice, and fres crushed garlic

- Tabbouleh (or Tabouli) Salad - soaked bulgar wheat mixed with fresh tomatoes, red onions, parsley, mint, chives, and a mix of spices (including salt, pepper, cumin, & coriander)

Roasted Eggplant with Tahini Sauce & Tabouli Salad

Week 2: Rich & Delicious Italian Inspired

- Roasted Squash Risotto - Inspired by Ina Garten's recipe, minus the pancetta. I used a really large butternut squash - so meaty, yet veggie. The saffron really set off this recipe. Also, I used some Robusto Cheese - a gouda-style cheese that is dry like parmesan, but has a hint of sweetness and nuttiness.

- Mixed Tomato Salad - This was inspired by a recipe I saw in one of my food magazines (bon appetit or Food & Wine). I found a container of beautiful mixed tomatoes at Whole Foods. I don't even know what the names were of all of the tomatoes, but there was a great mix of colors - yellow, orange, bright red, deep read, and a dark speckly green (with red flesh). I cut those tomatoes in half (or quarters if larger) and mixed it with chopped fresh mozarella cheese, basil, olive oil, a touch of balsalmic vinegar, salt, pepper, and a few shards of Robusto Cheese. Can we say delish?!

Mixed Tomato Salad w/ Fresh Mozarella

Week 3: Boyfriend's in Charge

- My boyfriend who was vegetarian for a short while years ago had a vegan cookbook that hadn't been touched since I came into the picture =) He chose to make this casserole he had made before using eggplant, zucchini, onion, bread, tofu, and a tomato sauce with kalamata olives. You pretty much layer everything together and stick it in the oven. It was very fresh-tasting. The tomato sauce gave good flavor, the tofu and bread were actually tasty and not weird like I thought they would be. The only think I might change is to cook it longer or to grill the veggies first. The casserole was just barely cooked and had a very raw veggie feel, which isn't a bad thing. But I would like to see how this dish would be as a sort of mousaka with all of the rich vegetables and flavor, but without the meat, of course.

Week 4: Veggie Pad Thai

- This meal is so simple if you know where to find certain items. You have to find thin, flat rice noodles, which where I live can be hard to find unless you go to an Asian market, which is not prevalent in these parts. I cooked half an onion (sliced into stips) in vegetable oil until soft and then added chopped firm tofu. I added a little salt, pepper, and garlic powder to give the bland tofu some flavor. I then set those aside so I could scramble up some eggs. When the rice noodles had finished boiling (after about 5 minutes), I drained them, rinsed them with cool water and tossed them with the other ingredients and pad-thai sauce. And I sort of cheated and used a pre-made pad-thai sauce. For exotic sauces like this that are hard to master, I find that using the pre-made stuff is just as tasty and a lot less hassle. Then to finish off the dish, I sprinkled the top with chopped nuts (usually peanuts are used, but I like to sub with cashews) and a little chopped cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice.

So I'm finding it easier than I thought to eat vegetarian for a full day and make delicious vegetarian meals. You don't have to compromise taste and flavor just because there is no meat. I'll be following up with my other vegetarian meals in the future.

Scones are Fun!

What's the perfect tea-time snack or breakfast goodie? Well, that would be a scone! They're so simple to make and delicious to eat =) And scones can be really fun to make when you let your creative side work through. I've made simple ones with raisins or dried currants, sometimes adding almonds or pecans. One of my favorite creations has been chocolate-hazelnut scones. Can you say yum? I lightly toasted some hazelnuts and rubbed most of the skins off by rolling them in a towel. Then I chopped them up, threw them in the scone dough along with some semi-sweet chocolate chips, and voila! The pictures featured are from when I made a batch of half chocolate-hazelnut and half raisin pecan scones.



And today I was feeling a little more adventurous and made apricot ginger scones. I chopped up some dried apricots and candied ginger, and I tossed in some ground ginger and a dash of nutmeg. So delish! Really I just use whatever is in the pantry at the time. Dried cranberries and almonds? Sounds good to me! Dried mixed berries and walnuts? Why not?! Be creative! You can also add a little somethin' somethin' on the top like chunky sugar (like Sugar in the Raw) or some brown sugar.



And what's great about scones is that even for a person who doesn't bake much, it's super easy. I have a recipe my aunt gave me, so I'm not ready to give it away just yet. But I'm sure you can find a simple recipe pretty much anywhere online. My recipe includes flour and some kind of levening agent, butter, milk, and sugar, and then of course whatever fruits and/or nuts your want. Just sift, mix, roll, cut, and bake at 400 degrees for about 12 minutes, and there you have it! You could adjust the ratios of flour and levening agent depending if you prefer denser or lighter scones.



Another thing I love about scones is that they're not too sweet. You can keep it that way or you can feel free to be a little naughty and add some goodies on top. Of course you can do it the traditional English way and put devonshire cream -- so rich, but nice to enjoy once in a while. Or you can put some margarine or jam or even plain or flavored cream cheese. A dollop of honey would also work nicely. The possibilities are near limitless! So if you have a little time and want a nice little treat to have with your morning coffee or afternoon tea or even with your after-dinner sherry, then be kind to yourself and make some delicious scones!

My Urbanspoon Review of Blue Anchor Pub in Delray Beach, FL

"Authentic English Fare" by Maureen Leong-Kee

June 18, 2009 - Really likes it -

The only place I know of in the S. Florida area that has authentic English food. The pub itself was brought over from England! There's lots of yummy English treats on the menu, including Bangers & Mash, Cornish Pastie, Yorkshire Pudding, Toad in t' hole, Shepherd's Pie, Mushy Peas, a variety of meat pies, and of course, the Full English Breakfast! There's also traditional deserts like blueberry or apple crumble and English sherry trifle, but honestly, I'm always so happily stuffed with my entree that I never have room for desert!
They also have a great selection of beers. Amongst all of the pretentious places in Delray, this one stands out as a laid back eatery with good, hearty food. If you're looking for a full belly and a relaxed atmosphere, then go here. Some nights they have entertainment, and they have a Jazz band on Sundays from 3-6pm.

Restaurant Review: "Wish" of South Beach - Good but not Great

Wish was a nice restaurant with great ambiance. Some things were over-priced, which is going to be typical for a restaurant South Beach. The food overall was pretty tasty, but not outstanding. We had the beef carpaccio, the branzino over fruti de mar, the black truffle mac and cheese, and the edamame and sweet potato hash. We also had two of their special cocktails and we took some carrot cake home for dessert.

The food was good overall. The beef carpaccio was tasty and had a sprinkle of some crunchy tempura bits that added nice texture. The branzino was a fish dish - a 4 oz piece of Mediterranean bass that was seared to make the skin nice and crispy, and it was served over a bed of fruti de mar (shell fish) mixed with pearl pasta in a tomato-based sauce. The sauce was a bit overwhelming with all of the olives in the tomato sauce, and I love olives! The mac and cheese could have been better/richer. I've had better truffle mac and cheese that's less expensive and has more stuff. And the carrot cake was more like a carrot cupcake, but the icing, which had crystalized ginger in it, was delish. We went here for our anniversary, but I don't know if we'd go again.

Put an Egg on Top

As it has come to my attention, putting an egg on top of pretty much anything is one of the hottest foodie trends. I started noticing it here and there on cooking shows, and then I saw an article (Anything With an Egg on Top) in bon appetit magazine that showed that eggs can be put on anything and can be cooked any way - fried, poached, whatever. And more and more you see this trend on TV and in restaurants. You see fried eggs on top of pizzas and salads quite a bit.

So, I decided to put a couple of fried eggs on top of some homemade pizza. I just hosted an Inauguration Pizza Party (Go Obama!) where I made several different types of pizzas. But for my more, how shall I say, "safe" eater friends, I stayed away from the adventurous egg and made other delicious pizzas, including a margherita pizza, a white pizza with spinach and mushroom, and my specialty white pizza with italian sausage, zucchini, yellow squash and mushroom. And my boyfriend made an avocado, bacon, and onion bbq pizza.

But anyway, I had leftover pizza dough and some leftover ingredients. So I made a white pizza with cremini mushrooms, avocado, yellow tomato, sweet

onions, and of course fried egg. I'm not a big fan of the sunny side up egg, even though it looks prettier, so I cooked the eggs till crispy on the edges and then flipped them over for a little. The outcome - pure perfection. The ingredients all melded together for a sinfully delicious bite. The crispness and slightly sweet crust, the mildly tart and sweet tomato,the creamy yet savory avocado, the bite of the sweet onion, the earthiness of the mushroom, that oooy gooyness of the cheese, and of course, that comforting, tender bite of egg with lightly salty crispy edges and a warm creamy center that runs down your lip ever so slightly with the first bite into the yolk. Ahhh... yes, this was a perfect pizza.

So, for any skeptics out there or non-egg fans, I urge you to go out there and give the egg a chance. You don't know what you're missing. It really is a great ingredient and/or food topper. Just take a look at the pictures and you will see. But better yet, taste for yourself ;-)

Another Site

Hello All of My Foodie Friends,

I just wanted to let  you know that I have joined a foodie network at foodbuzz.com.  It's a fun networking site, kinda like facebook, but for foodies.  It's fun to exchange ideas, recipes, pictures, and restaurant reviews.  So if you get a chance, check my profile on that site at www.foodbuzz.com/foodies/us/florida/boca_raton/profile/maureen+-+foodie+du+jour.  

Adventures with Squid Ink Pasta

My tale of squid ink pasta is somewhat disappointing. I was at my local indoor farmer's market when I spotted a long plastic bag filled with long, thin, black strands. On closer inspection, I saw that it was dried squid ink pasta! "What a treat!" I thought to myself. Being the curious foodie that I am, I decided to buy it and cook it up.

There weren't really any clear instructions on the package b/c it was mostly in Italian (a good sign, I thought). It said to cook for 12 to 15 minutes. So I boiled the noodles, but then came out a grey, wormy-looking pot of pasta. I overlooked the very drab color and gave it a taste... Hmmm, it lacked any distinct flavor. I had heard that squid ink pasta was supposed to be salty and a little sweet, but really, I couldn't tell to much of a difference between this grey mess and regular pasta.

But, with my culinary skills, I was able to turn this aesthetically displeasing pasta into a tasty dinner by adding sundried tomato basil sausage, grilled eggplant, yellow squash, onions, garlic, and fresh parsley and olive oil. And then with a couple of drops of white truffle oil, it was magnificent! So, I won't try THIS brand of squid ink pasta, but I would try another one if I was assured that it wouldn't turn grey and that it had a distinct flavor. I would welcome any suggestions.

Warning: The picture looks pretty gross, but if you had just closed your eyes and took a bite, you would forget all about the greyness =)

Fun Find - Bavarian food... at the mall?

The other day while walking around a local mall, my boyfriend and I decided to stop at this quaint little Bavarian deli just across the main food court.  We've seen this place before, and it looked intriguing, but we had never popped in until now.  Amongst the stale, plaster walls of the mall, this little brick-lined deli is cozily tucked in between a Radio Shack and a Journey's shoe store.  Just one step in, and you don't feel like you're in a mall any more.  There are Bavarian goodies, such as cookies, cake mixes, and canned goods, lining the shelves, and dried meats and cheeses hang from the ceiling.  There are a few tables and a counter where you can order food from their Bavarian menu (with a few non-Bavarian items, such as a Cuban sandwich... Only in South Florida....)  Items include knockwurst, bratwurst, bockwurst, leberkase, German-style potato salad, and an array of sandwiches including a classic reuben and egg salad, and of course, apple strudel.  At the counter, you can order a nice cold glass of Warsteiner beer, which pours out from a pretty large and elaborate tap.  Across the dining counter is a deli counter from which you can buy an array of Bavarian deli meats and cheeses.  There were deli meats (including various wursts) and cheeses that I'd never seen before, but that I would love to try some day.

So as we sat down to eat, we decided to order some traditional fair -- bockwurst and leberkase with a side of sauerkraut, German potato salad, and fresh pumpernickel bread.  We'd never tried bockwurst and leberkase, so we were very interested to taste them.  The bockwurst is veal sausage, and it was very juicy and flavorful, especially with some thick, grainy mustard and the freshest sauerkraut I've ever tasted.  The leberkase was good to try, but not my cup of tea.  It's really just like a less salty version of spam.  The potato salad was good, too - thin slices of potato in a sweet, vinegar-based dressing, with little bits of bacon or some other smoked meat.  And the bread.... OH, the bread!  The pumpernickel was so fresh and just the perfect texture!  I think it might have been some of the best "regular" sliced bread I've ever tasted -- I wanted to marry that bread.  Unfortunately, they ran out of apple strudel.  I'll definitely have to try that next time.

So if you're ever in the Boynton Beach area and just happen to be at the Boynton Beach mall, you should definitely check out Bavarian Colony.  Don't be put off by the deli's strange location.  It's a unique & pleasant surprise amongst commercial, factory-made surroundings.

Soy Rocks!

As some of you may know, I have a great love of soy... It can be used to make so many things -- biodiesel fuel, home insulation, wax for candles, and not to mention the numerous yummy food products like soy sauce, tofu, edamame (actual soy beans), an array of vegetarian "meat" substitutes, and of course soy milk.  

Now, growing up, soy milk wasn't a trendy item or even a milk substitute.  Being an American Asian kid, soy milk was a yummy little treat you would get from the Asian supermarket so that your mom could make you happy for dragging you to the store with her.  And it wasn't the same flavor or consistency as the now popular soy milk products like Silk or 8th Continent.  What I drank as soy milk was thinner and more earthy, and pretty sweet.  What most other people know (and often love) is the thick, creamy, more cow-milk-like liquid.  It still has that earthy flavor of soy, but just not as pronounced as the other stuff.  What's great about this thicker, more readily available soy milk is that you can use it with cereal and tea.  And more and more, I find other great uses for today's soy milk.  BUT, I do warn you NOT to have soy milk with coffee -- it's just a bad idea all around.  Even if you're lactose intolerant (like I sometimes am), it's not worth it to have coffee with soy.  This may sound gross, but this is the best way that I can describe the flavor, and others have agreed with me when they hear it -- coffee + soy = what I imagine nutty poo to taste like.  That's all I have to say about that.

More and more I am finding great ways to use soy milk in cooking.  I was very timid about using it instead of milk in recipes because, although it may not be true, I have in my mind that it just can't work the same because it does not have the same fat content that regular milk does that may play a critical part in the chemical reaction of whatever you're cooking.  But, when I have had no regular milk in the fridge, which is usually the case, then I have sometimes experimented and used soy milk, crossing my fingers and hoping for the best.  And so far, I've had good to great results.  I recently used soy milk to make scones, and the scones came out super lovely!  (I highly recommend blending a mix of dried fruit and nuts to any scone recipe to make them delicious.  I used a mix of dried currants and cranberries and pecans and almonds).  I think I used soy milk to make muffins once, and those came out great!  I've also used a little bit of soy milk when making cream sauces, but only when I have some regular milk or cream already in the sauce.  It seems that soy can be ok to use in some baked good recipes.  You may have to experiment to know which ones for sure.  It's good to know that you can use soy milk in some recipes that you may not think it can be used.  I'm very interested in finding out what more I can use soy milk in.  And of course, if you have any successful recipes, I'd be glad to hear about them!

My lovely boyfriend found this cool article:

http:www.verygoodtaste.co.uk/uncategorized/the-omnivores-hundred/

I've bolded and italicized what I've eaten... Check out how well-versed I am ;-) I've eaten at least 52 of these items. I may have eaten more, but I can't remember for sure if I've actually had a taste a snake, prickly pear, or hare. I've had dishes with truffle in it (so that would bump me up to 53). I want to try frog legs and sweetbreads (or thymus glands), but I can't and WON'T eat anything goat -- that's another story for another day. And I can't get over the smell of durian, so you can forget about that, too. Oh, and I'm guessing Vodka Jell-O means Jell-O shots, which I've definitely had. But I'll try almost anything else on this list. Count how many of these items you've eaten and let me know!

The Omnivore’s Hundred

Here’s a chance for a little interactivity for all the bloggers out there. Below is a list of 100 things that I think every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life. The list includes fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food - but a good omnivore should really try it all. Don’t worry if you haven’t, mind you; neither have I, though I’ll be sure to work on it. Don’t worry if you don’t recognise everything in the hundred, either; Wikipedia has the answers.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake