Veg SF

The adventures of a lacto ovo vegetarian in the greater San Francisco Bay Area.

Oat Bran vs Oatmeal February 15, 2010

Filed under: Grocery, Veg Musings, Vegetarian — vegsf @ 3:23 pm
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I had a friend ask me (paraphrasing), what’s with the oat bran and how is it different than oatmeal? Aren’t they pretty much the same thing? That my friend, is an excellent question. Why am I such a crazy fan of the oat bran and haven’t once mentioned the oatmeal?  Here are my reasons…

  • Nutritional Benefits: Oat Bran and Oatmeal are very similar with their health benefits, but oat bran is a little better nutritionally comparing 1/3 cup. Though oat bran is a little bit higher calorie and fat (slightly – not excessive in my opinion), it also has a lot more fiber, protein, and iron. For me, the vegetarian, the last two are even more important. Check out the stat comparison (M=oatMeal, B=oatBran). Calories: M=100, B=130. Fat: M=2g, B=3g. Carb: M=19g, B=24g. Fiber: M=3g, B=6g. Protein: M=4g, B=7g. Iron: M=6%, B=14%
  • Filling: Even though the nutritional data is a wee bit higher for the oat bran, I find it to be a million times more filling than oatmeal. For some reason I can eat oatmeal and be hungry about 2 hrs later. With oat bran, I’m full for about 4 hrs. (no kidding!) This is rare for me since I usually eat about every 3 hrs as a general rule.
  • Texture: With oatmeal (non instant), you typically have to “chew”, but Oat Bran goes down more like cream of wheat. It’s much more mushy and creamy. While “chewy” oatmeal has it’s place (I haven’t completely abandoned the oatmeal altogether), there’s just something sort of comforting about the softer texture, for me.
  • Flavor: I really see no difference here. The flavor is very much the same as oatmeal. They both need to be “doctored up” (in my opinion) with some sweetener, maybe some sugar, cinnamon, etc.
  • Convenience: I, personally, try to avoid the instant oatmeal because of the extra preservatives and sugars. The problem is the length of time it takes to make real oatmeal in the morning is a bit too long for on-the-go breakfasts. With the Oat Bran, I can make my own preservative-free and sugar-free “instant oatmeal” in under 2 mins at the office. Plus, it tastes fabulous. I can even mock some of my favorite instant flavors (i.e, strawberries & cream or brown sugar & maple) in my oat bran. And that makes me smile.

Hope this helps resolve the question in your mind, “Why is is the vegsf gal so crazy for oat bran? Wouldn’t oatmeal do the trick?”

Try the oat bran. I dare ya!

 

A proud moment… February 5, 2009

Filed under: Veg Musings — vegsf @ 11:43 pm

I just found out today that my Valentine’s Day red velvet kisses were were mentioned at Apartment Therapy The Kitchn. I’m so proud.

Check it out

 

Onion Goggles January 28, 2009

Filed under: Kitchen, Veg Musings — vegsf @ 11:56 pm
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I cry like a baby every time I start cutting onions. Some are more potent than others, but almost all of them make me cry to a certain degree. I’m lucky if I can roughly chop them much less ‘mince’ or do whatever else my recipes call for.

My sis and I discovered Onion Goggles when we were at a kitchen store the other day. For a whopping $20, we thought it was a bit outrageous just to prevent some tears while chopping. Especially when we had the idea that all you really need is some sort of sealing eyewear. Most likely you have something in your home already and don’t realize it.

Swim goggles!

You can usually pick up a really cheap pair somewhere like target or a multi-pack at Costco. I tried it a week ago with the goggles I had stashed with all my other swim stuff. Works like a charm!  I now have those goggles stashed with my kitchen tools.

 

Tagged December 27, 2008

Filed under: Veg Musings — vegsf @ 7:46 pm

I was tagged by Paper Envy, so I’ll play along… :)

The rules:

  1. Link to the person that tagged you
  2. Post the rules on your blog
  3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself
  4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs
  5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
  6. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

6 things about myself:

  1. I wish I loved tofu more than I do. It has to be made “just right” for me to truly enjoy and like it.
  2. Aside for my picky-ness with tofu, there aren’t many foods I don’t like (with the exception of meat, of course). But one of them is rice. Pretty bad for someone married to a Filipino!
  3. My husband is not vegetarian and doesn’t like veggies, which makes for interesting meals around our house! I do all my food experiments on my sister.
  4. I think my sister is a better cake/cookie/cupcake decorator than me.
  5. I secretly wish I was a gourmet vegetarian cook and baker who had her own shop. Maybe some day…

I’m not going to tag anyone, but if you want to play along, jump on in!

 

Fall recipes I want to try November 26, 2008

Filed under: Cupcakes, Dessert, Mains, Sweets, Thoughts & Sharing, Veg Musings — vegsf @ 10:33 pm
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Carrot Persimmon Cupcakes

These are from the brand new blog I Dream of Dessert by the same author as the recently closed blog “Cupcake Blog”. I’m glad they opened a new blog since making the decision to stop blogging at the cupcake blog spot. The recipes are unique and the photos are beautiful. I can’t wait to see what new creations they come up with next.

Seitan Roulade with Chestnut Stuffing

From the VeganYumYum blog, I wish I was a guest at their house this Thanksgiving! This recipe makes the perfect turkey alternative. It looks amazing. If I had more time this Thanksgiving, I would have definitely tried it. Maybe next year!

Nikki’s Sweet Potatoes

I’m 95% sure I’m going to make these from 101 Cookbooks for our Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. They look amazing. I can imagine the coconut milk, macadamias and ginger are the perfect compliment to the sweet potatoes.

Pumpkin Twinkies with Meyer Lemon Filling

I have a soft spot for the Hostess Twinkie. I’m not entirely sure why, considering the thing is nearly indestructible and the worst thing in the world for one to consume considering all the horrible ingredients. But that aside, the concept of a cake filled with some yummy cream is defintely something up my alley. I think of it as a rectangular filled cupcake with no frosting. These pumpkin twinkies sound great and filled with a zing of meyer lemon cream filling… Yum.

Vegetable Lasagna with Goat Cheese

I love goat cheese. I’ve found it compliments a great number of dishes from sweet to savory and this lasagna with all kinds of vegetables and goat cheese would make a great cold night, hearty meal.

 

Cupcake Challenges October 3, 2008

Filed under: Cupcakes, Iron Cupcake, Veg Musings — vegsf @ 4:07 pm
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I’m debating whether or not to try to join some of the cupcake challenges… This months’ Iron Cupcake challenge is with cheese as an ingredient. Cheese + Cupcake = Two of my favorite things! In fact, I already have an idea for which cheese I would use and combine it with a nice fall ingredient that holds sentimental value from my past.

There’s also Cupcake Hero. The August flavor was “bakers choice” with ingredients from the past year’s CH challenges. I haven’t yet seen what October’s is…

What do you think? Should I do it? You know how much I love baking and especially cupcakes! I’m “this close” to trying it this weekend.

 

Recipes for a Great Dinner Party September 8, 2008

Filed under: Angela Concoction, Appetizers, Cheese, Drinks, Meat-Lover's Seal of Approval, Potato, Salads, Sides, Veg Musings, Veggies — vegsf @ 11:37 pm
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I had a small dinner party at my house Saturday and we had a fabulous time. But, of course, the main highlights (for me anyway) were all the amazing flavors in the food. I thought I’d take a few minutes to share with you, my faithful readers.

If you don’t want to try all of them, there are two you MUST try: Tomato Olive Butter and the Strawberry Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese. Don’t ask questions. Just do it! (I even moved them to the top of the post so you could get to them easier.)

Enjoy!!!

(more…)

 

Recipe Testing: The Asian Grandmother’s Cookbook April 13, 2008

Filed under: Veg Musings — vegsf @ 4:49 am

I ran across The Asian Grandmother’s Cookbook blog not too long ago. It’s a blog written by Pat Tanumihardja, a writer specializing in food, travel, etc. She got her first book deal to write a cookbook. A compilation of Asian recipes. She was looking for people to test some of the recipes to see how clear directions are, how appealing, results, etc, etc. I signed up.

She sent me 2 recipes and a form to fill out about each one. I took a stab at them late last night at my mom’s house where mom, my sister and I worked together to make and fill out the forms together. We were all very surprised at how simple they were to make. I’m not going to post the recipes here because that would be stealing the thunder from her book. However, I will tell you what they were and how I liked them.

Chinese Pickles
These pickles aren’t the standard tart “American” pickle. They are made with a bit of a sweeter brine and tasted an awful lot like the cucumber sunomono I buy at my local Sushi spot. The directions said to feather the edge… That was a challenge!

Pumpkin Custard
They were supposed to be the small sugar pumpkins, but those aren’t in season, so I used one acorn squash and one kabocha squash (both recommended alternatives in the recipe). They were filled with a custard made with coconut milk. It was very tasty and I was pleased with the light sweetness with the squash. A sweet made from squash is always good for the nutritional aspect. My dad went wild over it when he tasted it. I’ll definitely make this one again. And I’m thinking it just might become my breakfast tomorrow morning.

 

Raw Vegan Recipes March 10, 2008

Filed under: Veg Musings, Vegan Convertable — vegsf @ 6:41 pm


I’m desperately wanting to try my hand at some raw vegan recipes. I’m not vegan and I’m definitely not ‘raw’ vegan, but after seeing these recipes and the gorgeous pictures that accompanied them, I now have “the bug”.

Ideally, I want to try to get a group of friends together to have a dinner party. I know my husband won’t be interested, so it will have to be a group of my more adventurous foodie girl friends for “Girls’ Night Raw Dinner Party” (but I need a much more interesting name than that for it, of course).


Since the dishes can sometimes be time consuming and/or pricy, ideally, I’d like everyone to find a recipe and bring one dish to make a complete meal without putting all the burden on one person (i.e, me) especially since none of my friends have had any experience with raw foods.

Now, I just need to plan it and find the girls who are willing to try. I’m open to suggestions, tried and true recipes, or anything else you may be interested in providing me.

 

Did you know? February 13, 2008

Filed under: Veg Musings — vegsf @ 9:54 pm

If you’re fresh out or if you just want to be more gourmet or try something different, did you know you can make your own…

Brown Sugar?
1 cup granulated sugar, add 2 Tablespoons molasses. Mix well. It’s cheaper than store bought and tastes just as good.

Baking Powder?
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda. This is the equivalent of 1 teaspoon commercial baking powder. Add 1/4 teaspoon of cornstarch to absorb moisture in the air and prevent premature chemical reaction between the acid and alkali if you don’t plan to use it right away. I hear it tastes significantly better than store-bought versions.

Self-Rising Flour?
Combine 1 cup all purpose flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (that you just made with the recipe above) and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Egg?
Well, not really “make” your own, but make a substitute for eggs. You have 2 options (each is the equivalent of 1 egg):
1) 2 Tbsp flour, 1/2 Tbsp shortening, 1/2 tsp baking powder and 2 tsp water.
2) 1/2 large banana, mashed.

Super-Fine Sugar?
Sugar + Food Processor = Super-Fine Sugar.