Launch Party Prep, Mochi and Memories: Kushi Dango Recipe

Huzzah! Am I ever glad to be back on my broomstick!
It took too long, but I am over my illness and the doctors set me right.

I am most pleased to actually be able to enjoy cooking and food again.
Not sure who is happier though, me or Monkey-man! He was eating the
bland, simple foods right along side me. I couldn’t stomach much and
he was sweet to not make me feel left out of something exciting. But I
don’t think he could stand eating beans on toast much longer either!

So I am back and getting ready for the Compassion Over Killing
Los Angles Office Launch Party! It is going to be amazing! There is
going to be tons of great people, food, and a darn good time for all!
You can check out the event on Facebook or get your tickets here!

One of the product donors, Eco-Vegan, is donating some amazing
veggie meat for the party-- and I have the honor of dressing and
cooking it up for the party-goers!

Tomorrow I’ll show you the awesome samples they sent me to test out
the recipes for the party.

Because of the party, I’ve been working on some of the menu items.
One of which will be Mango Mochi! Not a lot of people may be very
familiar with mochi and I am a huge exception to that rule.
Mochi has become a little better known lately, but is pretty unusual.

Mochi is a Japanese sweet made from pounded sweet, sticky rice.
Depending on the occasion, it will be served plain, flavored, colored
with barley or beans, wrapped in pickled leaves (sakura-mochi),
filled with sweet bean paste (an-mochi), baked, served on sticks,
the list goes on and on.

I chose this dish for a number of reasons... first my menu is
Thai-Japanese fusion. A traditional Thai dessert is a steamed,
layered, sweet rice cake that is very similar to a plain Japanese mochi.
Second, I wanted to choose something that would be easy to eat,
pick up, and would be soy and gluten-free for those with allergies.
But most of all, I have very fond memories of mochi and I’d love to
share them at such special occasion...

I took Japanese language courses for many many years growing up
and became entranced with many of the cultural traditions. Wish I was
still fluent, I was as a teenager. Not like riding a bike though.
Watching anime as a kid I loved watching the characters munching on
the sticky treats. Of course the American producers would change the
dialogue and call mochi donuts instead to match US interests.
But I also grew up in a very heavy asian community in So Cal,
so many of the shops nearby offered fresh mochi!

Also, when I was growing up my parents were very into watching
Sumo. I know this may sound very weird to you, but its true. It is
not a bunch of fat guys bumping bellies like many Americans believe.
It rich in cultural traditions (many of which are dying) and extremely
cool to watch. Whenever they got the chance, my parents would take us
to actual tournaments. Instead of hotdogs and peanuts, you’d find red
bean cakes, mochi and Sapporo!

Well, I didn’t drink beer, but I certainly enjoyed the sweets and
maybe some green tea soymilk or red bean ice cream!

Skip to my teen years- Hilo, Hawaii. The communities in Hawaii
emerged from a plantation culture, a conglomeration of Japanese,
Chinese, Filipino, Portuguese, Thai and so on. As such many of the
traditions are seen in the local faire. You see a lot of sushi, char sui,
and yes mochi. Hawaiian mochi is often baked instead of steamed
(oh gods, or worse microwaved) and made with condensed milk or
butter. This yields more of a chewy cake instead of a plush bun.
But there are traditionalists, and my favorite was Two Ladies in Hilo
who would make the Strawberry-An Mochi, read bean filled, and even
Taro. But my favorite was the Momo-Mochi-- (Momo= Peach)
Peach and white bean filled. PEACH LOVE!

(To find more vegan Hawaiian Recipes, check out my vegan-hawaii series)

It is from the Hawaiian fusion flavor that I pulled out some wicked
mango mochi. I'll be posting some pictures as I go along and certainly
of the party, but here is something in the meantime. These we would
get at sumo tournaments and anime expos. Plus, something you can
depend on being vegan. FYI, many of the prepackaged versions do have
MSG in the sauce. Find it fresh! If you live in LA, you can get it in
Little Tokyo.

Easy, delicious and not as sweet as your usual mochi cake these are
great for parties or just a snack. Careful, they are addictive!

Kushi Dango



Mochi:
1 1/3 cup rice flour
3/4 boiling water

Mitarashi Sauce:
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp potato starch + 1 tbsp water

You can use mochiko (sweet rice flour), they will just be a bit
stickier and chewier. Joshinko, plain rice flour is made from long
grain rice and not as glutinous as the short grain mochiko. Don’t try
to use western style rice flour-- the stuff you’d find in the gluten-free
zone of American and western markets-- it is not the same as Japanese
or other Asian rice flours.

I used party picks here, but traditionally they are grilled on skewers
(3 on each).

Pour the hot water over the rice flour and stir with a wooden spoon or
paddle. Once it has cooled enough to handle, knead in the bowl with a
little extra rice flour. It is more folding over and over to make sure
there are no lumps, not exactly like you’d knead bread dough.

Next pull off little scoops and roll them in between your palms to form
smooth balls. They should be around 3/4 inch in diameter or about the
size of a walnut in it’s shell.

Place into a lightly greased steamer with some room in between. They
will expand and stick together, so give them some space if you can.
Steam the rice balls on high for 10-15 minutes. Scoop them out and
push on to damp skewers. They will be very sticky.

While your pan is heating, start the sauce by bringing the water, sugar
and soy sauce to a boil. Add the potato starch mixed in water and stir
til thickened. Keep on low.

Place the skewered mochi on a hot, non-stick pan and grill each side
until a golden brown. Brush with the mitarashi sauce and serve
immediately. If you used a joshinko rice flour they will last longer,
if you used mochiko they will get denser the longer you wait.

Beet Bejeweled Risotto

Since we had recently gone a little over the top with bread, we hit up
some standard burritos and tacos, and then I had to move on
to a different starch for my meals.

I’ve recently developed a love affair with risotto. There are so many
myths surrounding risotto, telling people it is too hard to make
unless you’ve got Gordon Ramsey screaming over your shoulder,
telling you what to do. I’m here to tell you that risotto is super easy.
If you can pour broth into a pan and stir rice around for a half
hour, you can make risotto.

Of course I like twisting the flavours around. You’ll usually see
some tomato and basil risottos-- anything you might find replicated
from a pasta recipe. Most of all I wanted to change the colour of
the actual dish, so what better than beets? The beets are steamed,
peeled, and chopped before hand so that they are ready to go when
you’re making the risotto.

Its perfect because I wanted to start up some themed dishes to get
you all ready and in the mood for St. Valentine’s Day.

Yes, I know a lot of people really hate St. Valentine’s Day.
Especially, if you’re single or sometimes with a really annoying person.
Well if St.Valentine’s Day is about love, what about loving yourself
a little? Love yourself with a special meal, some dark chocolate,
a glass of wine, and your favorite movie.

Or throw a little dinner party and then you won’t be alone. Maybe
invite all your single friends so no one feels alone out there in
the world of candle light couple events... I honest have never seen
St. Valentine’s as something corporate or designed to make you feel
bad for not having a significant other. I always used it as a day to
remember all the people I love. I’d make cards, cookies, or candy for
all my friends and family. Later on in life, I got little things here
and there from boys and that was nice too. But I wasn’t expecting it,
so it was even better.

Getting back to cooking.... If you are trying to multi-task while
making risotto, good luck. I mean forget it. You’ll probably end up
with some hard, sticky rice. You can hardy leave the pan alone for a
minute without it drying out.

So make sure everything else is set and ready to go. Feed the cats,
take out the dog, avoid interruptions. And enjoy~

Bejeweled Risotto



3 medium beets, cooked, peeled and chopped
1/2 large onion, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp earth balance or olive oil
1 cup vodka
6-8 cups of vegetable broth
or water with a few bouillon cubes dissolved
2 cups arborio rice
1/4 cup daiya moz cheese
black and white pepper
sea salt
sage, thyme, lemon zest

First heat the oil in a large frying pan or saute pan.
Add the onions and garlic and cooking in the oil for a few minutes
at a medium to low high heat.

Add the rice, coating well with oil. Cook for about two minutes,
stirring. Add the vodka, making sure that it is warm or room temp
to not shock the rice leaving it unable to cook properly.

Once the vodka is almost absorbed and the liquid looks sparse,
add a 1/2 cup of warm or room temp broth. You will continue to do
this. Add broth, stir, cooking it just at a light simmer until the
liquid is not quite gone, add more broth. Don’t let it get too dry.

Once it starts to look puffy and sticky, start testing it to see if
the center is cooked. Once it is near al dente, add the seasonings
and chopped beets. Continue to cook until the beets are hot and the
colour has distributed nicely. Add more broth still as needed.
Finally, add the daiya and stir until completely melted. Serves 4-6

I had mine with some garlic-chili grilled tofu! Yum!

Taste of Aloha Part Seven: SCAM Musubi

This is the reason this series took me so darn long. I've been working
on this recipe for two freakin' weeks. Every time I was going to post it,
it didn't work out quite right or I didn't have time-- so I put up a
different recipe.

The idea to do a vegan spam was a reader request, but it is also one of
the true stereotypes about Hawaii. Yes they love their SPAM. I guess
some people do make the SPAM and eggs thing, but even more
popular is SPAM Musubi. It is basically SPAM wrapped with white
rice and nori. Yup that's it. The rice is not flavoured either.

Sound tasty right?

Well, I had no idea what SPAM even tasted like so I started googling
for a description of the taste. According to the majority of people on
q&a sites SPAM tastes like salty dog food. OK, so I needed to veganize
salty dog food.

Dude, how am I supposed to know what dog food tastes like?

So, I'm sticking with the salty part. Apparently, it is not just a little
salty--- but veeery salty. I'm thinking a really salty lunch meat.
Now if you've had SPAM in the past, you can try this and tell me
what you think. My main goal was to not make something unpleasant,
but make something that is comparable. It doesn't need to be
blindfold test the same, but just be a good substitute for people
craving salty dog food.

I started with vegan dad's original process of making lunch meat.
Here they talk about making vegan SPAM, but they really had no
intention of it tasting, ect like SPAM. I tried using soybeans, but
it wasn't that great. I instead switched to red beans and tomato paste.

Here is what I came up with...

Vegan SCAM (Salted Canned Artificial Meat)



1 can of red kidney beans
1 can of tomato paste
1 cup of cooked oatmeal
2 cups of vegetable broth
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp soy sauce/braggs/miso (opt can add more salt instead)
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp white pepper
2 1/2-3 cups vital wheat gluten

Blend all ingredients (except the gluten) until smooth.
Pour into a bowl and slowly add just enough 'flour' to form
a wet sticky lump. You want it to still be moist so your end
product isn't completely dry.

Form into two thick logs and wrap with foil. Steam for 40 minutes.
Remove from steamer and check to make sure that all parts of the
scam are still covered with foil.

Place in a dish or on a pan and bake for 40-50 minutes at 350F.
Remove and allow to cool completely. No matter what shape you may
have formed it in pre-steaming, it will have swollen into a
roundish log. I tried making it into a rectangle, but it doesn't work.

Cut the edges to make into a rectangle and then slice into 1/4" slices
like a loaf of bread.

Sushi Rice

White/Med Grain rice cooked (1 cup rice to 2 cups water)
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt

Fold the rice, as opposed to mixing it or else you will squish it
and end up with a bunch of mush.

Slice a sheet of nori into desired widths.
Wet your hands and shape about a 1/4-1/2 sized scoop of rice into a
rectangle to fit onto your slices of SCAM. Set the SCAM and rice onto
the end of a piece of cut nori. Roll up and allow to rest on the side
where the nori ends. The moisture of the sushi will seal the nori.



Love it or hate- You just made vegan spam musubi.
There are no wrong or right ways to shape your musubi, so google it
and check out some other pictures. Some use twice as much rice,
so it is on both sides of the spam, but I didn't want that much.

That concludes the Taste of Aloha series, I hope you enjoy it!

Curry in a Hurry

It never ceases to amaze me that although I really don't have

tremendous amounts of stuff going on in my life-- at least

compared to what I was doing during my undergrad--

Everyday I still feel like everything is done in a hurry.

I cannot say if it is our culture, our society or just me, but

I always feel like I have so much to do, never get anything done

and am always HUNGRY!! Hee hee. Well, maybe not always,

but when I get home I want food right then in my face!

And the joy of being on one's own? I get to make whatever I want.

... Sort of. Although I dream of eating gooey brownie ala mode

every night and pie every morning for breakfast, I don't because

I don't wanna look as round as a pie. So instead I look to my other

favorite foods for respite.

All time, absolute favorite, king of them all?? Curry... *wipes drool*

You can get curry powder pre-mixed ready to go or you can throw

in the spices separately. Amusingly enough curry is not a traditional

indian dish, as many of us believe. Its actually a westernized take

on an indian blend of spices in a sauce used on whatever. Funky, eh?

Although each curry powder you buy is gonna be different most do

have a blend of coriander, turmeric, cumin and fenugreek. Red or orange

curry powders have different kinds of chillies and peppers.

Here I just used an average blend of yellow curry powder and

added some extra surprises.

Yellow Curry in a Hurry

1 tablespoon of olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 large onion, chopped

1 tsp grated ginger

1 large bell pepper, chopped

2 carrots, cut into rounds

3 potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 package of tofu, cubed (can be fried beforehand)

2 tablespoons of curry powder

2 tablespoons of hot chili sauce

1 cinnamon stick

1 can of coconut milk

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.

Add the onion and cook until translucent and tender.

Add the garlic and ginger and keep stirring until fragrant,

about a minute or so. Next add the spices and chili.

Next drop in the slower cooking vegetables-- mainly the

potatoes. Add a little water, while these are all cooking to

prevent sticking. You can use vegetable broth if you like too,

I like adding a bouillon cube to add a little extra flavour.

Throw in the cinnamon stick and continue to cook on low-med

heat until all the vegetables start to cook. Stir in the coconut

milk and tofu and cook until heated through. Season with

salt to taste.

Serve over basmati or jasmine rice topped with fresh cilantro!

Thursday Vegan Review

The best thing by far of being in a city again (probably the only good

thing actually) is options. You actually have the option of going to

a restaurant and pretty much depend on an all vegan menu if you so

choose. I can say that its become almost like a little side hobby of ours

in finding these little spots. Some have been pretty hot and popular--

others are classic hole-in-the-wall joints.

Don't get me wrong, above anything else I would rather cook at home.

And cooking is my passion, but once in a great while it is fun to go out.

It gives you ideas, lets you try new things, and lets you get out of the

freakin house already!!

So starting, now that I have the option to do so, I will be doing a weekly

review of something vegan! I may not get to a strictly vegan restaurant

every week because a lot are pretty far away. So the review may be of

a vegan option at a big chain, a vegan product, store, etc.

So lets get munching!

My Vegan

633 S Arroyo Pkwy Ste 3
Pasadena, CA 91105

(626) 578-9017

www.my-vegan.com

My Vegan is just out of downtown Pasadena, in the same general area

as Whole Foods and Trader Joe's-- and Granny's Natural Foods (?)

The place has the same vibe as a chinese restaurant, which worried

me a little at first because chinese restaurants are the bane of my

existence. But we were starving and it was hot hot hot outside.

So it was like a little sanctuary.

We were so hungry when the food came that we were actually giggling

with anticipation. First of all, their menu was enormous, so choosing

was a little difficult. They had a variety of asian/thai dishes with

some random continental ones thrown in.

We got a 'chicken' appetizer to start off with.

It was marinated in a yellow curry-- the brand-- no clue.

But they were in cutlet type shapes, kabob style.

They came with a cucumber salad and an orgasmic peanut sauce

(maybe a little too oily though).

We also got a serving of pumpkin fried rice with pepper steak. Every thing is shown on the menu and you get to add whatever fake meat you like. Retrospectively I would choose something else for this dish though, probably seitan. But it was still really really good.

The service was nice and helpful, the place was spick and span,

great location, a lot more dishes I would like to try.

Overall critique? Absolutely delish. Would I go back? Yessir.

Did I vote for them for the #1 Vegan restaurant in LA County

at the Vegan Day celebration?!? (I can't say! Hee hee!)

Not a Nut Sunflower Stew

No peanut butter for me from now on folks!

Well, at least not for a while. November 1st was international Vegan

Day. We went over to Burbank for a Vegan Roller Skating Party, which

was a blast. There were tons of vegan food vendors, a silent auction,

raffles, goodie bags, and lots of roller skating vegans.

So I left with a huge bruise on my tail bone and the winning bid for a

huge basket of sunflower seed butter (5 jars and a bunch of other stuff).

Sunbutter is pretty darn tasty-- and if you have a peanut allergy, its the

butter for you. My basket and goodie bag came with a bunch of their

little sample packs too, which I guess will be good for school lunches

but I don't like all that extra packaging that cannot be recycled.

Since I love peanut thai dishes, I absolutely had to try this out.

All the flavour and love of a traditional thai dish without the hidden

nastiness of the fish sauce. (That is something to remember kids,

whenever you eat out ANYWHERE-- thai dishes [curry, etc] will

ALWAYS have fish sauce or flakes init-- even if it is on the vegetarian

portion of a menu). You know how, even after you tell people that you

don't eat meat they still think you eat fish because some how fish

doesn't qualify as an animal (??!).

Anyway, enjoy my come back boys and girls (and monkeys)

Thai Sunbutter Stew

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 roma tomatoes, diced

1 large bell pepper, diced

1 tsp fresh ginger, minced

some vegetable broth or water

1 package of firm or extra firm tofu

1 sample pack or about 2 tablespoons of sunbutter

3 tablespoons sweet chili sauce

(1 tablespoon fresh lime juice- opt)

1 tablespoon (or more) of soy sauce

salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat and add onions.

Cook, stirring, until they start to turn translucent. Add garlic

and cook for one minute more. Add tomatoes, pepper, ginger and

some water or vegetable broth to assist in cooking and prevent

sticking. Cook for a few minutes more until peppers just start

to get tender. Add sunbutter, chili sauce, juice and seasoning. Stir until

all mixed and add tofu. Continue to cook until tofu is heated through

and peppers are thoroughly cooked. Serve over jasmine rice or a

super thin pasta like I did.

The pasta I used is similar to a thin angel hair, but it is packaged

in almost cake like packs at mexican markets. Super good and

satisfies every peanut craving.

Feel free to add a hot chili pepper to this recipe to add an extra

kick, I would have if I had had one...

Cranky Papa Palooza

As I've been busy packing and more packing my Dad has been

doing a lot of the dinner cooking. If theres something Cranky

Papa makes best its stews, curries, and chili! Take a look...

Coney Island Chili with Soy Parmesean

Potato and Cauliflower Stew

Oh yeah, I did make some Bombdiggity Baked Beans

Spanish Rice es agradable

When there is nothing else to scratch together?

Make rice.

When you have nothing to serve over it?

Make Spanish rice.

I love using up all the left over rice this way.

We mostly eat jasmine in our house, but I love

it with brown rice too. Just make sure to be

adding back in water or vegetable broth so

your rice doesn't stick or dry out and feel like

gravel when you're eating it. Sometimes to

retain the moisture I will add tomato sauce,

left over pasta sauce, or even left over salsa.

I chop up some garlic, onions and cook that until

its fragrant then I add fresh tomatoes, bell peppers

and corn to put in with a tablespoon of chili power,

some cayenne, and salt and pepper.

Pineapple is super good thrown in there if you

have any too!

I served ours with black beans, soygurt, cilantro,

black olives, jalapenos, or whatever you have a hankering for.