Bratwurst with Brussels Sprouts and Brown Rice

When the covid-19 pandemic started impacting the residents of Hawaii and the stay-at-home order was put in place, I was a lot more concerned about food than toilet paper.  I already had a lot of toilet paper at home because I had purchased a Costco pack back in late January, so I had enough to last me for at least 3 months, if not more.

In my mind, I thought I needed a lot of food that was shelf stable and would last me a long time because I wouldn't be able to get out of the house to get anything.  I purchased a lot of rice, bread, crackers, canned tuna and chicken, chips, cookies, and other assorted junk.  My body responded negatively to all the junk.  It was not pleased and made it clear by making all my clothes tight. 😢

Most of my posts are delayed.  I usually don't post pictures or videos on the same day that I made the dish because I need time to edit and make it look the way I want because I am a control freak and it needs to be the way I want it.  Sorry, not sorry.  Then sometimes I'll notice a typo or grammatical error and won't bother to correct it. 

With that being said,  this dish was made when I was eating rice.  I'm currently on a Whole 30 journey which eliminates grains, dairy, legumes, alcohol, and sugar.  I miss bread the most.  As of today (5/27/20), I'm on day 18/30, so I'm almost there.  I can do this!

Watch me prepare this.

IG: @abundanceofvegetables 

IG post of this video: Bratwurst w/ Brussels Sprouts and Brown Rice (sped up for IG)

YouTube post of this video: Bratwurst with Brusssels Sprouts and Brown Rice (full video with captions)

Kim Chee Firm Tofu Soup

Alright don't hate me, but I go outside.  Let me explain.  Before all this COVID-19 madness started, I was working on improving my exercise routine.  I started going to the gym regularly and it was becoming a habit.  I wanted to work my jogging up to 10 miles per week.  I actually used to jog a lot.  A two-mile or 4-mile run was normal for me years ago and so was 10 miles per week.  I used to do a lot of 5K runs as well. 

Obviously, I've slacked off hard and I want to get back into it.  By mid-March, I had worked my way up to 3-5 miles per week and felt pretty good about it.   A number of events and personal changes in my life happened.  Additionally, I had to move as the place I was living in was being sold.  I gave up my plants, my entire container garden.

I now work remotely and may get a pay cut soon.  I understand that the previous projected budget for this fiscal year is now a lot less and that adjustments must be made. I know that I'm lucky to still have a job and I am better off than a lot of people and I am grateful for that.  A pay cut is much better than getting laid off and losing medical coverage.  I am aware of this and I am thankful.  I know a lot of people are stressed out right now.  Life is not normal and we are all doing our best to cope.  Don't be mean and talk shit to me.  Everyone has their own struggles.

I go outside to go walking for exercise.  I would like to attempt to jog, but I wear a mask and it's already hard to breath.  I push the crosswalk buttons with my elbows and wash my hands/arms when I reach home.  Yesterday, I tried lifting some weights at home after my walk.

Anyway, I went to the UPS store to return some items.  After moving to a new place, you realize you need some things.  Some things I purchased didn't work out.  For example, the over-the-toilet shelf was missing some pieces and the lazy susan spice rack couldn't fit in my cabinet.  There is a Korean grocery store just under the UPS store, in the same building.  Since I was already there, I decided to stop by.  I got a big container of whole cabbage kim chee and a bento.  It was great because I was able to make numerous meals with the kim chee, including this soup, another batch of kim chee soup with seafood, and a fried rice.  Being able to make a ton of meals with something helps reduce the amount of times you have to go out to get food.

I used firm tofu because that's what I had available in my fridge.  The soft tofu soup made with SOFT tofu, which is the authentic way is much better.  The broth is also much better the authentic way.  This is just my easy variation.  I ate it with some brown rice.

I honestly don't know if I used un choy or pak choy or a different kind of choy.  I googled it and was still unsure.  Let me know if you know, when you watch my videos.  Thank you!

Ingredients:

• 2 Arabiki sausages, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 cup kim chee, chopped
• 1/2 block firm tofu, cubed
• 2 cups water
• 1 bunch un choy, chopped (about 2 cups)
• 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 Tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
• 1 Tablespoon chili oil 
• 2 Tablespoons green onions, chopped

Instructions:

1. Prepare ingredients as described above (chop, cube).
2. Add sausages to pan. 
3. Stir fry until slightly charred all over.
4. Add kim chee, water, tofu, un choy, sesame oil, sesame seeds, and chili oil.
5. Bring to a boil.
6. Garnish with chopped green onions.
7. Enjoy!

IG: @abundanceofvegetables
IG post of this video: Kim Chee Firm Tofu Soup (short clip, sped up for IG)
YouTube post of this video: Kim Chee Tofu Soup (full video with captions)

Sausage, Egg, Bell Pepper, Onion Breakfast Burritos

So breakfast burritos was not my original plan when I bought the ingredients.  I actually was planning to make an omelet stuffed with bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, and sausage.  But when I reached home, I realized I had some tortillas.  So breakfast burritos it was.

Here's how my recipe went.  It makes probably about 10 burritos.  I like to cook in big batches so it lasts a while.

Ingredients:

• 7 crimini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 small green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1 box turkey sausages, sliced (10 sausages)
• 4 eggs, scrambled
• tortillas
• olive oil

Instructions:

1. Prepare ingredients as indicated above (chop, slice)
2. Heat pan and add olive oil.
3. Add mushrooms, bell pepper, and onion. Stir fry until cooked.
4. Add scrambled eggs and stir until cooked through.
5. Add desired amount of mixture onto a tortilla.
6. Serve

IG: @abundanceofvegetables
IG post of this video: Sausage, Egg, Bell Pepper, Onion Breakfast Burritos (sped up for IG)
YouTube post of this video: Sausage, Egg, Bell Pepper, Onion Breakfast Burritos (regular speed full video)

Longsilog with Cauliflower Rice

 

I love silog.  I only learned what that meant a couple months ago.  It's a prefix of the name for any dish that comes with eggs and rice.  Some examples that I've seen are longsilog, spamsilog, bangussilog, and I've made a talongsilog before.

This time I made longsilog.  But instead of regular rice, I used cauliflower rice, which is cauliflower chopped into tiny pieces.  Long is for longanisa and silog is for eggs and rice.  Longanisa a small filipino sausage that comes in different versions like sweet, original, and vinegar.  I like the sweet one the most.

IG: @abundanceofvegetables
IG post of talongsilog IG video: Talongsilog

Enoki, Bok Choy, Garlic & Sausage Stir Fry

This is a super simple 4-ingredient dish that I put together with random things I had in the fridge.  It's winter and I have been cold a lot, so naturally, I want to eat warm soup.  I bought bok choy and mushrooms with the intent of eating it with a soup.  I added some to a saimin, but then didn't want to eat saimin again and wasn't sure what kind of broth to make to eat the rest.

I didn't want the rest to go to waste.  So, that's when I came up with this stir fry idea.  I've never had stir fried enoki mushrooms, but figured I give it a try.  It was delicious.  I only used four ingredients.  The vegetables are seasoned with the flavors from the sausage.

Here's my recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 Portuguese sausage, 5 ounces, sliced into coins
• 2 baby bok choy, chopped
• 1 bunch enoki mushrooms, about 5 ounces, chopped into 2-inch pieces, discard roots
• 5 cloves of garlic, sliced

Instructions:

1. Prepare ingredients as described above (slice, chop, etc.)
2. Stir fry Portuguese sausage until it forms brown edges.
3. Add garlic, bok choy, and mushrooms.
4. Stir fry until bok choy and mushrooms have wilted.
5. Serve. 

IG: @abundanceofvegetables
IG post of this video: Enoki, Bok Choy, Garlic & Sausage Stir Fry (sped up for IG)
YouTube post of this video: Enoki, Bok Choy, Garlic, & Stir Fry (regular speed, full video)