Left Overs?? Beans!

 

Left over’s. I used to think pfft to you.... Now my dear friends, you make my day exciting and unpredictable! One thing about beans is you can eat them in so many different and fun ways! After reading The Kind Diet (which I cannot stop recommending!) I was reintroduced to the magic that is Beans; Protein, vitamins, wholesome, scrumptious and CHEAP! I try to eat them as much as I can.* Sometimes you find the fridge full of half full containers. In my house this equals 'Bean mish-mosh extravaganza!' As you may see, you can pretty much use ANY leftover beans or grains in the mish-mosh, all taste amazing! Be creative! Or if you can't be creative, don't be wasteful! Chuck 'em all in!

* Beans are easy to cook! Soak a cup of beans overnight, cook up the next day. I usually make two cups/two different types at each soaking. Will last about 3-4 days in the fridge. If they get smelly, toss ‘em.)

Bean Mish-Mosh recipe:
(Measurements are approximate, no need to be strict on this one)
1 cup Boong Beans
1 cup black eyed beans
1 cup Quinoa
4 finely chopped mushrooms
1/2 finely chopped carrot
1/2 cup finely chopped daikon
 A good shake sesame seeds
Sesame oil for cooking
Tamari
1/4 tsp powdered Veggie stock or a little chunk of a cube

Method:
 Mix everything in a bowl, mash a little with a potato masher. Over medium heat place a little sesame oil in a fry pan or a wok and chuck in the mash. Splash in a little Tamari and stock. Toss. Cook until mushrooms are invisible and beans start to crisp. Done! I cooked up some steamed sides of Brocollini, zucchini and kale, which gave this meal its essential greenability. A meal like this and you'll be asking yourself 'Mc-who?'

Gingerly Riced!

 

Fried rice is a vegan's go to comfort food. Easy comfort food. And not only is it easy and comforty, it is also versatile like nothing else! I don't know if I've ever made one fried rice that has duplicated another and I plan to keep it that way! Variety is the 'spice' of life! Ha!

Gingerly Riced Recipe:
1 cup cooked brown rice
1/2 block of firm tofu
4 big chopped mushrooms
1/2 head of broccoli - chopped
1/2 chopped carrot
1/4 chopped cabbage
1/2 chopped Zucchini
2 stalks Bok Choy (you guessed it, chopped!)
1/2 inch thinly sliced ginger
1 healthy shake turmeric
1 kind splash of Tamari
1 dribble chilli oil (If you have some, if not, a pinch of chilli flakes)
Olive oil to cook (about 2 Tbsp)
1/3 cup of water (if needed)

Method:
Heat oil in wok at a medium heat. When hot add tofu, mushrooms and some drops of Tamari. Fry until mushrooms are soft and tofu is browning. Add broccoli, zucchini, carrot and ginger as well as a shake of turmeric, a dribble of chilli oil and more Tamari if needed. At this point you may want to add about a 1/3 cup of water as the oil may be drying up things a little. Fry and toss happily (couple minutes) until the colour of the veggies brighten! Finally add Bok Choy and rice. Toss, toss and toss some more until the Bok Choy is well and truly done and the rice almost crispy. Admire your wok full of love for a moment, dish it up and scoff! It's yellow, has a tang and will no doubt push you into having seconds. You only live once!

Pretty Perfect Pesto..

Mmmmmm, Fresh Pesto! And it's Vegan! And it's just tooooo delicious! The other day I noticed the basil in my garden getting kinda lofty, that's when I knew it was time. Pesto Time! Perfect as a pasta sauce, slather up a pizza base or serve with bread or crackers. This recipe is easy, quick and raw!

Pesto Recipe:
1 1/2 cup of Basil
1/3 cup olive oil
1 cup pine nuts
1/3 cup savoury yeast flakes*
5 average sized cloves of garlic
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

*Savoury yeast flakes are the easiest cheesy substitute that a vegan will find. You can get a bag from your local health food store or if that fails, online. It can be used to make loads of fine cheesy sauces, un-missable Mac and cheese (recipe coming soon), on toast, sprinkled on top of vegan bolognese instead of parmesan or even by the spoonful. Its non-active yeast and chock full of Vitamin B! Do make friends with Savoury yeast!

Method:
Combine all ingredients in a food processor until the nuts are ground. Try not to over process; you still want it somewhat chunky. That’s it! You are good to use as you like!

I used my Pesto with gluten free buckwheat pasta and some quick fried mushrooms and brocollini (add a little pesto to fast track that flavour!). Combine veggies with cooked pasta over a very low heat until well mixed. This I served up with some fresh toasted garlic baguette slices. Dinner is SERVED!

First Love Cake.

Today we had a bake off at work. I submitted my own creation, the First love cake - Chocolaty super sweet with a touch of raspberry tartness. Yeeeeum.

I used the 'best vegan chocolate cake ever' recipe (It's my go to recipe, easy and amazing. You will never fail with this delight. Trust me on this.) Then did some chopping, frosting and arranging on my new found (old) cake platter. I was hoping it wouldn’t fall apart! Win! I’ll have to settle on that win, they decided not to judge the baked goods in the end!?

Best Chocolate cake recipe:

Without a doubt one of the easiest cake recipes to follow - ever!
Ingredients:

1 ½ cups plain flour (I've tried this with Gluten free flour - works, just not as fluffy)
3 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup vegan sugar (or less, depending on how sweet you like your cake)
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
5 tablespoons cooking oil (my preference is rice bran oil)
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 cup cold water 

Method:

Preheat oven to 355˚F (180˚C).

In a large bowl sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, sugar and salt.

Make 3 holes in the dry ingredients. Put vanilla essence into one, oil into another and cider vinegar into the third. Pour cold water over the top. Mix only enough to combine all ingredients.

Pour the batter into a greased parchment paper lined 8 inch (20cm) round pan.

Bake for 30 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.

Leave in pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack. Let cool for at least an hour before frosting.

Turning Best vegan chocolate cake into First love cake:

Frosting. It’s Important. Why? Because it is the best part! I made a little extra so I could also use it as cake filling (to be honest, I made too much and ended up 'sampling' the sugary delight.. A lot... At midnight last night... so maybe the recipe itself will do.)

Vegan Chocolate frosting:

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup vegan margarine
2 cups vegan powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons vegan soymilk
1/3 cup cocoa powder (or more)
a dash of salt

Preparation Instructions:

Soften the vegan margarine. (This would be a good step to do while baking the cake). Once the cake has cooled, start making your frosting: Using an electric mixer, cream the sugar into the softened margarine. Then add the vanilla extract, soymilk, cocoa powder, and salt. Mix well. If it is too thick, add a very small amount of soymilk, and if it is too thin, add more powdered sugar. Continue to mix until the frosting is light and fluffy. Frost your cake. Refrigerate for at least an hour to let the frosting set. Enjoy! (To store, seal the cake in an airtight container and keep refrigerated.) 

Layering and decorating: 

Carefully cut cooled cake in half using a long knife. On bottom layer spread a generous amount of Raspberry sauce (I picked up a jar of organic Raspberry sauce from Warrandyte Berry farm on the weekend. It. Is. BLISS!) Spread a fair chunk of frost on top of sauce, gently smoosh top cake layer into place, using a slow screwing motion to spread out the frosting. Precede to frost the entire cake with the remainder of the icing. It will be thick and fluffy. I finished off the cake with fresh raspberries as decoration.

And here you'll find yourself face to face with First love cake! Be prepared to swoon x

Sassy Salad

Sassy Salad

If you are like me, then you think salad is boring. Boring, boring, boring. Yet I eat it most days because our bodies don't find it boring. It loves it! So how to make a boring dish exciting? Add lots of stuff!

The above dinner is filling and delicious. This sassy salad is accompanied by chilli Tempeh sticks(fried in a little olive oil and a few drops of Tamari) and steamed kale. I've been making the best of the massive bunch of kale I found at the Vegan International food festival at Abbotsford convent on the weekend. I've been looking for it everywhere! (sidenote, anyone know where to get Kale on demand in Melbourne, let me know stat!)

Sassy Salad Recipe:
Some lettuce mix
1/4 cup Alfalfa sprouts
1/4 cup Mung bean sprout mix
2 Tbsp Quinoa
1/2 mushroom
1/4 carrot
1/4 small cucumber
1/8 fresh beetroot
1/4 avocado
Optional - Olives and Capers.
Dressing - Olive oil, ume vinegar, a dash of mirin and a sprinkle of sesame seeds

Method:
Chop veggies into desired shapes, throw it all together in an eye pleasing way. Dress and sprinkle with some sesame seeds. This is large, satisfying and ultimately a delightfully cleansing dinner.

You DO make friends with Salad!

Kale Chips! Whoa!

Who likes Crisps? Who doesn't...

We all know they are not great for us, actually pretty toxic (but damn delicious). A while ago I heard of a tater chip substitute, Kale Chips. Yes, of course I was dubious. It's green, no way would this even come anywhere near the glory that is the potato chip. Well, was I wrong! These little green gems are something else. Crispy, salty, perfect! And not to mention how great Kale is for you! Let’s just say antioxidants, cholesterol lowering, anti cancer. Oh, and your good friend Fibre. I promise, these are a very pleasing snack!

Kale Chips Recipe:
1 bunch of Fresh Kale
a smattering of olive oil
a shake of sea salt

Method:
Pre-heat oven to 180C. Wash your kale well. Dry it equally well with paper towel or a clean tea towel. Rip leaves into bite size pieces and place into a bowl. Add oil and salt and mix up nicely. Spread out evenly on a non-stick cookie tray. Place in oven. Turn/toss leaves after 5-10 minutes. Cook until kinda crunchy. Remove from oven and allow cooling.

The chips tend to crunch up a bit more upon cooling. Be careful not to add too much salt, these babies take it on really easily. You can experiment with spices and stuff if you like, just be careful of the preservatives and msg.

Snack well!

Sunday's Super Scramble!

Mmm mmm, Breakfast. Who doesn't love it? In our house Sunday breakfasts are generally hefty, delicious and imaginative. Above we have the Sunday Super Scramble. There are no rules when it comes to this scramble, but I try to use up all of the left over beans, grains, and vege's that are needing some attention. Whether you use just tofu for the scramble is up to you, but don't be scared to chuck in any left over stir-fry, fried rice, beans, cous cous, millet, chia seeds, buckwheat, mushroom, Anything!

Recipe for pictured Scramble:
1/4 block hard tofu chopped up into little tiny cubes
1 cup of small green Boong beans(left overs)
1 cup of Quinoa (left overs)
1/2 cup of black and white sesame seeds
a little sesame oil
a little Tamari
a shake or two Tumeric
sea salt if needed

Method:
Heat oil on a medium. Add tofu, beans and quinoa as well as a little tamari and a little tumeric. Cook till almost brown. Add seeds and continue cooking until it is yellowy-brown and almost crispy. Done! This was served on two slices of wheat reduced wholegrain bread.

I cooked this up with a side of sesame seed oil fried Mushrooms and lightly fried Bok Choy with Ume vinegar and sesame seeds added as a dressing.

I try to add at least a big chunk of leafy greens with breakfast, as it wakes you up and gives you some energy to get your Sunday started! Eat this and tell me you don't feel a million bucks afterwards!

Animals are my friends. And I don't eat my friends....

So, why are you a Vegan huh?

A lot of people ask this, like being a vegan is like choosing to be a food eunuch and that I must either be crazy or weird. Well, maybe I am, but I don't think making a change that may well be the key to saving the World is either crazy or weird. Frankly, I think it's the opposite. Though that said, I am pro-choice, and do not/will not barrage my friends and family with anti-meat pamphlets or spike their coffee with soy (though I am open to discussion and will ply them with amazing vegan chocolate cakes and other delectables). I can choose the right thing for myself. That is what's important to me.

After 21 years of firm vegetarianism I realised that all of the excuses I gave myself for continuing to indulge in Animal-by products were a lie. A comforting lie that let me pour cheese on top of everything cause its okay, milking a cow, well, it doesn't kill them. Or to eat eggs, scrambled, poached, with soldiers, also doesn't kill the chickens and if it's 'Free range' then it's not cruel, right? Right? No, not right. I know that. You know that.

A year ago I was pushed into re-evaluation of my eating and lifestyle choices by the book 'Eating Animals' by Jonathan Safran Foer, and I am sure I am not the only one who had a vegan epiphany during or after this book. It was a reminder of what is really going on and why it was time to stop blinding my eyes and start living my life to match my beliefs in truth, beauty and love. Eating animals, or what comes out of animals doesn't fit in any of those categories. It's a lie, it aint pretty and it's the absolute opposite of love..

So I said goodbye to my ice-cream with Milo, my weekend Scrambled eggs on toast and my cheese on top of the world and said hello to reality. And hello to amazing Vegan food!

Sunset - Melbourne Cemetery..

I'm going to share with you some of my favourite recipes, made up, stolen, modified. And maybe some other stuff too! So lets have some fun, throw a little flour around and spread a bit of sunshine on our worlds....Peace and Love, Lee x