radish summer salad

Today at my work there was a bag of radishes in the kitchen with a sign saying "PICKED FRESH THIS MORNING - PLEASE TAKE".

Well how could I resist? Here's a yummy salad I whipped up with them.

In the salad; radishes, red kale, carrot, beetroot, lentils

In the dressing; mustard seed, crushed garlic, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice

Was so good - yay for work colleagues with abundant veggie patches!

chocolate ... aaaaaaaaah

My bestie Cara and her partner came round for dinner last night - and brought dessert. Oh what a dessert! I just polished off the last bit of it and thought I'd better share the love.

First of all, she found a vegan cake mix from 'Naturally Good'. It's called Deliciously Free Moist Chocolate Mud Cake Mix and is nut free, wheat free, gluten free and dairy free. It has a vegan option in the instructions where you can replace the 2 eggs with 1 tablespoon of golden syrup and 2 tablespoons of rice flour. If that's not brilliant enough, Cara in her wisdom, felt it necessary to add a handful of Sweet William choc chips to the mix too! Delish. 

Instead of icing she used a smear of Sweet William Chocolate Sauce and some fresh strawberries to top it all off. These things were AMAZING. She said they were like a self-saucing pudding straight out of the oven, and when they got to my place they had hardened up on the outside and turned into yummy brownies on the inside! Even today, after being in the fridge all night, the leftovers were fantastic.

Cupcakes are a good idea with this mix as it's super rich! I'm not usually a sweet tooth but I was dreaming of these things last night.

Thanks Cara xx

world vegan day cake

Happy World Vegan Day! I thought I'd share an amazing banana cake recipe in celebration. 

This is a variation on a friend's traditional family recipe. I've tweaked it a little and used that fabulous of fabtastics 'no egg' natural egg replacer (pictured). I found it at my local Coles, in the the health food section. It's in most health food shops so shouldn't be hard to find. You just mix 1 teaspoon of 'no egg' with 2 tablespoons of water for each egg in a recipe.

Okay, so let's get to the recipe! Preheat your oven to about 180 degrees celsius (a bit lower for fan-forced).

Here's what you need;
1 cup of sugar
125 grams of vegan margarine
3 mashed bananas
2 'no eggs'
2 tablespoons soy milk

Dry ingredients;
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1 teaspoon bi-carb soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice

For frosting;
1/4 cup tofutti better than cream cheese
1/4 cup vegan margarine
2 cups icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Squeeze of lemon


Here's what you do;

1) Cream sugar and margarine together. Separately mash the bananas and add the soy milk and 'no egg' mix. Combine this with the sugar and margarine.

2) Sift the dry ingredients into the mix and beat with electric beater for a few minutes.

3) Rub margarine in to cake tin and then line with baking paper. Put the mix into the tin and put in the oven for around 50 minutes to an hour. When it's done, take it out and let it cool completely.

4) Mix your frosting ingredients together and put the mix in the fridge while the cake's cooling so it hardens up a bit.

5) Slather the frosting over the cake and EAT!

good advice salad

My friend Jane Willcox, along with her friend Rosemary Cadden, have made this excellent little book, Making a Meal of It. No, it's not a vegetarian cook book, in fact, it's not altogether a cook book at all. It's a handy how-to guide with hints and tips about using up perishables in the kitchen - from fruit and veg to herbs, meat and eggs. 

Even though there are lots of meat/dairy recipes, it's actually really good for vegos. After all, who has more wilting greens and fermenting fruit in their kitchen? Any way, I've been poring over it for the last few days and it inspired a gorgeous salad I made tonight, so I thought I'd share it with you.

To begin with, these were the things I desperately needed to use; a sad looking cucumber, half a bunch of parsley, a half a jar of sundried tomatoes in oil and some just-about-to-sprout garlic.

In the parsley section of the book there's a great little pasta sauce mix. I varied it a little, putting the garlic, sundried tomatoes, parsley and a little oil in a blender. I then added some olives, a tablespoon of the vinegar from the olive jar and a dash of lemon juice. This turned out really lovely, but it made heaps, and I didn't really feel like pasta tonight - also, what about that cucumber? So I split the mix into two, added a bit more oil to one half and put it in the fridge to make pasta with tomorrow.

So, I heeded the book's good advice and used up some other stuff I had lying around the kitchen. I mixed the pasta/pesto whatever-it-is with a tin of canellini beans. I then added the chopped cucumber and a rogue tomato from the bottom of the fridge. I put in some tinned corn for good measure, and finally added some capers - which gave the whole thing that little kick of awesome.

It truly turned out amazing. I now have a refreshing, summery salad in the fridge, ready for me to take to work tomorrow. I'll probably put a few slices of avocado on top, seeing as that's the last thing in my kitchen that needs to be used up before I go to the market on the weekend!

Thanks Jane :)

Check out the book - there's a preview of it here, or you can buy it online through Wakefield Press here.

veggie couscous

Well, I've been busy as all hell lately and haven't posted in a while. Here's a quick couscous recipe I whipped up tonight - and hopefully I'll post a few more recipes over the next few days.

What you need;
1 cup couscous
1 veggie stock cube
Tinned brown lentils
All purpose seasoning
Cumin
Tinned beetroot
Zucchini
Asparagus
Green beans
Carrot
Mushroom
Corn
Onion
Garlic

What you do;

1) Cook the garlic and onion in oil. When browned, add the chopped carrot and green beans, then 5 minutes later add the chopped mushrooms, asparagus and zucchini.

2) While this is cooking, bring a cup of water to the boil with the stock cube and a bit of oil. When it's boiled, add the couscous, take it off the heat and set aside with the lid on for 3 or 4 minutes. When it's absorbed the liquid, fluff it with a fork to separate the grains.

3) Rinse the tinned lentils and add those and the corn to the veggie mix to heat through. Take the mix off the heat and let cool a little. When it's not so hot, add the cooled couscous to the veggie mix and add spice to flavour.

4) As a final thing - and bearing in mind that this is a quick slap-stick recipe - I chopped up some tinned baby beets and put them on top. It added that final yum factor and went well with the subtle flavours.

It's quick, yum, filling and is a well balanced meal. It keeps well for two days worth of leftovers too - my work colleagues were very jealous last time I made this :)

You can use whatever veg you have in the fridge - last time I made a version of this it was the day before market day and I wanted to use up every last thing! You can play around with the spices too - these are just what i grabbed from the cupboard.

trying new things - eating out

I haven't been able to post in a while as I've been moving house (whilst still working full time and volunteering of course) so have had no time to cook! I have however, been eating out a LOT so here are a few of my favourite places around Melbourne that have great vegan/veg options.

Vegie Hut, 984 Whitehorse Road, Box Hill

I've been working in Box Hill a fair bit lately and a friend put me onto this awesome little restaurant, Vegie Hut. All the 'meat' dishes are mock and there are some pretty convincing versions of the classics. My favourite would have to be the special fried rice - I am in love with it. There are some great veggie dumplings and the honey 'chicken' is a winner too. Just check what you order is vegan as some of the meals are vegetarian. They're not open on Tuesdays and you usually have to book as they're always packed.

Yong Green Food, 421 Brunswick St Fitzroy

Eeeeeee! I love this place. Not only are the staff absolutely gorgeous and super-friendly, but the place is totally meat free and affordable. There are raw-food options for those jumping on the latest foodie-trend-band-wagon - my suggestion is the Rawsagna ... the cashew cream, ohh the cashew cream. I also love the kimchi pancake and the pho. Everything's great though, I don't even mind the odd parking ticket when I eat there because the food is so worth it.

vege2go, 452 Lygon Street, Brunswick East

vege2go is a great little place for some quick takeaway. My favourites are the vegan arancini and the baked potatoes. There are some great salads too, the green bean and the broccoli ones are excellent.

  

The Fox Hotel, 351 Wellington Street, Collingwood

Sometimes you just want a pub meal. And if you want something a little more fancy than a mock-meat parma (see below) you should check out the Fox. There are always great vegan options on the menu and it's a nice little pub with a good feel.

They've also got White Rabbit Ale, which is vegan, and which, my beer-drinking-friends tell me, is the best beer ever.

East Brunswick Club, 280 Lygon Street, East Brunswick

I've got four words for you; Best. Vegan. Parma. Ever. And the bar staff are a bit cute too, which is helpful. I used to live across the road which was a health hazard - thankfully I've moved a few blocks down and have learned that vegan parmas are a sometimes food ;) .

Rumi, 116 Lygon Street, Brunswick East

Speaking of sometimes foods, this one's for a special night out. Rumi is my favourite 'occasion' restaurant. Ask for the vegan banquet and proceed to have a life-changing gastronomic experience ... hmm, I always wonder if I'm exaggerating when I talk about this restaurant and then I go there again and realise I'm not. I'm always impressed, which is not so when I have the vegan banquet down the road at Hellenic Republic (- not saying it's bad, it just sometimes doesn't hit the mark and there is far too much food wasted). And considering Rumi is cheaper I'd prefer it any day.

The Empire Cafe Gallery,  295 Sydney Road, Brunswick 

This place has a great little vegan breakfast. I've not tried a lot of things on the menu, but anywhere I can get mushrooms that aren't cooked in butter deserves inclusion. 

The guy there told me that they're going to be bringing back their vegan lunch menu soon too - so that's hopeful! Besides the food though, it's a cool little place with a good vibe.

The Radical Grocery Store, 6-8 Wilson Avenue, Brunswick

If you're vego and you live in the northern suburbs, you already know about Radical. Nonetheless I had to include it here as their delicious vegan cupcakes were an amazing source of  quick energy during the 'when will this be over?!?' house move. My favourite's the strawberry :) .

So there you go, just a few of my faves and places I've been frequenting while not being able to cook at home!

soup, soup, soup

Yep, Melbourne has turned on the cold again this weekend.

It's been a blustery, rainy Sunday afternoon, so of course I thought of soup.

I've spent the last few weeks moving house and STILL don't have the internet sorted at the new place, but thanks to a USB dongle, I'm able to post this soup I whipped up today with 'stuff I found in the cupboard/fridge that was going bad'.

Clearly choosing the ingredients was a very technical process *wink*.


 Stuff you need;

3 or 4 potatoes, chopped into small cubes
half a head of cauliflower, broken into small florets
400 gram tin crushed tomatoes
1 heaped tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup red split lentils
tinned corn
2 cloves garlic
2 and a half Massell vegetable stock cubes
olive oil
fresh parsley to taste

What you do;

1) Fry the garlic and potato in olive oil til it's browned.

2) Add a litre of water with the dissolved stock cubes and the crushed tomatoes. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and add cauliflower and lentils.

3) Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the lentils, cauliflower and potato are cooked through and soft. Then add the tomato paste and salt and pepper to taste.

4) Finally, add the tinned corn and chopped fresh parsley and heat through.

That's it! My very basic peasant soup. Cheap as chips and oh so easy. The beauty of it is that you can put whatever you want in it - I just happened to have potatoes and cauliflower I needed to use. Last time I used carrot and broccolini and it was great too.