Pizza

Here is my healthy, tasty homemade pizza. Even though I don't put cheese or a substitute on it, it is still yum, my 23 month old loves it! I love the fried tofu on it too.

The dough recipe is a half proportion from the recipe in my bread machine book, but I add some dried basil to the mix.

Ass for toppings, the choice is yours. I usually use some tomato paste for the sauce base then add pineapple, onion, capsicum, mushrooms, olives, sundried tomatoes, fresh basil leaves and baby spinach as well as fried tofu (slice it, freeze it, defrost it, squash the liquid out, drizzle a little soy sauce on it, then fry in some oil til light golden brown!). I add a swirl of BBQ sauce to my husband's, and top them with a drizzle of olive oil.

Feel free to add something like cheesly to to top if you like.

It usually takes about 1/2 an hour on 180C to cook.

Easy kebabs

Like kebabs? Well I made some the same way I used to with meat, but instead used tender pieces. It makes it very quick as you don't need to marinade the meat and the cooking time is greatly reduced too! You could brush them with a marinade or sauceprior to and whilst cooking. Yum!

Vegan turkey

I just finished watching the following video clip from about.com and after seeing how simple it is to make, I think I must have a go at making it myself!

Here is the video clip:

Quick Chick-pea Curry

This is a quick and delicious way to get some chick-peas in your diet!

I can only give approximates for measurments as I usually just eyeball what I put in.

Ingredients:

1 onion, peeled and chopped

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

half a capsicum, chopped

2/3 cupped pre prepared chickpeas (canned or made from dried. I make up big batches from dried and freeze them in portions so when I need some I just grab one out of the freezer!).

3 sliceds of pineapple, chopped into big chunks. I use fresh as you can cook it without it going really mushy

shallots, sliced

small bunch of parsley

1 tsp vege stock powder

Water

Seasonings: curry powder, cumin, cardamon, black pepper, basil

The seasonings are in order of how much you would use. I use about 3 tbs of curry powder, 1 tbs cumin, 2 tsp cardamon, 1 tsp each of pepper and dried basil.

Method:

Sautee the onion and carrot in a little oil until softened

Add capsicum, pineapple and chickpeas

add water, about 1-2 cups, but feel free to add any chickpea or pineapple juice instead of just water

add the seasonings and stock and bring to the boil

Add shallots and simmer till the sauce had reduced and the chickpeas and pineapple are soft.

If the sauce is too liquidy add a mix of cornflour and a little water to help thicken it up

Remove from heat and add some chopped parsley

Serve over rice

Spicy potato bake

Wanting to use up potatoes but having no ricemilk left, I took an old recipe that called for just potatoes and butter and updated it. The result, a yummy crunchy take on potato bake.

Ingredients:

2 medium potatoes, peeled and very thinly sliced
some melted vegan margerine
a little olive oil
a variety of seasonings and spices, I used cumin, pepper, some nutmeg and a little salt

Method:

Mix the oil, margerine and spices/seasonings together in a bowl
Brush a pie dish with some of the margeine mix
Put a layer of potato slices in the dish
Brush with more margerine mix
Keep layering til all the potato is gone and top with some of the margerine mix
I microwaved this covered with cling wrap on high for 10 mins to soften the potoatoes
Remove the wrap (careful of the steam!)
brush a little extra margering mix on top
Put in a hot oven (about 200C) for about 30mins or until golden on top

Onion herb bread

After my husband gave me an idea to make onion bread, I found a recipe in my bread maker recipe book for garlic bread. However, I wanted it to be onion and the only thing in the recipe that was non vegan was parmesan cheese. So I omitted it as well as the garlic and added grated onion. It turned out so well. If you don't have a bread maker you could still do it by hand, just make sure you prove it a few times and knead it well. (If you have dough hooks for your electric mixer they make the job easier).

Here is the recipe:

1 cup water

2 tbs olive oil

1 1/2 tsp salt

3 cups plain flour

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp black ground peper

2 tsp yeast

3 tbs grated onion

Mix the dry indredients together

Add the wet

Mix together well and knead for about ten minutes until smooth and elastic

set aside in a warm place to rise for an hour.

Knock down and rise again for another hour

Bake in a 190c oven for about an hour. If you lightly tap the base it should sound hollow when its cooked. Serve warm with vegan margerine

(If you have a bread machine a basic programme should work well,but still bake it in the oven).

Lamingtons!

I accidently came across this recipe for lamingtons!

I have found in the past it very difficult to make lamingtons as I have not been able to come across a good enough vegan sponge recipe. However these onese turned out very very good!

Here is the link: http://www.transmog.com.au/vegan_recipes/aussie_lamingtons

I only put the cakes in the freezer for a few hours, but they still turned out fine.

Lemon Cake

Looking for a cake recipe that wasn't chocolate I came across this lemon cake recipe.

http://www.recipezaar.com/68428

The instructions are a little confusing, I needed to read it a few times. But I used regular sugar instead of brown (it seemed innapropriate for a lemon cake) I also added lemon juice to the mix. I assumed the 2 vegan egg substitute was 2 tablespoons.

I made a more traditional lemon icing (similar recipe to the icings for the iced biscuits) and topped it with some dessicated coconut.

Vegan soups

I finally tried out my non-vegan SIL's lentil and celery soup recipe the other day and it was fantastic! Using this recipe as a basis I switched the celery for pumpkin, omitted the garlic and added nutmeg for a delicious pumpkin soup. The way the lentils end up helps creat a creamy consistincy without using milk or cream. I think adding some sweet corn to the pumpkin version would be absolutely delicious too.

Serve it with some crusty bread.

Here is the recipe:

Lentil and Celery Soup

1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 medium sized onion
1 cup red lentils
2 sticks celery (chopped finely)
4 cups of water
2 chicken stock cubes
Salt and pepper
Bouquet garni/mixed herbs (optional)

Heat oil in a large pan.
Add onion and minced garlic and fry until soft.
Add all other ingredients with salt and pepper to taste.
Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove bouquet garnet before serving.

Vegan biscuits

Inspired to make some bisuits after playing with playdoh and cookie cutters with my little girl, I made the original ones from millenium hippie.

Here is the link: http://millenniumhippies.blogspot.com/2005/07/4-vegan-biscuit-recipes.html

I added 2tbs or sugar, some vanilla and cinnamon to the mix to make a sweet plain biscuit. And just to make it fun I iced them in either chocolate, custard or strawberry icing. Some were sprinkled with dessicated coconut. They look so cute and taste yumo!

Lemon muffins with passionfruit icing

If you have tried the lemon and poppyseed muffins this variation I did of them was fabulous!
I omitted the poppyseeds and iced them when cooled, with passionfruit icing.

This was made with
about a tablespoon of melted butter,
juice and seeds from one passionfruit (it was a very big one)
and enough icing sugar to get the desired consistency.

Mix together then spoon over the top.

The different qualities of the fruit work really well together.

"Meat" Pies

It's been a while again since I last posted, but here is one that my husband adores.

I have always made pies and doing vegan variations was pretty easy, I mean you can put anything into a pie, even left over bolognaise.

But when it comes to the traditional meat pie that you get from the local bakery, that can be a challenge.

However, thanks to some gravy, onion, some seasonings and a tin of Sanitarium Casserole Mince it was quite simple.

I got two medium pies out of this, one topped with pastry, the other potato.

To make simply dice an onion and saute in some oil until soft, add the 'mince' and seasonings (salt, pepper, I also put in some mixed herbs and poppyseeds).

Make up the gravy so it will be a little thick as this will hold it all together.

Add it to your pre prepared pastry crusts and top how you like. Bake at 180 C for about 1/2 an hour.

Great served with a salad or some steamed veg. Ones that are topped with pastry can be frozen then cover with foil to reheat after defrosted so it doesn't burn.

Carrot and pancakes

Here is a carrot cake recipe I made yesterday. The cake is a little crumbly when you cut it, but it is still very delicious.
Here is the link: http://www.vegancampaigns.org.uk/resources/recipes/swCarrotCk.html

Here is my pancake recipe.

Batter:
2 cups SR flour
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons egg replacer
2 tablesppons sugar
mixed spice
2 1/2 cups of rice milk (or any vegan milk)

Mix the dry indredients together then whisk in the milk.
Set aside while you get your pan etc ready.
Pour 2/3 ladlefuls of batter into a hot oiled pan and cook on either side until golden.

Serve with maple syrup, lemon and sugar, fruit or whatever.

Blueberry muffins

I bought a tin of blueberries, but then had no idea what to do with it. So it had to be muffins in the end. These were easy to make and I used some vanilla instead of lemon juice (I had none left!).

Here is the link to the recipe: http://vegetarian.about.com/od/breakfastrecipe1/r/blumuffins.htm?p=1

PS. 400 F is 200C

Vegan lasagne

Well here it finally is. I make my own lasagne sheets but feel free to use store bought ones, they work just as well. The pasta recipe is as follows:

Pasta recipe

Ingredients

225g plain flour
2 rounded tbs soya flour
3tbs olive oil
water

Method

Mix the dry, then add the oil and enough water to get a nice smooth dough. Put in the fridge for about an hour.

I use a pasta machine to roll out the dough but you could still use a rolling pin.

This pasta can have cooked spinach or tomato paste added for colour or try adding some basil or oregano to the mix. You can use this for ravioli, fettucini or any other shapes you like.


Lasagne sauce

This was a bit tricky to write down as I just know what to do in my head and by looking and tasting the sauce as I go. It is a close as I can manage, but if you have made a bolognaise sauce before just use that. Be warned this makes a huge lasagne but I freeze the leftovers, they are so handy to have in the freezer.

Ingredients

1 large carrot, peeled and diced
1 large onion, peeled and diced
mushrooms, halved then sliced
1 capsicum, any colour, deseeded, and chopped
spinach, chopped

(note: feel free to add or remove any veg you prefer. Some diced celery would go nicely in here too).

1 400g can of tomatoes
Tomato paste (I use an entire 170g tin, but you could use less)
olive oil
approx 1 cup red lentils
vegan stock (I will use up to 3 cups)
garlic
seasonings of your choice: I use oregano, basil, about 3 bay leaves, a little rosemary and some pepper. You could add some salt but because my little girl eats it I think that the stock gives enough salt)

Method

In a large pot saute the onion and carrot in some olive oil until they are soft
Add garlic and mushrooms and saute for a minute
Add lentils and some stock so the lentils have something to absorb and stir for another minute
Add the tomatoes, the tomato paste, the rest of the stock and your herbs/seasonings, and stir it well till it is all combined and starting to boil.
Add the spinach and cover.
Simmer covered until the spinach has wilted then uncover a give it a good stir.
Simmer uncover until sauce is the required consitency, about 15 mins. You do need to stir it regularly so the lentils don't stick to the pan.

"Bechmele" Sauce

This is really just a plain white sauce, it is most important for the very top so it gets crispy as we are not using cheese.

Ingredients

2 tbs vegan margerine
2-3 tbs plain flour
About 2 cups Rice milk (or any milk, it really doesn't matter)

Method

Melt margerine in a saucepan
Remove from heat and add flour stir vigorously til combined
Return to the heat and cook this "dough" for about 1 minute
Remove from heat and gradually start adding the milk, blending the flour mix well at each addition of milk till all the milk is added.
Whisk to get the final lumps out and return to the heat.
We need to thicken this up so try to bring it to the boil but you will need to whisk it almost contstantly so you don't get any lumps.
When sauce is required thickness remove from heat.
If sauce is too thick add some water, too thin? Add some cornflour mixed in a little water and return to the heat to thicken.

Assembly

If you've made lasagne before you already know this bit.

Simply add some tomato sauce to a baking dish (It needs to be a big one)
Then a layer of pasta (no need to cook it)
Some of the white sauce
Then keep going in this way till your dish is full. Make sure you leave enough white sauce for the top.
Finish with a white sauce layer and drizzle some oil (I use sesame) over the top to help give you a lovely golden brown top.
Bake at 190C for about 1/2 hour.
Let sit for a little bit when its done as it is super hot.
Enjoy with a salad, garlic bread or as is.

Lemon poppyseed muffins

I've been hanging out for muffins and finally found these. They were super easy to make. I added an extra spoon of lemon juice and I think that they could do with a little less poppy seeds, but they were still yum and my little girl loved them too! As for the egg replacer, any brand will do, I used Orgran .

The recipe was from about.com. Here's the link: http://vegetarian.about.com/od/veganmuffinrecipes/r/lemonmuffin.htm

Monte Creams & Sausage rolls

It has been almost a month since my last entry, even though I have been cooking everyday.
I longed for a cream filled biscuit and found a recipe for Monte Creams. They were delicious. I used almonds instead of coconut.

Here is the link. http://www.recipezaar.com/111540

Also here is my super quick recipe for a 'sausage roll'.

All you need is some puff pastry, a tin of Sanitarium rediburger and some herbs and other seasonings of your choice. I like to use some pepper, poppy seeds and mixed Italian herbs.

All you do is use about 1/3 of the rediburger and chop it up fine. Add your seasonings and mush it all together. Then place it on your defrosted pastry and roll it up. Put a little water on the edges to help seal it.

Then spray it with a little cooking oil and put some seeds on top, or not, its up to you.

Whack it in a 180C oven until golden brown. Delicious!

Pretzels

This was based on this recipe from http://www.kitchenproject.com/german/soft_pretzel_recipes.htm

Instead of egg for a glaze I just brushed some olive oil on it and when brushing the butter on after cooking just substitute vegan margarine.

Potato Salad with curry vinegarette

A quick lunch that my girl loves is based on the principles of my dad's potato salad but minus all the eggs and bacon and exchanging them for curry powder and chickpeas.

This is enough for a small salad.

Potato Salad with curry vinegarette

1 large potato, un peeled and cut into bite sized pieces

A handful of pre cooked chick peas or any other beans/peas you have, (the one pictured uses some chick peas and some red kidney beans).

Some chives or a spring onion sliced finely

2 Tablespoons oil

2 Tablespoons white vinegar

pepper and curry powder to taste

Method:
Cook the potato until tender

Whilst cooking mix all the other ingredients together except the chickpeas.

Heat the chick peas

Mix the potatoes and chick peas together

Pour the dressing over the top

Mix through

Best served cold as the flavours have had a chance to infuse, but it is still good if you let it cool off a little. Will keep in the fridge ok for a few days.

Vegan brownies

This was a last minute dessert made while re heating some lasagne I had made from a week ago that I freeze (I will post the recipe).

This is the link to the recipe: http://www.vegfamily.com/vegan-recipes/desserts/brownies-peppermint-frosting.htm

Vegan Brownies

For the icing I made a chocolate frosting which was 1/4 cup cocoa and 1 cup icing sugar, a splash of vanilla, and tablespoon of vegan margarine-melted and enough boiling water to get the required consistency (which is not as much as you might think, pour in a bit at a time).

You can do a similar one for a pepermint incing, just take out the cocoa and add a few drops of peppermint essence.

A quick vegan dinner

Here's a quick vegan dinner that even a 15 month old loves!

Couscous with mushrooms, asparagus and broccoli

1/3 cup quick couscous
1/3 cup boiling water
splash of olive oil
seasonings of your choice (eg pepper, basil, rosemary)

mushrooms- cut in half then sliced
asparagus- cut into bite sized pieces
broccoli - cut nito bite sized pieces and pre steamed
shallots, chives or basil - chopped

Put the couscous and seasonings in a bowl and add the oil and boiling water.
Give a quick stir then cover and stand for 5 mins (or as per the directions on the packet)
While the couscous is standing heat a frypan and add a little olive oil and the mushrooms and cook for a few minutes
Add the asparagus and cook until the mushrooms and asparagus are a golden brown colour
Add the broccoli and the herbs and mix
Finally add the couscous and turn off the heat. Mix well.
Serve with a garnish of basil or chives

Feel free to exchange the veges for what you like, I've even found that just tossing in some olives and sundried tomatoes with some fresh basil into the couscous is delicious and even quicker.

Today's bake

Welcome to the Vegan food, knitting and crochet blog.

Today I have made two delicious recipes thanks to a couple of websites with a few slight alterations.

The first is: Black olive focaccia rolls from www.vegalicious.org

I didn't have special bread flour so I used 1 1/2 cups plain white flour and 1 1/2 cups plain wholemeal flour.

I added some sundried tomatoes with the olives and when they were finished baking, I brushed them with a little olive oil mixed with some dried basil and rosemary. My little girl loved them!

I think that next time I will add some dried basil and rosemary in with the flours before making the dough to add a little more flavour to the bread itself.

Secondly I made

MICHAEL'S PERFECTED INDISTINGUISHABLE (VEGAN) CHEESECAKE

from http://www.invinciblemuffin.org/vegan_cheesecake.html

I like to dust it with icing sugar when it's still a little warm and then put fresh passionfruit on the top. It makes the fridge smell sooooo yum!

My non vegan sister had this when she visited a month ago and she loved it too!