i've moved!

i'm currently working on my new blog.  I've imported my old recipes onto my new blog site and will be posting new recipes as well!!!  Please visit my new site : P

I've decided to start a new blog for a couple of reasons. 
1) I've decided to go full on Vegan in 2010 making me no longer the "vegetarian" ilokana. 
2)  I wanted to blog about my journey of being Vegan and not just post vegan recipes on my blog but educate the masses about Veganism as well.

I hope you enjoy my new blog.
http://veganilokana.wordpress.com/

chickpea adobo

as i was sitting in my living room this evening trying to figure out what to cook for dinner, i knew i wanted filipino food, but what?????  although adobo is one of the easiest filipino dishes to cook, i haven't attempted to cook a vegan filipino adobo dish yet just because i wanted to stray away from using "fake chicken" or tofu.  i wanted to create something different.  so, as i was thinking about what to cook for dinner today, i was like "hey! why don't i use chickpeas!" i thought of one of my favorite indian dishes, chana masala.  if chickpeas work for that dish, i'm sure they'll work for adobo!!!!

adobo is a popular filipino dish, usually made with chicken and/or pork that is cooked in soy sauce, vinegar, bay leafs, garlic and at times browned in oil (just the way i like it).

when the spanish colonized the philippines in the 1500's, "they encountered an indigenous cooking process which involved stewing with vinegar, which they then referred to as adobo, which is the Spanish word for seasoning or marinade" (wikipedia).  rather than the spanish having an influence on this dish, we had an influence on them.

i really just put this dish together on a whim using my families basic adobo recipe.  rather than using chicken or pork, i used a can of chickpeas.  i also added potatoes to get a startchy consistency.  when most of the liquid evaporated, i added some canola oil and browned it a bit.  sorry, i didn't measure the ingredients and will update this post with the exact measurements of the ingredients.

tinola

tinola is a soup-based dish in the philippines.  it is made with chicken, chayote, garlic and ginger.  i usually eat this dish when i'm sick or when it's a cold rainy day.  this is definitely a filipino comfort food.

portobello and french bean stir fry

ingredients:
1 bunch of french string beans, cleaned and trimmed.
2 portobello mushroom, sliced
5-7 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup of vegetable broth
1/4 purple onion, sliced
salt and pepper
red pepper
2 tbs oil
1-2 tbs chili oil
vegetarian hoisin sauce
1 tsp of flour mixed with 1 tsp of water (thickening agent)


Directions:
1) on medium high heat saute onions for 2-4 minutes.
2)  add garlic and cook for another 2-4 minutes.
3)  add beans and season with salt, pepper and red pepper.  cook for 3 minutes.
4)   add vegetable broth and mushrooms.  cover and cook for another 3 minutes.
5) add thickening agent.  stir and cook for another 2 minutes.

salted pepper tofu

one of my favorite chinese restaurants in sd is royal manderin in national city.  they make the best salted pepper chicken wings (when i used to eat chicken that is).  since being vegetarian, it's ironic that they came up with a salted pepper tofu dish!!!  my mom always orders it for me when we have family parties.   here is my play on their dish.  all i can say is once i was done cooking it, i couldn't keep my hands off of it while i was taking this photo! soooooo delicious!

1 package of fried tofu cubes ( i made it easier on myself but if you want, go ahead and buy a package of tofu and fry it yourself).

2 bunches of finely chopped green onions
salt and pepper
5-8 cloves of minced garlic
garlic salt
red pepper
1-2tbs red chili oil
2-3 tbs canola oil



directions:
1)  heat both oils on medium heat.
2)  saute garlic and red pepper together.  make sure you keep stirring to avoid burning the garlic.
3)  add tofu and constantly stir making sure all the tofu is coated with garlic and chili oil. cook until tofu is heated through. season with salt, pepper and garlic salt.
4)  add green onions and cook for about 2-3 more minutes.

eggplant escalivada

my favorite food on the planet are spanish tapas.  a couple of weeks ago i had dinner with some good friends at one of my favorite tapas restaurants in sf, esperpento in the mission district.  one of my favorite dishes i order is an eggplant dish that is basically sauteed with tomatoes, onions and peppers.  here is my version of escalivada.  my twist to this dish is to serve it as a stuffed eggplant.  hope you like it.

ingredients:
1 large purple eggplant
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
1/4 purple onion, sliced
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
1/4-1/2 cup of tempeh, crumbled
vegetable broth
olive oil
salt and pepper
red pepper flakes
paprika

directions:
1) preheat oven to 400 degrees
2)  slice eggplant in half and brush eggplant with olive oil all over.  season with salt, pepper, and red pepper.  line baking sheet with foil and place eggplant face up.  place another sheet of foil on top of eggplant and wrap eggplant with both sheets of foil.  bake for 50 minutes.
3) while eggplant is baking, prepare the stuffing by heating 3 tbs of olive oil in a pan on medium high heat.  when oil is hot, saute onions until cooked.  stir in tomato slices.  cook for about 2-3 minutes.  add 1/2 cup of vegetable broth and cook for another 3 minutes until some of the broth has evaporated.  add tempeh and garlic and saute for 3 minutes.  add a cup of vegetable broth, salt, pepper, red pepper, and a couple of dashes of paprika and simmer on medium low until broth has evaporated. set aside until eggplant is cooked.
4)  when eggplant is ready, spoon out eggplant into saute mixture making sure you are careful not to pierce through the skin of the eggplant.  when all the mixture is added to the saute mixture, add 1/2 cup of vegetable broth and cook on medium high heat.  using a fork, smash in the eggplant while cooking.  when the vegetable broth has slightly evaporated, it is ready.  spoon eggplant mixture back into cooked eggplant shells.  enjoy!

patatas aioli

another one of my favorite tapas.  fried potatoes with a spicy garlic aioli sauce.

ingredients
6 medium potatoes, cut into medium cubes
olive oil 
salt and pepper
red pepper
paprika

1) heat olive oil in a deep frying pot/pan on medium high heat.
2)  in a large bowl combine cubed potatoes, seasoning and 2 tbs of olive oil.
3)  when oil is ready, fry half of the cubed potatoes for about 8 minutes.  take the cooked potatoes out and fry the rest of the potatoes.
4)  for aioli sauce, refer to sauce section.  i just added sriracha sauce to make it spicy.  you can add any type of hot sauce you have on hand.