Midweek Munchies

Some random stuff I have bought and had to eat.

I picked both of these up from Coles. I got the Sunfed Chicken on special. It is something to approach with caution, as when you open the packet it is very big, kind of dry chunks. The trick is to shred them up with your fingers, and then they are great. I sauteed them and they were tasty, though they still tend towards the dry side. Enter the sauce, which was also on sale.



The sauce says to add to 500 g of diced poor dead bird (the sauce is vegan friendly, the company isn't vegan), and I had 300 g of Sunfed. I was worried it would be too saucy, but there is hardly any sauce in the packet so when I added it, it quickly soaked up into the Sunfed and got quite dry (even after adding the tablespoon of dairy free butter recommended). (I did have some leftovers and got another packet of sauce to add to them, but when I did that the flavour of the sauce was actually kind of gross? Like it needs to be soaked up into things to taste good.)



This is a sweet breakfast post-yoga treat I had one day. I haven't been going to the regular Brisbane Vegan Markets that often, but I had to run in one day just to do a swap over of a shirt I'd bought the previous month. I didn't want to stay, I wanted to get home, but I did want to pick up a tasty Chocolate Honeycomb soft serve sundae from I Should Coco. I got them to put it in my keep cup to reduce plastic (though I hadn't brought a spoon), so it is a little smooshed. But delicious.



I also picked up this brand of Jerky at one of the markets, though now it is available in vegan shops and IGAs! The pepper steak was good, but my favourite is the teriyaki ginger. It does tend to the sweeter side of jerky, which I know not everyone likes. The only annoying thing about it is that it says once you open it to keep in the fridge and use in three days. I can easily do that, but I also often like to have some jerky in my locker at work to snack on here and there, so this is no good for that.



I love ice cream, and So Delicious cashew is my favourite. But it is expensive here. I hadn't tried any of their blocks, but I found this box on sale plus an extra 20% off for being a member, so how could I say no? And it was good!



Finally, some Shiitake Dumplings. There are a number of vegan gyoza/dumplings available, and I like to have them on hand for a quick lunch. This had a number of different cooking options, so I went easy and just boiled these. They were lovely and mushroomy, and I doused them in black vinegar.



Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Last post I shared a photo of a koala in a tree, and Dim Sim in a tree. Here is Sahara in a tree. The same tree that Dim Sim was in last post, from back in our Sydney days. Did you know that you should never call a Koala a koala bear? There is a whole song about it: 'Please don't call me a koala bear, for I'm not a bear at all! Please don't call me a koala bear, it's driving me up the wall.' BUT, you can definitely call Sahara a bear, because she was my bear!

Oh, and happy Halloween/spooky day to those of you who like to celebrate it! Sahara was always ready dressed as a pumpkin.

Eating Out: Superoll (and a KOALA!)

A few months ago I went and saw the new version of The Lion King with my friend Amy. It was awesome and I loved it and I cried a bunch. I thought they did such an amazing job with the animation. I still love the original as well, of course. But what does all this have to do with food? Well, we saw it at a cinema that is right across the road from Superoll, an Asian vegetarian place with many vegan options. I've posted about this place before, and I have also had several deliveries from here. It is my favourite place to get delivered if I am too tired to cook.

We shared an entree (that's appetizer, for my US friends... what you call entrees we call mains) of their amazing Plum Char Siu. This is so delicious and tender, you can't go wrong with it.



Amy ordered the Crouching Ginger Hidden Basil, which was king oyster mushrooms and vegetables with ginger, Thai basil, and a special sauce. I tried a bit and it was lovely.



And I ordered the Tofu Hustle, my favourite. This has appeared on the menu under a few different names over the years, but is always the same deliciousness that I order almost every time. Braised tofu with four different kinds of mushrooms, carrots, zucchini, and a mushroom sauce. If only it also had broccoli, this would be the perfect dish. In my heart, I am a very basic sort of vegan.



Superoll - Shop 22a, 342 McCullough St, Sunnybank, Queensland

I won't deprive you of a kitty photo of the post, but I did want to share a very special experience with you. This happened not long after I went to see The Lion King! Despite living in Brisbane, I have never seen a koala in the wild. Sadly, their habitats have been destroyed by developments and they are harder and harder to find. But I have a friend who is very good and knowing where to go and find koalas, so she met up with me one morning for a koala spotting bush walk. And we saw one right away! The photos aren't great, because I only had my phone camera with me and they were way up in a tree. But crappy photos don't take away the magic of actually seeing a koala friend! Enjoy. (You may want to click on the photos so you can see them a bit bigger than how they appear on the blog.)





Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Speaking of adorably fuzzy friends up trees, here is a flashback photo to when Dim Sim was four years old (that was 15 years ago!) and was hanging out in a tree in our front yard in Sydney. What a perfect little poser!

Recipe Round-Up: Vegan Vittles Second Helpings

I know just a few weeks ago I was griping about buying new editions of cookbooks, only to end up with most of the recipes you have anyway. Which is why I wasn't going to buy the second edition of Vegan Vittles (which I talked about in my last recipe round-up). But sometimes you are at a second hand bookstore, and you see a copy of the second edition for AU$10, so why not? Which is what I did. This book has a lot of the same recipes as the first one (some with modifications), and also a bunch of new stuff. As a second hand book, it also has some notes in it from the previous owner, which I love! I write notes in all my cookbooks, and one day I hope someone enjoys them as well. Let's get onto some food.

Chickpea Tuna Salad: Always a classic. This version was quite tangy thanks to some fresh lemon juice. It doesn't have mayo in it, but went very nicely with mayo on a sandwich. I left out the raw green onion (and added a pinch of onion powder) and the parsley (I didn't have any), and I also used some aquafaba from the tin of chickpeas instead of the oil.
Rating: :)



Pickle, Tahini, and Tomato Sandwiches (PLTs): This is a fun little combination, and made from things I almost always have in my house. The only change I made was the use baby spinach instead of lettuce leaves on the sandwich, and I left out the optional red onion.
Rating: :)



Noodles and Greens: This is a simple recipe, but is utterly delicious thanks to umeboshi vinegar and smoked tofu. It was delicious, savoury, and smoky. I used kales as my greens, rather than collard leaves as we don't have them here. Rather than slicing and simmering them, I just blanched them using first a kettle of boiling water, and then I left them in the strainer when I tipped out the pasta for a second blanching. It is topped with sauteed smoked tofu, which I sauteed and added a splash of Braggs to. I also added a sprinkle of soy sauce on top to finish.
Rating: :D



Hot and Sour Pad Thai Noodles: The recipe on its own is fettuccine cooked and stirred through with a tomato based hot and sour sauce, though I left out the heat. The sauce is based on tomato paste and has vinegar in it, so it kind of tasted like ketchup - I added one tablespoon of lime juice to give it a proper sour tang. I also added Soyco Japanese tofu, broccoli, scallions, and coriander. This says four servings, but I would say 2-3.
Rating: :)



Quinoa Primavera: I switched up the veggies a bit, and ended up using carrot, zucchini, mushroom, leek, and spinach. I also increased the amount of dried dill required. I got two satisfying serves with this. I served it with some Hollandaise sauce, which was an excellent accompaniment, but this would be great on its own as well.
Rating: :)



Red Hot Green Curry: Obviously, I took the heat out of the hot part of this. This is a vegetable curry, with beans, onions, spinach, and zucchini. I also added carrots in place of potatoes, which shockingly I did not have. I did use a tiny bit of red curry paste in this, which made it not very spicy but gave a gentle sweet warmth, and I used some sweet paprika in place of hot paprika and cayenne pepper. I made a half recipe of this, served over jasmine rice, and got two serves.
Rating: :)



Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Dim Sim went in for a recheck of her bloods after changing her thyroid med dose. Her levels are still a bit higher than we'd like, so we've upped the dose again and we have to go back in another month for a recheck. But otherwise she was good!

Brisbane Vegan Expo 2019

The weekend just passed was the weekend of the every first Brisbane Vegan Expo. While we have our regular vegan markets, and there have been a few bigger vegan events over the years, there hadn't been anything as large as this organised. I bought a ticket and met my friend there for the opening of the first day on Saturday. A lot of other people had the same idea, and it was raining so we all crowded together waiting for the doors to open. After a bit of a slow queue getting through the doors, we were in! The expo had a large range of vendors, a food section (a lot of the Brisbane Vegan Markets stalls were there, as well as a few others), as well as a speakers program. We were just there to eat and shop! Thankfully the event was indoors, as it was storming and bucketing rain down while we were in there, and also I didn't need to worry about getting burned by the sun!

I don't have a lot of photos from inside the expo, because it was big and busy, Also it might surprise you that I didn't actually eat that much there. I had a few samples of stuff, and a piece of banana bread from the council's food waste reduction stall, and an ice cream bar. There was a new brand that was launching at the expo, and are planning on getting into shops soon. It is almond milk based, though does have some coconut oil in it. But I tried a sample and the coconut oil wasn't too strong, so I bought one of their ice cream sandwiches. It was OK, it did have some sort of slightly strange taste to it that I noticed, though no one else did.





Otherwise I only really ate one thing there. Grassfed (which I've mentioned a few times before was there selling their new Grassfed Snack Packs, and my friend and I each had one. It was seasoned curly fries topped with pulled jackfruit, BBQ chicken, BBQ sauce, aioli, and srirachi (I got mine without this, of course). At first it looked small in its contained, but it ended up being so filling! Please excuse this terrible photo, the lighting in there was terrible and we were sitting on a concrete floor.



I also had a lovely Grapefruit Iced Tea, but no photo as I had it in my reusable smoothie cup so there wasn't much to see. There was a big emphasis of sustainability at the expo, but of course with food stalls and samples being given out, there were lots of things to go in the bin. So it was good to be able to reduce where I could.

Of course I intended to do some serious shopping there, but I was also worried. I have a back injury, I can't carry heavy shopping bags. What to do? Thankfully I organised myself to get a lovely purple nanna trolley from Big W the week before, and it was worth every cent. I was able to take all my reusables, as well as fill it up with loads of goodies to take home.



So, what did I put in the trolley? I'm glad you asked...



Alright, alright. Let's have a closer look!

This was all from the same stall that focused on cultured snacks. The kombucha is very silly, with apple and raspberry juice, some alkalising herbs, and rose and jasmine oil. Of course I couldn't say no to a drink as silly as that! The crackers are made from sauerkraut, and the scoby snack is like a fruit roll up made from the kombucha scobies! Come to me, probiotics!



There were a few stalls there selling a range of vegan stuff, kind of like mini Green Edges, but of course with lots of chocolate and lollies and snacks. I bought some of this jerky I'd been keen to try, as well as some of the new dark chocolate Vego Bars (I am in love with these and this was a good price), and I just wanted to try this pecan maple cinnamon infused chocolate because it sounds nice.



Pacari Chocolate had a stall there, and they had a huge range of flavours (I have included a photo of their flavour wall). I chose a few florals, chocolate cherry, and I also got two 100% dark chocolate bars. It is hard to find 100% ones and I love that dark bitter stuff.





Since we're talking about chocolate, I fricken love Kresho Bars. And Kresho himself was there with the Kresho Bar stall! Each bar normally retails for about $3 or more in shops, and he had an expo special where you could buy a box of 24 bars for $65. Really, I'd be a fool not to buy them at that price, so of course I did!



On a non-food front, I also picked up some vegan sunscreen to try out this summer (not that I will be spending any significant time underneath that evil day star that hurts me, but I thought I'd try it for the few times I have to scurry through it), and some more soapberries that I like to use for washing my clothes.



But... back to food! I was excited to finally get to try these Gutsy products. The smoked garlic sauerkraut is delicious, and the carrots are like a nice, earthy carrot pickle that I am looking forward to using on sandwiches. I also picked up some of my favourite flavours of Nutty Bay cashew cheese, that had a good deal on them for the expo.



The most exciting purchase for me was Crum. It is vegan Milo. If you are not Australian, you probably won't know about Milo. It is not just Ovaltine or Nesquick, it is its own special thing. Chocolatey, malty, crunchy. It was a huge part of my childhood. And I tried a sample of Crum and it is just so good. Though, at AU$24 for a 250g tin, it will be a very occasional treat. But I am looking forward to making hot drinks with it before bed time (hot Milo before bed was an integral part of every school camp), and also to mashing it into vanilla ice cream (also a classic use). I only bought one, but please enjoy this photo of a wall of Crum from their stall.



My final purchases came from this amazing stall selling French vegan food and called The V Word. They were selling various brioche baked goods, quiches, pates, and more. I bought two things to take home. First up, a lovely individual sized Rustic French Quiche, which had garlic, leek, and mushroom. I also bought a Chinois, which is like a brioche pull-apart of fat scrolls filled with custard and chocolate chips. IT WAS LIKE MAGIC IN MY MOUTH.







It was a fun morning, though tiring and not exactly easy on the wallet. But I had planned to spend lots of money there, so I was prepared! Besides a few teething issues (a bit of a mess with the entry lines, not enough seating for eating, the massage people who used herbs that made a large area of the place smell like pot), it was a great day. It went all weekend, and lots of people were posting about how much fun they had. Good news is it seems like they are keen to organise it again next year. I, for one, will definitely be there, nanna trolley at the ready.

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Dim Sim emerging from the ferns.

Eating Out: Fitz+Potts and Ciao Gelato (Plant Edition)

I've been to Fitz+Potts a couple of times before. It was a quirky little place with vegan options, however at the beginning of this year they have gone completely vegan, how awesome is that? Still very quirky. I recently decided to try and adopt some indoor plants (more on that later) and the place I was going to get them was but a block away, so of course I had to stop in for some lunch first.

They are famous for their vegan jaffles, and they have some amazing filling combinations. I got one with katsu, golden Japanese curry sauce, kewpie, fried shallot, water chestnut, pickled cucumber, and cheeze. It was pretty good, though I would have liked it to be a bit more gooey on the inside, and the hot pickled cucumber was a bit odd. But a tasty combination. They normally serve the jaffles with a side of potato chips, which I am not a fan of. So I got some fries instead. They don't have a side serving of fries, so I had to get the full serve. Normally not problem, but unfortunately these were not very good fries. They were luke warm, soggy, and over seasoned.





Fitz+Potts is right across the road from Ciao Gelato, a place with several vegan options. You can see previous visits here. Fitz+Potts does sell a few of their vegan pops, but I prefer to go to the original place for a wider variety of options and being able to get a cone. On this day I got one of my favourites, the passionfruit, along with a new favourite, Turkish Delight.



The reason I went over that way was to visit The Plant Lounge, as I had been yearning to buy some cute indoor plants for my room. This was a Big Deal. I have a black thumb, but I really wanted them. And The Plant Lounge is a smaller, very personalised plant shop. It seemed the best place for me rather than going to a big nursery. I'd emailed with the owner before I went, and she is an absolute delight. And I brought home three new friends.



From left to right: Buffy (ponytail palm), Bethany (baby rubber plant peperomia),and Beatrice (peperomia rosso). Sadly, Beatrice has died. And I just found out on Sunday when I was watering them that Buffy seems to have mealy bug. Oh no! I am really hoping that I don't lose her too. Bethany seems OK still. Being a plant parent is terrifying! But they bring such a lovely energy to the room, I guess I will keep on trying.

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Dim Sim also loves certain plants. Out in the catmax, there is a patch of ferns. As you know, she loves a good cave, and she has made herself a nice little cave in the ferns for some fresh air napping.

Recipe Round-Up: Vegan Vittles

The first edition of Vegan Vittles has a special place in my heart. It was one of my earlier cookbooks, and really introduced me to the joys of homemade vegan meats, cheese, and other tasty treats. It also has super cute photos and stories about animals at Farm Sanctuary, which is really sweet. Being one of my older books, I had already made quite a few recipes before I started taking food photos, so these days I am doing a mix of remaking some to get photos, as well as trying new recipes. You can see other posts I have made about this book here.

Oven-Roasted Tom Tofu with Golden Gravy: This is just a bowl of comfort. The tofu is marinated in a tasty broth (including soy sauce, nutritional yeast, and lots of seasoning), then coated in a mix of cornmeal, flour, nutritional yeast, and more seasoning. The marinade called for poultry seasoning, which I didn't have, so I just left it out. The tofu is baked until crunchy. I found it a little dry, but that also made it perfect for covering with gravy. (While I made another gravy recipe from the book to serve with this, you can also make a gravy with leftover marinade. I did this the next day. Just saute some onion and mushrooms, add the leftover marinade, and thicken with cornflour). But back to the gravy of the night, the Golden Gravy. This is super easy to make, and is based on flour and nutritional yeast with soy sauce and seasonings added. As you see, I served it all over mashed potato and some steamed green beans.
Rating: Tofu :), Gravy :)



Extended Maple Syrup: Maple syrup is pricey here, at least AU$7/250mL. So when a recipe calls for a lot, you have to think about what is going in there. I was making some stuff for a bake sale, and thought I might try making this extended maple syrup to help with costs a little bit. It is a mix of water, maple syrup, and cornstarch to thicken. Not surprisingly, while it is quite sweet the maple flavour was fairly subtle. I think when I try it again I will add a few drops of maple extract as well. But it worked well in the recipe (in which I also used a bit of normal maple syrup, so there was lots of maple flavour in it), and is a good way for cutting some costs!
Rating: :)



Banana Chocolate Shake: This is so fast and so easy, using frozen banana as the creamy and cold aspect. There is also the option to make this with carob instead of cocoa powder, but as I prefer food that doesn't taste like dirt I chose the latter.
Rating: :D



Fruit Smoothie: I've made this recipe a couple of times. It is very simple, and you can switch up the juice and fruit as you feel like it. For this one I used some Impressed Jack Rose Juice (which is apple, strawberry, and mint), a frozen banana (the mandatory ingredient), and frozen mangoes and raspberries. It is sweet and refreshing, though not very filling.
Rating: :)



Spinach Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette: A simple salad of spinach, mushrooms, and grated carrot (which I used instead of raw red onion), that is tossed with a vinaigrette and topped with some bacon bits. There is a recipe for bacon bits in the book, but I just used some store-bought ones for ease. The vinaigrette itself is based on orange juice. The recipe calls for a mix of OJ concentrate and water, but I can't get OJ concentrate here (only fruit drink concentrate, which is mostly sugar) so I just used straight up OJ for all of it. It also has some Asian flavours as well, which is lovely.
Rating: :)



Spaghetti with Meaty Mushroom Sauce: I love how my older cookbooks use a lot of TVP, I feel that you don't see it as much now days. Everything is ground seitan or store bought vegan mince, but TVP wins my heart. This is a great, savoury, satisfying sauce based on TVP and mushrooms, served over spaghetti. It looks simple, but is totally delicious.
Rating: :D



Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Speaking of missing loved ones, I can't believe it has been over seven and a half years since I had to say goodbye to my sweet Gizmo.

Midweek Munchies (Coles vegan edition)

Hello friends! I have a load of pictures to share with you, but I'm just going to do a photo dump with a bit of a chat up top. Coles is one of our big supermarkets in Australia, and I have mentioned that they are having more and more vegan options of late. Well, a few months ago they just exploded with options! Some of them are newly developed Australian products, some of them are in house products, some of them are products we all will recognise. Woolworths (the other big supermarket) is apparently gearing up to do a big vegan product release of their own. The race is on for our sweet vegan dollars. So below is a bunch of stuff you can now get at Coles! Note they also have Beyond Burgers and some other 'meaty' brands in products that are not pictured here, because they are in the meat section and 1) I don't like going there, and 2) it would be hard for me to get photos of them without also having bits of dead animals in the photos. Some Coles seem to have a huge dedicated plant-based section in their animal flesh aisle, but none near me. I haven't tried most of the products that are pictured below, and to be honest there are a lot I won't try (lots are spicy or have coconut oil in them). But keep an eye out in future midweek munchies for when I do sample some! These photos aren't even all of what is available!



































Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Sahara really was the most beautiful red bear.