FOOD FOOD FOOD!!!

Welcome to my Food Section!!!

Healthy food

Sinfully delicious food

Simple as that!!

Food is a work of Art.

Food is a lot like life. One must try new things in order to experience beautiful moments. I am very apathetic towards recipes, because as with life no two experiences are the same. AND repeating the same thing over and over again expecting the same result defines insanity…I simply want to cook without inhibition and share my beautiful moments with the world! No rules in life, so no recipes to follow.

As an “artist,” I believe food is about the experience. Cooking is the experience of making a dish… and seeing the smiles of friends and family, while they consume my food only heightens the gratification.

Being a part of the “now generation” with microwaves and frozen dinners things can be tiring, but when I see a content smile on my friend’s face after eating three helpings…or eyes light up when I mention a “food idea,” I remember why I cook. I cook for fun. I cook to create.  I cook from a place of love. I love to cook.

On this site you will not find ANY exact measurements…more so you will see approximations and lists of ingredient, ingredient groupings or orders to combine ingredients. But NEVER will I tell you exactly how much; because making food is not about following the recipe, it’s about the process of making something that you are proud of….Something that you can call your own. There shouldn’t be any failures from my recipes, only a base to create something fantastic!

Another fact about food is with most ETHNIC foods the spices impact the flavor….Spices are key. Curry powders come in many variations. A fresher spice blend will alter an entire dish. Where appropriate I will emphasize when I am using fresh spices, new spices, store bought spices, etc.

I enjoy making food of all sorts. I am a vegetarian with extreme bouts of Veganism.

I do, however, prepare meat and dairy, because I support an individual’s decision to eat what they want and enjoy every bite of it…

Chocolate Peanut butter Vegan cake!!

A while back a friend was “tagged” on Facebook as a CAKE in a “Facebook album… “Not just any cake but a cake that looked AMAZING.

I asked the owner of the Album “Where did you find this cake and can I have the recipe?” Then she shared with me the amazing Blog called The Gluttonous Vegan

I followed the link to “Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie Cake”

The recipe called for an amount of sugar that I did not want to consume…so I thought I would share my variation…and let me just say even with my changes it is still VERY rich and must be frozen because my family and I have to savor the greatness!

For the step by step on how to cook the cake please follow the links above.

The parentheses indicate my changes:

For the Brownie Cake:

3/4 cup flour  (1/4 Wheat, 2/4 multi grain)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup sugar (Splenda Granulated)
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/3 tsp baking powder (maybe a little bit more)
3/4 cup soy milk (Silk Chocolate Soy Milk)
1 tbsp agave

3 Tbsp of apple sauce

Frosting:

5 tbsp vegan margarine
1 1/2 cups icing/confectioners sugar (Made Sugarless icing: Mixed Cornstarch, Powdered soymilk and granulated Splenda to make frosting)
1 cup of your choice of crunchy or smooth peanut butter (1/4 cup cashew nut butter, 3/4 cup peanut butter)
1 tbsp soy milk (added soymilk until reached desired consistency)

Chocolate ganache is:

1/2 cup soymilk
1/4 cup vegan margarine
about 200g dark chocolate broken up, 8-9oz ish (Used Carob instead of chocolate…just to try since I am not a huge fan of straight chocolate)

FOOD AT ITS BEST

WOW. JUST WOW.                                                                            

I did not cook the following blog entry, but I sure did enjoy eating it.

My cousin’s birthday was catered by her friend and Chef Felix and I was fortunate enough to be in LA to celebrate the day of her birth with this amazing FOOD.

Everything was prepared in her house. Her gourmet kitchen provided the best atmosphere to create decadent, classy, yet yummy food.

It was buffet style so everything was crisp, clean and seamless for us to serve ourselves.

Starters consisted of:

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Shrimp Cocktail

Seven kinds of exotic fresh cheese and crackers (My favorite is Brie!)

Pomegranate Raspberry Champaign

On the Brunch Menu:

Brussels Sprouts brazed with Corn and Potatoes.

TWO choices of Egg Scrambles 

French Bread Pudding with a heavy cream topping and freshly sugared/self juiced fruit.

Brioche with a Honey Butter and Fruit Jam. 

Duck, Lettuce and Tomatoes Sandwiches (think: “DLT,” instead of “BLT”) on Cornmeal Waffle Bread, with a Pear Glaze to drizzle over.

Fresh strawberries, almonds, blueberries and raspberries on the side

To finish everything off, we also had birthday cake….a Hello Kitty Birthday Cake!!!

The BEST Lebanese food 

In Los Angeles: Sunnin and I have yet to find a place in Sacramento that serves food like this!

My favorite thing to get at Sunnin is:

Falafel Plate:

Tabouleh Salad

Baba Ganoush!

All of the above is served with warm Pita Bread!

I have yet to make my own Falafel… but stay tuned!

Photo by my great friend Ian Isles

Urth Cafe, My guilty Pleasure

Urth Café... there are a few locations in LA.

I personally love the Santa Monica/Venice Location. Many people deem these Café’s as, “Hollywood Hype/Over Priced, where people/tourists go to see the stars." I will agree that most people go there to “see and be seen.” I have only seen a couple of movie stars that I CANNOT name…I simply go for the Vegan Chocolate Cake (ask for it slightly warmed)

I am not a huge fan of chocolate, but this cake is sinful and one of the few materialistic/visual ways to my heart. If a Man brought me this as a surprise, I would without a doubt put it in the refrigerator…to eat for my second desert (haha...)

Be sure to have some green tea with this cake. Green tea helps boosts metabolism and over all health.

Man Approved

I am a Vegetarian, but I have extreme bouts with being Vegan and at times I dream of going RAW. However, if I ever acquire a Boy Friend and he wants meat cooked; I will gladly make it for him in an extremely sexy apron, because he can eat what he wants and I will try to make it!

Homemade potato salad with home BBQ ribs (with a homemade rub)  

Ingredients:

Ribs:

Pork Ribs

Rub: Paprika, Cayenne pepper, salt

Cook off the coal heat for a few hours

Potato Salad:

Boiled Potatoes- Drained and cooled

Mayonnaises

Celery

Carrots (if you want)

Onion

Salt

Pepper

Paprika

Other spices of your choice (at times I will use whatever fresh herbs I have in the garden, depending on the season)

Mustard (Dijon and regular)

The vegan alternative:

DISCLAIMER:  You MUST take the plastic off of the loaf before putting the rub on.

Instead, you will wrap the loaf (covered in the special rub) in foil. This will keep everything moist.

Made with a Quorn Turkey “Loaf” http://www.quorn.us/Home/

For the Spread use a little vegan margarine and Dijon mustard mixed with the dry rub.

Rub this all over the loaf

Then dice a half of an onion to put in with the loaf.

Now depending on your oven or if the loaf is frozen, follow the cooking directions included with the box. I would say best results come from a Defrosted loaf.

Vegan Potato Salad:

Boil potatoes: Drain and cool

Mix in VEGENAISE

Dijon Mustard

Small handful of chopped spinach/pressed kale (to press kale: put kale in a bowl with olive oil and Braggs Liquid Amino and Squeeze the Life out of the Kale until it looks wilted and tender, then add a small handful of spinach

Onion

Celery

Carrots

Spices of your choice (salt, pepper etc) sometimes I make it more Indian inspired and add curry powder.

MisoMayo http://www.misomayo.com/

Mix together and chill or eat right away!

My dad LOVED it. He said, "This is really tasty; hopefully you will find a boyfriend who appreciates good food." I replied with a rant about patriarchal societies and if the Boy Friend loved me, he can love my food.

Best Orange Chicken in Sacramento

The best Orange Chicken in Sacramento can be found at New Lai Wah Chinese restaurant on Freeport Blvd, across from the Executive Airport.

Yelp says there is poor service/expensive…I don’t really care how the service is, but expensive? I don’t know how much cheaper a sit-down restaurant can get for the quality and amount of food served. If you want cheap/fast, go to Panda Express! I go in and I say what I want, even if communication is challenging, it all ends well and I eat well.

Nasu Miso: My Love

My variation calls for adding Spinach and Kale and whatever kind of Miso you can find.

(Brown onions in olive oil first with the spices and miso) Saute in olive oil:

Spinach

Kale

Japanese egg plant

Miso

Onions

Tomatoes

Sesame oil

¼ cup water added last and cooked “down”

Add sugar “to taste” throughout as a way to counter the bitterness from the tomatoes

Real Food in Sacramento

ALL RAW.

I love it. The only thing I have to be careful of is nuts, because I am allergic to all nuts, except for Cashews and possibly Almonds.

Here I had Not-Chos, which is a Cashew Nut blended with spices to make the “taco filling” and the chips are “flax” seed chips.

Real Food Daily (RFD) in Santa Monica

It is all vegan! It is a little pricy, but well worth it! If you have a friend who eats the same as you, then you can split an appetizer and an entrée...for a meal under 13 dollars each!! (Not including tip)

Pictured is a Photo of the Not-Chos and my side of Kale. My friend Cedar and I shared the Not-Chos and both had a side of something delicious!!

Comme ci comme ca?

This is simply Comme Ca a local LA French restaurant. I think it is one of the best date places in LA, hands down.

This place doesn't specialize in vegan cuisine...but it is SO romantic I would "veganlly" settle for a salad, bread and wine!

My friend’s sister had a birthday celebration at this yummy French restaurant on Melrose Ave. and apparently, this burger is rated one of the best burgers in Los Angeles!

I didn’t take a photo of my food, but my "Risotto with Mushrooms" was amazing as well!!

The Ambiance of this little restaurant is perfect for a date! I notice a couple tucked away in the corner with a bottle of wine over an intimate dinner... SO romantic

Spinach, Mushroom Vegan Pizza

First make a wheat crust (I use a Costco bread machine)

For the topping:

Then create a squeezed kale balsamic and olive oil with spinach mixture.

Cut up tomatoes, mushrooms and kalamata olives

For the sauce:

One can of tomato sauce

Some tomato paste

A little sugar

Add sautéed onions, garlic, paprika, sage, red wine, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and fresh herbs.

TIP: If adding fake meat or Basil put both underneath the cheese to maintain moisture

Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes (depending on your oven and pizza pan) or until spinach looks wilted and slightly crisp and the Daiya “cheese” is melted.

Must Be Muffins

I followed this recipe from a Williams-Sonoma Muffin cookbook with the noted changes.

7 tablespoons (3'/2 OZ/ 105 g) unsalted VEGAN  butter, at room temperature

1'/2 cups (7'/2 oZ/235 g) all-purpose WHEAT flour

1'/2 teaspoons baking powder

'/2 teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)

'/2 teaspoon nutmeg

'/2 cup (4 fl oz/125 ml) buttermilk (SOYMILK)

1'/2 teaspoons vanilla extract (essence)

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

6 tablespoons (3 oz/90 g) IInsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350°F (l80°C). Grease 9 standard muffin cups with butter or butter-flavored nonstick cooking spray; fill the unused cups one-third full with water to prevent warping.

To make the muffins, in a bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg, beating well until pale and smooth.

In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Add to the butter mixture in 2 increments, alternating with the buttermilk and vanilla. Stir just until evenly moistened. The batter will be slightly lumpy.

Spoon the batter into each muffin cup, filling it three-fourths full. Bake until golden, dry, and springy to the touch, 20-25 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin should come out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Unmold the muffins and let stand until cool enough to handle.

To make the topping, stir together the sugar and cinnamon in a small, shallow bowl. Have ready the melted butter in another small bowl. Holding the bottom of a muffin, dip the top into the melted butter, turning to coat it evenly. Immediately dip the top in the cinnamon-sugar mixture, coating it evenly, then tapping it to remove excess sugar. Transfer to the rack, right side up. Repeat with the remaining muffins. Let cool completely before serving. 

IF you do NOT change anything your muffins will look like the following photo

Note: These cakelike muffins are made from a batter similar to that used for making donuts, but are baked instead of fried. 

Leftovers!!

With the left over BBQ Turkey I made a Kale Spinach Wrap.

Take some of the turkey and heat it for about 30 seconds with some Daiya cheese and Kale/Spinach. Then place onto a sandwich wrap, add some cilantro, tomato, balsamic and a dressing of your choice. I choose hot sauce.

Kombucha!!

I LOVE Kombucha! I don’t LOVE the price. One day I will brew my own, but until then my favorite flavors are Ginger, Pomegranate and Original.

Also the dry tea is AMAZING too!

Thai Coconut Red Curry

Veggies: Stir fry in oil of your choice

Broccoli

Kale

Bok Choy

Add spices while continuing to fry: 

Red curry paste

Hot red chili powder

A little fish oil

Sesame oil

Last (Add)  add the coconut milk over everything simmers. Continue seasoning until you reach the desired salt/spice level. I would suggest adding small amounts of seasoning, such as ¼ teaspoon increments.

Then ladle over quinoa cooked in the rice cooker. (Rice cooker quinoa is the easiest way to prepare quinoa, because you do not have to stay and stir it.)

Soul Food!

Traditionally, one would buy a piece of salt pork and use possibly a beef or pork stock (Broth), then cook the collard greens with potatoes over low heat; allowing everything to juice together, creating an amazing flavor of….MEAT and fat. Pairing this goodness with a slice of fresh out of the oven corn bread with butter on top to soak up any of the remaining broth…

My grandmother used to do this so well...

My family has changed their cooking approach some. Now we use water or vegetable broth as our “stock,” we do not add salt pork (or any salt while cooking). We mostly boil down the collards and potatoes and add salt if we want after everything is cooked.

Preparation:

Saute onions, garlic, salt and pepper

Add water and bring to a boil/simmer

Then add about 4 potatoes and a couple of bags of collards (if you can not find fresh farmers market collards). Cook the collards until tender (maybe for an hour or so).

Want corn bread, too? Costco/many stores have a bag of “just add milk” cornbread mix. Instead of adding dairy, we add soy milk.

Beer, Wine, Rootbeer CHICKEN

"Beer Can Chicken"

My dad bought a contraption (from Williams-Sonoma) that you can put ANY liquid in yielding the same beer can chicken-esq result.

So, for this he used white wine with a garlic pepper salt rub....and cooked the chicken off of direct heat for about 3-4 hours.

I tasted it....AMAZING... but I can’t help but feel sorry for Chicken...

Coconut Creamed Spinach!

I experienced my first Indian-Fijian food

At Mani’s Curry House, my favorite dish was the Tomato Chutney and Coconut cream spinach (similar to Saag found in Indian cuisine)

So, I attempted to replicate this!

 
Sauté onions in olive oil, then add whatever spices you want…because this doesn’t have to be Indian, you can add Thai red curry, Chinese yellow curry or even salt and pepper only.

Once your onions and spices have caramelized, add the spinach with 1/4th cup of water. Cover for about 1 minute and stir until the spinach is wilted!

After everything is wilted add the coconut milk and cook until you have the desired consistency. (I mean if you want it thicker add less coco nut or reduce the milk by cooking it for more time allowing for evaporation)

“Stir it up, little darling”...Stir Fry it up!!

If only Bob Marley could be in my kitchen WITH me stir frying my tofu!!

This is simple!

Tofu, carrots, broccoli, kale, mushrooms and onions

Stir fry all of the above in olive oil, sesame oil, Brags Liquid Aminos and some tandoori seasoning.

Beans, Beans good for the heart...the more you eat the...!!!!...

Black beans are my favorite beans!

This is a black bean salad made from a can of black beans (I would prefer black beans made from dry, but that would take a LONG time to prepare).

So, rinse the black beans in a strainer, add to a large mixing bowl

Cut up Kalamata olives, tomatoes and season with pepper, cayenne pepper, Brags Liquid Aminos and paprika.

Persimmon gluten free, vegan...and if you choose raw! 

I love persimmons!!!!!

I made a “pie” with a pitted date crust, filled with mashed banana and persimmons.

Now you can leave this raw and eat it chilled with berries on top….or you can bake it in the oven for about 30 minutes or so at about 350 degrees ….OR you can try frying, like a “fried banana” (I have not tried this though, just an idea)/

The photo below is baked.

Coffeeeeeee

Best Coffee in Sacramento!

From a place called "Old Soul"

Grow

If you have the space and time GROW fruits, veggies and spices!

This is what my backyard gave me one warm and sunny day!

The Best Ice Cream

Vic’s Ice Cream in the Land Park area of Sacramento.

I don’t really like ice cream....but these two flavors only come out twice a year and for some reason I LOVE them.

Banana and peach. I have tried peach flavors all over California nothing compares to Vic’s!

I love NUTS

I love NUTS....but recently I developed an allergy to ALL nuts except for almonds and cashews.

Before my allergy...I used to drink this “milk”

Macadamia nut milk!

Blend in a Vitamix or something equally as powerful:

One cup of raw (soaked over night) macadamia nuts.

5 cups of water

1/2 cup of coconut milk

1/4 cup agave

Add more of the above if you want it all depends on your taste...

Use as you would regular milk....I made a mean mocha!!!

My Indian Food

My Indian food....Butter Chicken

All I can post are photographs...hopefully if you are lucky I will cook this for you...but only if I really like you.

THE BEST SNACK

Banana Chips

Black Currant Grape Raisins!

These raisins taste better than any raisins I have ever had! Hands down!

Vegan Kale Teryaki Salad

This salad is MAN approved and Dancer friendly.

Ingredients:

-"Pressed Kale" (meaning you must FIRST drizzle the kale with lemon and olive oil and then squeeze it with your bear hands until it wilts...this is how you get the Wholefood's kale salad look and taste...) -Then add the rest of the ingredients on top and mix thoroughly. The hummus makes this salad creamy and delicious!!! Toss in some spinach as well for added AMAZINGNESS!!

Tofu marinated in teriyaki sauce

Garbanzo beans

Kidney beans

Apple (diced into small pieces)

Tomato

Marinated mushrooms

Balsamic vinegar

Olive oil

Garlic hummus

Salt

Memories from Sophomore year at UCLA

Before I made friends with the people in my department (WAC) I had friends on my “floor” (my residential hall).

One "floor event" was a potluck!

FYI this was about three months before I went vegetarian...

The following photograph is "Chicken Adobo" made by my Residential Assistant  (I have since created a delectable Tofu veggie Adobo that gives chicken a run for your money...or more so my alternative gives chicken a chance to run free...) Tofu Adobo will be featured here shortly!

Japanese Cucumber Sesame Salad

Plate of food from the Evening

Sweet Summer Burger

I made this months ago...

Sweet Potato burger over a bed of kale and a slice of tomato!

The “burger” consists of mashing together

Sweet potato

Kale

Tofu

Salt

Pepper

Mash into “patties,” place on a baking sheet and bake in the oven at 350 degrees until slightly brown

Stuffed Bell Peppers and Kale Salad

I made these the hard way  and cooked my quinoa over the skillet. An easier way to make quinoa is to prepare it in my nine dollar Target rice cooker.

Once the quinoa is done:

-Put in a large mixing bowl with the kale, black beans and mushrooms (whatever you want to stuff the pepper with).

-Add seasonings of your choice (I use a lot of cayenne pepper)

-Cut off the tops of the peppers, discard the seeds and center...

-Stuff the peppers to the brim and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15 or 20 min!

A Blindfolded Cultured Tongue...

I will NEVER EVER forget this... My Sophomore year at UCLA...

For extra credit my Teaching Assistant decided to assign a class project. We had to work in randomly assigned pairs to create a “food experience.”

I created a simple Indian dish in less than 30 min. (That was quite an experience for my partner! Creating anything in less than 30 min. is a feat in itself!).

BUT my class partner decided to BLINDFOLD me to eat my breakfast. I was such a new and shy sophomore I had no idea what to do! I was sheltered and confused about the college world, especially eating food blindfolded...I was quite devastated and confused by HOW I was supposed to eat,  be blindfolded AND above all guess my foods! (Now I would claim something like, this is a “piece of vegan cake,” but not then).

I "guessed" all of my foods blindfolded not on taste, but on smell (I have a crazy good nose). I don't think my partner got as much pleasure as she wanted out of the experience, because I guessed everything within the first bite...but what can I say, my tongue is cultured!

This was Pre-vegan, pre-coffee intolerance and pre-nut allergy, so I ate:

Turkey sausage, walnut banana blue corn pancakes, papaya and a cup of free trade coffee!! Presently, this breakfast would land me in the hospital but back then it landed me in class!

Here is a snap shot of my “food experience”

Yummy nonetheless.

Crossing Cultures...with “Yummy Rice and Starting a Tradition!

This is the food of my childhood....also, the childhood food of my cousin's...When my grandmother was young, white rice was something her family almost always had even if no other food was readily available....Usually milk and sugar was around too. So, if you don't have anything to feed your kids, why not come up with a name such as, “Yummy rice” to make dinner a little bit more filling and fun for the children to eat!

For my cousins and me this rice dish was not a necessity nor our only option of food, but something we requested and begged for because it was (and is) made with such LOVE.

IF I ever have kids, my variation will be quinoa (or brown rice), agave and a milk alternative!

Every culture has a variation of this delicious “pudding.” The Spanish have Arroz con leche, Cubans and Portuguese have a similar dish called Arroz con leche and Arroz doce.

The photograph is from my Christmas visit to my cousins! After an evening trip down memory lane, we uncovered our love of this rice and made sure to eat it the next morning!

I think a tradition should start, wherever we (my family and close friends that I consider LIKE family) are in the world. We must make a point during the holidays to try to see each other and/or share this yummy snack with the ones we love (children, lovers, spouses etc). Even if it is through Sykpe, eat the rice with friends and loved ones!!!

NYC NYC NYC Take me Back!!!!

My trip to NYC was amazing.

The Food was amazing.

The city was amazing.

I want to go back.

Lupe’s

Mexican Food

 Kool Bloo

This place looks scary and fattening....BUT, all I had was a basic wrap with falafel and hummus.

Sardi’s Restaurant and Grill:

I didn't eat here, but we went in for a look at the sketches!!

Katz’s Deli: I didn't get to eat here because I don't eat meat...I ate down the street at the Turkish place! YUMMY Hummus and Babba Ganoush!! The place is called Bereket’s...the food was ok and not the best. Nothing beats the West LA and San Diego hummus made by Baba Foods...

The last thing I consumed was Ben's Pizza...not the expected thin sliced pizza ( I wanted Bleecker street pizza, but didn't want to walk 6 blocks after dark with my bum knee) ...my mom and I were expecting a small pizza, but apparently there is only ONE size at this place...So we had to share with the people at the hotel! Luckily most of the hotel receptionists were men so they accepted the six slices of pizza (roughly equaling about 12 slices of classic NYC pizza) I ate 1.5 slices and then another for breakfast....

The last place was a small vegan joint near NYU called Atlas Cafe

SnowManApproved Sweet Potato Soup!

The power of Suggestion.

My Friends’s Friend posted on Facebook, a photograph of his soup....So I asked him for the recipe! But I wanted to Vegan-ize it! So here it is!

I can see myself walking back from grad school class...on a snowy day...in New York City (Columbia U) and warming up some of THIS.

Cut into small chunks and boil on stove top until tender:

2 Sweet Potato

1 Carrot

1 Banana Squash

1 can of Veggie Broth and 1/2 cup of water

Then Puree the above in a food processor and return to stove top

Add to the Puree:

1/2 cup Coconut Milk

2 cups Soy milk

Salt, Pepper, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Vanilla, Brown Sugar (to taste)

Return to a boil and all done!!!

Also on the side is boiled Kale, Spinach and Beet Stems seasoned with spice

I LOVE this...it is AMAZING.

This is a SIMPLE recipe!

Wash, peel fresh beets and dice them.

Place in a stove top pot to boil...for about an hour. (BE CAREFUL Beets STAIN everything so use something you are not afraid to leave with a pinkish tint)

Once beets are tender remove from heat and allow to cool fully.

Sinful Beet Salad!

Prepare the salad dressing mix all ingredients in separate bowl:

3 tablespoons Vegenaise (Light, Low Sodium)

3 tablespoons Miso Mayo

2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard

1 teaspoon Olive Oil

2 teaspoons Balsamic Vinegar

Dash of Pepper

Dash of Salt

Dash of Paprika

Mix Beets and Dressing together

Salad:

Dice some oranges or open a can of mandarins and drain. 

Wash and prep Spinach, Mixed greens etc

Finally, combine as you like!!

Be careful, do not eat this while wearing white...

Soul Food!!

My friend loves to eat food that is prepared for her by either a restaurant or frozen before hand by manufacturers.

She doesn’t know how to cook. So I decided to expose her to one of the “healthiest” “unhealthy” food dish I know how to make.

Fried beer battered shrimp.

I paired the shrimp with a basic steamed kale (she’s never seen kale). She also wanted something “sweet” to eat with her meal...so she baked cornbread from the box (Trader Joe’s).

She is a picky eater and still enjoyed this meal!

The Shrimp:

Beer (one can)

Flour (one cup)

Corn startch (1/2 cup)

Yeast (2 teaspoons)

salt (dash)

pepper (dash)

The Kale:

Steamed in a pot with spinach, veggatable broth, scallions, salt and pepper (very bland and basic because my friend is a picky eater)

Chicken Adobo (Filipino Style)

My dad  made this with chicken...BUT I am going to explain how to make Tofu Adobo.

Extra firm Tofu

Balsamic vinegar

Rice Vinegar

olive oil

sweet potato

Quinoa (steamed in a rice cooker)

Cut tofu into chunks, dice peeled sweet potato

Pour vinegar, oil and water mixture over the tofu and potatoes in a casserole dish

Cover with foil and bake in the oven on 350 until tofu is fully saturated and the potatoes are done

Ladle some tofu, potato and juice over quinoa and enjoy