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Comfort Food

March 14th, 2012 . Posted in Cooking, Daily Life, Love, Social Media, Vegan | 1 Comment »
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Sometimes when you don’t have the motivation to wake up much less cook, eat or write it comes in very handy to have great friends. And great friends that are vegan is just a ridiculous bonus! We were lucky enough to indulge ourselves on Saturday at an amazing 10 hour long potluck. It was hosted by Susan from Kittens Gone Lentil and we were joined by Matt and James from Eating with the academic & the dilettante and Mitch of TBA.

There was group cooking, swimming (Ok, that may have just been me…), movies, vodka (Ok, that may have just been Matt) and so so soooo much food. Here is just a taste of what we… tasted on Saturday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was forced to use a recipe so I made Balsamic Maple Wingz from Tamasin Noyes’ ‘American Vegan Kitchen’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Along with my version of the wingz

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Susan’s Ribz*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Matt and James’ fried tofu balls

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Susan’s barbecue tofu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Susan’s Mac&Cheese

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mitch’s salad

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More of Matt and James’ balls

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Susan’s ranch dressing to go with my wingz

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Susan’s creamy broccoli salad

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Susan’s garlic and dill bread

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Choc-Ridonc cake

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And Susan’s chocolate truffle pie.

It was amazing and I want it all in front of me again… please?

 

*Updated to add Susan’s Ribz. How did I forget about my new love????

Twitt

CREPES WITH MUSHROOM, TRUFFLE, ROCKET AND A BURNT BUTTER SAUCE

March 6th, 2012 . Posted in Cooking, Vegan | 2 Comments »
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I believe Sunday mornings are the best time to indulge in food. You are not restrained with what you can eat as you are with lunch or dinner, you can have sweet or savoury. And you are basically expected to spend a third of the day pottering around the house. It should be a law that you must consume a big breakfast on Sundays! (Unless you are one of those crazy reproducing people in which case stop reading and go wash that banana out of your bangs!)

This Sunday was no exception for us! I was craving pancakes with lemon and sugar but I was fresh out of lemons and nothing was getting me out of my trackies to battle the fruit barn on a Sunday morning so I whipped up these little babies and could not have been happier. These are rich. By the end of eating two crepes Kris curled up in a ball and exclaimed “So much butter! I didn’t know that was possible!” I say “poo-ie” to Kris, these boys are juuuuust right!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For this you will need:
2 no-eggs
1 & 1/2 cups soy milk
1 tablespoon melted butter, 3 tablespoons butter ( I use Nuttelex)
1 cup plain flour
pinch of salt
6 button mushrooms, finely sliced
black truffle, approx. 6 fine slices
5 oregano leaves
lemon thyme (or plain thyme with a dash of lemon juice)
rocket leaves

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a bowl combine the no-egg, milk,


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

one tablespoon of melted butter,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

flour and salt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whisk until all of the lumps dissolve and the batter is smooth.

In a crepe pan heat a small amount of butter or oil and cook the crepes until they start to brown on each side. Remember that you are cooking crepes not pancakes so the batter should be very thin in the pan. If you have the skill it should be nearly translucent. I don’t have skill.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, in a fry pan melt the remaining butter over a high heat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When the butter starts to bubble reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the butter starts to darken.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When the butter starts to change colour add in the mushroom and fry on both sides until they are brown.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Consider dipping bread straight into that bubbly, buttery goodness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the mushrooms have browned add in the truffle slices. If you don’t have access to truffles you can substitute it with a dash of truffle oil.

Along with the herbs.

Remove the mushroom/butter mixture from the heat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assemble the crepes with the rocket, mushroom and truffles and drizzle with the burnt butter sauce.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drizzle a little more sauce over the top. It’s Sunday, you’ve earned it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bon Appétit!

Twitt

CANDY CANE CUPCAKES

February 22nd, 2012 . Posted in Cooking, Vegan | No Comments »
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What? Don’t you have left over candy canes from Christmas? I know, I know, it is nearly March and Easter is on our door step but what better time to use up that left over Christmas candy before the onslaught of chocolate!

If you don’t have candy canes laying around your cupboard you could easily use any other hard candy, preferably something minty though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For these you will need:
1 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons butter, I use Nuttelex
1/2 cup rice milk
1 no-egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 serving of cream cheese icing
5 candy canes, crushed

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a mixing bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

butter,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

sugar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and baking powder. Using an electric beater, mix the ingredients until they start to come together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Slowly add in the milk and no-egg until the mixture is combined.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stir through the vanilla essence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Along with the nutmeg and cinnamon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Divide the mixture between 12 cupcake papers and pop into a pre-heated oven at 160°c for 25-30minutes or until they pass the skewer test.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the cupcakes are cooked remove them from the oven to cool on a rack.

Take your cream cheese icing and mix through half of the crushed candy canes. Leave the icing/candy cane mixture to sit on the bench for 10 minutes. This allows the mint flavour from the candy canes to spread through the icing.

Once the cupcakes have cooled completely ice them with the candy cane icing and sprinkle with the remaining crushed candy canes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Serve with some hot chocolate or a butterscotch schnapps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although these are very much a Christmas dessert there is no reason why you can’t indulge all year round. We are all over those New Years’ resolutions right? Right??

 

Twitt

STUFFED MUSHROOMS WITH PESTO AND CHEESE SAUCE

February 15th, 2012 . Posted in Cooking, Vegan | 2 Comments »
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Stuffed mushrooms are a go-to dish for vegans catering for omnivores. They are a known crowd please-er and pretty hard to bugger up.  Often you will have stuffed mushrooms that are canape size made in the cute little button mushrooms. Not these boys, these are a main and a half and will rock your socks off! I made these on a rainy night after stocking up on comfort supplies at our local deli and they seriously hit the spot!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For this you will need:
4 portobello mushrooms
500g firm tofu, drained and pressed
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
1/2 red capsicum
1/2 cup marinated sun-dried tomatoes, with the oil
1 roasted artichoke
3/4 cup bread crumbs
herbs to taste, I used rosemary and parsley
salt and pepper, to season
4 tablespoons basil pesto
1 serving of cheese sauce

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Start by removing the stems and gills of the mushrooms and setting the caps aside. Don’t throw out the insides though!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a food processor combine the tofu, mushroom stems and gills, onion, garlic, capsicum, sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke, herbs and 1/2 a cup of bread crumbs until combined.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stir through two tablespoons of the sun-dried tomato oil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And season with salt and pepper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coat the inside of the mushroom caps with one tablespoon of basil pesto each.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And heap the tofu mixture on top, pressing it down firmly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top with the remaining bread crumbs and pop in a pre-heated oven at 200°c for 20 minutes or until the mushroom caps are starting to wilt and the tops are browning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At this stage remove the mushrooms from the oven and top with a generous serve of cheese sauce. Return the mushrooms to the oven for a further 5-7 minutes. Or if you are impatient like me chuck them under the grill, it won’t be quite the same but you will get to start eating these glorious mushrooms sooner!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the cheese sauce has melted a little and started to brown remove them from the oven completely and they are ready to eat! I served mine with some greenery and a balsamic vinaigrette.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy!

Twitt

FRENCH TOAST SANDWICH WITH BANANA, PEANUT BUTTER AND MAPLE SYRUP

February 10th, 2012 . Posted in Cooking, Travel, Vegan | No Comments »
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This is a Sunday breakfast to rival the Kings’. And by King I do of course mean Elvis Presley! To celebrate booking tickets to the Cirque Du Soleil’s Viva Elvis show in June I whipped up this amazing french toast with banana and peanut butter for breakfast.

Give it a shot and tell me what you think!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For this you will need:
2 thick slices of bread
3 no-eggs
1/2 cup soy milk
1 banana
peanut butter
butter, I use Nuttelex
maple syrup
icing sugar (optional)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a shallow bowl whisk together the no-egg and soy milk until it becomes frothy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dip both sides of the bread slices into the no-egg/soy milk so that it is generously coated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Place them in your sandwich press and cook until both sides are golden brown. You could also do this in a fry pan with some butter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the toast is brown butter the outside sides of your sandwich with the plain butter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And generously coat the inside slices with peanut butter. I like chunky peanut butter, people who like smooth are just weird.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cut banana slices onto the bottom piece of toast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top it with the remaining piece and return to the sandwich press.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the bread is toasted to your standard transfer the sandwich to a plate and coat it in maple syrup. And then add a little bit more syrup. Oh my golly I love maple syrup!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dust it with some icing sugar. While we’ve crossed the line of unhealthy we may as well keep running!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And enjoy!

You can burn my house, steal my car
Steal my liquor from my ol fruit jar
You can do anything that you wanna do
But ahahoney lay off my banana and peanut butter sandwich!

Twitt

Melbourne

February 7th, 2012 . Posted in Cooking, Daily Life, Drinks, Love, Travel, Vegan | 8 Comments »
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I am considering changing the title of this post to Food Glorious Food as Melbourne itself didn’t really feature much over our three day escape down south. Food, however, dominated. It rained. It combuddled fabulous food for three straight stomach-stretching days. And it was glorious.

You all know that I am usually a shining example of healthy eating so it might come as a surprise to learn just what kind of food we consumed over our three button-busting days. We didn’t visit Yong Green and consume their fresh raw food. Nor did we stop in at Vegie Bar for a light seasonal wonton broth. Oh no, instead we decided to visit Lord of the Fries… FOUR times… and Trippy Taco and Gasometer and SoulMama and La Panella and omg it was all so ridiculously good. Lord of the Fries has offically become my mecca. I will be heading down on my pilgrimage at least once a year to consume endless amounts of terribly unhealthy burgers and sauce with a side of chips. Trippy Taco’s fries may have possibly changed my life. I shall never see wedges or plain chips with salt the same again. And La Panella? Well lets just say I may have lugged back boxes of doughnuts that are slowly causing any new Melbourne bought clothes to be discarded at the bottom of the wardrobe for a very long time.

We did do a couple of things other than eat. We rode on a tram, we saw one third of a really bad burlesque show, we spent a lot of money on clothes and visited a laneway or two but at the end of the day we were there to try the best of vegan food Melbourne had to offer and I think we more than covered that. Next time we might get to head out of town to a winery or check out a few of the local bars but more than likely you will just find me on a bench outside of Lord of the Fries ingesting and digesting more then my body-weight in burgers.

Friday

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had breakfast at home and tofu snacks on the plane before landing in Melbourne at midday.

Not 20 minutes off the plane and we had already stumbled across Lord of the Fries. What a co-inc-i-dinc! In my extreme excitement I did forget to take a photo of what we ate but luckily I have a memory like an elephant (when it comes to food, that is all). Kris and I shared the Guru burger, the Spicy burger and a serving of fries with chilli salsa and sour cream.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then wondered up to Collingwood and stopped in at Trippy Taco. This was hit and miss but the hit just happened to go out of the ball park! Kris got the vegan quesadilla with extra avocado.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And I got the vegan nachos. They did bring me out a non-vegan taco first which I stupidly ate part of before realizing the mistake and my golly that caused my system some grief later on but I can’t fault the service or the nachos so I am still giving them a thumbs up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If only in part because of their STUPIDLY AMAZINGLY AWESOME Trippy Taco chips. I died. I seriously died. I licked the bowl. These things were so good.

There may have also been some beers and sangria during the meal.

We also stopped in at Vegan Wares and Kris ordered a pair of custom purple shoes!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then checked in at our hotel Clarion Suites. The view was lovely and the room was very large. The lobby smelt of decomposing trash but Kris thought I was crazy every time I said that so I won’t hold it against them.

We went for a wander around the CBD but had to go back to the hotel and quickly get ready to head over to Chapel Street where I had booked tickets to the opening of Red Bennies burqlesque bar’s new Kit Kat Club. We got there an hour late and the show wasn’t close to starting so we got a couple of cocktails. $25 each and were so bad they were barely drinkable. Another hour and we decided to order some food. While waiting for food Kris went to the smaller bar to order some more drinks but at the smaller bar they couldn’t serve cocktails or spirits so Kris got two beers which was $19. There was a $20 minimum so we ended up getting 3 beers. Our food arrived, a Mediterranean tapas plate. It wasn’t terrible but it was all fresh out of the jar, too much vinegar and brine is no ones friend. Another hour in and the show finally started. All was going well when after the first act we were told there would be a slight intermission. 20 minutes later the next act started and five minutes later another intermission. Another 20minute wait and the next act started. When they called the third intermission after just three acts we got up and left. I love burlesque, I will enjoy anything from the newbies fresh from Scoundrels to Catherine D’Lish. This was not enjoyable.

We decided to save the night by going for drinks at the Gin Palace in the CBD and stumbled around some alleys. It was actually a lot of fun trying to find our way back. Dame Edna may not have though so though ;)

Saturday

 

The next morning we woke up feeling very worse for wear so ofcourse we stopped in at LotF for our first breakfast! This time we shared a Lord’s burger, a hot dog and fries with Smooth Southern BBQ sauce.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Along with onion rings and satay sauce.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For our second breakfast we caught a cab over to Smith Street for a Las Vegan brekkie. We both got their scrambled tofu with tempacon on olive and rosemary bread. I was really excited about tempacon as anyone that knows me will know my obsession with recreating bacon. This didn’t work for me. I found it to be overly smokey in a very unenjoyable way and the bread was so overpowering the rosemary leached into the tofu scramble and kind of ruined it for me. I have to note though, I was painfully hung over so any of this could just be exagerated in my booze filled brain. The service was so lovely and the feel of the cafe was wonderful. I would still go back despite of not loving their brekkie.

We may have then caught a cab back to the hotel for a nap.

At 1pm I kicked Kris out of bed and told him we had to go for lunch. We headed over to Chapel Street for a touch of shopping (by a touch I mean Kris spent a weeks wage on t-shirts. All from one shop. Plain ones. With pretty girls on them.). And of course we had to stop in at LotF seen as it was one that we hadn’t been to and we just HAD to see if it was better than the CBD one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kris and I shared the Big Mark burger, the Chicago (Manhattan? Philadelphia? Something city named) hot dog and a nuggets and fries munch box with chilli salsa and sour cream.

We then headed back over to Collingwood for our second lunch and visited the heavily recommended Gasometer. Although the sign on the door said that the kitchen opened at 2pm we were told when we got there that it wasn’t opening until 5 or 6pm. So we had some drinks. And some more drinks. And people watched all of the hipsters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we finally got some lunch at 5:30 we ended up sharing: the ribs, mac & cheese, roast garlic butter corn,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the limited edition chorizo burrito and salad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was goooood. Good in the way that “Holy crap I am so freaking full that was the best pub grub that I’ve ever had and it was MFKING VEGAN” but really individually it wasn’t that amazing. The stand out for me was the corn oddly enough. The burrito was delicious but there was much too much rice in it to be able to taste the chorizo which was really disappointing for me since chorizo and I have had many love affairs and I was very excited about tasting this new and improved vegan version.

The ribs were great but really I would prefer the Lam Yong ribs with some BBQ dipping sauce and Kris was adamant that his mac & cheese would win hands down.

I would recommend it and I will definitely go back but I wasn’t blown out of this world sadly.

We went back to the hotel and had another nap until 8pm. We went for a drink at a jazz bar called Blue Diamond. It was awesome and I would definitely recommend it. We will be going back. The ambiance was great, there was a view, the band was fabulous and my Bellini was amazing. Sadly though after one drink nothing else could fit in my tummy so we rolled back down the hill to our hotel and curled up for an early night.

Sunday

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As tradition called we started our last day at LotF. Kris and I shared the Melbourne breakfast burger with extra bacon, a Big Mark and hash browns. Love.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the first breakfast we hoped in a cab and headed out to Preston, about 20 minutes out of the CBD, to visit a little bakery called La Panella. It doesn’t look like much from the outside and it really isn’t anything much on the inside either but golly gee they can make a good doughnut!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I started off with what I just thought was a chocolate coated doughnut.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Which ended up having an amazing jam surprise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And Kris got a curry burger which he loved, if anything it was a little soggy but still tasted awesomeballs. So good we ended up getting a second for the cab ride home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also got four cinnamon doughnuts but they ended up being shared by the kittens when we got home. There should be a law that plain doughnuts should only be served fresh from the fryer!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But my golly, I was still so happy about the awesome vegan doughnuts I got a little manic and started doing my happy vegan doughnut dance. They were seriously that good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That good in fact that I ended up buying their whole stock of chocolate and strawberry jam doughnuts along with a bunch of plain chocolate coated doughnuts, lamingtons and some bread crumbs to take home!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then did a whole lot of shopping around the CBD and I saw what I think is going to be a Melissa Shoe shop opening up in the Queen Victoria Building. If this turns out to be real than I will be going back to Melbourne ASAP!

I picked up a cute pair of Guess jeans along with some nice work shirts.

We then went back to our hotel and checked out and lugged our suitcases down to St Kilda Road for lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But when we got out of the cab we were greated with this! PRIDE PARADE! I could not have thought of a better way to end our weekend in Melbourne then spending it celebrating awesomeness with awesome people!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With our suitcases and La Panella boxes in hand we joined in and marched down to SoulMama for lunch and cocktails and to watch the rest of the parade go by.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kris got a Lychee Bomb cocktail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And I got a Kiwi Mojito.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We shared the vegan Meze plate

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and the gyoza which some of you may recognize as the Coles brand ones! Oh well, they still tasted amazing!

Once the parade finished and we were heading off to find a cab the rain set it. At first we were a bit miffed but then we remembered we were in Melbourne and it was our first spot of rain all weekend, it was actually kind of nice. We walked in the rain with boys hitting on Kris every 20 meters and me being the only female screeching about getting wet and finally found a cab to take us to the airport. We got changed into our fancier flight clothes, checked in and had our traditional scotch while waiting for the plane. It was such an amazing weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was some hits and some misses in Melbourne. The people weren’t awesome, the drinks weren’t great but my golly the deep fried awesome vegan food certainly made up for any short comings.

If we would go back for nothing else than we would still return for Lord of the Fries.

Kris:”You know, next time we’re really hung over it would totally be worth just hopping on a plane and coming down for Lord of the Fries”  No truer words have been spoken my love, no truer words…

Twitt

SPICY CRISPY TOFU aka the best thing I have ever eaten

February 2nd, 2012 . Posted in Cooking, Vegan | 6 Comments »
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By now any Brisbane vegans would know that Huo Fo has reopened in Upper Mt Gravatt under the new name Su Life. After listening to everyone on twitter raving about their spicy crispy chicken we finally made it over to Su Life for lunch. It was really delicious food, we left the restaurant barely able to move and my niece and I fell asleep on the car ride home – a sign of a very good meal in my book! By the time we got home and I woke up I was craving some more of their chicken so I decided to give it a shot myself. The result was so much better than I expected! This was possibly the best thing I have ever eaten. I have dreamed of it daily since I made it… It is spicy enough to leave a tingle on your lips, so crispy it crunches as you chew it and the sauce is lick-your-fingers sticky!

I served it with a side of bok choy and cashew nuts stir-fried in sesame oil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For this you will need:
1 knob ginger, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup water
1 cup soy sauce and 1/3 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon vinegar
3 tablespoons tomato sauce
3/4 cup glucose syrup
chilli flakes
1 kg firm tofu, washed and pressed. Chopped into uneven cubes.
4 no-eggs
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cornflour
oil, for deep-frying. I use sunflower oil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a large fry pan heat the ginger, garlic and water until it starts to simmer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Add in one cup of the soy sauce

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and vinegar* and bring the sauce to boil.

*I used some garlic vinegar I had laying in the pantry. Normal white vinegar will be fine to use.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stir through the tomato sauce and reduce the sauce to a low heat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Add in the glucose syrup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

along with a generous serving of chilli flakes. I used about 2 tablespoons, we like things spicy in our house. If you aren’t a chilli-fiend then just put in what you can handle.

Simmer until the sauce becomes thick and sticky. About 15 minutes. Continue to stir the sauce every few minutes while it is simmering.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While the sauce is thickening we can cook the tofu.

In a bowl combine the tofu with the no egg.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And 1/3 cup of the soy sauce. Coat the tofu well. You can do this step before hand and leave the tofu to marinate in the soy sauce if you like.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mix through the flour and corn flour with the tofu until it is all coated.

Using either a deep-fryer or a wok fry the tofu until golden brown.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Try your darndest not to eat all of the tofu then and there. It is very difficult. Look at that crispy goodness!!! I DIE!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the sauce is nice and thick and sticky stir the deep-fried tofu through and return it to a high heat for two minutes just to heat it all up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Serve it with a stir-fry or noodles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Or hell, just serve it on its own. This is what dreams are made of. Sticky, hot, crispy dreams.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Twitt

Kittehs

January 25th, 2012 . Posted in Daily Life, Furry Feathered Friends, Love, Vegan | No Comments »
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I interupt our regularly scheduled recipe for cuteness!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of you may remember mumma Stormy and her seven tiny babies that were born back in November, well they are all grown up now and ready for their new homes. Sadly only four ended up surviving the first few days but they have gone on to grow up and become amazing little kittens! This is Truffles having his weekly weigh-in. He is the fatty of the group and while some of them are still just making it over the 1kg mark he has a good 300g head start!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the precious wise wizard, Albus. He was so tired from a day of cuddles and games that he couldn’t even make it all the way into his box before passing out. Silly old man!

Three of the four kittens have been pre-adopted and will be heading off to their new homes next Wednesday after having their big desex surgery on Monday. Fingers crossed all goes well! We will still have little Runty and Mumma Stormy left behind though. If you or someone you know of is thinking of adopting a new family member please consider Little Paws Kitten Rescue or even my babies!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Runty

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mumma Stormy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And Mushi who is going to her new home with her brother Albus.

Twitt

MUSHROOM SOUP WITH DUMPLINGS

January 20th, 2012 . Posted in Cooking, Social Media, Vegan | No Comments »
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It is currently 2am and I just woke up from a terrible nightmare. One of those ones that don’t stop even after you wake up, it just keeps going in the back of your mind. In steps the internet to distract me! Hopefully by the time I finish writing this I will no longer be scared but also not ravenously hungry… it is still a little early for breakfast!

The soup I based off Vegangela’s Mushroom Soup which is actually based on another recipe which you can find on Angela’s site. I was craving gyoza so I wanted to, for lack of better wording, asian-ize the recipe. I think I got that by adding shallots, coriander and coconut milk. In the end I found the soup to be a bit too salty. If I was to make it again I would halve the amount of soy sauce.

My craving for gyoza was sated by money bags or dumplings as my local shops didn’t have any vegan gyoza wraps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the soup you will need:
1 onion, diced
1 garlic clove, diced
6 shiitake mushrooms
2 cups of sliced plain white cap mushrooms
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons plain flour
1 shallot, chopped
1 teaspoon paprika
back pepper
2 cups vegetable stock
2 cups water
1 cup coconut milk

 

For the dumplings you will need:
dumpling wrappers
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon mirin
200g firm tofu
4 shiitake mushrooms
1 carrot
1 onion
1 garlic clove
1 knob ginger

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a large pot heat the onion and garlic until the flavours start to smell amazing. You will know when it happens. If you wait until the onion is black you have gone too far and may need your sinus’ checked.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stir through the mushroom and leave to simmer until the mushrooms start to weep or just before they start to brown.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When the mushrooms are soft poor in the soy sauce and cook it down for 2-3 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stir in half of the flour until it forms a paste then add in 1/4 cup of stock. Stir the stock through until the paste has dissolved then add in the remaining flour. Repeat the process with the stock. This is kind of like making a bechamel at this stage.

Stir in the remaining stock and water along with the shallots, coriander, paprika and a decent crack of pepper.

Leave the soup to simmer for 10-15 minutes. In the meantime you can make the dumplings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a food processor combine all of the ingredients, without the wrappers… obviously.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Try not to eat all of the mixture while assembling the dumplings. It is hard. By the time I was finished I wasn’t even hungry for dinner any more. One teaspoon for the wrapper, one tablespoon for me!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can wrap the dumplings however you like. I went with moneybags this time.

Steam or boil the dumplings. I steamed mine. You can do this by placing the dumplings in a non-stick fry pan and heating them for 1 minute before adding 1-2 cups of water and covering the pan for 8 minutes or until the wrappers become sticky and slightly translucent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While the dumplings are cooking go back to your soup. Add in the coconut milk and return the soup to the boil. Once the soup is boiling and you are happy with the consistency remove it from the heat. If you would like the soup thicker then simmer it for longer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Place the dumplings in the soup and garnish with some shallots or coriander or onion chives.

So in the end I am no longer scared but I am very hungry… not sure if it is a complete win but golly gee I will take anything over that insane fear that a virus is going to sweep the world and my teeth are falling out and giant pink bears are going to take over the city.*

*I swear the nightmares are in no way related to the soup. They both occurred on different evenings. Promise.

Twitt

CHIPOTLE-WHISKEY BURGERS

January 17th, 2012 . Posted in Cooking, Vegan | 2 Comments »
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If you are not worrying about the size of your hips and want a burger that packs amazing flavour then these are your men (not boys, men. We’re using whiskey kids!). This is a play on The Pioneer Woman’s Spicy Whiskey BBQ Sliders, which although look so delicious lose all appeal with the whole meat thing.

Chipotle peppers can be a bit hard to find around these parts. If you live in America then I am very jealous of your access to chipotles and Daiya cheese but over here you might have to order the peppers online or go to a specialty shop. I picked up mine from the James St Markets hidden beneath one of the fruit benches. It was love at first sight.

This is the brand of chipotle peppers that I picked up. If you can find ones in Adobo sauce then go for them. The sauce is amazing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For this you will need:
150g firm tofu
400g brown lentils
200g chickpeas
plain flour
1 tablespoon LSA meal
1 “beef” stock cube, I use Massel
butter, a lot of butter. I use Nuttelex
olive oil
1 red onion, diced
1/4 cup Jack Daniels Whiskey
1 1/4 tablespoon chipotle peppers in sauce, chopped
1 cup BBQ sauce
bread rolls
rocket and baby spinach

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some silly person deleted the first few photos of this post off my camera so I apologize for the missing steps. Just imagine the photos are in here. You are getting really good at that.

Start by processing the tofu, chickpeas and lentils in a food processor making sure to leave it slightly chunky. You don’t want to turn it to paste.

In a bowl combine the tofu mix with the LSA meal,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

crumbled “beef” stock and flour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now shove your hands in there and mix it all around until the mixture comes together nice and firm. You may need some more flour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a large fry pan heat 1/2 cup – 3/4 cup of butter with some olive oil. This may seem like a whole world of too much butter but if that is the way you think then I don’t think we can be friends any longer…

While the butter is melting form your tofu mixture into burger patties.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fry both sides of the patties so that they are cooked through but not brown.

Once the patties are done remove them from the pan and leave to the side on some paper towel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now with all of that yummy left over butter/oil fry the red onion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the onions start to brown pour in the whiskey and leave to bubble. While it’s bubbling poor yourself a glass. You deserve it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Add in the BBQ sauce

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and the chipotles. Give it a good stir around and have a taste. Add in some pepper or some more chipotles if you want an extra kick.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now this is the important part. Return the burger patties to the pan and coat them in the chipotle-whiskey mixture. Reduce the heat to low and leave it all to do its thing until the sauce surrounding the burgers starts to reduce and caramelize. Oh my golly, just thinking about it is making me drool.

While heaven is being created over there grab your butter again and generously coat some bread rolls. Pop them under a grill until they are nice and golden. By then the burger patties should be done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Serve the burgers with a bit of greenery if you want. Or don’t, it’s up to you. But do make sure you spoon on some extra chipotle-whiskey sauce.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One is never enough so while you are there throw another one on your plate. Who needs the extra exercise to get up and make a second burger?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Actually… come to think of it, I probably do now…

Twitt
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