January 2, 2012- Food Blog

Today is the second day of my food blog. Everything has been delicious so far, but just like last year, my body is having a bit of trouble adjusting to the very high fiber content. The same happened to me before, and my body adjusted after a week or so. I’m sure I’ll be feeling squeaky clean and healthy next week.

Breakfast

Quinn’s Purple Mooshie (Vegan)

See yesterday’s blog for details

Lunch

Becca’s Spinach Salad (Vegan)

80z spinach

4oz arugula

1/2 cup snap peas

1/2 one avocado

2 tablespoons bleu cheese dressing

Toss in a large bowl and enjoy!

Dinner

Vietnamese Hot and Sour Soup (Vegan) From Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites

2 cups thinly sliced onions

2 teaspoons olive oil

5 garlic cloves minced or pressed

1 0r 2 fresh chilies seeded and minced

7 cups Southeast Asian Vegetable stock (recipe to follow)

1 1/2  cups canned straw mushrooms (15 once can drained)

3/4 cup canned pineapple chunks (8 oz can undrained) or 1 cup fresh diced pineapple

1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1/4 cup soy sauce or Asian fish sauce

1 1/2 cups diced tofu cut into 1/2 inch cubes

In a large soup pot, saute the onions in the oil on low heat for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add garlic and chilies and saute for another minute, stirring to prevent sticking. Stir in the stock, straw mushrooms, pineapple and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add basil and mint, lime juice, soy sauce, and tofu. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, until the flavors are well blended. Sprinkle with mung sprouts and basil leaves and accompany each serving with a wedge of lime.

Notes: I used a pre-minced garlic to save time. We minced the straw mushrooms VERY small so that I wouldn’t notice the texture. I bought pineapple chunks not suspended in juice but heavy syrup. So I drained and did not add the liquid. We used fire roasted tomatoes to enhance the flavor. We used soy sauce as we did not have fish sauce. Josh hates tofu so we substituted a very thin brown rice noodle.

Southeast Asian Vegetable Stock (Vegan) From Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites

1 onion, peeled, and sliced

6 garlic cloves, peeled

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced

3 inch piece fresh ginger root, sliced

1 fresh lemongrass stalk, chopped

2 tablespoons coriander seeds

1 teaspoon black peppercorn

1 bay leaf

1 star anise (or 1/2 teaspoon anise seed)

9 cups water

Combine all of the ingredients in a large stock pot and bring them to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered for 45 minutes. Strain the stock through a colander or sieve pressing as much liquid as possible out of the vegetables. Discard the vegetables and spices.

Notes: I used a dried lemongrass stalk. Also don’t skip the broth and substitute a chicken stock. This fragrant broth makes the soup.

This soup was again so good. Very different from the comforting feel the tomato bisque had. It was a hot (spicy) soup with a complexity of flavor that I have never experienced before. Josh and I loved the brown rice noodle in the soup, but if you are a tofu fan go for that. This soup warmed you from the inside out heating your blood from the spicy chilies and soothing the palette with the sweetness of the pineapple. Tangy and sweet, it was oh so delicious and will certainly be added to our roster of regulars.

-Rebecca Garrison