Vegetarian Sweet and Sour Pork

Sweet and Sour Pork can be found on the menu at just about any Chinese restaurant.  I wanted to make use of the pineapple and ketchup sauce in a vegetarian dish for the herbivores in my house.  I substituted tofu for the pork; you can also use seitan if you prefer (or meat if you're like me). 

I used fresh pineapple to provide natural sweetness and a hint of tang to the sauce.  I also added a little lime juice to brighten it up. To thicken the sauce, I dissolved a little cornstarch in water and added it to the mix. To this, just throw in a few carrots and enoki mushrooms and you're ready for a quick and easy dinner.

Crispy Egg Noodles with Mixed Vegetables (Mi Xao Don)

Mì xào dòn chay, literally "vegetarian crispy sautéed noodles" in Vietnamese, is probably the most typical comfort food in Vietnamese cuisine. Its sauce is quite similar to ma-po tofu and adds an interesting, richer texture when it's blended with the crispy noodles. The addition of mixed vegetables and tofu makes it a very healthy dish even though the noodles are fried.

This dish reminds me of my first date with my husband at a Vietnamese restaurant back in 2000. I remember that mì xào dòn chay was the only vegetarian dish on the menu. I ordered the beef version mì xào dòn bò. I started eating and Lulu, shy, was staring at me. I asked him if everything was okay; I was thinking that maybe he didn't like this dish. And he said that he was afraid to be clumsy and spill the sauce everywhere and asked me if I could mix the sauce and crispy noodles for him. I found it so adorable. I have been mixing the sauce and noodles for him every time I make this dish ever since. 

Tri-Color Fusilli Pasta with Mascarpone Tomato Sauce

I just discovered over the weekend the new KitchenAid fusilli pasta maker attachment at Williams Sonoma in the Valley Fair Mall, in San Jose, CA. It looks amazing; I had no clue that fusilli could be made at home. Well, I didn't buy the attachment, but it gave me the idea of making the corkscrew-shaped pasta dish. I used store-bought tri-color fusilli. I find the color to be very playful. The red color is made from beet juice and the green one from spinach juice instead of using regular water in the dough.

Pasta to me is a natural comfort food. To give this dish a heartier feel, I paired the pasta with a creamy mascarpone homemade tomato sauce. The tomatoes are Brandywines from our garden. They are big, bright red and -most important- so sweet. The girls helped me make the sauce; I think it's always more satisfying for them to eat food they helped prepare.

Saffron Orzo with Fennel and Vegetarian Chorizo

Orzo has a similar shape to rice, but it's actually pasta . I've found that kids love orzo; it's more tender and more pleasing to the palate of little ones.

We were running out of long grain rice in the house, so I decided to use orzo pasta as a substitute for rice in my Spanish rice dish. To bring another layer of flavor, I added some fennel that I cook in apple juice. Enjoy!

Masoor Dal Khichdi (Indian Orange Lentil Rice)

Kitcheri is a very simple recipe that requires only a few ingredients from the pantry. It's a blend of coral-colored lentils, called masoor dal, with basmati rice and a few other typical Indian spices.

It's very nutritious for all the vegetarians in the house. The lentils provide a lot of protein. The key to a good kitcheri though is a flavorful raita, or yogurt sauce. Check back tomorrow for the recipe!