My first trip to the Bay Area! Part-1: Liz's Mom's Macro Breakfast

Over the weekend I flew up to the Bay Area to reunite with my best friends from college :)  One flew in from Hong Kong, the other from Pennsylvania, and the other two were from the area (Oakland and Mill Valley).  My next few posts will be all about the amazing eats that I experienced in the Bay Area with reviews, tips, and of course recipes.  You'll see how to navigate eating macroveg through this awesome city with restaurant reviews, hit or miss dishes, tips on where to go and what to see, and how to order to make a vegan dish even more macro.   Because my experience was so expansive I've decided to feature my friends as guest bloggers!  You'll also read their review of some of the restaurants and vegan dishes on the trip, and because most of them are not entirely vegan, you'll see which would be great to have some of your nonveg friends try as well.  So if you live out in the Bay Area or are planning on visiting, you're not gonna want to miss these next few posts ;)

Mixed Barley with seitan, tempeh, kale, kelp, and umeboshi.

My first meal in the Bay Area started off with an amazing home cooked macroveg breakfast from my friend Liz's mom.  According to Liz, they prepared for my visit by stocking the fridge up with delicious seitan, tofu, and 2 different types of tempeh!  They went beyond what I expected, it was amazing :)

Barley with Mushrooms, Onions, and Carrots

1 cup Barley
1/4-1/2 cup dried mushrooms
1/4 cup dried onions
1 cup chopped carrots, 1/4 inch thick

Soak the Barley all day in the rice pot with 2-2.5 cups of water.  That night, reconstitute the mushrooms halfway in some water and add to the pot with the carrots and onions.  Cook and let steam all night.  Serve next morning with an umeboshi plum and some dried seaweed.

Kale with Balsamic Vinegar
According to Liz and her mom, cooking kale with some vinegar will help diffuse the bitterness taste that you usually get from raw kale.  That morning the kale was cooked with balsamic vinegar which give the kale a very rich taste.  Liz also said that you can cook it with any type of vinegar.  I can't wait to try it with ume plum vinegar ;)

Broiled Tempeh and Seitan
Liz's mom sliced the tempeh and seitan, placed them on a pan, then drizzled soy sauce for taste.    The pan was then placed in the oven under the broiler for approximately 5 mins until it was nice and golden brown.  This was a great way to cook tempeh that I have yet to try.  Usually I cook it in a pan, but this really gave the tempeh a different texture and was very easy.  Will definitley be cooking my tempeh like this more often.  The tempeh brand used was Turtle Island Brand and the seitan brand Sweet Earth, both can be found at Whole Foods.

Homemade Umeboshi Plums, Umeboshi Paste, and Dried Kelp
I think I nearly died when I heard that they had homemade umeboshi plums, paste, and dried kelp!  A friend of the family apparently has an umeboshi tree.  All three were amazing and really helped give me the upper that I needed for our big day of SF galavanting.  Just sucking on an umeboshi plum alone will help give you so much energy ;)  Great travel tip:  travel with umeboshi plums!  They help you regain your lost energy.  This was a great way to balance off the yang in the barley as well.  Now if only I could get the details on how to make homemade umeboshi and dried seaweed myself!

I was able to enjoy this breakfast two times during my stay at Liz's house.  I found myself waking up looking forward to this breakfast!  Now I miss it!  Thank you to Liz's mom! for making such an amazing macroveg breakfast.  What made it even better was the company :)

Doesn't get any better than this ;)