Lammas 2022

The year keeps on going, the wheel keeps on turning. As each sabbat occurs, I continue to celebrate through food.

Lammas (2nd February, 2022)

Lammas is a harvest festival, especially celebrating grains such as wheat and oats, and occurs at the height of summer. Here our summer just never ends! Traditional foods include wheat, bread, grains, corn, fresh fruits and vegetables, and berries. Especially blackberries. Here's what I made!

Overnight Oats with Elderflower Cordian, Yoghurt, and Melted Berries from Bowls of Goodness Grains & Greens by Nina Olsson: I started my day with some lovely oats. Blackberries are traditional lammas berries, and people often drink elderberry wine as well. I don't drink wine, but I do have some elderflower cordial from Ikea in my fridge! This was a lovely way to start the day. I didn't heat the oats up in the morning, because it is hot here. But I did accidentally add the extra water that you are meant to add when cooking to the oats the night before, so they were a bit runnier than I would normally have. Topped off with the melted blackberries (very easy to make), fresh blueberries, peanut butter, and cocoa nibs.
Rating: :)



For dinner, I made a few different recipes to make a really nice plate of food.



Mexican Roasted Corn Salad with Avocado (Esquites) from Salad Samurai by Terry Hope Romero: This lovely salad was the perfect way to celebrate corn during a hot time of year. The corn is grilled on the cob in a grill pan, before being added to coriander and celery (I used celery in place of jalapeno and raw sacallions) and doused in a lovely cashew based dressing. It is topped with avocado and tomato, though I ended up mixing the tomato through the rest of the salad. I sprinkled it with some smoked paprika rather than chipotle powder. I made a full recipe of dressing, but only a half recipe of the salad, so I had a bit of dressing leftover. I used it as a spread on a salad sandwich the next day.
Rating: :D



Balsamic Grilled Zucchini from Chloe's Vegan Italian Kitchen by Chloe Coscarelli: I had my grill pan out for the corn, so this was a good way to get some more use out of it. This recipe is so easy, you just grill slices of zucchini, then drizzle with balsamic vinegar!
Rating: :)



Miso-Garlic Cheese Bread from Epic Vegan Quick & Easy by Dustin Harder: Bread is a traditional lammas food, but rather than making my own from scratch I used a delicious sourdough bagette roll I bought from Coles to make this amazing bread. Just sliced the roll in half, score, and spread with miso/butter and mozzarella (I used FYH). I realised I forgot to put the Italian seasoning on top, but no matter. This stuff is delicious! I made a half recipe because there were only two of us eating. It's a super easy recipe to scale up or down. The recipe calls for a long baguette, but as you see I used a roll and you can really use any bread you want.
Rating: :D



Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Doing a thing where I just go into my saved photos and open a random one to share with you. Here are Sahara's perfect paws.

VeganMoFo 2019 #22: T is for Terry Hope Romero

Terry Hope Romero has authored a number of vegan cookbooks, both with Isa Chandra Moskowitz and on her own. This post will be focusing on recipes from her solo books that I have. I have three of her books. I don't have Protein Ninja, because that book uses a lot of protein powder and I am not a protein powder person. And I don't have her newest book, Show Up For Salad. But that is only because I haven't ordered it yet, but I will be getting in. Terry knows her way around salad!

Coconut Samosa Potato Salad from Salad Samurai: This is definitely my favourite of all Terry's books, and why I am so keen to get her new salad one. There are so many fun and inventive salads. You can see what else I have made from this book here. This recipe involves a potato salad (with chickpeas and herbs), drenched in a warm curry dressing (which I made with mild curry powder and no cayenne), and topped with coconut flakes and crunch. The book called for crushed papadum, but I used an Indian snack mix. A really nice combination.
Rating: :)



Pad Kee Mao from Vegan Eats World: Trust me to take the spicy out of the spicy drunken noodles. This was delicious, just thinking about it makes me want to eat it immediately. I used the pad thai noodle variation (because I couldn't find fresh rice noodles), and I had some baby corn to use up so I added that as suggested as well. The drunken noodle sauce is so good, though I had to make a few substitutions. This book relies heavily on specific ingredients! I couldn't find a Golden Mountain Sauce that didn't have an animal bi-product number in it, so I used a blend of regular soy and Worcestershire sauces. I also used two tablespoons of sweet soy sauce, as I didn't have any Thai black soy sauce. Oh yeah, and I left out all the chili. But seriously, it was delicious. Did I mention that? As well as corn, it also had wombok, carrot, scallions, tofu, and lots of herbs. I couldn't find thai basil, so I just used regular. Can I be eating this again now? (Check out what else I have made from this book here.)
Rating: :D



Quinoa-Corn 'Chowder' with Limas and Aji from Viva Vegan: On a very rare occasion, usually with this book (see other round-ups I have done here), I will add a very small amount of aji amarillo (a Latin chile paste) to a recipe that calls for it. I have a bottle and it is a speciality ingredient so, I guess that is why I am trying to slowly use it up in tiny amounts. I always use less than required, my goal is for a very gentle mild warmth. For this soup, I used 1 TBS (instead of two) and it was a bit on the spice side so even less! This is a nice combination of a soup, very good for cold nights. Quinoa, potato, corn, butter beans, and tomatoes are in this creamy soup. And it is topped with parsley, avocado, and crushed peanuts.
Rating: :)



Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Dim Sim sleeps in my bed with me every night, tucked up next to my side with my arm around her, under all the covers. But before I go to sleep, she sits next to me while I read. And sometimes I tuck her into bed.

VeganMoFo 2018 #6: Recipe Round-Up: Salad Samurai

Once there was a time when a sad little salad was all a vegan might expect. But salads have come a long way since then, and now feature happily on menus, in cookbooks, and on my table. The number one salad resource has to be Salad Samurai by Terry Hope Romero. Full of amazing salads that are filling, exciting, and taste amazing, I can't recommend it enough! You can see what else I have made from this book here.

Spring Herb Salad with Maple Orange Tempeh Nibbles: A lovely, fresh combination of greens (I used baby spinach rather than baby rocket/arugula), parsley, dill, strawberries, radishes, and snap peas. Also green onions, though I left those out. The lemony dressing gave it a strong citrus overtone, which my dad really liked. It is topped with some Sriracha & Smoke Pecans, and some delicious Maple Orange Tempeh Nibbles.
Rating: Salad :), Nibbles :D, Pecans :)



Lentil Pate Banh Mi Salad Rolls: Don't be fooled, these are very filling! They are packed with a black lentil pate... though mine was just a regular brown lentil pate as I have never seen black tinned lentils. They also are filled with cucumber, cos (romaine), carrot, radish, coriander, and pickles. I left out the spring onions. I also didn't have any mini pickles, so I cut longer pickles into slices. The only downside for me was that I found the dipping sauce of soy, vinegar, and mustard too salt.
Rating: :)



Green Curry Lentil Quinoa Salad: This salad says it serves two, but I got three filling serves from it. Pineapple scented quinoa is mixed with lentils, basil (it was meant to be Thai, but I couldn't find any), tomatoes, greens, and pineapple... I left out the option chile and also the scallions (raw onions don't suit my stomach). The green curry dressing is pretty light on the chile to begin with and has the option to leave it out all together, which of course I did. I found the dressing had quite a strong lime flavour on its own, but went really nicely with the salad. Topped with toasted coconut flakes.
Rating: Salad :), Dressing :)



Mushroom, Barley, and Brussels Havest Bowl: A great autumn salad! My barley took longer to cook and needed more water than the recipe stated, but then it was clear sailing. I just would have loved some more mushrooms, I recommend doubling the amount if you are a mushroom lover like I am. The Brussels sprouts are shredded and massaged in a basic maple mustard dressing. While the dressing on its own is good, I recommend taking the option of adding some extra Creamy Maple Mustard Dressing on top. It is creamy from cashews, and is an excellent addition to this salad.
Rating: Salad :), Dressing :)





Grilled Miso Apples and Brussels Sprouts Salad: This serves two, and I was just serving myself so I made a half batch. I never got around to seasoning my grill pan, so I used my George Foreman grill for the apples. Be careful, it made them go very soft very fast! The Marvelous Miso Dressing is mellow on its own, but became quite salty in contrast to the sweet apples. Just a note, there are sesame seeds in the photo of this in the book, but none in the ingredients. So decorate as you wish!
Rating: :)



Fresh 'Fig' and Tempeh Salad with Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing: Years ago I ate a fig and got a mouth full of ulcers for my trouble, so I haven't really eaten once since then. So I used pear instead in this salad, and I am not sorry I did. I used a mix of baby spinach and shredded kale for the greens here, instead of rocket/arugula and radicchio (I am not a fan of rocket and I couldn't find any radicchio). This salad also features some of the amazing Maple Orange Tempeh Nibbles that I mentioned above. The Creamy Cilantro Dressing is great! With cashews and miso and fresh coriander. I left out the chile.
Rating: Salad :), Dressing :D



Monday Night Red Bean and Rice Salad: I made this on a Monday, though you can obviously make it any day! Brown basmati rice, kidney beans, celery, tomatoes, and peas (instead of capsicum) are doused in a cajun pesto dressing. This says to serve chilled or at room temperature, I ate it at room temperature and it was really nice.
Rating: :)



Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Two sleepy tabbies. Possum and Gizmo were not the best of friends. Gizmo was the dominant cat in the house, so he was a bit wary around her. But they were still able to be near each other.

VeganMoFo 2017 #15: Five Spice

15th: Spicy! – Talk us through your spice rack or cook with your favourite spice.

For MoFo 2015, I talked about how much I loved cinnamon, and it is indeed my favourite spice. But I've already posted about that, so for this year I thought I might talk about my favourite spice blend, which is Chinese Five Spice. It includes cinnamon! There are different variations on this blend, and recipes for making your own, but I normally use a store bought one that has cinnamon, star anise, cloves, fennel and pepper. It is very good!

To celebrate five spice, here are a few dishes I made from different cookbooks that feature it.

Five Spice Teriyaki Bowl from Bold Flavored Vegan Cooking by Celine Steen. I was lucky enough to test for this cookbook, and this was one of my favourite recipes. Celine has a super quick teriyaki sauce recipe in the book, which forms the base of the sauce. She also has a five spice blend recipe, but I used my pre-made one. The recipe calls for 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons, I used the full amount being a five spice lover, and I could have maybe added a touch more. I served mine over rice rather than noodles, and I left out the capsicum and added a bit of celery for crunch.
Rating: :D



Flying Massaman Curry from Vegan Eats World by Terry Hope Romero. This curry uses a combination of garam masala and five spice to make a quick curry paste with shallots and garlic. Mixed with peanut butter and coconut milk, it was a quick and easy way to get a really nice flavour. The curry also has tofu (I used the savoury baked tofu recipe from the book), potatoes, broccoli and cherry tomatoes. The curry paste was meant to have chile and cayenne added, but I left them out for a nice mild result. I did have to add a bit of water to the curry paste to get it to blend easily, but it didn't seem to dilute the flavour.
Rating: :)



Vanessa Kabocha Salad from Salad Samurai by Terry Hope Romero. Another coconut, peanut and five spice creation, the sauce for this salad is absolutely delicious. The salad itself is a mix of steamed kabocha, edamame and green beans. It is meant to be served over red cabbage, but I served mine over a mix of cabbage and baby spinach as too much raw cabbage is not good for my stomach. I think this would benefit from roasting the pumpkin, rather than steaming, and you could easily use butternut instead. The recipe calls for steaming the pumpkin, then adding the edamame and beans on top to finish steaming, but then to remove the beans and edamame from the pot at the end of cooking to blanch. Removing them from the pot with the pumpkin was quite time consuming!
Rating: :) (but sauce alone is :D)



I had hoped to make some five spiced cookies (Wholegrain Vegan Baking, also be Celine, has a couple of recipes with five spice in the mix), but I ran out of time. But definitely keen to make them in the future. Five spice scented ginger cookies? Yes. Peanut Butter Five Spice Sriracha cookies? Yes. One day in my future!

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post - Month of Sahara



Speaking of cinnamon, my favourite cinnamon of all was of course Sahara. Her colour is called cinnamon here in Australia (in the US they just call it red). Her fur perfectly matched the colour of my hair! You always had to be careful about any flowers or plants that Sahara could get access to, because as you can see she loved to sniff them. I love this photo of her.

VeganMoFo 2017 #8: Recipe Round-Up: Salad Samurai

8th: You do make friends with salad – A salad to win anyone’s heart.

Salads can be very, very sad things, but they shouldn't be. A good salad is an absolute delight, and can range from a simple side salad to a meal-sized salad packed full of flavours and textures for a more filling meal. Salad Samurai by Terry Hope Romero is a must for any salad lover. The book is divided into salads for each season, as well as an additional 'Sweet and Savoury' chapter. You can see what else I have made from this book here.

East West Roasted Corn Salad (Summer): This is a creamy, sweet corn salad. It is meant to be a bit spicy, but I only used a smidge of sriracha for a gentle heat. You can make your own cashew dressing or use vegan mayo. I only had a jar of Melrose mayo to use up, which isn't really that good, so that is not the salads fault. Vegenaise forever! As well as corn, the creamy dressing also coats coriander, basil (I used regular), lemongrass tofu and tomatoes and is topped with some garam masala toasted coconut. I also served this over some brown rice with some baby spinach.
Rating: :)



Spinach and Sweet Potato Crunch Bowl (Fall): The green here is meant to be collards, but we don't have those here so I subbed chopped baby spinach instead. This is such a lovely combination! Roasted sweet potatoes, black beans, Sriracha & Smoke Pecans and a lovely smoky orange vinaigrette. The pecans are very easy to make in the oven. I made a third of the recipe to serve with the salad, and I decreased the sriracha for a gentle heat only. I served the salad with some hot fresh bread rolls, which were great for mopping up leftover dressing from the bottom of the bowl.
Rating: Salad :D, Pecans :)



Gingery Beets & Lentils with Tahini and Agave Nectar (Winter): This salad is just a fabulous combination of flavours. The beets are roasted and tossed with lentils, carrots (which I also roasted), lots of parsley and a ginger orange vinaigrette. I cut down on the oil in the vinaigrette a little so it wasn't too oily for me. Then it is all drizzed with delicious Lemon Tahini Dressing and some dark agave. The lemon tahini dressing is super easy to make, and quite delicious. I only ended up needing about half the recipe for this, but it was more than OK to have leftover dressing on hand. I served it all over some baby spinach.
Rating: Salad :D, Dressing :)



Avocado Tofu Breakfast Bowl with Carrot Ginger Dressing: Salad bowls for breakfast? Yes please! Corn, cherry tomatoes, black beans and greens make the base of this bowl, tossed with some Carrot and Ginger Chia Dressing. I also tossed through a bit of leftover quinoa I had. This is topped with avocado and a Smoke & Spice rubbed tofu. I only needed half the amount of rub to coat my tofu, and I found the tofu on its own a little bitter and dry, but all is fixed when it comes together. It is all topped off with crushed sweet potato chips. The carrot and chia dressing is drinkable, and super easy to make.
Rating: Bowl :D, Dressing :D



Cute Kitty Photo of the Post - Month of Sahara



Nothing was safe from Sahara making a bed on it, she loved all the layers to be underneath her. Anything left on the bed, be it clothes or an empty laundry bag (as seen here), she would make it her snooze spot.

Recipe Round Up: Salad Samurai

Salads are not what they used to be. I enjoy a big salad made up of whatever is lying around for lunch several times a week, and they are anything but boring. Boring salad makes me sad. Also hungry. If you are looking to take your salads to the next level, Terry Hope Romero has created Salad Samurai just for you! And for everyone else. This book is packed full or imaginative, delicious and filling salads that will have everyone wanting to eat their veggies. The book is divided into chapters by season, so I have listed what season each recipe belongs to. Some of the recipes also require that you make some other recipes from the Dressings or Toppings sections, so I have mentioned those recipes specifically, and have also noted which recipes are self-contained. Forget everything you thought you knew about salad, and dive in!

Blueberry Tamari Greens Bowl (Spring): This is a refreshing recipe. It makes 2 servings, but I scaled up for three people by using more baby spinach and big Lebanese cucumbers. This recipe has a simple tamari-based dressing, but does require two other recipes to be prepared for it - the 5-Spice Tamari Almonds (the recipe calls for 1 cup but I just used the entire recipe of almonds) and Ginger Beer Tofu. The almonds are delicious! I didn't chop them, I just left them whole because I was lazy. They would be great for snacking. I needed to give them an extra five minutes in the oven to get a good glaze on them. The tofu was okay, but I didn't get much of the ginger flavour coming through. Also needs much longer and higher temp in the oven for it to absorb all the marinade.
Rating: Salad :), Almonds :D, Tofu :|



Asparagus Pad Thai Salad (Spring): This salad uses a fun mix of cooked Pad Thai noodles and raw ribbons of asparagus. The asparagus was really nice in this, and softened up in the lime-based shallot dressing. I doubled this recipe to serve four people, though I still used a single batch (500g) of the Lemongrass Tofu, which you will need to make in advance. The lemongrass tofu has quite a lovely and sweet flavour, though the lemongrass could have been a bit stronger.
Rating: Salad :), Tofu :)



Couscous with Snap Peas and Za'atar Dressing (Spring): Israeli couscous is fun to eat. In this salad, the soft and chewy balls mix with crunchy radish and snap peas, plus soft chickpeas (which were meant to be chopped but I did not because lazy). The za'atar dressing is a delightful flavour with everything in the bowl. I did use chopped dried apricots instead of figs in this recipe, because I am not a fig fan, and it was great. This salad does not need any additional recipes prepared in advance.
Rating: :)



Pesto Cauliflower & Potato Salad (Summer): This yummy and very green salad is a great twist on the regular potato salad. I roasted the cauliflower in little pieces, rather than grilling and then cutting it. As well as cauliflower and potato, peas are also included (I love peas), and it is all coated in a basil pesto dressing that is very quick to put together. Great for a summer gathering! This recipe doesn't require any other recipes to be prepared in advance.
Rating: :)



Avocado Amaranth Bhel Puri Chaat (Summer): The amaranth part of this recipe involves popping raw amaranth in a pot, and I completely failed at this. It pretty much just burnt, with a couple of little pops, so I just left that out all together. The tamarind and maple vinegarette was quite acidic, even when I served over baby spinach (my own addition). The salad itself is made up of a yummy combination of cashews, avocado, black beans, mango, tomato and coriander with bhel puri mix... my mix had cashews and peanuts in it because it was the only one I could find. I left out the onion. This salad goes soggy quickly, so you should eat as soon as possible! I did have some leftovers, and though they were soggy they still tasted OK, and I served it with some rice which helped balance out the acidity. This recipe says it serves 3-4, but it was really two big servings. You don't need to prepare any recipes in advance for this salad.
Rating: :)



Miso Edamame Succotash Salad (Summer): This salad is amazing! It is sweet and crunchy and creamy and salty, with a great texture! Edamame, snow peas (the recipe called for snap peas, but I couldn't find any), tinned butter beans, corn and celery. I couldn't find any shiso leaves, so I left them out. I also left out the raw onion. The Marvelous Miso Dressing is made in advance, but comes together quickly and is very yummy.
Rating: Salad :D, Dressing :)



Backyard Buffalo Ranch Caesar Salad (Summer): I got 3-4 servings from this salad, rather than 2-3. The slaw is cabbage, carrot and celery, which is quick to shred and put together. You need to make three other recipes for this salad. The Back at the Ranch dressing is a simple and creamy cashew based dressing (I used parsley, dill and chives as the herbs). I made the Red-Hot Saucy Tofu into Very Mild Heat Tofu. Instead of using 3 TBS of hot sauce, I used 1 TBS of hot sauce (Franks) and 2 TBS of V8 juice. It was tasty and mild, just as I like it! Finally, you need to make some Classic Croutons, which are quick and tasty and nice and crunchy. Put together, you get a very nice salad. The leftovers are lovely in a wrap!
Rating: Salad :), Dressing :), Tofu :), Croutons :)



BBQ Tempeh 'N' Dilly Slaw Bowl (Summer): This is a pretty fun salad. The BBQ tempeh comes together quickly in a frying pan (I used maple syrup as the sweetener option in the sauce). For the slaw I used red cabbage and left out the raw onion. I like this salad because it has lots of dill - half a cup in fact. I can never have too much dill! The salad is tossed with the Back at the Ranch dressing, and it is topped with BBQ potato chips. I couldn't find any vegan BBQ potato chips, so I used BBQ pringles. I think it would be better with a sturdier chip. I got trhee servings out of this salad (rather than two) and served it over some baby spinach as well.
Rating: Salad :)



Broccoli Peanut Lemongrass Rice Salad (Autumn): This salad is delicious! You get big servings, but they are not too heavy. You can definitely eat a whole serving without feeling heavy afterwards. The lemongrass and shallot dressing is fantastic! I used black rice in this salad. I also added the optional That 70's Tofu (250g worth), which is a classic and tofu marinade including aple cider vinegar and tamari. Yum! I was lazy and used garlic powder rather than crushed garlic in the marinade.
Rating: Salad :D, Tofu :)



Smokehouse Chickpeas & Greens Salad (Autumn): This is another delicious salad. The chickpeas come together quickly in a frying pan and are delicious, they taste so good! Make them and snack on them or add them to everything! I was eating this salad alone, so I halved most of the rest of the ingredients and enjoyed a lot of chickpeas (I snacked on the extra). The salad has baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, carrot and avocado. I left out the raw onion. This salad does not require any other recipes to be prepared in advance.
Rating: :D



Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Flashback photos to three kitties sunning themselves. Dim Sim, our sadly departed Possum, and Sahara.

Second Christmas!

My little brother lives in the UK, but he has just come home for his first holiday here in two and a half years. He got in late on the 2nd, so on the 3rd we had second Christmas. Yay! This was a lighter affair than first Christmas, but was still very yummy.

Fiery Fruit and Quinoa Salad from Salad Samurai by Terry Hope Romero: This was the centerpiece of the meal, and I think you can see why. It is a stunning salad! Quinoa, black beans, lots of herbs, grilled onions, grilled peaches, roasted corn kernels (these were meant to be grilled but I was just using a little George Foreman grill, so I cut the kernels off and roasted them) and a great Chipotle Chia Dressing. I only used about half the amount of chipotle in the dressing as called for, which gave it a nice smokey mild heat without it being anything scary. This was so delicious!
Rating: Salad :D, Dressing :)



Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Moroccan Spices from World Vegan Feast by Bryanna Clark Grogan: My brother mentioned he would like some sweet potatoes with lunch, and these sounded like they would go well. Whole cumin, coriander and mustard seeds are mixed with maple syrup and grated lemon peel. The seeds go wonderfully crunchy and sticky!
Rating: :)



Just some sauteed kale seasoned with Braggs and some garlic powder.



I also fried up some big mushrooms (just regular white field mushrooms, not portobellos) and then glazed them with some HP sauce. They were yummy! And of course some cranberry sauce. I was going to make some myself but we still had half of the jar left from Christmas day so I just used up the rest of that.



Group shot!



On my plate, shortly before heading to my stomach.



After lunch we played our traditional game of Trivial Pursuit - parents vs. kids. Sadly Greg and I lost this year, though we totally would have won if we hadn't talked ourselves out of so many right answers! Oh well.... To go with our trivial pursuit, I made some trifle.



The layers were (from the bottom up):

1. Strawberry Cupcakes from The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau: I had some leftover cupcakes in my freezer that I had been saving for this. I love these cupcakes!
   Rating: :D
2. Strawberry jelly from a vegan packet mix
3. Tinned peach slices
4. Custard made with Orgran custard powder
5. Tofu Whipped Topping from The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau: This was a lovely, sweet cream. It didn't thicken up that much with chilling, but it was still just right for this sort of thing.
   Rating: :)
6. Sliced toasted almonds and chocolate sprinkles

No action shots, because trifle always looks good assembled and then turns into a pile of kind of gross looking slush in the bowl. But it was damn tasty!

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



A special Christmas photo of my beautiful Gizmo on her last Christmas in 2011. I miss her so much.