If you don’t know me that well and don’t get why I eat meat, yet be enthusiast about vegetarian food here’s the WHY. First I don’t eat pork, my dairy and meat tolerance is quite bad, need my vegs and when travelling uhm I’d like to play it safe…
Unfortunately I always have to skip the traditional U.K. breakfast because of the bacon, sausage and black pudding. When I’m abroad I’d love to eat local. And today I had a fantastic alternative I’d like to share.The Stravaigin’s full Vegetarian breakfast!
Crime: Salad of the Buffet and a glass of carrot, apple, ginger juice.
Scene: Buffet van Odette, Prinsengracht 598, Amsterdam
Investigation: Yes, Odette just moved. Okay, the joint moved to another area in Amsterdam, is owned by somebody else, has a different concept and another menu. Still worth to go?
Viet - Thai by Yaki
Crime: Crispy Noodles, stir fried vegetables with Sriracha! One of the best hot sauces ever.
Scene: Yaki, Visverkopersstraat 6, Brussels, Belgium
Investigation: Our friends Fatou and Lefto brought us to this Vietnamese slash Thai place in the center of Brussels. After some stoemp the day before and bad breakfast we wanted something delicious. Yaki had friendly service and good food! Tasted some from others haha. The restaurant is very simple and clean. Put this on your Brussels list if you’re near this area.
Nuff said :)
Vegetable stock
read once haha
Okay, I’ve always though that making vegetable stock was kind off a hassle. All recipes I know have a long list of ingredients which doesn’t make it appealing to try. I prefer to make everything from scratch without adding stock cubes, because I can’t identify what’s in the cube such as those E numbers etc. But buying all the vegetables for stock, preparing them, cook for two hours then throw the vegetables away for some stock wasn’t my idea of being efficient. Solution, don’t make soup, but order it when you’re in restaurants…
Last week I learned different by asking a friend chef Rens, I mentioned in the kitchen essentials post. Making good vegetable stock is easy. Collect all your vegetable skin from rinsed vegetables such as carrots, onion or parsnip, their tops and tops of paprika, zucchini and the parts of a broccoli you’re throwing away anyway. Put them in a large pan with water until the vegetable ‘waste’, with a huge amount of flavor and vitamins, are covered.
Add a two crushed cloves of garlic, some black peppercorn, a bay leaf and two allspice berries and coriander seeds if you have it in your cupboard. Just try out what you like. Cook everything for in total two hours. You can cook for an hour and then another hour when you’re home again. Tip: Never cook without your supervision.
After cooking the stock for two hours, get another pan, put a sieve on it and pour your stock in the pan. Squeezing the veggies with a ladle. Tadaa!! Add salt and here’s your stock for your soup, couscous or other dishes.
Balance Day
That’s what Dutchies say to compensate their week of guilty pleasures by eating low carbs, no meat or fat. In my opinion guilty pleasures don’t exist, just call it unhealthy eating. Eating chocolate, cheese, tempura or drinking alcohol should be ok, but in moderation ;)
Well, I found a place to eat for your balance day: Restaurant Golden Temple in Amsterdam.
Crime: Indian Thali with (clockwise), Chapatti, Basmatirice, Raita, Kofta, Saag Paneer and Bandhgobi Alu Sabji. All vegetarian and except the Raita and Saag Paneer vegan.
Scene: Vegetarian Restaurant Golden Temple, Utrechtsetraat 126, Amsterdam. Open every day from 17:00- 21:30, yeah!
Investigation: Dear friends, prepare yourself haha. This is not a ‘hip’ or ‘trendy’ place haha, but the service is good and the food surprisingly delicious! Surprisingly, in the sense that vegetarian, vegan or raw food aren’t always hits in my experience. A good cook can make something awesome without meat and there were to few in my experience. Cooking vegetarian doesn’t mean that you aren’t aloud to eat yummy stuff!
Ok, back to this joint. I was soo happy with my Thali and the Kofta made from potatoes and tomato. They were the bomb! The other curries had so much flavor which made me go hmm every time I had a bite, that I’ve got annoyed by myself haha
My sister ordered the green enchillada and that one was delicious too and so was my love’s pizza Margarita with green chilli.
In short try it yourself! I wish I could help with the Indian DIY, but unfortunately I have to refer you to a book I have called 50 great curries of India by Camellia Panjabi. You can find her butter chicken recipe here. Don’t let the amounts of ingredients scare you away! Buy some spices and you’ll see its easy.
Soup for one
Yesterday I had to make my own diner, yes for one. And I’m fortunate that I have a best friend in the kitchen. My blender. Pesto, sauce, dressings, smoothies and soup, blended in just a few seconds. So, I had some peas in the fridge and left over avocado which was still green.
First I fried one finely diced onion and two cloves of garlic sliced in small pieces in olive oil until it was uhm cooked, yet not brown. The onion and garlic needs to be perfect, because they’ll determine the taste of the soup since I’m not going to use stock.
Then I added one and a half cup of water and one and a half cup of peas. Cook everything until the peas are cooked. Don’t let them become army green ;)
Blend the soup until you don’t see the peas. Season with salt and pepper and add a bit water if its to thick. You don’t want your soup to look like your eating baby food haha
After I turn down the gas, I just threw in the avocado, blend it for a short time. Taste and added some seasoning to give it a more peppery taste. Serve with a bit of spring onions and tadaaa.
A few minutes work. Vegetarian, vegan and detox friendly. Meat lovers can use stock to give it more taste and if you are not detoxing add some Tabasco.
