Pregnancy, Food Aversions, and Vegetarian Fried Rice

Tags

baby, cravings, food aversion, Fried Rice, kimchi, kimchi fried rice, korean, Mommy to be, morning sickness, preggers, Pregnancy, pregnant

The day I found out I was pregnant, I thoroughly enjoyed a massive lunch of fish tacos, several glasses of Rose, and a scoop of cookie dough. I usually am not a huge sweets person but after having a tapas style dinner of wine, cheese, and oysters (that tasted very metallic to me that day), I came home and plowed through not one, but two cookies from Levain bakery. Those not familiar with Levain, they are massive cookies that are the size of softballs and can pass for a muffin top on their depth alone.

Since confirming my pregnancy, I became suddenly aware of all the wonderful foods I love that are on the list of foods pregnant women cannot have; right there at the top of the list: Deli Meat. Between morning sickness and the very sensitive stomach (AKA the runs), there were few things I really wanted and a turkey sandwich was at the top of the list. Thanks to a very rare but very dangerous risk of listeria, cold cuts were on the top of the No-no list, right there next to raw fish, under-cooked meat and eggs. After speaking with my doctor (because toast DOES get boring quickly), she assured me that indulging in a comfort food from a place that I trusted no more than 1x per week was ok – she wanted to ensure that I was getting enough to eat.

Aside from really wanting to eat the things I wasn’t supposed to, I didn’t have too much of a hard time. Getting ready for work in the mornings were rough as the morning sickness would set in as I was finishing my breakfast and last all the way through the 30 minute train ride all the way through lunch. I would pack my lunch and plan my dinners. To be honest, on most days, I really had to psych myself up to eat certain things but once I took the first bite, I had no issues. I heard about some expectant mothers having meat aversion and I thanked my stars I didn’t have that.

But then I got sick for 6 straight weeks. I couldn’t even think of anything pregnancy related- just how miserable I felt being sick for so long. As we speak, I am sick again thanks to seasonal allergies but I am feeling TONS better than I did before. But the moment the sickness started to subside, the weeks of baby-related symptoms I didn’t have came with a vengeance to make up for lost time. I had a roasted chicken in the slow cooker one day and when I was on my way home, my husband sent me a text telling me dinner was almost ready. I could not for the life of me go anywhere near that chicken. I love chicken. But I refused to eat it and instead went to my favorite Italian sandwich shop and ordered an eggplant sandwich. Eggplant. EGGPLANT? I can’t even believe it as I type it but I devoured it and it stayed down. My meal planning was done. I could not anticipate the food aversions so there was no point in planning.

Thankfully, I have some great coworkers who humor my weird pregnancy-related cravings and go on adventures with me to find what I fancy. When the meat aversion rolled around, all i wanted was creamy hummus and a warm fluffy pita. I feel blessed to have great hummus places near both work and home – even had the owner of my favorite Lebanese place personally deliver my hummus. Even as I type this, I think I could very well destroy a bowl of hummus with a fluffy pita…I digress. It has been a few weeks of the meat aversion but I have embraced meat when I could tolerate it. I craved fried tofu the other day, so I gave in. The past 2 weeks, I have been craving salad – crispy romaine lettuce with creamy dressing and occasionally, a protein I can tolerate.

Over the weekend, I agreed to get Korean BBQ for lunch which went well until they put chicken on the grill – feeling like chicken is going to be on the “yuck” list for a good while. Just recently hubby picked up some chicken from Popeye’s which normally, would have been welcomed, but the smell of that chicken had me in the kitchen frying up tofu and making fried rice out of my leftover kimchi – a recipe I totally made up but will totally make again.

I hope to get back to eating normally but until then, I will be indulging in all the carbs: Bread, bagels, pizza, and rice.

Kimchi Fried Rice

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Butter

1 long onion, diced

1/2 cup leftover banchan: (2 Tbsp of Kimchi, chopped, 2 Tbsp of bean sprouts, 2 tbsp kimchi cucumbers, chopped, and 2 tbsp seaweed)

2 cups leftover white rice

2 Tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

Directions
Heat butter in a large frying pan and add the diced scallions; saute until fragrant.

Add the chopped banchan and its juices except for the seaweed which will be added towards the end.

Saute the banchan and scallions on medium heat for 3-5 minutes.

Add in the leftover white rice and break up with a spoon, while folding the banchan into the rice. The rice should get coated with the spicy sauce. This should take another 3- 5 minutes.

Once the banchan has been incorporated into the rice, drizzle the soy sauce and sesame oil over the rice and gently fold. Fold the rice until it has been heated through and allow to cook on low for 5 minutes.

I tossed in some fried tofu and topped with a fried egg.

Makes four 1 cup servings.

Slow Cooker Korean Beef Stew

Tags

beef, crock pot, kimchi, korean, slow cooker, spicy

My absolute weakness is korean food. Something about the sweet spicy combo, and red pepper paste, and kimchi that make my heart flutter. There is even a Korean take out place near my apartment that makes kalbi burritos that weaken me. I know the addiction is serious when i log on to seamless and even after 2 months of low carb eating, they still recommend my old favorite.

I came across this recipe while catching up on my blog reader. The day I saw it, i bookmarked it and then, because i couldnt contain the craving any longer, placed an order for that lovely spicy kalbi burrito.

LK, from Healthy-Delicious is not only a good friend of mine, but is a boss in the kitchen. From her unique creations and trusted palate to her knack for taking the most photogenic pics of her food, this lady knows food. So, when i saw her recipe for spicy korean tacos, i had to add the recipe to my rotation for that week. With some helpful tips from her I was able to recreate this dish at home, in the slow cooker. 

Her original recipe would not have made nearly enough sauce for a slow cooker dish so I quadrupled the sauce and had amazing results. Cuz LK is a boss!

Her original recipe can be found here.

The slow cooker method yielded amazing results. Using Chuck beef is not only affordable but probably the best bet as its high fat content makes the beef practically melt in your mouth after a long and slow cook. My only regret is not making more.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chili-garlic sauce

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1 lb chuck steak, cut into cubes

Prepare the slow cooker by combine all the ingredients in the vessel and making sure to stir it so that everything is mixed together. Set the cooker on low for 8 hrs.

I was so looking forward to coming home to this dish. When i came home, the air was saturated with the inviting aroma of the spicy korean beef. I prepared some white rice in my rice cooker and waited 30 agonizing minutes before digging in. 

The sauce is KILLER. The perfect amount of spicy, sweet, and salty- and the beef was cooked to perfection. It literally melted in my mouth. For good measure, I served this alongside some store-bought kimchi. While the photo doesn’t depict the proper way to eat this, i prefer to mix everything up and eat it with lettuce cups. The only thing missing was the red pepper paste that I get by the bucket when I dine at Korean restaurants.

LK, this recipe is a real winner! I cannot wait to revisit, but with even more of that delicious sauce! And while this recipe fed BR and I with a little leftovers, there were not nearly enough leftovers to make substantial lunches… but there is always  next time!

Spring Onion Kimchi

Tags

healthy, korean, salad, scallions, sides

By the powers that be, I discovered a new blog and this blog, Food in Jars, has ignited a slight obsession with canning. Canning is a process I am somewhat familiar with having friends that grow their own produce. It’s the process of preserving fresh fruits and vegetables that seems to have made a comeback from waaaay back in the day.
For me, the obsession is not about having a stock supply of preserves (although that is a bonus) but it was a use for the dozen or so mason jars that I have in my possession. There is something very beautiful about mason jars. Their simplicity, their design, and their multiple functions! I have been toying with the idea of using my mason jars as vases but when this wonderful site came into my Google Reader, I became obsessed with canning.
Most canning is pickling. Pickled vegetables and fruits are probably the easiest procedures for a novice canner. The advanced stuff (for me anyways) involves pressurizing things and can be scary if not done right. The results of a fucked up canning process is botchulism. Not wanting any of that, I am sticking to pickling.
So, this Spring Onion Kimchi recipe looked perfect! Actually, it a ramp greens recipe but Food in Jars swapped ramps for scallions.

 
I only had two jars to fill so I halved the recipe.
Ingredients:
1 bunch scallion greens, sliced into ½ inch slices
½ T sea salt
¼ t cayenne pepper
¼ t paprika
½ T minced ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
½ T soy sauce
½ t sesame oil
 

Directions:
1.     Place the scallions in a large bowl and add all of the ingredients. Toss to coat.

2.     Distribute evenly into the two jars.

3.     Let sit at room temperature overnight

4.     Place in the fridge the following day and for the next five days shake the jar.

5.     It will decrease significantly, so feel free to transfer to one jar. You can now enjoy it with white rice, eggs, by itself or however you like kimchi. Its very flavorful! And can last in the fridge for months!

 

I have made 3 different jars of kimchi after the success of this recipe! But I use English cucumbers now and enjoy cucumber kimchi with an eggy breakfast or as a side salad. I will definitely be making kimchi more often. And its healthy too!