Microwave Baked Potatoes with Happy Tuna Salad

Remember me?

I'm not sure what happened but somewhere along the way I lost my blogging mojo. Not just blogging but also reading blogs, have over 100 posts in my google reader and I'm not even curious.

I've lost my blogging enthusiasm before and it always returns, or I kind of force myself to blog, but someone wisely said its not a chore, do it when you feel like it. I'm not sure where this leaves this blog, at the moment am going to leave it and see if the renthusiasm eturns, but if it never returns then maybe its time to say goodbye or to make some changes. Does anyone else suffer from blogging burnout?

I have several things to post about including awesome food in Sydney but instead i'm blogging about about the one thing that I kind of want to blog about.

I had day surgery to remove endometriosis last week and my recovery has been a lot longer and worse than I expected. My friend Eve very kindly offered me her microwave to borrow while I recover and she moves house. I've generally been quite anti microwave, haven't owned one since moving out. However it has come in super handy over last week, in heating up a heatpack more times than I can count, reheating my lunches when I'm home alone and making this. I've become so used to it that I think when I return it I'll get my own. Also look forward to making mug cake, melting chocolate and more.

Troy and Bec come over one night to visit me last week and showed Toby how to make baked potatoes or jacket potatoes in the microwave. It was my idea to add the happy tuna salad. This dish has been the best comfort food. Is there anything more satisying than melted margaine on baked potato? On second thought, don't answer that!

For the record I don't really think it tastes anything like tuna, but its delicious in its own right.

Happy Tuna Salad from VeganMania

1 1/2 cooked or canned chickpeas
1 cup finely chopped celery
1 Tbsp chopped sweet pickles (we sometimes skip this)
2 Tbsp sweet pickle juice or brine
3/4 cup vegan mayo
1 Tbsp old bay seasoning (never used it)
1 Tbsp of prepared mustard
pinch of dried kelp powder (I tend to use dulse flakes)

Mash chickpeas in food processor or with masher. Mix in remaining ingredients. Taste and adjust to your liking.

 Easy 'baked' potatoes:
4 small-medium 'washed' potatoes

Wash potatoes, prick each one with a fork several times. Place potatoes on folded paper towel,  and wrap it lightly arou d potatoes. Microwave for 10 minutes.

Remove from microwave, and cover in foil for another 10 minutes.

Cut open and serve with toppings.

They are not as crispy on the outside but are so quick and easy that I don't mind at all.


Today they were topped with happy tuna salad, margarine, cheezly and sour cream.

Remember me?

I'm not sure what happened but somewhere along the way I lost my blogging mojo. Not just blogging but also reading blogs, have over 100 posts in my google reader and I'm not even curious.

I've lost my blogging enthusiasm before and it always returns, or I kind of force myself to blog, but someone wisely said its not a chore, do it when you feel like it. I'm not sure where this leaves this blog, at the moment am going to leave it and see if the renthusiasm eturns, but if it never returns then maybe its time to say goodbye or to make some changes. Does anyone else suffer from blogging burnout?

I have several things to post about including awesome food in Sydney but instead i'm blogging about about the one thing that I kind of want to blog about.

I had day surgery to remove endometriosis last week and my recovery has been a lot longer and worse than I expected. My friend Eve very kindly offered me her microwave to borrow while I recover and she moves house. I've generally been quite anti microwave, haven't owned one since moving out. However it has come in super handy over last week, in heating up a heatpack more times than I can count, reheating my lunches when I'm home alone and making this. I've become so used to it that I think when I return it I'll get my own. Also look forward to making mug cake, melting chocolate and more.

Troy and Bec come over one night to visit me last week and showed Toby how to make baked potatoes or jacket potatoes in the microwave. It was my idea to add the happy tuna salad. This dish has been the best comfort food. Is there anything more satisying than melted margaine on baked potato? On second thought, don't answer that!

For the record I don't really think it tastes anything like tuna, but its delicious in its own right.

Happy Tuna Salad from VeganMania

1 1/2 cooked or canned chickpeas
1 cup finely chopped celery
1 Tbsp chopped sweet pickles (we sometimes skip this)
2 Tbsp sweet pickle juice or brine
3/4 cup vegan mayo
1 Tbsp old bay seasoning (never used it)
1 Tbsp of prepared mustard
pinch of dried kelp powder (I tend to use dulse flakes)

Mash chickpeas in food processor or with masher. Mix in remaining ingredients. Taste and adjust to your liking.

 Easy 'baked' potatoes:
4 small-medium 'washed' potatoes

Wash potatoes, prick each one with a fork several times. Place potatoes on folded paper towel,  and wrap it lightly arou d potatoes. Microwave for 10 minutes.

Remove from microwave, and cover in foil for another 10 minutes.

Cut open and serve with toppings.

They are not as crispy on the outside but are so quick and easy that I don't mind at all.


Today they were topped with happy tuna salad, margarine, cheezly and sour cream.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Kimchi Noodles

I'm sure this isn't authentic at all but it was a quick and tasty dish which was very loosely inspired from meet me at mikes kimchi salad.

Kimchi Noodles
serves 4-6 (4 for us because Toby is a massive eater)

1 package of sweet potato noodles
2 cups chopped kimchi
1 Tablespoon lime juice
2 T soy sauce plus splash of soy
2 Packets of Fried Tofu, chopped
1/2 T vinegar
1/2 T sugar
handful of fried onions -the ones you get from asian supermarket in a packet (optional)

Boil water, cook noodles until tender about 8 minutes. Strain noodles.

Stir fry tofu with splash of soy sauce. Add in kimchi, vinegar and sugar and cook for a few more minutes. Mix in tofu/kimchi to noodles and add lime juice and soy sauce. Stir and serve with some fried onions sprinkled on top. I am addicted to fried onions at the moment!

Toby and I was quiet pleased with this dish, and will certainly be making it again. It's a great weeknight dinner and is slightly salty, sour and spicy.

Am still looking for Korean inspired dessert recipes, any suggestions?

I'm sure this isn't authentic at all but it was a quick and tasty dish which was very loosely inspired from meet me at mikes kimchi salad.

Kimchi Noodles
serves 4-6 (4 for us because Toby is a massive eater)

1 package of sweet potato noodles
2 cups chopped kimchi
1 Tablespoon lime juice
2 T soy sauce plus splash of soy
2 Packets of Fried Tofu, chopped
1/2 T vinegar
1/2 T sugar
handful of fried onions -the ones you get from asian supermarket in a packet (optional)

Boil water, cook noodles until tender about 8 minutes. Strain noodles.

Stir fry tofu with splash of soy sauce. Add in kimchi, vinegar and sugar and cook for a few more minutes. Mix in tofu/kimchi to noodles and add lime juice and soy sauce. Stir and serve with some fried onions sprinkled on top. I am addicted to fried onions at the moment!

Toby and I was quiet pleased with this dish, and will certainly be making it again. It's a great weeknight dinner and is slightly salty, sour and spicy.

Am still looking for Korean inspired dessert recipes, any suggestions?

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Spabetties Seven Layer Tacos- Vegan MOFO Day 13

It was only a matter of time before I blogged about a recipe from a vegan mofo post as I have been

bookmarking so many new recipes,so many great ideas!

These are delicious, and I love the idea of quinoa in tacos so much more nutritious than my previous tacos. I loved the cashew cheese too. Really need to make cashew cheese more often.

Here is the recipe from xgfx blog, she also has her own blog here.

 Seven layer tacos Ok so technically six, since I omitted the olives.

The Layers:

1. jalapeno beans
2. salsa spiced quinoa
3. noocho cheese sauce
4. chopped lettuce and scallions
5. chopped tomatoes
6. cubed avocado
7. jalapeno soaked olives

Layer in hard corn taco shells, or in a serving dish as a seven layer dip. I have served these in small bowls as individual dips as well. No measurements for this – make as little or as much as you want, with layers as thick or thin as you want.
Base layer – canned pinto beans (drained) and chopped jalapeno:  2 cans beans and 2 seeded jalapenos, processed in food processor to a blend of chunky/creamy. I also fried this for a few minutes so it was warm and used chilli flakes.
Second layer – salsa spiced quinoa – quinoa cooked with dried and powdered “salsa flavors” added to the water: I used 1 cup quinoa to 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth, I added 1/4 teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 2 teaspoons chili flakes, 1 teaspoon chili powder, bring to boil then simmer 25 minutes.
Third layer – noocho cheese sauce / dip. Recipe follows.
Fourth through seventh layers – layer the lettuce and scallions, then tomato, then avocado, then olives.


This noocho cheese has gained notoriety as well – it is a favorite in our house and many others. A perfect blend of spicy heat, a subtle buttery sweet from cashews, and the cheesy nutritional yeast – my cravings for this border on obsessive.

noocho cheese sauce

vegan, gluten free, dairy free
1 cup raw cashews, soaked
juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons Tabasco sauce (we used less as we are wusses when it comes to heat)
1/3 to 1/2 cup water
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
Begin with soaked cashews – process alone to an almost creamy consistency. Add lemon juice, Tabasco and a couple tablespoons of the water – continue processing until smooth. While processing, add garlic, nutritional yeast, paprika, chili and onion powders, stopping to scrape sides. Add water until desired consistency is reached – more water for sauce, less for dip.

It was only a matter of time before I blogged about a recipe from a vegan mofo post as I have been

bookmarking so many new recipes,so many great ideas!

These are delicious, and I love the idea of quinoa in tacos so much more nutritious than my previous tacos. I loved the cashew cheese too. Really need to make cashew cheese more often.

Here is the recipe from xgfx blog, she also has her own blog here.

 Seven layer tacos Ok so technically six, since I omitted the olives.

The Layers:

1. jalapeno beans
2. salsa spiced quinoa
3. noocho cheese sauce
4. chopped lettuce and scallions
5. chopped tomatoes
6. cubed avocado
7. jalapeno soaked olives

Layer in hard corn taco shells, or in a serving dish as a seven layer dip. I have served these in small bowls as individual dips as well. No measurements for this – make as little or as much as you want, with layers as thick or thin as you want.
Base layer – canned pinto beans (drained) and chopped jalapeno:  2 cans beans and 2 seeded jalapenos, processed in food processor to a blend of chunky/creamy. I also fried this for a few minutes so it was warm and used chilli flakes.
Second layer – salsa spiced quinoa – quinoa cooked with dried and powdered “salsa flavors” added to the water: I used 1 cup quinoa to 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth, I added 1/4 teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 2 teaspoons chili flakes, 1 teaspoon chili powder, bring to boil then simmer 25 minutes.
Third layer – noocho cheese sauce / dip. Recipe follows.
Fourth through seventh layers – layer the lettuce and scallions, then tomato, then avocado, then olives.


This noocho cheese has gained notoriety as well – it is a favorite in our house and many others. A perfect blend of spicy heat, a subtle buttery sweet from cashews, and the cheesy nutritional yeast – my cravings for this border on obsessive.

noocho cheese sauce

vegan, gluten free, dairy free
1 cup raw cashews, soaked
juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons Tabasco sauce (we used less as we are wusses when it comes to heat)
1/3 to 1/2 cup water
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
Begin with soaked cashews – process alone to an almost creamy consistency. Add lemon juice, Tabasco and a couple tablespoons of the water – continue processing until smooth. While processing, add garlic, nutritional yeast, paprika, chili and onion powders, stopping to scrape sides. Add water until desired consistency is reached – more water for sauce, less for dip.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Tempeh Bacon Experiment-That Recipe Looks Familar

We went over our download limit this week so have not been able to blog about last weeks potluck til now. I'm not too sad about it though because I need to reserve my efforts for vegan mofo, where we (mostly I) will try to blog every day. In reality I will try to stick to 5 posts a week but will see how I go.  Anyway, back to the potluck and the that recipe seems familar blog event.  Both the event and the potluck was to celebrate  Planet VegMel's 2nd birthday.  Planet VegMel is a wonderful site where you can view all the Melbourne veg blogs in one spot. You can read about the first round of posts for the blog event here. There was also a cute zine created at the last minute.

The potluck was great, there was so much amazing food which resulted in me feeling super full and exhausted. You can read about some of the dishes online including Steph's caramel slice, Mel's tofu quiches and apricot delights, Emily's eggplant salad, Michael's enchiladas, Vicki's peanut butter balls, Johannas cake pops, Cindy's cookie sandwiches, Carla's mock crab cakes, Dannis' muffins and bread, Emily's gado gado and turkish truffles. There was more dishes too and thankfully most of the dishes were gluten free so I didn't have to miss out on much. Thanks everyone, it really means a lot! It was great to meet a few new people and to make friends with Johannas cute daughter Sylvia.

Toby wasn't feeling well and so wasn't planning on going til the last minute so he needed some quick to make. He decided on the tempeh not bacon from wheres the beef:

Tempeh, not bacon
(based on recipe at Get Sconed!)

300g tempeh
4 tablespoons soy sauce
~1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon golden syrup
1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke
2 teaspoons tomato paste
vegetable oil, for frying

Slice the tempeh into the thinnest sheets you can.

Whisk the rest of the ingredients (except the oil) together in a bowl.

Spread some of the marinade on the base of a shallow tray, lay out the tempeh, and spread over more marinade. Let the tempeh soak up the yum for at least a couple of hours; pop it in the fridge and it'll last for days.

When the tempeh's ready, pour a little oil in a fry pan a heat it to medium/high. Fry the tempeh strips until they darken and crisp up a little.

He put it on top of some tofu 'egg'  and hollandaise sauce from vegan brunch. The tofu egg wasn't particuarly eggy because we didn't have black salt but I enjoyed the hollaindaise sauce:

 Despite being not the biggest fan of tempeh, I loved it so I decided to also try the tempeh bacon from easy as vegan pie:

Tempeh Bacon originally from Veg News TV
1 packet of tempeh, pat dry and slice thinly
1/4 cup of soy sauce/tamari
1/4 cup of maple syrup
1 tbsp of liquid smoke

1. Steam the tempeh slices for 8-10 minutes in vegie steamer. The tempeh will go a whiteish colour.

2. Mix up the marinade and soak the tempeh strips for an hour or over night if possible.

3. Line up the tempeh strips on a wire rack and drain the marinade off then line the little soldiers up on a baking sheet and grill them at 200 degrees (or high). I just fried mine for about 10 minutes on each side.

I served it for over brown rice, with roasted pumpkin, greens and the wonderful chickpea gravy from appetite for reduction which all made one super yummy and almost healthy dinner.

The main difference with this recipe was the steaming, which does result in a slightly superior flavour and texture. We will certainly stick to steaming from now on.

I do have one more post for the recipe looks familar blog event, but might save it for vegan mofo. See you in a weeks time!

We went over our download limit this week so have not been able to blog about last weeks potluck til now. I'm not too sad about it though because I need to reserve my efforts for vegan mofo, where we (mostly I) will try to blog every day. In reality I will try to stick to 5 posts a week but will see how I go.  Anyway, back to the potluck and the that recipe seems familar blog event.  Both the event and the potluck was to celebrate  Planet VegMel's 2nd birthday.  Planet VegMel is a wonderful site where you can view all the Melbourne veg blogs in one spot. You can read about the first round of posts for the blog event here. There was also a cute zine created at the last minute.

The potluck was great, there was so much amazing food which resulted in me feeling super full and exhausted. You can read about some of the dishes online including Steph's caramel slice, Mel's tofu quiches and apricot delights, Emily's eggplant salad, Michael's enchiladas, Vicki's peanut butter balls, Johannas cake pops, Cindy's cookie sandwiches, Carla's mock crab cakes, Dannis' muffins and bread, Emily's gado gado and turkish truffles. There was more dishes too and thankfully most of the dishes were gluten free so I didn't have to miss out on much. Thanks everyone, it really means a lot! It was great to meet a few new people and to make friends with Johannas cute daughter Sylvia.

Toby wasn't feeling well and so wasn't planning on going til the last minute so he needed some quick to make. He decided on the tempeh not bacon from wheres the beef:

Tempeh, not bacon
(based on recipe at Get Sconed!)

300g tempeh
4 tablespoons soy sauce
~1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon golden syrup
1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke
2 teaspoons tomato paste
vegetable oil, for frying

Slice the tempeh into the thinnest sheets you can.

Whisk the rest of the ingredients (except the oil) together in a bowl.

Spread some of the marinade on the base of a shallow tray, lay out the tempeh, and spread over more marinade. Let the tempeh soak up the yum for at least a couple of hours; pop it in the fridge and it'll last for days.

When the tempeh's ready, pour a little oil in a fry pan a heat it to medium/high. Fry the tempeh strips until they darken and crisp up a little.

He put it on top of some tofu 'egg'  and hollandaise sauce from vegan brunch. The tofu egg wasn't particuarly eggy because we didn't have black salt but I enjoyed the hollaindaise sauce:

 Despite being not the biggest fan of tempeh, I loved it so I decided to also try the tempeh bacon from easy as vegan pie:

Tempeh Bacon originally from Veg News TV
1 packet of tempeh, pat dry and slice thinly
1/4 cup of soy sauce/tamari
1/4 cup of maple syrup
1 tbsp of liquid smoke

1. Steam the tempeh slices for 8-10 minutes in vegie steamer. The tempeh will go a whiteish colour.

2. Mix up the marinade and soak the tempeh strips for an hour or over night if possible.

3. Line up the tempeh strips on a wire rack and drain the marinade off then line the little soldiers up on a baking sheet and grill them at 200 degrees (or high). I just fried mine for about 10 minutes on each side.

I served it for over brown rice, with roasted pumpkin, greens and the wonderful chickpea gravy from appetite for reduction which all made one super yummy and almost healthy dinner.

The main difference with this recipe was the steaming, which does result in a slightly superior flavour and texture. We will certainly stick to steaming from now on.

I do have one more post for the recipe looks familar blog event, but might save it for vegan mofo. See you in a weeks time!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Toby's Singapore Noodles

Singapore style noodles are not from Singapore but are actually from Hong Kong. Toby has been playing around with this recipe for a while and this is our favourite version so far and is my latest savoury obsession. I would have it every night if I could but Toby is being the voice of reason and reminded me that with all of the frying it is isn't the healthiest. I love that it's mild enough that we can eat it but spicy enough to have just a little bit of kick. I always add more soy sauce to mine because I love salty food so feel free to play around with it to suit your tastes. We use whatever veggies we have in the food co- op box and generally use greens but didn't have any today.

1.5 tablespoon of sesame seeds, toasted
1 packet of 454 grams (16oz) rice noodles (we use Kong Moon rice sticks)
2 packets of 300 grams fried firm tofu, sliced into strips (we use yensons)

2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced 
1  medium capscisum, sliced
1 onion, sliced
2-3 tablespoons of curry powder
a pinch to 1/2 teaspoon of dried chilli flakes (start with less)
1/4 cup of vegetable stock
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
a splash of sesame oil
a splash of G/F soy sauce
tumeric powder (optional for colour)
salt and white pepper to taste

1. Soak rice noodles in enough hot water to cover until they are soft, roughly 20 minutes. 


2. Marinate tofu, carrots and capsicum in splash of sesame oil and soy sauce and with the chilli flakes for at least 10 minutes.


3. Toast sesame seeds in dry pan and put to side.


4. Fry onion until soft in vegetable oil, add curry powder and fry until it is combined and fragrant.


5. Add tofu and vegies to fry pan and fry until vegetables are soft.


6. Drain rice noodles, rinse with cold water and add to pan.


7. Mix well and add stock.Stir and fry until stock is absorbed.


8. Add salt (or soy sauce) and white pepper to taste. Serve with sesame seeds and sesame oil.

Ideally you should cook everything on high in a wok, if you have a small frypan or wok you might want to half this recipe. We have a gigantic frypan but look at how full it is without the noodles:

Serves 4-6. Toby is a big eater so it only serves 4 in our household but could serve 6 regular eaters. We always make enough for 4 so we can have leftovers for lunch the following day.

Chef suggestion: enjoy with pu-erh tea or cola

Enjoy!

Singapore style noodles are not from Singapore but are actually from Hong Kong. Toby has been playing around with this recipe for a while and this is our favourite version so far and is my latest savoury obsession. I would have it every night if I could but Toby is being the voice of reason and reminded me that with all of the frying it is isn't the healthiest. I love that it's mild enough that we can eat it but spicy enough to have just a little bit of kick. I always add more soy sauce to mine because I love salty food so feel free to play around with it to suit your tastes. We use whatever veggies we have in the food co- op box and generally use greens but didn't have any today.

1.5 tablespoon of sesame seeds, toasted
1 packet of 454 grams (16oz) rice noodles (we use Kong Moon rice sticks)
2 packets of 300 grams fried firm tofu, sliced into strips (we use yensons)

2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced 
1  medium capscisum, sliced
1 onion, sliced
2-3 tablespoons of curry powder
a pinch to 1/2 teaspoon of dried chilli flakes (start with less)
1/4 cup of vegetable stock
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
a splash of sesame oil
a splash of G/F soy sauce
tumeric powder (optional for colour)
salt and white pepper to taste

1. Soak rice noodles in enough hot water to cover until they are soft, roughly 20 minutes. 


2. Marinate tofu, carrots and capsicum in splash of sesame oil and soy sauce and with the chilli flakes for at least 10 minutes.


3. Toast sesame seeds in dry pan and put to side.


4. Fry onion until soft in vegetable oil, add curry powder and fry until it is combined and fragrant.


5. Add tofu and vegies to fry pan and fry until vegetables are soft.


6. Drain rice noodles, rinse with cold water and add to pan.


7. Mix well and add stock.Stir and fry until stock is absorbed.


8. Add salt (or soy sauce) and white pepper to taste. Serve with sesame seeds and sesame oil.

Ideally you should cook everything on high in a wok, if you have a small frypan or wok you might want to half this recipe. We have a gigantic frypan but look at how full it is without the noodles:

Serves 4-6. Toby is a big eater so it only serves 4 in our household but could serve 6 regular eaters. We always make enough for 4 so we can have leftovers for lunch the following day.

Chef suggestion: enjoy with pu-erh tea or cola

Enjoy!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Vegemite Tofu

I always cook Matthew's Delicious Tofu for dinner. It is fast, full of protein (3x500g tofu!!) and yummy.

The other day, K and I were talking about serving pan fried tofu with the vegemite gravy we made before.  And now we have a new easy weeknight dish.

Instead of vegemite or NON-gluten-free Marmite, we used Freedom Foods' Vege Spread.


Vegemite Tofu
(serves 6)

What you need:

3 packs of 500g firm tofu, sliced or diced (We love Yenson's so does Cindy & Michael)
Whatever amount (within reason) of vegies, chopped 
Handful of sesame seeds
1 TBSP of sesame oil or raw coconut butter
6 gloves of garlic, minced (or you can use the whole thing)
2-4 TBSP Freedom Foods' Vege Spread
1 to 3 TPSP of corn flour or any gluten-free flour
1 1/2 cup of water
Dash of tamari or gluten-free soy sauce (We use Chang's)

What you need to do:

- Brown sesame seed on fry pan, set aside.  

- Heat oil and pan fry tofu on non-stick fry pan or wok, add dash of tamari on top of tofu just before you flip it.  Set aside in a big metal mixing bowl or tray.

- Heat oil on non-stick fry pan or wok.  Saute minced garlic for a moment and add vegies.  Stir fry for a moment.

- Add Vege Spread and water.  Stir fry until it's mixed in with vegie.

- Slowly add gluten-free flour to the pan.  Keep stirring until it is thick enough.


- Add tofu back to the pan and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.

You can serve it with brown rice, noodles or even mashed potatoes!

I always cook Matthew's Delicious Tofu for dinner. It is fast, full of protein (3x500g tofu!!) and yummy.

The other day, K and I were talking about serving pan fried tofu with the vegemite gravy we made before.  And now we have a new easy weeknight dish.

Instead of vegemite or NON-gluten-free Marmite, we used Freedom Foods' Vege Spread.


Vegemite Tofu
(serves 6)

What you need:

3 packs of 500g firm tofu, sliced or diced (We love Yenson's so does Cindy & Michael)
Whatever amount (within reason) of vegies, chopped 
Handful of sesame seeds
1 TBSP of sesame oil or raw coconut butter
6 gloves of garlic, minced (or you can use the whole thing)
2-4 TBSP Freedom Foods' Vege Spread
1 to 3 TPSP of corn flour or any gluten-free flour
1 1/2 cup of water
Dash of tamari or gluten-free soy sauce (We use Chang's)

What you need to do:

- Brown sesame seed on fry pan, set aside.  

- Heat oil and pan fry tofu on non-stick fry pan or wok, add dash of tamari on top of tofu just before you flip it.  Set aside in a big metal mixing bowl or tray.

- Heat oil on non-stick fry pan or wok.  Saute minced garlic for a moment and add vegies.  Stir fry for a moment.

- Add Vege Spread and water.  Stir fry until it's mixed in with vegie.

- Slowly add gluten-free flour to the pan.  Keep stirring until it is thick enough.


- Add tofu back to the pan and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.

You can serve it with brown rice, noodles or even mashed potatoes!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Peanut Eggplant and Shallot Stew

About a fortnight ago when the weather was cooler here Toby made this stew it's actually called spicy peanut eggplant and shallot stew but we made it mild.

Peanut Eggplant And Shallot Stew from PPK

1 lb. Eggplant, peeled, chopped in 1/2 inch cubes
1 tsp salt
4 oz. Shallots, peeled and sliced very thin
1/4 cup peanut oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 hot chili, seeded and minced (skipped this and used tiny bit of dried chilli flakes)
1” cube of ginger, peeled and minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1/8-1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper (optional)
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground tumeric
1/3 cup tomato paste
1 16 oz. Can roasted diced tomatoes w/ juice (I used regular diced tomatoes)
5 cups water or light veggie broth
1/2 cup creamy or chunky natural peanut butter
6 oz green beans, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
2 T fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup coarsely chopped cilantro, lightly packed
chopped roasted peanuts and cilantro leaves for garnish (we skipped this too)

Directions
In a large bowl or colander toss eggplant cubes with salt. Allow to sit of 30 minutes to soften, then gently rinse eggplant chunks with cold running water. Drain and set aside.
In a large stock pot heat 2 T peanut oil over medium high heat. Add shallots and fry, occasionally stirring, for about 20 minutes until very soft, browned and slightly caramelized. Scoop shallots out of pot and set aside.
Add 1 T of oil to pot and add eggplant, stirring to coat with oil. Stir and cook eggplant for 12-15 minutes until slightly tender. Remove eggplant from heat and set aside (I toss it in the same bowl with the shallots).
Add remaining 1 T of oil to the pot again, then add ginger and chile and fry for 30 seconds. Add ground cumin, coriander, tumeric and fry for another 30 second then add onion. Stir and fry till onion is just slightly soft and translucent, about 5-6 minutes. Add tomato paste, stir and fry mixture for 1 minute.
Pour diced tomatoes, water or broth, eggplant, string beans and shallots into pot with frying onion/spice mixture. Stir to combined and raise heat to medium high. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes, then reduce heat.
In a separate bowl stir peanut butter to combine any separated oils. Pour a ladleful of hot soup onto peanut butter. Stir peanut butter with soup till creamy and peanut butter is completely emulsified. Scrape peanut butter mixture into rest of simmering soup, stirring to combine.
Simmer soup on medium-low heat, covered, for 35-45 minutes or until eggplant is very tender. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro and lemon juice. Salt to taste after soup has cooled for at least half an hour.

We have issues in the past making eggplant dishes, I'm not sure if we don't salt it long enough or don't cook it long enough but it always ends up bitter and a bit too hard but the eggplant was perfect in this. This dish was easy enough to make and had a beautiful rich flavour we will be making it again in winter.

About a fortnight ago when the weather was cooler here Toby made this stew it's actually called spicy peanut eggplant and shallot stew but we made it mild.

Peanut Eggplant And Shallot Stew from PPK

1 lb. Eggplant, peeled, chopped in 1/2 inch cubes
1 tsp salt
4 oz. Shallots, peeled and sliced very thin
1/4 cup peanut oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 hot chili, seeded and minced (skipped this and used tiny bit of dried chilli flakes)
1” cube of ginger, peeled and minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1/8-1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper (optional)
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground tumeric
1/3 cup tomato paste
1 16 oz. Can roasted diced tomatoes w/ juice (I used regular diced tomatoes)
5 cups water or light veggie broth
1/2 cup creamy or chunky natural peanut butter
6 oz green beans, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
2 T fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup coarsely chopped cilantro, lightly packed
chopped roasted peanuts and cilantro leaves for garnish (we skipped this too)

Directions
In a large bowl or colander toss eggplant cubes with salt. Allow to sit of 30 minutes to soften, then gently rinse eggplant chunks with cold running water. Drain and set aside.
In a large stock pot heat 2 T peanut oil over medium high heat. Add shallots and fry, occasionally stirring, for about 20 minutes until very soft, browned and slightly caramelized. Scoop shallots out of pot and set aside.
Add 1 T of oil to pot and add eggplant, stirring to coat with oil. Stir and cook eggplant for 12-15 minutes until slightly tender. Remove eggplant from heat and set aside (I toss it in the same bowl with the shallots).
Add remaining 1 T of oil to the pot again, then add ginger and chile and fry for 30 seconds. Add ground cumin, coriander, tumeric and fry for another 30 second then add onion. Stir and fry till onion is just slightly soft and translucent, about 5-6 minutes. Add tomato paste, stir and fry mixture for 1 minute.
Pour diced tomatoes, water or broth, eggplant, string beans and shallots into pot with frying onion/spice mixture. Stir to combined and raise heat to medium high. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes, then reduce heat.
In a separate bowl stir peanut butter to combine any separated oils. Pour a ladleful of hot soup onto peanut butter. Stir peanut butter with soup till creamy and peanut butter is completely emulsified. Scrape peanut butter mixture into rest of simmering soup, stirring to combine.
Simmer soup on medium-low heat, covered, for 35-45 minutes or until eggplant is very tender. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro and lemon juice. Salt to taste after soup has cooled for at least half an hour.

We have issues in the past making eggplant dishes, I'm not sure if we don't salt it long enough or don't cook it long enough but it always ends up bitter and a bit too hard but the eggplant was perfect in this. This dish was easy enough to make and had a beautiful rich flavour we will be making it again in winter.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Cream Cheese Pasta

I generally find the recipes that Toby makes for weeknight dinners. The theme tends to be quick and easy. Actually the theme for most of our meals is quick and easy. This dish fits the bill nicely.


Cream Cheese Pasta it's actually a variation of Pasta with Cream Sauce and Spinach from vegan food.

          1/3 container Tofutti  "Better Than Cream Cheese"
          1 cup vegetable stock
          1 garlic clove, crushed
          1 cup rocket (or argula)
          1 large broccoli
          1 can of beans
          G/f pasta
          Vegetable oil
          Salt and pepper 

METHOD
Saute garlic and broccoli in a little oil.  Add stock cube and cup of water. Add the Tofutti cream cheese and white beans. Let simmer till kinda thick (10 minutes maybe). Add rocket in last minute of cooking. Dump everything on top of the pasta you cooked and mix it up. If you wanted to make it tastier you could add some fresh herbs.





It was delicious, creamy and relatively healthy. Maybe not as nice as amazing as the vegan yum yum Alfredo but cheaper and with less dishes and ingredients. I think this could be a great dish to make when traveling.

I generally find the recipes that Toby makes for weeknight dinners. The theme tends to be quick and easy. Actually the theme for most of our meals is quick and easy. This dish fits the bill nicely.


Cream Cheese Pasta it's actually a variation of Pasta with Cream Sauce and Spinach from vegan food.

          1/3 container Tofutti  "Better Than Cream Cheese"
          1 cup vegetable stock
          1 garlic clove, crushed
          1 cup rocket (or argula)
          1 large broccoli
          1 can of beans
          G/f pasta
          Vegetable oil
          Salt and pepper 

METHOD
Saute garlic and broccoli in a little oil.  Add stock cube and cup of water. Add the Tofutti cream cheese and white beans. Let simmer till kinda thick (10 minutes maybe). Add rocket in last minute of cooking. Dump everything on top of the pasta you cooked and mix it up. If you wanted to make it tastier you could add some fresh herbs.





It was delicious, creamy and relatively healthy. Maybe not as nice as amazing as the vegan yum yum Alfredo but cheaper and with less dishes and ingredients. I think this could be a great dish to make when traveling.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Chickpea Burgers with Cucumber Sauce-Vegan Mofo Day 11

We recently got a slab of chickpeas from costco, so was looking for some new and different ways to use them. I quickly stumbled across this recipe from vegan mouse for chickpea and fava bean burgers which solved our dilemma of what to eat for dinner on Monday night. We decided to ditch the fava beans all together and used a combination of masa harina with some buckwheat flour. Because masa harina is considered sacred in this house.  We also skipped the baking part because it was hot, which I don't recommend.

The result was easy to make tasty g/f vegan burgers that didn't fall apart. The only downside was that the onion and garlic in the middle felt a little raw because we failed to bake them, so make sure you bake them or skip the onion and garlic. The cucumber sauce was nice and refreshing on a warm day, yes finally we have warm weather in Melbourne! We will certainly make them again.

Chickpea & Fava Bean Burgers (or in our case just chickpea burgers) from Vegan Mouse
1 15 oz. can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
1 15 oz. can foul mudammas (cooked fava beans), drained and rinsed
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
handful cilantro, chopped
1 TB nutritional yeast (totally optional)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp Trader Joe's 21 salute seasoning (or any salt free all purpose seasoning blend- we used a but it stock powder)
1/2 tsp salt
freshly cracked black pepper
1/4 cup corn flour (masa harina) or all purpose flour for binding
canola oil for frying

Cucumber sauce:
3 TB vegan mayo (or more if you like)
1/2 cup finely chopped cucumber
1 clove garlic, minced
1-2 tsp fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
Stir to combine all ingredients and chill.

Drain and rinse beans. Put them into a large bowl and with a potato masher or fork, mash the beans until there are no whole beans left. Add the remaining ingredients and using your hands, mix the ingredients until they are all combined. If you find the mixture a little wet or sticky, use a little more flour to bind it together. Form into 6 or 7 medium sized patties and place them on a plate and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
On the stove, heat a shallow layer of oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Fry the patties about 2 minutes on each side, just until they are browned. Then transfer patties onto the baking sheet and finish cooking them in the oven for about 10-15 minutes. Serve with cucumber sauce as is or as a sandwich inside of a pita pocket with lettuce and tomato.

We recently got a slab of chickpeas from costco, so was looking for some new and different ways to use them. I quickly stumbled across this recipe from vegan mouse for chickpea and fava bean burgers which solved our dilemma of what to eat for dinner on Monday night. We decided to ditch the fava beans all together and used a combination of masa harina with some buckwheat flour. Because masa harina is considered sacred in this house.  We also skipped the baking part because it was hot, which I don't recommend.

The result was easy to make tasty g/f vegan burgers that didn't fall apart. The only downside was that the onion and garlic in the middle felt a little raw because we failed to bake them, so make sure you bake them or skip the onion and garlic. The cucumber sauce was nice and refreshing on a warm day, yes finally we have warm weather in Melbourne! We will certainly make them again.

Chickpea & Fava Bean Burgers (or in our case just chickpea burgers) from Vegan Mouse
1 15 oz. can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
1 15 oz. can foul mudammas (cooked fava beans), drained and rinsed
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
handful cilantro, chopped
1 TB nutritional yeast (totally optional)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp Trader Joe's 21 salute seasoning (or any salt free all purpose seasoning blend- we used a but it stock powder)
1/2 tsp salt
freshly cracked black pepper
1/4 cup corn flour (masa harina) or all purpose flour for binding
canola oil for frying

Cucumber sauce:
3 TB vegan mayo (or more if you like)
1/2 cup finely chopped cucumber
1 clove garlic, minced
1-2 tsp fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
Stir to combine all ingredients and chill.

Drain and rinse beans. Put them into a large bowl and with a potato masher or fork, mash the beans until there are no whole beans left. Add the remaining ingredients and using your hands, mix the ingredients until they are all combined. If you find the mixture a little wet or sticky, use a little more flour to bind it together. Form into 6 or 7 medium sized patties and place them on a plate and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
On the stove, heat a shallow layer of oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Fry the patties about 2 minutes on each side, just until they are browned. Then transfer patties onto the baking sheet and finish cooking them in the oven for about 10-15 minutes. Serve with cucumber sauce as is or as a sandwich inside of a pita pocket with lettuce and tomato.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Green Thai Curry with Baked Tofu-Vegan Mofo Day 9

It was my turn to cook on Sunday night so I decided to go with something quite lazy and easy: green Thai curry using store brought curry paste. I used Thai Gourmet brand (from Coles) which is both gluten free and vegan. This was so simple and pretty much just followed the recipe on the back of the jar x 2, I'm not sure if it even worth posting it but basically I added 3-4 teaspoons of curry paste, fried up some onions and then added 2 cans of coconut milk and then added veggies (mostly asparagus) and cook until the asparagus was tender. I initially started with a small amount of curry paste (1 teaspoon) in case it was too spicy but it was fine so we added more.

To go with it, I made some baked tofu from Vegan Planet. This is my favourite baked tofu that I have tried.

Baked Tofu 

• 1 16 ounce (450gram) firm tofu drained
  
• 1/3 cup tamari
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons of sesame oil (I think I used 1)
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  

1. Cut tofu into 1/2 inch slices.
2. In a small bowl combine the rest of the ingredients
3. Place tofu into bowl and pour marinade over it, cover and refrigerated for at least 3 hours, turning once.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove marinade from tofu and bake until brown and firm, about an hour. Turning once about halfway through.

Cheat's version (what I did):
skip the marinade part and just bake with the marinade sauce, it ends up being full of flavour and nice and salty. You might want to lower the soy sauce if you are not into salt though.

I liked the addition of the tofu to the curry, although still think it's better in a sandwich. 

I've been craving roti since I last posted about the roti and dips at Zen Zero Blue so I asked on twitter if anyone knows of some vegan brands of roti bread. Steph come to the rescue and told me that Kawan is vegan. I found this at Minh Phat but she said you can also get it from the Asian supermarket at Barkly Square. 

So easy, just take out of wrapper and fry for a few minutes on each side it become crispy and flakey. I didn't even use oil. It went perfectly with the Thai curry. So all together it nothing fancy or difficult but still quite delicious

It was my turn to cook on Sunday night so I decided to go with something quite lazy and easy: green Thai curry using store brought curry paste. I used Thai Gourmet brand (from Coles) which is both gluten free and vegan. This was so simple and pretty much just followed the recipe on the back of the jar x 2, I'm not sure if it even worth posting it but basically I added 3-4 teaspoons of curry paste, fried up some onions and then added 2 cans of coconut milk and then added veggies (mostly asparagus) and cook until the asparagus was tender. I initially started with a small amount of curry paste (1 teaspoon) in case it was too spicy but it was fine so we added more.

To go with it, I made some baked tofu from Vegan Planet. This is my favourite baked tofu that I have tried.

Baked Tofu 

• 1 16 ounce (450gram) firm tofu drained
  
• 1/3 cup tamari
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons of sesame oil (I think I used 1)
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  

1. Cut tofu into 1/2 inch slices.
2. In a small bowl combine the rest of the ingredients
3. Place tofu into bowl and pour marinade over it, cover and refrigerated for at least 3 hours, turning once.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove marinade from tofu and bake until brown and firm, about an hour. Turning once about halfway through.

Cheat's version (what I did):
skip the marinade part and just bake with the marinade sauce, it ends up being full of flavour and nice and salty. You might want to lower the soy sauce if you are not into salt though.

I liked the addition of the tofu to the curry, although still think it's better in a sandwich. 

I've been craving roti since I last posted about the roti and dips at Zen Zero Blue so I asked on twitter if anyone knows of some vegan brands of roti bread. Steph come to the rescue and told me that Kawan is vegan. I found this at Minh Phat but she said you can also get it from the Asian supermarket at Barkly Square. 

So easy, just take out of wrapper and fry for a few minutes on each side it become crispy and flakey. I didn't even use oil. It went perfectly with the Thai curry. So all together it nothing fancy or difficult but still quite delicious

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Pomegranate Tofu -Vegan Mofo Day 2

This recipe from cookbooks is so easy and is a great way to use up leftover pomegranate juice, it was made even easier by skipping the baking part.

Pomegranate Braised Tofu

1 tablespoon neutral cooking oil, like canola

1 lb (450 grams) firm tofu

1 cup pomegranate juice

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tablespoon of pomegranate molasses (optional- we didn't have)

Fresh pomegranate seeds for garnish (optional- again we didn't have any)

Halve your brick of tofu into two long bricks, then slice each into 1/4" rectangular pieces. Heat the tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat in a frying pan. Once the oil is hot enough to shimmer, brown the tofu pieces on each side until golden. Make sure your oil is hot enough, the tofu should sizzle when it hits the pan. Once the tofu slices are browned pour sauce over tofu and continue to cook until the sauce reduces to a glaze.
We served ours with greens and brown rice, the soy sauce balances out the pomegrante juice quite nicely. We will make this again for a lazy midweek dinner.

This recipe from cookbooks is so easy and is a great way to use up leftover pomegranate juice, it was made even easier by skipping the baking part.

Pomegranate Braised Tofu

1 tablespoon neutral cooking oil, like canola

1 lb (450 grams) firm tofu

1 cup pomegranate juice

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tablespoon of pomegranate molasses (optional- we didn't have)

Fresh pomegranate seeds for garnish (optional- again we didn't have any)

Halve your brick of tofu into two long bricks, then slice each into 1/4" rectangular pieces. Heat the tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat in a frying pan. Once the oil is hot enough to shimmer, brown the tofu pieces on each side until golden. Make sure your oil is hot enough, the tofu should sizzle when it hits the pan. Once the tofu slices are browned pour sauce over tofu and continue to cook until the sauce reduces to a glaze.
We served ours with greens and brown rice, the soy sauce balances out the pomegrante juice quite nicely. We will make this again for a lazy midweek dinner.

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Matthew's Delicious Tofu -On Regular Rotation

I seem to have gotten into a bad habit of not blogging the meals that we make in our household regularly and the cafes that we go to regularly. But I'm trying to change that, starting with this recipe. We probably make this on a fortnightly-monthly basis, because it easily adaptable, we have it over rice or noodles and have even had it over mashed potatoes (see pic below). We add in whatever veggies and crushed nuts that we have. The dish is great because it's easy, quick and it has a great combination of sweet, sour, and salty flavours, plus a tiny bit of heat. Also, we always seem to have the essential ingredients like garlic, maple syrup, lemons and tamari. I don't think we ever measure the sauces, we just add all of the flavours and then taste to adjust. So feel free to play around with it.

This is from The Garden of Vegan, one of the first cookbooks that I got as a new vegan. It's titled "Matthew's delicious tofu" (page 120) which always make me laugh because my brother's name is Matthew and he hates tofu. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

1lb medium tofu (about 450 grams)
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp fresh ginger grated
1/4 tsp dried chilli or 1 tsp Asian chilli sauce
1/8 cup maple syrup
1/8 cup Braggs (or Tamari)
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 dry roasted almonds, chopped

Saute tofu in oil until browned. Reduce heat to medium-low and add garlic, ginger and chilli. Saute for 5 minutes. Add maple syrup, braggs and lemon juice. Cover and cook until liquid has evaporated. Garnish with almonds. Serve over rice or noodles.

Over mashed potatoes with more sauce but no nuts

Over rice with peanuts

I seem to have gotten into a bad habit of not blogging the meals that we make in our household regularly and the cafes that we go to regularly. But I'm trying to change that, starting with this recipe. We probably make this on a fortnightly-monthly basis, because it easily adaptable, we have it over rice or noodles and have even had it over mashed potatoes (see pic below). We add in whatever veggies and crushed nuts that we have. The dish is great because it's easy, quick and it has a great combination of sweet, sour, and salty flavours, plus a tiny bit of heat. Also, we always seem to have the essential ingredients like garlic, maple syrup, lemons and tamari. I don't think we ever measure the sauces, we just add all of the flavours and then taste to adjust. So feel free to play around with it.

This is from The Garden of Vegan, one of the first cookbooks that I got as a new vegan. It's titled "Matthew's delicious tofu" (page 120) which always make me laugh because my brother's name is Matthew and he hates tofu. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

1lb medium tofu (about 450 grams)
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp fresh ginger grated
1/4 tsp dried chilli or 1 tsp Asian chilli sauce
1/8 cup maple syrup
1/8 cup Braggs (or Tamari)
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 dry roasted almonds, chopped

Saute tofu in oil until browned. Reduce heat to medium-low and add garlic, ginger and chilli. Saute for 5 minutes. Add maple syrup, braggs and lemon juice. Cover and cook until liquid has evaporated. Garnish with almonds. Serve over rice or noodles.

Over mashed potatoes with more sauce but no nuts

Over rice with peanuts

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Taco Salad

We have been without our computer and internet for a while but finally have it back and our computer is bigger and faster now, yay! This is an old blog post that kep getting pushed aside by other things. When Toby got out of hospital, I stayed at home the first few days with him but after that he was on his own. He couldn't heat lunches or go out for lunch himself so I had to make something that could be eaten cold. For the first couple of days I just gave him bread rolls and had my own gluten free heated lunches, but it was too much work making dinner and two different lunches. It was also quite hot at the time. We often eat nachos which are one of our favourite meals but my weak stomach often punishes me for the corn chips and oil. Whereas, this had a small amount of corn chips and felt healthier. This isn't really a recipe but basically I just combined shredded lettuce, tomato/bean salsa (just cumin and chilli added to tomatoes and beans), nacho cheezly and sour cream and then added crushed corn chips. It was so simple, and easy for Toby to eat without having to prepare anything. I think it would make a great picnic meal too. It's not too great for Melbourne weather at the moment though.

We have been without our computer and internet for a while but finally have it back and our computer is bigger and faster now, yay! This is an old blog post that kep getting pushed aside by other things. When Toby got out of hospital, I stayed at home the first few days with him but after that he was on his own. He couldn't heat lunches or go out for lunch himself so I had to make something that could be eaten cold. For the first couple of days I just gave him bread rolls and had my own gluten free heated lunches, but it was too much work making dinner and two different lunches. It was also quite hot at the time. We often eat nachos which are one of our favourite meals but my weak stomach often punishes me for the corn chips and oil. Whereas, this had a small amount of corn chips and felt healthier. This isn't really a recipe but basically I just combined shredded lettuce, tomato/bean salsa (just cumin and chilli added to tomatoes and beans), nacho cheezly and sour cream and then added crushed corn chips. It was so simple, and easy for Toby to eat without having to prepare anything. I think it would make a great picnic meal too. It's not too great for Melbourne weather at the moment though.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Coeliac stuff, sun dried tomato pesto and costco

* So according to my specialist my coeliac antibodies levels are impressively high, I wonder if it was all those years of eating gluten based mockmeats, especially during my year in Hong Kong.
* The specialist said that I can eat gluten up until my biopsy in a couple of weeks time, which is awesome because I have been seeing it as a chance to say goodbye to all of my gluteny favourite foods except since I stopped eating it, I have been really really really sick whenever I eat it, I can finally see the link between my health problems and gluten. I might actually voluntarily stop beforehand because I want to be well.
* People with coeliac's disease often have issues with the absorption of vitamins and minerals, that can lead to other problems like osteoporosis, which is why constant low iron or b12, is often a sign that you should tested for coeliac disease, although most doctors seem to be pretty oblivious. I've always had low iron, even in my pre-vegan years and stomach related issues for years, and despite seeing several specialists and doctors I was never tested, until now. I was a little nervous about getting the results of my calcium, b12 etc knowing that my body might not be absorbing them either. Also, i've been vegan for 6-7 years and have been a pretty slack vegan when it comes to taking vitamins/minerals and am a bit of a junk vegan as you can probably tell from this blog. But, my calcium, b12, creatinine, potassium, are all ok. Yay!!!!! The only low ones are my iron (which is up from it's normally low place thanks to the expensive but effective red iron) and my vitamin d which is slightly low. I'm off to get some deva multivitamins though now from here and I might even try to get more sun.
* I'm having a gluten free vegan potluck on 26th Feb fri night in Brunswick, if you are interested in coming, email me at inthemoodfornoodles (at) gmail (dot) (com)

I got to go to Costo on the weekend with a member and come back a little poorer but with lots of bulk items like gluten free museli bars, tinned tomatoes, a giant jar of sundried tomatoes, a bag of almonds, 1kg of cherries (more on that later), maple syrup, frozen blueberries and 4 blocks or organic dark chocolate. It was awesome, and I restrained myself from buying giant bags of american potato chips, giant size hommous and lots more.

Anyway on to the food we made, I've started my first trial with gluten free pasta. Toby made the sundried tomato pesto from ppk, which is super easy, we ignored the advice and used the jar kind and eliminated the first step, we also used regular almonds instead of silvered and it didn't seem to make a difference.


Ingredients
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes (not the kind in a jar)
2 cloves garlic
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast or vegan parmesan
1/4 cup slivered almonds
Fresh ground pepper and a dash of salt

Directions
In a sauce pan soak sundried tomatoes in boiling water til covered by an inch. Leave to soak for 10-15 minutes til soft.
In a blender or food processor combine the sundried tomatoes and its soaking water, garlic, olive oil, slivered almonds, nutritional yeast or vegan parmesan, fresh ground pepper and a dash of salt. Process til smooth.

He then added the pesto to the pasta and mixed over low heat. We tried the Orgran vegetable rice pasta spirals. I was half expecting the pasta to be a little like cardboard, like wholewheat pasta, but it was actually alright. Maybe not quite as smooth as regular pasta, but really ok. I can still have comforting pasta carbs, yay!

As for the pesto, it was super quick to made, tasty and we will definitely make it again. Toby added cannellini beans to this dish, but it really does need some veggies too, we just didn't have any.

We added nooch to the top (instead of putting it in the pesto itself).

* So according to my specialist my coeliac antibodies levels are impressively high, I wonder if it was all those years of eating gluten based mockmeats, especially during my year in Hong Kong.
* The specialist said that I can eat gluten up until my biopsy in a couple of weeks time, which is awesome because I have been seeing it as a chance to say goodbye to all of my gluteny favourite foods except since I stopped eating it, I have been really really really sick whenever I eat it, I can finally see the link between my health problems and gluten. I might actually voluntarily stop beforehand because I want to be well.
* People with coeliac's disease often have issues with the absorption of vitamins and minerals, that can lead to other problems like osteoporosis, which is why constant low iron or b12, is often a sign that you should tested for coeliac disease, although most doctors seem to be pretty oblivious. I've always had low iron, even in my pre-vegan years and stomach related issues for years, and despite seeing several specialists and doctors I was never tested, until now. I was a little nervous about getting the results of my calcium, b12 etc knowing that my body might not be absorbing them either. Also, i've been vegan for 6-7 years and have been a pretty slack vegan when it comes to taking vitamins/minerals and am a bit of a junk vegan as you can probably tell from this blog. But, my calcium, b12, creatinine, potassium, are all ok. Yay!!!!! The only low ones are my iron (which is up from it's normally low place thanks to the expensive but effective red iron) and my vitamin d which is slightly low. I'm off to get some deva multivitamins though now from here and I might even try to get more sun.
* I'm having a gluten free vegan potluck on 26th Feb fri night in Brunswick, if you are interested in coming, email me at inthemoodfornoodles (at) gmail (dot) (com)

I got to go to Costo on the weekend with a member and come back a little poorer but with lots of bulk items like gluten free museli bars, tinned tomatoes, a giant jar of sundried tomatoes, a bag of almonds, 1kg of cherries (more on that later), maple syrup, frozen blueberries and 4 blocks or organic dark chocolate. It was awesome, and I restrained myself from buying giant bags of american potato chips, giant size hommous and lots more.

Anyway on to the food we made, I've started my first trial with gluten free pasta. Toby made the sundried tomato pesto from ppk, which is super easy, we ignored the advice and used the jar kind and eliminated the first step, we also used regular almonds instead of silvered and it didn't seem to make a difference.


Ingredients
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes (not the kind in a jar)
2 cloves garlic
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast or vegan parmesan
1/4 cup slivered almonds
Fresh ground pepper and a dash of salt

Directions
In a sauce pan soak sundried tomatoes in boiling water til covered by an inch. Leave to soak for 10-15 minutes til soft.
In a blender or food processor combine the sundried tomatoes and its soaking water, garlic, olive oil, slivered almonds, nutritional yeast or vegan parmesan, fresh ground pepper and a dash of salt. Process til smooth.

He then added the pesto to the pasta and mixed over low heat. We tried the Orgran vegetable rice pasta spirals. I was half expecting the pasta to be a little like cardboard, like wholewheat pasta, but it was actually alright. Maybe not quite as smooth as regular pasta, but really ok. I can still have comforting pasta carbs, yay!

As for the pesto, it was super quick to made, tasty and we will definitely make it again. Toby added cannellini beans to this dish, but it really does need some veggies too, we just didn't have any.

We added nooch to the top (instead of putting it in the pesto itself).

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

My beans are better than your beans

I read and read and read all these American food blogs and cookbook with recipes with black beans but for some bizarre reason they don't sell canned black beans in Australia, unless you want to pay a crazy price for organic canned black beans. I have however seen dried ones in health food stores and got inspired by Kitten's Gone Lentil dried black bean cook up and then read about cooking them in a slow cooker.

So I set about soaking them and then started reading all of these things about red kidney bean poisoning from cooking dried beans in slow cooker and got freaked out, so to be on the safe side I boiled them for 10 minutes and then transferred them to my slow cooker to cook for the day while I focused on my thesis.

Mr T then made a massive batch of chili with the black beans using our standard chili recipe, but it tasted MUCH better with black beans and we had lots of black beans leftover to put in the freezer. I swear dried beans that are freshly cooked taste better than canned!

I think we will aim to make a batch of some sort of dried beans about every fortnight.

I read and read and read all these American food blogs and cookbook with recipes with black beans but for some bizarre reason they don't sell canned black beans in Australia, unless you want to pay a crazy price for organic canned black beans. I have however seen dried ones in health food stores and got inspired by Kitten's Gone Lentil dried black bean cook up and then read about cooking them in a slow cooker.

So I set about soaking them and then started reading all of these things about red kidney bean poisoning from cooking dried beans in slow cooker and got freaked out, so to be on the safe side I boiled them for 10 minutes and then transferred them to my slow cooker to cook for the day while I focused on my thesis.

Mr T then made a massive batch of chili with the black beans using our standard chili recipe, but it tasted MUCH better with black beans and we had lots of black beans leftover to put in the freezer. I swear dried beans that are freshly cooked taste better than canned!

I think we will aim to make a batch of some sort of dried beans about every fortnight.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Pasta with toasted garlic breadcrumbs

This dish was adapted from a recipe on recipezaar, it was super easy and meant not having going to the shops to make dinner. Have you noticed a lazy theme with our dinners lately? I'm trying to do work like crazy on my thesis and Mr T is injured again.

• 500 grams pasta
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves,
  
• 3 pieces of stale bread chopped coarsely into crumbs
• salt and pepper
  

1. Cook pasta.
2. Meanwhile, in a large pan, heat the oil over medium heat.
3. Add the garlic and saute just until turning color.
4. Add the breadcrumbs, salt and pepper to taste, and toast to light golden.
5. Drain the pasta and place in a hot bowl.
6. Pour all but 1 cup of the crumbs on the pasta along with the water and toss.
7. Divide between 4 hot plates and sprinkle reserved crumbs over each serving.

We also added some white beans, zucchini and nooch.

Mr T said that he read somewhere that breadcrumbs were originally used as a poor man's cheese in Italy. I can kind of see why.

This dish was adapted from a recipe on recipezaar, it was super easy and meant not having going to the shops to make dinner. Have you noticed a lazy theme with our dinners lately? I'm trying to do work like crazy on my thesis and Mr T is injured again.

• 500 grams pasta
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves,
  
• 3 pieces of stale bread chopped coarsely into crumbs
• salt and pepper
  

1. Cook pasta.
2. Meanwhile, in a large pan, heat the oil over medium heat.
3. Add the garlic and saute just until turning color.
4. Add the breadcrumbs, salt and pepper to taste, and toast to light golden.
5. Drain the pasta and place in a hot bowl.
6. Pour all but 1 cup of the crumbs on the pasta along with the water and toss.
7. Divide between 4 hot plates and sprinkle reserved crumbs over each serving.

We also added some white beans, zucchini and nooch.

Mr T said that he read somewhere that breadcrumbs were originally used as a poor man's cheese in Italy. I can kind of see why.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Vegan yum yum alfredo

Vegan yum yum blogger lolo is a genius and this super quick, rich, cheesy dish is proof of that.

Hurry Up Alfredo
Makes 2-3 Servings

1 Cup Soymilk
1/3 Cup Raw, Unsalted Cashews
1/4 Cup Nutritional Yeast
3 Tbs Low-Sodium Tamari or Soy Sauce
2 Tbs Earth Balance Margarine
1 Tbs Tahini
1 Tbs Fresh Lemon Juice
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
1/2 tsp Paprika (smoked is awesome)
1 Pinch Nutmeg
2-4 Cloves of Garlic, optional
Black pepper, to taste

Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. This may work best in a high-speed blender (like a Vita-Mix), but you can definitely make it in a regular blender. Just blend extra-long, or perhaps strain if if you want it perfectly smooth. Tiny bits of cashews won’t hurt anyone though!

If you’re making this sauce for pasta, drain the pasta and return it to the hot empty pan. Pour the sauce over, place on medium heat, and stir until heated through. Serve with lots of fresh cracked black pepper.

We added some zucchini to it.

I really want to get her cookbook, but am super duper poor right now, so might have to wait and put it on my xmas wishlist.

Vegan yum yum blogger lolo is a genius and this super quick, rich, cheesy dish is proof of that.

Hurry Up Alfredo
Makes 2-3 Servings

1 Cup Soymilk
1/3 Cup Raw, Unsalted Cashews
1/4 Cup Nutritional Yeast
3 Tbs Low-Sodium Tamari or Soy Sauce
2 Tbs Earth Balance Margarine
1 Tbs Tahini
1 Tbs Fresh Lemon Juice
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
1/2 tsp Paprika (smoked is awesome)
1 Pinch Nutmeg
2-4 Cloves of Garlic, optional
Black pepper, to taste

Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. This may work best in a high-speed blender (like a Vita-Mix), but you can definitely make it in a regular blender. Just blend extra-long, or perhaps strain if if you want it perfectly smooth. Tiny bits of cashews won’t hurt anyone though!

If you’re making this sauce for pasta, drain the pasta and return it to the hot empty pan. Pour the sauce over, place on medium heat, and stir until heated through. Serve with lots of fresh cracked black pepper.

We added some zucchini to it.

I really want to get her cookbook, but am super duper poor right now, so might have to wait and put it on my xmas wishlist.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Elizabeth's red wine lentils with pasta and chorizo

We made this after the potluck, with a couple of leftover chorizo sausages, which we fried and crumbled. They were friends, but I look forward to trying these with the italian inspired sausages in vegan brunch. This recipe was originally suggested by Elizabeth and the converted into a recipe by Cindy. Vicki also made it and raved about it. I made a few more alterations though. I didn't use any fresh herbs and added marjoram because it rocks and I hate rosemary. I decided to skip the polenta all together and added the sauce to to pasta. The sauce was yummy and was a great change t the regular tomato based lentil pasta sauces that I normally make.

Red wine lentils sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
1 carrot
2-3 sticks of celery
2 x 400g cans lentils, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup red wine
1 1/2 cups 'chicken' stock
1 teaspoon dried sage powder
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon marjoram
2 large chorizo sausages (from vegan brunch)
Nooch (optional)

Bring the oil to medium heat in a frypan, then saute the onion and garlic in it for 2 minutes. Add the carrot and celery and saute for a further 5 minutes. Stir through the lentils, wine, stock and herbs and simmer the lot until the lentils are tender and the sauce has reduced a little.

Pop the sausages under the grill, turning them once or twice, until they're crisp on the outside but still tender in the middle. Slice them into generous chunks and add them to the simmering lentils.

Add to pasta and add some nooch if you feel inclined.

I've added a new label: weeknight dinner, for dishes that I want to make again on a regular basis and aren't super time consuming and this recipe certainly fits into.

We made this after the potluck, with a couple of leftover chorizo sausages, which we fried and crumbled. They were friends, but I look forward to trying these with the italian inspired sausages in vegan brunch. This recipe was originally suggested by Elizabeth and the converted into a recipe by Cindy. Vicki also made it and raved about it. I made a few more alterations though. I didn't use any fresh herbs and added marjoram because it rocks and I hate rosemary. I decided to skip the polenta all together and added the sauce to to pasta. The sauce was yummy and was a great change t the regular tomato based lentil pasta sauces that I normally make.

Red wine lentils sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
1 carrot
2-3 sticks of celery
2 x 400g cans lentils, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup red wine
1 1/2 cups 'chicken' stock
1 teaspoon dried sage powder
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon marjoram
2 large chorizo sausages (from vegan brunch)
Nooch (optional)

Bring the oil to medium heat in a frypan, then saute the onion and garlic in it for 2 minutes. Add the carrot and celery and saute for a further 5 minutes. Stir through the lentils, wine, stock and herbs and simmer the lot until the lentils are tender and the sauce has reduced a little.

Pop the sausages under the grill, turning them once or twice, until they're crisp on the outside but still tender in the middle. Slice them into generous chunks and add them to the simmering lentils.

Add to pasta and add some nooch if you feel inclined.

I've added a new label: weeknight dinner, for dishes that I want to make again on a regular basis and aren't super time consuming and this recipe certainly fits into.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad