In My Kitchen: June 2017

The chilly weather of June has been demanding warming stews, winter woollies and sweet treats.  As ever life is busy but I don't know where the time goes.  Some old favourites have been wheeled out.  Leftovers are always welcome.  Above is a bowl of hearty miso soup that was so good I wondered why it had been so long since I made it.  E and Sylvia didn't want it so I enjoyed it two nights in a row.

The most popular recipe on my blog is an apple slice. I have made it a few times.  The last time it seemed quite sweet.  I decided to make it vegan by using a flax egg (1 tbsp linseed meal or flax meal and 3 tbsp water) and then I had half white and half wholemeal flour, and only added half the sugar.  It was nice but a bit dry and crumbly.

For a long time I have wanted to update our old plastic cutlery drawer insert.  If only I could have remembered to measure our drawers.  When I finally got to the shops with the measurement Howard's Storage World was no longer at Barkly Square.  I ended up getting this wooden insert from K-Mart and it is an improvement.  I wish I had all my cutlery nice and neat but I took the photo in a stolen moment and haven't managed another photo so you will have to take me as I am.

I really loved this pizza because it reminded me of the vegetarian pizzas I used to order down Lygon Street in my student days.  It has tomato sauce, mushrooms, capsicum, olives, pineapple and cheese.  All on a fast track sourdough pizza base.  Great nostalgic comfort food.

We bought raspberries at the farmers market.  I was told there was only about 2 weeks left of picking them so of course I bought a large punnet.  It went straight in the freezer after my last punnet went off within days.  After Sylvia had been sick I blended frozen raspberries with watermelon and it was like a really lovely sorbet.  Though it could have been a bit sweeter for Sylvia.

Fruit is on the wane at this time of year.  I stewed quite a few plums over autumn but the last batch of plums I bought a few weeks back were so bad I had to throw out most of them.  Now the apples aren't quite as crisp as at the height of autumn and I have started to stew some of them.  I never used to be into stewing fruit but both Sylvia and I are loving it.

I'd had my eye on a VNutrition recipe for Vegetable Bean Casserole and finally made it for dinner.  I changed around the vegies and added tofu bacon.  It was really good but I baked it in a rush without breadcrumbs and without an opportunity to photograph the final dish.

I went shopping on Brunswick Street a few weeks back and dreamed of sitting in the Vegie Bar eating chocolate cake.  Time was short so I bought some Doughnut Time treats to take home instead: Life on Mars (Rich milk chocolate glaze, topped with chocolate flakes and Mars pieces), Kris (Strawberry glaze with strawberry cheesecake filling, milky bar, jelly belly, sugar flower and gold leaf), and It's Always a GayTime (Milk chocolate glaze, crushed biscuits, golden caramelised crepes and filled with honeycomb custard!)  They were really rich and gooey.  I loved the Mars Bar one best.

While Doughnut Time is a trendy treat, these Mini Square Cheese and Chive 9 pack from Woolworths are my guilty pleasure.  They cost about a tenth of the cost of the 3 doughnuts.  I confess I have bought them because they are ridiculously cheap when on special for $2 but I find them rather moreish too.

I used up some vegan nacho cheese sauce from But I could never go vegan by blending it with broccoli to make soup.  I found I had to add a few seasonings to get it right, yet it was still a quick way to make a tasty lunch.  Great with crisp pear and a food magazine.

I was interested in these Raspberry Malty Munchies when I saw them on the supermarket shelves.  Sadly I found them too sweet.  So not surprisingly, Sylvia munched through them at some rate.  I wont be buying them again.

I was interested to try a favourite choc chip cookies with coconut condensed milk.  I made an effort to underbake rather than overbake.  They were nice but a wee bit soft and I wasn't sure if it was that they were vegan or that they could have had another minute or two in the oven.  We loved them nevertheless. 

I really like Abe's Vegemite bagel crisps so I was quite curious to try these Chipotle bagel crisps.  Actually I bought them for E who likes all things spicy.  They were a bit crunchy for him but I found them rather moreish.

The recently wet weather has meant the garden is green and luscious.  Mostly.  The rosemary is looking scraggy.  The lavender isn't quite recovered from summer.  Some white butterflies have eaten my broccoli but it has bounced back once covered.  The lemon and lime trees have ripe fruit and our camelia has flowered.  Last year it was quite neglected and never flowered over autumn so we were very exciting to see all the flowers this year.  If I get time I will write a post on the garden.

When Sylvia was sick last week I promised some ice cream to soothe her sore throat.  Then I realised I just should not be in the ice cream aisle on the way home from work.  I bought her a vanilla ice cream and this Ben and Jerry's Chocolate fudge brownie for myself.  Thank goodness Ben and Jerry's tubs are not too big.  I could have eaten the whole tub in one night, it was that good.  But I shared it over a couple of nights.

I am sending this post to Sherry of Sherry's Pickings for the In My Kitchen event, that was started by Celia of Fig Jam and Lime Cordial,  If you would like to join in, send your post to Sherry by 10 May.  Or just head over to her blog to peek into more kitchens. 

Easy Tiger: modern Thai cuisine in Collingwood

It has been a while since I have gone out for fine dining with the vegan dining group.  However, visiting Easy Tiger two weeks before it closed, seemed a chance for some fine modern Thai food that was unlikely to come again.  So it was that on Saturday night, I met with the group in the covered courtyard of the restaurant.  A pot belly fire roared in one corner, bamboo matting lined the walls and strings of fairy lights add a touch of fun.

We chose the vegan Tiger Banquet for $95 each.  This involved a volley of street food dishes - "small bites that arrive one after another, building your appetite", and then rice courses - " a banquet feast that arrives all together and is eaten together on the plate", and finally dessert.  I regret to say that I did not take notes, nor extensive photos.  (Thanks to Cindy for some help with remembering.)  So there are some gaps in my tale of the meal but hopefully it is enough of a snapshot to remember the fine food at Easy Tiger.

We started with Taro crisps with chilli salt and a cute panda glass of soy roasted cashews.  The crisps were light and crunchy but I could have just inhaled that glass of tasty nuts.

It was most impressive that there was a non-alcoholic drink matching for the banquet.  I was tempted but heeded Cindy's wise advice that it was quite filling.  So I chose one non-alcoholic cocktail: the Yuzu Soda which was made of yuzu citrus, soda, sugar syrup and lemon.  It was quite tart at first mouthful and then wonderfully refreshing.  I was also tempted by the lemongrass and ginger soda. -

The Vegan Ma Hor looked so cute it was a shame to eat it.  I think the bulk of the bitesized "meatballs" on top of the watermelon discs were peanuts.  I really liked the contrast between the nutty and spicy with the fruity and sweet.  Though they were quite small, they were still quite a mouthful.

More of a challenge to eat were the Betel leaves with coconut, puffed rice, peanuts and fried shallots.  These were really good with lots of crunch and flavour.  (Cindy noted that she tasted lime.)  They were quite fun to wrap into little betel leaf parcels and eat.  However I found myself with the sweet sticky sauce running down my hand.

One of my favourite dishes were the Fried beanskin pastry stuffed with glass noodles, garlic chive, ginger and coriander.  These were so satisfying with the crispy fried skin and the mouthful of seasoned soft noodles.  It makes for perfect comfort food.  I was very glad we had two each as I really wanted more after my first one.  They were

Neither online information or my memory can help me here.  So I will call this dish Braised mushrooms with lettuce.  (Apologies to Easy Tiger if I am totally wrong.)  However to paraphrase Shakespeare, a mushroom by any other name would taste as good.  I am not a huge mushroom fan but I really loved this and went back for seconds and thirds.  We tried wrapped the mushrooms in the cos and radicchio lettuce on the side with varying degrees of success.  My plate was testimony to my poor wrapping skills.

This dish was really tasty with some chilli and kaffir in it.  I ate a piece of chilli and so had that unpleasant burning mouth sensation.  After that I neatly placed the thin strips of chilli at the side of my plate.  I had quite a pile.  However the chilli seemed hit and miss.  Others hardly got any chilli.  It did not dampen my enthusiasm for the dish.

Next was the Rice courses or Banquet feast.  The table was crowded with dishes of lots of interesting and delicious food.  Above are the side dishes of Green Papaya Salad with Snake Beans, Tofu in chilli jam and Jasmine rice.  All very good without making me go weak at the knees.

The main dish was this Penaeng curry of lebanese eggplant with tomato and braised fennel.  It was introduced to as the hero dish and I would not argue with them.  It was magnificent.  Rich, creamy and subtly spicy with eggplant cooked to perfection so it melted in the mouth.  Our main complaint about it was that we would have liked more eggplant.  It is not often that it is cooked so beautifully.

I was also rather taken by the Rolled rice noodles with cauliflower, garlic shoots and black bean sauce.  I really liked the contrast of the soft chunks of rolled rice noodles and cute little florets of cauliflower.  I have never had rolled rice noodles before and had to ask what the flubbery stuff was.  The sauce was lovely and I enjoyed having some greens with the meal.

Then it was time for dessert of Coconut & pandanus dumplings with melon and salted coconut cream.  The dumpling skins had crunchy toasted coconut inside and sago over them.  I confess to wishing the vegan menu had the regular chocolate filled dumplings.  While I love coconut, the sago and melons weren't really my thing.  To be fair, I probably would have enjoyed this dessert more in summer but it was fun to try it.

The meal was finished off in style with some sweet, salty, sour, spicy boiled lollies (hard candies).  They were more sweet at first and then the chilli hit and my tastebuds just withdrew from the burn.  We decided it was like a Willy Wonka sweet that he was trialling.

It is a shame it took my so long to visit Easy Tiger but I am glad I did.  The food was wonderful and will raise the bar high for the next Thai restaurant I visit.  The staff were friendly and attentive and I liked the simple ambiance of the courtyard.  It was great to catch up with some people I haven't seen for a while and I was sorry that Rosalie could not come as she had organised the meal but you can read her review of her previous visit at Quinces and Kale. 

Easy Tiger is open until 16 June and then will close its doors on over 6 years of feeding modern Thai food in Collingwood that has managed to be both stylish and filled with flavour.

Easy Tiger
96 Smith Street
Collingwood

Zucchini, sundried tomato and goats cheese galette and notes of hope

It has been one of those weeks.  Some good.  Some bad.  I met an old friend for lunch in the city.  Sylvia has been sick.  I saw a guy thrown off his motorcycle when I was riding home.  I picked up a pair of new glasses.  It was a week when it took a while to find time for making a galette and when it made for very welcome leftovers.

The galette used some pastry I had previous used for a beetroot and caramelised onion galette.  Sylvia had asked that I make it because she had enjoyed her pizza sauce and cheese version.  I wanted to try a new filling this time.

The pastry was made with the same recipe but seemed even softer and stickier this time.  I was not very confident in it.  Much like the first time (check out the beetroot galette for step by step photos).  The dough was more like a thick paste than a soft dough.  It was so soft I could not really knead it but I did manage to pat it into a wibbly ball.  I also worried it did not have any baking powder.  The result when cooked was a soft pastry that was almost like a soft bread.  Really lovely.

The first time I made the pastry, I tried a zucchini and tomato galette but the raw zucchini would not cook.  Frying the zucchini first worked really well.

I originally planned to make the galette on Sunday.  But Sylvia was tired after a sleepover birthday party and I was full after eating scones with jam and cream at my bookclub.  (Less impressive was my attempt at a muesli slice which would not hold together and ended up being crumbled over yoghurt.)

Then I planned to make it during the week when I wasn't working.  Except Sylvia was at home sick and I spent time visiting the doctor and buying medicine at the chemist and convincing Sylvia to take her pills rather than cooking dinner.

The pastry I had made earlier sat in the fridge.  So the next morning before work, I fried onions.  Which meant once I came home I just had to push the onions to the side of the frypan and fry the zucchini, assemble the galette, and bake it.  I loved it but it was quite soft in the middle when out of the oven and threatened to collapse in hand.  Whereas once cooled, slices could be picked up.

Leftover galette was lovely after a long day that ended with me picking up my new glasses.  When I was greeted to fit my glasses, the guy serving me told me he had just broken his fast.  His comment made me think of how our society has changed.

When I was a child this comment would have been baffling.  These days, especially in the inner North of Melbourne, we are pretty aware it is Ramadam and the Moslem community is fasting during daylight hours.  It is nothing they feel the need to hide or explain.  It was a moment of hope that multiculturalism is making us more understanding of others.

As it is Reconciliation Week, I wanted to highlight a few moments in the news that call for tolerance.

The Uluru Statement: written by Australia's Indigenous leaders to reflect the frustrations and aspirations of the Indigenous community:
"When we have power over our destiny our children will flourish. They will walk in
two worlds and their culture will be a gift to their country."

The Last Leg: I am a great fan of the show and this week was brilliant.  Adam Hills chose love not hatred with his talk on the Manchester bombing.  He talked of poems and songs and pubs.  And he said this:
‘No matter what you do, no matter how many lives you take, we will still help each other. ‘Not because you forced us into it or we’re trying to defy you, because it’s what decent people do.’

Paddy Ashdown spoke about his new book at Hay Festival.  During the talk he said that the world would be a better place if politicians had a better understanding of history:
He said if society parted company from liberal values of “respect, tolerance, internationalism and so on then the next step history shows is something worse”.

I am sending this galette to Meat Free Mondays and Eat Your Greens.

More savoury pastry recipes from Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Brie, tomato and zucchini tart
Cheese, onion and potato pasties (Tiddly Oggies)
Eccles cakes with leeks, spinach and blue cheese (v)
Haggis neeps and tatties pasties (v)
Samosa pie (v)
Zucchini and tomato quiche with wild garlic

Zucchini, sundried tomato and goats cheese galette
Adapted from Green Gourmet Giraffe
Serves 4

Pastry:

2 1/2 cups plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
225g butter (or margarine)*, chilled and cubed
1/2 cup Greek yogurt*
1/2 cup ice cold water
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Filling:

1 tbsp olive oil
2 large onions, finely sliced
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
seasoning
1 largish zucchini, sliced about 3/4cm thick
1/4 cup chopped sundried tomatoes
50g goats cheese

soy milk to glaze pastry

First make pastry: Mix flour and salt in a food processor.  Mix in butter until incorporated to make the mixture look like breadcrumbs.  Mix in yoghurt, water and vinegar until it comes together into a soft mass.  Turn out onto a lightly floured surface.  Use a little extra flour to briefly "knead" until you have a smooth ball.  Wrap in clingwrap and refridgerate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200 C and line a large oven tray with baking paper.

While the pastry chills, prepare the filling.  Fry the onions in oil for about 30 minutes over medium heat until soft and sweet.  Turn off heat and stir in balsamic vinegar and seasoning.  Also fry the zucchini

Pat or roll out the pastry to about 1/2 cm thickness on the baking paper on the oven tray.  [I only used 3/4 of the pastry - but I think it would be fine to use all of it if your tray is big enough or to make two equal sized galettes.]  Use some flour to keep your hands or rolling pin from sticking.

Spread the fried onions onto the base leaved about 3-5cm around the edges.  Next arrange the sliced zucchini over the onion.  Arrange pieces of sundried tomato and goats cheese over the zucchini.  Fold the edges of pastry over the filling, making tucks as you go so the pastry sits neatly.  It is to be rustic so it does not need to be perfect.  Brush pastry edges with soy milk.

Bake for 30-40 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and the goats cheese  is slightly brown.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  Keeps in the fridge overnight.

NOTES: The previous galette I made with this pastry was vegan with vegan mozarella.  This galette could be also made vegan with a vegan margarine, vegan yoghurt and vegan cheese.  I left my pastry in the fridge overnight.  The sundried tomato was not preserved in oil.  It was quite charred and I wondered if it would be better under the zucchini or to use oiled sundried tomato.

On the Stereo: 
Ballades et mots d'amour: Serge Gainsbourg

Cinnamon doughnut banana muffins

It was 4 o'clock on an autumn afternoon.  We had not had lunch because our brunch at The Snug was so filling.  I was happy that I had bought some tubs to organise Sylvia's clothes, a bouncy ball for her to play with (outside only please), and a tunnel for Shadow the cat. These cinnamon doughnut banana muffins with a cuppa were just what we needed.

I wanted to make choc chip cookies.  Sylvia wanted banana bread.  I showed her the page in Coles Magazine with "6 ways with banana bread".  She wanted the cinnamon doughnut banana bread.  I conditionally agreed.  We took the idea and made the banana bread into vegan banana muffins.  Amazingly they smelled like cinnamon doughnuts.  These ones were much lighter. 

I have seen recipes for jam doughnut muffins with jam inside and the muffins rolled in butter and sugar.  The recipe in Coles Magazine was fine but it had more eggs, butter and sugar than I wanted.  I altered a recipe for vegan banana bread I found online that used less sugar and substituted oil for butter.

I took out some of the sugar and used it to make cinnamon sugar.  We sprinkled it on top and stirred it in with a toothpick.  It made the muffin tops slightly nubbly.  Of course you could mix the sugar and cinnamon into the batter but this way the muffins hit you with the heady aroma of cinnamon doughnuts.  In fact, E did not even realise that there was banana in the muffins.  I really liked it this way.

Lastly I have been watching the local show, War on Waste.  It is a really interesting look into the stuff we throw out, what happens to it and how much of it is really necessary.  In the first episode, Craig Reucassel, visited banana farmers in Queensland to discuss the mountains of bananas thrown out each day.  He discovered that the regulations on what supermarkets accept are really tight and mean lots of bananas are too big or too small, too bent or not bent enough.  It is quite shameful.

I usually list how many bananas are needed in a recipe.  This program made me think that if the regulations were relaxed, there would be a far greater variation in bananas and it might change how we write recipes.  No big deal of course.  Banana bread would still be delicious!

More banana baking on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Banana and choc chip scones
Banana and coconut cake (v)
Banana weetbix muffins
Banana and yoghurt cake
Butterscotch banana muffins
Choc caramel banana cake
Healthy banana bread
Mum’s banana cake

Cinnamon Doughnut Banana Doughnuts
Adapted from BBC Good Food and Coles Magazine
Makes 12 muffins

3 large bananas, mashed
80g brown sugar
75g rice bran or neutral-flavoured oil
225g plain flour (half white, half wholemeal)
3 heaped tsp baking powder

Cinnamon sugar:
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tbsp cinnamon

Firstly make cinnamon sugar by mixing sugar and cinnamon.  Set aside.  Mash bananas in medium mixing bowl and mix with brown sugar and oil. Mix in flour and baking powder.  Spoon into greased 12 hole tin.  Sprinkle generous 1/2 teaspoonfuls on top of each muffin and swirl into mixture with a toothpick.  Bake at 200 C for 20 minutes or until golden brown and passes the skewer test.

On the Stereo:
Fearless: Taylor Swift

Cheddar, kale and facon muffins

As soon as I saw Cakeyboi's Cheddar, Kale and Bacon Quick Bread I bookmarked it.  Of course I was never going to use traditional bacon.  But I make vegetarian bacon quite often and immediately had ideas on how to substitute.  It took some time to get around to it.  Once I did, the quick bread became muffins and was most delicious.

I changed the recipe quite a bit.  Tofu bacon seemed the obvious choice to substitute for the bacon.  The texture is right and I was already making a batch for a rice bake.  In fact after baking these muffins I found I had made some similar savoury muffins some years ago: tofu-bacon and spinach muffins.  This latest batch is richer, more complex and more delicious.
  

I took the muffins out of the oven just before rushing out the door for Sylvia's swimming lessons.  The muffins were wonderful to come home to.  The next day I felt like a domestic goddess at work eating a couple of muffins with some chopped red capsicum for my lunch.  They really are a meal in a muffin.  And they taste excellent accompanying a mug of soup.

I really loved these muffins and wish that I had more impressive photos to show you.  Sadly I spent too much time rushing about before darkness fell.  So I just snapped a few pictures the next morning before work.  However I hope you will understand that these are so good that you wont want to stop and take photos. 

I am sending these muffins to Meat Free Mondays and Eat Your Greens. 

More tofu bacon recipes on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Artichoke, sun-dried tomato and cheese muffins 
Bubble and squeak frittata (gf, v)
Cauliflower risotto wih tofu bacon (gf, v) 
Lentil and potato filled pancakes
Potato, cabbage and facon soup (gf, v)
Pumpkin facon soup (gf, v)
Red capsicum and mozzarella pasta bake

And 20 more recipes with facon

Cheddar, kale and facon muffins
Adapted from Cakeyboi
Makes 12 muffins

2-3 tsp olive oil, divided
125g tofu bacon
1 red onion chopped
120g chopped kale
150ml milk (I used soy)
1 tsp lemon juice or cider vinegar
2 medium eggs 
125ml olive oil
1 tbsp maple syrup
175g plain flour
125g grated cheddar cheese
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Preheat oven to 200 C and grease a 12 hole muffin tin.

Fry tofu bacon in oil in 1-2 tsp oil until golden brown.  (If it is taking quite a while to colour, you can add some more oil.)  Set aside bacon and fry the onion in the same frypan with an additional 1 tsp of oil (if required) until starting to colour.  Add in kale and fry until starting to brown around the edges.

While doing this frying, mix milk and lemon juice for about 5 minutes in a small mixing bowl until it starts to curdle.  Lightly whisk in eggs, olive oil and maple syrup.

Meanwhile, place dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Gently mix in the fried ingredients and wet ingredients.

Spoon mixture into prepared muffin tin.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until muffins are golden brown and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack.  Keeps about 3 days or can be frozen.

On the Stereo:
Word Gets Around: Stereophonics

Book Review: But I could never go vegan

I was lucky enough to have a long term loan of Kristy Turner's But I Could Never Go Vegan cookbook.  I had followed her Keepin It Kind blog so I already knew she does great recipes and beautiful photos.  The book delighted me with recipes that really inspired me but were (mostly) easy enough to make.

The book takes a humourous approach to vegan advocacy.  Sections are organised around how to counteract protests about being vegan.  Such as "Where would I get my protein?".  It is funny but it is a bit negative too.  Personally I prefer the more positive subtitle "Satisfying ways to pack in the protein".  I don't need to be convinced that vegan food is fantastic.  I just want good recipes.

The recipes are for the experienced cook who wants some interesting recipes that go beyond the basics.  They include both quick weeknight recipes and some more extravagant entertaining dishes.  I have cooked a lot from the book over more than 6 months. I love the recipes but not the way it is organised.  Even knowing it quite well, I find it hard to find recipes because I don't find the ordering intuitive.  On the plus side, this meant I was always discovering more dishes I just had to cook when looking for a recipe.

I am listing the recipes I made under each section.  Note that I did not make recipes from every section and only made some components.

SECTION: All those special ingredients are way more expensive 

From this section I made:

• Sunflower Sausage - this was a great minced meat substitute.  I used it in bolognaise a few times.  It could be a little dry if cooked too long but was really tasty and a great basic protein to add in lots of dishes for some oomph.
• Barbecue Sauce - I liked it but even with halving the sugar it was a bit sweet and needed better seasoning.  I think that I should have seasoned better and that it lacked some flavour because I didn't have any ancho chile powder.  Having said that, I didn't have any trouble finishing it as there were lots of ways to use it.
• Tofu Sour Cream - I made this for a soup topping and then it lingered in the fridge.  It was nice in the soup but I am not really into creamy and don't use sour cream much.
• Honey Bee Happy - this is boiled down apple juice, sugar and lemon juice.  It had a honey texture but tasted like apple juice concentrate.  I was not that impressed but then it was really good in the brownies I made it for.

I made a few of these basic recipes because they were required by other recipes.  While they weren't overly complicated they did add to the time needed for some other recipes.  Once I had made some of them, I wanted more ideas of how to use them.  What I would have loved would be a list of recipes in the book that used them, so I wasn't rifling through the book trying to find them.  Niggles aside, I liked the range of basics in this section.

SECTION: I could never given up cheese

Tofu Feta (from Tofu Feta, Spinach and Potato Gratin)

I made this tofu feta for a salad recipe.  It did not work that well for me in the salad.  The texture was too soggy to imitate feta - perhaps my tofu was not hard enough.  I also found it more sharp than salty in flavour.  Then I made savoury muffins with the rest of the feta and really loved the flavour and texture it gave them.  I might make it again just for muffins.

SECTION: Tofu doesn't taste like anything

BBQ Baked Tofu

I really love tofu and don't need anyone to suggest I love it.  This BBQ baked tofu used the above BBQ sauce and was delicious.  We had it for dinner with coleslaw and spinach.  I loved it so much that I ate some cold for breakfast.  The the rest went into a tortilla casserole. 

SECTION: Vegan cooking is too hard

Chickpea Omelets

I enjoyed these omelets made with chickpea flour and vegies.  However as they took longer to make than my regular ones I probably would not make them a lot.  I am sure I took a photo but can't find it.

SECTION: Where's the Beef?

Lentil Mushroom Meatloaf with Ketchup Glaze

I love a good nut roast but find vegan ones more challenging.  This loaf looked really promising with lots of lentils, oats, mushrooms, and almond meal.  It held together well and I enjoyed it but if I made it again I would tweak it.

SECTION: Just thinking about salad makes me yawn

Three Pea and Orzo Pistachio Pesto Salad

This was a nice salad for dinner.   I used some pesto that wasn't in the book.  I didn't use orzo as I could not find it and bought small shells instead.  So my version was slightly different.  I made the tofu feta (above) for the salad but did not really like the texture of it as a topping.

Roasted Broccoli and Apple Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing

The Roasted Broccoli and Apple Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing was brilliant.  I made enough changes that I blogged my version of the salad.  However it was still hats off to Kristy for the idea of adding roasted seasoned broccoli to a salad, for the creamy dressing and for the combination of crunchy, creamy, sweet, savoury.  I used sausage crumbles on top as that was what I had but I think the tempeh bacon that Kristy used would be great.  However I really liked my addition of raw purple cabbage in it for flavour and colour.

BBQ Cauliflower (from BBQ Cauliflower Salad with Zesty Ranch Dressing)

I love the BBQ Cauliflower that was part of a salad.  I had cauliflower and BBQ sauce so it was pretty easy.  But I did not have the time for the salad dressing and crumbed onion rings.  I used hot sauce for bite because we don't have ancho chilli powder.  The cauliflower was great as a side dish and in sandwiches.  Above it tops (bio)cheese melted on toast.  I really loved the mayo, celery, grated carrot, baby spinach and BBQ cauliflower in a sandwich.

SECTION: What about brunch?

Chickpea Scramble Breakfast Tacos

I love making chickpea scramble and was pleased how well it worked in these breakfast tacos.  Unfortunately I did not have time for Kristy's method of whisking the ingredients, leaving them to set and then frying chunks.  Instead I did my usual quick fry method.  They were great with seasoned roasted sweet potato, red capsicum and onion as well as avocado (I fried it because it was not ripe and enough - this was a revelation!).  I cannot imagine making it for breakfast but loved it for dinner.

SECTION: Fake "foods" freak me out

Potato and Pea Samosa Cakes with Tamarind Sauce

These samosa patties were impressive.  I was amazed and pleased at how well they held together with a bit of chickpea flour.  They were a little chewy and quite spicy.  They would make great finger food as they were all too easy to nibble on before dinner.  Thank goodness they made lots.

Lentil, Chard and Sweet Potato Curry

This was a really nice curry, bordering on a dal with all the lentils.  I added a few more vegies.  The addition of a spoonful of black salt at the end gave it a slightly different flavour to my usual curies but it was very good and comforting.

SECTION: It's all rabbit food

Nacho cheese sauce (from Jackfruit Nacho Supreme)

I really liked this nacho cheese sauce.  My cheese sauces are usually thick enough to double as a dip but this was more pouring consistency.  At first I worried it lacked bite but then I found I had left out the miso which made a big difference to the flavour.  I added some to some soup which worked well.

SECTION: Not soup again

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

This soup was tasty but very thin.  I might have added some liquid than the recipe.  By the next day it had thickened a little.

Potato Sauerkraut Soup with Sausage Crumbles

I partly made this because I loved the photo.  I also would like to eat more sauerkraut.  The soup was nice and I really liked the crumbles on top.  However it was a bit on the sour side.  Perhaps it needed better seasoning or a little less sauerkraut.  A nice change on the usual potato soups.

SECTION: I'd miss pizza

Buffalo Cauliflower Calzones with Cashew Blue Cheese Sauce

I did not make this recipe but a few years back I made Kristy's Buffalo cauliflower pizza with tofu blue cheese on my own sourdough base.  The cauliflower was great but the tofu blue cheese did not quite do it for me.  However I would like to try the cashew blue cheese she uses.  And I have to say it was a great innovative pizza topping like others in the book.

SECTION: Can't i be pescatarian instead?

Beer Battered Faux Fish and Chips

I have no desire to be a pescatarian but I do long for a fish and chip shop that does vegan fish.  The beer battered tofu was excellent.  I loved how the tofu sat in marinade for an hour or so and I really loved the batter with beer in it.  My tofu was smaller and took a while to fry.  It wasn't an easy recipe but was great for a birthday treat.  As an aside, I would have preferred the ingredients to be separated into the marinade and the batter rather than all in together but this is nit picking, esp when I loved the results.  I didn't follow Kristy's chip recipe as it is better to roast chips my own way in my oven.  I loved having fish and chips at home (with a leftover salad from a community lunch) and I really loved the leftover tofu fish fried until crispy and eaten in a sandwich with mayo.  I really need to make this again.

SECTION: My friends wont want to come over for dinner

Cashew Carrot Pate

I made this pate ages ago.  It was more dip than pate but very nice.  I think I fiddled with the ingredients a bit but can't remember why.

SECTION: No way.  I'm Italian (of Southern/German/Mexican/French)

Pretzel Dumplings with Sauerkraut Mushroom Gravy

You don't make these dumplings to gaze upon and admire their beauty.  Sylvia and I made fun of them especially when they had cooked the the stew was like gunk with a thick gloopy skin.  The dumplings were not quite as I expected.  (I struggled to work out how much her 4 pretzels weighed and deducted it was 225g.  I didn't have enough and used some breadcrumbs to top it up.)  Rather than be like a dough, they seemed like chunks of soft pretzel.  They were better the second day. More cohesive and better taste.  The stew was quite tasty and a good way to use up some of my sauerkraut.  I really liked this stew but was not quite as wowed as I expected.

SECTION: I don't want to be left out at potlucks and family get-togethers

Maple Baked Beans and Cornbread Casserole

This was a delicious oven bake.  I found there was too much maple in the baked beans which were a bit sweet.  I then forgot it in the dumplings which could have done with a little.  However despite this, I really enjoyed the casserole and would love to have it again.  The dumplings were a little sandy but I find this with polenta. I didn't have the right white beans so I had a mix of kidney beans, lentils and black eyed peas.  I would love this at a potluck brunch.

SECTION: Wait, is chocolate vegan?

Chocolate Chip Brownies

Vegan brownies can be challenging but I was swayed by the claims that these were fudgy.  Over summer I made these and took them warm to a friend's pot luck dinner party.  They were really disappointingly crumbly and would barely hold together.  The next day they firmed up and were more brownie-like but still a bit softer than I had hoped.  But very very moreish.


It has been very generous of Faye to loan me the book.  It is not a new book, having come out in 2014.  Since then Kristy has also written But My Family Would Never Eat Vegan.  You can see some of the goodness from the second cookbook on Faye's Veganopoulous blog.  I really must give my copy of the book back to Faye soon. I am reluctant as I continue to find recipes I want to make in it.  Maybe I need to buy my own copy.  I highly recommend you find a copy of the book, even if you just want to cook good vegan food rather than go vegan.

But I Could Never Go Vegan!: 125 Recipes That Prove You Can Live Without Cheese, It's Not All Rabbit Food, and Your Friends Will Still Come Over for Dinner is written by Kristy Turner, published by The Experiment in 2014.