Monday, October 26, 2009

whoooooo?

I think these owls turned out too cute...
Ryan's lunch: rice w/nori
owls & rice cheese beaks;
bread crust branches;
cucumber leaves; meatless
meatballs; tempura broccoli
& butternut squash; fall
apple leaves; a dropper of
soy sauce.

I also wanted some tempura
for breakfast, so it worked
out well. I battered and pan
fried some broccoli leaves,
broccoli florets, & wedges of
butternut squash.

And a little soy sauce for
dipping...
The only problem with making tempura is that once you get your oil hot and your veggies ready to be floured and dipped in the batter, then you've got to commit to staying at the stove for a few minutes while they cook. They cook pretty quickly. But with 4 kids it is a safe bet to say you will undoubtedly be interrupted and overcook some of it.

4 comments:

Seitan Said Dance said...

That looks amazing! How do you get your tempura so airy?

shannonmarie said...

Your little lunch boxes are so cute. I've been enjoying them during Vegan Mofo. My son loves them.

Gaby said...

These lunch boxes are too adorable! So creative AND healthy, you're like super mom!
Glad I stumbled upon your blog thanks to vegan mofo :)

veganf said...

SSD - I use a packaged mix, and I don't have the package so I couldn't tell you the secret! LOL I buy my tempura mix at whatever asian market I'm at, though I'd say only 1/3 are vegan, many have egg, so you have to read ingredients carefully, especially considering not all are translated into english! But some have a combo of wheat and rice flours...I'm running low, so next time I pick up a bag/box I'll post about it.
Otherwise, I just pan fry in peanut or canola oil, flipping with tempura tongs and cooling on a paper towel or tempura/fry paper (it absorbs oil really well). There are all kind of goodies available if you poke around at asian markets.
Also, I never go by the instructions (if there re any) on the box. I just get a bowl, add some flour mix, and add water until it reaches the right consistency. Then I dip each veggie in a little flour, then batter, then fry.