pho (and happy birthday, Mom!)

Today is my mother's birthday! Happy birthday, Mom!

Pho is one of those things I never think I'll like. "Noodles and barely-cooked vegetables soaking in broth? Give me a stir fry instead." But twice now, I have made pho just to see what the fuss is about, and both times I thoroughly enjoyed it! Obviously the ingredients you use play a big role in how it tastes, but the dish is simultaneously light and hearty, and different every time you make it.

The broth, I have been told, is the most important part of good pho. Since the whole point is to just toss everything into broth, the broth makes or breaks the dish! My favorite recipe so far is one from Emily Ho at the Kitchn. You char onion halves and ginger over an open flame (Kevin was afraid I'd burn myself when I did this over our gas stove, especially since our kitchen tongs weren't very cooperative in holding an entire half onion, but there were zero pho-related casualties!) before boiling them with spices and veggie stock. I think a top-quality veggie stock is in order here; I always use my own.

While I make the broth, I also cook noodles and chop the veggies that will go in. I just always use the veggies in my fridge, not really the ones in any recipe, but I do find necessary the lime and herbs (cilantro and/or basil and/or mint) to finish it. I also like to sauté up some sliced tofu in tamari, sesame oil, and whatever seasoning strikes my fancy, but you can go with just plain tofu if that sounds like too much work.

Same bowl, different pho

Put noodles in a bowl, top with the broth, add all your veggies, and you have tasty vegan pho!  I like eating it with chopsticks because then I can feel like I got it in a restaurant.

Here's something ridiculous, though: I never feel comfortable saying it out loud, since I worry it sounds like I'm swearing. (It's pronounced "fuh.")

I got married! (and brown rice ramen noodles)

You guys, it's hard to keep up with Vegan MoFo when you're getting married... but we did it!

I wanted to write a post about the food we had at the reception, but things are still kinda crazy around here, so instead I'll post a quick review about a quick food:

King Soba's Organic Brown Rice Ramen noodles!

I haven't had ramen in soooo many years, but putting these in/with all of my stir fries lately have brought the memories right back. They're gluten free, simple to make, and go well with every dish I've tried them with. The texture is exactly like I remember cheap grocery store ramen to be. I'll have to get another bag soon!

I do eat food other than cupcakes

...but this is a valentine's day post, and v-day is a day that MUST be filled with chocolate and pastel pink:
More on this little fellow later. First I need to post a REAL recipe, something without sugar, so you believe me.

A couple years ago, a friend of mine studied abroad in Ghana. She visited many West African countries while she was over there, and spoke pretty highly of many of the dishes she'd tried there. I've since veganized a few - though you haven't seen them (yet), I make mean ghanian groundnut veggies and a decent senegalese stew. I love the spice combinations in North African food: Moroccan, Algerian, and Egyptian dishes are great. Pretty much all of the African cuisine I've tried, I like. But when my roommate's sister spent several months in Tanzania recently, I realized I have no idea what is typical of eastern African cuisine. So I looked ut up! and found a great website called the African Cookbook. It's not very vegan, though. So I veganized and adapted a few of the recipes, and have found one I really like.
Tanzanian Braised Cabbage
(serves at least 4 as an entree, 8 as a side)

1-2 Tbsp oil
1 onion, chopped
1 large head of cabbage (2 lbs-ish), roughly chopped
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp powdered ginger
1/2 tsp salt
cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes to taste
3/4 cup veggie broth or water
1/4 cup tamari
1 carrot, cut into matchsticks (optional)
1 handful of spinach or other such green, roughly chopped (optional)

In a large pan, saute the onion over medium heat in the oil until transparent. Add the cabbage, spices, and salt. Saute until the cabbage is slightly tender, about 10 minutes. Then add the veggie broth, tamari, and optional carrots. Cook until the cabbage is soft, at least 10 more minutes. Adjust spices to taste. Once the cabbage is at the tenderness you want (I like mine pretty darn soft), remove from heat and stir in the optional spinach.
(Pre-spinach. I made a half-batch because my cabbage was tiny.)

Serve over rice, millet, or, if you want it to be a one-dish meal, add a little extra water and serve it in a bowl with glass noodles! (aka bean threads, starch noodles, vermicelli, worm noodles, or cellophane noodles, available in asian food stores, natural food stores, or the specialty aisle of a normal grocery store)
I love these things because 1) they are made from bean starch (you can also get ones made from sweet potato starch, but they smell awful. Taste okay, smell awful), so they are pretty much free of EVERYTHING and 2.) all you have to do to prepare them is let them sit in hot water for a few minutes.

Okay, healthy food aside: HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! My coworker had a delicious vegan potluck dinner, and my contribution (surprise) was CUPCAKES! I really wanted to try the Red Velvet cupcakes from vegan cupcakes take over the world, but I don't believe in food coloring, and as I made them around midnight last night, I was too tired to bother to make my own. I used a bit of beet juice in the batter, but it wasn't strong enough to cover up the cocoa powder:
Though not red, they were a little paler than chocolate cupcakes would be. These cupcakes had a really light texture and rose quite a bit in the over.
Gorgeous! I made a little Earth Balance, Soymilk (colored with beets), powdered sugar glaze and topped them with pecans, which sort of resemble hearts, right?
OH but do you want to hear a cupcake-related (well, sorta) tragedy? I had a nasty nightshade reaction (ie, a rash)to something I ate in NYC this weekend, but I wasn't sure what. After reading my last entry, my mother asked, "didn't the babycakes desserts make you sick?"
"Of course not," I said. "Why would it?"
"There's potato starch in it."
"No there's not," I told her. "I asked the workers if there was potato starch in anything and they said no."
She pointed me to the babycakes website, where they say all of their frostings have potato starch. On one hand, it was good to know whence my rash came. On the other hand - the spacy hipster babycakes employee BETRAYED ME. So I rescind some of my babycakes review. Really good taste, slightly less allergy-friendly than they advertise, especially because the employees don't actually know what's in their products...

That's why I bake so many cupcakes of my own. Because NO ONE ELSE'S ARE SAFE. : /

less strange fruit

for breakfast yesterday, I had a dragonfruit!

These BRIGHT PINK, user-friendly fruits are so photogenic!

I'd never had a dragonfruit before - this little guy was another adventure in super 88 produce. The texture and taste resemble kiwi. I should've let it ripen longer - some parts weren't as sweet as others- but I couldn't resist.

And for lunch, some tasty leftovers - cold sesame noodle salad. I improvised a big batch of it for a boston vegan association get-together the night before.

The purple noodles are actually cooked black rice noodles:



Cold Sesame Noodle Salad

Enough Rice Noodles for 4 people
4 Tbsp Toast Sesame oil, divided
1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
2 Tbsp Tamari or soy sauce (more to taste)
1/2 cup Edamame, shelled
1 cup Bean Sprouts
1 Tbsp Toasted Sesame Seeds*
1-2 Tbsp green onion, chopped

Cook Rice Noodles in boiling water until al dente. Drain, rinse with cold water, stir in 1 Tbsp sesame oil to prevent sticking.

In a small pan, saute carrots in 1 Tbsp sesame oil over medium until just tender.

In a large bowl, combine noodles, carrots, edamame, tamari, and the remaining 1 Tbsp sesame oil. Add bean sprouts only if/when everything else has cooled, then garnish with sesame seeds and green onion. Stick in the fridge until cooled.

*To toast Sesame Seeds:
Put sesame seeds, dry, in a pan over low heat. Shake it around from time to time to make sure they turn over. Remove from heat when VERY LIGHTLY browned. Pale is better than dark - they continue toasting after you've removed them from the heat due to the oils inside. ***WATCH THEM CAREFULLY: they burn really easily, and once they've burned - ew.

and in durian-related news: the majority of things in the freezer either have a faint taste or smell like durian. Some, both. It's the fruit that keeps on giving.