French bread (I've substituted with Mexican Torta bread from Costco when I ran out - the Torta bread is yummalicious!)
Pickled carrots and daikon and jalapeno
Cilantro
Mayo
Pan fried lemongrass tofu
Toast the bread until it is warm and a little crunchy on the outside. Spread mayo on both sides. Assemble the lemongrass tofu and pickled carrots and daikon and jalapeno and sprinkle some cilantro and serve.
Pickling the vegetables
----------------------------
Julian the carrots and daikon into hearty strips.
Bring one cup of water, 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar to a boil. Turn down the heat, add 6 tablespoons of sugar, and 2.5 teaspoons of salt. If you need more pickling liquid, use the same proportions.
Add the carrots to one jar, and the daikon to another jar. Do not overfill. Slice some jalapeno and add to each jar. For a little additional kick, add some Serrano pepper too. Pour the pickling liquid into each jar to fill.
Refrigerate for a few days. Ideally give it 2-3 days before using. They will last for at least a couple of weeks, but are so addictive that they won't last that long! You can pickle just about anything else using the same technique.
Lemongrass tofu
---------------------
Marinade
-----------
2 stalks of lemongrass
4 cloves garlic
5 tablespoons soy sauce
a little salt and pepper to taste
Sambal oleck 2 teaspoons (make it 1 teaspoon if you're a wimp! :-))
Sesame oil 1 tablespoon
Vegetable oil half cup
Chili paste 3 teaspoons (reduce the quantity if you're a wimp! :-) )
Cilantro a handful
Dice the bulb of the lemongrass and the portion of the stalk that is tender.
Add all the ingredients to a small food processor to blend into a paste.
Take 1 packet extra-firm tofu, drain the liquid and pat dry with a paper towel. Cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Mix the tofu and a couple of tablespoons of the paste (to taste) in a bowl until the tofu is coated nicely. Let it marinate for an hour.
In a skillet, add a couple of tablespoons of oil, and when hot, add the tofu to the skillet. When golden brown, flip the tofu pieces to their other side (I flip all the pieces, one by one) and let the other side cook to a golden brown. Start off with high heat until the skillet heats up and then reduce the heat to a medium.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Fried egg sandwich
This was a recipe that I whipped up. Archana loved it. Hope you like it too!
Ingredients:
1 English muffin (I use Trader Joe's Extra Sour Sourdough English muffins)
1 egg
Red onion rings/strips
Tomato slices
Chopped cilantro
Mayo
Tomato ketchup
Sambal oelek (you can get this at Safeway, Cost Plus World Market etc)
Salt & pepper
Directions:
Toast the english muffins.
Fry the egg. Heat a skillet to medium heat and spread some olive oil. Break the egg onto the skillet, keeping the yolk intact. When the top has started to cook and is not too runny, use a spatula carefully to pry the egg off, and flip it over. Cook to the consistency you like - I like mine to be not overdone, and the yolk to be still a little runny.
Spread mayo on both sides of the muffin. Place the fried egg on one slice of muffin. Add some red onion rings/strips and tomato slices to taste. Spinkle some salt and pepper to taste.
One the other slice of muffin, add some chopped cilantro to the spread mayo. Drizzle tomato ketchup and some sambal oelek to taste.
Close the sandwich and cut it in half.
Enjoy!
PS - I don't have any photos, unfortunately. I will update the post when I do have some pictures, later.
Ingredients:
1 English muffin (I use Trader Joe's Extra Sour Sourdough English muffins)
1 egg
Red onion rings/strips
Tomato slices
Chopped cilantro
Mayo
Tomato ketchup
Sambal oelek (you can get this at Safeway, Cost Plus World Market etc)
Salt & pepper
Directions:
Toast the english muffins.
Fry the egg. Heat a skillet to medium heat and spread some olive oil. Break the egg onto the skillet, keeping the yolk intact. When the top has started to cook and is not too runny, use a spatula carefully to pry the egg off, and flip it over. Cook to the consistency you like - I like mine to be not overdone, and the yolk to be still a little runny.
Spread mayo on both sides of the muffin. Place the fried egg on one slice of muffin. Add some red onion rings/strips and tomato slices to taste. Spinkle some salt and pepper to taste.
One the other slice of muffin, add some chopped cilantro to the spread mayo. Drizzle tomato ketchup and some sambal oelek to taste.
Close the sandwich and cut it in half.
Enjoy!
PS - I don't have any photos, unfortunately. I will update the post when I do have some pictures, later.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Veggie Quesadilla
Here's a spicy flavorful kick to the veggie quesadilla. Archana and I tried this a couple of days ago, and it turned out great!
Ingredients: Makes 2 quesadillas
2 Mission Tortilla wraps - Jalapeno Cheddar (I've also tried Garden Spinach Herb and that's pretty good too)
1/2 medium sized onion, diced
1 large tomato, diced
1 jalapeno, sliced into thin rounds
a handful of cilantro, coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
shredded cheese - I used a blend of Sargento 4 cheese mexican and Trader Joe's Jalapeno Jack.
4-5 table spoons black beans (I used Bush's Seasoned black beans)
2 table spoons pickled jalapeno juice (just the juice for the sourness as I was adding fresh jalapenos)
2 table spoons lemon/lime juice
a pinch of sugar if you'd like to even out the sour ingredients
2-3 table spoons extra virgin olive oil
Heat the olive oil in a skillet in medium heat. Saute the onions until golden brown. Add the garlic and give it a quick stir. Add the jalapenos and continue to stir it for a minute. Add some salt and pepper to taste. Add the tomatoes and let cook. Add the black beans and cilantro and continue to cook it. Add the jalapeno and lime juices and stir to incorporate them. If you like, add a pinch of sugar. Cook till the mixture is relatively dry.
In another skillet on medium heat, heat the tortilla. Flip and continue to heat the other side. Add a handful of the shredded cheese as desired. Add half of the above mix and fold the tortilla. Flip it over a couple of times, and cook it to the desired level of tenderness/crispness.
Continue with the other tortilla.
Serve hot with some chips and guacamole/salsa on the side.
If you try it out, let me know what you think!
Cheers,
Sridhar
Ingredients: Makes 2 quesadillas
2 Mission Tortilla wraps - Jalapeno Cheddar (I've also tried Garden Spinach Herb and that's pretty good too)
1/2 medium sized onion, diced
1 large tomato, diced
1 jalapeno, sliced into thin rounds
a handful of cilantro, coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
shredded cheese - I used a blend of Sargento 4 cheese mexican and Trader Joe's Jalapeno Jack.
4-5 table spoons black beans (I used Bush's Seasoned black beans)
2 table spoons pickled jalapeno juice (just the juice for the sourness as I was adding fresh jalapenos)
2 table spoons lemon/lime juice
a pinch of sugar if you'd like to even out the sour ingredients
2-3 table spoons extra virgin olive oil
Heat the olive oil in a skillet in medium heat. Saute the onions until golden brown. Add the garlic and give it a quick stir. Add the jalapenos and continue to stir it for a minute. Add some salt and pepper to taste. Add the tomatoes and let cook. Add the black beans and cilantro and continue to cook it. Add the jalapeno and lime juices and stir to incorporate them. If you like, add a pinch of sugar. Cook till the mixture is relatively dry.
In another skillet on medium heat, heat the tortilla. Flip and continue to heat the other side. Add a handful of the shredded cheese as desired. Add half of the above mix and fold the tortilla. Flip it over a couple of times, and cook it to the desired level of tenderness/crispness.
Continue with the other tortilla.
Serve hot with some chips and guacamole/salsa on the side.
If you try it out, let me know what you think!
Cheers,
Sridhar
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Vietnamese Style Sandwich
Greetings, fellow vivants! Here I was, wondering what was the first veggie-friendly, easy-to-prepare, delicious recipe that I was going to post. Last evening, I used some leftover cashew tofu from the neighborhood Thai restaurant to fix myself a Vietnamese style sandwich, and it turned out quite good, so I thought to myself, "Why not?".
A Vietnamese Sandwich, (aka Bahn mi), is usually a toasted French roll that's piled with Vietnamese flavored goodies like pickled (or fresh) carrots, onions, cilantro, jalapeno, a Vietnamese mayo, and grilled meats or tofu. There's a hole-in-the-wall Vietnamese cafe in San Francisco that serves the best Vietnamese sandwiches I've had. Unfortunately, I'm sworn to secrecy, and I could tell you, but then I'll have to kill you - you know how that works!
The next best thing that I can do is share with you how I made my Vietnamese-style sandwich with tofu (a veggie bonvivant, after all!) , which turned out quite tasty, if I may say so myself! The name of the game is understand the essence, and play with the ingredients to suit your taste and mood!
I didn't have any french rolls, so feel free to pick up your favorite loaf. I've tried it with honey-wheat bread, and also a cracked wheat bun. I'm not sure how it'll taste with say, something like Pita, but knock yourself out!
Here's what I used:
Bread - toast it
Spreads - mayo and horseradish (YUM!) , and Sambal Olek (YUM again!!)
Leftover cashew tofu from Dusita Thai (in Sunnyvale and Santa Clara) (YUM yet again!!!)
Veggies
Some julienned carrots
Some onion (cut into strips)
Basil and cilantro (from my own garden! :-) )
Julienned jalapenos (ok, I actually used Serrano, as that's all I had on me). Remember to take the seeds out first, and the membranes - these are the spiciest parts of the pepper.
Directions:
Toast the bread.
Spread a mix of mayo and horseradish on either side.
Take a few pieces of tofu and some veggies from leftover dish, microwave them.
Cut them up and pile them on one side.
On the other side, add the julienned carrots, jalapenos, onions, basil and cilantro.
Sprinkle a generous portion (ok, just kidding, be careful and add to suit your taste (whimp levels)) of Sambal Olek.
Close the sandwich.
Enjoy!
To make the meal more interesting, I also boiled some corn-on-the-cob. I rubbed it with butter, sprinkled some sea salt (thanks, Archana! :-) ), and some paprika. Nice side. A dash of lemon/lime juice would do nicely too!
Let me know what you think!
Also, if you played around with the recipe, and liked the outcome, I'd be interested in that too!
Cheers,
Sridhar
A Vietnamese Sandwich, (aka Bahn mi), is usually a toasted French roll that's piled with Vietnamese flavored goodies like pickled (or fresh) carrots, onions, cilantro, jalapeno, a Vietnamese mayo, and grilled meats or tofu. There's a hole-in-the-wall Vietnamese cafe in San Francisco that serves the best Vietnamese sandwiches I've had. Unfortunately, I'm sworn to secrecy, and I could tell you, but then I'll have to kill you - you know how that works!
The next best thing that I can do is share with you how I made my Vietnamese-style sandwich with tofu (a veggie bonvivant, after all!) , which turned out quite tasty, if I may say so myself! The name of the game is understand the essence, and play with the ingredients to suit your taste and mood!
I didn't have any french rolls, so feel free to pick up your favorite loaf. I've tried it with honey-wheat bread, and also a cracked wheat bun. I'm not sure how it'll taste with say, something like Pita, but knock yourself out!
Here's what I used:
Bread - toast it
Spreads - mayo and horseradish (YUM!) , and Sambal Olek (YUM again!!)
Leftover cashew tofu from Dusita Thai (in Sunnyvale and Santa Clara) (YUM yet again!!!)
Veggies
Some julienned carrots
Some onion (cut into strips)
Basil and cilantro (from my own garden! :-) )
Julienned jalapenos (ok, I actually used Serrano, as that's all I had on me). Remember to take the seeds out first, and the membranes - these are the spiciest parts of the pepper.
Directions:
Toast the bread.
Spread a mix of mayo and horseradish on either side.
Take a few pieces of tofu and some veggies from leftover dish, microwave them.
Cut them up and pile them on one side.
On the other side, add the julienned carrots, jalapenos, onions, basil and cilantro.
Sprinkle a generous portion (ok, just kidding, be careful and add to suit your taste (whimp levels)) of Sambal Olek.
Close the sandwich.
Enjoy!
To make the meal more interesting, I also boiled some corn-on-the-cob. I rubbed it with butter, sprinkled some sea salt (thanks, Archana! :-) ), and some paprika. Nice side. A dash of lemon/lime juice would do nicely too!
Let me know what you think!
Also, if you played around with the recipe, and liked the outcome, I'd be interested in that too!
Cheers,
Sridhar
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Vegetarians and Protein
One of the biggest questions that a person who wants to switch to a vegetarian diet (or is just curious about it) has is how does one receive sufficient protein, given the lack of animal protein and the paucity of protein in vegetarian diet.
The recommended requirement for daily protein is calculated from the maximum normal BMI, your height, and your level of activity. It corresponds to 0.8 grams of protein per Kilogram of body weight which is the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for low levels of activity, 1.1 grams for moderate activity, and 1.4 grams for vigorous activity. (Source http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/diet.html - see "Grams of protein per day") .
For a person weighing about 160 lbs, who is moderately active, that would work out to (72.6 Kg * 1.1) = 79.86 gms of protein per day, or about 58 gms of protein if your level of activity is low.
Another consideration for vegetarians is "complete protein" vs. "incomplete protein". A "complete protein" (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complete_protein) provides required quatities of all 9 essential amino acids (the building blocks of proteins). Animal protein is complete. Plant proteins are generally not.
However, combinations of different vegetarian foods can provide all the essential amino acids, and they don't have to be eaten at the same sitting. Some examples of complementary protein dishes are rice and beans, rice and lentils, hummus and pita bread, peanut butter sandwich, mac and cheese.
Here are some more links to check out for the curious.
http://www.mypyramid.gov/tips_resources/vegetarian_diets.html
http://www.savvyvegetarian.com/articles/protein-veg-diet.php
So the name of the game is having a good varied diet for a healthy vegetarian diet. Be adventurous and explore new territory, especially if you're switching from a meat diet, as you may not know enough balanced vegetarian dishes, and end up eating an unhealthy and unbalanced vegetarian diet. I hope to explore delicious vegetarian dishes as I go along.
Coming back to daily protein intake, let's take a look at where good amounts of protein can come from:
A glass of 2% milk gives you about 8 gms of protein.
A glass of 1.5% buttermilk gives you about 9 gms of protein.
A glass of (mmm mmm.... delicious Silk) soy milk (I love Silk Chocolate Soy Milk) gives you 5 gms of it.
A slice of cheese is about 7 gms of protein.
A slice of whole wheat bread is about 4-5 gms of protein!! That's about 20 gms right there for 4 slices!
A serving of quinoa gives you 5 gms - it is also an interestingly different and tasty alternative to rice.
A serving of whole wheat cous-cous gives you 8 gms of protein.
This list just scratches the surface. Thus, you can see that a vegetarian diet can provide quite adequate quantities of proteins. Just like in any kind of diet, a balanced diet is quite crucial.
Enough already! Give me some tasty veggie dishes that don't leave me hungry and craving food and overeating and packing the fat!!
Patience, my dear Watson! Do come back soon! I'll start posting some delicious recipes, I promise!
Gotta run now!
Ciao,
Sridhar
The recommended requirement for daily protein is calculated from the maximum normal BMI, your height, and your level of activity. It corresponds to 0.8 grams of protein per Kilogram of body weight which is the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for low levels of activity, 1.1 grams for moderate activity, and 1.4 grams for vigorous activity. (Source http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/diet.html - see "Grams of protein per day") .
For a person weighing about 160 lbs, who is moderately active, that would work out to (72.6 Kg * 1.1) = 79.86 gms of protein per day, or about 58 gms of protein if your level of activity is low.
Another consideration for vegetarians is "complete protein" vs. "incomplete protein". A "complete protein" (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complete_protein) provides required quatities of all 9 essential amino acids (the building blocks of proteins). Animal protein is complete. Plant proteins are generally not.
However, combinations of different vegetarian foods can provide all the essential amino acids, and they don't have to be eaten at the same sitting. Some examples of complementary protein dishes are rice and beans, rice and lentils, hummus and pita bread, peanut butter sandwich, mac and cheese.
Here are some more links to check out for the curious.
http://www.mypyramid.gov/tips_resources/vegetarian_diets.html
http://www.savvyvegetarian.com/articles/protein-veg-diet.php
So the name of the game is having a good varied diet for a healthy vegetarian diet. Be adventurous and explore new territory, especially if you're switching from a meat diet, as you may not know enough balanced vegetarian dishes, and end up eating an unhealthy and unbalanced vegetarian diet. I hope to explore delicious vegetarian dishes as I go along.
Coming back to daily protein intake, let's take a look at where good amounts of protein can come from:
A glass of 2% milk gives you about 8 gms of protein.
A glass of 1.5% buttermilk gives you about 9 gms of protein.
A glass of (mmm mmm.... delicious Silk) soy milk (I love Silk Chocolate Soy Milk) gives you 5 gms of it.
A slice of cheese is about 7 gms of protein.
A slice of whole wheat bread is about 4-5 gms of protein!! That's about 20 gms right there for 4 slices!
A serving of quinoa gives you 5 gms - it is also an interestingly different and tasty alternative to rice.
A serving of whole wheat cous-cous gives you 8 gms of protein.
This list just scratches the surface. Thus, you can see that a vegetarian diet can provide quite adequate quantities of proteins. Just like in any kind of diet, a balanced diet is quite crucial.
Enough already! Give me some tasty veggie dishes that don't leave me hungry and craving food and overeating and packing the fat!!
Patience, my dear Watson! Do come back soon! I'll start posting some delicious recipes, I promise!
Gotta run now!
Ciao,
Sridhar
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