Vegetarian Wonton Soup

Vegetarian Wonton Soup



I possibly feel like making this right now. It is delicious.
And, what I mean by "vegetarian" is simply that I used mock ground "beef" (I have also used mock ground "chicken") instead of the real deal. Maybe I can think up a yummy vegetable version.
Really, this soup is so good. Especially with the cabbage, which you don't find in traditional wonton soup. You could leave it out of you want, but I think it really adds to it.

Missus Mustard's Wonton Soup

Serves 2-4

For the wontons:
about 14-16 wonton wrappers (for as many dumplings as you want) (I found mine in the freezer section of Buy-Low)
1/4 of a package of Yves Original Veggie Ground Round
2 tsp dried chives
1 spring onion, white & green parts chopped
salt & pepper

For the broth:
1/2 head of a small savoy cabbage, cut into strips
3 c (ish!) of water
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
enough vegetable bouillon to make the water salty enough for your taste
sprinkle of dried chives
pepper (optional)

1. Thaw wonton wrappers in the fridge the night before.
2. Put cabbage and sesame oil into a pot and let cook for 1-2 minutes, until just beginning to wilt. Add the rest of the broth ingredients and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
3. Mix all ingredients for the wontons (except the wonton wrappers) in a small bowl.
Place a teaspoon of mixture in the centre of a wonton wrapper, bring in opposite corners of the wrapper over the filling and pinch the wrapper together at the top. Get it? Then squish the top all together so nothing can spill out and so it looks like a little candy in a wrapper. **
4. Do this with all wrappers and filling.
5. Bring a pot of slightly salted water to a slow boil.
6. Add the wontons in carefuly and take them out with a slotted spoon once they float to the top.
7. Place the wontons in the broth and serve.

** Next time I will try wetting the edges a bit with water on my finger to help them stick together. I think this will really help a lot.

Huevos rancheros, baked egg rolls and falafel.

A breakfast, a lunch and a dinner.
Of course, these 3 meals were not eaten in one single day! That would be a bit much, don't you think?
Although it might be fun to go to Mexico for breakfast, China for lunch and the Middle East for dinner. But again, we're verging on piggishness here and that will not do!

Huevos Rancheros


Thanks to my vast knowledge of first-year-University Spanish, I can safely say the first word of the title means "eggs". I can also safely say, this meal is gooood.
Recipe inspiration from fortheloveofcooking-recipes.blogspot.com
though I didn't really follow the recipe.

Baked Vegetable Egg Rolls








Recipe from the same site. I like her blog because 1. she loves Mexican food, as the Mustards do 2. she is always looking for ways to cut out fat and make dishes healthier 3. she consistently has tasty recipes to try.
And OH MAMA, these are no exception! We didn't have enough filling (though we made it to the recipe, so if you make these, I would (at least, because, I mean, I can certainly deal with over-stuffed egg rolls!) double the filling for just as many wraps) but they were scrumptious, crispy without being greasy (though give me some greased up Vietnamese roll dips any day and I'll be beaming like a clown), definitely vegan and all other sorts of yummy.

Falafel




You know what? Mister M made both hoummus and falafel from a mix. And you know what? It was good! And we're not ashamed! Go buy yourself a box (or 2 if you want hoummus) and eat yourself a big, bad falafel in a pita.

We used:
whole grain pitas
hoummus
fried falafels
chopped tomatoes
shredded lettuce
homemade tzatziki sauce

Homemade tzatziki sauce (from The Vegetarian Cook's Bible):
1 english cucumber
1 1/3 c Yogurt Cheese (we used plain yogurt)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped (we didn't want to stink, so we omitted this and it was still good)
2 tbsp finely chopped mint (we didn't have any)
2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper

1. Scrub cucumber (peel if not organic) and shred into a colander. Let stand in the sink or over a bowl for 30 minutes. Squeeze lightly to expel excess liquid.

2. In a bowl, combine cucumber, yogurt, garlic, mint, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Stir to mix well. Taste and add more mint, lemon juice, salt or pepper as required.

And there you have it; a breakfast, a lunch and a dinner.

Capers loot & Asian market fun.

The spoils of a recent Capers raid.

I love cheese.
I love cheese so much it hurts because of how much it hurts my wallet.



Dutch 3 year aged Gouda cheese.


But it tastes like caramel!


Naam Miso Gravy.
The Naam is one of the Mustard's favorite restaurants in Vancouver. I guess it's been kickin' it for 40 years now? Impressive.
Also impressive, I used to hate this gravy and now, here I am, buying it by the bottle!

Let's go the the Asian market, shall we?


Burger candies. We did not buy them.


A GIANT sack of peeled garlic for less than $4.






We bought this baby bok choy for $1.64. Bargain!


Our super-fun enoki mushrooms.
I also hate mushrooms, but I am trying to work on this. Just ask Mister Mustard. I eat them now and they're not all bad.
Plus, if you're going to eat mushrooms, you might as well eat mushrooms that look like alien fingers.


*cue creepy music*
OooOooooOOooo...

Stay tuned to find out what we did with half of the alien fingers.

Two Thai dishes.

Mister Mustard Masterpieces


Tofu and red pepper Pad Thai.


Tofu, yellow pepper and baby bok choy on rice.

He likes to free-style his Asian dishes. And he does them well, let me tell you!
Maybe one of these days I will have to sit him down and get him to teach me the ways of his impromptu dinners. He's probably the cutest cook I know.
Thanks, Mister.