Happy Easter to all...

Haven't been to the farm in a few weeks so today was the perfect day, hubby could actually accompany since he had the day off.... everything's grown so so much since I was last there! It's amazing how fast they grow.... am uploading my photos while eating fresh picked strawberries...yumm....seasons nearly over so gotta eat up as much as I can :)

Rice Paper????!!!!

Is it just me or is there a rajah shortage of Vietnemese Rice Paper?????? The one time, I mean the one time I really want to make summer rolls they are NOWHERE to be seen.

I have been to every single type of retailer, wet market, gourmet market, supermarket, local supermarket....nada!!

Is it just in Hong Kong or everywhere else too????
 :(

Vegan find in the supermarket

The one thing I really miss being Vegan is my dim sum, ahh how I do miss Sunday Morning Dim sum's...so you can imagine how happy I was to find this little treasure tucked away in the freezer section of the Japanese supermarket.

Mouth watering, tummy growling I took my first bite ......... lo and behold..............absolutely the WORST thing I have ever put in my mouth!!!!! Gross, the texture was all spongy like I was eating a salty dish sponge. Gross, never never never again!!! What a big disappointment :(

Vegan dim sum from supermarket ------> NOT to be trusted......

Sunday morning Breakfast :)

Woke up this morning feeling extremely hungry so thought I would cook up a lil feast for myself... :)
Yesterday I finally found tempeh in a health food store, wow that stuff is expensive. Now both times Ive had it, I haven't been much of a fan but thought maybe if I tried cooking it and controlled the salt level it might taste better...

Breakfast:
Tempeh Sausage Crumble (AFR)
SpeltToast with veggie baked beans - made up recipe

Vegetarian Kishkes

I've never heard of a Kishke before until I tried them while in NY - had breakfast one morning on the upper west side at Brooklyn Diner and they had them. Amazing!!! They were so yummy, hubby loved them too so made a mental note that I had to try making them at home.

Finally found matzo meal - and could only find em at citysuper. Took awhile tho cuz it was out of stock for a while...

Now they smelt really yummy when they were in the oven, but was a little bland and dry. How do you stop things from going dry when you bake em? I've had this problem with my falafels too...
Any advice???

Audio Yoga Mat

Awesome what I finally got in the mail today - Gaiam Audio Yoga Mat... hurray. Now I can finally upload some of my fav yoga videos and take my mat out to the lawn. Perfect way to get some sun now that summer has finally hit!!

It's been a great day of cooking, I picked up a copy of 'The Happy Herbivore' during our honeymoon and tried out the Pad Thai recipe.... didn't have any cilantro in the fridge :( but had to make do without it...

For dinner, made a very satisfying black bean burrito with tomatoes and lettuce from my lil farm... still can't get over the natural sweetness in the cherry tomatoes. They completely made the dish..

Zucchini/Squash Lasagna

What an exhausting day - woke up this morning to a pile of laundry that needed to be folded and ironed. Then more piles of laundry to wash and iron and vacuuming. Crap way to start the day - but day started looking a bit better with lunch with my fav gf and then a trip to IKEA! Yay I love going to IKEA, minus the crowds and gross smell from the Ikea cafeteria.

Finally picked up some nice photo frames to put up our wedding photos and honeymoon photos. Getting delivered on Wednesday, ahh can't wait. These photos have just been sitting around gathering dust....

Anyway a great way to end the day - lasagna dinner for me and hubby. Instead of pasta sheets I grilled slices of zucchini and squash and layered with spinach 'ricotta' adapted from AFR's cauliflower ricotta and tomato sauce with portobello mushrooms. I think the sauce was a little on the runny side but was pretty delish....

Whats for dinner tonight :)

It's nice to finally be back in my own kitchen making and trying out different recipes. I have been reading a ton of cookbooks while on my vacation so I've had a huge itch to make some of the recipes I've read... 

Was at home sick today with killer cramps and feeling pretty crappy. Cramps let up a bit in the arvo so decided to take advantage of the time and make something I've NEVER made before... so flipped through Isla's Vegan with a Vengeance and picked the samosa recipe since I was thinking of making a green curry for dinner.  

Now the first few came out looking a little funky...but eh it was my first time. Making dough from scratch is pretty nerve racking but.... they taste pretty good. Hurray for me, 

Instead of the coconut sauce in the recipe, I bought some ready made Mango Chutney.... yum

Dinner - Veggie Green Curry with the leftover Bhutanese Pineapple rice :)

Scrumptious delights over honeymoon

First day arriving in LA after a 12 hour flight.... we got to watch the sunset from the observatory. Absolutley breathtaking - great we to start our honeymoon <3

Our first breakfast, had to take hubby to IHOP (never been before and he was craving pancakes and a proper All-American breakkie) Waiter was super nice and accommodated me by making me roast veggies on top of hash...

LOVE LOVE LOVE this place, it's on the side of a road. Tiny place but they do the best burritos... of course I had the Veggie Burrito with the horchata. Delish ... gobble it up and forgot to take a photo...

This was our first brunch, yummy panini on foccacia, spinach tomatoes

Found a farmers market, I LOVE farmers market. This was a stall that sold Soy Candles, yea :) picked up two... and they didn't break in the suitcase.. hurray

 Found a local Vegan Vendor :) had a sample of everything, awesome!!

 Now this is what I'm talking about!!!!

OMG to die for!!!!! Trader Joes please come to Hong Kong, anyone know if you can buy these online??

 Me and my lil nephew...adorable boy

Yay, M Cafe - went here after Alicia's recommendation on her blog TKL and went with the Vegan Benedict. It was ok, but I thought the 'hollandaise' and tempeh bacon was a little too much for me... my sister had a veggie wrap which was amazing!!

 Vegetarian Burrito in a diner next to the Americana...love that place. I think i had burrito overload in the states hahahaha

Fresh & Co. in NYC - didn't see this when i lived there 5 yrs ago so must be new, had a falafel wrap. Delish

 Saw this in St Marks place, grabbed a rice crispy treat :)

Vegan choices at Whole Foods in Columbus Circle...
Man, it is so easy being Vegan in the states....

Quality Meats - Hubby really wanted a steak so I couldn't say no... me with my Green Goddess Salad. was damn good.

Buckwheat pancakes at Brooklyn Diner in the city....

The most comfortable shoes in the WORLD and I am NOT kidding. I have a major problem wearing flats as it always hurts my heel at the end of the day. Saw a bunch of ppl wearing these in LA so I finally picked up a pair. And for every pair you buy they donate to kids in need!!!

Blosson NYC - Vegan restaurant. Silly us thought we could just get a table walking in on a Saturday night, sadly no. But they had a table an hour later, yay....

 Pumpkin Ravioli

 Post reduction seitan - Hubby's choice. Wasn't the best but I think it's because the seitan was a little too much....

 I had the Spinach Phyllo with Kale, delish

 Butternut Squash

First breakfast in San Franciso, Mexican Vegetarian Eggs, without Eggs and Cheese...LOL

Organic -  Restaurant in San Francisco. Last dinner here, and it was delicious. We had a curry with summer rolls, hubby had some kind of Chicken dish....

Vegan Breakfast in Korea, mushroom congee with burdock, bean sprouts and some other root veggie

 After all this eating you would think i'd be 200 pounds, but funnily enough managed to lose weight while on holiday. Think it may have been the combination of healthy food and lots n lots of walking!!