Sambhar Lentil Stew

The past week or so I've decided to eat out of my pantry. It will save me some money and clear some room for future items :)

As I was rummaging for a late night snack I was thrilled to discovered this jar of stew. I haven't heated it up yet but am excited to try it out. It's trader joes brand of Indian Sambhar Lentil Stew. Potatoes, lentils, okra, carrots, tomatoes- this stew is full of tasty ingredients. I'll be taking a crack at it this weekend and I'll let you know how it turns out!

Have a great Friday!

Teddy

Quorn

I've heard of Quorn and have been looking for this product for a while. I'm glad to say that I've found it and rushed to try it out. It is a soy-less meat alternative.




I made a baked potato with broccoli and cheese. Honestly, this meat alternative may be a little too realistic for me. I made it in the microwave- it was quick and the "meat" was quite juicy. I've only had it the once and am looking forward to using a different cooking method to see how it affects flavor.
When I was trying this a couple of my non veg friends gave it a nibble to taste for realistic-ness. They both agreed it was the most meat like product they've tried- which means they'll be getting it and eating more veg food (hehe :))
Overall, I like the product and am excited that I've found it in a store near me.

Teddy

Veggie Grill

This Friday was a great day to be vegan at work!! (well where I work) hehe

I'm not sure how this was arranged but, Veggie Grill (read review here) came and gave us free lunch. We were able to meet one of the founders and give him our feedback on what we liked and disliked about his restaurant.

Honestly, I've never had a better free meal at work and it truly made my Friday awesome

Teddy

Ps- sorry no pictures. But I can't go giving away where I work, you understand si?

Veggie Tempura

My parents have several Japanese restaurants that they visit frequently. My favorite is this place- JOY SUSHI. They have an entire vegetarian section and you know I love that.
The tempura usually includes: green beans, squash, broccoli, carrot and yam. I love the variety of textures and flavors.


Teddy

- Was blogger down for anyone else today? I was having a lot of problems.

LA tofu festival 2007

Yesterday was my second year at the annual Tofu Festival in Little Tokyo, LA. This year I was accompanied by the lovely and always adorable Cara :)

Festivities began a little on the wild side with a "tofu margarita". I'm not sure how we ending up sampling this one.

Tofu margarita? Not so much unfortunately.

However, the tofu tostadas were very flavorful. Cara and I have decided that we must learn how to replicate them :)

The orange flavored tofu was good but not very memorable. I would have enjoyed this more with a little rice served with it. But for 1 buck, can't really complain can you?

I had to have at least ONE picture of my nerdy, food loving self chowing down at the tofu festival. Wow I must have enjoyed that orange tofu more than I remembered :)

To deal with the stifling heat we meandered into a tented area with a refreshment.

We got these strawberry slushies made with REAL strawberries in them and cooled off for a bit.

Little did we know we walked right into the TOFU EATING CONTEST. We just had to stay and watch the insanity.

Feeling quite refreshed after watching half an hour of tofu eating madness, we headed back out into the eat in venture of more foods.

My final dish was a safe pick- Pad See Ew. This is one of my favorite thai dishes and I was excited that they offered it this year.

I am so happy that I decided to make the trek to LA a 2nd year for this event. I've officially decided that this is something I must do every year- a new tradition per say :).

Can't wait until next year!


Teddy

LA tofu festival

This weekend is the 12th annual Tofu festival of LA!

I'm heading out to the festivities and will post all about my good time tomorrow. I hope some of you can make it out as well.

LA TOFU Site



Teddy

Strawberry Salad

A while back a coworker told me of a summery salad she had at a wedding. This is my "naked" rendition of that salad.




This is an incredibly easy dish to make and it's sure to keep you wanting more. My favorite part is the short ingredient list:
Fresh cut strawberries
Organic mixed greens
Slivered almonds

Now this is a "naked" salad because I didn't feel like putting any dressing on it but a vinaigrette would suit this well. I've been eating this recently as an in between meals snack. It's not too filling but enough to tide me over and keep me from eating pure junk. Let me know your thoughts on it!


Teddy

South Western Quinoa

I made a large batch of south western quinoa this weekend so I could have a quick bite without being over a hot stove. This dish includes: quinoa, pinto beans, cilantro, roasted bell peppers, organic corn, jalapeños and spices.
I would have preferred to add black beans instead of pinto and I wished I had a little tomato in there, but that would have been an extra trip to the grocery store (let's face it, I was far to lazy for that). I still managed wolf down about 2-3 meals of the batch I made :)- I guess it was good (who am I kidding? It was GREAT)


Hope everyone is having a nice warm week!


Teddy

Dim Sum

As you may have noticed, I like to wander the isles of Traders Joe's looking for new products to try. This week I was excited to notice frozen Dim Sum filled with Edamame.
Frozen foods are usually hit or miss. Fortunately, these were a home run! Simply steam them for about 10 minutes, sprinkle some soy sauce and add some rice for a satisfying fast meal.

Teddy

Sabastiani's

Sabastiani's is an authentic Italian restaurant hidden in a strip mall in Huntington Beach, CA. People flock here on Monday's and Tuesdays for their 12 dollar special that includes soup/salad, main course and desert. Here's what I choose to feast on:

Mediterranean salad with lemon vinaigrette

Mushroom ravioli in a tomato cream sauce.

Pistachio ice cream in a chocolate sauce.

This dining special is a bargain. I have yet to be disappointed with the selection. More importantly, I have yet to leave hungry.


Teddy

Grandpa's Birthday

Everyone say 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' to my grandpa.

This weekend my family gathered together to celebrate the life of my grandfather. and what celebration would be complete without delicious eats? We had a luau themed extravaganza.
I contributed the vegan cupcakes in 2 flavors.

Dark chocolate with peanut butter frosting.

Rose water cupcakes with a rose water butter cream frosting.

I have never used rose water before. I was concerned with how the flavors would come together. Luckily they both were a hit.
I took the leftovers to my friend Cara's house. She seemed quite shocked and impressed with the rose water flavor. I'm glad they turned out well because lord knows I wouldn't want to ruin a birthday with gross cupcakes :)

Be seeing you all soon


Teddy

Thank you

Hi everyone

Thank you for your support during my hiatus. Richard and I are no longer together. I won't go into details but I've decided that I missed everyone here too much to just stop!
You all are amazing :)

I'll be "food" posting soon...


Teddy