Ostara 2020

Ostara aka Spring Equinox (22nd September, 2020)

Spring has sprung. Actually it sprung awhile ago. In Australia, our seasons start based on the months, so Spring starts on the 1st of September. Where as in the Northern hemisphere seasons seem to start based on solstices and equinoxes, which I like. Anyway, three weeks into our official Australian spring, and Brisbane cranked it up to summer with a few hot, humid days. Thankfully it has cooled off a little bit now. I am very jealous of all my Northern hemisphere friends posting all about Autumn (or Fall, I guess) at the moment. Seeing all those cosy posts... cosy is my happy word.

Many parts of the celebration of Ostara have been folded into the traditions of Easter, which makes sense season-wise if you are in the Northern Hemisphere. In Australia Easter is in Autumn. It is a celebration of new life and fertility. Hence why eggs are one of the featured foods. It is sad that int his modern world, this celebration of life centres so much around products of the trauma and exploitation of chickens. I am so glad as vegans we can avoid this.

Now, onto the food!

Sunday Supper Frittata from Vegan on the Cheap by Robin Robertson: Honestly, who needs eggs when you can have tofu! This is a pretty simple frittata to make: sautee some veggies, blend up the tofu mixture, combine, bake. For the veggies, as well as the called for potato, onion, mushroom, and spinach, I also added some broccoli and grated carrots, and some FYH cheddar shreds and bacon bits because why not. I also realised that I have not been processing my tofu mix enough when I have made frittatas in the past. I don't know how, but this time I gave it some extra time (plus my food processor is pretty powerful these days), and it came out so nice and smooshy. The recipe says to put the tofu mix on top of the sauteed veggies, but I mixed it all together before I put it in the pan. I used a 9in springform cake pan. It baked up and held together really nicely, and as a bonus I have an extra piece to take to work for lunch tomorrow. I served it with some roasted asparagus (lovely spring greens), and after this photo we drizzled on some ketchup.
Rating: :)



Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting from Everyday Vegan Eats by Zsu Dever: A carrot cake is a pretty classic way to welcome Spring, with the bonus being that I love carrot cake. This recipe was super simple to make. I baked it in a 9 inch square baking dish, and while the cake doesn't rise super high it is an excellent size for a snack or dessert without being overpowering. The flavour of the cake is really nice, and not too sweet. The cream cheese icing is also not to sweet, and has that great cream cheese tang to it. I skipped the nuts on top. This cake was great on the first day, but might I suggest that leftovers are even better? After being in the fridge overnight, the flavours really melded that the frosting took on an almost marshmallowy type texture.
Rating: :)



Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



I cannot talk about carrot cakes without thinking of my own little carrot cat. Sahara, my cinnamon Abyssinian queen, posing here with the carrot toy I brought home from the US for them one year. Sahara and I shared our carrot-top colouring. I miss my baby red.