Avocado Appetiser

This "dish" is so simple that I wasn't going to post about it, but after a really lovely comment I received from someone who complimented me on my simple recipes, I have decided to! 

This is how I first started eating avocados when young...all you have to do is slice a ripe avocado in half, remove the seed, and squeeze some thousand island dressing in the centre (or on the side of your plate). Simple, yet really tasty and satisfying! It works well as an appetiiser, too. For a more elaborate and equally tasty alternative, top the avocado with some boiled prawns and voila - you have a prawn cocktail.

The hardest part about this recipe for me is getting a ripe avocado. The ones at the store are usually very hard, so I have to patiently wait for them to ripen in the kitchen before making this.

Tip: This tastes better when the avocado is chilled in the fridge. Once the avocado is ripe, stick it in the fridge for an hour or two before cutting it.




Vegetarian "Riceapple" & "Grapeplant" Bento

This week's theme at the BentoChallenge LiveJournal Community was "Vegetarian" as this month is Vegetarian Awareness Month (which I was not aware of)! I found this week's challenge to truly be a challenge, as I am a gleeful carnivore. (A funny quote I read once by someone I've forgotten goes, "I didn't get to the top of the food chain to eat vegetables".) Jokes aside, I do respect vegetarians and went through a (short but memorable) vegetarian period myself. 

Anyway, back to the bento. I pondered about what to make and what design would be suitable. In the end, YH struck upon a great idea of grapes being turned into an eggplant. The "grapeplant" is made out of seedless black grapes, with a green apple stem, on a background of green apple cubes.

For the main part of the lunch, I finally decided on a Thai food theme, and made vegetarian pineapple fried rice (with mushrooms instead of seafood) and red curry tofu cakes with beans (instead of the more common thai fish cakes). I covered the fried rice with extra pineapple, and cut out pieces of cucumber for the top of the "riceapple". There's also a thai-style dressing (not pictured) to pour over the cucumber and tofu cakes (which have been crumbled at the top to form the background for design purposes). 

Click here for the Vegetarian Pineapple Fried Rice recipe

A basic fried rice recipe is here.

The thai-style dressing is here (previously used for my pineapple salsa).




Vegetarian Pineapple Fried Rice

This is a variation of my previous Fried Rice recipe. The method to frying the rice is the same, but the ingredients are listed especially for a vegetarian pineapple fried rice. Continue reading for the recipe...

Vegetarian Pineapple Fried Rice
(serves 1)

1 cup cooked rice (cooled)
1/4 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4-5 Chinese or Shitake mushrooms, chopped (if dried, soak mushrooms in water until soft)
1/2 red or green capsicum (sweet pepper), chopped
1 slice pineapple ring, chopped (canned or fresh)
handful of raisins
curry powder
1 tsp soya sauce
1 tsp Thai fish sauce
white pepper
light olive oil, for frying

1. Heat up a little oil on medium heat in a frying pan.
   
2. Add the onion and garlic, fry until fragrant and the onions are translucent.
   
3. Add the chopped capsicum (sweet pepper), mushrooms, pineapple and raisins.
   
4. Add soya sauce, fish sauce and shake some curry powder into the rice (add more or less according to your preference).
   
5. Fry everything until the vegetables are cooked.
   
6. Season with pepper, taste, and add more soya sauce, fish sauce or curry powder if necessary.
   

Tips:
For added protein, crack an egg into the rice after Step 5 and stir until the egg is cooked.

Change this into a non-vegetarian dish by adding some seafood (prawns/squid) or minced pork/chicken. (Add the meat after the onions and garlic, fry until cooked, then add the vegetables in Step 3. For seafood, which cooks quickly, add it together with the vegetables in Step 3.)

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