Posts tagged ‘grain’
Vegan Attempts @ The Jetty Oxford
I went to a work lunch at a place not of my choosing today. But I wasn’t paying the bill, so I’m not complaining too much!
We went to The Jetty Oxford, at Bulimba. It’s right near the ferry dock. It had big fat no vegan food. Except, I think, chips and maybe olives. There may have been a salad they could have removed the cheese and dressing from. Er… appetising for a lunchtime meal? I think not.
So I talked to the waitress and she talked to the chef, and he was not helpful. But I think I took him unawares, because about two mins later he had the waitress come back out and offer to make me a mysterious risotto. I agreed.
Here it is:
I think it had fennel, asparagus, apple and maybe mint? The sauce was made from peas. That is not something I would typically choose ever, considering I don’t particularly like peas or asparagus and I’ve actually never eaten fennel. However, the chef didn’t know that and it was very good if you discount the fact that the flavours were not particularly to my personal liking (and actually, I found the flavours were not even too bad). It was infinitely better than chips, olives or nude, boring salad for lunch.
So thank you, The Jetty Oxford chef!
The moral of the story? You should never be afraid to ask if the chef can offer anything vegan, cos they just might!
Vegan Fast Food
Vegans and fast food don’t often go together. There are exceptions, like Lord of the Fries in Melbourne, but those kinds of places are far and few between. Takeaway food from regular restaurants is a bit expensive to eat very often.
So usually I make my own fast food.
This is what I had for lunch the other day:
- Roasted sweet potato (I had two in the basket in the pantry starting to get a bit old, so I roasted them up to eat as I pleased)
- Refried beans with jalapenos (thanks Old El Paso!)
- Mexi-beans (thanks again Old El Paso!)
- Mexican style express rice (this time, Uncle Ben’s was my friend)
- Roasted capsicum salsa (I’m taking out shares in Old El Paso).
So these aren’t the most eco-friendly items I’ve ever eaten… two things from cans, one in a plastic packet and one from a jar… but aside from the rice packet, it’s all recyclable and/or reusable, which is more than you can say for the paper/cardboard/plastic/styrofoam packaging you get from places like Macca’s.
It’s also loads healthier.
And it was fast! It took me less than 5 mins to make. Sometimes that’s what you want. Plus, there’s leftovers!!
But best of all, it was tasty. Nommmmm….
Friday Feast: Quinoa Puttanesca
I found this recipe on the Post Punk Kitchen Blog, and I knew I just had to try it! I’m all for figuring out new ways to eat ‘alternative’ grains, and quinoa is such a good one, since it’s a complete protein and gluten free. (I like to keep my gluten down.)
This recipe includes wine. Remember, when cooking with wine, the flavour intensifies, so choose a wine you like to drink.
I tweaked the recipe slightly – slightly increased the tomato, added sun-dried tomatoes and roasted capsicum, and reduced the capers – but otherwise it is the same thing. The taste of the olives and capers comes through strongly, so if you don’t like them (yes Mum, this would be you), then this dish would not be something I’d recommend. However, if you love the taste, as I do, then it’s fabulous.
I was surprised by how spicy (hot) it was. It seemed more like a matriciana than a puttanesca to me, but then it’s been a while, so maybe I’m remembering incorrectly. If you don’t like spicy food (yes Mum, that’s you again), I would suggest reducing or eliminating the crushed red pepper flakes. If, like me, you love spicy food – and I’m a spice wimp, but I still love it – then this is the perfect dish for you!
Quinoa Puttanesca
Quinoa Puttanesca, still hot and steamy.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- generous pinch tarragon
- generous pinch marjoram
- 1/4 cup wine (I used white because that’s what was open, but red would work too)
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives, roughly chopped (sliced in half is great)
- 1/4 cup capers
- 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped small
- 1/4 cup roasted capsicum, cut into strips
- 600g (21oz) can crushed tomatoes
- black pepper, to taste
- 2 to 3 cups of cooked quinoa*
Method
- Heat the oil in a good-sized pot over medium heat.
- Add the garlic and stir for about a minute, being careful not to burn it.
- Add herbs, spices and wine; cook for about a minute.
- Add olives, capers, crushed tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes and roasted capsicum. Simmer, uncovered, for about 15 minutes.
- Reserve a few ladelfuls of sauce to put on top of each serving.
- Mix the quinoa into the remaining sauce in the pot.
- Serve in individual bowls with a spoonful of the reserved sauce on top. Yum!
I used red quinoa because I thought it matched the sauce better, but you could use white or black quinoa and it would work just the same.
*Note: To cook the quinoa, rinse about a cup of uncooked quinoa to remove any residual bitterness. Put the quinoa in a pot with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and cook uncovered for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the grain is tender and the water has been absorbed.
Friday Feast: Carrot, Pineapple and Soybean Stir-fry
Ok, I know this combination of ingredients sounds weird, but it’s good, trust me. This is one of Yankee Elv’s recipes, and she first made it while she was in the USA. I think it’s some kind of weird US North Pacific Rim fusion sort of meal. Anyway, it’s really easy and tastes great, so give it a go!
Carrot, Soybean, and Pineapple Stirfry
Carrot, Pineapple and Soybean Stir-fry, with rice.
Ingredients:
• 2 tablespoon oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (or as much as you want)
• 2 medium carrots, sliced
• 1 240g (8oz) can pineapple chunks WITH juice – don’t drain
• 1 – 1 1/2 cups frozen green soybeans (edamame)
• 2 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (less or more to adjust spiciness)
• 2 teaspoon sesame seeds (optional)
• cooked rice (preferably cooked at least a day before, so it is less sticky)
Method:
1. Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat.
2. Add garlic and carrots and stir-fry for about 4 to 5 minutes
3. Add the pineapple with the juice. Saute on medium-high until juice is almost gone; about 5 to 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, defrost the frozen soybeans so they are no longer frozen (but they can still be cold) by heating them in the microwave, in water to cover, for 1 minute (if you don’t have a microwave, you can do it on the stove).
5. When the pineapple juice is almost gone, add the soybeans, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, and red pepper. Heat for 3 to 5 minutes, until the spices are mixed and the beans are warmed through.
6. You can either mix in the rice and cook it some more with the stirfry (gives the rice some extra flavor), or just ladle the stir-fry over the rice.
Optional: sprinkle sesame seeds over the meal for a bit of a crunch.
Friday Feast: Vegan Apple Crumble
Lately, I’ve been on a bit of a muffin kick. This isn’t a muffin recipe though – I’m still working on those. Don’t get all impatient-like, the recipes will come. But right now, this is an apple crumble recipe. It’s good stuff. I tweaked an apple crumble recipe I’ve been making since I was 13, took some inspiration from a berry cobbler that Yankee Elv makes, and ta-da! Vegan dessert-y goodness. I first made this about a month ago.
I made up some soy custard to go with it. I just followed the instructions on my Poppy custard powder box, but added extra custard powder as soy custard seems to thicken up a bit less than dairy custard. It turned out beautifully. For those of you who can’t find custard powder, you could probably just use cornstarch (cornflour) with some vanilla flavouring and yellow colouring. The only other ingredients are non-dairy milk and a spoonful of sugar.
Yankee Elv asked me to make this again the next week. She’s a bit obsessed with it now. But it really does taste so good…
Apple Crumble
Apple crumble with home-made soy custard. It's a dreadful photo, sorry - it was night time so I had to use flash and it's very glary.
Ingredients
**filling**
- 800g tin pie apples (or equivalent fresh apples – I work full time, so I’ve no time to stew apples. I have to make do with recycling the tin)
- 2 tabs white sugar (I use low GI cane sugar)
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
**topping**
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- Heaped 1/4 cup vegan margarine, softened and in small pieces
- 1 1/4 cup rolled oats
- 1/2 cup plain flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
Method
- Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
- Combine filling ingredients in a pie dish.
- Combine topping ingredients, except margarine, in a bowl.
- Rub in margarine until combined.
- Cover filling with topping.
- Bake for approx. 30 mins, or until topping is starting to brown and get crunchy.
Friday Feast: Quinoa Biscuits (Cookies)
I would like to declare that I am absolutely dreadful at baking biscuits (cookies). I’m not sure why; I can bake pretty much everything else, but biscuits just stump me. Even when I follow the recipe exactly, they still come out stuck to the pan or something. However, this recipe (which I got from the back of a packet of Nature’s First Organic Quinoa Flakes) worked fine the first time! If you’re having trouble with the biscuits sticking to the pan, increase the size of your cookies or decrease the cooking time. This worked for me.
I liked that these biscuits were somewhat lower GI than regular biscuits (the quinoa increasing the protein), and I made them even more so by changing the flour to rice and spelt. The original recipe called for wheat flour. The liquid sweetener you use will also impact the GI of the biscuits, as will the type of sugar you use, and how much optional stuff you include (for example, including the cashews will increase the protein/fat quotient per biscuit, which in turn will make them lower GI). It’s a whole complicated thing. I don’t mean to sound obsessive, but for health reasons, it seems it’s better for me to eat lower GI, so I’m doing my best to consider that at all times!
Anyway, I now present to you…
Quinoa Biscuits (Cookies)
Quinoa biscuits.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup liquid sweetener (the original recipe called for honey, which I used because I wanted to use the last of our honey up)
- 1/3 cup sugar (I used low GI sugar)
- 1/2 cup vegan margarine (I always use Nuttelex)
- 1/2 cup peanut butter (I used smooth, but I bet crunchy adds a little something something)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla essence (I used imitation, and it was fine)
- 1/2 cup rice flour
- 1/2 cup wholemeal spelt flour
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda (baking soda)
- 3/4 cup quinoa flakes
- 1/8 tsp salt (optional)
- 1/2 cup crumbled cashews (or other nuts – optional)
- 1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips (optional)
Method:
- Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F).
- Beat honey, sugar, margarine, peanut butter and vanilla essence until creamy.
- In a separate bowl, combine flours, quinoa flakes, bicarbonate soda and salt (if using). Add to wet ingredients, beating well until blended.
- Place heaped teaspoonfuls approximately 5cm (2″) apart on an ungreased baking tray.
- Bake for approximately 12 minutes or until golden brown.
- Cool for 5 minutes before removing from tray; continue to cool on a cake rack before storing.
Mmm... tasty quinoa biscuits!
Friday Feast: Oatmeal Cookie Bars
Here comes the latest recipe… it’s a cross between a slice, a cookie and a granola bar – it’s Oatmeal Cookie Bars! I’ve just veganised these tasty treats, which wasn’t too hard. They’ve come out a little more crumbly than their non-vegan versions, but that could also be because I used gluten-free flour and baked them about ten minutes longer than usual (I momentarily forgot they were in the oven).
Regardless of any mishap, they’re still super tasty. Eat them fresh from the oven (be careful you don’t burn your mouth on the cranberries, which seem to get to a scalding temperature), cold the next day, or re-heated in the microwave. I used to eat these with ice-cream in my non-vegan days (as if they were so long ago!), so if you’re into vegan ice-cream, that could be a winner too. I’m going to try them with this new vegan cream I bought last week… I hope it’s good!
Oatmeal Cookie Bars
A slice of Oatmeal Cookie Bar, half crumbled on the plate. Look at the cranberries and that chunk of vegan white chocolate - yum!
Ingredients:
- 230g (0.5lb or 2 sticks) vegan margarine (I use Nuttelex)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar (I used LoGIcane – a low GI version of cane sugar)
- Egg substitute, equivalent to 2 eggs (I used Orgran Egg Replacer)
- 1 tsp vanilla essence (imitation is ok)
- 1/2 cups plain (aka all purpose) flour (I used 1/2 cup each of wholemeal spelt, barley and Orgran’s gluten-free flours)
- 1 tsp bi-carb soda (aka baking soda)
- 1/2 tsp salt – optional
- 1 tsp cinnamon – optional
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup sultanas or dried cranberries (I used the latter this time, but sometimes I do half and half)
- 1 cup vegan chocolate chips (I used 1/2 cup each of Sweet Williams chocolate chips and chopped Sweet Williams white chocolate)
- 1/2 cup to 1 cup of desiccated coconut
Method
- Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
- Beat margarine and sugars until creamy (it’s ok to do this by hand).
- Add eggs and vanilla and beat well (still ok by hand..).
- In a separate bowl, combine flour(s), bi-carb soda, cinnamon and salt.
- Mix the aforementioned dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
- Add oats, sultanas/dried cranberries, chocolate chips and desiccated coconut, and mix well.
- Press into a greased baking tray or dish (I use a square pyrex dish) and bake for 30-35mins*.
*You can also use this recipe for cookies, rather than cookie bars – if so, shape into cookies, place on a tray and bake for 10 to 12 mins.
Friday Feast: Quinoa-stuffed Butternut Pumpkin
Today’s recipe is a bit of a quirky one that I made up a few months ago and perfected this Thanksgiving. I really wanted to try out quinoa, a grain commonly eaten in Peru and really protein-rich (great for folks who are after low-carb meals). It’s about the size of couscous, so I figured making it into a stuffing would be a great idea.
Quinoa - it looks sort of like couscous, but it's a protein-rich grain
Here’s the recipe!
Quinoa-stuffed Butternut Pumpkin (Squash)
Quinoa-stuffed butternut pumpkins (squash)
Ingredients
- 1 butternut pumpkin, cut in half with the seeds and some flesh scooped out
- 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 2 apples, diced
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 ribs of celery, diced (you can also include the chopped celery leaves)
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped well
- 1 handful of broken pecans
- 1 small handful of craisins (dried, sweetened cranberries)
- 2 bay leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
- olive oil
Celery, onion and apples - oh my!
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Rub pumpkins all over with olive oil and place cut side up in a roasting or casserole dish. Rub some brown sugar on the cut areas. Place in the oven until the pumpkins are justsoft enough to pierce with a fork, but still firm enough to easily hold their shape.
- Meanwhile, place quinoa and vegetable stock in a pot and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer with a lid for 10 to 12 mins. Remove from the stove and set aside, covered (the liquid will absorb).
- Pour some olive oil into a large frying pan and add the veges/fruit as you chop – celery, onion and apple. Add salt and pepper, then cook for 10 to 15 mins to soften the vegetables/fruit.
- Add the parsley, celery leaves (if using), pecans and craisins, and cook for 2 mins more, til the greens wilt and the craisins plump up a little.
- Remove from the heat and add the quinoa.
- Tightly stuff the pumpkins with the quinoa mixture, cover the dish with foil and return to the oven. Cook for approximately 30 mins.
- Remove the foil and bake for another 10 mins, unless the pumpkin is soft.
Pecans, parsley and craisins, ready to go into the pan.
Let me know what you think!
Spotlight: Crop Diversity and Buckwheat
I’m trying to eat less wheat. Primarily this is for my health, but I’m learning that this is also good for the environment. Currently, wheat is one of the top three plant foods eaten in the world. You can imagine how much is produced. This is leading to decreased crop diversity. As the climate changes, we need this crop diversity so our farming practices can change too. You can read more about all that here.
So the other day Yankee Elv made pancakes (yes again, we like pancakes). She made some buckwheat pancakes for me. (Note: buckwheat comes from an entirely different plant than wheat.) You can just go buy them from the supermarket these days – the pancake mix is marketed towards people with gluten intolerance, but of course anyone can eat it.
Woolworth's buckwheat pancake mix.
I didn’t really like them. They tasted like I was eating a musty plant with the texture of a thick, dense, crumbly pancake. Some people say they taste kind of like mushrooms. I’m also not the biggest fan of mushrooms, which makes life hard as a vegetarian when you’re at a catered event, because apparently that’s all we eat. Right.
Anyway, not my favourite. Loodle likes them though. I ate a plateful, but there were still lots left as no-one else really liked them either, so the dog has been having a pancake-y snack every couple of days. I don’t want to just throw them out, because that’s a bit too wasteful for my sensibilities. Today I ate the last two just to get them out of the fridge (ok, the last two of three… the dog got the last one, technically). They’re ok if you smother – and I really mean smother – them in jam and add some honey and cinnamon yoghurt. I try not to eat too much dairy yoghurt either (in fact, I went years without eating it at all, but these days I occasionally have a tiny spoonful of Yankee Elv’s just for the taste, as long as it doesn’t have gelatine), but these things needed all the help they could get. I mean, it’s good that they’re there for people who shouldn’t eat wheat, and if I’m really craving a lot of pancakes, maybe I’d eat them again to avoid the wheat. However, I think I add so much sugar-y jam that it actually makes the avoidance of high glycemic index carbs redundant, so maybe not.
Of course, now I’ve done some more research on buckwheat and found that the grain isn’t even commonly grown in Australia (heck, none of the 20 top foods eaten worldwide are Australian natives). How are you supposed to eat local in a country like this!? I wonder if the buckwheat used in the pancake mix is Australian grown? I don’t think I’ll bother to email to find out… it’s doubtful we’ll be buying it again. I guess we could just try making much thinner pancakes though. It’s not like I dislike buckwheat in all forms. I eat soba noodles. That reminds me, we have some noodles in the cupboard we have to use up. I’ve never been rich enough to waste food in the past, but now there’s an environmental reason driving that too.
Things on my food to-do list:
- Increase diversity in the food we eat (I must post this awesome quinoa recipe I created the other day).
- Reduce food waste (read more about why food waste is bad for the environment from No Impact Man and at the Wasted Food blog).
- Compost food scraps (we just need to finish the compost bin - we have a lid now. It’s a work in progress).
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