A Few of My Favourite Things

On the nights when I'm too lazy to cook a big meal, or on days when I just don't have enough ingredients, I have a few go-tos that I always keep handy.

A friend recently asked me for my Tom Yum recipe...uh, yeah.  I use a paste packet (below) that is AWESOME. I add some chopped veg into it towards the end (carrots, broccoli, tomato, cauliflower, fresh cilantro, whatever you like) and it is spicy, healthy and DELICIOUS.

Hearkening back to my childhood, we sometimes ate canned beans on toast or mashed potatoes with a side of green veg. I still love that sometimes :)  I really like this brand, and it's totally veg.

Our friend Billy (Chinese) introduced us to this about two years ago, and thank God for it.  I was never a real fan of tofu before trying this, and it changed my tofu world.  Next time you're in a good Chinese restaurant, ask for their deep-fried spicy tofu.  Honestly, the texture and flavour is FABULOUS.  I don't like soft tofu at all - ever (even in miso soup), and this made me realize that the texture of tofu can be effectively manipulated to suit the eater.  After this, I started frying my tofu in chunks before adding to stir fries, etc.  What a difference.  Anyway. Try this stuff. I LOVE it and crave it at least once a month.  I get it to go with an order of veggie fried rice (hold the egg).

Right underneath our apartment building, a vegan restaurant opened up!  It's not typically very busy, so I hope it makes it.  The first time we ordered from it, we got some delicious "chicken wings", but the majority of the other dishes (stir fries, etc.) were rather bland, so we kind of forgot about it for a while.  Last week, a friend told me about an amazing dish she'd eaten there, so it prompted me to look the place up again on Yelp and see what everyone was saying.  Sounds like the service is hit and miss, but some dishes are AMAZING.  On the suggestions of a few Yelp users, we ordered the "sweet and sour ribs" and they were OMGdelicious.  Seriously. I would defy any meat eater to claim they weren't meat. And who even cares. They were THAT good. New favourite.

Panz Veggie: http://www.panzveggie.com/
Yelp reviews: http://www.yelp.ca/biz/panz-veggie-restaurant-vancouver

***Update May 4, 2011 - I just found out that FRANK BLACK of the freaking PIXIES ate at Panz Veggie last night!!  He was RIGHT UNDERNEATH ME!  Tickets to their concert here in Van have been sold out for ages so I won't be going, but hey, turns out he's a veggie :)

I've also included here two of the brands of vegetarian stock I use when cooking - there are other brands, but these are widely available.  This "beef flavour" is great in a mushroom gravy and in a lentil shepherd's pie (recipes either already posted or coming soon!).  I use the "chicken flavour" in a lot of soups!