Recipe Round-Up: But I Could Never Go Vegan

Hello! What a difference a few days makes. Since my last post, I had my wallet stolen (I am fine, it wasn't violent, I didn't even know until a couple of hours later, they got some cash, used my credit card a bit, but I am safe and financially will be OK). Some people are just so rude. I am very sad about the loss of my perfect wallet (pink with a cat on it) and my tokidoki strawberry unicorner mini that I had hanging off it. Anyway, let us distract ourselves with some photos of food, and finish off my current round-up from But I Could Never Go Vegan. As always, see my previous posts here.

Warm Lemony Olive Potato Salad: Dipping back into the salads are boring chapter, this is a lovely salad for cooler months. The potatoes are roasted (it says to use tiny potatoes halved, I just used regular potatoes diced). It is tossed with lemon juice (go easy on the amount, I used an Australian TBS and it was very lemony), baby spinach, rosemary, and olives (I used green).
Rating: :)



Potato & Pea Samosa Cakes with Tamarind Sauce: This recipe and the next are from the 'fake meat freaks me out' chapter. This recipe takes a little bit of prep work, but is very tasty so I think is worth it. I made a half recipe and got 8 little cakes. The recipe says to shape them using a cookie cutter, I have no patience for that so I just shaped them by hand and as you can see they look fine. The tamarind sauce was pretty runny though, but it had a nice and tangy taste. I left out the cayenne from the potato mix, and used a smaller amount of mild curry powder as well. As well as potato, there are onion, carrots, and peas. There was meant to be red capsicum but I just used extra carrot. I served this over a microwave spiced rice mix that I found at the supermarket, and with some steamed broccoli.
Rating: :)



Lentil, Chard & Sweet Potato Curry: This may look like a plate of slop, but it is so yummy! It turned our very soupy looking when I made it, whereas in the picture it looks a bit more solid. Food styling? Anyway, the appearance doesnt mated because it was amazing! I used baby spinach instead of chard, and only a little sprinkle or mild curry powder. Served over some basmati rice. This was amazing.
Rating: :D



Broccoli Cheddar Soup: Heading into the 'not soup again' chapter (people get tired of soup?), this soup uses roasted broccoli, chickpeas, and nutritional yeast. I made this during lockdown last year (yes, some actual recently made recipes! I know some of my round ups have recipes I made 10 years ago... oops), and I used frozen broccoli to make this super pantry friendly because it was that time where you really had to think about making produce stretch out a week or two. This recipe could be a bit cheesier and have more broccoli in it, to be honest. The chickpeas gave it a bit of a texture. I served it with some olive sourdough.
Rating: :| (not bad, just could have been more)



White Bean & Portobello Stew: Another lockdown recipe. I actually used this book more over the past 14 months to get a nice bunch of recipes for the round up. One good thing about working through books in alphabetical order for the round-ups is that it encourages me to actually use them so I can make long boring posts. It's OK if you just scroll for the pictures! Anyway, this is a lovely savoury soup. I made a half recipe and got three small servings or two big servings. It has leeks, carrot, celery, portobellos, white beans, and greens in it. The broth has liquid smoke and miso added for extra good flavour. I served this with some garlic bread, not pictured.
Rating: :)

Butternut, Carmelised Onion, & Porchini Mushroom Pizza: From the 'I'd Miss Pizza' section, this is a unique and wonderful pizza! There is nothing meaty or cheesy about it. The recipe is actually for kabocha, but I used butternut because it is easier for my to cut with my dodgy shoulder. I used shallots to caramelise, because my red onion didn't turn up in the order, and I used the Coles Pizza Dough Ball rather than the recipe from the book. The Coles pizza dough is really good and just helps makes things I bit easier. This pizza is 100% delicious, and I really recommend that everyone make it.
Rating: :D



Red Velvet Beet Smoothie with Cashew Cream Icing: There is a chapter about encouraging people to eat vegetables that they don't like, and this recipe is obviously for those who hate beetroot. Other hated vegetables in the chapter include eggplant, avocado (how? why? who?), cauliflower, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts. Note there is no capsicum included. But to be honest, no recipe would entice me to eat capsicum again. Anyway, this smoothie! It is a bit special compared to your basic smoothie. The lovely red velvet part has beetroot, strawberries, banana, dates, and cocoa powder to give a magnificent rich flavour. I used frozen bananas and strawberries to make it cold and thick, how I like my smoothies. The icicng is made by blending soaked cashews, water, and sugar. The icing is a fun idea, but to be honest I preferred the smoothie without it.
Rating: :)



Creamy Curried Tempeh Salad with Dried Cherries and Almonds: From the potluck chapter, though I made a 1/2 recipe for a single serve for me for lunch (my family doesn't like tempeh, sadly). I really liked the flavours in this, I of course used a smaller amount of a mild curry powder. But the dried cherries and almonds were a great addition. It suggests serving them fancy style in endive leaves, on a sandwich, or over greens. I went for the final option.
Rating: :)



Rosemary Lemon Pound Cake: This winter, a friend gifted me several giant juicy lemons from her tree. I juiced them so I can have fresh lemon juice for months in my freezer, I have several whole bottles full, but this recipe was the perfect way to use some up. Plus we have a giant rosemary bush in our yard. This is from the 'you can't bake without butter or eggs' chapter. And it uses silken tofu for binding. It also called for melted coconut oil instead of butter, I used melted Nuttelex. This recipe calls for coconut sugar and agave, so it is not the most pantry friendly recipe. I just always happen to have those in my cupboard. It also has a glaze made from lemon juice and icing sugar, though I left that off.
Rating: :)



Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



As much as losing my wallet hurts, I am glad it was not a bag snatch and that they didn't get my phone. Honestly, my phone would hurt more probably. My support system and friends live on my phone. And it lets me take beautiful photos like this one. After I went to bed, sweet Abby came and sat on my legs while I read for a bit. She does this every night, but I was especially grateful for her comforting little body and sweet face after such a stressful day.