vegan holidays

The holidays are pretty much full of dread for us vegans. Besides having to explain to relatives AGAIN why the 'little bit of egg' in the salad does in fact make a difference, just generally being the odd one out in a room where no one respects your position (or wants to understand it) can be pretty soul-destroying.

family xmas lunch

Thankfully this year my family xmas lunch (a week before the 25th) was hosted by my sister who has recently moved back from overseas. Not only did she organise the food so there would be something for me to eat, she also incorporated felafel wraps into the menu (because she knows I love them). It was a really great meal - a shame there was no vegan dessert, but I didn't have time to make four dishes, and heaven forbid anyone else (besides my sis, who did heaps) try to make something vegan.

I made a green bean salad from a recipe I found in a magazine, a summer coleslaw recipe that was at the bottom of this article about Meat Free Mondays from a few weeks ago, and my own baked potatoes recipe that I posted recently. They all turned out really well and I think everybody enjoyed them.

leftover felafel lunch

My sis made some amazing felafels from scratch (which she'll be teaching me how to make soon and is happy for me to share here!) and some beetroot chutney to go with them. We had them in wraps with rocket and olives - they were absolutely delicious. 

Not only that, but she gave me some to take home so I got to enjoy them the next day at work for lunch! In fact, I ate them every meal for two days - and didn't get sick of them - that's how good they are.

I hosted a small New Years Eve soiree at my apartment this year. I have a good friend who's recently had shoulder surgery so wasn't up for a big night, and another friend from Korea staying at my place, so I decided to have a small night at home of nibblies and drinks. My bestie and I have an ongoing joke about pickled veggies on toothpics, so I went a bit retro on the nibbles. I also made some polenta squares and topped them with mushrooms and ratatouille.

polenta squares

It was a great evening, totally vegan, and we could see the city fireworks from the balcony.

Overall, these holidays haven't been too painful. I've had some great food and enjoyed preparing and sharing some vegan recipes.

Something I hope to continue doing in 2012! Happy Vegan New Year!

unbeatable roast potatoes

I make the BEST roast potatoes. Hands down. And here's how to make 'em. First of all, use small potatoes, I use organic baby chats. Put them in a pot of salted tap water and bring it to the boil. Boil them until they're almost cooked through, then put them on a tray and press down on them til they break open. Drizzle good olive oil over them and sprinkle fresh rosemary and rock salt (be generous). Roast in a hot oven for about 20 minutes - making sure they're cooked through and have that delicious brown crunchy crust. They're so moreish and are the highlight of a dinner party.  

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.

oh my, what a pie

Well 'tis the season. Melbourne is f-f-f-freezing at the moment and there's nothing more warming than a yummy pie. Last week I baked this recipe from taste.com.au (minus the egg wash), and it was pretty good. So I decided to try it again but change it a bit.

The original recipe is a bit dry, so I ended up adding another half cup or so of Massel vegetable stock. I also added two teaspoons of tomato paste and fresh parsley.

I made 5 small pies instead of one big one, and to get the shine on top I baked them for 5 minutes or so then used spray oil on top and baked them for another 10 minutes - or until golden brown. Also, I used double the mushrooms (because I luuurv mushrooms) and a little less potato.

They were so very delicious - I'm drooling just looking at the pics! They're a slow cook but so worth it. My new favourite winter dish.

The recipe is a great base too, you could really add whatever you wanted to it. I'm going to be experimenting more with this little ditty.

Trying New Things - fast, easy Indian

For a quick, easy, delicious dinner I love these Tasty Bite dishes. They're vegan and available in most supermarkets. All you need to do is heat them up and serve with rice (or whatever you like). 

One pack is a good sized meal for one person - if I'm cooking for two I like to mix two flavours together. 

Here's what I do;

Choose a mix of two. My faves are Mumbai Mushroom mixed with Punjab Eggplant, or Bombay Potatoes with either. All you have to do is heat them up, so I heat them together and add a bit of tomato sauce ... yep, just old-school White Crow tomato sauce, it makes it a bit tastier and I love tomato flavoured curries. You could go nuts with what you add to it, but I'm usually in a hurry when I'm serving up this dish.

I serve it on brown rice, with a bit of Tofutti Sour Supreme Better than Sour Cream and fresh parsley or coriander. This is a really quick, really easy meal - particularly if you always cook extra rice and have some in the fridge ready to go.

When people find out I'm vegan they say things like "gosh, you must find that really hard". I actually find it the complete opposite. Particularly when there are great products like these on the shelves (so I too can make a bang-up meal and feel like I'm cheating *wink*).

Cheers, M