Easy Pita Sandwich

Usually there’s lunches that just need to be easy. These are multi-grain pitas toasted and sliced. Stuffed with vegan ham and cucumber slices with vegan mayo and cracked pepper. 

Grilled carrots on the farm!

Berry Crepes

I’ve never made crepes before and it always just looked too hard. I figure a weekend morning to try wasn’t going to hurt. I got the recipe from Vegan Yum Yum, who has recipes for different sweet and savory fillings. These crepes turned out to be pretty yummy.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. Soy milk or almond milk
• 2/3 c. Water
• 1/4 c. Earth Balance, melted
• 1 c. White flour
• 1/4 tsp. Sea salt
• 1 tbs. Brown sugar (sweet crepes only, optional)
• 2 tsp. Vanilla extract (sweet crepes only, optional)
• 2 tbs. water, to thin if needed

Place all the ingredients in a blender or in a bowl. Blend or whisk until smooth. Transfer to a 2 cup measuring cup (for pouring) and refrigerate for 30 minutes. While the batter is refrigerating, prepare your fillings (frozen or fresh berries with some sugar and vanilla). Sprinkle with some powdered sugar.

Enjoy!

Homemade Tofu Banh Mi Sandwiches

The Beauty of Pollination

Vietnamese Banh mi food cart in Nha Trang

Home cooking in Vietnam: fresh steamed baos, veggie noodle soup and sauteed greens with garlic

Vietnamese Fruit Tasting

Lunch on Dragon Island in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

One of my favorite desserts that my mom would make is chè trôi nước. I also had some in Vietnam during my travels. The chè dessert consists of balls made from mung bean paste wrapped in a shell made of glutinous rice flour. The balls are served in a thick, sweet clear or brown liquid made of water, sugar, and grated ginger root. It is served warm and sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds. 

A popular Northern Vietnamese dish is sauteed greens known as chayote cooked with garlic. Also a popular Northern dish are fried and salted peanuts. These were served in our hotel after a long day of sightseeing.

Pineapple Overflow

Potatoes, Potatoes

On the trip to the temples outside of Hanoi, Vietnam, there were many vendors selling drinks, breads, food, candy and yes, potatoes. They are called khoai tây. While I was there, I had some as a snack. The potatoes were steamed over coals and without any seasoning. They had a bit more flavor than what I’m use to in the U.S. and of course more variety. It was a nice warm snack on a chilly day. I learned that Hanoi hosts Potato Days, which is an important staple in the northern Vietnamese diet and economy.

Fresh water chestnuts in Vietnam

I was surprised to see these outside of a can in a grocery store. They tasted so crisp and a bit sweet. It was a nice crunchy treat!

Vietnamese noodle soup with faux meat and vegetables. Nearby vegetarian restaurant that had all the flavors I was looking for in Saigon.