Holy Guacamole! Sweet potato stacker!

 

Little Burgers. Little Bread free, burger free burgers. So much joy and nutrition in these things, that I don't even think we need to discuss them! Except to say, Holy Guacamole, These things are beyond glorious!

Recipe:
For six 'burgers'

1 Large Sweet Potato Sliced into .5 cm rounds (12 slices make 6 burgers)
6 sliced rounds of Cucumber
6 Shitake Mushrooms
1 large clove Garlic
Few drops Tamari/soy sauce
1/2 Avocado
Rice bran oil for cooking
Lemon
Chilli flakes
Salt and Pepper as required

Method:

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a frying pan and once it starts to sizzle add the garlic and mix until almost brown. Add Sweet potato rounds. Reduce to a medium heat, sprinkle with a few drops Tamari/soy sauce and let cook. Flip when the underside starts to brown and repeat.

Sweet potato can take a little while to cook, so you can use this time to prepare an some amazing sides! I served my non-burger burgers with a side of black rice with gomashio sprinkles, hummus and a beetroot heavy salad with various nuts on top! You can do this or eat them straight, you will not be disappointed either way!

After you flip your sweet tatter rounds, add the mushrooms and let them cook together.

Prepare the guacamole as you please. I make mine by forking half an avocado with a squeeze of lemon, a shake of salt and pepper and half a pinch of chilli flakes.

Once the Potato and mushrooms are cooked, it's assemblage time! Using the sweet potato as 'bread' add the guacamole, cucumber and mushroom. Feel free to add a little chili sauce if you are so inclined.

Serve pipping hot with your amazing side salad. You will eat this and wish for more. Lucky for you it is so easy to make! Go on, have another! Mmmmhmmm...

Tofu Shiitake stacko with ginger-bok drizzle!

The above recipe is a modified version of this one. It was so delicious, I wished I had made more than one serving, but upon reflection, you never want too much of a good thing... Right? Wrong! Make double! Make triple! Either way, this is going to make your stomach sing, and that is something I can guarantee!

Recipe:

for the marinade and tofu
1 cup vegetable broth
2 TB dark sesame oil
1 TB soy sauce
1 TB raw agave syrup
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 block of firm tofu, pressed-if you are really gungho (me, well I pressed mine in this method for 30 mins. It was fine)

for the puree
4 TB of the leftover prepared marinade (above)
1/2 TB grated fresh ginger
3 cups chopped bok choy
1/4 tsp salt

6 fresh shiitake caps, stems removed

Method: 

Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a large and shallow glass pyrex. Cut each of the slabs in half to create 8 squares, then place the tofu into the marinade. Cover and refrigerate overnight(again, only if you are gung-ho. I left mine in the marinade for 45 minutes and it was pretty good). Flip the tofu at some point in case the tofu is not totally submerged in the marinade.

When you are ready to make the dish, place 4 TB of the marinade into a skillet or flat pan over medium-low heat. Add in the ginger and saute for about a minute. Add in the bok choy and salt, and allow to soften for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add to a blender and allow to cool while you prepare your tofu.

In the same pan, add in about 3 TB of the marinade, then add in the tofu. Increase the heat to medium. Allow to saute for about 5 minutes. Check the bottom of the tofu—if it is nicely browned, flip it over, then allow to saute for an additional 5 minutes. Check it occasionally to ensure it does not burn. Transfer to tofu to a separate plate to slightly cool.

Add in 3 TB of the marinade to the pan. Place the shiitake caps into the pan, then cover. Allow to steam for 3-5 minutes, then remove them from the heat.

By now, your puree should be cooled enough to safely puree it. Puree until smooth, adding a little bit more of the marinade if needed.  To serve, stack the tofu and shiitake, then drizzle with the bok choy puree.   

I served mine on top of corn cous cous and pine nuts with a furry salad hairdo. Yum.

Blissed out Bounties!

I'm not a big chocolate fan, but there are some tastes I miss. Such as Bounty Bars. Holy wow. Who doesn't think of the soft, gooey, delicious coconut treat with fondness and longing. Well now you can make your own! Without sugar, gluten or dairy but with mega amounts of taste and mouth watering meltiness. And it's easy. And raw. Live it up my friends!

Recipe:
1 cup shredded coconut
3 1/2 to 4 tbsp agave, rice syrup or pure maple syrup
2 tbsp virgin coconut oil
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup plus 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
up to 1 1/2 tsp rice syrup or pure maple syrup
1/4 cup liquid virgin coconut oil

Method:
Combine first 5 ingredients in a food processor or by hand if you are especially tough!  Press the filling into the bottoms of mini muffin cups or into the buttom of a flat container. (Press HARD!) Freeze at least 25 minutes. 

Meanwhile, make the chocolate coating by mixing the last three ingredients together to make a thin sauce. Line a tray with wax or parchment paper, then pop out the now-hardened coconut treats and coat in chocolate. Immediately put them in the fridge or freezer, as coconut oil melts when warm.

These CAN last you a week. But I doubt they will be around that long. The. Best.

Bowl full o' Dragons

So it's been awhile. Life has come along and rendered me incommunicado due to traveling, studying and moving house, but now I am free! Free of study for the semester and almost settled into the new place, so it's time to give y'all the most amazing, healthy, delightful and healing recipe in the world, The Dragon Bowl! Trust me my friends, you will not be disappointed!

Dragon Bowls are macrobiotic by nature and follow the basic principles of balance, taking into account the basic food groups which acheive said ultimate balance naturally: (in order of greatest portion size first) whole grains(rice), vegetables(salad, radish coleslaw, yam), enzymes(pickles, miso soup), minerals(seaweed, vegetables), Beans(tempeh), condiments/oils(gomasio, sesame paste or tahini sauce). (see the bottom for the Macrobiotic food pyramid and some other great links).

This recipe may seem involved, but once you gather all of the bits and pieces it really is a matter of assembling. So with the main bowl of food, you need some condiment (which contains your oils/salts/minerals), so I made a delicious sesame paste which you may like to try. If you are not into it, you can make some tahini cream or even just use Tahini as your condiment. Either way both are full of sesame which is full of calcium. And, delicious.

Sesame Paste:
- 4 Tbsp Black or white(or a mix) sesame seeds(pre dryroasted)
- 1.5 tsp Tamiri
- 1 tsp Mirin
- 1 tsp rice vinegar (or use sushi vinager but hold the mirin)
- 1/2 tsp rice syrup(or sugar)
- Bit of water if needed

Black and white Sesame paste

 Dragon Bowl Ingredients

Method 
Grind sesame in a mortar and pestle until squished but not completely powdered. Mix in the liquid. If too chunky, add a little water. Yum and easy.

All ingredients set out and ready for assembly

(the following list of ingredients are already cooked in their normal everyday way.. Any questions, comment me below)

- 1 or 2 cups of cooked rice(1 or 2 depending on how many you are cooking for. I used red rice, but feel free to use brown, black or wild, but steer clear of white please)
- 1/2 block of Tempeh (cut into small chunks and gently fried with a few drops of tamiri and Yam below)
- 1/2 large Yam (red,purple, white - cooked with tempeh, as above)
- Bowl of coleslaw (purple Cabbage, purple/orange carrot and daikon, chopped/mixed no condiment)
- 2 sheets of Nori, torn into little bits
- Miso soup (1 serve per person. I like the Sprial foods organic Miso soup)
- Organic or homemade pickles. I've used the Spiral foods pickled ginger.
- Handful of Shitake mushrooms (Use dry ones, soak in hot water for about 30 minutes. Drain off water)
- Seaweed salad mix. Made as per package instruction. Try to get one that is only sea vegetables and no added extras.

- Bean spouts
- Salad leaves

Once you have all of the ingredients cooked and set out, the hard part is over! Let the assemblage begin!

Assemble your Dragon Bowl

Step one: Take a nice sized bowl and quarter fill it with room temperature or luke warm rice (not piping hot and not cold from the fridge). Start to add small amounts of all of your salad like ingredients on top of the rice. This includes the sprouts, pickles, coleslaw, mushrooms, nori and seaweed salad. Place each ingredient in a circle around the edge of the bowl leaving a space in the middle.

Step two: Add the cooked tempeh and yam into the middle space, as though they are the main attraction.

Step three: Line the edge of the bowl with salad leaves, so you can still see the main attraction poking through.

Serve with a mug of miso soup and a dollop(or two) of the delicious sesame paste. Now Eat it!

And there you have. The amazing, seemingly complicated but actually easy, Dragon bowl. I cannot say that you will be spitting flames after eating this, but I can say you will feel like you can fly!

Fly free little Dragons! Fly Free!

_______________________

The following is the Macrobiotic food pyramid:

Macrobiotic Food pyramid -The kushi Institute 

Macro Links:
http://www.kushiinstitute.org/
http://www.macrobiotics.co.uk/
http://hipchicksmacrobiotics.com/
http://www.macrobioticcooking.com/

Sesame sugarfree Anzacs!

Anzac biscuits are the best. They are delicious, sweet, chewy, incredible. But with sweet comes sugar and too much sugar makes me twitch twitch twitch. So, in an attempt at a friendly anzac biscuit, I modified your everyday recipe, keeping it just as easy as normal but now more blood sugar friendly. You'll like them as much as these pups, no doubt.

Recipe:

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup GF or plain flour
1 cup dessicated coconut
3/4 cup Rice syrup
2/3 cup vegan margarine 

2 Tbsp sesame seeds
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 - 2 tbsp boiling water

Method:

Heat oven to 180 C. Grease 2 baking trays.

  

 In a large bowl mix together the oats, flour, sesame seeds, coconut and rice syrup. Melt the margarine in the microwave and add the bicarb soda and the 1 Tbsp boiling water(the other Tbsp may be added later if it's all too gluggy). Pour the mixture into the dry(ish) ingredients and mix well. Roll the mixture into balls (slightly smaller than golf ball size). They will still be very soft when you remove them from the oven so let them cool slightly on the tray first before placing on a cooling rack. 

Give them to your friends or family, or eat them all yourself! Yeah, just eat them all yourself. You don't need to feel guilty about these ones.

Johnny Cakes, Johnny Cakes!

Corn is awesome. But being able to say 'I'm making Johnny cakes', that's even more awesome. What a cool name! These Johnny cakes are corn pancakes though we had them for dinner with veggies and some beans and quinoa, but you can easily have them for breakfast smothered in maple syrup or nutelex. Do as you please, but I will tell you this, these hi-fiving Mofo's are enslaving..

Recipe:
1 cup Fresh corn (I like it off the cob, though you can use canned or frozen if you want)
1 cup Rice milk
1 1/2 cups gluten free plain flour (or cornmeal if like)
1 tsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp Maple syrup
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
Olive oil spray for cooking

Method:
In a processor, pulse the corn and rice milk a few times, just to get the corn a bit chopped up. Add all remaining ingredients and blend for about 7 seconds, or until combined. There should still be chunky pieces of corn left. Let the batter rest for around 10 minutes, and in the meantime, preheat a good Fry pan over medium heat.


Spray the pan with oil and using an ice cream scoop, ladle out a few johnnycakes. Cook for about 3 minutes, the underside should be crisp and browned, the top still wet. Flip the cakes (spraying the pan as you lift each cake. This is important as corn loves to stick!) and cook until crisp and flecked with brown. Keep finished cakes on a plate covered with tinfoil as you prepare the rest.

These little guys can keep in the fridge for a couple of days, but with a name like Johnny cakes, I doubt they will last that long! Palatable as heck!

Baked Golden Nugget of Bliss.

Little pumpkins. How amazingly cute are they? When I see them I just want to collect them up and put them on display or stroke them or kiss them or something ridiculous like that. But if you run around kissing tiny pumpkins you will get some unsavoury glances, so maybe we should cook them instead huh!

This is a Lee original, so you can feel free to change up the ingredients to suit  yourself, but I gotta say, this one was pretty darn delicious (Oh, and I cooked them in tiny casserole dishes as I accidental cut a hole in the bottom of one of the nuggets... whoops).

Recipe:
2 x Golden Nuggets(or more to suit)
Filling:
1 cup of cooked Quinoa
1/2 cup of cooked French lentils
3 Mushrooms chopped small
1/4 Carrot chopped small
1/4 Zucchini chopped small
1/4 Massle cube in 1/2 cup boiling water
few drops sesame oil
few drops of Tamari
1 ground clove of garlic

Method:
Preheat oven to 200 C. Chop top off the Nuggets and remove the seedy guts. Put aside.
Filling: In a saucepan add all ingredients. Cook on medium until everything is smooshy and cooked. You may need to add more water if mixture is getting too thick. Once Mixture is cooked fill the nuggets and put the lid on top. Bake in the oven for approximately 20-30 minutes. When pumpkin is soft it's good for eating! Serve with some steamed greens, like Broccolini and Cabbage. You gonna be happy it's Winter so you can eat this allllllllllll the time! So lucky!

NB. You will probably have loads of mixture left over. You can use this in savoury pies (tastes strangely like chicken), over mashed potato or in pasta. Go crazy!

Vegan Laksa surprise!

 Laksa. The idea is a scary one, no? It must be soooo hard to make! Well sweetheart, I'm here to tell you that indeed, it is not! It's one of the easiest dishes I've made, even if there was some therapeutic mortar and pestle repetition, I felt good making it and even better eating it! I love food that has hidden surprises, don't you! I got some inspiration from this Vegan Laksa recipe(thank you) but I modified it to suit my taste(ahem, my disregard of onions and coriander) so feel free to check out that recipe if you want an unbiased ingredients list.. Let's get Grinding!

Recipe for the Paste:
3 cloves of garlic.
3 red chillies.
1 tsp of cumin, ground.
1 tsp of ground turmeric.
1/2 tsp of ground cardamom.
1 tsp of ground fennel seed.
3 ground cloves.
1/2 tsp of cinnamon.
1stalk of lemongrass that has had the outer layers removed, so that you are left with the soft inside flesh of the stalk.
1 Tbsp of minced ginger.
1/2 tsp of salt.
1/2 cup of water.
20 or so leaves of Thai basil.
1/4 cup of cashews.

Method:

I found that listening to Nirvana's 'Bleach' really helped with the making of this paste. Give it a try! If your spices are not already ground, ground them all together in a Mortar and pestle. It's fun! Once all are ground, Blend all of these ingredients in a food processor(I have a miniature one which is great for this paste), scrape the sides down often so as to form a paste. Add the water a little at a time. When paste is as smooth as you can get it it's done! Paste will keep in a container in the fridge for about a month... Though, I bet it won't last that long!

Recipe for Laksa Soup:

2 Tbsp of the above paste.
2 cups vegetable stock.
250 mls of coconut cream or milk.
As much sliced fried tofu puffs as you like 

1 medium bunch of Two bunches of bok choy, cleaned and chopped into three or four parts.
3 or 4 mushrooms, sliced.
A handful of bean sprouts.
8 snow peas.
A serving of Rice vermicelli - Prepare as per instructions and set aside.

Method:

In a sauce pan, place the paste. Add the tofu, mushrooms and stock and simmer for about three minutes, until the tofu is looking a little on the cooked side. Add the coconut milk and heat through. Bring to the boil and simmer for about two minutes. You don't want to cook it too long because if you do, the fats in the coconut milk will break down and it won't be so creamy. 

Take two bowls. In each one, add half the bean sprouts, half of the noodles and then all the veggies on top of the noodles. Pour the soup mixture over the veggies. The heat from this soup will cook the veggies just right.

Take a soup spoon and some Chopsticks and get to work. Now, you tell me that you do not feel like you have just ridden on a rainbow after this toothsome dish! Mmm hmm!

Quinoa Sesame Pats.

Do you ever look in the fridge and say 'well... What do I do with this Jumble of unrelated food stuffs?'.. Do you ever wish you could just throw it all together and it would turn out delicious? Well, I'll tell you, wishes CAN come true! These little joys are protein and calcium rich, gluten free and super amazing! You can make a whole stack and have left overs for lunch tomorrow! Sounds pretty good to me...

Recipe:
1 cup of cooked Quinoa
1/4 Cabbage
1 Carrot
1/2 Zucchini
1/4 average sized Daikon
1/4 cup Sesame seeds (+ more for sesame crumbs)
1 Tsp Chia seeds
Few drops of Sesame oil
Few drops of Tamari
1/4 massle cube (dissolved in 1 Tsp boiled water)
A little Gluten free rice crumbs(or Breadcrumbs or cornflake crumbs) 

Method:
Put all ingredients into food processor. Mix until ingredients become a gluggy chunky goo. Take a Tsp of mixture and shape into a flat pat. Pat the flat pat into a combined mixture of Rice crumbs and sesame seeds for a nice crispy coating. Fry on medium heat in a little olive oil, flipping at 5 or so minutes. You want both sides to be nice and golden.

We had these little joys with a large serving of steamed vegetables. But you can have them how you like. With veggies, with salad, for breakfast or lunch. Maybe even increase the patty size and you have a burger! WOW! Trust me, after you get this in your belly, you will invincible!

EZE CHEEZEEE Tatterbake!

If you tell me you hate potato bake, you are a liar liar, pants on fire and you owe me $10! Potato bake, I believe, is one of the worlds most comfortiest of comfort foods and it makes any meal become a little more mealier. Becoming a vegan I kinda let myself believe I could live without the delights of creamy, cheesy potato bake, but time proved to me that I cannot and food imagination showed me I do not have to! We all need a little food hug sometimes.

So I made up my own recipe. It is cheesy(ish), warm and delicious. You are going to wish it were Autumn so you can eat it all the time! Oh wait! It is!


Recipe: 
2-3 Large potatoes
1 cup rice milk
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 Tbsp French onion soup powder + 1/2 Tbsp for topping
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast flakes + 1/2 Tbsp for topping
1 tsp sweet paprika

Method:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Peel and slice potatoes, about 3mm is probably a good thickness. Put them in a casserole dish. In a blender mix the rice milk, oil, french onion soup powder and yeast flakes. Blend until it is an even consistency. Poor mixture over the potatoes and stir a little to get an all over coverage. Sprinkle the remaining 2 x 1/2 Tbsp of soup powder and yeast flakes and the paprika on top. Pop on the lid and place in the oven for about 35-60 minutes(depending on your oven), or until it is nice and golden on top.

Serve with some steamed veggies and maybe some fried Tempeh.

Mmm. Hmm.. And If you do not find a loving culinary hug in this bake, I'll give YOU $10!

Pierogi! Ahem, Pyrohy!

Oh. God. Pierogi's. My heart. Melts. Just thinking about you.. I was introduced to these little bundles of pure sunshine many many moons ago by one of my greatest friends Talia; a Ukranain who once swore to me that she would attempt to eat at least 'one of every Animal in the world'.. Oh boy, I miss that girl. And so, in her honour I have created a vegan perogi, or as she would say, Pyrohy(pronounced, Pe-ra-hair).

(nb. Making pierogi's takes hours! So, I recommend making at least 100 per sitting)

Recipe:

- Mashed Potato

4-6 large potatoes

1/2 cube vegetable masell

1 large garlic clove

Milk and nutelex as required

- Dough:

3 cups plain flour

3 TBsp coconut oil

3/4 cup of water(or more)

Method:

 - Mash:

Boil the potatoes with crushed garlic until tender. Drain the water, add stock cube, nutelex, and “milk” to the potatoes, and whip everything until smooth. You want to get it nice and creamy, so try to work out all the big lumps.

- Dough:

Stir together flour, water, and oil until you get a workable dough. Knead for about three minutes, keeping your fingers wet to keep the dough from drying out.

- Assemble your pierogi:  

Grab a handful of dough and Roll out onto a floured surface using a floured rolling pin. The dough should be spread thin but sturdy enough to maintain without ripping. Cut circles in the dough using a egg round or a glass. Take about tablespoon of the filling and place it into the center of the dough. Fold into a crescent and pinch closed. You can use a fork to compress the seal if you like, it's all a matter of personal choice, either way, make sure the seal doesn't have any gaps, as this will keep the pototo from escaping during cooking(and leaving you with a limp dough sack). Set each one aside on waxed paper until you have all completed.

- Once all pierogi's have been assembled you can either Freeze them for later use (gently layer within waxed paper so they do not touch, freeze over night. Once frozen you can transfer them to plastic bags or containers) or COOK THEM!

 - Cooking your pierogi: Boil a pot of water, then add the pierogi. Boil for about five minutes, or until each pierogi floats to the surface of the water. Scoop out or drain off water. Add a kind dose of butter and leave it to melt for a minute or two. You can now chose to eat your little joy drops straight up (Maybe with some vegan cheese. Onions. Fakon. Soy sour cream etc) or you can Fry the suckers (gently until golden brown on each side).  Serve with some greens or other colours and INHALE! 

How many can you do?

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