Vegetarian Dim Sum House~Tofu Scramble with Dandelion and Yukon Gold Potatoes~Raw Zucchini Pasta with Pesto

Vegetarian Dim Sum House
On Saturday afternoon, I headed to Chinatown to go to Vegetarian Dim Sum House with my friend Dylan. I hadn't had dim sum in years, so this was a real treat-especially since I got to do it vegan-style! Dylan said, "You're gonna love this place". And he was right-I did! I really enjoyed getting my Asian fix., like the old days. Here's what we ordered...

Rice Flour Rolls with White Fungus and Golden Mushrooms
Served with a sauce primarily made with soy sauce, this is a vegan version of one of my faves. I used to eat these rolls with beef or shrimp, but this time I got down with the mushrooms. Next time, I'm going to try their vegetarian mock shrimp roll...

Turnip Cakes
Another favorite! When I ordered these babies, the waitress asked if I wanted them steamed or fried. Usually I go healthier and ask for something steamed when given such an option-but I know this dish is better fried, and it's dim sum!-so, I went all out.

Steamed Watercress Dumplings

Something a little on the lighter side to balance out the heaviness of the other dishes-not to mention a source of greens in our meal! I love watercress. And these dumplings may look small, but they are quite a mouthful!

Vegetarian Mock Roast Pork Buns

I'll be honest. This was pretty good, but I probably won't order it again. It was a lot of bun, and not much inside. What little there was inside was composed of a sweet bean paste and cubes of mock roast pork.

Mango Pudding

I hadn't capped a dim sum meal off with a mango pudding dessert in a very long time, so I decided to go for it!

 

After our meal, we wandered Chinatown a bit. I hit up some of the fruit stands and bought one-dollar avocados (one dollar!), some lychees, and some durian to try for the first time. Durian is a tropical fruit notorious for its smell, but some people love it, though the word on the street is that it's an acquired taste. I'm going to bring it to work tomorrow as a snack and see how that goes.

 

They also had a cart where we got a bunch of  (vegan!) "cake balls" for a dollar, and a stand where they crack open coconuts so that people can drink them through a straw. I will definitely be back for that-and more dim sum! There are other things on the menu I plan on trying, for sure...

 

 

 

Sunday Cooking

On Sunday (today), I had a "me-day". I went to Mc Gorlick Park with a tea in hand and read, I stopped in the nearby, awesome farmer's market for some goodies, and I cooked. I made myself a brunch to start off the day. The meal was a tofu scramble, inspired by a Cinnamon Snail Facebook post. The owner of Cinnamon Snail made a scramble with most of these ingredients for his kid, and it seemed so healthy and delicious, I decided to make my own version of it.

 

Tofu Scramble with Dandelion and Fried Yukon Gold Potatoes with Garlic and Shallots



Ingredients:
1 box firm organic tofu
cubed yukon gold potatoes
dandelion leaves
1 shallot, sliced
3 garlic cloves, very coarsely chopped
tumeric
sea salt
black pepper
olive oil or grapeseed oil
(optional: cayenne pepper, or top with sriracha sauce for a kick!)

Instructions:
Fry the potatoes first for a few minutes. Allow to brown.
Take potatoes out of the pan and put aside.
While pan is still heated, put in shallots and garlic and allow to brown.
Stir the potatoes back in.
Add in the tofu. Crush with hands.
Stir in tumeric. Add sea salt and black pepper and cayenne pepper, if using.
Add the dandelion leaves. Allow to wilt a bit.

Et voila!

There you have it! A hearty meal, with some bitterness from the dandelion. By the way, did you know that eating dandelion leaves help clean the liver? It's true! And in Chinese medicine, the liver is the organ that governs female reproduction. Keeping the liver balanced helps with the function of our "woman parts"! Cool, huh?


Speaking of health, in the evening I made myself a raw dinner- a zucchini pasta with pesto and a side salad of mesclun greens. I used my handy dandy spiralizer-or, as my roommate calls it, the "jungle gym"...

I made a pesto sauce with basil (of course), lemon juice, garlic, sunflower seeds, almonds, nutritional yeast, olive oil, and some umeboshi plum vinegar and sea salt.

After dinner, I headed to my neighborhood bar, Matchless, and caught a fantastic comedy show. My friend Kate was in it and it was so good to see her!

 

And with that, I cap off my Sunday. Goodnight everyone! Have a great week!

xo,

Ellie