Vegan Japchae!

Japchae (잡채) is one of my favorite Korean dishes.  It's main ingredient is Dangmyoen (당면) a clear, glass noodle usually made from sweet potato starch.  Japchae is often accompanies other dishes, like Korean BBQ, however Chris and I make it our main meal sometimes.  Japchae has noodles, vegetables, and often beef, but as a vegetarian we put a Vegan twist on this receipe and use tofu. (I wanted to try Tempeh, since it's much better for you than tofu, but unfortunately the grocery store I had to stop by last minute didn't have it so we used tofu.)  Now feel free to do your own research and search Japchae recipes, ours is a pretty simple one.  Also, since we live on a budget, we don't use fancy mushrooms and such, but if you can afford it I'd imagine it'd add some great flavor.

Ingredients:

• 1 carrot 
• 1 bunch of spinach 
• 6 mushrooms 
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 package of firm tofu
• 2 teaspoon of Seasame Oil

Sauce for the Japchae:

1/4 cup of Soy Sauce (I recommend a Korean brand)

1 Tablespoon of Brown Sugar (firmly packed, and we used Coconut Brown Sugar and it worked out great)

Here are the directions for the recipe.  We got this Japchae recipe from Chow.com.  I've tweaked the recipe a bit to include our specific ingredients.  

1. Bring a large saucepan of heavily salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the noodles, stir to separate them, and boil until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold water until cool. Using scissors, cut the noodles into 6- to 8-inch lengths. With the noodles still in the colander, drizzle with 2 teaspoons of the sesame oil and toss to coat; set aside.
2. Mix the soy sauce and sugar together in a small bowl until the sugar has dissolved; set aside.
3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat until shimmering. Add the carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, until the carrots have softened, about 8 minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are tender, about 3 minutes.
4. Increase the heat to medium high. Add the spinach and, using tongs, toss to combine. Let cook until slightly wilted, about 1 minute. Add the reserved noodles and soy sauce mixture and toss until heated through, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, add the remaining 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil, and toss to combine. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.

Now tasty, wonderful, VEGAN Japchae is all yours to devour!

Veggie Tacos

Chris has made these delicious tacos for countless meals because we never get tired of them.  Before we were Vegetarians we would often have this same recipe, but with chicken or carne asada.  We actually discovered after switching to the veggie lifestyle that the tacos were better without meat.  I sound like a bit of a food snob, but Chris and I would say that without the meat in the tacos there are more complex flavors--the cilantro, avocados, tomatoes, beans, onions.  Each flavor pops, where with meat these flavors are often overtaken.

So the way Chris makes these tacos are: homemade guacamole, sautéed onions, pinto beans, rice with cilantro, and Cotija cheese.  If you're a vegan or want to go vegan for this meal just leave the cheese off and you've got a completely guilt free meal.

Vegetarian Memoirs

This post is simply a reflection on why I made the switch from meat lover to Vegetarian.  I don't want to preach, it's just my personal decision.  I have some tips on how to put a little "veggie" into your life even if you can't live without meat.



Why did I become a vegetarian (confession: sometimes pescetarian)?  Last winter Chris and I watched this documentary called "Vegucated."   

In the words of Wiki it's a 
"...2011 American documentary film that explores the challenges of converting to a vegan diet. It follows three meat- and cheese-loving New Yorkers who agree to adopt a vegan diet for six weeks." 

This documentary had a big impact on both of our lives.  It takes two approaches to it.  One one side, if you're like me, you don't care as much about whether it's a healthy lifestyle you just really love animals and there's a point where you can't pretend that you don't know what goes on in Factory Farming anymore.

The other side is the health side.  The veggie diet has huge effects on health if you balance your diet correctly.  Certain vegetables and grains are packed with protein, even more than a lot of meat.  After Chris was on the Vegetarian diet (we haven't been able to go vegan) his blood pressure dropped and he just felt better.

I also have seen the good side effects of eating vegetables.  I eat a lot more than I use to, but feel much healthier when I do eat.  Also for both of us, it's all about peace of mind.

I feel strongly about animal rights and I believe that God expects us to take care of His creation.  Now does that mean never killing an animal for food?  Probably not.  That may have been in the beginning where it sounds like we were meant to be veggies, but out of the garden things changed.  However, I know God cares for the littlest sparrows (Matt 10:29) and it must pain Him to know that many of his created animals die in the way they do at Factory Farms in the US.  I'm talking about large corporate farms where animals are separated from their babies, where they're beaten, they live in small areas that would drive anyone mad, and eventually are killed in often cruel ways.  These animals don't have the lives that farm animals do, even the ones that are killed for food.  Frankly, they don't get to be living, breathing, happy creatures that God created them to be.

For awhile I tried to pretend that this didn't happen.  It's pretty easy to do since everything comes neatly packaged in Saran Wrap.  You forget that it's even from an animal.  Finally I decided to throw in the towel and not feel guilty anymore, but little did I know there were so many health benefits!

Here's an article that I think is really interesting on connections between religion and meat.  Take it how you want.  Chris and I really like some of the points she has in it.  Also I will be bringing up in future posts about the Monastic diet (since I'm purchasing a Monastery Cookbook--that's mostly Vegetarian.)


I do have to say that I occasionally do eat meat still.  I work with a diverse population of people through my work, many which have cultures that would think I'm crazy for not eating meat.  When I'm offered meat by others, I don't turn it down because it is usually seen as a great insult.  I haven't gone vegan yet,    I've cut out dairy milk, but I still have products like yogurt, eggs, and Keifer (especially now with my new Naturopath diet).  I do my best to find local products that are American Humane Certified.  I also do my best to make sure I have food that's packed with protein--that's for a later blog though.

Even if you don't want to give up meat completely there are things you can do for the animals.  Try to find meat that is "Humane Certified."  Do some research to find a farm in your area that provides its animals with a life they're intended for.  You can go meatless somedays, like the new phrase "Meatless Mondays."  When you're at a restaurant get a Veggie Burger (I actually like them better than meat burgers now) or something sans meat.  Also, I'll be posting Vegetarian recipes that I hope you'll want to try in your own kitchen.

These are little things that can make a big difference for our animal friends and it's good for your health too!

Borscht! Veggie Style!

I'm not the cook of the family, that's Chris.  However, one of the few things I actually enjoy to cook is Borscht.  The lovely Slavic soup is perfect for those cold nights.  It's pure comfort food and after a day at the pumpkin patch we thought it'd be a perfect evening for Borscht.  As a vegetarian, I wanted a tasty Borscht recipe without the beef.  I wanted to have an easy and vegetarian option and thanks to Pinterest that was fairly easy.  The website Hilah's Cooking has a great Borscht recipe.  The result?  Delicious Borscht in about 40 minutes!

Check it out.

 A majority of the delicious ingredients.

 The soup before bringing it to a simmer.

Voilà!  You have a delicious, steaming bowl of Borscht.