The Fairest Feed

Finally, some recipes

2010-05-23T18:18:00.003+10:00

I'm sorry! More cakes from work - they're the only thing I've made lately worth blogging about. Here we have a lemon sponge cake with lemon butter cream and passion fruit icing.

The cake recipe is my standard, no-fuss, easy-to-convert recipe I use practically every shift.

3 cups plain flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup liquid (juice, water, milk)

Mix everything together, pour into two 24" cake tins and bake at 180C for 30 to 45 minutes, or until cake starts to come away from the sides of the tin and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
To make this cake I added the zest and juice of a lemon and used water for the liquid. The filling is icing sugar, lemon essence, Nuttelex and soy milk, and the topping is passion fruit pulp and icing sugar.

This next fellow I'm extremely proud of: gluten free chocolate orange Bundt cake. Look at it, it's gorgeous!

I adapted the chocolate cake recipe from Kittee Kake's Papa Tofu zine.

3 cups flour (to make this gluten free I used a combination of 1 cup buckwheat, 1 1/2 cup rice, 1/2 cup tapioca starch, 1/2 cup soy flour, and added 1/2 tsp guar gum)
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
zest of one orange
2 cups orange juice
1/2 cup plus 2 tbs vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbs apple cider vinegar

Sift the flours, gum, cocoa and baking powder and mix with remaining ingredients. Pour into a greased Bundt tin and bake for 30 to 45 minutes. Make sure to test the cake with a skewer before removing from the oven.
Once cool, I topped this with a really simple chocolate icing made with cocoa, icing sugar and orange juice.

Finally we have a toasted coconut cream cake with passion fruit butter cream (we have a lot of passion fruit to use at the moment...)

This was made using the standard plain cake recipe, with 1/4 cup dessicated coconut added, only 1/3 cup of oil used, 2/3 cups of coconut cream added, and 2/3 of liquid instead of a whole cup. The icing was made using coconut cream, icing sugar, passion fruit pulp, Nuttelex and a little water.

Smoothie

2010-05-23T18:12:00.002+10:00

I've been a little bit smoothie-obsessed lately. It's hardly appropriate weather for a tall icy glass of creamy goodness, but I can't help it. Maybe it's because they cost me next to nothing to make, thanks to my thriftiness stockpiling old bananas in the freezer. Yesterday it was frozen banana and papaya with spelt milk (!? So good!) and chia seeds. Pictured here is one from a few mornings ago - banana and peanut butter with rice milk and chia seeds. I love the way chia seeds go all gooey in liquid, like tiny tapioca pearls. Omega 3 and 6 crunchy goodness! Mmmm...

More work treats

2010-05-09T17:58:00.002+10:00

Seems all I post about now is stuff I've made at work! This time it's Friday's shift:

Gluten free banana blueberry muffins (these were awesome!)

Gluten free orange cake with passionfruit icing (I tried only a few crumbs of this so don't know too much about the tecture, but the orange flavour was really lovely)

Gluten free chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting (again didn't try this, but I think next time it could do with more cocoa). We have a HUGE bucket of organic peanut butter that needs using up so all week at least one treat has featured it. Next week won't be any different I think!

Just another Monday

2010-05-06T16:09:00.002+10:00

Well, it's Thursday now, but these gluten-free peanut butter choc chip brownies were made by me at work on Monday. I'm trying to make most of the things I bake at work gluten-free, and luckily there are a bunch of flours to combine and experiment with. This was my first attempt at gf brownies and they ended up a little dry, but gorgeous - look at that swirly peanut butter!

Damn good cherry pie

2010-05-05T17:41:00.004+10:00

Oh my, am I the worst or what!? Where have I been? Up to my eyeballs in assignments and exams; socialising like a celebrity; sulking because it's getting too dark too early to take nice photos; and generally eating out or really badly and not wanting to let you all know! But here is a little something to let you know I'm still capable of creating nice things in the kitchen: my very first cherry pie.

I followed the recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking, and was pleased at how straightforward it was. For some reason I thought a cherry pie would be really difficult to make, but considering the fruit is ready to use straight out of a jar (I used Morello cherries) there's actually less prep-work needed that an apple or peach pie. I let the filling sit for a little too long, and I think this caused the corn flour to not thicken and dissolve as much as it should have, but this was still pretty amazing. Extremely sweet, but amazing.

The next one I make needs to be served at a Twin Peaks marathon with a whole lot of hot black coffee.

Get pie

2010-04-19T20:27:00.002+10:00

While I was in Brisbane I had the pleasure of spending the day with my lovely friend Chloe. We baked one hell of a berry pie. Oh did I tell you? I'm pie-crazy right now. The recipe came from a slick looking black metal cookbook, but was actually a bit of a shambles. We had to rely on our common sense and superior baking skills, so sadly there isn't really a recipe. I can tell you though that it was freaking amazing.
Blueberry, strawberry, blackberry, raspberry. Hell yes!

Feeding interstate

2010-04-19T19:57:00.007+10:00

Back in Melbourne and it's fridge scraps and frozen food for me. Here's a look at some brighter days from my holiday in Brisbane:
Okinomiyaki by Lena and rice pockets by Alex;

If human blood tasted like this cold-pressed coffee from Black Star cafe in West End I would totally become a creature of the night (hint: it's a little like melted ice-cream, a lot like happiness).

What would a trip to Brisbane be without the traditional stomach-punish at Kuan Yin in the Valley? 'Beef' rib soup, 'chicken' drumsticks, fried 'calamari', and Taiwanese crispy 'chicken' with rice. Sadly one of the meals (not pictured) came with weevils in it, but the staff were super apologetic and comped us two meals.

My last stop was City Wok. In the city. I finally found the amazing dish I had the first time I was there: dry noodle wanton something something. Lena's Singapore noodles were pretty good too.

Peanut butter drop cookies

2010-04-09T11:47:00.003+10:00

I'm a few hours away from jumping on a plane to visit, among others, the gorgeous Lena and Chloe. I should have spent the morning doing a little bit of study but instead I decided to make myself an on-board snack, and thank-you gift to Tim who is kindly driving me all the way to Avalon airport. I felt like a comforting peanut butter treat so adapted my favourite choc-chip cookie recipe (sans chips) by subbing half and a bit of the marg with smooth pb. They turned out really puffy, soft and sweet. To get them a little more cookie-like I squashed them with the back of a spatula when they came out of the oven.

Adapted from this recipe
(sorry it's all by weight and not cup - perhaps someone lovely will convert it for me...)

75g raw sugar
75g brown sugar
35g Nuttelex
50g peanut butter (unsalted)
drop of vanilla extract
1 egg replacer equivalent (1 tsp No-Egg with 2 tbs water, or 1 tbs ground flax seeds with 1/4 cup water)
pinch of salt
175g self-raising flour

Preheat the oven to 160C and line a large tray with baking paper. Cream together the marg, peanut butter and sugars. Add the replacement egg and vanilla and mix well. Stir in the flour and salt. Drop tablespoons of the dough onto the baking tray and bake for 12-15 minutes until just golden. Let the cookies rest on the tray for 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Banana French toast

2010-04-05T14:20:00.004+10:00

Camping was amazing, but it was nice to come back to showers, flushing toilets (with DOORS that LOCK), and super amazing cooked breakfasts. And thanks to daylight savings clicking over in the wee hours of Sunday morning, we got an extra hour of breakfast time! I made myself and Tim some banana French toast using a mashed up squishy banana that came back from camping, blended into enough soymilk to make a runny batter. Four slices of wholemeal bread were dipped in and fried till crispy. We had these with a generous spread of Sophie's damson plum and ginger jam.

Roasted vegetable menagerie

2010-04-02T12:39:00.003+11:00

Lately, with the abundance of organic produce in the house, I've been gorging on huge batches of roasted vegetables for dinner. Here's last night's combination: roasted beetroot, onion, eshallots, garlic, potato, pumpkin, mushroom, zucchini and cherry tomato, with corn cut from the cob, Vegie Deli sage and marjoram sausages, sprinkled with sesame and chia seeds, and served with a huge scoop of my home-made pink pickled cabbage (I could eat a jar of this on its own!). Such a satisfying meal - and the leftovers are coming camping with me this weekend. See ya!

Chocolate beetroot cake

2010-03-22T16:01:00.003+11:00

I don't remember if I mentioned before, but I work as a cake cook at the Wholefoods restaurant at Monash Uni. I'm not exaggerating when I say it's the best job I've ever had, but baking for a living means I don't tend to bake at home any more. It's a shame because I find it a great way to unwind, and I have an amazing commercial oven in my home kitchen, sitting there needing some attention.

Right now, we have a heap of organic beetroot in the fridge from our veggie box. I wanted to incorporate some into a baked treat, so came up with this recipe for chocolate beetroot cake. Luckily chocolate and beetroot work really well together. The beetroot makes the cake really moist, without being dense like a mud cake. I based this recipe on a carrot cake recipe - it would be interesting to see what the cake would look like without the cocoa masking the lovely beetroot colour.

The gorgeous pink you see in the frosting is just a teaspoon of beetroot juice mixed in to a vanilla butter cream. I'll never use artificial food dye again!

1 1/4 cup plus 2 tbs plain flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup rice milk or water
3/4 cup oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup shredded beetroot

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a round cake tin.
If using beetroot frosting, give the shredded beetroot a squeeze over a clean bowl to collect at least 1 tsp of juice.
In a large bowl mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, cocoa and salt. Add the oil, vanilla and milk/water. Mix until just combined. Add the beetroot and mix well. Pour into the tin and bake for about 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Let it rest in the tin for 10 minutes before removing and cooling on a wire rack. When the cake is completely cool, frost it.

Frosting:
1 cup icing sugar
1 tbs non-dairy marg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp beetroot juice

Whip all the ingredients together until light and fluffy. This will give you enough frosting to spread on top of OR in the middle of your cake. If you want to do both, just double the recipe.

Creamy pumpkin pasta, take 2

2010-03-21T15:09:00.003+11:00

Hmm, the photo doesn't really do this dish much justice, but believe me when I say this was one freaking great pasta sauce. Trolling through my archives I rediscovered this amazing creamy pumpkin pasta creation from way back. At the moment we have a ridiculous amount of pumpkin in the fridge, thanks to our organic veggie box from the Moreland Co-op. I was determined to recreate the dish, with a few improvements, such as raw cashews for extra creaminess and rosemary to compliment the sweet pumpkin.

Creamy pumpkin pasta sauce
Serves 4

1 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 1 hour
about 3 cups cooked pumpkin (I boiled mine until tender)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp rosemary
1 tbs fresh chives, chopped
salt and pepper
olive oil
baby spinach
pine nuts, lightly toasted

Drain the cashews and place them in the bowl of your food processor. Blend until fine, then add the pumpkin, garlic, and rosemary and blend. Drizzle in enough oil to make a thick sauce. You can add a little soy milk or water to thin it out a little. Add salt and pepper to taste. In a large pot add sauce to enough cooked pasta for 4 people. Add chives and spinach and stir to heat through. To serve, top with the pine nuts.

Sunshine and blueberries

2010-03-16T20:52:00.002+11:00

Sunday morning's breakfast: Old fashioned Chelsea waffles from Vegan Brunch topped with organic blueberries and banana, and maple syrup. The polenta (cornmeal) in these puppies gives them a little crunch and makes them extra amazing. And if you've never had an organic blueberry, baby you've never lived! Yea Boi!

A good day

2010-03-12T17:09:00.002+11:00

A great hair cut, a new desk, and this for lunch: rice noodles, garlic, broccoli, and cabbage with kimchi dumplings and pickled raddish.

Vegetables with tahini dressing and pickled radish

2010-03-09T14:44:00.004+11:00

This was one arse-kickingly amazing dinner - the kind of meal that makes you think all is right with the world. The tartness of the radish complements the creamyness of the dressing and fresh crunch of the veggies.

You can use whatever veggies you have - I happened to have patty pan squash, zucchini and broccoli that needed using. Serve over rice or soba noodles.

You'll need:
vegetables of your choice, enough for 2 people
1 clove of garlic
oil
Mince the garlic and cut the veggies into chunks. Heat the oil in a pan and add garlic and veg, stir frying until just cooked.

For the sauce you'll need:
2 - 3 tbs tahini
1 tbs rice vinegar
1 tbs olive oil (or water)
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbs dark soy sauce (or tamari)
2 tsp sugar
In a microwave safe glass jar add about 2 tsp of water to the vinegar and sugar. Heat a little and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the remaining ingredients, screw on the lid and shake until all ingredients are uniformly combined. You can thin the sauce out a little if need be by adding a little more water, or thicken it by adding more tahini. Serve over your cooked veg, and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Pickled radishes

2010-03-09T14:25:00.005+11:00

On the same dumpstering expedition that gave me this delicious fruit salad, I salvaged a bunch of slightly withered radishes. There were so many bunches sitting there, but at the time I wasn't sure what I would end up doing with them. In retrospect I should have grabbed them all, because I've recently discovered I'm addicted to:

Pickled radish!

How beautiful are they? And they're so insanely easy to make. When I went searching for a recipe to follow, I had to check a few just to make sure I wasn't being tricked. I didn't really measure out quantities, just added suggested ingredients in quantities I thought would taste nice. This recipe was the most helpful, even though the author opted for quartered radishes rather than sliced.

Basically I started by topping and tailing my radishes (offering my scraps to my housemate's bunnies), then thinly sliced them. In a dry frying pan (i.e. no oil) I toasted about a teaspoon of black mustard seeds and a tablespoon of coriander seeds until fragrant. In a bowl I combined about half a cup of Japanese seasoned rice vinegar with an equal amount of white vinegar, and warmed this slightly in the microwave. Then I added about 4 tablespoons of sugar and one tablespoon of salt, stirring to dissolve completely. I threw the sliced radish in a CLEAN jar with the toasted seeds and poured the vinegar mixture over the top. On went the lid and into the fridge for at least a day.

The colour in the skins leached out and dyed everything a really lovely pink. These are rather tart, and will soften but retain a really pleasant crunch. Serve them on the side of anything, or eat them on their own for a rush.

Pho happy

2010-03-07T19:16:00.005+11:00

There were too many puns to choose from when naming this post. I settled on this one because this is exactly what I felt eating this: happiness. This is my first pho experience and, thanks to Louise who created this incredible meal, I am now completely hooked on the stuff. For those of you who don't know what I'm taking about, pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup eaten pretty much every day, and traditionally made from beef. This version contains a slow-simmered broth of charred garlic, ginger and onion, veggie stock, star anise, ground coriander, cloves, black pepper and chili. Rice noodles sit in the bottom of the bowl, while mushrooms and tofu puffs form the 'meat' portion. Fresh bean shoots, coriander and mint make up the garnish, and lemon juice is squeezed over the top. Holy crap, it's so good!

Free fruit salad

2010-03-05T18:45:00.004+11:00

Yup, everything you see here was free - dumpstered rock melon, mango and papaya (all in AMAZING condition, dressed with mint and lime juice from someones garden. This was my breakfast one morning this week, and I think the fact that it cost me nothing, and most of it was saved from being wasted, made it taste even sweeter. If this fruit was just a fraction of what gets thrown away at ONE supermarket on ONE afternoon, imagine how much food gets wasted in a week; a month; a year. Makes your head hurt, doesn't it?

Radical Grocery cupcake stall

2010-03-02T15:36:00.004+11:00

A couple of posts ago I mentioned that I had settled in to my new house. Lucky for me I now happen to live above the Radical Grocery, Melbourne's only all-vegan fair trade ethical grocery store. It's perfect, a little too perfect really, considering at any time of the day or night I can walk through my living room and buy a Tofutti Cutie or Funky Pie. I've been restraining myself, but I have to admit the situation couldn't be more perfect.

My housemate Anikee, who owns and operates this amazing piece of real estate held a bake stall out the front of the shop during the Sydney Road Street Festival last Sunday. She whipped up six different flavours of cupcakes that not only looked and tasted amazing, but contained fair trade and ethical ingredients. I managed to nab a rosewater and pistachio, and a chocolate peanut butter before they were all sold. Both were simply incredible, and I wouldn't be surprised if a few people come back to the shop asking for more!

Top to bottom: Chocolate peanut butter (with cookies and cream in the background); pistachio rosewater; coconut rough; choc-mint; jam donut

White chocolate raspberry cupcakes

2010-03-01T20:04:00.001+11:00

Look how pretty these are, but silly me has gone and misplaced the recipe. Damn damn damn...

Back!

2010-02-28T01:58:00.003+11:00

Gosh that was a long break, sorry about that! Now my laptop is fixed and I've settled into my new house with plenty of internet you'll be hearing a lot more from me. Check out the awesome stewed fruit from a few posts before, served up on a bed of rice porridge made with coconut milk, drizzled with maple syrup. Divine.

I'm taking a little break

2010-02-21T21:34:00.001+11:00

I am sans internet at the moment but hopefully will resume blogging later in the week. See you then!

One hot afternoon...

2010-02-14T14:24:00.006+11:00

...I made (from left to right) stewed apple and rhubarb, rhubarb cordial, apple sauce, and rhubarb jam.

The stewed fruit consisted of simmering chopped rhubarb and apple with sugar, cinnamon sticks and water until soft and sludgy. The apple sauce was a similar process just without the sugar and spice, and once the fruit was soft I used a stick blender to make it smooth.

The cordial I made following this recipe, adding about 2 stalks of rhubarb (chopped) and a stick of cinnamon to the mix. The jam was a result of saving the rhubarb pulp once the syrup had been strained. The cordial is amazing mixed with soda water, and so simple to make I'm planning some more flavours to make.

Maple pecan loaf

2010-02-10T11:26:00.003+11:00

* I'm eating a piece right now! *

This is yet another recipe adapted from my beloved Vegan on a Shoestring. I was reluctant to try it because it required 1/2 a cup of maple syrup, and that stuff is expensive! But sometimes you just have to spoil yourself - the smell that emanated from the oven during baking was enough to make it worth the cost.

This is a lovely, lightly sweetened dense loaf similar to a banana bread. Filled with crunchy pecans, it's perfect first thing in the morning, warmed a little in the microwave or toaster. And the ground up oats give it a bit of extra fibre and 'health points'. It keeps well too.

1/3 cup oil

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 tbs ground flax seeds, blended into 1/4 cup warm water

3/4 cup rice milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 rolled oats, or oat flour

3/4 cup pecans (or any other nut you fancy)

a little extra maple syrup for drizzling

Preheat the oven to 180C and lightly grease a loaf pan.

Place the rolled oats in the bowl of a food processor and grind to a powder. Skip this stage if using oat flour.

In a large bowl beat the oil and sugar together. Add the syrup, flax liquid, milk, and extract and mix well.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and ground oats. Fold into the wet mixture, then fold in the nuts.

Pour batter into the loaf pan and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until golden and centre is cooked (test with a skewer).

Let the cake cool for 15 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack. Top warm cake with a drizzle of maple syrup.

Vanilla peach jam

2010-02-08T18:22:00.005+11:00

Speaking of peaches - the other day at a nearby greengrocers I found a massive bag of yellow peaches discounted to $1.90. The reason for the discount was the peach skins were a little marked, but when I got them home I found the flesh of every single peach to be in pristine condition. I made a peach cobbler with a few of them, and decided to turn the rest into peach and vanilla jam.

I've made jam once before, and found it to be a lot less traumatic than expected. It doesn't even take that long - two hours at the absolute most. This jam is very sweet and absolutely gorgeous, with a subtle vanilla scent and flavour.

Months and months and months ago I put a vanilla bean in a jar of caster sugar and let it sit, infusing slowly. It makes for a really intense result, plus you can reuse the vanilla bean over and over again. I used this sugar to make the jam, but if you don't have vanilla sugar, you can just use regular caster sugar and leave out the vanilla-ness.

To make the jam you'll need:

1 kg peaches (stoned and quartered before weighing)
700g caster/vanilla sugar
at least 3 medium sized sterilised jam jars*

Place the fruit and 200ml of water in a large pot. Over a low heat, gently cook the fruit for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the fruit softens and releases some of its juice.

Add the sugar and stir until all the sugar has dissolved.

Turn up the heat and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil (this means the jam is boiling so hard you can no longer stir the bubbles down). Cook for about 5 minutes, and skim off any scum that rises. Test for set**.

Once the jam has set, remove it from the heat and pour into hot sterilised jars and seal.

* To sterilise your jars and lids, wash them in hot soapy water and rinse in clean water to remove any suds. DO NOT towel dry or allow anything to touch the jar mouths or insides of the lids. Place the wet jars and lids upside down in a very low oven and allow them to air dry. Keep them hot until you're ready to fill them to prevent cracking.

** Setting Point Test:

Place a couple of saucers in the freezer. To test for a set, take a cold saucer and spoon a little of the jam from the pot onto it. Let it cool for a few seconds, then push your finger through the jam. If you see little wrinkles appear on the jam in front of your finger it is set. If you don't, let it boil for a few more minutes, then repeat the test with another cold plate.

Quinoa and mushroom fillo parcels

2010-02-08T08:45:00.004+11:00

Thank you so much for your comments! I'm really happy I've kept this blog going for so long, and I hope to make at least another 300 posts. Blogging has helped me meet so many amazing people, both on the internet and in real life. It helped me when I moved interstate a couple of years ago, and it's something I'm proud of.

Anyway, down to business. The other day I was inspired by one of my favourite cookbooks, Vegan on a Shoestring, to make fillo pastry parcels. Digging through the cupboards and fridge I managed to gather some veggies, grains and beans (my Holy Trinity) to use as stuffing. These parcels are magnificent, because you can really use your imagination and whatever you happen to have on hand to create all kinds of variations. I'm sharing with you what I did, but by no means feel you have to follow it. Include whatever spices and flavours you like. Hell, even make them sweet with fruits, syrups and chocolate!

Quinoa mushroom fillo parcels

Makes 8

Several hours before you intend on making these, sit your packet of frozen fillo in a warm (but not hot) spot to thaw.

Only ever stuff pastry with filling that is cold or room temperature. Anything warmer and the pastry will go soggy and tear (MEGA frustration).

16 sheets of fillo pastry

1/2 cup quinoa/amaranth

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 zucchini, chopped

1/2 red capsicum, seeded and chopped

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

3 cups chopped mushrooms

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp paprika

Braggs (optional)

salt and pepper

Place the quinoa in a bowl of water and soak for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, bring 3/4 cup water to the boil. Drain the quinoa and add it to the boiling water. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the water is gone and the grains are chewy. Leave covered and allow to sit for 10 minutes.

In a large, deep frying pan, heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and fry over medium heat until soft. Add the zucchini, capsicum and mushrooms and stir-fry until the mushrooms start to brown. Add the quinoa, chickpeas, oregano, paprika, a few dashes of Braggs (if using), and about a 1/4 cup of water. Mix well, cover, and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Remove cover, season with salt and pepper to taste. Turn the heat up and cook off some of the liquid (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Once the mix is cool, preheat the oven to 200C. On a clean work surface, gently unwrap your pastry. Fillo is incredibly delicate so be careful. Separate two sheets of dough and lay them on your surface.

Fold them in half length ways to create a long skinny rectangle.
Place some filling on the bottom left corner, leaving enough room for the corner to be folded up.
Fold corner over to create a little triangle at the end of the rectangle.
Fold triangle over again in the opposite direction. Continue all the way up the rectangle until you are left with one well-wrapped triangle.

(See the diagram for folding instructions.)

From Vegan on a Shoestring

Once all 8 are wrapped, place on a lined baking tray, brush with a little oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional). Bake for 10 - 15 minutes until golden. Yay!

Mmm, waffles! (300th post!)

2010-02-07T10:05:00.004+11:00

This is my 300th post!!! I think that's a bit special. Thanks to every single person who reads this blog. Please leave a comment and let me know who you are. If you have a blog I don't know about, link me!

Xoxo

I finally managed to get my hands on a waffle iron. It may only be temporary, but as long as this appliance is in my kitchen, I'm going to try as many waffle recipes as I can. This morning I used the gingerbread waffle recipe from Vegan Brunch. Vavavoom! At 9am this morning the house was filled with an intoxicating aroma of ginger and brown sugar. The recipe was really straightforward, even for a waffle novice like myself, and made so many there'll be enough for breakfast through the week. I only had half the required (carob) molasses, so I filled the rest of the 1/4 cup with treacle, and it turned out fine. I topped mine with fresh sliced peaches and brown sugar.

Gluten-free choc-chilli cookies

2010-02-03T09:51:00.004+11:00

These make for a soft, chewy cookie that's not too sweet, with a little surprise kick. They freeze well to for emergency snack rations.

Makes about 24

2 cups gluten-free flour*

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup dairy-free margarine/solidified coconut oil

1 cup brown sugar

1 Tbs ground flax seeds, mixed well with 1/4 cup water

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips

*I used Soland Health Foods ready made gluten-free flour mix consisting of corn flour, rice flour and soy flour. I've been told not all gluten-free flour mixes are created equal so you many need to experiment to find one that works for this recipe.

In a medium sized bowl, sift together the first 8 (dry) ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the marg and sugar until fluffy. Mix the vanilla into the flax liquid and whisk into the marg. Using a wooden spoon, fold the dry ingredients into the wet, then add the chocolate chips. Place the dough into the fridge for at least an hour.

After the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 180C. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper or a silicon mat. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto your trays, spacing them 2 inches apart. Flatten slightly, then place ONE tray in the centre of your oven and bake for 10 minutes. While one tray is baking, keep the other in the fridge to prevent the dough from getting too warm. Allow the cookies to cool before removing them from the trays.

El Joyero Market

2010-02-03T09:25:00.004+11:00

I've mentioned before that recently a couple of my friends opened a cafe in Thornbury. On Sunday they held the first of what is to become a monthly market in the courtyard of the cafe. Preparing well in advance, I whipped up a number of treats to sell, and despite the grotesque heat of the day, managed to feed a lot of people and leave with my expenses covered. I also picked up a few great little items, including a vegan baking zine by my friend Sophie.

My table, groaning under the weight of all that food and craft. The day was a little slow going, but there were a steady stream of people, including fellow bloggers Steph, Toby and Kristy, and Cindy and Michael.

I made tomato sauce using Tim's grandmother's recipe. This stuff is like heroin.

Puff pastry parcels filled with roasted pumpkin, cashew ricotta and silverbeet. These I'm particularly proud of, and happy to see sold out early in the day. It was my first attempt at making cashew cheese and, not being able to find a recipe that impressed me, was the result of a little kitchen experimentation. It turned out perfectly - soft, creamy, rich with just the right amount of saltiness. Don't worry, I'll do a separate post on this stuff.

Gluten free chocolate chilli cookies, the recipe in another post, I promise.

Another popular choice - citrus bundt cake with coconut icing. I used the light lemon bundt cake recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking, adding the zest and juice of a lime to the required amount of lemon. The icing was pure genius/shear madness on my part - 2 cups of sifted icing sugar to enough straight coconut cream to make a thick icing, plus a dash of coconut essence. Apart from being heart-stoppingly rich, it set beautifully and withstood the punishing heat of the day.

Not pictured are the tubs of pesto I had for sale. To encourage buyers I had a tub open with a bowl of chips at hand, but ended up being the one eating most of it. I couldn't help it! It was really good!

Keep an ear out for future market days - it was a really lovely was to spend a morning, and there were some impressive hand made and second-hand things for sale.

Two more easy African dishes

2010-01-29T13:38:00.003+11:00

I've bean (teehee!) cooking up a storm this week, using more of the African recipes I pinched out of Lena's cookbook. These two dishes are so ridiculously easy, but even though the ingredients are few, the flavours are mighty. These dishes are filling, nourishing and quick to make, perfect for when you have next to nothing in the cupboard and you want a hearty meal. I served both of these with simple salads and rice, but you could use any grain, flat bread, traditional injera, whatever you fancy.

Shiro Wat (East Africa - peanut stew)

This is pretty moreish, for the peanut fanatics out there. I love how creamy this dish is. Though I hate the phrase, I'm going to say this dish has a lovely 'mouth feel'. The crisp, cold cucumber slices are a lovely contrast to the heavy, rich sauce. The original recipe doesn't include the beans, but I thought I would 'beef' it up with a bit of extra protein and add them.

Serves 2 without beans, 4 with

1 cup peanut butter

2 cups cooked black eyed beans (optional)

4 tbs margarine/oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 tbs tomato paste

1/2 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp paprika

2 1/2 cups water

salt and pepper

Melt the marg/heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pan. Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes until golden. Add the tomato paste, thyme, spices, salt and pepper. Stir well.

Add the peanut butter and enough water to make a smooth, thick sauce. If using, mash the beans a little, then add to the pan. Stir well.

Check the seasoning, heat thoroughly and serve over rice or another grain with cucumber slices.

Wake-ewa (Nigeria - black eyed beans with sauce)

This is a spicy dish with a lovely mix of flavours. The onion retains some of it's crunch, while the beans get unbelievably soft and begin to fall apart. The original recipe called for a whole teaspoon of chili powder, but I feel 1/2 a teaspoon is plenty. I do recommend when it says to stir constantly for 15 minutes you do - it helps everything break down and meld together, and creates a richer sauce.

Serves 4

2 cups black eyed beans, cooked

1 large onion

4 tbs oil

1/2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp ground coriander

3 tomatoes, finely chopped

1 tsp sugar

salt

Cut the onion in half. Grate one half and thinly slice the other. Soften the onion slices in a warm pan with the oil.

In a large bowl, combine the grated onion with the chili, coriander, thyme and tomatoes. Add this to the pan with the cooked onion, and cook gently for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring constantly.

Mash the beans a little, then add them to the pan with the sugar and salt to taste. Mix well and cook for a further 5 to 10 minutes. Serve over rice with a fresh salad.

Asparagus and sun-dried tomato frittata

2010-01-26T15:21:00.003+11:00

This is one from the Tim Files. He recently received Vegan with a Vengeance from his particularly rad Aunt and Uncle for late Christmas. This frittata was the first thing he chose to cook from it. It turned out a little dry, but I have a feeling that may have been due to the tofu - not sure what 'very firm tofu' was, I got the 'hard' stuff. The flavours were still amazing, and I'm super keen to try the many other delicious looking recipes in this book. Has anyone made this before? If so how did it turn out? Do you have any tips?

Odds and ends

2010-01-25T11:09:00.002+11:00

It's amazing what you can come up with in a pinch. Raiding the fridge the other night I found some cooked white beans, basil leaves, and a couple of asparagus spears. A trip to the pantry revealed half a packet of fettucine, garlic, a small handful of walnuts and a lemon. Throw in (very) generous splash of olive oil, some salt and pepper, and the zest and juice of aforementioned lemon and you've got a quick, filling meal perfect for a bit of stomach lining before making a long and arduous journey into the city on a Friday night...

Fzn Fd

2010-01-23T18:52:00.003+11:00

Just before I left my parents' place in Ras Al Khimah Mum took me to Spinney's, a Waitrose spin-off super market. Spinney's is the "Anglo" supermarket in the UAE where you'll find lots of European and American brands and products. I held out a little hope I'd come across Earth Balance there, but alas it was not to be. I did, however, come across a few Amy's frozen food items, including several microwave meals and pizzas. I resisted the urge to fill the trolley up with one of everything, knowing I wouldn't have time to eat it all before leaving. Instead I resigned myself to one frozen bean burrito.

My expectations weren't too high - microwave food NEVER looks the way it does on the packet. I had mine for breakfast the next morning, and was actually pleasantly surprised. It wasn't amazing - not at all comparable to a freshly made burrito from, say, Trippy Taco, but it was tasty, and the filling still resembled veggies and beans. I would have liked the chunks of potato to be replaced with rice, but the tortilla had a nice stretch to it and the filling was thick and saucy.

I'm not a ready-meal kinda gal, but if these were in my local supermarket and not just available online, I but you'd find one or two lurking in the back of my freezer...

Spiced beans in coconut milk (Maharagwe)

2010-01-22T10:27:00.002+11:00

I really love African food. It's so simple and satisfying, yet the combination of a few spices in perfect balance can create something so tasty it blows my mind. Another thing I love about it is that it tends to be really cheap to make.

Just recently I stayed with my darling Lena in her mountain home. In between eating amazing food, watching yawn-some movies and just generally have an incredible time, I riffled through her cookbooks and found some delicious-sounding African recipes. All of them seemed to be a variation on bean stew, but the different spice combinations and extras such as coconut milk or peanuts made each stand out to me.

The first recipe I tried was Maharagwe, or spiced beans in coconut milk. The recipe required very few ingredients, but don't let it's simplicity fool you. This is one amazing stew, and each

flavour has a chance to sing out on your tongue. I used borlotti beans instead of black eye, and served it with quinoa but rice or flat bread will work as well.

Maharagwe

Serves 4

1 onion, chopped

1 cup dry black eyed beans, cooked

3 tomatoes, chopped

1 1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp chili powder

1 tbs fresh coriander, chopped

1 1/2 cups coconut milk

oil

salt

Heat some oil in a heavy pan and add the onion. Cook until soft. Add the beans and partially mash them in the pan. Mix well with the onion. Add the turmeric, chili, salt and half the coriander. Add the tomatoes and pour in the coconut milk. Mix well, cover and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Serve topped with remaining coriander.

Cakehead

2010-01-21T16:48:00.003+11:00

Help a sister out. Gotta have me some of that sweet stuff, tongue candy, chase the baked dragon, you know what I'm talking about?

After almost 2 weeks without cake, I was starting to suffer from withdrawals. Sadly, it seems there are no vegan baked treats easily available in the Middle East - everything containing either honey, labnah, or other dairy products. So when I started to feel those shakes coming on, I marched myself into the kitchen and, armed with my tried and trusted chocolate cake recipe, proceeded to bake myself into cakehead heaven. I filled my creation with mashed raspberries and covered it in a ganache so chocolaty it CRUNCHED when cut. A massive wedge of this accompanied me on my 14 hour plane ride home, and was then smuggled though customs an onto Australian soil.

Don't come between me and my cake, man, or I will cut you.

Nature's candy

2010-01-21T14:43:00.002+11:00

Did I mention I love dates? Look how pretty these date 'truffles' are. Smooshed spiced dates rolled in chopped nuts and sesame seeds, and from the supermarket near my parents' place too!

Jordan

2010-01-17T19:28:00.005+11:00

I never thought I would say this, but I'm a little sick of Middle Eastern food. I know! How could this be? I'll tell you how - I've eaten nothing but for the last week, and there's only so much fattoush and flat bread a girl can handle.

Jordanian food is very similar to Lebanese, with a few subtle differences. Mutabal, a smokey smashed eggplant dip, is favoured over babaganoush. Felafel is really only sold on street corners, rather than restaurants. It's relatively easy for a vegan to get by, if you don't mind meal repeats. I had variations of tabbouleh, fattoush, hummos, and mutabal at every restaurant we ate at, with a few special guests thrown in. Mushrooms roasted with rosemary was my favourite, sour chickpea stew not so much. Zataar (a spice mix of thyme, sesame seeds, burghul and salt) comes on everything, which is fine by me.

Jordan's soil is incredibly fertile, so their fruits and veggies are sensationally fresh and flavourful. Another delight of mine: DATES! Everywhere, dates! Stuffed dates, pitted dates, dried dates, and FRESH dates! I'd never had a fresh date before and my god! It's like plucking cake off a tree! A bag of fresh dates accompanied me through my journeys around Petra and Roman ruins.

I HEART JORDAN!

The best thing

2010-01-17T18:43:00.002+11:00

I've been to the UAE twice now and I still believe the best thing about this place isn't the shopping, or the crazy architecture, or anything else they've set up to lure tourists over. It's something so simple it's been completely overlooked. My favourite thing about this place it that for less than $2 you can get the biggest, freshest, most delicious masala dosa you've ever eaten and still have change for a drink. The UAE is full of amazing little vegetarian Indian restaurants, thanks to the enormous number of foreign labourers employed to keep this country running. In my parent's town alone there at least 3 restaurants to choose from. I'm told the best is Karan's, and after experiencing their dosa the other night I believe it.

There's the standard dosa, plus several specials to choose from. I forget what the one below is called, but it was full of shredded beetroot and carrot, as well as other diced veggies, and was my favourite.

Food here is so cheap I feel a little guilty getting so much for so little. Most things at Karan are vegan, though with any Indian food it's a good idea to check whether it contains yogurt or ghee.

Korean in the Blue Mountains

2010-01-17T18:28:00.003+11:00

I just got back from 5 nights in Jordan, but before I share my Middle Eastern adventure with you, I'll keep updating you on what I got up to at the beginning of the month. After Canberra, we drove up to Sydney and spent a few days in Newcastle before heading over the the Blue Mountains. A second trip to the tiny Korean restaurant on Katoomba St was called for. I had the sweet potato noodles with shredded vegetables and enoki mushrooms. This was delicious - just what I was after - smokey sauce, crisp veggies and chewy noodles.

A few others had the rice sticks in smokey chili sauce. Also good, but not as good as mine I felt.To be honest I prefer flat rice noodles to these thick sticks - I find their texture a little hard to work through. I'm not a huge fan of mochi either, it's a texture thing.

New Year's Day at Au Lac

2010-01-09T16:00:00.005+11:00

Ha ha! Try and you shall succeed! Now that my photos are on the computer, I thought I'd start at the begining of the year, and what better way to ring in the new year than dinner at one of my favourite restaurants in the country. I've sung the praises of Au Lac in Canberra's Chinatown before - they do what could be the best laska I've ever had at a restaurant (I make really good laksa ;), and they really know how to work their mock meat. I haven't been to Au Lac in almost 2 years - 8 hours in a car for a bowl of noodles, no matter how good is a bit much. So when I found out I'd be in our nation's capitol for a Punch house show I got a little excited. It had been a long, hot day in the car, and everyone was in need of a really good meal. We started with 2 orders of mock dumsticks - seasoned soy meat wrapped around sticks of lemon grass served with sweet chili sauce.I got what I always get: Dry pork noodle, served with soup on the side. A bowl of sweet potato noodles the size of my head, raw bean shoots and celery in a rich tomato-based sauce, topped with mock pork, tofu, crispy bean curd twists, crushed peanuts and coriander, and the most flavourful bowl of broth I 've ever encountered. Mmmm ...Tim had the laksa: enormous, hot, creamy soup, 2 types of noodles, mock meats, tofu, bean curd, bean spouts, veggies, peanuts and coriander. The perfect balance of flavours, not too spicy and extremely filling.

As if all that wasn't enough, I thought I'd share a banana fritter in coconut milk. This was probably the weakest part of the meal - the banana was perfection, but I was hoping for a sweetened coconut milk, rather that straight-from-the-can plain. Really though, that's hardly something to get upset over.

Let's hope it's not another 2 years before I get back there ...

Au Lac Vegetarian Vietnamese Restaurant

Shop 4

39 Woolley St

Dickson ACT

Tel: 02 6262 8922

Fair ways away

2010-01-09T15:25:00.002+11:00

Hi everyone! I just thought if anyone was wondering where on earth I had gotten to: I'm in the United Arab Emirates visiting my parents. I had hoped to make posts while here on all the incredible things I eat, but it seems my photos just don't want to upload to this computer, so you and I will have to wait. I'll keep working at it though. I'm here till the 20th of January so there'll be plenty to show you. We're also heading to Jordan for 6 days while here, I'm so excited!

Happy New Year. Xo

New Lentil as Anything in Footscray

2009-12-26T16:17:00.004+11:00

My friend Fjorn's birthday happens to fall on Christmas Eve (I know, poor thing!) so this year a small group of friends made the trip out to Footscray (in the rain) to the new Lentil. The restaurant is brand new, housed in a lovely old bank-type building on Barkly St. Since Fjorn is friends with the head chef there, we received some special treatment including two enormous platters of finger food - spring rolls, samosas, roasted potatoes and felafel - as well as a bottle of wine, baine marie dinner and a specially prepared cake.

After the nibbles we were so stuffed that the buffet didn't get as much attention as it should have, but my plate was still very tasty. Unlike the Abbotsford location, all the vegan dishes are clearly marked. The restaurant is also completely air-conditioned, making it the perfect haven next time we get another scorching day.

The cake, though huge, looked a little unimpressive. In consisted of two thin layers sandwiched together with mandarin slices and sparsely coated with a butter cream. However it was the perfect example of never judging a book by its cover - it turned out to be incredibly moist, just sweet enough with a lovely fresh citrus flavour.

It may have some stiff competition from the Ethiopian eateries in the area, but the new Lentil is definitely worth a visit.

231 Barkly St

Footscray

International snack attack

2009-12-24T14:51:00.004+11:00

As a thank-you for looking after their kitty Button, and because they're just generally really rad and generous people, Toby and Kristy brought me back a care package from their travels to Hong Kong and Europe. They said they tried to pick me up something from each country they visited, and so I present to you:

Tartex mini assorted spreads from Germany
A little stick of vegan chorizo sausage (I'm so curious about this!), also from Germany
Oat cream (!!!) again from Germany - this country is incredible
A s'mores flavoured "women's" energy bar from Hong Kong
A bag of cherry bon bons that taste just like Cherry Ripe, and amazingly these came from the equivalent of a $2 shop!

So thank you T & K!

I'm still alive!!!

2009-12-20T13:52:00.002+11:00

Argh! No internet, eating late, eating tasty but not necessarily pretty things all mean that the blog is starting to look a little neglected. I promise I'll keep updating as often as I can, and thanks for sticking with me. A little taste: blueberry, strawberry and raspberry pancakes with maple syrup, Friday's brunch for myself and my lovely friend Charles.

CWA ain't got nothing on me!

2009-12-13T15:50:00.000+11:00

I could outbake the ladies of the Country Women's Association any day. Just look at what I made for Lentil as Anything on Wednesday:

From front to back: mini coconut cream pies, carrot cake with maple icing, chocolate muffins, vanilla cupcakes, pineapple upside-down cake, chocolate cake, and rich apple cake.

Mushroom risotto balls and Vegan tapas

2009-12-12T15:17:00.003+11:00

Last week, to celebrate the long awaited return of two darling friends who've spent the last few months gallivanting across Eastern Europe, Tim, myself and a few others gathered for a pot luck tapas dinner. Tim made three wonderful dips (hummus, babaganoush and chunky pesto) and bought a gargantuan loaf of bread from La Panella. Lach brought some lovely wines. Alex (one of our hosts, formerly of Vegan Plates blog fame) was worried there wouldn't be enough food, so contributed several inspired and delicious dishes to the table, including:

a trio of marinated veggies;

Lebanese style meat pizza with spiced TVP;

puff pastry squares with caramelised onions;

and crispy dumplings filled with a carrot and sweet potato 'cheese', drizzled with sweet soy sauce.

I made mushroom risotto balls, veganising this recipe. They came together really nicely, though I used too much 'chicken' style stock, resulting in a very realistic chicken flavour that I couldn't really handle. Everyone else thought they were great, and with less stock they would have been perfect.

I served them with a creamy pesto using this recipe - I am completely in love with this sauce!

Mushroom risotto balls

(Makes about 25)

2 tbs olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 clove garlic, crushed

400g mushrooms, finely chopped

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

4 - 6 cups water or stock

1/2 cup nutritional yeast (optional)

1 tbs fresh thyme

1 cup rice flour or breadcrumbs

oil for shallow frying

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook gently until soft (about 10 minutes). Add the bay leaf and mushrooms and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring until the mushrooms are soft. Add the rice and stir to coat the grains in oil. Add a cup of the liquid and stir until it has been absorbed. Continue adding the liquid, cup by cup until it has all been absorbed and the rice is tender. Discard the bay leaf and stir in the thyme, nooch (if using) and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside to cool.

When the risotto is cool enough to handle, use your hands to form golf ball sized balls. Roll them in the flour or breadcrumbs and shallow fry in batches of 3 or 4 until golden. Drain on some paper towel before serving.

I've got my seasons all wrong!

2009-12-06T19:19:00.002+11:00

I can't help it. Instead of supping on salads and Summery food, I keep clinging to comfort classics like this cinnamon-spiced apple cake and denying it's completely out of season. I'm a cool weather dweller, and this pleasant, albeit damp weather has made me very happy. I can bake comfortably, creating this delicious moist cake using the apple cake recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking. And what's even better is that I managed to use up some very sad, very old Golden Delicious apples that would have otherwise ended up in the compost. I also got to use my pretty Bundt cake tin I found in Savers a while ago (it's the same tin I used to make the coconut frosted vanilla cake from earlier in the week).

The recipe was really simple, and though the batter was incredibly thick (the recipe does forewarn you), it baked evenly creating a lovely crisp crust with a dense, moist centre. I think this cake will be long gone before the weather heats up again!

Bit of a shrimp, really

2009-12-05T15:20:00.002+11:00

Most vegans, unless hard core seafood lovers before ditching the death, tend to shy away from mock seafood. I myself find those seaweed wrapped mock fish steaks way too salty and, well, fishy. I do however have a guilty little soft spot for mock tuna, especially in the form of my favourite comfort food - pasta bake, and for some reason am crazy about mock prawns. I should specify - I'm not talking about the spongy, inedible chunks of soy pressed into a prawn-shaped mould and tinted red, like the ones you find at Hamilton Chinese Restaurant. I'm talking about those nifty little inventions that use crunchy turnip and chewy shitake mushrooms to replicate prawn meat, wrapped in a crispy deep-fried bean curd skin like the ones you get at Green Palace in Newtown. They're so satisfying to tuck into. So when I found a packet of these guys at an Asian grocer in Preston a few weeks back I had to have them.

Tim and I ate about 7 each with a simple stir fry and rice to represent some semblance of health.

More Lentil baking

2009-12-03T12:05:00.002+11:00

Not baking with lentils.... but baking for Lentil as Anything. I am now there two mornings a week while on Uni holidays. This week, however, I worked at my (sucky) paying job one extra day so I could only bake yesterday. I made a huge double layer chocolate cake filled with strawberry jam:

A vanilla ring cake with coconut and almond frosting:

And 24 carrot (hehe) cupcakes with maple icing. This icing was divine - just icing sugar, a little Nuttelex, maple (flavoured) syrup and a little soy milk:

I also made a huge tray of brownies, but overcooked them, so they ended up being way too crunchy.

If you hurry to Lentil as Anything at the Convent there may still be some left!

A quiche is a pie with feelings

2009-12-02T14:20:00.003+11:00

I am so in love with these. Classic broccoli quiche and Caramalised Vidalia onion quiche, both from Vegan Brunch. I made these for Tim's sister's 25th birthday dinner last night, and they were so successful only a tiny sliver of the onion quiche remained (out of pure etiquette I assume). I followed the recipes faithfully, using brown onions instead of Vidalia, and was really impressed by the book's caramelising technique. The onions were so sweet and rich in flavour. To save time I used store-bought short-crust pastry (the You'll Love Coles variety is vegan) and it turned out lovely and flakey. I'm really getting attached to this book!

It's been a little quiet on the blog lately - I've got a lot going on at the moment, and am about to move into a house with no internet connection (NIGHTMARE!!!!) but I'll try and keep you all posted on what I'm up too. And of course I'll still be reading all your posts, so keep them coming!

Delizioso spaghetti a casa

2009-11-24T14:18:00.004+11:00

Behold! Last night's dinner. I am so so proud of this dish. It was a case of "What do I have in the house" but turned into so much more. Since the Italians stayed with us I've been taking my friend Fulvio's advice when it comes to pasta - you can never have enough olive oil or salt. It really is so important if you want to make a truly authentic tasting pasta (or salad, or pizza or ...) and since my diet is pretty low in other fatty foods, I feel no qualms glugging on the oil occasionally.

So, onto the specifics: I crammed the food processor bowl full of silverbeet, four cloves of garlic, a handful of raw cashews, a very generous slosh of oil and a good sprinkle of salt. I let that buzz away until fairly smooth, scraping down the sides occasionally. Then I tipped in a can of tomatoes and a few cooked black beans I had leftover and let it rip again. I crisped up some capers in a frying pan with a little oil and set them aside. Then while my spaghetti was cooking I tipped the sauce into the caper pan and allowed it to simmer for about 10 minutes. It changed colour from pale green to a darker murkier colour, and the garlic lost it's raw sharpness. Just before taking it off the heat I stirred in some more salt and a fair sprinkle of nooch. Into the sauce went the pasta, then the capers sprinkled on top. Heavenly! I'm still patting myself on the back.

Chilled out

2009-11-21T10:16:00.003+11:00

My ingenious way to beat the heat: don't cook. Or if you do cook, plan it when the weather is as its coolest. This was my plan of attack with Thursday night's dinner. I wanted to make a cooler, more refreshing version of this meal, and I knew the day was going to be a real gross one so on Wednesday night I did a little sneaky preparation. I cooked the black beans on Wednesday day, and whipped up a batch of basic polenta (1 1/2 cups rice milk/water to 1 cup fine polenta) and spread it in an oiled tray to set. Then on Thursday day I threw 3 tomatoes, one green banana chili, 1/4 of a red capsicum, the juice of half a lime, about 1 1/2 cups chopped coriander, salt and a little water into the food processor until fairly smooth. This made for an incredible, fresh zingy salsa. I chilled that in the fridge until it was time to eat. I cubed the polenta, sprinkled over the beans, spooned loads of salsa on top, and to finish - chopped cucumber, avocado, more coriander and lime. After shoveling down a bowl full of this I felt so fresh, cool and revitalised. Yay food again!

The saga continues

2009-11-19T15:41:00.003+11:00

It's too hot. Too damn hot. When it gets this hot I:

a) get grumpy, lazy and sweaty (gross);

b) believe the world is actually out to get me and cannot believe everyone else is able to function normally (thus increasing aforementioned grumpiness); and

c) don't really feel like eating.

Essentially, the heat turns me into another being. Evil Pip, Bizarro Pip, Summer Pip, call her what you will, she's just not me. That explains my recent lack of posting. I just haven't been eating anything, let alone anything blog-worthy. Unfortunately this hasn't done my health much good. A nasty cough and sinus infection have been keeping me up at night, so I've made an effort to eat at least one really good meal a day, usually dinner. I load my plate up with veggies, complete proteins and any other vitamins I can squeeze on there.

This was last night's effort: bean burgers using the Black bean burger recipe from *my favourite* Veganomicon, on wholemeal La Panella buns with sauteed veggies in a coriander dressing. Not too heavy, the veggies were still a little crunchy, and the dressing was nice an tart from the juice of a lemon. The burger patties, on the other hand, were pretty disappointing. But then again, what a surprise! I subbed borlotti beans for the black beans, but for everything else I followed the recipe exactly. I was left with a pretty bland bunch of burgers that had a slightly off-putting, gag-inducing stringy chewiness to them thanks to the gluten flour. Anyone else have this trouble? Tim said he liked them, and once in the burger with some dressing and tomato relish they were passable, but I won't be making this recipe again. There was no mention of any seasoning, which I think they needed, and the chewiness was really unpleasant. Tonight's dinner will be much better, trust me!

My aid in staying sane - icy cool water with a whole lot of lime.

ABR (Another brownie recipe)

2009-11-12T08:14:00.004+11:00

I'm back! I'm sad and missing my guests, but I'm getting by. I've already started planning my trip to Italy for next year! Just before they arrived (and the weather began to slowly and painfully assassinate me) I made these brownies from a recipe I've had hanging around for eons. I tore it out of a Tescos 'vegetarian special' catalogue I had for some reason back when I first started baking vegan. I always wanted to make them but was put off for some reason. I guess because they required a few fiddly steps like simmering dates. It's true you'll find yourself using more bowls than is usually required when making brownies, but these make for a really lovely, naturally sweetened slice perfect just out of the fridge. I may be devoted to this recipe from Bread & Honey, but it's always nice to have a choice.

Makes about 16 brownies

225g stoned dates

125g dairy-free marg

1 tbs ground flax seeds mixed with 3 tbs warm water

1 very ripe banana (extra black and squishy, please)

1 tsp vanilla extract

125g chocolate chips

75g plain flour, mixed with:

2 tsp baking powder

Put dates in a saucepan and add just enough water to cover. Simmer over a low heat for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 180C and line a 11x7" baking pan with greaseproof paper.

Melt the chocolate by placing it in a bowl that fits snugly into a saucepan containing a little simmering water. Continue simmering and stirring until melted, but take care not to get any water in the chocolate as it will ruin. Set aside to cool a little.

In a large bowl, beat together the dates and marg with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the banana, flax mixture and vanilla and mix well. Add the chocolate, then fold in the flour using a metal spoon. Pour batter into pan and bake for 35-40 minutes until fairly firm. Allow to cool before slicing and serving.

Stacked in our favour

2009-11-07T17:09:00.003+11:00

Anyone else think my titles are becoming just a little too punny? No? Well never mind then. This glorious, colourful mountain of yum was dinner for Tim and I a few nights ago. Black beans stewed with onion, garlic, red and green capsicum, coriander and a little cumin, sprinkled with sprouted lentils, nacho Cheezly ($5 from World Vegan Day!) and fresh coriander. All this on top of baked polenta squares. But wait - there's more! I sprinkled grated Cheezly on the polenta BEFORE baking it, thus "nachofying" it (it's a scientific term I created. I can do that because I'm a scientist*). Oh yeah.

You probably won't be hearing from me for a few days. I have five Italian gentlemen staying with me, but you can see it all from here.

*Scientist in training. Not really though.

Avoiding "Cup Fever"

2009-11-05T18:15:00.003+11:00

One pot luck down, one more to post. On Tuesday (aka Melbourne Cup Day, aka State Sanctioned Animal Cruelty Day) Tim and I attended a house warming gathering for our friends Kirk and Chad. They, along with Chad's sweetheart Rotweiler Raga, have just moved in with Emily and her Staffy Dallas. I took along a broccoli quiche made with broccoli from our garden. I used the recipe from Vegan Brunch (I'm powering through that book!), as I was so impressed with the caramelised onion version Kristy made the night before. The quiche had a really lovely texture - nice and firm whilst still being creamy. The inclusion of raw cashews added a subtle nuttiness to the filling. I had enough filling and pastry dough left over to make two mini quiches, that Tim and I will be enjoying later this week.

Tim made a batch of chocolate crackles, using coconut oil instead of Copha. It gave them a much lighter texture and a cleaner taste.

Kristy made oven-baked wontons filled with Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese, spinach and chives. These were delicious, the Tofutti tasted so much like ricotta!

Emily made a big boozy punch filled with fresh fruit, which I helped myself to all afternoon. She also fired up the barbecue, serving marinated tempeh, soy sausages, tofu and gigantic field mushrooms.

Bec made an amazing, creamy chocolate ripple cake that tasted a lot like a Vienetta ice cream cake.

Kirk made blueberry coconut muffins, with the biggest blueberries I have ever seen.

Craig brought a big mushroomy chili with Mountain bread on the side for dippin'.

There were a few other dishes which I failed to photograph, including a beautiful purple salad and some barbecued chili fruit kebabs from Jo, but this pasta salad was definitely a highlight for me. For years the taste and smell of dill has made my stomach turn, yet I found this creamy dish full of crunchy veggies irresistible. I think I helped myself to 4 or 5 serves of this!

I also brought along some homemade dog biscuits for the pooches, but that's another post.

Salicylate-free pot luck + white bean, caramelised onion and asparagus tart

2009-11-05T09:19:00.010+11:00

What is up with that title? Never mind that it's too long - what the hell is a salicylate? Salicylic acid is a naturally occurring plant hormone that is found in a lot of fruits, vegetables and processed food. Some people have a sensitivity to salicylic acid. Reactions can vary from mild to extremely severe. There's a fair few recipes and websites on the internet for people with salicylic acid sensitivities, but as a few Melbourne vegan found out recently, not only are most painfully boring and bland (most spices contain the acid) but an alarming number of them suggest things like boiled chicken (ick!).

On Monday night Craig and Bec hosted a dual-purpose pot luck - to christen their new home and to create a bunch of tasty recipes for Bec's brother James who has a salicylate intolerance. All pot luck attendees were given a copy of a spread sheet James had devised listing the foods that were acceptable, those that could be used in small amounts, and those that were completely out. Many of us were amazed at the number of things James couldn't eat. All fruits except bananas and peeled pears were out; no citrus; no tomatoes, capsicum, basil, olive oil, eggplant, zucchini... Thankfully, legumes, most beans, tofu, garlic and onion were ok, so many of us had a starting point.

When I read the list I immediately starting forming a recipe in my head. Several alterations later and I came up with this:

White bean, caramelised onion and asparagus tart

pastry for one pie crust (recipe to follow)
3 cups cooked canellini beans
1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked in water
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 onion, sliced very thinly
1 cup chopped chives
8 stalks asparagus, tough ends removed
4 tbs plus 2 tsp rice bran oil
3 tsp malt vinegar
salt to taste

Chop the asparagus spears into little chunks. Heat 1 tsp of oil in a fry pan over medium hear. Add half the garlic and the asparagus and saute until the asparagus is tender. Remove from the pan and set aside to cool.
Heat another tsp of oil in the same pan and add the onions. Cook, stirring frequently, until golden and caramelised. Set aside to cool.
In a food processor blend the asparagus, chives, and the rest of the garlic with 3 tbs oil, 1 tsp malt vinegar and 2 tsp salt until relatively smooth. Scoop into a large bowl. Place the cashews in the food processor and blend until they resemble coarse crumbs. Add the beans, 1/3 cup water, 2 tsp malt vinegar and salt to taste and blend until smooth. Add the onions and blend briefly until combined.
Add the bean mix to the asparagus and fold together.
Preheat the oven to 180C.

Take dough out of the fridge and roll out on a floured surface into a circle 2" larger than your pie dish. Flip the dough into the dish and gently ease it into the corners. Trim the excess. Try not to stretch the dough too much to prevent it shrinking.
Fill the pie shell with the filling and bake for 35-40 minutes or until it starts to brown around the edges.

Shortcrust pastry
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup marg
pinch of salt
ice water
Place the flour and salt into a large bowl. Add the marg in chunks. With a plastic spatula or pastry knife, cut the marg into the flour (like a chopping motion) until the mix resembles coarse crumbs. Add the water a little at a time, folding it in until the pastry comes together into a ball. DON'T add too much water. Wrap it in cling wrap or baking paper and place in the fridge for at least 45 minutes.

Try to keep the dough and your utensils as cold as possible for flakier pastry.

And what did everyone else make? Tim put together a pear pie, using the apple pie recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking (minus the cinnamon and nutmeg).

James made "white man sushi" - Mountain bread filled with rice and other goodies.

Kristy and Toby made a caramelised onion quiche adapted from Vegan Brunch, and fudgecicles that I went mad for - I'm making these soon!

Cindy made an amazing pasta bake (I'm a bit of a sucker for these) using chickpeas and cashews as a base.

Craig made a giant pasty filled with roasted veg, and a nut slice slathered in cashew butter and maple syrup.

Danni and Steph brought a pasta salad with a creamy parsley dressing, and a sweet semolina halva pudding.

Bec's "failed" attempt at pasta sauce resulted in a rather tasty casserole baked over rice, and she made a saffron dahl.

Emily didn't stay for long, but she brought chocolate cookies.

James and Bec's sister brought a banana bread.

For more Salicylate-free recipes, check out this site.

Life's little miracles

2009-11-04T16:21:00.004+11:00

Eggless omelets, thanks to Vegan Brunch, stuffed with sauteed silverbeet from the garden and a side of white beans. I'm really enjoying this book. I just wish my cast-iron pan was a little more seasoned so they don't stick as much. All in good time I guess.

White beans

1 can canellini beans

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp fresh rosemary

salt and pepper

Heat a bit of oil in a fry pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and rosemary and stir. Without draining the liquid, empty the entire contents of the can into the pan. Mix into the garlic and rosemary and allow everything to simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid is gone and the beans start to break down. Season with salt and pepper, and serve with a splash of lemon juice.

Dressed up as a chicken, but it's not

2009-11-04T09:00:00.003+11:00

I'm so behind on posting! There's still two pot lucks to share, plus a whole heap of baking. But first this is dinner from Halloween Night. Before heading out to a house show, I made mock chicken and a big veggie stir fry for Tim, myself and our friend Matt. The mock chicken was from a recipe I've been itching to try from the beautiful blog Chow Vegan. It involves the technique of layering thin sheets of bean curd, or yuba, that have been soaked in sauce and rolling them into a log that is then steamed and sliced. Usually this dish is served cold. I often see it as mock duck on the menu of dumpling houses I go to. The end result is very chewy, toothsome and satisfying. Not much like chicken at all, it's one of my favourite forms of mock meat. Chow Vegan's recipe featured a filling of fried shitake mushrooms for even more texture and juiciness.

I had a minor drama in that all my sheets, which are extremely delicate when dry, had crumbled. I ended up just dumping them all into a tray with the marinade and squashing them flat as best I could. Then I topped it with the mushrooms and just sort of folded and squished it all together, squeezing out as much marinade as I could. I cut the long roll in half to fit in my bamboo steamer, and was really delighted with how it firmed up and held together. I could even slice it!

I went to the party dresses as Margaret Lanterman, the log lady from Twin Peaks. What did you do?

Tinh Tam Chay in St Albans

2009-11-03T16:39:00.004+11:00

I'm not the first to blog about this little gem, but I wanted to share the amazing meals we had at Tinh Tam Chay. This little vegetarian Vietnamese restaurant is located way out in St Albans, but is well worth the trip. Meals are ridiculously affordable, portion sizes are ample, ingredients are fresh and flavorful, and the staff are attentive and extremely friendly. Almost everything on the menu is vegan with the exception of some egg noodle dishes and desserts, but if you have any concerns, the staff are very happy to accommodate.

I went on Friday with Kristy, Steph, Danni, SJ, and a few others. It's well worth getting a big group together and car-pooling. The distance may seem daunting, but I felt, despite getting lost, it didn't take too long to get there (granted I wasn't the one behind the wheel). Alternatively, the restaurant is very close to the train station. Based on Michael's review I chose the Bun Bi Suon Chay - a giant bowl of rice noodles sitting on top of shredded lettuce, coriander, Vietnamese mint and bean shoots, served with crushed peanuts, crispy mock pork and shredded tofu. I had been dreaming about this dish all day, and at $8.50 the real thing did not disappoint. It reminded me a lot of my favourite dish from Canberra's Au Lac

Make sure you mix it up to evenly distribute this dish's awesomeness.

Kristy had the Com Ga Chien Don ($8.50) - crispy 'chicken' with rice. The owner suggested the option of having the rice stir-fried with a little tomato sauce and leek, which Kristy eagerly accepted. I really enjoyed this dish - the chicken was flavorful and the rice was subtle.

Erin ordered the Mi Hoanh Thanh ($8.50) or wonton noodle soup. I didn't try this one, and though whilst looking rather lovely I think it may have lacked a little flavour.

Of the dishes the rest of the group ordered, the Hu Tieu Xao Mem ($10) - a dish of smokey charred flat rice noodles with veggies, mushrooms and tofu in a thick gravy. I'm getting this the next time I go!

Tinh Tam Chay

13 Alfrieda St

St Albans

Tel. 93663952

Big bowl of Happy

2009-11-02T16:17:00.004+11:00

I was a little overwhelmed by the Melbourne World Vegan Day celebrations yesterday at The Convent, and forgot to take pictures. I did manage to part with a lot of cash in a very short amount of time, and meet up with some faces familiar and new (it was really nice to meet you Tahn!). I had a good time chatting to people, but I was a little disappointed with the hot food that was on offer, and the amount stalls were charging for it. $8 for a pissy little plate of felafel and the most garlicky salad I've ever encountered was just not good enough. I'm glad I went though, mostly because I rode on my own from Coburb to Abbotsford on a really nice day. It reminded me how much I love riding and how little I actually do it.

Anyway, now that VeganMoFo is over, I thought I'd keep up the momentum and share with you this incredible, rich and satisfying Bolognese I made a few nights ago. TVP and green lentils make up the 'meat', while carrots, zucchini and silverbeet give it some vitamins. A very generous splash of red wine helped to make it very rich. I topped it off with sprinkle of 'parmasalmond' (ground almonds, nooch, salt and sesame seeds).

What did you think of World Vegan Day?

Good-bye VeganMoFo

2009-11-02T15:58:00.000+11:00

See you again next year.

Pretty as a peach

2009-10-31T10:13:00.003+11:00

How great am I!? Look at this beautiful thing! When it came out of the oven I couldn't stop staring at it. I was in love with my creation. A white peach pie, using the peach pie recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking. It smelled heavenly, and the tart, slightly over ripe white peaches I bought for $2 a kilo melded well with the brown sugar sprinkle to create a sweet, tangy, gooey filling.

The pastry recipe came from Papa Tofu zine, though I used coconut oil (solidified) instead of margarine (Nuttelex). I wasn't sure if it would work, and I think I over-worked it, but it ended up being crisp and flaky.

The pie dish is a newly acquired find from Savers.

El Joyero in Thornbury

2009-10-30T08:36:00.004+11:00

My friends Ollie and Christina have just opened up a gorgeous little cafe in Thornbury on High St. It's been open since Monday, and so far I've been there twice to drink incredible coffee, heavenly tea, and nosh on outstanding snacks.

The cafe is housed in an ex-jewelry shop (El Joyero means 'the jeweler'), and is situated just city-side of the High St/Plenty Rd split, next to the pharmacy/post office. The beans are from St Ali, and both Ollie and Chrissie are skilled at creating an exceptional brew. All soy is Bonsoy, white coffees are $3.50, black $3. There's very little competition in that area for a great cup of coffee, but if you need a bit more encouragement to check it out, the small but impressive menu is completely vegetarian, with most dishes being veganisable. Chrissie also bakes cupcakes and vegan muffins.

I had the roasted eggplant sandwich - house roasted, creamy salty eggplant with avocado, tomato, homemade hummus and rocket on crusty bread. It was huge, and a bit of a challenge to eat whole, but so flavoursome, I immediately wanted another!

El Joyero also doubles as a venue, with a show set for Italian band La Quiete Sunday the 8th of November. The cafe also sells records, books, and other handmade goods. A lot of work has been put into getting this place up and running, so I really hope they do well. I'll be a regular for sure, but if you're in the area and are craving a really good coffee, stop in and sit a while.

So far opening hours are up in the air, but they'll be open this weekend from 10 till 2, and then weekdays 8ish till 5ish.

El Joyero

923 High St

Thornbury

Coffee hazelnut scrolls

2009-10-29T16:11:00.002+11:00

I made these the other day using a recipe I adapted from a food magazine. These aren't yeast activated, so aren't soft and fluffy like your average cinnamon scroll, but they're still pretty tasty and really quick and simple to make. More like a rolled scone, these are perfect for when you don't have the time to wait for dough to rise. Topped off with a generous layer of coffee glaze, these are a great afternoon treat (or a really naughty breakfast).

Makes 6 - 8 scrolls

1 tbs strong coffee, cold

3 tbs plus 2 1/2 tsp Nuttelex

1/4 cup brown sugar, tightly packed

1 3/4 cup self-raising flour

1 tbs caster sugar

2/3 cup soy/rice milk

1/2 cup hazelnuts (or other nut, or dates), chopped small

Preheat the oven to 180C and line a deep baking tray or cake pan.

Beat the brown sugar with 2 tbs Nuttelex until smooth. While beating, slowly drizzle in the coffee. Set aside.

In a large bowl, rub the flour, caster sugar and remaining Nuttelex with your hands until it resembles coarse wet sand. Add the milk to form a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a clean floured surface and knead gently until a smooth dough forms. Don't over-knead as this will make the scrolls tough. Roll out the dough to the size of an A4 sheet of paper. Spread the sugar/coffee mixture over the dough, leaving a 1/2 cm border. Sprinkle with the nuts, and roll the dough from one long end to the other. Cut across into even pieces and place cut side up on the tray, packing the rolls next to each other.

Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly in the tray before glazing.

Coffee glaze

1 tsp strong coffee, cold

1/3 cup icing sugar

Mix the two together and drizzle over the scrolls. Serve warm.

Tuesdays are the best!

2009-10-29T08:51:00.003+11:00

This was how I spent my Tuesday morning.

Vanilla cupcakes with citrus buttercream

'Jam donut' cupcakes - vanilla cupcakes filled with jam, with a cinnamon glaze

Mini brownies (using this recipe)

Chocolate cake with Mocha/date filling and ganache

All this was sent to the Abbotsford Lentil as Anything on Tuesday afternoon. Not bad for my second day there, huh? This time I came armed with my own recipes and some utensils from home, and felt much more comfortable in the big canteen kitchen. I was so happy with myself, I was practically vibrating with energy. In fact, after catching up with a friends over coffee (probably didn't need any more stimulation) I went home and made a white peach pie (post to come) and 24 more cupcakes. Unstoppable!

Pseudo grains are super heroes

2009-10-28T18:30:00.002+11:00

I love the term 'pseudo grain'. It sounds so sinister, like an impostor cereal. The term refers to cereal grains that aren't members of the grass family, the most common being amaranth, quinoa, and buckwheat. Not only are these pseudo grains ridiculously good for you and FULL of protein, but the two former in particular are so satisfying to eat. These grains transform into beautiful jewels upon cooking, and are chewy and surprisingly filling. I really don't cook these often enough, mostly because of the cost, but when I do, boy howdy I enjoy myself!

This was dinner from a couple of nights ago. Amaranth and quinoa with roasted zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, red capsicum and garlic, topped with toasted flaked almonds and parsley. My mouth's watering just thinking about it...

Soy cream is here!

2009-10-28T07:49:00.004+11:00

** As a late edit, it was pointed out to me (I'm so blind I didn't even notice!) that this is made by Nestle, which is a pretty evil corporation. I'm going to keep this post up, but I've since revoked my endorsement. Buyer beware. The product itself is good. The company sucks balls and kills babies (no joke).**

Have you seen this in your supermarket yet?

Woolworths have started stocking a vegan alternative to evaporated milk. It's unsweetened, has the consistency of single cream, and I'm sure it can be used as a replacement for the illusive 'soy creamer' that appears in so many American recipes. A friend told me about it while I was in Newcastle recently and, if you'll pardon my French, I lost my shit! I was so excited to find such a cheap product. Sure I don't really need any more soy in my life, but it's just handy to have something like this in the cupboard for emergencies. Well, that's what I told myself when I bought 5 cans of this stuff. So far I'm impressed with its application.

I used a can the other night to make a super fast creamy pasta sauce with Spring veggies. Olive oil, garlic, asparagus, broccoli from the garden, and a few sliced mushrooms went in, with salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, and a can of Carnation Soy. That was it, and the result was a creamy, yet light, flavoursome sauce that coated the pasta well. The leftovers were even more delicious the next day! I hope this product sticks around.

For the dogs

2009-10-27T16:41:00.002+11:00

Another Tuesday, another day of baking. I'm exhausted but exceedingly happy with my efforts. I'll share the people treats a little later on, but first I thought I'd show you a recipe I came up with for Suzie, my 13 year old cocker spaniel/poodle/old lady/garbage breath. These cookies are full of protein and fibre, and if you can find unsweetened carob, they're also sugar free.

Double carob peanut cookies (for dogs)

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup chick pea (besan/gram) flour

1/2 cup self raising flour

1/4 cup carob powder

2 tbs sugar-free carob, chopped into small chunks

2 tbs raw, unsalted peanuts, chopped

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbs oil (flax seed, olive, sunflower)

1 tbs ground flax seeds mixed with 6 tbs warm water

Preheat the oven to 180C and line a baking tray. In a large bowl combine all the ingredients to form a smooth dough. If it's too dry add a bit more water. Roll dough into balls (teaspoon sized for small dogs, tablespoon for medium to large. ) and place on tray. Flatten to form discs and bake for 15 - 20 minutes. The longer you bake them for the crunchier they'll get. Store in an airtight container, and feed to your dog sparingly, as a special treat.

You can use 2 tablespoons of peanut butter in place of the oil and chopped peanuts.

For more homemade vegan dog treats, check here.

Chai cake of loveliness

2009-10-26T07:54:00.005+11:00

I made this little heart-shaped cake the other morning whilst trying to avoid doing assignments. Procrastibaking is the technical term for such behaviour. The recipe needs some serious work (I got it from a zine, and I think some ingredients may have been left out...) which meant it stuck to the tin. It was still soft and sweet with a warming, comforting homemade chai flavour. And look how pretty it is!

The recipe requires you make a fresh batch of stove-top chai, so here's how to make enough chai for two.

1 stick cinnamon

10 cardamon pods

10 cloves

1 1" piece of ginger

1 black tea bag

1/2 cup soy/rice milk

In a small pot, add the first four ingredients to 1 cup of water and bring to the boil. Let it simmer for about 4 minutes before adding the milk and tea bag. Continue simmering for another 4 minutes. Remove from heat, strain and serve.

Are you a procrastibaker too?

Busy, too busy!

2009-10-25T18:34:00.003+11:00

I've got a lot of catching up to do. This weekend has at the same time flown by and gone on forever. Some parts were a little too eventful (Michael, I hope you're OK with two fractured elbows!) while others felt just right (Lisa, your birthday drinks were a hoot, and thank you for introducing me to a wonderful new bar in my area). I'm having an early night tonight so I'll keep this brief, but a quick picture of my lunch the other day - leftovers from dinner the night before. Beetroot leaf saag (made here), with a tiny bit of red lentil dahl, served over Indian spiced fried rice.

The rice was just something I threw together but I'm very happy with how it turned out. I started by frying some black mustard seeds and crushed coriander seeds in a little oil, then chucked in chopped garlic and ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, garam masala and cumin. In went the rice with some frozen peas, fresh shredded snow peas and sprouted chickpeas. I sprouted the peas myself, something I've never done before. It was so easy and delightful to watch them grow, I'll be doing it a lot I bet. Enjoy what's left of your Sunday.

Babaganoush and homemade chips (kinda)

2009-10-22T09:47:00.002+11:00

A quick snack from the other day. I picked up a bag of three big eggplants for 99c so roasted two with some garlic. Then, into the food processor, skin and all, with a huge slosh of tahini, lemon juice, water and salt. The chips are only kinda homemade because I used two sheets of corn Mountain Bread, cut into triangles. I toasted the triangles without any oil, in my brand new, heavy as hell, cast-iron skillet (LOVE!!!).

2021: the future!

2009-10-21T09:51:00.003+11:00

Chickpea and coriander casserole with brown rice, sautéed silverbeet, garlic and chili, and snowpeas. There's a whole bunch of coriander in the casserole, and I cooked it in the oven in our glorious cast iron pot with lid. If you're ever in the mood to buy me a present and make me giddy, make it cast iron! This is dinner from a couple of nights ago. Mitch came over on a particularly chilly night and me watched Johnny Mnemonic and drank James Squires amber ales.

Thanks so much for your comments from the previous post. I've already started collecting some recipes and will be trying them through the week. So, if you're in the neighborhood stop by for cake!

Dream come true

2009-10-20T15:20:00.004+11:00

I'm so stoked, I'm practically walking on air! Today was my first day volunteering at Lentil as Anything. I spent the morning at the Collingwood College campus using their cafeteria kitchen, baking things for the Abbotsford restaurant. I was a little restricted by the recipes they had, so I'm going to compile a set of simple, delicious recipes to use next week. Everything I made was vegan (of course!) and though they may not look pretty, I think they tasted good.

I made a batch of large batch and mini batch of chocolate chocolate chip muffins with strawberry jam glaze, a batch of chocolate chip date cookies and a gluten-free strawberry coconut slice, which I forgot to take a photo of. It was amazing getting to use an industrial oven and kitchen space. I'll be spending more time there once classes finish. This is really a dream come true for me because more and more I feel like I want to be baking and cooking as a career. So if you're heading out to eat tonight or tomorrow, stop in at the Convent and try my goodies!

U.S.Hey!

2009-10-19T14:54:00.006+11:00

I mentioned in the last post that Tim and I went to an American themed pot luck at a friends place to bid farewell to a pal of ours who will be spending the next four months traveling around the States. I was a little pressed for time but I managed to make a huge batch of roll-out cookies, lightly spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg. I used the sugar cookie recipe from the Vegan Family Cookbook, adding the spices in with the dry ingredients, and the flavours came through really well.

Remember when I bought 100 cookie cutters in Balaclava? One of those 100 was in the shape of the good ol' USA, and when I finally worked out what it was I thought "When the F**K am I ever going to use this?" Well, today was the day, proving my dad was right: you should never throw anything away! I also decided to make some pentagrams because I'm totally subversive and thought I'd subtly draw parallels between America and Satan (but really, I just thought it would be funny). I iced them using the Royal icing recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking.

I used Wilton food colouring paste. Does anyone know why the colours ran so badly and how to prevent this from happening?

Hail Seitan

Tim made teeny tiny sloppy joes using TVP and buns from La Panella. 20 mini buns for $4! That place is insane!!!

Other treats on offer included popcorn, chilli dogs, 'meatloaf', cupcakes, oreos, corn chips and guacamole, and most amazingly of all: Dr Pepper slushees!

Twice toasted granola

2009-10-17T10:43:00.006+11:00

I present to you, twice-toasted granola!

This batch of crunchy, toasted goodness has been greeting me every morning and making for a really tasty breakfast that never gets dull. There is a bit of sugar and oil in this, but I combat that by mixing in 1:3 granola to plain puffed cereal (white and brown rice, buckwheat, millet and amaranth. It cuts through the sweetness and isn't too rich first thing in the morning.

The reason it's twice toasted was a bit of an accident, but I think it added a little bit more flavour and crunch. If you like you can skip the first toasting and just add the sugar and oil straight away to save time.

Makes enough for a week of breakfasts for 2

3 cups rolled oats

2/3 cup puffed cereal

1/2 cup mixed nuts and seeds (hazelnut, pecan, walnut, peanut, almonds, pepitas, sunflower seeds)

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup coconut oil

1 cup dried fruit (goji berries, dates, raisins, currants)

Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a tray with baking paper or silicone baking sheet*. Mix all the oats, cereal, nuts, seeds and spices and spread thinly and evenly across the tray. You may need two baking trays - the mix needs to be spread thinly to toast evenly.

Pop the tray in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes or until things start to brown. Don't over-toast as you'll be putting it back in the oven later.

Remove from the oven and let the mix cool on the tray. Melt the coconut oil in the microwave or on the stove. In a large bowl mix the oil with the brown sugar. Stir in the cool granola mix. Transfer the mix back to the tray and bake again for another 15-20 minutes, until golden and crunchy. Remove from the oven, stir in the dried fruit and allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

*If you don't already have a silicone baking sheet you should get one - they're reusable, and can also double as a non-stick surface for rolling out cookies and pastry

Gluten free muesli bars

2009-10-15T08:05:00.002+11:00

In my pantry I have so many jars and tubs of dried fruit, seeds and nuts sitting around. I'm actually running out of room, so when I saw this recipe on Finnish blog Tofu for Two, I thought "Yes! Perfect, I'll make them straight away!". Three weeks later I finally tied myself to the kitchen table and whipped up my own version based on their Zesty Berry Pistachio Bars.

I replaced the oats with a combination of puffed white and brown rice, buckwheat, and millet to make them gluten free, and swapped the puffed quinoa for amaranth. I left out the dried cranberries as I didn't have any, and used currants instead. I replaced the mango sauce with orange juice and left out the mandarin zest. They turned out pretty sticky so next time I'll add less liquid, but they are so tasty and full of energy, I can't wait to try out their other recipes.

Makes around 10 small bars

1 cup puffed grains (rice, buckwheat, millet, amaranth)

1/3 cup chick pea flour

1/4 cup chopped pistachio nuts

1/4 cup seeds (flax, sunflower, pepitas, white and black sesame)

2/3 cup dried fruit (goji berries, currants etc)

1/4 cup orange juice

1/2 cup raw sugar

pinch of salt

In a dry heavy bottomed pan toast seeds for a couple of minutes until fragrant. Remove from pan and set aside. In the same pan toast the chickpea flour for about 5 minutes or until golden and fragrant.

In a large bowl combine the grains, flour, salt, dried fruit, nuts and seeds and stir. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar and juice and stir until sugar dissolves. Allow to simmer and reduce until thick and syrupy. Pour syrup over dry mixture and stir well.

Scrape mix into a baking tray lined with grease-proof paper. Place another layer of paper over the top and press down to flatten evenly. Be careful as it may be hot! Let the tray sit to cool before slicing into bars. If it's still too sticky put the tray in the fridge for a few hours.

Bowls and books

2009-10-14T08:27:00.004+11:00

Lunch yesterday: a case of 'what do I have in the pantry?". Here you see the remains of a packet of pasta, mixed in with sauteed rep capsicum, sliced snow peas (from the garden), cooked black beans, garlic, flaked almonds, pepitas, sun flower seeds, sesame seeds, nooch, braggs, salt and pepper, stirred through with fresh parsley and basil-mint from the garden, and coriander. Could have done with a splash of lemon juice. I ate the whole thing whilst flicking through my newly acquired copy of Vegan Brunch. Where should I start guys?

It's a labour of love

2009-10-13T15:17:00.000+11:00

So way back in February Tim planted a whole heap of beet root and carrots in one of our garden beds. Months went by and it was obvious the carrots weren't doing much of anything, so he ripped them out to make room for other things. The beet root kept on growing, at least above ground, but occasional sub terrestrial examination indicated things below the surface weren't so busy. We let them be though, since the leaves were handy for salads. Then last week Tim decided their time was up. They had to go to make way for the zucchini and squash seedlings. Into a bucket went 8 months worth of beet root, and it really wasn't too impressive. Some of the plants had failed to produce anything identifiable as a root veg, while others were tiny. The largest was just a bit bigger than a golf ball. I trimmed and cleaned the ones worth keeping, and stripped all the good leaves. We ended up with 13 beet root and a hell of a lot of green stuff.

Oh, and one carrot that snuck in.

The leaves I threw into a pot with some black mustard seeds, crushed coriander seeds, garlic, onion, tumeric, tomato paste and salt, and made a saag curry similar to Kittee's. Here it is next to a red lentil dahl that was also pretty tasty.

The roots I tossed in olive oil, salt, pepper, fresh thyme and a little water and roasted them, covered, for about an hour until tender. Then I slipped them out of their skins (dying my hands pink in the process), tossed with a dash of balsamic vinegar, and served with a really simple leek risotto.

The roots were a little bitter, probably because they were young and a little dry to begin with, but it was still a pretty satisfying meal simply because it came from our garden.

Saturday brunch, yay!

2009-10-13T14:56:00.001+11:00

French toast (on white bread OMG!), and Tim's tofu scramble. Oh yes.

TINA 09 (pART 5)

2009-10-11T11:41:00.002+11:00

One last thing about my TINA trip: Frozen dark chocolate dipped bananas from Raw Alchemy!!! Soy and gluten free and vegan, these puppies come dipped in either crushed pumpkin seeds or sesame seeds. $4, tooth-achingly cold, humorously shaped, awesome.

TINA 09 (pART 4)

2009-10-10T14:06:00.006+11:00

Back in Newcastle, our first stop in the morning was to Roladoor for coffee and a catch-up with newly arrived Melbourne faces. I didn't have breakfast there since, as I mentioned before, there's not much on the menu that's exciting and vegan and it's way too expensive. The coffee was good though, and I love the atmosphere and decor in Roladoor. It's like my dream kitchen.

My rumbling tummy demanded that the next stop be Raw Alchemy. I'm so glad I got to eat here. It opened just before the last time I was in Newcastle, but the silly place is closed on weekends so I didn't get to try it. This time however I took full advantage. I got the pikkora (I don't know why they chose to spell it that way) salad wrap with beetroot chutney on a spinach tortilla ($8.50). A mix up in the kitchen meant that the pikkoras (pakoras) never made it into the wrap so what I actually ate was a salad wrap with enormous spicy pakoras on the side. I didn't mind too much though - the salad was wonderfully crisp and full of sprouted beans, and having two dishes was somehow more filling.

Raw Alchemy is not a vegetarian cafe, but has a few good veg options and everything veg is veganisable. They also have loads of handmade truffles, gelati (including some soy flavours), chocolate pots, cakes and nuts for snacking, and almost everything is organic. They also have a little food store selling grains, flours, lentils, beans and seeds in bulk, as well as olive oil, canned goods, health supplements, tea, coffee and chocolate.

And if that wasn't enough to entice you, you're encouraged to draw all over the blackboard tables in chalk! Raw Alchemy is only open on week days for breakfast and lunch, and it seems to make a lot of its trade feeding office workers in the surrounding buildings. There's really nowhere else around like it so it's really cornered the market.

Raw Alchemy

Shop 3/774 Hunter St

Newcaslte

I had a show that night at Totoro's Tea House, a gorgeous little tea cafe in the mall and part of the Renew Newcastle scheme, so we went over to check it out. Eva had spent the past two days baking zillions of vegan cupcakes to sell at the shop, and they looked delicious on display at the counter.

Vanilla with coconut frosting, banana with peanut-butter frosting, chocolate with Oreo frosting, and choc-mint

I'm so glad a shop like this exists, but so jealous it's not in my city! The two gals responsible have managed to create a really homey, comfortable vibe. Miss-matched furniture, op-shopped tea sets, plenty to read and look at - it's such a great place to come and hang out all day. They even serve up hot meals for a teeny $5 and everything on the menu is vegan.

My pick of the tea menu (though I didn't get to try the chai) was the iced peach white tea. It comes with a sugar syrup on the side that contains honey, so if you don't want it just ask for it without, it's sweet enough!

Totoro's Tea House

Shop 1

111 Hunter St

Newcaslte

TINA 09 (pART 3)

2009-10-09T08:37:00.004+11:00

Day three was spent exploring Katoomba and the beautiful Blue Mountains. Our first adventure was checking out the abandoned swimming pools in Lena and Alex's backyard. This was trickier than it sounds due to a locked gate that was just that little bit too high to comfortably climb over, but the effort paid off. I love when nature starts to reclaim buildings and other man-made structures. (Except if I am currently living in them...) Then it was into town for: VEGAN WAFFLE BREAKFAST!!! I'm not going to name where I got these because sadly that cafe is now closed but I will tell you this gluten free, fluffy, crisp waffle with fried banana, coconut and maple syrup was outstanding, and very affordable. Lena didn't feel like waffles so when her first choice of rice porridge was denied, she opted for the tempeh burger with home-made sauerkraut.

Op-shopping in the Mountains is fantastic, as is record shopping, and these activities happen to be two of my favourite. Before long I had parted with way too much cash and was feeling peckish again. Alex drove us out to a pie shop (Lena, name??) where they have three kinds of vegan pie. I chose the eggplant and chickpea curry. It was good, but for $6 it should have been great. I saved the rest for my long train ride back to Newcastle and went exploring the abandoned TB sanatorium (complete with tiny chapel and morgue). Next was on to Sublime Point for some gorgeous views of the Three Sisters, and back into town for more op-shopping.

Feeling glutinous (but mostly curious) I suggested we have third lunch at Common Ground. This cafe had been described to me as a little hobbit hole run by a Jesus cult. Indeed the decor inside was straight out of a Tolkien novel - all dark wood, folky furnishings, twisting staircases and lots of little hide-away spots. It's run by a religious sect called the Twelve Tribes whose doctrine is to live as the 12 disciples did. There's clusters of Twelve Tribes all over the world. They look faintly Amish - all the men have beards and long hair, all the women wear loose clothing and have REALLY long hair. And they make a mean smoothie. If you're down that way I recommend the banana smoothie on rice milk with mate. These guys love yerba mate and put it in everything. I also got the tofu satay salad which was good, but like the decor and the individual packets of salt and pepper on the tables, reminded me of a Lone Star-style themed restaurant. Still, the novelty factor is worth the trip, and the prices are really reasonable.

Common Ground Cafe

45 Waratah St, Katoomba

NSW

TINA 09 (pART 2)

2009-10-08T10:14:00.004+11:00

A large portion of the second day of my trip was spent on two trains to the Blue Mountains to visit Lena and Alex. I wasn't looking forward to over 4 and a half hours on dirty, noisy, hard-seated Cityrail trains, but the time actually passed by rather quickly, thanks to some company on the first half of my journey and a really good book on the second. When I finally got to Leura station a minor disaster delayed our reunion (I left my phone on the train, but luckily managed to get it back). First order of business was to check out Lena and Alex's amazing little cottage, second was to get some grub. We ended up on Katoomba St at a teeny tiny Korean place (Lena, what was it called?) where Lena got the seaweed salad to start, and a spicy sweet and sour rice stick dish for mains.

I got the potato noodle soup with straw mushrooms.

Both main dishes were enormous and so flavourful. Both had quite a Korean chilli kick to them too, so when we were presented at the end of our meal with two sweet, crisp slices of watermelon, we were grateful for the refreshment. The restaurant only seats about 10, and the staff are very friendly.

It was then off to the pub to wait for Alex to pick us up. I ordered a plain old beer when Lena pulled a sneaky one on me and ordered a double shot of Frangellico with lime and soda. By some miracle of science, THIS TASTES EXACTLY LIKE CAKE. Like a big glass of liquid cake. Unbelievable!

Back at the ranch, after Alex had finished his shift at work it was time for second dinner: nachos with black beans, avocado and plenty of Cheezly. It certainly made the trip worth it!

TINA 09 (pART 1)

2009-10-07T22:33:00.002+11:00

I thought I'd do the TINA posts in stages as I've got so many photos of food, to post them all at once would be overwhelming. So first up, sweet potato peanut stew made by the lovely and talented Eva, and another batch of brownies from yours truly. This was the perfect meal after a day's traveling interstate, and the brownies were a great snack for the many many movies we watched that night.

I'm back!

2009-10-07T11:19:00.002+11:00

It was an unbelievable, incredible trip, and probably the best TINA I've been to. I have so many delicious things to share but I must attend to some urgent uni work first. So in the mean-time, check out what our garden has been up to this Spring.

Off I go...

2009-09-29T08:37:00.004+10:00

I'm right now awaiting my lift to the airport/coffee ride. I'll away for a week to visit friends in the Blue Mountains and Sydney, and for the This is Not Art festival in Newcastle. I'm so excited to see people, party, perform (I'm playing two shows!) and most importantly EAT!!! I'll finally get to taste what's on offer at the recently opened Raw Alchemy, as well as revisit old favourites. But before I go I want to share the brownies I made for Lidia's birthday brunch potluck party.

I used the recipe from the blog Bread and Honey, and the author swears these are the best vegan brownies you'll ever taste. I have to agree they are pretty delicious, and more importantly they actually worked and I could get them out of the pan! The recipe calls for a technique where you make a wheat paste with flour and water on the stove. This glue then acts as the binder for the rest of the ingredients. Apart from this unusual step, the recipe is really straight forward and called for ingredients I already had at home. A winner in my book!

Farewell AusNZVeganMoFo, it's been a blast!

Mmm La Panella!

2009-09-28T10:48:00.004+10:00

A nice gratuitous shot of my plain 'meat' pie from La Panella. My advice: buy them frozen and heat them in the oven. They go lovely and puffy and crisp, unlike the ones in the store which are a little too soggy for me. Topped off with some home-made tomato sauce. Mmm!

Basboosa

2009-09-27T17:56:00.005+10:00

I did it! I tweaked the semolina cake recipe and made it more like a traditional Middle Eastern cake called Basboosa (fun to say, fun to eat). This cake is ridiculously simple and easy to make, and is super moist and sweet, but not too rich. The cake itself is very plain, but by pouring a basic syrup over the hot cake, it is transformed into something on another level of deliciousness.

3 cups semolina

1 cup plain flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 cup sugar

1 cup oil

1 cup rice milk

Handful of almonds to decorate (slivered, flaked, or halved)

Preheat the oven to 200C and grease or line a 9" x 13" shallow baking pan. In a medium sized bowl mix together the flours, baking powder and sugar.

In a large bowl mix the oil and rice milk. Add the dry ingredients into the wet in two batches, stirring well after each addition. Batter will be thick. Pour into the baking tray and with clean wet hands smooth down the top. Decorate with the almonds.

Place in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes. Test for doneness before removing.

While the cake is baking prepare the syrup:

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup water

1 lemon

With a vegetable peeler, peel the lemon, then juice it. In a small saucepan combine the sugar, water, lemon peel and juice and bring to the boil over a medium heat, stirring until all the sugar is dissolved. Lower heat and let simmer for 8-10 minutes.

When the cake is out of the oven, pour over the syrup and let cool. Cake can be served warm or cool.

Before syrup

After syrup

Rainy Friday

2009-09-25T18:10:00.004+10:00

Working at a cafe attached to a car wash may not be very glamourous, but it does come with some perks: unlimited free San Pellegrino sodas, roasted veggie sandwiches, hours of 'work' spent reading books, and best of all: No work on rainy days! So today while the weather may have put some people in a bad mood, it meant I got to reclaim 8 hours of my day! And believe me, they were not wasted. Op-shopping with Tim up and down Sydney Road meant I got to take home three new tea pots (no one needs that many, but I may have a problem), two new (old) dresses and a pair of boots. I also spent some time writing songs and making myself a damn fine lunch:

Fried rice and dumplings

Broccoli, zucchini, carrot, red capsicum, garlic, ginger, coriander, soy sauce, veggie oyster sauce and sambal asli. I love rainy days!

Planet VeGMeL

2009-09-24T14:29:00.005+10:00

This may be old news to many of you, but there's a new site up that combines the best vegan and vegetarian blogs Melbourne has to offer. It's called Planet VeGMeL, and thanks to it's creators Steph and her partner Danni there's now a really easy way to catch up on what's happening in Vegan Melbourne.

Thanks guys!

Red curry coconut noodle soup

2009-09-24T08:40:00.003+10:00

I'm too busy!!! I leave for Newcastle/Sydney/Blue Mountains/TINA in five days and before I go I have a gigantic stack of uni assignments, sewing, song writing (I'm playing two shows in Newcastle), and restaurant reviewing to get through!!! Plus I have to get my driving license renewed today way out in Nowheresville. BUT I couldn't possibly stop blogging! So here's another quicky:

Red curry coconut soup with soy 'beef' strips

Also featuring zucchini, red capsicum, carrot, broccoli, onion, potato starch noodles (like the ones here) and lashings of fresh coriander. I used up the rest of the curry paste featured in this recipe.

I'll see you before I go, for sure, and when I come back I'll have plenty to share for VeganMoFo.

Jam tarts

2009-09-23T08:15:00.003+10:00

Just another quick one - I thought I'd share with you some jam tarts I made the other night with left-over pastry from the savoury TVP mince pie Tim and I made for dinner. These tarts are filled with our home-made plum jam, the last jar of which is emptying at an alarming rate. Come on plum tree, fruit already!

2009-09-22T08:50:00.003+10:00

After an unsuccessful attempt at making pasta, we now have a rather large amount of semolina in the pantry. I thought using it in a cake would be nice so I googled some recipes and veganised one. The recipe still needs a bit of work so I won't share it with you just yet, but if you're looking for a dense, moist cake, semolina's your guy.

I topped it off with a simple lemon icing. In case you don't know - semolina is coarsely ground duram wheat (like pasta) and has a very high gluten content. Many Greek and Middle Eastern cakes use semolina flour as a base, and involve pouring a sugar syrup over the hot cake before slicing. Generally they're served in small pieces with coffee. I'll keep working on this though and get back to you!

2009-09-20T09:40:00.004+10:00

Eep! I'm falling behind on my MoFo blogging. Let's just say I'm pacing myself so as not to burn out before the official MoFo madness starts. To make up for it though, here's a picture of the dinner Tim made us the other night: store-bought dumplings with a soy sauce broth, soba noodles, fresh soy beans, cabbage, mushrooms and purple silverbeet and snow peas from our garden. Man, Spring and Summer are going to own our garden!

Also, don't forget to leave a comment on the last post - I really want to keep hearing what you guys think!

More on palm oil: word from Nuttelex

2009-09-18T18:14:00.005+10:00

Oh the ethics of food...

Last week I emailed Nuttelex to ask whether they could tell me where their palm oil (which isn't listed in the ingredients but makes up some of the labeled 'vegetable oil') was sourced. I had heard about several groups boycotting the company because of their use of palm oil, but wanted to check for myself as I'm a fan of the product and wanted all the facts before I made up my mind. Today I got a response that sorta/kinda/did but didn't really put my fears to rest. What I got was a confirmation that Nuttelex sources its palm oil from RSPO approved companies. It seems clear to me that Nuttelex is doing all it can to ensure its ingredients are vegan and produced ethically. I'm satisfied that on their end the right thing is being done. What muddies the waters is the RSPO's (or Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) wavering credibility.

RSPO is comprised of producers, retailers, investors, processors and various environmental and social justice NGOs, and is intended to promote sustainable palm oil production in countries like Indonesia and Malaysia where palm oil production is the most devastating. On the surface it seems to be a pretty decent operation, but there's plenty of evidence to suggest not all is well. This Greenpeace article implies that "there's little to stop companies having certain parts of their operations certified by the RSPO while they continue to convert rainforests and peatlands into oil palm plantations elsewhere".

So it's really a grey area. I guess the reason I'm sharing this with you is that I figure you too would like all the facts. I'm not exactly sure how I feel about this information. It's hard to know where to draw the line - do you support a company that is doing the best it can to remain ethical, or do you boycott it because of the dubious ethics of those higher up the chain? Is the answer to pressure Nuttelex into changing their recipe so as to avoid palm oil altogether? And it's not just about this one company. This shit is in EVERYTHING and a lot of the time we have no idea. Should it just stop at certain ingredients? I know many people who eat Oreos (myself included - we're lucky they're vegan here) even though they are owed by NABISCO which is owned by Kraft Foods which is owned by cigarette company and master of the universe Altria (formerly Philip Morris) (EDIT: I've since been informed that Altria no longer owns Kraft, thanks Kat!). Where does it end? It hurts to start thinking about this because once you start you can't really turn it off, and save from growing everything you eat/wear/use there's really no complete escape.

My head hurts.

I think I'll continue eating Nuttelex, though maybe I won't buy it as often. I prefer cooking without it anyway, but once you cut out dairy there's really not much else out there!

I'm sorry I brought it up, but I'd love to hear what you think.

EDIT: Here's a little bit of the email I received from Nuttellex. I wanted to include it because it shows that the company is concerned with its reputation and maintaining its standards as a vegan and ethical company. It also means that perhaps with a little gentle pressuring from consumers they might be convinced to stop using palm oil all together.

We source our vegetable oils from Australia where possible depending on drought and other factors however, there is no Australian palm oil or viable equivalent. At Nuttelex we work hard to maintain the integrity of our product. For example, we stress very strongly to our suppliers the importance of vegan ingredients and non genetically modified vegetable oils. As a result we stopped using cottonseed oil around 6 years ago.

White chocolate and pecan cookies

2009-09-16T16:56:00.005+10:00

Here's the recipe for the cookies I made for Sunday's pot luck. This recipe doesn't use any margarine and very little oil, making it relatively low in fat (though not in sugar I'm afraid). Apple sauce makes these cookies moist, sweet and chewy, and for some reason they smell like maple syrup, especially when in the oven. Dreamy!

Makes about 20

1/3 cup plus one tbs apple sauce*

2 tbs oil (I used melted coconut oil)

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 heaped tsp egg replacer powder mixed with 2 tbs warm water**

2 tbs of your preferred milk replacement (I used rice)

3/4 cup plain flour

1/2 cup self raising flour

1/2 cup dairy-free white chocolate, chopped (I used Sweet William's)

1/2 cup pecan halves, chopped.

Preheat the oven to 170°C and line two baking trays with baking paper.

In a large bowl mix the applesauce, oil, sugar and vanilla. Add the egg replacer mixture and milk and mix well. Fold in the flours, add the pecans and chocolate and mix well. The mixture will look pretty wet and sticky, that's ok. With slightly wet hands, form tablespoon sized balls and arrange on the trays. This may be a little tricky with such sticky dough. You may find using two spoons and the spoon-over-spoon motion to form the balls easier. They don't need to be perfect though as they'll smooth out in the oven.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until just golden, swapping trays over half way through to ensure they cook evenly.

Remove trays from the oven and use the back of a fork or spatula to flatten. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

The cookies will be a little puffy when you take them out of the oven, just squish them into shape.

* I made my own apple sauce by peeling, coring and chopping a medium sized apple and microwaving it with one tablespoon of water for about 3 minutes on high. I then pureed it in the food processor. This should give you the right amount of sauce.

**If you don't like using egg replacer, you can substitute with one tablespoon ground flax seeds mixed with 3 tablespoons warm water.

Miss T: killer host

2009-09-15T21:42:00.014+10:00

Another pot luck featuring all your favourite Melbourne bloggers and eaters, this time with some new faces and even more impressive dishes. There's been a few run-downs of the day already (here, and here) so I'll keep the words brief and let the pictures do the talking. If you're not hungry by the end of this, there's something seriously wrong with you!

A very very special thank you to Miss T for hosting a killer pot luck and inviting so many people to her gorgeous abode (and for doing all the dishes!).

STARTERS

ABOVE: hand made crackers and raw cashew 'cheese' from Cindy

BELOW: walnut pesto, black olive hummus, and guacamole with raw veggie sticks and flat bread from 'new girl' Anna

ABOVE: rice paper rolls from Miss T

BELOW: Jo's incredibly refreshing fruity sparkling punch

MAIN EVENT

ABOVE: Lisa's cou cous salad

BELOW: Steph's noodle and mushroom New Year celebration dish

ABOVE: Kristy's chorizo sausages

BELOW: Buzz's sausage rolls (these stole the show, from this recipe)

ABOVE: another one of Jo's contributions - a refreshing (and delicious) watermelon, lime juice, coriander, chilli and spring onion salad

DESSERT

This was definitely a pot luck for sweet tooths. I don't think I've ever seen a better array of desserts. Three types of ice cream! Come on!

ABOVE: Bec's coconutty trail mix balls (I got to take the rest of these home and they didn't make it through the night!)

BELOW: Michael's dark chocolate cocoa nib balls

ABOVE: Craig's white chocolate amaretto rissoto

BELOW: oaty pistachio cookies (I don't know who made these)

ABOVE: my contribution, white chocolate and pecan cookies

BELOW: gingerbread shapes made by Miss T's talented sister

ABOVE: Toby's kiwi sorbet

BELOW: the first of Miss T's ice cream assault (and my favourite) chocolate

ABOVE: number 2, peanut butter

BELOW: and this is 3, even though it never made it into the ice cream machine this banana and white chocolate semi frozen custard was delicious

My first dessert plate (I am disgusting!)

The warm-up

Our host on the far left

Anna and Kristy wasting no time

Toby and Cindy

Sleepy Sam

It's my request the more ice cream be present at future gatherings.