What I Eat

I’ve always loved TIME’s “What the World Eats” photo essay (found here and here).  So after a trip to the Milk Pail, a European-style market that’s a local favorite, I thought I’d document what I eat in a week.

TOTAL = $35.29

3 x Fage Greek Yogurt
1 x Wasa Crackers
strawberries
bulghur wheat
clover sprouts
lemons
mandarines
Roma tomatoes
bananas
kale
celery root
pickling cucumbers
cabbage head
collard greens
curly parsley
fennel bulb
celery
zucchini
cilantro
yellow onions
avocado (I’m really proud of this one.  FOUR avocados for ONE dollar!  Beat that, Whole Foods.)
ginger root
beets
red radish

Two caveats: this is what in a week I eat IF I’m good and don’t eat out, and I’ve recently gotten into juicing at least once a day, which takes up a good portion of veggies.

Just in case you think I’m some foodie saint for letting a box of Wasa crackers be my only carbs for the week, I should add that I’m not including all the rice, bread, pasta, oil, spices, and other foods that I’ve already got in the pantry that also make up part of my weekly diet.  But my diet is for the most part fruits and vegetables anyways.  (My struggle is more about quantity and timing than ratios.)

I have to say, living in a place like California where produce is super cheap means there’s no excuse for not eating healthily!  But you can make healthy choices no matter WHERE you live.

Kimchi Fried-Rice

Who doesn’t like kimchi fried rice?  It’s like the mashed potatoes of Korean comfort foods, and it’s super easy to make.

Like most Korean food, kimchi fried rice has countless variations.  Consider this recipe just an idea-generator.   You really put in whatever suits your fancy or, like me, whatever you happen to have on hand.  You can basically use whatever vegetables sitting in your fridge that you need to get rid of!  Green peas, corn, green onions, tofu, Korean radish–they’re all great additions.  Just remember that you throw them into the pan in the order of how long it takes each ingredient to cook through.

And, of course, there are three components that you MUST have, no matter what: sticky rice, a touch of oil, and kimchi!  I use a mixture of 0.5 brown and 0.5 white rice because I think brown rice by itself is a little too tough and chewy for kimchi fried rice.  I also use freshly cooked rice straight out of the rice cooker because I like my fried rice to be a little stickier/moister, but day-old rice works just as well.

In Korea, some restaurants serve kimchi fried rice with an egg sunny-side up.  You break the yolk with your spoon and mix it into the rice.  And speaking of fried rice: if you go to a ddukbokki (떡볶이) place, you and your friends will be served a hot ddukbokki in a shallow metal pan–think paella–over a portable burner.  When you are done eating, the server will take the pan with the leftover ddukbokki sauce, add some rice and vegetables, and sometimes some kimchi, and mix and mash them evenly over the pan, which is placed over the burner.  The rice forms a crispy, chewy crust on the hot pan that you scrape off with your spoon and eat–it’s so good!

Kimchi Fried-Rice

sticky rice (brown, white, or combo)
kimchi + the juice it’s in
sesame oil
Korea red pepper paste  (고추장/gochujang)

onions
carrots
garlic
Chinese chives (부추/boochoo)
roast seaweed sheets (like THIS)
sesame seeds

Chop the kimchi (approx. 3/4 – 1 cup per 2 cups of rice), carrots, and onions into approximately the same size.  Mince the garlic.  Heat enough sesame oil in the pan to lightly cover the bottom (don’t use too much!) and sauteé everything for a few minutes until the onions are translucent.  If your kimchi is not the red, spicy type, you can add a spoonful or two of red pepper paste to the vegetables at this point and mix until everything is coated with the paste so that your rice has a bit of spiciness.

Add the rice to the pan, along with a bit more oil.  Break up the rice with your spatula and mix thoroughly with the vegetables and oil.  Then pour in a bit of kimchi juice–I use 1/4 cup per 2 cups of rice–and combine to bind everything together and add a bit more kimchi flavor (optional).  Leave the rice over medium heat until it gets SLIGHTLY crispy and turns a very light golden brown on the bottom and then flip and mix with your spatula.  Repeat a few times.

Turn the heat off, then mix in chopped garlic chives (optional) and rectangular roast seaweed sheets torn in half (optional; don’t worry if they look too big; they will wilt with the heat).  Add sesame seeds for garnish (optional).  Serve hot.

Cook + Prep Time: 15-20 min.

Back

I took a hiatus from CAMPUS c.h.e.f. this summer.  I was overseas in Asia and the most cooking I did was heat things up in a microwave, and none of those recipes merit posting here.  (This is not to say that I survived on ramen all summer–Korean food is delicious!)

But I’m back for another school year!  Recipes forthcoming… And please send me your own, if you’d like to share.

Baked Squash Pudding

If it wasn’t for all of the squash and root vegetables in the market, you wouldn’t know that it’s winter here in California.  It was actually a little hot today.  Just another reason I love this state.

This recipe is my take on another one that requires a food processor, which I’m assuming a lot of students don’t have.  The end result is a not-too-sweet (!!), healthy dish that you could eat for breakfast or even serve as a dessert.

Baked Squash Pudding

1 butternut squash
1/4 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 block firm tofu
2 sweet apples (not Granny Smith!)
1/2 lemon
3 Tbs. agave nectar or honey
2 Tbs. cactus honey powder or brown sugar
1/2 Tbs. miso
2 Tbs. vegetable or canola oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch of ground cumin
pinch of salt

Heat oven to 350° F.  Carefully split the butternut squash in half lengthwise–you don’t want to chop off any fingers on accident!  Place the squash, open side down, on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil.  Bake until the skin is soft enough to pierce through with a chopstick or fork (approx. 1 to 1.5 hours).

When the squash has cooled enough to handle, discard the seeds and scoop out the squash into a mixing bowl.  Mash roughly with a fork.

If you’re like me and don’t have long stretches of free time in your schedule, just store the squash in the refrigerator until you have time to assemble the rest of the recipe.  When you’re ready to finish making the pudding, heat the oven to 350° F again.

Rinse and drain tofu.  The tricky part now is to blend it smooth with a little bit of the squash.  It really does help to have a food processor, but a cheap blender like mine works too.  Place a couple spoonfuls of squash into the blender and crumble about half of the tofu on top.  Pulse the mixture, scraping the sides frequently.  Add more squash and a tiny bit of water if necessary.  Once the mixture is creamy and smooth, empty it into the mixing bowl with the rest of the squash.  Repeat for the remaining tofu.

Zest the lemon half.  I used a vegetable peeler to peel the very top of the lemon skin (no pith!) before finely chopping it, but use a microplane if you have one.  (Obviously, our kitchen appliance selection is quite rudimentary.)

Chop one apple into small cubes.

Add lemon zest, chopped apple, walnuts, agave nectar/honey, half of the honey powder/brown sugar, miso, oil, vanilla, cumin, and salt to the squash-tofu mixture.  Mix until smooth.  Empty into a baking pan of your choice.

Cut the other apple into thin slices and rub each slice with lemon.  Press apple slices onto top of pudding, then squeeze lemon half over the entire thing.  Sprinkle remaining honey powder/brown sugar over the apples.

Bake at 350° F for 30-40 minutes until the corners of the pudding have begun to brown.

Sesame Mochi Buns

Korean sesame buns made out of rice flour (깨찰빵)–no recipe, since they’re made with a mix.

Here’s what they look like inside:

The directions on the box were in Korean (which I read at a snail’s pace), so I’m glad that they turned out well!

Calico Pancakes

Whole-wheat pancakes with oats, chia seeds, walnuts, and ground flaxseeds; drizzled with agave nectar…fluffy, delicious, and healthy!

Fusion Agedashi Tofu

Mochiko-coated deep-fried tofu served with a dashi vegetable broth; topped with minced daikon and sesame seeds

Agedashi tofu is a traditional Japanese dish in which deep-fried silken tofu is served in a hot, salty broth and various fresh toppings.  I had a bunch of vegetables at home that I needed to use up, so I decided to make a heartier version with vegetables.

In retrospect, I’d make the tofu cubes smaller, not add potatoes (too starchy), and eat it with chopsticks, not a spoon (I know, it’s such a small detail but spoons are so unwieldy when eating tofu!).  By the way, the vegetable soup tastes pretty good by itself.

I served it in a shallow bowl so that the tofu stays crisp and garnished it with minced Asian radish and sesame seeds, which added just the right crunch.

Warning: This dish takes some time!

Vegetable Broth

Kombu/dashima (a thick seaweed used in Japanese and Korean cooking)
Dried shiitake mushrooms

Vegetable oil (or whatever you prefer for frying)
Veggie meat (see here for the brand that I used)
Onions
Carrots
Potatoes
Napa cabbage
Long Korean green chile peppers

Soy sauce
McKay’s Chicken Seasoning
Minced garlic
Sesame oil
Ginger powder

Spinach leaves or frozen spinach

Soak couple small pieces of kombu and handful of shiitake mushrooms in cold water overnight OR simmer gently for 30 minutes.  This broth is called dashi in Japanese.  Take out the kombu before adding the other ingredients.

Sauteé veggie meat and chopped onions until veggie meat is slightly browned and onions are barely translucent.  Chop carrots and potatoes.  Slice Napa cabbage into strips.  Add to dashi broth.  (You can really add whatever vegetables you want; these are just recommendations.)

Add soy sauce, McKay’s, garlic, sesame oil, and ginger powder to taste.  Let it simmer until all the vegetables are cooked.

Keep the broth on low heat until ready to serve.  Strip chile peppers of seeds (they’re hot) and cut into thin diagonal strips.  Add spinach and peppers once the heat is turned off.

Fried Tofu

1 block silken or firm tofu
mochiko (sweet rice flour) OR cornstarch
oil with a high smoke point–olive oil wouldn’t be a good choice here!*

garnishes of your choice:
- minced/grated daikon
- finely chopped green onion
- grated fresh ginger
- sesame seeds…

Rinse and place tofu in a shallow bowl with a cutting board and heavy object on top.  Be careful if you’re using silken tofu–it breaks easily!  You might want to wrap it in a cheesecloth first.

Cut tofu into 1-inch cubes.  (I made mine too big the first time.)  Roll cubes in a bowl of mochiko or cornstarch and a pinch of salt until evenly coated.

Heat 0.25 inches of oil in a saucepan.  I didn’t use a frying pan because I wanted to minimize the amount of oil splattering all over my stove.  Fry each side of tofu until crisp, then drain on a couple layers of paper towels.

Serve immediately in a shallow bowl with vegetable broth.  Top with garnish of your choice and add soy sauce to taste (it should be on the salty side).

*List of oils with high smoke points found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoke_point.  Yeah, Wikipedia!

Carne de Soya

I just discovered a new brand of veggie meat!  It’s manufactured by a Los Angeles Mexican food company called El Guapo.  (I found it at my local Food Maxx, which only amplifies my intense loyalty to the cheapest supermarket EVER.)

It’s basically just dried seitan and doesn’t have any seasonings, so you can cook it however you want.

In its dried form

If I want to fry it, I reconstitute it hot water until it’s JUST moist before adding it to the pan.  If you’re adding it dry to a dish, remember that it soaks up quite a bit of water.

So far I’ve used it in my pseudo pozole (Mexican stew) and Japanese dashi-vegetable soup.  So much better than those canned salty things!

I’m Freezing

One of my friends, who is single, once quipped something along the lines of, “I’m a batchelor and it’s tough to cook for one, so I always cook for two: Me, and Future Me.”

Cooking for “two,” or even “three” or “four,” is one of the most time-saving practices you can have as a student.  All you need is a freezer and Ziploc bags/Tupperware (and, uh, food).  Check out my friend Amy’s very practical post on freezing food for future fueling HERE.

Walnut Pesto Lasagna

Pesto made with walnuts is really, really good!

I layered my lasagna with pesto and crumbled tofu.  The pesto adds a really nice body to the dish, so you don’t have to use as much tofu.  I also used fresh minced garlic, finely chopped broccoli, and onions.  Spinach is a good option too.

I don’t have measurements for this recipe, but I think that’s how lasagna works–just play it by ear…err, mouth?–depending on how much you want to make.

Walnut Pesto Lasagna

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Pesto
Walnuts
Fresh basil leaves (I left the stems on them)
Salt to taste
Olive oil (extra virgin is best)

A food processor is best, but I managed to make an extra-chunky pesto using my blender.  (I think the recipe actually tasted better that way!)  Pulse walnuts into small bits, then add basil and process, adding a steady stream of olive oil (sparingly) until mixture is smooth.

Tofu Mixture
Tofu
Nutritional yeast flakes (approx. 2 tbs. per block of tofu)
Salt to taste
Spoonful of vegan cream cheese (optional)
Very small spoonful of miso (optional)

Drain and press excess moisture out of tofu.  This step is really important–watery lasagna doesn’t hold together well.  Mash tofu with a fork (or your clean hands), mix in cream cheese/miso/nutritional yeast, and add salt.

Assembly

Spread thin layer of tomato sauce* on the bottom of your baking dish.  Layer ingredients in this order: no-boil lasagna noodles, pesto or tofu mixture, any vegetables you want to add (I didn’t sauteé them when I made it since the pesto already contains quite a bit of oil), and thin layer of sauce.  You don’t want your lasagna too dry, but remember that there’s moisture in the tofu as well.  Repeat.

You should end with one layer of lasagna noodles and a layer of sauce on top of that.  Top with vegan cheese and/or sliced tomatoes.

Bake covered for 35 minutes, then uncover and bake for another 10-15 minutes.

*A note about salt–

This is the tomato sauce I use:

You might notice that there’s no salt added.  Usually tomato sauces contain 18% of your daily salt intake per serving–way too much!  For this recipe, I salted the pesto and tofu mixture, adding just a tiny bit more than I normally would, but didn’t add any more to the sauce…and it tasted great.