Vegan roast dinner pizza using short cuts

I have been eating roast dinners since I was a small child.  They come naturally to me.  Even being a vegetarian has not changed this.  So when Sylvia said we should have a vegan roast dinner pizza I embraced it wholeheartedly.  Although it took about 3 hours from making the dough to taking the pizza out of the oven, it was fun to do on a quiet night when I could jut potter around the kitchen.  If you love pizza and love roast dinners, and are open to experimenting, this one is for you!

We made a pizza chunky with brussels sprouts, roast potato, nut roast and cauliflower and flavoured with gravy, white sauce, brie and cranberry sauce.  It was a lot of work but it was worth it.  I am writing it up here today because I want to record some of the ways I made an effort to make it easier.

You can see in my photos that this was a modern pizza, not just because it veered away from traditional pizza toppings but also because it used the air fryer for the potatoes.  I hadn't made air fryer roast potatoes before but I would do it again, especially for a small batch of roast potatoes.

My air fryer is quite small so it took two batches of potatoes at 20 minutes each to roast.  It doesn't sound so quick but it worked well on a busy day when I was juggling lots of recipes and could use the timer on the air fryer to remind me when I got distracted.  I think the constant shaking helped them get crisped up.  In the first batch I was careful turning them and spraying again when turned.  The second batch was sprayed with oil once and shaken lots of times to distribute a small amount of oil and salt.

I also made the cauliflower cheese in the microwave, the fried the nut roast ion top of the stove and steamed the brussel sprouts in the microwave.  I am used to the convenience of steaming sprouts in the microwave but this was the first time I used these short cuts that made it easier to cook the cauliflower cheese and nut roast.  

Usually I made a white sauce for the cauliflower cheese in a fry pan, boil the cauliflower, then tip the sauce over the drained cauliflower and add grated cheese before baking.  This time I just made the roux in the microwave like I have seen my mum doing.  It needed some good stirring but seemed quicker.

Nut roasts, as the name implies, are cooked in the oven.  They are usually a loaf that takes quite a while to bake and the when done they need time to cool to avoid being sludgy.  So I cooked mine on the stovetop.  It was more like a burger but the mixture was classic nut roast.  Once I had fried it, I used my egg flip (or spatula) to break it into small chunks to make nut roast crumbles.

I am recording what I did to make all these components because short cuts is how I manage my life (or try to).  I have many ways I can eat a quick gravy, easy white sauce or short cut nut roast crumbles.  Of course this is not fool proof.  I have already tried the white sauce again.  I misread the recipe and added 2 cups of milk instead of 1 1/4 cups and had to change up the timing, incorporate more flour and butter with rigorous stirring and increased the flavours.  At least it wasn't that hard to begin with so it was less stress when it didn't go quite right!

It took me so long to get all the ingredients ready so I could add the toppings to the pizza base that my fast track sourdough pizza dough rose for much longer than usual (about 2 hours) and was in great shape as a result.  

Making everything for pizza meant it did not want to be cooked too much because it gets a second burst of cooking when the pizza is baked.  It also did not have to all be hot at the same time, which is one of the challenges of serving a roast dinner, because it would all be hot once baked on a pizza base.

 

The first item to go on the pizza was the gravy.  I usually fry onion til quite soft to make a gravy because it adds great flavour.  My mum just used gravox powder and water on the pan that the meat is cooked.  I decided I could bypass the onions and focus on frying the flour and adding flavours.  I added some vegemite to darken it because light coloured gravy looks odd to me!  The gravy was a success!  This short cut is not just for this pizza but because Sylvia has learnt to love gravy (at last) and wants me to make it more often.

Then I arranged the ingredients one by one.  They ended up being quite crowded but I liked that there were individual pieces that made me feel like I was eating a roast dinner.  It was like being Violet Beauregarde being amazed at the flavours when chewing on the 3 course gum at Willy Wonka chocolate factory.  Only, I am sure you will agree that pizza is better than gum!
 

This pizza is perfect for a fun alternative to a Christmas roast dinner or for jaded pizza lovers.  Both of these worked for us.  I love Christmas in July.  Sylvia is tired of the same old pizzas.  We were both delighted with our amazing roast dinner pizzas.

More roast dinners on Green Gourmet Giraffe: 

• Roast dinner like mum used to make - nut roast, roast potatoes, roast pumpkin, cauliflower cheese, peas and gravy
• Parsnip nut roast with onion and sundried tomato gravy, mashed potatoes with olives and yorkshire puddings
• Stilton nut roast with stuffing balls, roast potatoes, roast pumpkin, sprouts, gravy and cranberry sauce
• Haggis and cheese mole nut roast with chocolate and red wine gravy, roast pumpkin and sprouts
• Golden beetroot nut roast with roast potato chips, roast pumpkin and creamy leeks and peas.  

Vegan roast dinner pizza 
An original Green Gourmet Giraffe recipe
Serves 4-6 

• 2 x large pizza bases (I used my fast track pizza bases)
• handful or two of brussel sprouts, trimmed and halved
• 1/2 a wheel of vegan brie, diced 
• 2-3 dessertspoons of cranberry sauce 

Air fried roast potatoes 

• 4 medium potatoes, chopped
• olive oil
• salt

Microwave cauliflower cheese

• 1/2 head of cauliflower, cut into florets 
• 1 dessertspoon of vegan butter
• 2 dessertspoons of wholemeal flour
• 1 1/4 cup soy milk
• 1/4-1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
• 1/2-1 tsp seeded mustard, 
• 1/2 tsp garlic granules
• juice of half a lemon
• pinch of salt

Frypan nut roast crumbles

• 1 medium piece of dried bread, grated (I used rye) grated
• 1/3 cup walnuts, crushed with a fork
• generous dessertspoon of white sauce
• 1/tsp dried onion granules 
• 1/4 tsp dried mixed herbs 

Easy gravy 

• 1-2 dessertspoons vegan butter 
• 2 button mushrooms, finely chopped
• 2 dessertspoons of flour 
• 1 cup water 
• 1 tbsp tomato sauce
• 1 tsp stock powder 
• 1/2 to 1 tsp vegemite (gives it colour) 
• 1/2 to 1 tsp dried mixed herbs 
• 1/2 tsp garlic granules
• 1/2 tsp onion granules 
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• good grinding of black pepper

Air fried roast potatoes  

Placed in saucepan with pinch of salt and cover with boiling water.  Bring to boil and then simmer for about 2 minutes or until almost cooked.  Drain.

Spread potatoes in one layer in the air fryer (if your air fryer is small like mine you will need to do this in two batches).  Spray with olive oil, and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Air fry for 10 minutes at 220, 6 minutes at 200, 4 minutes at 190, shaking half way and at the end of each period. 

Microwave cauliflower cheese

Steam cauliflower florets with a little water until just tender.  (About 5 minutes but check and shake around midway through.)  It needs to be firm enough that it wont fall to pieces when being stirred into the white sauce.

Melt 1 tbsp vegan butter in microwave in a small mixing bowl (30-40 seconds).  Mix in flour and microwave for 20-40 second.  It should be cooked enough that it dries out slightly and smells cooked.  

Gradually add in the soy milk.  At the beginning add just a small amount each time and stir vigorously after each addition until it is a smooth mixture.  (If you add it too quickly it is hard to stir in and is more likely to be lumpy.)  As the mixture gets thinner, add a bit more and a bit more until it is thin enough to add quite a lot.

One all the milk is incorporated, microwave until it thickens (about 1-2 minutes.  It can bubble up high so needs to be in a bowl with some extra space and checked regularly).  I found the top part of the sauce will thicken quicker than the bottom and needs to be well stirred in after about 30 seconds. 

Add nutritional yeast flakes, a pinch of salt, seeded mustard, garlic granules and juice of half a lemon. Taste and adjust flavours if necessary.  

When the sauce is done, tip in the cooked cauliflower and gently toss in the sauce.

Nut roast crumbles

Heat frypan.  I use a cast iron frypan which can heat forever  but if a lighter frypan I just heat it on low and turn up heat when ready, if necessary.

Mix all ingredients together to make a stiff mixture (a bit thicker than a dough).  Take handfuls of mixture and flatten into a small discs (about 5cm in diameter) with damp hands (to stop it sticking).  

Take pieces of mixture and flatter into a disk.  Spray frypan with olive oil and fry disks over high heat until browned on each side.  A bit of crunch is good as you want some different textures on the pizza.  Use a spatula to break up in the pan or take off the pan and chop into chunks.

Easy gravy

Melt 1 tbsp butter in a med frypan  Fry the mushrooms for a few minutes until softened.  Stir in the wholemeal flour to make a thick paste (roux).  If it is really dry you can add another tablespoon of butter.  Fry, stirring frequently, until it browns slightly and smells cooked.

Gradually add 1 cup water, stirring well after each addition to make sure there are no lumps.  Stir in the remaining ingredients, noting that the vegemite needs some good stirring so it colours all the gravy rather than ending up as a black blob (you could stir a spoonful of water into it before adding it if you prefer).

When all the ingredients are mixed in, heat over high heat, stirring frequently, until it boils and thickens slightly.  (It will thicken more as a cools).

Brussels Sprouts: steam halved sprouts with a little water in a microwave tub for about 3.5 minutes or until just soft when stabbed with a sharp knife 

To prepare the pizza:

[Press or roll out the dough to make 2 large pizza bases if you are not using pre-made bases.]

Preheat the oven to 200 C.  Spread each base with gravy, arrange cauliflower pieces, brussel sprout halves, and potatoes on top.  Sprinkle with nut roast crumbles.  Dot the brie and cranberry sauce around the toppings.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the toppings olden brown and the edges of the pizza base are golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped.  Serve hot or warm.  Can be kept wrapped in baking paper overnight and reheated tge following day.

Notes:

The components should not be cooked until they are too soggy.  They need to be cooked until just tender and then when cooked again on the pizza they will continue to soften.  They can be prepared ahead of time.

If you don't have pizza bases, you can just make a roast dinner with these components 

There are many possible versions:

• I used my fast track pizza bases.  I make these regularly to keep my sourdough starter alive but I have also made them as fast track yeasted pizza bases (without sourdough).  Either are really easy but even easier is buying pizzas bases ready made.
• Sylvia sliced her brie rather than cutting it into blobs.  
• I would add roast pumpkin. 
• Sylvia would add roast carrots.  
• I would double the nut roast as it didn't make enough of an impact.  
• If you don't have dried bits of bread in the freezer that need grating into breadcrumbs, you could buy breadcrumbs or blitz some old bread in the blender. 
• If you are making the nut roast without the white sauce in the picture, you can substitute with , silken tofu and besan, or a yoghurt or cream cheese or an egg and maybe a bit of seasoning if needed.  I would even use a mashed banana.  Anything goes to moosh together all the dry ingredients into a thick dough.
• If brussels sprouts are out of season other green such as peas would work.  
• If mashed potato are what you are used to in roasts then you can use that instead of roast potatoes.
• If you have leftovers from a roast dinner they would be really quick to make into a pizza.  
• We used Damona vegan brie.  If vegan is optional, you could use dairy brie or camembert instead.  Or  there is enough flavour to just leave out the cheese.

Also:

I know the white sauce is béchamel sauce, just as I know that cauliflower cheese is cauliflower gratin.  But sometimes I am just the kid from the country and not at all fancy!

On the Stereo:
Mink Car: They Might be Giants 

Vegan Hot Cross Buns: Matcha, white chocolate and coconut

Yesterday I made made my usual traditional hot cross buns and also experimented with vegan matcha hot cross buns.  I learnt not to use old matcha and if you want to add white chocolate it has to be decent chunks, not chopped thin melts.  Despite these glitches, the HCBs turned out rather well.  They were soft with a matcha aroma - that I recently saw described as "turf" - and the chunky crosses that we love.

You can see in the below photo collage of the steps in making the hot cross buns that the dough was a green that gave me hope of some colour but in the above photo you can see by the time it baked it was a dark green.  

You can also see in the above picture that this is not a simple recipe.  I put the dough together the night before, in the morning I chop the dough into pieces that I roll into balls, set aside to rise, pipe the crosses before they go into the oven and glaze them when they come out piping hot.  It is worth the work but it is enough to just bake one or two batches each Easter.  

I have a tradition of spending Good Friday baking hot cross buns.  Coming from a Catholic family, it is a quiet day for me of withdrawing from the world.  Despite no longer being a practicing Catholic, I still consider it one of the holiest days on the calendar where sorry and hope co-exist.  A big baking project is the perfect way to slow down life.  

I made the matcha hot cross bun batch for Sylvia who had requested this flavour combination.  (The coconut was interesting but quite subtle).  My favourite hot cross buns are the traditional ones with dried fruit, but I like to use cranberries and dried stone fruit.  So I also made a batch of those ones yesterday.  I have had so many sweet treats lately (hello Cake Picnic) that I have held off on the HCBs and only had one before Good Friday.  
 

It was so good to have hot cross buns hot out of the oven yesterday.  I was reading an article on the best way to eat hot cross buns and was surprised that the options were unheated, toasted or microwaved, with unheated being seen as the worst way.  I don't like the crisp charred edges of toasted hot cross buns not the drying effect of the microwave.  

In my family we always had hot cross buns heated in the oven and I still prefer this.  The smell of spiced warm buns is amazing!  My mum now used the air fryer.  The very best way to eat a hot cross bun is when it is warm and just baked.  This is one of the best reasons to bake your own.  It is the best!

There is a lot of waiting around while baking hot cross buns.  Some of it is useful for cleaning up the kitchen but I spent some of it going down some online rabbit holes about Easter.  It was a nice change from all the depressing news.

Here are a few highlights of my reading.  (I have shared some links to Easter stories below):

• Discovering Norway's obsession with crime fiction at Easter (Påskekrim) that has led to "grisly decorations like chalk body drawings on pavements and cute baby chicks holding bloody knives",
• Reading an Australian ex-pat in the America scratching her head about the holiday-loving USA's lack of enthusiasm for Easter, 
• Laughing at humour about outrageous hot cross buns flavours including mugshot photos of said buns, and 
• Hearing the animal rights activists' ethical alternative to rolling your Easter egg down a hill at the annual Preston event in the UK.
• Delighting in a New Zealand article that muses on the perpetual tension down under of celebrating a spring festival in the midst of autumn and suggests the feijoa is a suitable seasonal food for "a holiday in search of a culinary tradition".

It was also great fun to read some novelty hot cross bun flavours such as fairy bread, rhubarb and custard, tiramisu, and iced vovos.  I was glad to be part of the hot cross bun craziness this year!  Maybe next year I will try making these hot cross buns again but with fresh matcha!

Fun Easter links:

The Easter crime wave sweeping Norway in BBC, 30 March 2026.

Why Easter in America is my first expat culture shock in Australian Financial Review, 2 April 2026

Albanese To Address Nation About Alarming New ‘Doritos Cheesy Jalapeño Hot Cross Buns’ (spoof), in The Shovel, 2 April 2026 

Rat race: inside Sydney’s Royal Easter Show rodent judging – where the winners are decided by a whisker,  in the Guardian, 3 April 2026

Easter has a soundtrack just like Christmas, so why do we never hear it? in The Conversation, 2 April 2026.

Hot Cross Crimes: The Supermarket Easter Buns No One Asked For, in Broadsheet, 26 March 2026.

Easter egg rollers should use potatoes, Peta says, BBC, 31 March 2026.

Why the feijoa is the true taste of Easter in New Zealand, The Spin Off, 3 April 2026.

More vegan sweet yeasted bakes on Green Gourmet Giraffe:

Doughnuts - baked, vegan, overnight, sourdough (v)  
Hot Cross Buns - wholemeal and yeasted (v)
Overnight sourdough cranberry nut rolls (v)
Overnight Sourdough Hot Cross Buns (no knead) (v)  
Rhubarb and raspberry no knead focaccia (v)

Overnight sourdough hot cross buns
An original Green Gourmet Giraffe recipe
Makes 6-8

125g ripe starter (100% hydration)
50g vegan margarine, room temperature 
1/2 cup mashed banana (about 1 and a half bananas)
3/8 cup soy milk, room temperature
1/4 cup aquafaba
3 1/2 tbsp matcha powder
60g vegan white chocolate chopped (more?)
40g desiccated coconut
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1//2 tsp dried ginger
225g white bread flour

Crosses:
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup flour (or a little more)

Glaze:
2 tsp water
1 tbsp caster sugar
good shake of mixed spice 

Measure out the starter (mine is best when it is rising and had lots of little bubbles and smells lovely and is still a bit thick in texture) and stir in the margarine, then add banana and soy milk.  (It is ideal the mixture is room temperature.)

Add remaining ingredients and stir well.  Leave for 30 minutes.  Knead in the bowl for 15 seconds.  It will be very soft still but you should be able to knead it and wipe most of the mixture off your hands.  Cover well with clingwrap or beeswax and leave overnight - about 8-10 hours until well risen.

When dough is risen, scrape out onto a well floured surface.  Cut into 6-8 pieces (depending on the size of your tin - I had 6 largish buns in a medium rectangular baking tin.).  I use a metal pastry cutter (dipped in flour for each cut) but a large sharp knife will do.  

Gently roll each piece into a ball.  Do this by putting the corners as tightly as possible around the bun (without squishing the bun) so the floured bottom of the bun is like a little blanket around the bun.  Toss in flour as though it is very fragile just using finger tips so it is not sticky.  Then use your hands to shape into a smooth ball, continually very gently pulling the dough to the bottom of the bun and lightly rolling in more flour to keep it from sticking to your hands.

Line a a baking tray or medium roasting dish medium dish with baking paper (and/or grease) and arrange balls in it quite close to each other so they are just touching but not really snug against each other.  Cover buns with beeswax or clingfilm or a clean tea towel and leave to rise for 30 to 2 hours.  Heat oven to 220 C while buns rise (or 30 minutes before you are ready to put in the oven).

Mix flour and water together to make the mixture for the crosses once buns ready for oven.  It should be thick enough to be almost stretchy and drop off the spoon in soft clumps.  Pipe crosses onto the buns.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Turn buns around for even baking and reduce oven to 180 C and bake for another 25 minute or until golden brown and sounding hollow when tapped.

Five minutes before buns come out of oven or just as they come out, mix glaze ingredients together and microwave for about about 15-30 seconds on high or until the mixture boils.  Remove buns from oven.  Transfer to a wire rack.  I have found it this easier if the baking paper has some overhang so you can use it to pick the buns up (even easier with another person who can pick up the other two corners to help you lift it).

Brush buns with prepared glaze and see if you can wait for them to cool before you sample one.  They are good for 2 to 3 days or can be frozen.  I reheat my buns from room temperature for 10-12 minutes at 180 C. 

On the Stereo:
For all our days that tear the heart: Jessie Buckley and Bernard Butler 

Festive Roast Potato Salad: Christmas leftovers

We had a lot of leftover roast potatoes after Christmas.  They are always excellent when reheated as a side dish but are also halfway to lots more great meals.  In the Twixmas days between Christmas and New Years Day, leftovers are great when energy is low as the life morphs from crazy to lazy.  I had just about enough energy on one of these days to put together a roast potato salad with whatever was in the kitchen.  It was so good it is worth sharing!

One of the joys of Christmas are the crisp golden roast potatoes on the plate of a festive roast dinner.  We always have heaps and there are often leftovers.  Potatoes are so versatile because they can be enjoyed so many ways but there are times their texture is not always so soft and pillowy - one is when it is cooked, frozen and thawed, and another is when they are chilled after roasting.  A cold roast potato can be sad but is also easily resurrected by returning to the oven or, in many kitchens these days, the airfryer.

This was my first time air frying leftover roast potatoes and I was delighted with the result.  While they were heating, I burrowed about the fridge for bits of pieces that were in the fridge after Christmas - celery, pecans, dried cranberries and some pickled red onion.  I also heated some peas from the freezer because I love peas and they are always so good with a roast dinner.

I wanted a creamy salad which is easier to start with a mayonnaise but tastes better when mixed with some yoghurt, mustard and lemon juice.  

By the time I made the salad there were not many Christmas dinner leftovers in the fridge.  If I had had any nut roast left I would have chopped up some to add.  I would love to have chopped up some of the lovely spiced roasted carrots or pigs in blankets that Sylvia made or even, if we were in the Northern Hemisphere, I would add some seasonal brussels sprouts.  

I have written out a recipe below based on what I did but it is not a recipe that will adapt to your kitchen.  You could use whatever is about.  It is the sort of salad you can whip up quickly and then return to reading your book in a peaceful house.  Leftovers are great in salads.  They are such a wonderful way to get through Twixmas in an Aussie summer without needing much energy at all.

More recipes to use up leftover roast potatoes on Green Gourmet Giraffe:

• Cabbage and potato with parmesan (gf) 
• Fontina onion and potato tart  
• Patatas bravas (gf, v)
• Roast potato and rosemary bread (v)  
• Roasted potato salad with black olives and greens (gf, v) 
• Tortilla de patatas (Spanish potato omelette) (gf, v)  
• Vegan bubble and squeak frittata (gf, v) 
  
  

Festive Roast Potato Salad
An original recipe by Green Gourmet Giraffe
Serves 2 as a lunch

Roast potatoes (about 16 pieces or from 4 medium potatoes)
2 chunks roast pumpkins diced (optional)
1/2 to 1 cup peas, cooked
1-2 stalks of celery, finely chopped
1-2 tbsp pickled red onions, sliced
1-2 tbsp pecans, chopped
1-2 tbsp dried cranberries
1 tsp capers
handful rocket

Dressing:

2-4 tbsp yoghurt
1-2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp mayo
1 tsp seeded mustard
seasoning

If you are using leftover roast potatoes, first heat them either in the oven or airfryer until hot and crisp - about 15-20 minutes on a medium high heat.  (Include any leftover roast pumpkin in this reheating if you are using it.)

Make the dressing by stirring the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl.  Season to taste.

Place salad ingredients, except the rocket, in a medium to large bowl.  Pour in dressing and mix together until everything is well coated.  Add rocket and toss a couple of times.  Serve while potatoes are warm. 

On the stereo:
The Milk-Eyed Mender: Joanna Newsome 

Miso grubs (truffles) two ways and a birthday tea

Before I had heard of truffles, rum balls, energy balls and bliss balls, we often ate grubs as kids!  I thought everyone called these balls of chocolate goodness "grubs".  I still do.  They were made from condensed milk, coconut, cocoa and marie biscuits.  This year I have had fun trying a couple of different versions of these childhood favourite with an unmami addition of white miso and different sorts of biscuits.  One was a dark version with black cocoa and chocolate ripple biscuits.  Another was a gluten free version for a birthday afternoon tea that had choc chip cookies, quinoa flakes and seeds.

Lately we haven't made lots of sweet baked or unbaked goods in our kitchen.  We love a sweet treat but our household is small and we don't go to as many events where we take a cake.  Occasionally I get the urge for some sweet comfort food and grubs are at the top of the list.  When I make something often I am familiar enough with the recipe to experiment.  Say, in the case of these grubs, I wondered how they would be with miso added.  The black cocoa and chocolate ripple biscuits were just serendipitous.

My original title for this post was "Black miso grubs for dark times".  It was earlier this year when I made these grubs for comfort.  I was delighted in how the dark mixture reflected the dark times ushered in by Trump returning to the presidency of the USA.  Together with the polarised attitudes on te Israel-Palestine war, immigration, global warming and diversity, it feels like we are inhabiting an impossible conundrum. 

At the time I heard an interview by David Marr on ABC Nightlight and jotted down some of the ideas that resonated with me: how can we show care for one another and have political debate, law and order wont fix the problem, we need brave conversations to navigate difficult questions, we need to sit with the discomfort of disagreement.  I would add to these that empathy is important in understanding behaviour and opinions we might not approve in others.

The black cocoa made an amazing difference in colour.  So dark!  It really begged for balls to be rolled in black cocoa for the ultimate darkness!  I was busy and tired.  There was no energy for even this small task.  Instead I sprinkled coconut onto the bottom of a small baking tin, evenly dolloped the mixture into the tin, pressed it down and smoothed it out, and then sprinkled more coconut on top.  It was in the fridge for some days where I would just cut a chunk or two when needed!  The result was my childhood comfort sweetness with the miso adding a welcome adult touch of umami.  

I liked these black miso grubs so much that I kept dreaming of making them again.  The opportunity arose when I wanted to take a plate of food to a family gathering.  I wanted to use the chocolate ripple biscuits again.  As we have celiacs in my family, I was excited to try the gluten free chocolate ripple biscuits that had excited my sister Susie.  It was disappointing to hear that Arnotts is no longer making them due to lack of sales.  Susie has told me that there is an uproar in the celiac community!

How disappointing!  I found a packet of Woolworths free from gluten choc chip biscuits.  It was only 160g compared to 250g in a packet of chocolate ripple biscuits.  (As a bonus they are also vegan.  This means if you use a vegan coconut condensed milk as well, you can have vegan gluten free grubs!)  They were easy to crumble with my hands.  I added some seeds and quinoa flakes to add the bulk lacking due to the smaller biscuit packet.  This worked really well.  I love a bit of texture.  But even Sylvia enjoyed them despite her wariness of bits!  

Alas I had used up my black cocoa.  So I could not claim that I had made dark and seedy grubs.  It sounds like a lowlife in film noir who might be shown in the shadows outside the halo of street life.  I was still happy to take them along to a birthday tea of find food!
 

My family were celebrating my twin nieces 21st birthday.  I have found memories of baking with Ella and Grace as little kids.  It is hard to believe these smiley cheeky cherubs are now grown women.  They were gorgeous as kids and continue to be so as adults.   It made me reflect on how 21st birthdays don't seem to be as momentous these days as they were when I was that age.  It seemed such a milestone in becoming an adult for my peers.  These days perhaps it is not seen as so important because we accept that it takes until well into the mid 20s for the brain to fully mature.

It was a lovely birthday tea.  My brother's girlfriend has amazing creative talents in food presentation.  She set out a gorgeous table of cheese, dips, chips, vegetables, popcorn, fruit, (and something for the carnivores), with even a jar of my sister's fantastic Frankly Raw peanut butter, with a flourish of charming flowers.  My mum made hedgehog and profiteroles.  Susie made a chocolate ripple cake with Coles Ultimate gluten free cookies with 40% triple chocolate chips.  (These biscuits worked beautifully.  Note though that they are not vegan like the Woolworths biscuits.)

Susie, the mother of the birthday girls, ordered a birthday cake each: a chocolate mud cake for Grace and a red velvet cake with cheesecake filling for Ella.  She present them with a lovely birthday speech.  Everyone enjoyed mingling and ate well with three dogs darting around us.  (My brother brought his dogs to play with Susie's dog.)

 

After the cake had been served, we spent a bit of time taking photos, as is the way with my family.  It was great to get together with my parents, siblings and niblings.  That is balm for the devastating politics and  polarised opinions of our time.

Unfortunately, Susie's dog was just a little enthusiastic about the celebrations and helped himself to the fabulous chocolate ripple cake.  So Susie and Grace spent the evening at an emergency vet clinic.  Fortunately Banjo recovered well and I am sure that he will be well monitored next time chocolate ripple cake is on offer to the humans.

I was struck with a great idea that I could substitute the stale bread crumbs from the freezer for the biscuit crumbs and tried it in a variation on the seedy grubs.  The bread crumbs did not give the heft and sweetness needed for the recipe   More crunble than trufflem grainy rubble than soft grub.

This does not diminish the success of my latest seedy version.  It is so much fun to play with my favourite recipe for grubs and so satisfying to find the seedy verson that suits me better in these days when I want more texture and less sweetness in my baking.  It ensures that this is still a recipe I love to turn to for a celebration or comfort and I hope will continue to be so.  

More chocolate and coconut "grubs" or bliss balls on Green Gourmet Giraffe blog:

Chocolate almond and coconut balls (gf, v)
Coconut almond-tahini balls (gf, v)
Chocolate tahini maca bliss balls (gf, v)  
Grubs (v, gf)
Grubs - with Tim Tams  

Miso Grubs - two ways 
Two original Green Gourmet Giraffe recipes based on a childhood recipe
These recipes each have different ingredients but the same methods! 

Gluten Free Seedy Miso Grubs 

160g packet of gf choc chip cookies (woolworths brand)
1 cup desiccated coconut
1/4 cup quinoa flakes
3 heaped dessertspoons cocoa
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp poppy seeds
400g tin condensed milk
1 tbsp white miso
extra coconut for rolling (about 1/2 to 1 cup)

Black Miso Grubs 

250g packet of choc ripple biscuits
1 cup desiccated coconut
3 heaped tbsp black cocoa
400g tin condensed milk
2 tbsp white miso

Crush biscuits to the size of lentils with some larger chunks and some finely ground.  Mix with dry ingredients in a medium to large bowl.  Pour in condensed milk and drop in the spoonful of miso.  Mix the miso into the condensed milk with shallow strokes and then mix into dry ingredients until you had a thick sticky mixture.  

Shape mixture into walnut sized balls (I use my hands and like to have a glass of water by me that I regularly dip my hands in to dampen my hands every time the mixture starts to make them sticky and/or clings to them.)  Roll in a small bowl coconut until covered evenly and shake excess coconut back into the bowl.  (Alternately, if you prefer they can be rolled in dark cocoa to keep to the dark theme.)

I prefer them at room temperature - which makes them softer - and keep them on the bench in an airtight container for days but you can also keep them in the fridge.

NOTE: My seedy miso grubs were gluten free.  Both versions could be gluten free and vegan with coconut condensed milk and vegan and gluten free biscuits.

On the Stereo:
The Boatman's Call: Nick Cave 

Stovetop lasagna two ways: in a soup and in a sausage ragu (vegetarian)

I love lasagna.  But it is an effort.  I was excited to hear about lasagna soup.  It fits my lifestyle so much better.  To make a traditional lasagna involves lots of pans and steps.  There is a saucepan for the the vegetable/protein filling, a frypan for the cheese sauce, the even layering in the roasting tin and then waiting for it to bake.  It is a revelation to hear that you can have all the joy of sheets of pasta with a creamy sauce of lots of vegies and protein with a melty cheesy topping with a lot less of the slog!

Sylvia first made lasagna soup last year.  It was amazing with a vegan bolognaise made with a cauliflower, walnuts and mushrooms minced meat from this vegan ragu recipe.  It was rich and thick and reminded me of a lasagna that is hot out of the oven and will not hold its shape.  Sylvia liked this because it was easier to make bolognaise sauce and break up up lasagna sheets rather than doing the layering.  She topped it with basil and spoonfuls of ricotta that had been mixed with parmesan, salt and pepper.  The soup with ricotta mixed through tasted great.  There was grated cheese in the soup but it was not so noticeable. 

When I asked for the recipe, I found she did not have one.  This year I had a go at a lasagna soup based on warm happy memories of Sylvias soup but making it even easier without making a vegan minced meat.  I could not find the recipe of my dreams so I read a few and then did my own thing.  

I made this lasagna soup in August in the depths of wintery weather.  It was the third soup I had made in a week and still we welcomed its comforting mass of creamy beany pasta.  I used cashew cream because I prefer its taste to dairy cream and Sylvia prefers it because it does not upset her stomach like pasta.  But we used mozzarella and ricotto when serving it.  It would not be difficult to convert to all vegan or all dairy if it suited.

As a bonus, it used up lasagna sheets that were years out of date.  They were found in the shadows at the back of the pantry and were still good to eat.  This is the beauty of this soup: it is great for using up broken bits of lasagna and the odd ends that have not fit the exacting nature of layers of traditional lasagna.  There are so many reasons to make this soup!

I found Em the Nutritionist's social media after linking from The Annoyed Thyroid's IMK post.  While idling browsing her recipes, I found this one, which it was intended for carnivores.  The creamy ragu looked great delicious and was easy enough to convert to vegetarian.  

The downside to not layer the lasagna sheets is that it clumps together.  I guess the Italians had figured this out!  I have found that even when stirring lasagna sheets into the ragu a little at a time, it still clumps I have tried to separate them with a spoon and fork but have given up on ever getting rid of all the sheets the cling to each other.  It just is a nature of the dish.  And they still cook through.  The upside is that it is satisfying to break up the lasagna sheets and not have to be precious about trying to keep them whole as I layer them.  (There is always one that breaks when it shouldn't and another that I break badly as I try to fit it to the dish in a traditional lasagna.) 

As always the fresh kale piles high, well over the top of my pan but, like the leek and mushroom, it cooks down.  What seems like so many vegetables does not look quite so generous a helping once cooked into a dish.  Despite this, I really love all the vegies in this dish.  The veg and sausages are so satisfying that it would be fine to make this vegan without cream cheese or mozzarella (and you would need to check that your sausages are vegan).  I love the lasagna sheets getting crisp edges under the grill.

 

I also love the cheese crisping up under the grill.  a bit of crisp lasagna as well as golden brown gooey lasagna very pleasing in the topping.  I think I did this one under low heat on the grill because it took longer than the one below that I made tonight.

Indeed, we loved it so much that within two weeks of making it, we had it for dinner again.  This time there seemed to be more vegies but it was excellent yet again.  I didn't have chestnut mushrooms this time so I used more button mushrooms but also added in some wood ear and one chestnut mushroom from an exotic mushroom pack.  It is one of those dishes that seems different every time and can be tailored to what is on hand.  Sylvia is already declaring it a new favourite dish to eat over and over.  It is a good one coming into summer.  Although it is quite rich, at least we don't need to turn on the oven for this lasagna!

More recipes with vegetarian sausages on Green Gourmet Giraffe:

• Baked curried sausages (vegetarian) (gf, v)  
• Creamy vegan gnocchi soup with sausage and kale (v) 
• Pumpkin and sausage roast (v) 
• Tomato sausage barley soup (v)
• Warm pasta, lentil and sausage salad (v)
  
  

Vegetarian Sausage Ragu with Broken Lasagne
Adapted from Em the Nutritionist's tiktok
Serves 6-8

6 vegetarian sausages (300g)
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 large leek, diced

2 sticks celery, diced

200g chestnut mushrooms, diced

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tbsp fresh sage, chopped (or 1 tsp rosemary)

600-800ml boiling water


2 teaspoon of vegetable stock powder
1-2 heaped tbsp cream cheese

1 heaped tsp seeded mustard

250g packet of lasagna, broken into pieces


2 large handfuls of kale, torn
Handful or two of grated mozzarella

Heat a deep ovenproof pan (mine was cast iron) over medium heat.  Meanwhile, slice and then chop sausages into small uneven pieces.  Fry the sausages over the 5 or so minutes in olive oil, stirring occasionally so it has a chance to brown.  Add leek, celery, mushrooms, sage and garlic with a pinch of salt and some freshly ground pepper.  If it is too dry, add some more olive oil (vegetarian sausages don't release all that oil like meat sausages).  I added these as I chopped them so they were soft and cooked down by the time I finished but if you want to add together then fry for about 10-15 minutes.

Add the boiling water (I added 750ml at first but found I needed to add more water), stock powder, cream cheese, and mustard,  Check and adjust seasoning.  Gradually add lasagna sheets.  (I piled my lasagna sheets on top of each other but it would be better to add a few and stir to cover with sauce, add a few more and stir and so on and until they are all in the pan.  This will reduce the amount of trying to separate the lasagna sheets so they don't clump together and cook unevenly.)  Bring to the boil and simmer for about 15 minutes until the lasagna is almost cooked.  Stir occasionally to make sure the pasta is not sticking to the bottom of the pan.  Add more water if it seems to be sticking.

Stir in kale and simmer for a minute or two, then  remove from heat.  Sprinkle with mozzarella and place pan under the grill (broiler) for 5 to 10 minutes until cheese is golden brown. Let sit for 5-10 minutes (if you can).  Serve hot or warm.  Can be kept in a fridge a few days or frozen.

Vegetarian Lasagna Soup 
An original Green Gourmet Giraffe recipe 
inspired by Midwest Foodie, Easy Cheesey Vegetarian, and Ela Vegan
Serves 

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2-3 sticks celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp dried Italian herbs
400g tin of diced tomatoes
3 cups water 
2 tbsp tomato paste
400g tin of brown lentils, rinsed and drained
400g tin of canellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp salt (I used smoked salt)
1 tsp stock powder
freshly ground black pepper
4or 5 large kale leaves, ripped into small pieces 
2/3 cup cashews*
1 1/2 cup water 
2 tbsp pesto
handful mozzarella
few spoonfuls of ricotta cheese 

Fry onion, celery and carrots in oil over medium heat until softened (5-10 min).  Stir in tinned tomatoes, 3 cups of water, tomato paste, lentils, canellini beans, mustard, salt, stock powder and pepper.  Check and adjust seasoning.  Break lasagna sheets into the soup, gradually adding with stirring between every few sheets so they don't clump so much.  Boil then simmer for about 10 minutes .  While it is boiling, blitz cashews and 1 1/2 cup water to make a pouring cashew cream (*I make cashew cream in a high powered blender - if your blender is less powerful either soak cashews and use cashew butter).  Once lasagna is almost cooked, stir in cashew cream, water and pesto.  Simmer for a few minutes until kale is bright green and softened.  Serve and swoon!

Notes: Since making the recipe I have added extra tomato paste and cashews to the recipe because it needed a bit more.  It is quite flexible with adding more or less of the vegies or changing the herbs and pesto flavourings.  I saw a few recipes use red lentils and that would be a nice alternative to the beans and brown lentils, and perhaps I will try it some time with a vegan mince meat.
 

On the stereo:
The Köln Concert: Keith Jarrett

Strawberry and apricot chia puddings with granola

My regular breakfast for the past year has been diced seasonal fruit, unsweetened Greek yoghurt and home made granola.  It is so satisfying.  Tonight we had a version of it for dessert.  I have been planning to make it for the past week or two.  I finally made it last night because I had the energy after leftover soup and salad for tea and the fruit was not going to last much longer.  It was certainly worth the wait.

There were so many reasons to make this dessert and so many reasons I wanted to share it here on my blog.

• It is healthy, full of fruit and good stuff!
• You can use your favourite granola and/or dairy free yoghurt or omit either one to make it vegan, gluten free, nut free, dairy free or just to please different preferences!  Sylvia preferred cornflakes to my granola.
• On a warm Spring evening, we did not have to turn on the oven and it could be made quickly with minimal cooking.
• Stone fruit is in season.  Oh joy!
• It was quick and easy to put together.
• I didn't have any decent chocolate in the house.  I often have a square or two of dark Lindt chocolate  in the evening.  There are choc chips are in the pantry but they are a "break glass in case of emergency" sort of sweet treat.
  
• This is a great way to use up uneaten fruit that is past its prime. 
• Layered desserts in a glass always look so pretty.
  
• We have just put out our Christmas tea towels so it is a chance to use them in photos.

And we have finally got our old fluorescent light in the kitchen working again.  Luckily the light hasn't been working for the past few weeks in the period leading up the Summer Solstice when the sun is not setting til about 8.30pm.  But it was getting annoying.  Then, serendipitously, we had an electrician out to fix the electricity box that connects our units to the street supply.  I asked him to come and look at it.  He offered to put in a new fitting.  It was tempting but we left our old fitting in because he showed me how the light wasn't working when fully in but if we loosen it a little (not so much that it falls on our head but he said this would not hurt much if it did) the light will work.  Which means that I can take photos after dark in the kitchen light.  It is not as good as natural light but some days, that is my only option.

We make strawberry chia jam regularly but this is my first go at apricot chia jam.  It was excellent.  I am not that familiar with chia pudding recipes but I think they have this sort of texture as the chia jam we are used to.  After all, we often eat it by the spoonful.  A lot of chia puddings have sweet milky chia mixtures but I am not that into dairy so I prefer the fruity kind.  I topped mine with a little yoghurt and, because it is stone fruit season, a cherry on top.  If you want a festive version then a layers of strawberry and kiwi fruit would work well. I highly recommend you try it, however you like it.

More chilled fruity desserts on Green Gourmet Giraffe blog:
Apple crumble cheesecake
Caramel apple trifle
Choc-nut banana and fruit kebabs (gf, v)
Cranachan 
Creamy strawberry icy poles (popsicles) (gf)
Fruit salad (gf, v) 
Rhubarb and white chocolate ice cream (gf)
Strawberry soup (gf, v)
Strawberry sushi with chocolate sauce (gf, v)
Vegan peach cheesecake (gf, v)  

Strawberry and apricot chia puddings with granola
A Green Gourmet Giraffe original recipe

Strawberry chia jam (see below)
Apricot chia jam (see below)
Granola
Greek yoghurt, unsweetened
Cherries

Choose a glass to present your pudding.  I like to use small wine glasses that are about two thirds of a cup or 160ml and recommend you keep your glass small if possible.  Spoon about 2 generous spoonfuls of the apricot chia jam into the glass and smooth the top.  Repeat with strawberry chia jam.  Spoon in granola (about the same size of the previous two layers) and finish with a spoonful of yoghurt and a cherry on top.

Strawberry chia jam
Adapted from Green Gourmet Giraffe

375g (about 1 and 1/2 cups) strawberries
3 tbsp maple syrup
1 and 1/2 tbsp chia seeds

Hull strawberries (ie slice off green leafy tops).  Chop finely by hand or in a food processor.  Mix berries, maple syrup and chia seeds in a small saucepan.  Bring to the boil over low heat and simmer uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes until it is just thickened, stirring occasionally.  It will thicken as it cools.  Keeps in the fridge in a jar or tub for about a week.

Apricot chia jam

5 apricots (about 350g or 2 cups chopped apricots)
4 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp chia seeds

Halve apricots and remove stones.  Chop finely by hand or in a food processor.  Mix fruit, maple syrup and chia seeds in a small saucepan.  Bring to the boil over low heat and simmer uncovered for 10 to 20 minutes until it is just thickened and the fruit is cooked and soft.  Stir the mixture occasionally so it does not stick to the bottom of the saucepan.  It will thicken as it cools.  Keeps in the fridge in a jar or tub for about a week.

NOTES:

We let our finished dessert sit for about 20-30 minutes and ate while the chia jam was still lukewarm.  If I was feeling less impatient I would chill in the fridge, especially if I was organised enough to prepare my dessert before dinner.

As mentioned above, this is a dessert that is easy to change around to suit availability, diets and preferences.

The recipe make between 1 to 2 cups.  This is far more chia jam than we needed but it can be used to flavour yoghurts, spread on bread, used to top ice cream and other desserts or just eaten by the spoonful straight from the jar.  It keeps about a week in the fridge but ours never lasts that long! 

The chia jam recipes reflect what I did but the quantities can be changed depending on how much fruit you have.  I did not specify quantities for the puddings because it is easy to scale up or down, depending on how many you are serving.

On the Stereo:
Flood: They might be giants

Matcha, apple and strawberry muesli

I love making muesli for breakfast to eat with yoghurt and fruit.  (Yes, I know it is generally called granola when it is toasted these days but it is hard to break a lifetime's habit!)  Sylvia loves snacking on cereals in the afternoon and evening.  She doesn't like as many nuts and seeds as I like in mine but she was keen on trying a matcha muesli.

I have now made three batches of museli.  Each has been different.  I love using lots of different seeds, grains, nuts and dried fruit.  I talked to Sylvia about what she liked because she has particular preferences.  Even when we agreed there have been some small changes.  

• Batch 1 had home made apple sauce, Batch 2 had shop bought apple sauce and Batch 3 had tahini instead of apple sauce because it was the easiest option when the apple sauce ran out.  
• Batch 1 and 3 had quinoa flakes which are like rolled oats.  Batch 2 had millet flakes which were more like corn flakes.  We loved them but could only get them in the health food store.
• Batch 1 and 2 had dried strawberry and dried apple but Batch 3 had dried peaches and cranberries.
• Batch 1 had a spiced drinking matcha we bought in London.  I loved the aroma of vanilla, ginger and cinnamon.  Batch 2 had a mixture of the spiced matcha and one that we bought in the health food store.
• Batch 1 and Batch 2 were lovely.  Batch 3 was baked at a higher heat than the recipe says (my bad for not checking) so it is nice but a little charred.
  
  

The health store matcha was a brighter green than the London matcha.  This photo is of our cat inspecting the muesli before I stirred in the wet ingredients.  Always good to get the cat's seal of approval!

In the above collage, the top left photo is Batch 1 before baking, and the top right is after it baked.  The bottom left is Batch 2 before baking and the bottom right is Batch 2 after baking.  You can see that Batch 2 was greener but it still was the not the bright green I was seeking.  I still liked that it was noticeably different than my usual muesli.

I enjoyed serving different fruits with the muesli and yoghurt.  Over winter when there were less fruit about I have had blueberries in the freezer for when I don't have any fresh fruit.  I am doing well that I haven't used them much lately.  These are all Batch 2 (except photo c.  From top left clockwise: (a) pear, (b) strawberries, (c) apple and passionfruit, (d) kiwi fruit and strawberries.

Sylvia enjoys having matcha drinks at cafes.  Matcha latte, iced matcha, matcha lemonade ete etc.  So she appreciate the flavour far more than I do and was pleased with the flavour in the muesli.  In fact, she told me that the muesli was not going to last long.  I was pleased with the compliment.

More toasted muesli recipes on Green Gourmet Giraffe
Applesauce muesli (granola) (v)
Banana and maca muesli (granola) (v)
Chocolate muesli (granola) (v)
Fruit mince muesli (v)
Microwave muesli (v)
Tahini, quinoa and apricot toasted muesli (v)

Matcha, apple and strawberry muesli (granola)
Adapted from Green Gourmet Giraffe

4 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup millet flakes 
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/4 cup linseeds (flaxseeds)
1 tbsp poppy seeds
2 1/2 tbsp matcha powder
1 1/2 tsp mixed spice

1/2 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup applesauce
1/4 cup rice bran oil (or other neutral oil)

1/2 cup dried strawberries
1/2 cup dried apples

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Lightly whisk together maple syrup, applesauce and oil in a large jug until smooth and thickened like caramel.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until well mixed.  Tip into two large lined roasting tins.  Bake at 180 for 20-25 minutes, stirring halfway through.  While muesli cooks, chop dried fruit.  Once muesli has toasted with just a touch of golden brown around the edges, add dried fruit and mix well.  Leave to cool.  Store in an airtight container.

On the Stereo:
Merry-Go-Round: Studio Ghibli Music: Joe Hisaishi