Raw pad thai.

CHEF'S NOTE: This is from the lovely Vegangela - http://www.vegangela.com.  And it was SO FREAKING GOOD.

• 2 medium zucchinis
• 2 large carrots
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1 cup shredded purple cabbage
• 1 cup cauliflower florets
• 1 cup mung bean sprouts or radish sprouts (spicy) (optional)
• 1/2 cup crushed peanuts (optional)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander/cilantro (optional)
• Sauce
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1/4 cup almond butter (or cashew butter, or a blend of both)
• 2 tbsp lime or lemon juice
• 1/4 cup tamari (select a wheat free version for gluten-free diets)
• 2 tbsp agave (or maple syrup)
• 1/2 tsp garlic, minced
• 1 tsp ginger root, grated

Instructions

1. Use a spiralizer (or mandolin or vegetable peeler) to create noodles from the carrot and zucchini. Place them in a large mixing bowl and top with the other vegetables.
2. Whisk sauce ingredients in a bowl. The sauce will be thick, but will thin out after it’s mixed with the vegetables.
3. Pour the sauce over the vegetables and toss.

Pumpkin, spinach and ricotta lasagna.

 CHEF'S NOTE: 

Another one of Carla's from EAVP.  I love her so much.  We salted the shit out of the bechamel, for taste.  Just salt everything til it fits.  Then eat it.

pumpkin sauce (first layer)

2 cups of pureed pumpkin (I roasted 1/4 pumpkin in its skin)
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Pinch white pepper and cayenne
1/4 cup of stock

Whizz in a food processor until smooth.

grilled zucchini, spinach and ricotta layer

1 medium zucchini
half a bunch of silverbeet or english spinach, wilted, rinsed and wrung of water
1 recipe of tofu ricotta

Slice the zucchini .5 cm thick length ways, rub with olive oil and salt and either grill or bake in a hot oven until brown-ish.

bechamel sauce (top layer)

There are many many different ways to make bechamel sauce. The authentic French way takes a million years, I don't have a million years. I combine equal amounts fat and flour (so oil or marg) usually about 1/4 of a cup of each and heat for about a minute. Then stir in about 3/4 litre of milk slowly, once it starts to boil, reduce to a simmer and this is when it should start to really thicken. You may need to add more milk or flour after a few minutes. Voila! I'm sure if you really wanted to make an authentic one or have never made white sauce before, please look it up on the web!

layering

Smooth pumpkin mixture on the bottom and add a layer of lasagne noodles. I layered the spinach first, then tofu ricotta then grilled zucchinis, another layer of noodles and finally bechamel and a sprinkling of Cheezly.

Bake in the oven at 200 for about 40 minutes or until the top browns (all the ingredients are already cooked so its just a marination/browning process).

Mushroom quiche with chili almond asparagus.

HELLO!  Another Tuesday night in watching mindless television.  Hoping Michael will win Big Brother.  That I even care terrifies me.

In terms of the quiche, I simply cooked the mushrooms as follows:

Ingredients:

• 4 T. olive oil, divided
• 1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
• 12 ounces crimini mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 4 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil (I used 1T dried thyme)
• 1 1/2 t. salt, divided. 
•  
• In a large skillet over medium heat, heat 2 T. of the olive oil, adding the onions once hot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are just softened, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and saute for about 8 minutes longer, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly caramelized. Add the remaining olive oil, white wine, garlic, fresh basil, 1/2 t. salt and red pepper flakes and cook until the mushrooms have absorbed the liquid and the garlic smells fragrant, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer the mixture to a bowl. Set aside.  
• The rest of the recipe should run as per Carla's tart:
• http://www.easyasveganpie.net/2010/10/i-had-3-week-old-head-of-organic.html
•  
• 
  Chili Almond Asparagus
  Serves two to four as a side
  1/4 Cup Sliced Almonds, roughly crushed and divided
  1 Tbs Powdered Soup Stock (I used Massel Chicken)
  2 tsp Red Chili Flakes
  1 lb Asparagus Spears, trimmed
  2 Carrots, peeled
  2 tsp Peanut Oil (or any kind you like)
  1 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil (or any other kind)
  Fresh Zest and juice of 1 Lemon
  Preheat oven to 450º F.
  Roughly crush the almonds so that most are ground fairly fine, but there are some larger pieces of almonds left in the mix. Mix together 1/2 of the ground almonds, the soup stock powder, and the chili flakes.
  Trim the carrots to the same length, roughly, as the asparagus spears. Half the carrots lengthwise, then quarter them, and continue cutting each piece lengthwise until you have lots of long, flexible, thin strips of carrots.
   

Mujadarah with roast beetroot and Dijon dressing.

CHEF'S NOTE: Mujadarah with caramelised onions is such an easy and delicious dish.

I fry up an onion, add 1tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp allspice, then add 1 cup brown lentils, 3 - 4 cups stock...simmer for ten minutes then add 1 cup long grain rice.  Cook til absorbed.

While this is happening, caramelise the hell out some onions - I slice four or five, cover them in a buttload of olive oil, and fry on medium low for over and hour til they are brown and delicious.


Top the lentils and rice with fresh parsley and the onion mix.

A tahini dressing is always good on the side with this too.


Tonight I also roasted some beetroots as a side dish.  Will serve them with walnuts and the dressing below.  I used red wine vinegar instead of white.  LOVELY.

For the dressing:

• 3 tblsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tblsp white wine vinegar
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and finely minced
• 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
• sea salt and ground black pepper

Chewy oatmeal raisin cookies.

CHEF'S NOTE: Thursday afternoon.  Bored four-year-old.  We made these and they were ENORMOUS.  Everything has gone quiet since they came out of the oven.  I'm guessing that's a good sign.

From http://veganyumyum.com/.

Giant Old-Fashioned Oatmeal Cookies

1 Cup vegan margarine, softened
1 Cup Brown Sugar, packed
3/4 Cup Sugar
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Egg replacer for 2 eggs
1 1/4 Cups Flour
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
3 Cups Oats (rolled)
1 1/2 Cups Raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large mixing bowl, beat margarine, brown sugar, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add egg replacer eggs and beat until well blended. In another bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add to margarine mixture until well blended. Stir in oats, raisins, and nuts (if using). On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (or a nonstick cookie sheet) drop the dough by 1/4 cupfuls and pat down slightly. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Let stand for 3 minutes before removing from baking sheet.

Makes 2 dozen giant cookies

Variations:
For smaller cookies, drop the dough by tablespoons onto the baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Makes 5 dozen.

A Wednesday Thai feast.

So we thought a Thai feast would be in order for a planning meeting regarding an overseas trip.  HELL YES.  Bought excellent dumplings at the Asian supermarket on Sydney road and made everything else from scratch.  Our guests even knocked back dessert (chocolate Coyo ice-cream with strawberries and desiccated coconut).  That's the sign of a good dinner.  I think.  Or maybe they just hated our cooking so much they wanted to go home and puke.


Also - CHEF'S NOTES.  We added pumpkin and broccoli to the curry, as well as topping it with bean shoots and fried shallots (funions!).  We also cooked the curry for a lot longer (to let the vegetables soften, we thought the eggplant was a bit undercooked). 

And with the mushroom stir-fry - we simply used mixed Asian mushrooms.  They are in season at the moment and SO GRAND.


Okay, I'm done.  Go be Thai.


DUMPLING DIPPING SAUCE:

(via taste.com.au)

Ingredients
1 small red chilli, seeds removed, finely chopped
2 tsp freshly grated ginger
2 tsp sesame oil
5 tbs (100ml) light soy sauce
2 tbs Chinese rice wine (shaohsing)*
2 tsp brown sugar


Whisk together.  DONE.


*Dry sherry will substitute.


RED CURRY:

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

• PASTE:
• 3 shallots OR 1 small cooking onion, diced
• 1 stalk lemongrass (see instructions below) OR 2 Tbsp. ready-bought lemongrass (available frozen at most Asian stores)
• 1-3 red chillies (depending on desired spiciness) or 1-3 teaspoons Thai red chilli sauce
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 thumb-size piece galangal, peeled and sliced (may be substituted with ginger)
• ¼ tsp. white pepper (may be substituted with black pepper)
• 2 Tbsp. chilli powder
• 1 Tbsp. coriander seeds, ground with pestle & mortar (or a coffee-grinder)
• 3 Tbsp. regular (light) soy sauce or tamari
• 1 kaffir lime leaf
• ½ tsp. dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp. brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. dried turmeric (or 1 thumb-sized piece of fresh turmeric, sliced)
• OTHER:
• 10-15 cherry tomatoes, or 3-4 regular tomatoes, sliced
• 3-4 kaffir lime leaves
• 1 small Japanese eggplant, sliced into bite-size pieces (do not peel, as there are vitamins in the skin)
• 1 sweet red pepper, or 1 red bell pepper, chopped into bite-size pieces
• 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
• optional: 1 small sweet potato (or yam), peeled and cut into cubes
• ½ cup fresh Thai holy basil leaves OR sweet basil
• 1 package wheat gluten “chicken” or “beef”, OR 1 package firm tofu cut into bite-size cubes
• 1 to 2 cans coconut milk (depending on how mild you like your curry, or how much sauce you prefer)

Preparation:

1. For complete instructions on how to buy and cook with lemongrass, see: All About Lemongrass: Your Guide to Buying, Preparing, and Cooking with Lemongrass.
2. To make the paste, place all paste ingredients in a food processor.
3. Add ½ can of the coconut milk and process into a paste.
4. Place paste, wheat gluten or tofu, remaining 1/2 can coconut milk, and limes leaves in a casserole dish.
5. Stir well until paste is thoroughly mixed with the other ingredients.
6. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Then remove from oven and add vegetables. Stir well. (Note: if you prefer more sauce, or if you find the curry tastes too spicy, add 1/2 can more coconut milk.)
7. After another 10 minutes, remove from oven. Check to make sure vegetables are cooked to your liking.
8. Do a taste test for salt and spice. If not salty enough, add up to 2 Tbsp. more soy sauce (or season with sea salt). If not spicy enough, add another red chilli, sliced finely, OR 1-2 tsp. Thai chilli sauce. If too salty, add up to 2 Tbsp. lime juice. If too spicy, add a little more coconut milk (yogurt will work too if you are non-vegan) and stir well.
9. Sprinkle with fresh basil leaves (these can be roughly chopped if too large), and serve with plenty of Thai fragrant rice (white or brown) for a nutritionally complete and satisfying meal.

KYLIE KWONG'S STIR-FRIED MUSHROOMS:



Ingredients:

Serve as part of a banquet for 4

3 teaspoons light soy sauce
1 teaspoon malt vinegar
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons peanut oil
5 cm × 2 cm knob (20 g) ginger, finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
250 g king brown mushrooms, cut into 5 mm thick slices
6 Braised Chinese Mushrooms, halved on the diagonal
2 small sticks celery, cut into 5 mm thick slices on the diagonal
3 tablespoons shao hsing wine or dry sherry
Method

Combine soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and sesame oil in a small bowl and set aside.

Heat peanut oil in a hot wok until the surface seems to shimmer slightly.

Add ginger and garlic and stir-fry for 10 seconds.

Add all of the mushrooms and stir-fry for 2½ minutes or until lightly golden and

just tender.

Add celery and cook for 10 seconds. Add wine or sherry and cook for 1 minute.

Add soy sauce mixture and stir-fry for 30 seconds, tossing to coat everything in the sauce.

Serve immediately.

Home-made vegan Oreos.

 

CHEF'S NOTE: 

These turned out very big for me - almost like 'melting moments', or brownies with a filling!  I'd press them down so they were flatter next time.  They were very rich and delicious...and so sweet they kept my feller's kids up til at least 11:30.  You have been warned.

 

Homemade Oreo Cookies

(Adapted by a delightful recipe on Smitten Kitchen)

Chocolate Waifers:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons corn starch (corn flour)
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks)  margarine (at room temperature)
• ¼ cup soy buttermilk, (soy milk combined with 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar)

Filling:

• ¼ cup margarine
• ¼ cup vegetable shortening
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Heat your oven to 375°F.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, corn starch, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar.
3. In a separate bowl combine the margarine and the soy buttermilk. Mix well.
4. Add the margarine mixture to the flour mixture and stir until the dough begins sticking together, forming a ball.
5. Roll the cookie dough into 1″ balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Leave about two inches between cookie balls. Dip the bottom of a glass in water and then sugar and use that sugary glass bottom to slightly flatten the cookie dough balls. Bake for 8 – 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool cookies on a rack.
6. In between cookie batches, make your cream by combining margarine and shortening in a mixing bowl. Mix at low speed until well-combined and then gradually add the powdered sugar, followed by the vanilla. Once all ingredients are well-incorporated, rev up your engines and mix on high for two to three minutes so that the filling gets nice and fluffy! Test your filling to make sure it’s smooth enough to spread. If not, you might want to add a teaspoon of soymilk at a time to get to a spreadable consistency.
7. Cookie Assembly. Spread one tablespoon or so of the filling on the flat side of one of the cookie wafers. Place the flat side of another cookie wafer on the filling to make a sandwich. Continue on until all the cookies are complete.