Tuesday, August 30, 2011

What a trip!

Vietnam Day One: Flight Meals

Delta: JFK-->Tokyo

When purchasing my tickets on Expedia, I made sure to request a Pure Vegetarian meal. Knowing ahead of time that pure vegetarian=not necessarily vegan…I knew I had to pack my normal snacks and sammies. Therefore before heading to the airport, I made 4 mini pita whole wheat sandwiches with mustard, (2 with romaine), and tofurky. I also packed almonds, cashews, 2 larabars, pretzels, carrots, and a bag of veggie booty.

Once on board the first meal to arrive was the “dinner” service, which consisted of the following:

Pure Vegetarian Meal

Brown Rice and Mixed Veggie Curry (frozen peas, corn, carrots, string beans, cauliflower)

Roll

Salad with tomato, romaine and topped with shredded cheese (not vegan)

3 shrimp cocktail (not vegan)

butter (non vegan)

ceasar dressing (not vegan)

cocktail sauce

cream cheese brownie (not vegan)

I attempted to eat the rice and veggies, but it was so bland that I couldn’t take more than two bites. I nibbled on the roll, but was turned off at the shrimp on the tray. Oh well, good thing I brought the sammies.

A few hours later came the Midflight snack=another disappointment!

Midflight snack:

Apple

Water in a plastic carton

veg sandwich (crustless wheat bread, tomatoes, and cucumber)

pepperidge farm milano cookie

Notes: water tastes like plastic

Apple: saved for later

Veg Sandwich=soggy bread, mealy tomatoes…I also found two pieces of turkey in the sandwich and couldn't eat the cookie...again good thing I packed food!

The menu for the pre-landing meal reads option of veggie fried rice…please be good.

The arrival of the last meal was another sad disappointment.

Pre Landing Meal:

Fruit Salad

Roll/Butter

Hersheys Bar

Veggie Fried Rice with baby corn and red peppers

Oj

I took one bite of the veggie fried rice and noticed that there was egg in the meal. I was skeptical at first, but then thought it was tofu. Wrong, I bit into a small piece of egg and there goes another Pure Veg Meal. The oj and a piece of pineapple was all that I ate. I’m ready for some homemade Vietnamese food already!

Vietnam Day Two: Flight Meal

Vietnam Airlines: Tokyo-->Ho Chi Minh

This was by far the best meal on board

Dinner Service:

Roll with margarine

Garden salad with cucumber, peppers and a lite vinaigrette

Fruit salad (apples, kiwi, and pineapple)

Sushi rice with 3 different mushrooms (oyster, shiitake and straw)

Tofu with snowpeas, bamboo and peppers

I felt like I was almost home. I’m looking forward to my first bowl of veggie noodle soup and fresh summer rolls. Oh and the fresh sugarcane juice too.

After settling in to my grandmother’s house, I went and had my first homemade bowl of rice porridge. The rice was mixed with red beans (sort of like azuki) and topped with coconut milk. It was served along side a small dish of spicy pickled gourd. I also nibbled on a few rombutan. Love the fruit here. Can you believe the last time I went to Vietnam, I bought apples, grapes and oranges? I know right? I’ll stick with the local fruit for the rest of the trip.

After breakfast, we walked to the market. We picked up some fresh tofu, chopped lemongrass/chili peppers, fresh coconut juice, a green vegetable (reminds me of chayote), and fresh cilantro. Ba Ngoai is going to make me a soup with sautéed lemongrass tofu. Time for a nap while it’s hot out!

Didn’t get a picture of the soup or lemongrass tofu dish:(

For a light snack I had veggie summer rolls with brown rice noodles, lettuce and fresh mint.

Breakfast the next morning was a traditional veganize version of Bun Bo Hue. It had rice noodles, bean sprouts, scallions and veggie meat. The hot bowl of soup was a bit difficult to eat in the humid weather, but most of the locals eat hot soup or rice for breakfast so I’m just going with the flow.

For lunch, grandma made sautéed (scallion like) greens with fresh tofu and peanuts.

Snack…lychee and mini-grapefruit. I also had some fresh sugarcane juice.



More delicious Vietnam eats to come...

Thursday, July 21, 2011

On a trip...

Going on vacation and will have plenty of adventure stories from my travels! See you all soon.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

I'm back!

It has been a while, but I'm glad to be back and look forward to the many posts in the coming days and weeks! Just to wet your appetite a little...here are a few pics:


Pure Food and Wine Zucchini Local Roma and Heirloom Tomato Lasagna


Whole Wheat Roll Ups


Dark Chocolate Covered Organic Strawberries


Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Vegan Italian Hoagie

Vegan Deli Slices, organic tomatoes, onion, shredded lettuce, and Vegannaise. The sandwich is topped with with extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper and oregano.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Organic Red Quinoa

I had brunch last weekend at the newly opened Le Pain Quotidien in Center City, Philadelphia and ordered on of my favorite dishes the Organic Red Quinoa Salad (their menu indicates all vegan dishes with a (v) and a carrot symbol). The salad consisted of arugula, chickpeas, and artichokes in a lemon vinaigrette. Delicious and very light. After coming back to New York, I was inspired to create new meals with red quinoa. First, I made a quinoa, kale, and cilantro salad. The next day, I made another quinoa salad with peas, onions, and vegan chicken. I served it with raw zucchini pasta (zucchini spirals, tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, braggs apple cider and sea salt).

Organic Red Quinoa

Quinoa with organic kale and cilantro

Quinoa with peas, onions and vegan chicken

Raw zucchini pasta

Saturday, April 16, 2011

CookFest!

For the last few months, I've been preparing meals for the week on the weekend. It takes me about 3 to 4 hours, but I don't have to think about what to eat for the rest of the week. Here are some photos from last month. *By Friday I'm ready to dine out, which is a nice treat!










Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Pasta Night!

Tagiatelle and Arrabbiata Sauce served with Fresh Garlic Bread

Ponti Italian Pasta Sauce

Tagliatelle

Great finds from EATALY

Monday, January 31, 2011

100th Post!

For my 100th post, I'd like to share one of my favorite Sunday morning meals:

Breakfast Sandwiches!!

Whole Wheat English Muffin-Seared Tofu with Daiya cheese, Lightlife Gimme Lean, sauteed onions, nooch and avocado. Served with roasted potatoes.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Caramelized Seitan Banh Mi

Toasted Banh Mi with sauteed seitan, pickled carrots, daikon, cilantro, cucumber and Vegannaise.


1/2 seitan Banh Mi with sweet and sour veg, rice, and carrot salad

Seitan Banh Mi with hearts of palm salad and avocado

Additional Photos...


mmm....

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Vegan Pho


There's nothing like a hot bowl of homemade Veggie Pho.