A quick and easy meal that I like to make often is vegetable stir fry. The ingredients are:
-Organic eggs (from farmers who are nice to the chickies! Be careful when buying organic eggs because some cartons say 'cage free, hormone free, vegetarian diet, etc.' but they are not actually organic unless you see the organic symbol on the carton. Without the organic symbol, companies can just be making claims and it may not necessarily be true)
-Instant brown rice (Trader Joe's has nice options, you can microwave or boil in a pouch)
soy sauce
-veggie mixture (Trader Joe's has a pre-cut mixture of a good variety of veggies)
garlic
-Organic Butter (contrary to belief, it is okay to eat butter as long as it is real butter and organic. Thanks Dusty, the man who knows everything.)

First, saute the onions then add the garlic and other veggies. Cook until tender. Then add the eggs and scramble all together. Lastly add the brown rice and soy sauce.

That's it! It doesn't look too appetizing, but it is yummy and very nutritious:

Zare at Fly Trap

I have been wanting to try Zare at Fly Trap for the past few months because I heard they have a special vegetarian menu. I finally went this past Saturday for an early dinner, compliments of Krishen's brother Seantanu, and his girlfriend Marienna, as a thank you for taking care of their puppy a few months back.

Krishen and I arrived around 5:15 to an atmosphere that felt elegant, calming, and cozy. The walls were decorated with old sepia toned photos and illustrations, all framed to fit together like wallpaper. When we arrived, the restaurant was virtually empty, but the crowd quickly grew and every seat ended up being filled by 7pm.

For being such a classy restaurant, they have a great happy hour deal at the bar, even on a Saturday! I believe it goes until 6pm and includes $3 beers and $5 house wine and well drinks.

The vegetarian menu offered some sides and main dishes that I had never heard of before. The downside though, is that most of these options were an appetizer sized-portion, so you have to order two. A few options offered a larger portion for not too much of a price increase, but these were pasta dishes, which I did not want.

I ordered a mushroom cake as my main dish. It is a baseball sized mushroom cake on top of a bed of greens and steamed asparagus which were cut into bite size pieces surrounding the mushroom cake. The presentation was very nice for all the dishes. Krishen and Seantanu ordered halibut, and Marienna ordered a beet salad and a pasta dish.

The dessert menu was very interesting. One desert was a lemon sorbet with noodles in it, topped with tequila and a few berries. There was also a chocolate moose with Rice Crispies added for texture!

The menu is Mediterranean with a Persian influence, which made for a great menu selection. It seemed there was something for everyone. I will definitely be back to Zare, just not often because it was too pricey for my budget. It is a nice date or special occasion restaurant, but not quiet and pretentious feeling. I noticed majority of the tables were filled with groups enjoying each others' company.

No turkey on Thanksgiving? What ever shall you do?!

If you have a vegetarian guest coming to your Thanksgiving dinner this year and are worried about satisfying them, don't worry. There are plenty of other options, and any vegetarian going to a Thanksgiving dinner full of meat-eaters knows what they're getting themselves into anyway.

Just because you don't eat turkey, doesn't mean you have to skip your family's Thanksgiving meal this year, and there's no need to make Tofurkey to substitute the main course. Try one of these recipes that SFGate has provided. Just make sure to cook enough for everyone else at dinner, because it'll look so good that all the carnivores will think it's their side-dish!

Later this month I'll share my all-time-favorite Thanksgiving dish - jello salad with fresh fruit and sour cream! I can't wait...yum...

Feeling Sick? Eat this!

The unpredictable weather patterns in San Francisco have been making me feel a bit sniffly and watery lately. No matter how healthy you eat, sometimes you just can't beat a little cold. I recently felt the need to flush out my body at the first sign of an itchy throat, so I loaded up on antioxidants and cold weather comfort food.

My salad consisted of broccoli, avocado, sauteed bell peppers, and asparagus. I dipped some of the veggies in hummus for some protein, and slurped tomato soup to feel comfy when it was cold and drizzly outside.

The peach was dessert, and the Kombucha washed it all down. No, I'm not drinking the hippie tea. It is actually quite tasty and has a little bite to eat sip. My favorite flavors are Guava Goddess and Mango. If a name like Guava Goddess isn't convincing you, learn about the health benefits and the odd way the Chinese tea is made.

Tips to fight the sniffles this winter:
-Eat healthy and over-hydrate yourself! (It's easy to forget about water throughout the day, so consciously think of over-doing it and you should be spot on.)
-Drink antioxidant teas instead of coffee to keep you awake and warm without dehydrating or crashing. I really like Kukicha twig tea or basic Chai.
-Make sure to always bring a jacket and scarf. Even if you are just walking down the street, always be prepared for a wind chill in SF!
-Clean your work space, living space, kitchen, and bathroom frequently.
-And for your neighbors health too, please wash your hands.

Wheat Pasta - yes or no?

Here's an informative article I came across today about wheat pasta (which I love). I love eating it with olive oil, garlic, and lemon pepper. If you cook the lemon pepper and garlic in olive oil before adding it to the pasta, it is delicious.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/13/dining/13appe.html?_r=1&ref=dining

What are your thoughts on eating wheat pasta?

Reading dinner

On Friday night, Krishen felt like sharing some of his heritage with me and took me to an authentic Indian restaurant. The great thing about Indian menus is there are so many vegetarian options, since many Indians think so highly of animals and are raised as vegetarians. I've only had Indian food twice: First time was when I made chicken curry with Krishen's dad. It wasn't too easy and I would have never been able to figure out the proper spice ratios on my own. The second time was when I went to a family dinner with them and tried a variety of Indian food that was very tasty and filling.

I had trouble figuring out what on the menu to order, but went with a type of curry that is a sort of cashew nut and heavy cream mix, with spices, potatoes, and vegetables mixed in. You pour this mixture over rice or naan bread to eat. It was so delicious and I will definitely come back:
The appetizers we shared were vegetable samosas, and garlic cilantro naan bread dipped in a variety of sauces. Krishen particularly like a sauce that can be easily made by combining tomatoes, onion, and Indian spices (I named it Indian salsa) but it was too spicy for me.

Krishen ordered a chicken curry, and he admitted to liking my vegetable curry more!!!!

chili-garlic edamame

Ingredients: Edamame soy beans (Trader Joe's has a nice pre-packaged kind in the fridge section)
chili pepper flakes
chopped garlic
olive oil or organic butter

This is the finished product:
These are a great snack. Use as little or much chili and garlic as your taste buds prefer. Easy to make, can be a bit messy on the fingers.

To make:
1. Heat olive oil in pan.
2. Add chopped garlic, cook on low heat for about 3 minutes until very slightly golden.
3. Add chili pepper flakes, and cook for 1 minute.
4. Add edamame beans, still in shells. Cook on low heat no longer than 5 minutes.
*times are approximate. It is very easy to burn the garlic, so keep at a low heat. Edamame should be a bit soft on the outside and garlic should be golden brown.