Veggies Rock! Snow Peas, Carrots & Bean Sprouts

Generally speaking, my children eat most foods and can be persuaded to try almost anything within reason.  So today, I thought I'd add stir-fried snow peas, carrots and bean sprouts to the dinner menu as a side dish. Honestly, it was not a "winner" for the kids, but it was a "winner" for the adults - we ate it all!  With the gloomy weather that we have been experiencing in France, this dish was a crisp, "refreshing" forecast of the spring and summer days to come!  The dish was very simple to make...Message us for the recipe!

Snow Peas, Carrots & Bean Sprouts

Most Allergy Friendly Restaurant Chains in America

I recently came across a really cool website called Allergy Eats.  It is essentially an online guide to allergy-friendly restaurants in the United States and more!  When we were living in the United States, I found that most restaurants, particularly non-chain restaurants, were very accommodating.  It seems like the level of awareness about the seriousness of food allergies is quite high in comparison to many other countries where I have visited or lived.   I sure wish that I could find such a website here in France!    Maybe I should consider developing a website database of allergy-friendly restaurants in Paris?

While we have indeed found a few neighborhood restaurants that understand and can accommodate our needs, it is indeed time for us to branch out.  Through my research I have learned that chain restaurants in the States that offer egg-free items, that are also present in Europe may offer the same items, but one should not assume that they are egg-free!  For example, McDonalds' chicken nuggets in the States are egg-free, but not in France!  (Please don't shame or judge me for the occasional McDonalds run for the children - it is a rare occasion).  For those of you in the States or with plans on visiting, here is the website url:  www.allergyeats.com

AllergyEats Website

Stir Fried Tofu with Bell Peppers

So I didn't really intend for this to be a food blog, but I've been on an Asian cooking rampage the past several days. Maybe it has to do with the fact that we have friends from Taiwan visiting and I've been reminiscing about our life in Taiwan and China. Plus, I just found an Asian grocery store a 12 minute walk from my office where I finally found tofu, which is the real subject of this post! My egg allergy child, Lady Grace and her sister Sasou love tofu and they were so surprised when I prepared it, as they had not eaten any since we left the States six months ago. Surprisingly, they had already forgotten the word for tofu! Juju on the other hand, wants nothing to do with tofu and will only taste it id bribed. Pictured below is a basic stir fried tofu with bell peppers for garnish. I will serve it on a bed of rice inside a thermos for the girls to take to school tomorrow.

Ingredients
1 box of firm tofu (drain and cut in to rectangles or triangles)
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 green, red and yellow bell peppers (cut in to inch-sized pieces)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2-3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon brown sugar
pinch of salt (if needed)

Directions
In a hot non-stick pan on medium-high heat, stir fry garlic in 3 tablespoons of olive oil for a two minutes. Add your tofu squares to the pan and cook for 5-7 minutes until brown and then flip each piece to brown the other side.  At the same time add the bell peppers and cook for another 5-7 minutes.  It is important to jostle the tofu about in the pan to ensure that it doesn't stick.  Once your tofu has reached the desired color, add up to 2-3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of brown sugar  and 1 teaspoon of sesame oil.  Taste and add more of the above (or a pinch of salt), if necessary.  This is the perfect "side" dish for three people.

Stir Fried Tofu with Bell Peppers

Rice Noodle Chap Chae

Having lived in China and Taiwan and traveled to many countries in the region, I LOVE most Asian dishes, particularly a Korean glass noodle dish called "chap chae".  I recently started following the blog Allergy Free Asian Dishes where the recipe and suggestion was made to make this dish with rice noodles, given my concerns about food labeling laws and "may contain traces of..." on imported "glass noodles".  This was a great suggestion as there are a number of U.S. companies (which adhere to U.S. food labelling regulations) that produce rice noodles - my favorite being Annie Chuns - the company sells the regular rice noodle variety as well as the brown rice variety.  Whenever possible, I generallly go with the brown rice variety to get an extra kick of fiber (16% of daily value)...So how was this dish prepared with rice noodles compared to glass noodles?  Pretty good!  The kids enjoyed it and it was great to serve a meal egg-free that the whole family could enjoy.

I did make some modifications based on personal preference and the veggies that I had "in stock"!

Rice Noodle Chap Chae

Preparing the Ingredients
(soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil)
(shitake mushroom, nappa cabbage, spinach)
(carrots, red bell pepper, beef, red onion, garlic)

Preparing to Mix the Soaking Rice Noodles

and Stir Fried Ingredients



Stir Fried Eggplant

Today I was feeling nostalgic, longing for the years that I spent in China and Taiwan enjoying various regional cuisine.  That said, I attempted to make one of my favorite dishes, Stir Fried Eggplant.  This dish is usually made with ground pork (but I made the vegetarian version).  It was absolutely awesome!  The kids didn't enjoy it, but the adults sure did, with the added bonus of being egg-free!

Aujourd'hui, je me sentais nostalgique pour les années quand j'habitais en Chine et à Taiwan, surtout les spécialités régionales. Donc, j'ai essayé de faire un de mes plats préférés, "Stir Fried Aubergines". D'habitude ce plat est fait avec du porc haché (mais j'ai fait la version végétarienne). C'était absolument délicieux! Les enfants n'ont pas mangé le plat, mais les adultes de la famille ont tout mangé!  Pour les directions en francais, contactez-moi.

Published: February 10, 2013


Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 2 servings (assuming this is a side dish and is eaten with a bowl of rice)

Ingredients:
1 medium sized eggplant (the longer Chinese eggplants are better for this dish)
1/4 cup of chopped green onions (green stems)
1 teaspoon of fresh chopped up garlic
1 nub of ginger, cut into 6 thin slices
4 thin slices of red chili pepper (more if desired)
2 teaspoons of soy sauce
1/5 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 cup of chicken broth (maybe a bit more)
a bit of salt (if necessary(

Directions:

Begin by "deep frying" the eggplant slices in hot oil for just a few minutes until they begin to soften.  Then remove the eggplant to a paper towel lined bowl.  Using a non-stick pan add, two teaspoons of olive oil on medium high heat.  When hot add the eggplant, garlic, ginger, and red chili pepper slices and cook for a few minutes.  Then add the chicken broth, followed by soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil.  Cook while gently stirring for a few minutes.  Only, if necessary add a light sprinkling of salt.

Stir Fried Eggplant

Getting Ready for Valentines Day - Heart Shaped Cup Cakes

With Valentine's Day approaching this week, I realized that I am not really sure how or if the holiday is celebrated in France, particularly in schools.  That said, I decided to be proactive and prepare Lady Grace for Valentine's Day festivities at school with the purchase of heart-shaped cup cake molds that I found at my local Monoprix.  While I already have a ton of egg-free cupcakes in the freezer, I'm sure that a heart shaped cupcake will bring a smile to my special valentine's face on Thursday!

Heart-Shaped Cup Cake Molds

Asian Inspired Cabbage Chicken Salad

So, I've returned to my "salads for lunch" routine.  Here is one of my favorite salads, which also happens to be egg-free, that I enjoyed at the office today!

Published: February 6, 2013

Total Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
1/4 purple cabbage
1/4 nappa cabbage (but you can use the regular green/white cabbage, as well)
3 carrots
1 bunch cilantro
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Optional: green onions or red onions

Directions:
Lightly simmer two chicken breasts in water for about 20 minutes or until done, then remove from the water and allow to cool.  I don't add salt to the boiling water because there is salt in the salad dressing.  Tip: I sometimes put it in the refrigerator to cool when I'm pressed for time. While the chicken is cooking, begin preparing the veggies.

Wash and cut the carrots into very thin strips.  Slice both the purple and nappa cabbage then wash and dry.  I suggest washing separately so that the color of the purple cabbage doesn't "bleed".  Tip: I also like using a "salad spinner" because I really don't like wet veggies.  After all the veggies are cut and washed, mix together in a large salad bowl adding as much cilantro as desired.  At this point you can also add thinly sliced green or red onions, if you wish.

By this time the chicken should be cool and you can "shred" the meat on top of the cabbage and carrots.  You can then use a commercial soy/ginger type dressing or make your own by using about 1/2 cup of olive oil, just under 1/4 cup of fresh lime juice, 1/2 teaspoon of ginger, a little bit of soy sauce, 1/4 cup of refined white sugar, and a bit of water.  Put all the contents into a bottle and shake vigorously!  Drizzle on top of the salad and enjoy!

Asian-Inspired Cabbage Chicken Salad