by : Reiko Main Dish, Rice/Grains, Vegan Egg

Vegan Loco Moco with Lilikoi Mayo
リリコイマヨがけヴィーガンロコモコ

We had such a nice vacation in Hawaii this winter.

Each state has its own special food, but Hawaii has a selection of distinctively unique local dishes.

Loco moco is one of their popular dishes, and as much as I wanted to try it there, it was tough to find a vegan version that appealed to us.

So a few weeks later, back home in Minnesota, I decided to make it myself.

I started with making my vegan egg.

Check out this page to see how I make my vegan eggs. ↓

https://sideb.culinarytribune.com/recipes-ive-tried-and-liked/

For the hamburger I used the Beyond brand’s burger.

I cook almost all our meals, but my husband is in charge for hamburger-cooking.

I guess we still keep some tradition even after switching to the plant-based diet.

Since we are making a Hawaiian dish, why not using an ingredient that was made in Hawaii?

I made passionfruit mayo with the passionfruit (lilikoi) jam I got from Hawaii.

This gives a nice sweet and tart flavor.

I have a link to my favorite vegan mayo recipe on this page as well. ↓

https://sideb.culinarytribune.com/recipes-ive-tried-and-liked/

Doesn’t it look good or what?! 🙂

This definitely satisfied my Loco moco craving!

Aloha!

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*I also have an Instagram account. ↓　There I post some pictures and videos that you don’t see here at the blog. If you followed me there as well, I would love that! When you stop by, say “hi! I would love to hear from you. Thank you.

https://www.instagram.com/culinarytribune/

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by : Reiko Beans/Lentils, Leaf Vegetables, Main Dish

Chickpea-Polenta-Veggie Comfort Bowl
ベジポレンタひよこ豆汁がけ

When I saw Ms. Ali’s “slow cooker chickpeas”, I knew I had to try it! ↓

https://www.instagram.com/p/CY9AHQZI2PD/

It looked so simple yet delicious.

I seriously contemplated purchasing a slow cooker just to make this.

But I decided to ask her if she could tell me how to make it on the stovetop instead, and she kindly (and quickly) responded with a link to the blog post that is exactly what I was looking for! ↓

https://alexandracooks.com/2017/10/04/cook-chickpeas-beans-scratch-brining-method/

I followed the recipe, and it turned out great!

I accidentally soaked my beans for much longer than directed (I planned the day poorly…), but probably because of that I didn’t have to cook the beans as long as suggested.

I like my garbanzo beans rather firm, and it was nice that I could control the firmness when I cooked them myself (instead of buying cans).

I also cooked polenta as Ms. Ali suggested pouring the beans (with the broth) over polenta.

I placed blistered zucchini and sauteed garlic, onion, and kale on polenta and then poured the garbanzo beans and the broth over everything.

It already looked great.

But then I also decided to add some of my tomato jam (previous post).

Creamy polenta, a bit spicy flavorful broth, perfectly cooked garbanzo beans, simply cooked veggies, and spiced sweet tomato jam.

It was just what I needed on a cold winter evening.

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by : Reiko Main Dish, Rice/Grains, Vegan Cheese

Creamy Tomato Rye Berry Casserole
クリーミートマトライ麦キャセロール

Yes, we still have rye.

A lot of it.

Since we liked cooked rye berries, I decided to make another dish with them.

This time my husband suggested that I make “casserole”, and I thought that was a good idea.

Creamy tomato sauce, rye berries, soy meat chunks, and some veggies.

It was such a hearty dish.

Oh, it was topped off with homemade vegan cream cheese.

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by : Reiko Bread, Main Dish, Vegan Cheese

KimCheese Calzone
キムチーズカルツォーネ

Since my husband now works from home 100% of the time, I thought it would be nice to have tasty homemade vegan food stocked in the freezer so that he can easily heat it up for a quick lunch.

Initially pizza came to my mind, but then I thought calzone would be a better choice as they are easier to eat.

Vegan meat, tomato sauce, homemade vegan cheese, kimchi, and peas.

I watched a YouTube video to learn how to fold and close them, and I’m so proud of my work!

Don’t they look good?

I was super happy with how they turned out.

This was a big hit, and my husband loved this lunch option that can be heated in the microwave quickly.

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by : Reiko Main Dish, Rice/Grains, Vegan Meat

Vegan Roast Beef Dinner
ヴィーガンローストビーフの夕食

My husband and I focus mostly on the whole food type of plant-based diet.

So we eat a lot of non-processed food, like vegetables, beans, seeds, and nuts.

But we also enjoy seitan meat once in a while.

Like I said before I tend to prepare a bit richer/heavier meal on weekends.

When I saw https://carlocao.com/ultimate-vegan-extra-tender-seitan-roast-beef/ on Instagram, I knew I wanted to try it.

I followed the recipe pretty well.

The only thins I had to change was not using vegetable broth (simply because I didn’t have it. I used a mixture of water, soy sauce, and sugar instead).

This turned out amazing!

Super happy with how it looked, smelled, and tasted.

The roast beef was served with gorgonzola risotto and sauteed asparagus.

The “meat” definitely makes the meal look fancy!

Tomorrow I’m making a sandwich with this roast beef.

So come back to check it out.

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by : Reiko Main Dish, Vegan Meat

Vegan Swedish Meatballs
ヴィーガンスエーデン風ミートボール

My husband and I had a conversation about my car a few months ago.

It’s getting old, and he asked me if I wanted to buy a new car or keep the one I have and put money into it for proper maintenance.

I chose the latter.

Apparently there was a reason he brought it up because he told me there were some issues that needed to be fixed.

So he made an arrangement with his brother, who is great with cars (or anything that moves!), and they worked on my car at his garage yesterday.

My husband told me that he had no idea how many hours it would take to finish what they needed to do when he left the house at 8:30 a.m.

Well, they, my husband, his brother, and their cousin (who joined to help them) worked for 17 hours!

My husband did not come home until close to 5:00 a.m.!

I was speechless.

So grateful to all three of them for their hard work.

Also super impressed that they are so equipped with the right tools and skillful.

So I wanted to make one of my husband’s favorite dishes for lunch today.

Yesterday I secretly made a big batch of vegan meatballs.

I used to make these a lot, but I haven’t for a while lately.

We’ve been buying vegan meatballs at stores, but my husband always liked these homemade ones better.

The dish turned out great, and he loved it!

It’s such a hearty meal, but my vegan version does not have heaviness while being flavorful and satisfying.

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by : Reiko Main Dish, Vegan Cheese

Cheese and Asparagus Tart
チーズとアスパラガスのタルト

I was initially thinking of making a quiche for this Easter weekend.

But then at the last minute I wanted to make vegan deviled eggs (previous post) as an appetizer.

I didn’t want two “egg” dishes on the table, and I decided to go with a cheese tart.

This one bake tart is easy to make.

You just bake the shell, and after that you just fill with filling (this time my homemade vegan cheese and fried asparagus).

The tart was delicious!

I enjoyed it as is, but my husband liked it with sweet balsamic glaze.

I also made Edamame potage to go on the plate.

Have a great Sunday everyone!

And happy Easter if you are celebrating.

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by : Reiko Main Dish

Savory Taiyaki
デリたい焼き

When I bought my “Taiyaki (Japanese fish cake)” pan, I didn’t know how any times I would actually use it.

Taiyaki is typically a sweet treat, stuffed with sweet red beans.

I like it, but I was well aware that there wouldn’t be too many opportunities to make/eat it.

I was right, and I don’t use it to make the traditional cake, but I’ve started using it to make other things.

Like this one.

Instead of stuffing them with sweet beans, I decided to use curried cabbage/carrot, and homemade vegan cheddar.

This is the veggie version.

Simple but tasty!

And this is the cheese version.

I also liked this one too.

A nice combination of sweet and salty.

These are perfect for lunch.

Last night my husband and I went grocery shopping together.

Noticing the bigger flower section right at the entrance, he told me he wanted to buy me flowers.

So this is what I picked.

The label said “chamomile”.

I love it.

So pretty!

He is the best. 🙂

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by : Reiko Main Dish, Mushrooms, Tempeh, Vegan Cheese

Tempeh & Cheese Pate Pie Lunch Plate
テンペチーズパテパイ・ランチプレート

Happy Pie Day!

Ooops, I misspelled.

Happy Pi Day!

Well, it’s absolutely wonderful to celebrate mathematics, but I think it’s okay to also celebrate “pie” today as well.

I usually miss these celebration days, but with this one I have seen enough people talking about it (“pies” not Pi) online, and I was prepared (lol)!

My first thought was making a dessert (sweet) pie.

I was craving for an apple pie, and I thought it would be perfect to make one for the pie day.

But I’ve been trying to stick with limited sweets diet, and I decided to go with a savory pie.

I did make the crust from scratch, but I also used some help.

This roasted vegetable spread we bought from an East European grocery store has been my favorite things to eat lately.

This is thick, full of roasted vegetable flavor, can go with anything, and is absolutely delicious!

I usually doctor up many store-bought spread and sauce, but this one does not even need salt.

So this was poured on top as you can see in the pictures.

Now I’ll show you what other good stuff is in this pie.

Tempeh at the bottom.

Homemade vegan cheese pate.

And then, the roasted vegetable spread.

This was just delicious!!

Who else likes eating these mushrooms fresh, uncooked?

Mushroom arugula salad.

Roasted cabbage soup.

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