Tomato in Rice Cooker Hack (from Strictly Dumpling/repopularized by Cheap Lazy Vegan)

This might go against the idea of the blog. I wanted to test out recipe books. But who does watch recipes on YouTube nowadays? Also, tons of vegan food vlogers have recipe books (Hot for Food or The Edgy Veg, for example).

I was learning Chinese last year (I stopped learning since then... unfortunately) and developped a vivid interest in anything asian. I was watching a lot of YouTube videos, including Strictly dumpling. I find Mike has a magnetic personality... although he is normally not really open about veganism as a whole... sigh...

Anyway, I had seen his video about cooking a tomato in a rice cooker, and I've also wanted to try it out. In a way, it is similar to a variant of fried tomato rice and cheese recipe I used to make all the time; but my version was--obviously--cooked in a pan, in a little bit of oil, and rich in cheese.

When I switched to veganism, and since vegan cheese was not yet available in Brazil (it is slightly more popular now that Superbom launched a vegan cheese substitute two years ago), I stopped making it. With all the cheese, it wasn't good for me.

Imagine: I had a blood test, something that was required of me before I could start a Krav Maga course I had just registered to, and...

Doctor: "You have high cholesterol. You should cut down on red meat..."
Me: "But doctor, I don't eat meat since I am 13..."

That left the doctor perplex. I was just as shocked because I had always heard that cholesterol was for people who were overweight, or who were older. I was skinny and in my early 20s.

I was eating TOO MUCH cheese.

Anyway. I digress. Back to the tomato in a rice cooker recipe.

So, I saw Mike Chen do it a while ago. Probably last year. And last week, the Cheap Lazy Vegan tried it too. She forgot to take out the core though, so I swore I wouldn't make the same mistake :)

I never have white rice at home (but thinking about it now, I do have sushi rice; I could have used that, damn it!). I have basmati or brown. I felt that basmati was better. Otherwise, the ingredient list is rather short and simple: rice, water, ripe tomato, oil, salt and pepper.

This is what it looked like in the cooker:

And on my plate (I added a little bit of grated vegan cheese, and basil leaves):

My opinion? A little dry. I added some vegan sour cream I had on hand (I know processed...sigh...) and it made it taste better. I don't feel it's a full meal, contrary to what Mike said. I think it could be ok as a side dish if you have a meal that is potentially more juicy.

It's an alternative to white rice.

NOTE: Something I noted uploading the pictures. Is it me or was a few of the basil leaves I have a little too "dark". Were they rotten? Well, too late. I ate it...

Potato and Pumpkin Curry with Basmati Rice (From Skinny Bitch in the Kitch)

Day Two. Lunch time. I am a big fan of Indian or Indian-inspired food, so today I tried the curry recipe from the book Skinny Bitch in the Kitch.

Do they really mean pumpkin? I've only seen people eating pumkin for pumpkin pies. Maybe they mean squash? Like the red kuri squash?

In any case, I had no pumpkin or kuri squash. The recipe said I could substitute the pumpkin with butternut squash. That's what I did. Butternut squash from my freezer, y'all!

First, I prepared the onion and garlic and added it to a pan. The recipe said to use coconut oil, but I rarely use oil when cooking onions and garlic--I just add a little bit of water.

I cooked it a little but because my squash was frozen, I decided to add it there instead of later and specified in the recipe. Turns out, maybe I should have added it later because my squash became very (understand "too") mushy.

Then, I added the stock, can of diced tomatoes, diced potatoes (not of the red variety as asked in the recipe but rather a more common kind), and spices.

Adding the spices so late surprised me. Normally, in Indian cooking, they cook the spices at the beginning in a little bit of oil to release the aroma...

Talking about spices, I had pretty much all the spices on hand apart from the cloves. I used powdered anis instead.

I tasted the sauce a little and it tasted quite good. It was not spicy at all --I suspect the book was written for palates not accustomed to Indian dishes--but it was not bland either.

At that point, I realized I forgot to prepare the rice. Dang! Well, it's basmati rice and it doesn't take super long to cook anyhow. Especially in my rice cooker.

The recipe talks about brown basmati rice. Does that even exist? I know brown rice, and basmati rice... but I never saw brown basmati!

Anyhow.

It took much longer than 15 min for my potatoes to cook. Probably because my stove was on low heat (I was trying to avoid splashes!)

In any case, I think my potatoes absorbed some of the flavor while cooking because when I tasted the mixture again, it was bland. I had to double the spices.

Finally, the recipe said to garnish with parsley or cilantro. Well I had none of that so I used arugula.

Here is the final result:

What did I think of it? Definitely for people not used to cooking for themselves and who are still shy about using spices.

Would I do this again? Maybe a variant with more spices and where my squash wouldn't be so mushy.