Vegetarian Berlin 2011 Trip Report
I know I haven’t yet posted anything about Japan, but I just got back from my second annual October trip to Berlin, and I want to write reviews of the restaurants we tried before the details fade away. Compared to our 2010 Berlin trip, this time Derek and I veered towards fewer Asian restaurants and a few more American and European places. Read the rest of this entry »
Five days (almost) in vegetarian Seoul
I just got back from a two week trip to Seoul and Tokyo. I’m going to write a little (okay, a lot) about the Korean food here, and reserve Japan for a second post.
My previous experience with Korean food was limited to a few visits to Korean restaurants in Pittsburgh. I remember trying some kind of ice cold noodle and (another time) a Korean hot pot. Both times I found the food completely foreign and unappealing, and I couldn’t get myself to eat much of either dish. So I was quite apprehensive about the food in Korea. Luckily, my friend Ahra was kind enough to take four entire days just to show me around Seoul, acting as both tour guide and interpreter. Ahra was a great guide, especially of the food. She’s not only a local but a chef, so she could answer all kinds of food questions. Read the rest of this entry »
Roasted portobello mushrooms with balsamic vinegar glaze
I can’t normally find portobello mushrooms in Germany, but this week I got some from the American store in Ramstein. (Thanks Rowena!) I wanted to make something simple that really showcased the mushrooms, so I decided on this recipe from The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen by Peter Berley. The top side of the mushrooms are brushed with olive oil and then roasted at 400 F for 30 minutes. Then the mushrooms are sliced and tossed with a “vinaigrette” made from olive oil, garlic, reduced balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and fresh parsley. Read the rest of this entry »
Dr. Weil’s tofu veggie burgers
I returned from my trip to Asia to a totally empty fridge. So I decided to scavenge whatever I could from the freezer. One of the things I defrosted was 4 pounds of frozen tofu. I decided to use half of the tofu to make my mom’s barbecued tofu recipe, but I wanted to find a new recipe for the rest of the tofu. There aren’t a whole lot of recipes on the internet that call for frozen tofu, but I found this “veggie burger” recipe on the ultimateveggieburgers blog. (By the way, I love the clean look of the blog and the fact that the author is quite critical about the recipes tried.) It’s not so much a veggie burger as a big hunk of marinated tofu. Either way, the blogger raves about it, so I figured it was worth a try. Apparently, although the recipe comes via Dr. Weil’s website, it’s originally from Bryanna Clark Grogan’s The ( Almost ) No Fat Cookbook
Cuban black beans
My sister told me she has a recipe for Cuban black beans that are out of this world. Unfortunately she still hasn’t sent me the recipe, so I found one on the internet instead. The author of the Eat, Live, Run blog says she was a black bean virgin until she tried Cuban black beans, “inky beans simmered with garlic and spices that literally melt in your mouth.” She says that the recipe is lifechanging.
The captious vegetarian 