Kimchi Fried Brown Rice

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So, I don’t know about you guys, but I really love Korean food, kimchi especially. The issue I usually have with Korean food is that a lot of it has fish sauce. We recently received a bottle of fermented, raw kimchi from for review, so I decided to put it to good use by making some Kimchi Fried brown rice.

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I decided to substitute the scrambled egg you typically find in Asian fried rice dishes with crumbled tofu and the meat you may typically find with white mushrooms.

2-3 cups of cooked rice (I made mine in a rice cooker)
1/2 C to 1 C of Kimchi
1/2 onion
4-5 small mushrooms
1 clove garlic
1 T veg oil/olive oil
2 T soy sauce
1/4 block of tofu
1-2 T Sesame Oil
S+P to taste

1. Slice the mushrooms, mince the garlic and chop the onions into small pieces
2. Heat the veggie oil in a wok/skillet and sautee the mushrooms, garlic and onions for a couple minutes.
3. Crumble the tofu into the mixture and add the soy sauce and some pepper.
4. Add the kimchi to the pan and warm it up.
5. Add the cooked rice and stir in the mixture of the tofus and vegetables.
6. Once warmed, add sesame oil to taste.
7. Add S+P to taste.
8. Add fresh kimchi to top as garnish.
9. Enjoy!!

The Alchemist Pub and Brewery

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Last night my husband, Neil, decided he would take us out for a date night at The Alchemist Pub and Brewery in Waterbury Vermont- “The Alchemist is a 7 barrel brew pub specializing in hand-crafted beer and casual pub fare. All of our ales flow directly from our basement brewery, which was designed and installed by our brewer and co-proprietor John Kimmich.  We use only the finest imported malts and domestic hops available to bring you the tastiest and finest selection of beers in Vermont!” (from their website).

We settled on getting the oatmeal stout and the red….however we were brought a porter and a harvest.  They quickly apologized about that mistake and gave us our correct beers on the house. IMG_5152IMG_5153

For dinner I ordered the Marinated Tempeh Sandwich without the walnut pesto and subsituted the maple balsamic dressing.  Neil ordered the Blackened Tofu Burrito without the cheese and sour cream.  We also ordered a side of fries with their house made mustard and ketchup.

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Although our meals were really good we didn’t make it through the first bite of the burrito because they had forgotten to not put the cheese on.  So we sent it back and it was quickly replaced with the correct vegan version.  The tempeh sandwich was so good and the fries were amazing- nice and crispy fresh cut. The burrito was good we really liked the blackened tofu but it was missing something in it, maybe the salsa would have been better in than on the side.

Overall we just fell in love with the places great atmosphere, food and beer.  We extremely impressed with the service as well and appreciated the 2 free beers and the free burrito (they covered that as well since they had made the mistake- we really didn’t expect that but it was a great treat).

Neil's Vegan Care Package

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Yesterday Neil’s vegan care package came from Your Daily Vegan as part of our 2009 Vegan Care Package Swap

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Included in the package are the following:

IMG_5171Drew’s Smoked Tomato Dressing

IMG_5173Suzanne’s Ricemellow Creme

(I see fluffernutter sandwiches in our future)

IMG_5180Spicy Apple Ginger Chews

IMG_5181Rice Milk Bar

IMG_5183Pizza Sauce

IMG_5182Crispy Cat Bar

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Vegan Strawberry Jello

IMG_5190Quinoa Spaghetti

IMG_51932 Chocolove Bars &

Newman’s Own Cinnamon Mints 

The 30 Minute Vegan

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The 30 Minute Vegan is filled with a variety of great easy, quick, and delicious recipes that are (mostly) under 30 minutes. I received this book to review and had the most difficult time choosing recipes to try from it, not because I couldn’t find any but rather because I want to make everything.  That was my first indication that it had the potential to be a great cookbook.  However, the true test would be to see if any of these great sounding recipes actually turned out to be as good as they sounded.

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After hours (yes hours) of flipping through this cookbook I finally decided that I would make the Batter Baked Tempura with the Spicy Mustard Sauce, We Will Rock You Three Layer Nachos and Eggless Egg Salad.  The Batter Baked Tempura was delicious especially with the mustard sauce, however I am not sure if it totally resembled tempura but rather it was more like baked onion rings/veggies.  Nevertheless it was amazingly delicious and unfortunately was the only item I ended up taking the time to photograph.

The We Will Rock You Three Layer Nachos were next on my list of items to make and they were so good.  I made both the tempeh bean mixture and nacho cheese sauce which I put over baked blue corn chips and baked then topped with salsa, pickled jalapeno and avocado.  The recipe made so much sauce I only used half of bean mixture and nacho cheese for the nachos and saved the remainder to make a Tex-Mex Mac and Cheese the following night with mushrooms, onions and cherry tomatoes.

My husband’s favorite recipe that I made was the Eggless Egg Salad and it was certainly one of the best recipes for it that I have tried.  I served the Eggless Egg Salad in whole wheat pita halves.  The great part about this recipe is that it made enough for 2 days worth of lunches!

Overall I love this book and find that although not all of the recipes are 30 minutes with prep time and cooking they are still quick, fast, healthy and fun. You can order your own copy of The 30 Minute Vegan on Amazon. 

30minYou can also check out other reviews of The 30 Minute Vegan on the following sites:

Happy Herbivore

Basil & Spice

Vegan Guinea Pig

Chow Vegan where you can find reviews & recipes for Mango Gazpacho& Baked Tempura

Vegan Fusion – The authors blog

Vegan Crunk

Nutridel Cookies

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I recently had the opportunity to try Nutridel Gourmet Cookies, which were delicious. Nutridel which was created by combining Nutritious and Delicious has created cookies that are just that. These cookies are cholesterol free, have zero trans-fat, are loaded with fiber and antioxidants, have no refined sugars and are filled with omega 3’s.  Now here is a healthy cookie that you don’t have to feel bad about eating. 

1There are four types of cookies that you can try: Oatmeal, Almond, Flaxseed and Pecan.  I tired the Oatmeal and Almond both of which were delicious.  They are thin crispy cookies with a light sweetness. I really enjoyed both of the cookies but the oatmeal was both my and my husbands favorite. 

You can check out the website for retail locations near you or order online.

Zeppoles

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For a really fun dessert (and super easy) I’d try Italian Donuts (Zeppoles).
This is a recipe from Giada De Laurentiis (I love to veganize her recipes however this one just happens to be vegan!)
Italian Doughnuts
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
Prep Time:15 min
Cook Time:15 min
Level:Easy
Serves:18 doughnuts
Ingredients
1 pound prepared pizza dough
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
Olive oil, for deep-frying
Directions
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/2-inch thickness. Using a floured 2-inch cookie cutter, cut out doughnut rounds. Using a floured 1-inch cookie cutter, cut out a hole in the center of each doughnut. Gather the dough scraps and reroll. Cut out more doughnuts.
Whisk the sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl to blend. Set the cinnamon-sugar aside.
Pour equal parts of vegetable oil and olive oil into a large frying pan to reach a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 375 degrees F. Working in batches, fry the doughnuts until they puff but are still pale, about 45 seconds per side. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the doughnuts to paper towels to drain. Cool slightly. While the doughnuts are still warm, generously coat each 2 times with the cinnamon-sugar. Serve warm.
Alternately, cool the fried doughnuts to room temperature. Stir 3 ounces of milk (dark) chocolate and 1/4 cup of whipping (soy creamer) cream in a heavy small saucepan over medium-low heat until the chocolate melts. Set aside until the chocolate sauce comes to room temperature but does not set. Dip 1 side of each doughnut into the chocolate mixture. Sprinkle with finely chopped toasted almonds or crushed espresso beans and set aside until the chocolate is set.

 These are also great if you serve them traditionally in a brown paper bag because they are tradtional street food in Italy and then have chocolate and raspberry dipping sauces on the side.  This is one of my favorite (fun impressive and interactive desserts to make for guest).  It’s easy and who doesn’t love a doughnut…..especially a vegan one!

 

@gomelissago is making these tonight and serving them with a lemon basil sauce! sounds great doesn’t it?