Vegetarian in Waterloo

While i was in Waterloo at a conference, sick of conference food a friend of mine who used to go to UW took me to this vegetarian place near campus. I was pretty excited, and it was low key and tasty! I had the pad thai - which was super tasty, very tangy, with mock beef - something i hadn't had in years.

The menu
Basic
Spring rolls - they were good, but i was a little disappointed the sauce in packets.

Mushroom Congee
My friend ordered the black bean eggplant - it was sooo good!

Squash Soup Forever

Cold weather does really mean soup, and i haven't really been making too much of it as i have been eating pho, ramen and udon soups a lot lately. And yes these are the student kind - the kind your boil... so much sodium. So i thought it was time i actually made my own. (again)

So much chopping - i swear my arm was tired.

(squash, sweet onion, potato)

And voila

(don't know where the other pics went)

Jade Rice with Veggies Two Ways

This one came from two sources - buying a lot of green beans (one of my obsessions) and the purchase of some "Jade Rice" at the bulk barn. I'm not that strong in rice making, and not exactly the biggest fan of starches, but i thought i would give i a try. Also this one has lentils and stuff mixed in.

I used some imple ingredients but there were so many i realized that i could make them two different ways. They would have been boring all the same.

Jade rice - a mix i got at the bulk barn. It actually wasn't just rice, there were lentil and other grains - only got a little bit in case it sucked - it didn't.

Everything chopped up, i blanched the veggies, and sauteed the onions and garlic for the toasted sesame sauce.

This is how i get my lunches ready.



These are the black bean veggies - i tossed them in the sauce, easy, good.

This was the toasted sesame dressing - a few more ingredients, but lighter and sweeter.


Dinner

Country Breakfast - Baked Eggs

I've done variations of this one before. I actually have a couple of baked egg dishes (individual ones) i've been hoping to make. This one is good because you just put random things in it and you can eat them cold. Also if you have leftovers, slice them and put them in a sandwich

Country Breakfast - Scrambled Eggs

I hate February - it just crushes my soul. I have all these blog entries - with pictures only drafted, and just waiting for text, but i'm finding it impossible to write them. Most of them aren't anything that would require a step by step, so i think you're just going to get them with minimal description and a random thought.

These pics are from breakfast at my parent's place in January. Yeah, i've been slacking.

Light and fluffy

Homemade chili sauce

Even bacon can't help

Lazy Lunch

There is something really comforting about Campbell's tomato soup. I haven't had it in a while because its not very good for you, but recently i was at Walmart (judge me if you may- i'm a poor student now) and they had a lower-sodium one on sale. I couldn't resist, so i grabbed a few for one day where i really didn't feel like making something.

I of course kinda jack mine up with a few added ingredients. I always add some spice, this time i used chipotle and a vache qui rire for a little richness.

I always whisk it because i like a really good consistency

Ahhhh, something so satisfying about this.

New Years Day Part Three

I had picked up a Williams and Senoma cook book from the library. There were so many interesting recipes, and i had a nice bag of shrimp in the freezer, so i thought i would be a fun occasion to try one out.



So for this one i was missing, two of the herbs (mint and oregano). It actually called for parsley too, but i stand by my utter disgust with parsley - it will not enter my kitchen. Okay, fine - i can improvise.




The rest of the recipe was shallots and garlic which i sauteed the shallots for a few minutes, then added the garlic. After that i was supposed to add some vermouth- which for some reason i had used up. I did have sake - and some white wine... that's almost vermouth right?

I added the chopped plum tomatoes (which to be honest couldn't have been a lot riper) This basically made a nice sauce, i added the shrimp and cooked them until they were pink, added the feta and let it heat. This dish was actually quite good, the sauce was awesome, and i had an extra baguette for dipping.

Chowing Down