Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers: Asian Potstickers

I stumbled upon these Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers and decided to try it out.

The "steamer" is a little steam basket that holds the potstickers, veggies, and rice above the sauce while the dish is microwaved. Then you mix the food with the sauce when done. It worked pretty well in my work microwave, but I could see the potential to overheat the potstickers.

I was disappointed that the rice was not brown rice - I rarely eat white rice and much prefer brown. The sauce was similar to a thick, gooey Americanized sweet & sour sauce. I added both soy sauce and sriracha to this dish.

Overall, this dish was not great, but not terrible. It was about $2.50 at Super Target, which is not a bad price, though I could get an Amy's frozen burrito for less than that and they would have a little better nutrition than this dish. However, if I just really need something quick and convenient and am in a different city or town, at least there is this option out there.

Broccoli Fried Rice [Vegan Mofo]

Vegan Month of Food continues...

This is what I made on Sunday. I used up the rest of the brown rice we had, and sauteed it with onion, garlic, and mixed veggies. I also added broccoli to give it something more. It was tasty. I mixed in hoisin sauce, soy sauce, and sriracha.

Onion Tater Tots with 3 Sauces [vegan mofo]

So...a simple post for Monday. I made a few things on Sunday, but will post them throughout the week. Until then, a shot of Onion Tots from Ore-Ida. Three Sauces - Sriracha, Grey Poupon, and ketchup. They were pretty good.

Fried Tofu Appetizer from Chiang Mai Thai

Mmm, this is fried tofu sticks with peanut sauce from Chiang Mai Thai, one of my favorite restaurants in the Twin Cities. Crispy shallot flakes top the tofu, and it is also served with sriracha.

On this visit, we enjoyed a Laab Salad with Mock Duck as well as a Garlic Pepper Stir Fry with Mock Duck. No pictures of those, though. I completely forgot and ate most of the meal before even thinking about picture taking! Ah well, the food was pretty good despite a lack of spice in the stir fry.

Fried Potatoes, Sautéed Kale, and Mushrooms

This was incredibly simple, although I wish I was able to master the potatoes a bit more. I'll cook less of them and completely in the non-stick pan next time.

Recipe:
3-4 thin sliced potatoes (I used a Mandolin and b. red potatoes)
1T vegetable oil
3-4c Kale, torn up into little pieces
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, medium-small diced
4-5 big button mushrooms, sliced

1. slice the potatoes on a mandolin or food processor or evenly with a knife. Pan fry in a pan with some vegetable oil until tender, adding 1/2 the onions and 1/2 the garlic to the pan after a bit. The potatoes take a while, so don't start the mushrooms or kale for at least 15 minutes.

2. In another pan, sauté the other half of the onions and garlic in a tiny bit of oil.

3. In another pan, sauté the mushrooms in some non-stick spray and a little salt and water.

4. In the onion and garlic pan, add the kale, stirring constantly. Sauté until it becomes your desired texture. I like mine pretty firm, so I tend to take the pan off the heat, add the kale, stir, and plate.

5. Plate all the food, serve with optional condiments: sriracha, ketchup, tobasco sauce, Bragg's Liquid Aminos, etc.

Sriracha Potatoes

Just potatoes mixed with sriracha. They look cool. Taste good, too.

I have a couple of food theories. Number one, anything can be made into a sandwich. Anything.

Two, almost everything is tasty with sriracha on it. Casey from Top Chef answered the question I've long been wondering: Is Sriracha Good With Ice Cream? The answer: No.

A close third is everything is better (or at least tasty) deep fried. Cookies, candybars, potatoes, onions, vegetables, fruit, dough, ice cream....

That's about it for universal or near universal food truths.