VeganMoFo #30 - Fusion Challenge! (Again!).

30. Fusion Challenge!

This post originally appeared briefly on day 23 due to some confusion over changing the order of prompts. But only a few people had read it before I took it down, so sorry if anyone is confused as to why it is here again. However, there is a different picture of Gizmo at the end now, so please at least check that out if you did already read this because it is my favourite photo of her.

I cannot believe that the final day of MoFo is here! What a fun month. I had to do a lot of advanced planning and writing to get it done, but it was definitely worth it. I loved the prompt system this year, because it helped to guide and inspire me. So here is my final post for VeganMoFo 2015.

For a long time, I have wanted to get a copy of Fusion Food in the Vegan Kitchen by Joni Marie Newman because it sounds pretty amazing. However, for a long time I have been on a pretty strict cookbook budget, so it has been sitting around in my wish list. I knew it would provide me with the perfect recipe for this challenge, however even if I did break the cookbook budget and order it, it might not be here in time!

Thankfully, Joni has provided some recipes from the book on her blog. There are some pretty tasty looking ones here, but I eventually settled on Sloppy Joe Pho, and intriguing mix of pho and sloppy joes.



To create this recipe, first you simmer a flavourful pho broth. For this, I subbed in some star anise instead of aniseed. After I simmered for 30 minutes, I didn't have a huge amount of broth left, so I wonder if I was a little too enthusiastic about simmering. The sloppy joe component is TVP-based. I used some chopped carrot in place of the capsicum and also added a bit of extra ketchup once it had finished soaking. For the noodles I found some great Wokka-brand instant brown rice vermicelli noodles, and I used one little cake for each serve. Put noodles in a bowl, top with the TVP mix and ladle broth all over it! Garnish with fresh coriander and green onions, I did not use jalapeno.

I really liked this, it was a good mix of flavours. The recipe says it makes three main dish servings, but I only got three. The third serving, which I took for lunch the next day, was pretty light on broth.
Rating: :)

I can't wait to finally order this book and be able to play with all the fun fusion flavours inside!

And so ends VeganMoFo for 2015. Thank you to everyone who read and commented on my blog and Instagram posts. I have had a great time reading your posts as well, and my blog feed is now bigger and better for it!

Love you guys!

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post: Month of Gizmo



As MoFo comes to an end, so too does my month of Gizmo. I hope you have enjoyed seeing photos of her, as much as I have enjoyed sharing her with you. I miss this beautiful girls every single day, and consider myself so blessed and lucky to have been able to share my life with hers, even if it wasn't for long enough. I leave you with this photo, which was taken on her final Christmas day in 2011. I didn't know it at the time, but I only had three weeks left with her. You can see she is thin and that she has had bit of fur shaved off for IVs and bloods and ultrasounds, but the sweet sweet look sums up everything about her perfectly.