Spring onion noodles.

I've been asking everybody to tell me their favourite comfort meal and the brilliant Penny Chai mentioned this - so simple and SO FREAKING DELICIOUS. I think it's originally a Rosheen Kaul joint, though her recipe uses black vinegar and the one we cooked uses sugar (I used white, but added a bit of brown to caramelise...would probably just use brown next time). We just put the cooked noodles directly in the oil then stirred the blackened spring onions in. Side of garlic greens.

Could be topped with crushed roasted peanuts or crunions.


I'm hungry.

OG recipe here

Ingredients

• ▢1/3 cup oil
• ▢8 ounces scallions (washed, pat thoroughly dry, and julienned)
• ▢3 tablespoons dark soy sauce
• ▢3 tablespoons light soy sauce
• ▢4 teaspoons sugar
• ▢1 pound Chinese white noodles ( cooked until al dente)
• ▢if you want to add the pork component, you'll also need 1 cup (150g) ground pork, 3 more tablespoons oil (45 ml), and an extra 1/2 cup (50g) of chopped scallion

Instructions

• Heat oil in your wok over medium heat, add the scallions, and let them fry slowly. Once they start to turn golden brown, remove the scallions from the oil and set aside.
• To the oil, add both kinds of soy sauce and the sugar. Use low heat and cook the mixture for about two minutes, until it starts to bubble up.
• If you want to add pork to your noodles, simply brown the ground pork over high heat with about 3 tablespoons oil. Stir in 1/2 cup chopped scallions, and season with a bit of salt.
• This recipe serves six. Portion out the noodles into bowls, and start with a tablespoon of sauce (it really doesn't take much!). You can keep adding a bit more until the saltiness is to your liking. If using the pork, add a spoonful of your crispy pork and scallion mixture to the top, along with a small handful of the reserved fried scallions.
• Toss it all together and dig in.

Frittata

Slow Sunday in Newstead. This was incredibly easy to make - I mixed things up a lil by using smoked tofu and adding some Liquid Smoke to the tofu mix. Also added some cheese shreds, mustard powder, apple cider vinegar and soy sauce. Obviously. Used a fair bit more soy milk than the recipe advised to get the tofu mix creamy but overall it was a winner winner!

OG recipe here.

Ingredients

• ▢14 ounces Firm Tofu (400g) Cubed
• ▢1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
• ▢2 Tablespoons Nutritional Yeast Flakes
• ▢¼ teaspoon Turmeric
• ▢½ teaspoon Onion Powder
• ▢½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
• ▢¾ teaspoon Salt
• ▢½ teaspoon Black Salt Kala Namak*
• ▢2 Tablespoons Soy Milk
• ▢1 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• ▢1 Medium Onion White, Yellow or Brown, Chopped
• ▢1 teaspoon Crushed Garlic
• ▢2 ½ cups Cremini Mushrooms (240g) Sliced*
• ▢1 Medium Red Bell Pepper Chopped
• ▢3 cups Baby Spinach (90g) Chopped

For Decoration (Optional):

• ▢Sundried Tomatoes
• ▢Red Onion

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Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. 
• Add the firm tofu to a food processor along with the cornstarch, nutritional yeast, turmeric, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, black salt (kala namak) and soy milk and process until smooth. Set aside.
• Now add the chopped onion and crushed garlic to a pan* with the olive oil and sauté until softened. 
• Add in the sliced cremini mushrooms and chopped red bell pepper and sauté until softened. 
• Add the baby spinach and stir in until just wilted. 
• Now add in your tofu mix and fold it in with the veggies. If your skillet is oven safe then you can just smooth down in the pan and bake it directly in the pan. If not, then transfer this to an 8-inch or 9-inch pie dish and smooth down. 
• Top with some sundried tomato pieces and red onion for decoration (optional). 
• Bake in the oven for 40 minutes until firm and golden on top. 
• Allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing.

Lemon cake

Abundance of lemons in the production office, so I won over some hearts and minds by baking this. Very easy to follow. Make sure to use excellent EVOO!

OG recipe here

Ingredients

Vegan Lemon Olive Oil Cake

• ▢2 ½ cups (315g) all-purpose plain flour, spoon and leveled (note 1 for gluten-free option)
• ▢1 ¼ cups (250g) granulated sugar
• ▢3 teaspoons baking powder
• ▢Pinch of salt, optional
• ▢1 cup (250g) dairy-free milk, room temperature
• ▢½ cup (125g) extra virgin olive oil
• ▢⅓ cup (80g) lemon juice, (note 2)
• ▢~2 tablespoons lemon zest
• ▢1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional

To decorate (optional, see note 2 for alternatives)

• ▢1 ½ cups (150g) powdered sugar / icing sugar
• ▢2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
• ▢1 cup (150g) fresh berries

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Instructions 

To make the cake:

• Preheat your oven to 180°C (355°F). Line an 8-inch (20 cm) loaf pan with parchment paper.
• Add all the dry ingredients (all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder and salt) to a large bowl. Mix until there are no lumps. Add all the wet ingredients (milk, oil, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla) and mix until just combined.
• Pour the lemon cake batter into your prepared pan. Smooth the surface if necessary.
• Bake the cake for 1 hour or until you can insert a toothpick in the center of the cake and there's no wet batter on it. As this is a moist cake, some crumbs on your toothpick are fine. If the surface of your cake is browning too quickly, carefully tent the pan with aluminum foil.
• Allow the cake to cool in the loaf tin for 10 minutes then let the cake cool on a cooling rack.

To make the icing:

• Add the lemon juice and sugar to a medium bowl and mix until smooth. Add more lemon juice or non-dairy milk for a thinner icing (like a lemon glaze) or more powdered sugar for a thicker icing.
• Drizzle the icing over your cooled cake. If desired, top the cake with berries just before serving.
• Store the cake in an airtight container at room temperature for a day or in the fridge for up to 3 days. The cake can be stored without the icing in the freezer for up to 1 month.