VeganMoFo 2016 #28: Holiday baking.

28th: Holiday Bake Day! – What are you planning on baking over the winter holidays? Do you make cake, or cookies? Or something savoury?

I used to do a lot of baking just for fun, and to take to work, and to eat. Not so much anymore. I lost my baking mojo in a massive way during and after Gizmo's passing, and I have never quite recovered it. I still bake, especially for things like bake sales, but nowhere near as much for fun random baking as I used to do. So I don't do a lot of Christmas baking these days.

The nice thing about a blog, when you blog consistently (which I haven't always), is that you get a nice time capsule of certain aspects of your life to look back on. For example, I can see that 2008 I had a big Christmas bake-a-thon, which included these cute reindeer cupcakes.



I also made these adorable Strawberry Santa Hats the same year, and the year after. These really are very good, should do it again.



By the way, both of the recipes above came from the wonderful Wing It Vegan blog.

My next big Christmas bake-a-thon apparently didn't happen until 2014. I don't often feel the so called Christmas spirit anymore, but apparently in 2014 I had a stirring, so I put it to good use baking. I stuck to pretty simple things, like these Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies from Isa Does It.



Gingerbread and ginger cookies are some of my very favourite cookies. As opposed to gingerbread men, which I can take or leave. My favourite ginger cookie recipe is the Sparkled Ginger Cookies from Vegan With A Vengeance. I have made these so many times, though sadly not recently.



This year I am not planning any huge baking extravaganzas. I am tired, which is boring because I know we are all tired, but I am. I will be working right up until Christmas Eve afternoon, because I only get public holidays off, so I won't have time to do heaps of Christmas prep. Plus I have a bake sale next weekend, that is using up all of my current baking focus.

So instead I am dipping into the convenient world of pre-packaged vegan christmas-style goodies!

I was super excited to find the fabled vegan stollen at Aldi. I love stollen but haven't had it since before going vegan!



I also have two types of ginger cookies to enjoy. The big cookies are from Smith & Deli, I bought them in Melbourne in November. And the ginger snaps are a random pack my mum bought that happen to be vegan.



What is your favourite thing to bake for the holidays? Or your favourite packaged treat if you don't have the time?

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Sweet little Pascall, my fourth kitty. We didn't get to be together for very long, it broke my heart (and ended my childhood dream to be a vet... though obviously I came back to that later in life), but it was so sweet while it lasted. This little girl would sleep in my bed, under the covers with her head on the pillow. It was good times.

VeganMoFo 2016 #20: Greenalicious Green Smoothies

20th: It’s Easy Being Green – Look after the environment, or just eat green veg – go green today!

Green is probably the colour that I eat the most of. I always try and have something green with whatever I eat. Lots and lots of greens. And what is greener than a green smoothie? A green smoothie from the cookbook Greenilicious, written by my friend Leigh Drew. So prepare yourself, my friends, for many photos of green smoothies. While they may all look similar, you will be impressed by the variety of flavours she has created! Note, these recipes say that make 2 large or 4 small smoothies, but they really make one Susan-sized smoothie!

Mango Ice-Cream Green Smoothie: This smoothie is super yummy and super creamy, but not too rich. So you can just keep drinking and drinking. Mangos, bananas and cashews bring the creamy, and the greens are courtesy of bok choy and baby spinach. If you love mango, you will be into this!
Rating: :D



Vanilla Poached Pear Green Smoothie: Sometimes I find pear smoothies to have a bit of a funny texture, but this one is lovely and smooth. And also lovely and sweet! The greens are bok choy and cucumber, which makes for a refreshing base!
Rating: :)



Orange Melting Moment Green Smoothie: This is sweet and creamy thanks to cashews and dates. The greens are celery and baby spinach. I often am not a fan of orange juice based smoothies, but Leigh has managed to make this smooth and sweet and rich.
Rating: :)



Gingersnap Biscuit Green Smoothie: This is a rich smoothie, thanks to the base of macadamias. It has an intriguing mix of box choy, broccoli, bananas and strawberries, as well as a hefty dose of ginger. It all comes together to make quite a lovely drink. I might make this again for my Christmas morning post-bikram yoga breakfast this year!
Rating: :)



Carrot Cake Green Smoothie: Who would think that cauliflower in a smoothie would result in such a delicious result? But this carrot cake smoothie is divine. The flavour is spot on for a carrot cake, and it is also not too sweet (a plus in my books).
Rating: :D



Anne's Peach Melba Green Smoothie: Hello delicious! Peaches and raspberries meet OJ and cos lettuce (aka romaine for my US friends) for a wonderful green drink!
Rating: :D



Turkish Delight Green Smoothie: Mango, banana, dates, cos and spinach form the base of this smoothie, which owes its name to the added rosewater. This is amazing in flavour, but is quite strong to drink all at once. But thankfully it keeps really really well!
Rating: :D



Leigh has many more delicious green smoothie recipes in the book. You can read about some of them here, in other Greenilicious posts I've blogged. Including my favourite smoothie of all time anywhere ever, her Strawberry Shortcake Green Smoothie. I gave it three ':D' ratings! And there are even more in the book that I haven't blogged yet (but I've made them and they are pretty great).

Roasted Balsamic Brussels Sprouts and Broccoli: For making it through all those green smoothie photos, here is a photo of some other green food! The book has a lot more to offer than just green smoothies! This dish comes together super quickly, and is very tasty.
Rating: :)



What would your dream green smoothie flavour be?

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Under the deck was a very popular place for kittens! While that deck has been turned into a sunroom now (I am typing this blog post from there!), for the kitties that had access to it, it was lots of stalking fun. Plus we got to see how cute they looked emerging on the steps! This is my fourth kitty Pascall, having her fun.

VeganMoFo 2016 #12: Sleepless in Seattle

12th: Dream Holiday Destination – what would you eat on your dream holiday?

No one will be surprised when I tell them that my dream holiday is in Seattle. After a whirlwind 48 hour trip in 2011, I fell madly in love with this beautiful city. I have since returned in 2013, 2014 and 2015. This year, tragically, I was not able to get back to my beloved city. But the good news is that I shall be back next year, and I am already in full planning mode! Seattle makes my heart sing. It is such a beautiful city, and the food is amazing. And I know magnificent people there.



One of my favourite places in Seattle is Wayward Vegan Cafe. I have been there for brunch a few times, and dinner once. I love their diner menu. One of my favourite brunches there was a delicious cheesy scramble, and last year I also finally got to try their famous club. They apparently have a breakfast club now, and that is top of my list for 2017!





Last year I visited the Seattle Cookie Counter van a couple of time for delicious ice cream sandwiches. Since that time, they have now opened up their own store front! I can't wait to visit for amazing desserts!



Last year I didn't get a chance to visit Pizza Pi, because I forgot that they were closed on Mondays. And then they were going to close down, which broke my heart. But thankfully new people stepped in and Pizza Pi lives on! So I am looking forward to 100% definitely visiting them on a non-Monday next year and getting some pizza on. And of course, Sizzle Pie has a Seattle location now as well, so pizza can be mine!



I love getting my cinnamon sugar doughnut fix from Mighty-O. If you can get out to the location, you can take your doughnuts on a short walk to eat them looking over the beautiful Green Lake. Otherwise they are available at lots of other stockists as well!



And one of my favourite Seattle traditions is to get breakfast down at Pike Place Market. I get a baked goodie and a cinnamon chai from Cinnamon Works, and a piece of fruit from one of the fruit shops, and eat them overlooking the water front.





Of course, this is just a the tiny tip of the mountain of delights in Seattle, the city that has completely stolen my heart. Just search for Seattle on this blog (or click on any Seattle tags) to see my other Seattle adventures. Or better yet, go to Seattle and make your own! If you are there in May 2017 we may just run into each other. ;)

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Another photo of Pascall, in all her silver glory. My fourth kitty.

VeganMoFo 2016 #4: Eating out at Pu Kwong

4th: Eating out – Where do you eat when you want someone else to cook for you?

After years of shunning it because of bad service and underwhelming food, regular blog readers will know that I am in love with Pu Kwong now that they have new management. Pu Kwong is great, because it is close to me and the food is very tasty! I have already blogged a lot of my visits there.

This particular visit was a Sunday night dinner on the weekend that Leigh and J were visiting (I have already blogged about all our other food adventures during that weekend), and we ordered some of my favourite things!

My favourite starter from there is the Beancurd Rolls, which are just delicious. I can't get enough of them!



We also ordered some Dumplings in Spicy Broth. When I say we, I mean mostly Leigh and J. I tried some and while the dumplings were very good, the sauce was just way too spicy for me. But Leigh loved them, so if you like spice this is the starter for you!



One of my favourite dishes there is the Beef and Ho-Fun Noodles. While their mock beef isn't my favourite texture-wise, the sauce and the noodles are just so damn good.



The Eggplant and Tofu Hotpot in Special Sauce is another favourite. The special sauce is a little sweet, but full of flavour, and the tofu and eggplant bits ore big and perfectly cooked.



We also ordered the Sizzling Stuffed Tofu, which unfortunately was the least impressive part of the meal. I was expecting the something similar to the delicious stuffed tofu you can get from Green Gourmet in Sydney. And while there was a similarity, this ended when they coated and deep fried them. They were pretty oily, and there was nowhere near enough sauce to coat them either. A bit sad. At least there was some broccoli!



And finally, some Chinese Greens in Ginger Sauce. Because greens are important!



It was a lovely dinner, even though one of the dishes was a miss. I really enjoy having Pu Kwong so close now that it is generally so tasty!

Do you have a favourite local restaurant?

Pu Kwong Vegetarian Restaurant - 2796 Logan Road, Underwood, Queensland - 07 3841 8999

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



This sweet silver girl was called Pascall. She was my little companion for such a short time. Not quite as short as Max, but tragically she was FeLV positive and got cancer before her first year. But for that year she was delightful, and I am very glad we got to be together.

VeganMoFo 2011 #8: 'The New Vegan'

The New Vegan
Janet Hudson, Thorsons, 2005



I first saw this book in a little shop in Newtown several years ago, and liked what I saw with a quick glance through. However my student self could not at that point afford another $40 cookbook. But my friends got it for me for my birthday. Yay for birthday presents! The book is a paperback in the sort of size and thickness that does not stay open easily. Also, the binding in my copy fell to pieces soon after I got it, just from opening it occasionally. Contents include Hors d'Oeuvres, Salads, Soups, Entrees, Companion Pleasures, Desserts, Pantry Essentials, Break the Fast, Sandwiches and Snacks, and Juices, Smoothies and Shakes. There is one to two recipes per page. I am not overly fond of the font used for the recipe titles, though that is me being fussy.

I don't have a lot of photos from this book, though I have made more recipes than I have photos of, so I will give you a bit of a run down of some of the better things I have made.

Greek Toasts


These are nice, crisp little squares of toast with a yummy cream cheese, olive and sundried tomato, cucumber and caper filling.

Roasted 'Chicken' with Apple Creme Sauce


I didn't have access to any 'chicken breasts' to split in half, so I used two 'chicken chops' and sandwiched the stuffing between them. Served here with a bed of Blow Me Down Lemon Spinach, a nice side dish from the book.

Stars and Stripes Timbale


Quite nice flavour, but mainly a star because it was my first timbale and I was so happy it turned out. It was also the first dish I ever took a photo of, thus starting me down this addictive path of food photography.


Tempting Cacciatore Tempeh


This recipe gets its photo here by virtue of being the long photo from this book hanging out in my 'To Upload' folder. It is a nice recipe. It called for smoked tempeh, which I had never seen, so just add a little bit of liquid smoke if that floats your boat. The tempeh is cut into four portions, so it is more of a tempeh steak in a cacciatore sauce.

Portobello Mushroom Sandwich


This book does have some good sandwiches, and this is a great one. I decreased the amount of oil and vinegar used for sauteeing the mushroom (and skipped the capsicum).

Rancho Scripps Patty Melt


This is a great sandwich. It is creamy, cheesy and just yummy. I used Fry's burger patties here. The recipe calls for almond Jack Cheese... sure. I just used some Tofutti slices.

Here are a few five star recipes that I don't have photos for:

Aviary Ravioli with Hip Herb Pesto (uses wonton wrappers for the ravioli and is so delicious and so cute!)
Tomato Phyllo Pie
Vegacotti
Cranberry Oatmeal Drops
... Lettuce, Tomato - I Beg Your Pardon... BLT Not!

So how do I feel about this book? Fairly meh. Which is hard for me to say, because I like to be sunshine and light to everyone. One of the things that turns me off about this book is the huge reliance on vegan versions of meat and dairy products. At the time that I got this book, the availability of these things to me was very limited. However, I have had good success making some of the recipes by subbing tofu, tempeh or mushrooms for the meat. But it does read very much like an omni cookbook with the word 'veggie' in front of the meat/dairy product. Now don't get me wrong, I love me some plant-based meat and cheese, I have a very high tolerance for faux. However, it is not something I want to eat all the time. Plus having to source these things and then the expense of these things make it not something I want to do all the time. Maybe it depends on where you live. One of the recipes also calls for bonita, which I assume means bonito, which is fish, so I am not sure what is going on there. I also find that I need to use my own judgement very much with some of the quantities of liquids or sugars being called for in the recipes. There is a naan recipe in it that has so much sugar we had to eat them for dessert as pancakes. However, to be fair I have made some very nice food from this book, even some great food. I will probably make the odd thing from it here and there in the future, but I will not be reaching for it frequently.

What cookbooks have you been given for birthdays?

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post


This little sweetie is Pascall, who was my fourth childhood kitty. Unfortunately, we lost Patches (from my last post) to a blood clot when he was three and a half. Pascall was a gorgeous little silver tabby from the RSPCA. Sadly, she lost a fight to kidney cancer when she was not even a year old. She was beautiful, and she used to sleep with her head on my pillow and her body under the covers with me.

Well, that was a bit of a downer post. Lost kittens and not favourite cookbooks. Come back tomorrow though, there will be cupcakes and happy kitty tales!

AusNZVeganMoFo: It's getting hot in here...

... so take off all your clothes? How about we just cool down with some salad instead. One beautiful last autumn day towards the end of August I had planned to make some pierogies. However, the great weather gods looked down and decreed that in fact I should not be attempting to make dough on this day, and they made it a 35 degree Celcius day. And it was hot, and it was good. So then there was salad!

Yes, Brisbane had a taste of summer at the end of autumn, and it was glorious. I do love the heat. And even going into the evening, it was still hot. So instead of cooking anything, dinner plans were changed to a salad buffet. Here's what we had:



This is Creamy Asian Pear and Tempeh Salad with Wasabi Dressing from Veganomicon. Asian pears, as I discovered in a previous post, are actually Nashi fruit (which I love to munch on). This salad is fabulous. So creamy and the nashi and peas just add the right amount of something to it. But this salad is now famous because my brother ate it and did not make the 'Eww! I hate tempeh!' face of doom. He liked the tempeh in this! Probably because of all the other flavours around it. Isa suggests serving with rice crackers or cakes. I served with some rice crackers and it is delicious both on its own or piled on top of a cracker.


Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Mangoes from Veganomicon is one of my favourite salads ever. It is just a perfect summery dish to my mind, and I knew I just had to make it again. Sadly, while the day was summery the season was not so I had to make do with some tinned mangoes (don't judge me!) but it was still so wonderful. If you have not made this before, all I can say is DO IT! I also use 1 cup of chopped mint instead of the cilantro. The first time I made it was back when I hated cilantro. Now I enjoy it, but to me the mint flavour just goes so much better with this and is so refreshing. Try it both ways.


I also made Indonesia-Style Vegetable Salad from Vegan Planet. This was very exciting, as it was my first time ever using jicama, sold over here in Asian grocery stores as yam bean. I was a bit worried at first that I might have got the wrong thing, until I ate a bit and it was exactly as described! Kind of potato-apple thing. Delicious! Here it is shredded along with cabbage and carrots. The sauce is a cooked peanut sauce, which was nice but I would add more peanut butter next time because I love my peanut sauce to be super peanutty. It saus to use 1 cup of coconut milk or as needed, enough to make sauce of the right consistency. I didn't use the whole cup but it may depend on how saucy you like it! I also tossed through 200g of dried rice noodles that I had cooked and cooled. Combined with bean sprouts, raisins and peanuts it was lovely.


This is a salad my mother made. Cucumber, tomato, butter beans, lots of fresh parsley and a balsamic dressing. Yum!


And, of course, a big bowl of greens. You can never have too many greens. Ever.


We ate out on the deck, in the balmy evening air, with a big line of salads down the table for us to pick at. Nom.


And here is my plate, with a bit of everything piled on. It was a great dinner, exactly what was needed for such a night. The weather has cooled down a bit now, but summer is still on its way, so no doubt lots more salads to come! Yum!

You will notice that I have joined in AusNZVeganMoFo, a group of Australian and NZ bloggers trying to post as often as they can for the month of September. I am very excited to be taking part, if a few days late to the party. It is inspiring me to get back into regular blogging, so watch this space!

Other blogs taking part include:

Cupcake Kitteh
Iron Chef Vegan
Unwakeable
The Tropical Vegan
Kblog
BrisVegan
For Esme
Annabananabomb
Twilight and Shadow
Ink and Venom
Vegan, Sixteen

So go and visit them as well!

Cute Cat Photo of the Post:

Today's cutie is Pascall. Pascall was my fourth cat. We got her from the RSPCA at the end of 1993 and she was a gorgeous silver tabby with a delightful nature. Sadly, when she was under a year old Pascall was diagnosed with Feline Leukaemia Virus and a tumour (lymphosarcoma) on her kidney. She was put to sleep on the first day of spring in 1994, less than a year old. I will always remember how she used to sleep in bed with me with her head on the pillow and body under the blankets, just like me. She was a beautiful cat.