happi-meals

[happi-meals]

Had a great yet simple meal just now :-)

Steamed sweet potatoes and steamed zucchini on a bed of rice, and a turkey sandwich on wheat bread with mustard and vegan mayo.

Twas a very easy-to-cook meal as each entre and side only needed 2 seasonings + oil for the pan (salt and pepper). Actually the sweet potatoes had 3 ingredients lol: i added yummy wildflower honey with pepper and plain salt! I didnt exactly want candied yams but i do like it when theyre sweet. The taste is quite nostalgic as I grew up eating these sweet orange roots as a kid. Mama would make them extra sweet, but this time I spared myself the film of sugar on my teeth lol.

The turkey sandwhich was the protein part of my meal + an effort to stave off spoilage of the lasts of my turkey slices i got last week or so from Aldi. I worry about choloesterol now that im not vegan anymore (and havent been for several years now lol). But i think this type of meal is perfect for keeping those lvls under control bc of the low saturated fat contents and the nutriional benefits of the lean meat. Ive always liked turkey and plan to continue eating it with other meals like this. Who knew a simple lunch meat samdwhich could be part of a nice dinner? 😁

The water I explicity included in the photo bc its summer time! So while always is a good time to hydrate properly, summer is especially so. And Georgia summers can be brutally hot (which I dont mind! I love a Southern summer!). I want to get more used to drinking plain water again. When I was vegan it was easier, but now I notice I only ever have a taste for it if i'm very thirsty or add some sort of sweetening element, like sweet tea or juice. Thats not an issue in itself, but id hate for the incentive to drink water to depend on if it doesnt taste like water? Lol its not like i dont enjoy water. Its a very distinct crisp taste thats always refreshing, esp on a hot day. But getting enough water is a challenge. So making it an explcit element to this meal serves important reminder to hydrate regularly and appreciate water as is when I can!

I'm happy about this meal as it was so easy and my timing was rlly good. I started the yams first, then the rice, and lastyly the zucchini. So none of my food was too cold or too mushy or overcooked by the time it was all ready. Thats a big deal for me!

I wanted to steam cabbage as well and add a cucumber salad but alas lol. I prepared the cucumber salad though and added ginger. I dont have red onions rn but the cucumber marinating in apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper. I'm excited to eat it tomorrow as part of my breakfast!

#my meals #cooking #food #dinner

[happi-meals]

Throwback to when lola cooked up some yummy porkchops with sauteed onions with sides of bittermellon veggie medly, and barely and rice at like 10pm! LOL.

Then to finish with dessert, my godaunt made a special mango float! It tasted almost like banana pudding! Super creamy and sweet! Not the greatest pic of it lol but thats cuz it was cut in half to share w lola.

#my meals #cooking #food #dinner #pork #porkchop #dessert #mango #filipino food

[happi-meals]

I'm struggling to make a good recipe and consistency for breading and frying tofu. Last night I experimented and it was getting somewhere better than I tried before as far as consistency (I remembered to flour the battered tofu right before placing them in the oil lol). But it was giving hella 'breakfast' vibes due to the batter and spices I used (just salt pepper, honey, lemon, and apple cider vinegar <- to mix with baking soda since I dont have baking powder lmao). Also the texture was still a bit crumbly, though that part is mostly my fault as I didnt fill the pan with enough oil to fry them lol.

I'll keep experimenting. I def think most of my mistakes are from my lack of cooking intuition and errors in preparation. But it could aslo be that i dont quite have the ingredients to make something I'm going for....

#tofu #fried tofu #cooking #my meals #food

[happi-meals]

Pancake Breakfast! 🥞

Pancakes are part of a traditional southern breakfast and I was craving them today.

Theyre sweet and nostalgic, reminding me of grandma's house the most and some breakfasts spent at Cracker Barrel with her when I was little.

One part of learning to cook is the magic that is finding out how my favorite foods dont take magic to make! As in, most of what pertains a meal or even an entré is so simple its suprising to me.

Pancakes, to be a bit reductive here, are just fried batter patties! The most simple consisting of what I made this morning (or rather afternoon lol): flour, oil, water, sugar, and leavening agents.

Here I experimented with my own batter making skills with a vegan twist:

all purpose wheat flour

water

olive oil

salt

brown sugar

honey.

I dont have baking powder but since I understand its purpose in a recipe as a leavening agent, I tried to substitute it with baking soda and apple cider vinegar, which kindaaaa worked? Lol I was gonna use lemon for the acid part, but I didnt want a bright citrus taste for these pancakes. Too experimental and not familiar lol.

With a little reassurance from a skim of internet recipies, what I made turned out not bad! And I was soooo excited when I saw the batter frying and then flipped the cake. Looked just like the Real Thing mama's make!

I wanted to get a lil experimental and add some trail mix inside. I added them a lil too late for my first pancake (sprinkled some ontop of the raw side of the cake i had frying in the pan yikes), so the texture was a bit grainy. Plus the nuts and fruit burned and the cake on that side didnt look as appetizing lol. But since that was my experimental cake, and was also my first try, I gave myself some grace and focused on the overall experience of eating the entire pancake. And all my efforts proved worth it! It wasnt half bad. :-)

I just cant imagine eating pancakes without having two, and I also had wayyy too much leftover batter for just one anyway, so I made another and added the trail mix into the batter bowl before pouring it all in, which proved to be a better choice lol. Since I didnt want to waste all the batter I made, and only intended to make one more pancake, i added it all to the pan for a huge one lol.

It turned out very good, though I do admit I might have to actually buy baking powder for more fluffiness (though the baking soda and acid/cider trick kinda worked! i'll just have to get my proportions down). Also I always over estimate how much oil i need in any given recipie! So it was a bit dense and greasy. But as with all learning experiences, mistakes are inevitable yet valuable!

The rest of my breakfast consisted of a fried egg, baby carrots, a banana, and steamed spinach. Brwakfast wouldnt have sufficed without vegetable elements for me, so I was literally craving vegetable sides rather than just a breakfast of wheat and animal products.

The carrots had a great texture and sweetness, and althought I definitely could have salted the spinachand a egg wayyyy less, the flavors together were supurb. One day I'll have to experiment with making omlets with spinach and vegan cheez bc the flavors are so compatible! 😋

LeEgg frying in LePan. I broke it up a little oops lol.

I found this recipe online of how to improve my vegan pancake making skills for another hearty breakfast. This one also calls for baking powder but i think my baking soda and acid workaround could still work.

I'll def update this post when I try this particular recipe!

#my meals #i actually made this yesterday lol but as with most things i do..... lol #cooking #food #breakfast #eggs #recipe

[happi-meals]

Spegg-tacular! 🥚🩵🤎

I went to the market again Thursday and bought many groceries. I rlly needed some eggs bc i was craving egg sanwhiches bad lol.

I got these from a Nice Local Farmer and was pleasantly suprised when he opened them up to show me their quality when I purchased them. I exclaimed with glee that I didnt know chickens can lay blue eggs and he said of course! Well, it was more like he said certain breeds of chicken can lay blue eggs lol. Namely 'easter egg chickens'? I'll def have to look them up!

As far as the other eggs i love their textures and colors. The pastel eartrtones with slight pink undertones... the soft offwhites and brown speckles. The differing oblong shapes of the eggs, where some were longer and some shorter.

And then of course the beautiful blue suprise!

I already loved chickens and now I love them even more! What wonderful birds with their wonderful eggs. 🐓🥚

#eggs #pastel #chicken #chicken eggs #my meals #cooking #food #breakfast

[happi-meals]

Just composted 2 ginger roots from 2 weeks ago thay i stored poorly.

They had a sort of red discoloration on them and mold growth. I wasnt sure if it was still okay to eat as long as i just took off the moldy parts. But since I'm not feeling the greatest due to my period and wanted to make tonic water with it, i didnt wanna risk it.

Im posting this here as a safety reminder for all and for myself since cooking w fresh ingredients is new to me! And ginger we ever used in foods (which was hardly ever) was always in powder form which lasts longer anyway.

#ginger #food prep #food safety #my meals #cooking #food #ginger root

[happi-meals]

No picture this time but i made a wonderfully creamy and refreshing smoothie yesterday morning!

It was so good I was honestly suprised. And it had a very nice pastel pink color dotted with stipples of seeds and pulp. I made it primarily to prepare for my period incoming and decided a more healthy breakfast with an anti-inflammatory ingredient (the ginger) would help manage those terribly abdominal cramps and bloating.

Anyway, back to the smoothie! It's ingredients in no particular proportrions were:

3 frozen strawberries 🍓

A bit of coconut milk 🥥

1 clementine 🍊

Lemon juice and pulp 🍋

1/2 pickling cucumber 🥒

~1/3 block Silken tofu 🥢

Almond milk 🥛

Fresh ginger 🫚

I think I can reliably trust coconut milk for the creaminess and volume I want for my smoothies. That added a rlly great flavor and smoothness that rivaled banana in its emulsifying power. I bought only a small can of it from the local Korean market but from this experiment I can assure that this was the missing ingredient I'll buy a lot more of!

#smoothie #drinks #my meals #recipe #food #breakfast #fruit #blender

[happi-meals]

Mom just cooked up a yummy Championship early-dinner for us!

Spring salad with charred zuchinni and squash, salmon slices with homemade honey-based glaze, green beans, and dinner rice.

We're watching the womens's college basketball tournament, South Carolina Gamecocks against Iowa Hawkeyes. While the way her table is set up made it hard to look at the game (a glare from the window covered the tv), we had all more the chance to savor the food.

The food was a lil cooled off when I got there to eat but the salmon has a nice crispy texture. Mom said she prefers to cook fresh salmon since it would cook softer but it was fine to me. The galze had a great umami sweetness from honey and possibly soy sauce, where lemon juice perfectly brightened the flavor.

The salad was good. A nice agrula mix tho personally I find it too bitter. The italian seasoning helped lift up and sweeten the flavor, though. I liked the crunchy texture of the sliced baby carrots and gooeyness cherry tomatoes.

The rice was good; def needed to be hotter and not exactly homemade but a nostalgic flavor since we ate those rice packs a lot growing up. It had a salty yet savory flavor and I liked the color.

The zuchinni and squash were a bit brittle but nonetheles flavorful. I liked the charred element and their colors as well. Squash and zucchini are one of my favorite savory fruit combos! Esp with meats, like this salmon.

The meal was great; I would have had seconds if my period didnt deter me from eating to much lol.

Thanks again, Mama! ♥️

#my meals #march madness #zucchini #squash #yellow squash #zucchini and squash #salmon #dinner #cooking

[happi-meals]

Made a tofu, citrus smoothie for me n my mom a few nights ago.

We put ours in fancy glasses she had. I liked this one and put boba in mine (she doesnt like boba much lol).

Didnt have the constency I want from a smoothie, which is thick and creamy. And still a little gritty from the ingredients (which I'll list). But nonetheless a good, healthy drink.

The ingredients in no particular, order

Clemintines

Lemon juice and pulp

Carrots

Silken tofu

Almond milk

Honey

Brown sugar

Ginger

Tapioca pearls (for mine lol)

#smoothie #my meals #drinks #boba

[happi-meals]

Roasted chicken, ginger, daikon, shiitake mushroom soup with lime, cilantro, broccoli sprouts, and rice noodles

[happi-meals]

だてそば　Date-soba

岡山県岡山市　Okayama-shi, Okayama, Japan

2024/03

[happi-meals]

I rlly need to start using flour more in my cooking!

I LOVE anything breaded, from fish to cauliflower, but making batter and using flour and breadcrumbs are never something I had to make myself. Though I do have some restaurant experience making batter and flouring food for frying!

I still have a bag of all purpose flour in my fridge but I havent used or opened that thing in forever lol. But i just checked it and it looks fine! No bad odor and no mold. Honestly idk how! But I'm glad there no sign of spoilage from what I can tell. Perhaps its lasted this lonng bc I used it literally one time lol. I dont even remember what for lol.

Anyway Imma attempt to fry some tofu soon! Hopefully something will work.

#my meals #flour #cooking #food preservation

[happi-meals]

🥓🍍🍚

My Filipina coworker saved this for me and gave it to me before we switched shifts. Its pineapple chunks, and rice flat-grilled with chopped onions. Maybe some pepper and soy sauce in there but idk. I didnt watch her make it as I hadnt got there yet.

Perhaps this was for me giving her some plastic plates and plastic silverware i no longer wanted (i needed them at one point when I first moved out of my parents house. But theyve just gone unused for years at this point. Still in their packaging); she asked me how much for them but I just wanted to get rid of them honesly, so nothing in return. She said she uses them for stuff like cookouts and dinners so theres not many dishes to wash (she lives w her children and grandchildren along wher husband). I totally understand. Perhaps it wasnt for that at all and she just shared another meal with me :-).

Anyway, this meal was great!

The only thing was I prolly would have held the bacon from it. Not that it wasnt good. I liked the texture and flavor from the meaty bits. But these bacon pieces were particularly fatty, so when I warmed up the meal in the microwave, the texture of the bacon fat was particularly off-putting (which was no fault to her! I just dont like animal fat texture. Never have. Its too rubbery).

But it was def a filling meal and one of the only things I ate that afternoon lol. I appreciate her kindness so much. Offering food to others is such an intimate act. Even if we arent close friends, it still means a lot.

#my meals #filipino food #filipino #pineapple #rice #lunch #cooking #food

[happi-meals]

Watermelon Popsicles with Mint + Coconut

#recipe #interesting!

[happi-meals]

Lemon Pepper Cauliflower Bites with Sweet Tahini Ranch

📷 by @saratane 

Recipe: 

¾ cup almond milk 2 lemons, zested and juiced ¾ cups all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon Simply Organic Cayenne Pepper ½ cup Panko breadcrumbs ½ cup plain breadcrumbs 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste 1 head cauliflower, cut into 1-inch florets Vegetable oil, for frying FOR THE SWEET TAHINI RANCH INGREDIENTS ¼ cup tahini ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 lemon, juiced 1 tablespoon maple syrup 1 tablespoon Garlic Powder 2 teaspoons Onion Powder 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill Kosher salt, to taste MAKE THE CAULIFLOWER BITES METHOD STEP 1 In a small bowl, whisk almond milk and juice of 2 lemons. Let sit for at least 10 minutes. In a separate small bowl, combine flour and cayenne. Set aside. STEP 2 In a third small bowl, combine panko, breadcrumbs, zest of 2 lemons, black pepper and 1 teaspoon salt. STEP 3 Dredge each cauliflower floret in the almond milk mixture, then flour mixture (tapping off any excess flour), then return to almond milk mixture again and finish in breadcrumb mixture. Transfer to a baking sheet and let florets chill uncovered in the refrigerator for at least 10 minutes. STEP 4 Meanwhile, make the sweet tahini ranch: In a medium bowl, whisk all ingredients and 2 tablespoons cold water (or more, depending on desired consistency). Keep in refrigerator until ready to serve. STEP 5 Heat 2-inches oil in a large Dutch oven until a thermometer submerged in oil registers 350°F. Working in batches to avoid overcrowding the pot, add breaded florets to oil. Cook until florets are browned and crisp, about 6 minutes. The temperature of the oil should not fall below 325°F. Remove florets from oil with a fine wire mesh ladle; drain in a single layer on paper towels. Season with salt and serve with sweet tahini ranch immediately.

#ill def simplify this recipe aince the ingredients are too specific lol #but breaded califlower bites always ROCK #reblog #recipe

[happi-meals]

Closer & closer comes the conclusion 🥚🍳

March 29, 2024 – Simple Breakfast of vegetarian pan-fried, seasoned egg sandwhich with Daiya vegan chz on wheat bread.

Very yummy tho I still need to watch the salt lol. I used to hate the tase and texture of bread ends, but I grew out of that. It saved me a lot of worry knowing i had 2 more slices of bread left for this sandwhich bc of how I learned to appreciate the "butt-bread" slices, as my family calls them lol.

#egg #my meals #breakfast #breakfast sandwich #egg sandwich #vegetarian #cooking

[happi-meals]

🍌🍚

Today was a work day so I usually dont have great eating days for posting lol. But I do like this breakfast I had! Leftover plantains and rice from yesterday, seasoned w a bit of sweet and sour sauce I poured in it already lol.

Quite filling and I like a sweet breakfast like this, personally. One day I'll buy my own plantains to fry and make this a regular breakfast option for me :-)

I often like to think about how my life would be if I grew up differently; what my cultural "usuals" would be if I was born somewhere else. I love multiculturalism so much and its one of the very few things I rlly like about my hometown. Today, eating a rather tropical meal, I remembered that, for many ppl, plantains and rice are a usual dish, not just when theyre craving 'Jamaican food'. Similar to how I eat an egg sandwhich with cheese in the morning or make a bowl of sugary cereal or oatmeal, someone might wakeup and make plantains and rice for breakfast, or something completely different depending on their geography and culture.

Its a very intimate thing to think abt how someone is sharing your experiences in a different way somewhere else in a different life. Such coincidences, like needing to eat breakfast and having plantains and rice to start the day, come from profoundly different upbringings and regions that also share the same motivations bc we're all so connected. Now and, in a way, forever as people. :-)

#my meals #food #fruit #plantains #rice #breakfast #leftovers