A New Year

I am not a New Year's person. I don't do resolutions. I don't really get excited that a change in the year is going to bring all sorts of new changes and excitement. Especially not this year, which was the first time waking up in a new year without any of my girls. I do still have a few food traditions though, because why not. So here they are.

Pumpkin Pizza from Cooking With Kindness: I always make pizza for dinner on New Year's Eve. This year I picked a simple pumpkin and feta pizza from one of my cookbooks (that I haven't really spoken about yet, but eventually will get its own post). Store-bought pizza dough (as opposed to pre-cooked pizza bases) has recently become available here, so I tried out one of them (which I will picture below). I wouldn't use this brand again. Even following the instructions, the dough didn't rise and it was so sticky and hard to spread out that I almost thought I was going to have to abort the whole thing. But, onto the pizza itself. I used some Leggo's Pizza Sauce to spread on (rather than just some crushed tinned tomatoes). It is topped with roasted butternut, sliced shallots, kalamata olives, Sheese Feta, and some leftover mozzarella sauce I had in the freezer from another cookbook. It was a wonderful mix of salty and sweet, and the feta and the cheese sauce melted into a wonderful stretchy mess.
Rating: :)





Normally we follow up our pizza with some pie for dessert. I rarely make pies, they are effort, and this is one time of year I will make something fun. But this year, there was no energy or excitement for it. So I just went the easy route by heating up some individual Nanna's Vegan Apple and Rhubarb pies in the oven, and serving with some ice cream from my freezer stash.



Marmalade Pancakes from Chloe's Vegan Italian Kitchen: New Year's Day is pancakes for breakfast day. And I am glad that I found the energy to make these as they were really nice. These had marmalade and dark chocolate chips gentle mixed through the batter. I got six regular sized pancakes and two bitty pancakes out of this. The recipe suggests serving dusted with powdered sugar, but that was a step too far for me for breakfast, so we went with maple syrup. Also served with some grapes. My brother lives in Spain with his partner and near her family, and apparently at midnight on New Years it is traditional in Spain to eat green grapes. I certainly was not up at midnight, but these were a nice fresh addition to our breakfast table.
Rating: :)



Black-Eyed Peas from Vegan Diner: After pizza and pie and pancakes, I like my New Year's Day dinner to get back to basics with beans and greens and grains. I often will make something involving black-eyed peas, as these are traditionally served in parts of the US. Aside from brief moment in time, we can't get tinned black-eyed peas here, so it involves having some home cooked in the freezer, which I did not have. But I did have some dried one, and this recipe blessedly calls for those. I had soaked them over night before cooking. I made a half recipe of this, which gave three serves over rice. I left out the capsicum, but also added some chopped tomato and a lot of baby spinach (this recipe on its own doesn't have greens in it).
Rating: :)



It is Easter Monday as I write this, and I am still waiting for my COVID test result. I don't have any food traditions with Easter except for a lot of hot cross buns, which I achieved. I also had bought a few vegan Easter eggs I was looking forward to trying yesterday, but because I have been sick my appetite is a bit wonky so I will save them for another time.

Recipe Round-Up: Vegan Diner

Vegan Diner by Julie Hasson is a wonderful book full of really delicious food. As the name implies, it focuses on 'classic comfort food'. You can see my other posts about it here.

Home-Style Loaf, (Garlic) Mashers, and Rich Brown Gravy: This homey combination made for a great cold weather dinner. The loaf is based on tofu, soy (or beefy) crumbles, oats, and walnuts. I used a bag of Beyond Meat Beefy Crumbles for this. It was very nicely seasoned, full of soy, ketchup, mustard, and sage. I cut this into 8 thick slices, and leftovers were good on sandwiches. The mashed potato recipe is simple and a bit cheesy from nutritional yeast. The skins are left on for a chunky mash. Although the recipe title in the book is Garlic Mashers, there is no garlic in the actual recipe, only in some of the variations. I just made them straight up. I made a half recipe of the gravy, which was plenty for serving with the loaf. This was a tasty gravy, though not brown in the Australian sense of gravy. But it tied it nicely together, along with some steamed green beans.
Rating: Loaf :), Mashers :), Gravy :)



Diner House Salad: The basis of this salad is the Diner House Dressing recipe from later in the book. It is a mix of balsamic, soy, and flax oil. I didn't have flax oil (or the variation of hemp oil), so I just used extra virgin olive oil. I found this to have a very strong vinegary and salty taste straight off the bat. Perhaps the flax oil would have mellowed it a bit? Perhaps due to the quality of my vinegar? The salad recipe in the book mixes greens (I used baby cos), carrot, and sunflower seeds (along with raw onion and hemp seeds, both of which I left out). I found the dressing in this mix to be a bit too overpowering. Two days later I used the leftover dressing on a suggested salad variation with baby spinach, apple, dried cranberries, and slivered almonds. This combination was great! The sweetness in the salad offset the dressing, plus I think the dressing mellowed after two days in the fridge.
Rating: :| to :) depending on salad ingredients.





Skillet-Baked Panko Cutlets: I've had this recipe marked to make for the last couple of years. Finally I made it and why did I wait? It involves a bit of advance work, you have to make and chill the Italian Sausage Cutlet recipe from later in the book, but once that is done it all comes together so fast. I made a half batch of the cutlets to make a half recipe of this. The cutlets say they make 9-11, I made four out of my half batch so they may have been a bit bigger. But they steam up great and firm up so well in the fridge. When it comes time, they are dipped in seasoned flour, a curdled milk mixture, and then panko before being fried, topped in a very easy to make tomato sauce, sprinkled with mozzarella (optional but really essential, I used Follow Your Heart), and then put under the grill/broiler in the oven. This was AMAZING! The cutlets turned out so well, they were so tender and juicy. I served mine over some baby spinach and a rice/quinoa mix, and had a leftover one in a sandwich. MAKE THIS!
Rating: :D (For the steamed and cooled cutlets on their own: :), though the possibilities are pretty endless.)



Double Chocolate Strawberry Pie: Another recipe that I had marked to make for ages, I finally made it last year for my parents' wedding anniversary. A chocolate sandwich cookie crust filled with a chocolate cream, covered in strawberries, and drizzled with a chocolate drizzle. I didn't have vanilla milk, so used a combination of plain oat milk and some vanilla extract in the filling, which was quite soft even after setting. The filling and the drizzle both call for strawberry or raspberry liqueur. Being a non-drinker, I didn't feel like getting a big bottle for a few tablespoons, so I used some strawberry extract instead. This pie had lovely flavours, and looked quite pretty to boot.
Rating: :)



Basil Spinach Spread: I made a half recipe of this. It is really a pesto, with all the expected pesto ingredients as well as some basil. I made sandwiches with mine, it is lovely with tomato and some chicken style slices.
Rating: :)



Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Every Vegan Diner post I make has to end with the same photo of Sahara, trying to taste test the Biscuits and Gravy recipe from the book. I miss her trying to stick her face into my dinner.

VeganMoFo 2016 #6: Mac and Cheese and Me

6th: Comfort food – Something that always cheers you up.

When I am needing some comfort, there is nothing better than falling headfirst into a great big pile of vegan mac and cheese. I actually had no opinion on mac and cheese before going vegan, it wasn't something I really ate that often. Of course now, I am obsessed! And I know I am not the only one, I suspect there will be quite a few comfort food posts dedicated to this glorious creation. In honour of mac and cheese, I present a short round up of some of the special times we have had together.

I can never forget the amazing mac and cheese party I had with Helen and Molly during my last trip to Seattle! All the different types of vegan mac and cheese we could find in the freezer section of Wholefoods and similar... plus some kale salads for balance.



Last year, in Austin, I had a delightful mac and cheese stuffed Kolache from Bistro Vonish. A little sweet in the dough, but loads of fun!



I love the mac and cheese at Veggie Grill. I am still waiting for their global expansion to Australia!



I am always grateful that I got to try the Mac and Cheese Burger at White Owl Social Club in PDX before they took it off the menu.



Everyone in Seattle knows about the delicious Mac'n'Yease at Plum. One time I went and they had Smoky Mac, which is even better!



And of course, I love making Mac and Cheese recipes at home! My favourite is the Cheezy Mac from Vegan Diner by Julie Hasson. It is a cashew-based mac and cheese that will blow your mind!



Mac and cheese is such a fun food, and there are so many more things I have done with it. Grilled mac and cheese, mac and cheese jaffles, mac and cheese burritos or tacos, mac and cheese nachos, mac and cheese pizza... really, the possibilities are endless for this glorious and happy making food.

What is the most unusual way you have eaten mac and cheese?

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



When I moved away to uni, Possum stayed at home with my parents. But I couldn't be without a cat for too long. Regular readers will know Dim Sim very well, she is on the blog a lot. My perfect little black princess! She was found as a teeny kitty in a horse paddock, and adopted by myself and two housemates at uni. But it became clear that we were destined for each other, and we have been together ever since. Actually, as I was writing this she just gave a little mew from her chair. Dim Sim says hi!

Recipe Round-Up: Vegan Diner

Vegan Diner by Julie Hasson is a fabulous book, and everyone should get it immediately if you don't already have it! You can see my other posts about it here.

Chocolate Chip Skillet Pie with Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream: I'll be honest, I don't have an oven-proof skillet, so I used a 9-inch round cake tin for this recipe. When the pie first came out of the oven, it was all puffy on top but then collapsed in when I started to cut it. But this is OK, because what you get is wonderfully crunchy on the top and sides but warm and gooey on the bottom - perfect! The ice cream is also a great recipe. I loved the melted chocolate drizzled through the ice cream. It made a bit of work for the machine, but it got spread all the way through in wonderful crunchy chunks.
Rating: Pie :), Ice Cream :)



My Big Fat Greek Scramble and Breakfast Potatoes with Peas and Onions: So the potatoes were meant to have capsicum, but I subbed it out for some peas instead. These were nice, with the potatoes going all crispy and brown and the onions being lovely and sweet. I did need to add quite a bit of salt to it though. The scramble was full of onion, olives, garlic, herbs and spinach, and I used chopped tomato rather than capsicum.
Rating: Scramble :), Potatoes :)



Very Sloppy Joes: I always think sloppy joes are fun, and this is a great recipe. Based on TVP and mushrooms, with an amazing blend of spices. I could just eat this mix all on its own.
Rating: :D



Jambalaya: This makes up a big pot, which is great for company or for leftovers. It is full of onion, celery, sausages, tomatoes and peas (in place of capsicum). I searched online and found Creole seasoning recipe to make up a little batch of for this, because I've never seen Creole seasoning here. The recipe calls for two sausages to be sliced and added, but I could have done with more. It also got a bit burnt and crunchy on the bottom of the pot, which was pretty delicious.
Rating: :)



Veggies and Dumplings: When the nights cool down, a big pot of this will be exactly what you need. A cheezy broth with veggies topped with delicious dumplings. The dumpling mixture is quite sticky, but it cooks up well. The recipe says to drop small spoonfuls of dough into the stew, I just kind of pulled bits of and plonked in smallish chunks. It is topped with my favourite herb, dill. So good!
Rating: :D



Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies: While I am working through all the chocolate chip cookie recipes I have in all of my cookbooks, this is my favourite. They come together so quickly, and with simple ingredients, and they bake up perfect and delicious.
Rating: :D



Banana Breakfast Bars: If you have some bananas going soft, Julie has you covered with this super yummy bar recipe. I just made a half batch in an 8x8 inch tin, but I kind of wish that I had made the full amount. They are very good! Truthfully a bit sweet for breakfast if you ask me, more an afternoon snack, but whenever you eat them you will enjoy them.
Rating: :D



Pineapple Coconut Cream Pie: I know, I know. What am I doing making a coconut cream pie given my coconut issues? But this isn't all coconut cream, it is a mix of silken tofu and coconut milk. I also made this about four years ago, according to the date on the photo, which was before my coconut fat issues really took off, but I don't think there would be enough here to really have an effect anyway. I do really love the combination of coconut and pineapple, and this was super excellent! It did set, though was still a bit oozy. We can't get graham crackers here, so I used digestive biscuits for the base.
Rating: :D



Chocolate Mint Truffle Pie: This is a super rich pie! The base is made out of Oreos, and the filling is a mix of tofu and a lot of melted chocolate. I am often suspicious of chocolate mint things, they generally taste like someone put toothpaste in chocolate, but I am happy to report that this was just right.
Rating: :)



Chocolate Cherry Cake: It's no secret, I love chocolate and cherry together. This cake is so good! The cake has cherry pie filling mixed though the batter. I couldn't find any tinned, so I made some from Vegan Pie In The Sky to use. I also had some cherry brandy essence that I used in the cake and the topping. The cake is topped with a delicious cherry chocolate ganache. It is so rich, but amazing. It seemed to make a lot of batter, so I used quite a tall sided baking pan (a metal one, even though the recipe says glass). It rose very high, but then sunk in the middle a bit when it cooled. That was OK though, I just filled that little hole up with extra ganache and a pile of cherries. Oh so good.
Rating: :D



Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



I used this photo to end my last Vegan Diner post, and I think I will probably use it again in future posts as well. Sahara snuck up to check out the time I made biscuits and gravy from the book. I thought she was going for the broccoli, which is her favourite of all, but she was quite curious about the gravy! She isn't allowed to have any people food anymore, due to her IBD. Poor girl.

A New Year

A new year happened a couple of days ago. To be honest, I am not big into the whole new year celebrations/resolutions/etc thing. Last year was the first time I had gone anywhere for new years in a long time, and even then I left before midnight. And this year I was definitely feeling the homebody and early to bed vibe.

Despite my bah-humbug attitude, the last couple of years a tradition of pizza on new year's eve has developed (except for last year when it was on new year's day on account of rare social engagement), and fun food is something that I can always look forward to. Because I was working on new year's eve until 5pm, I bought some random vegan-friendly pizza bases from the grocery store. Normally I make Julie Hasson's pizza dough, which can be made several days ahead of time and then shaped on the night. However, I just wanted to come home and put things on pizza without any additional steps, so I bought made ones. They were obviously not as good as homemade pizza bases, a bit too heavy and dense. But still nice.

The first pizza I made was the Indian Buffet Pizza from Bake and Destroy. This pizza has several steps for the toppings, but I made them all the day before on my day off so they were ready to slap on when I got home. The bottom layer is a lovely curried madras lentil layer, which I could just eat a bowl of on its own. The recipe calls for one cup (or 180g) of diced tomatoes, but 180g diced up to more than a cup. I had to add some extra water to the mix after adding the tomatoes, because it was a bit dry in the pan otherwise. The pizza is also topped with cauliflower (I roasted it rather than fried it) and peas (the recipe calls for capsicum, but no) before baking. The yoghurt and sour cream based cilantro mint chutney for serving is definitely something I recommend making probably two days before. When I tried it the day I made it it was so salty, I added more yoghurt and sour cream. The next day, serving day, it was a bit better. But the following day it was perfect! It makes heaps more than you will use on the pizza, but is lovely over salad vegetables, or for dipping celery sticks. My crust was only 10 inches rather than 12, but it still took all the toppings.
Rating: :)





The second pizza I made was all processed goodness. BBQ sauce from a squeezy bottle on the base, topped with Tofurky pepperoni slices and some Daiya mozzarella (stashed in the freezer since a previous US trip). And it was delightful!





And here is my pizza plate. With some baby spinach topped with extra chutney.



For dessert, I made the Banana Pudding Pie from Vegan Diner. I had brought home some Vanilla Creme Newman-Os from the US specifically for this recipe, so I decided it was high time I used them up! You will need a deepish pie plate for this. The crust is made from ground up cookies and margarine. Sliced banana is layered on the bottom of the baked crust, which is topped with vanilla pudding. The pudding goes very thick when it gets cool, so don't let it cool too much before spreading it over. I chilled mine overnight, and it cut up beautifully the next day. The only issue is that some of the base stuck on the bottom of the pie plate, but that may have been because I greased with margarine rather than shortening. This was a fun dessert, but super sweet because it turns out Newman-O Vanilla Creme biscuits are ridiculously sweet.
Rating: :)



I started the new year with a green smoothie for breakfast and leftover pizza for lunch. I am happy to report that the pizzas also passed the most important test, leftover slices were even better cold the next day! I really think cold leftover pizza is the best pizza. Hoppin' John (black eyed peas and greens) is certainly not a traditional new year's day dish in Australia, but I had some black eyed peas in the freezer (you can't get them tinned here) and I have a lot of recipes for it, so I thought it would be fun. And honestly after eating pizza and pudding pie the night before, a bowl of beans and greens sounds pretty good!

I didn't make a traditional version, rather I made a Middle Eastern dish that also fits the bill: Lebanese Sleek from Quick-Fix Vegan. This has zataar spiced black eyed peas and silverbeet, as well as having bulgur cooked right into it as well. A great one pot dinner. I used some of the new coarse bulgur I had found (most of the time I can only find fine bulgur). The recipe calls for soaking for 15 minutes before adding it for a final 10 minute simmer. I was worried because the packet said to cook for 20 minutes, but after a 15 minute soak in hot water it was almost cooked anyway. I took the suggestion to serve with some Tzatziki Sauce, also from the book, which was very garlicky but a lovely addition. I got three servings from this, rather than four.
Rating: :)



I hope everyone did have a good new year, however you chose to celebrate or not. I am not one for new year resolutions, but I do have some fun things I am looking forward to this year. The exchange rate is not conducive to another US trip this year, sadly, so instead I will do some travel closer to home. I will be working at all five OzComicCon's this year, which will see me take my very first visits to Perth and Adelaide, as well as to Melbourne, Sydney and my hometown Brisbane. I am off to Sydney in a few weeks just to hang out and eat food, which will be nice.

I am also hoping to keep up my current trend of much more active blogging! I still have a million recipe round-ups to share with you, which will only keep growing as I keep cooking, and I have been eating out in Brisbane a lot more recently (you may have noticed in the blog posts!) so will continue to do this. I might throw in some product reviews, and I am keen to do some spotlights on organisations or blogs that I love as well. And of course, cute kitty photos will continue!

Thanks to everyone who does read this little blog!

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



I wish I could say this was a new year miracle that will set the tone for inter-cat relations for the next year, but this was taken a couple of weeks ago. Sahara on my lap, Dim Sim on her blankie next to me. They appear to be looking at each other, but there are no grumbles or fights. A true random day miracle!

Recipe Round-Up: Vegan Diner

Vegan Diner by Julie Hasson is a must have book for any kitchen. It contains within beautiful, glossy pages several of my 'best of' recipes, including mac and cheese, BBQ sauce, ribs, beer bread and chocolate chip cookies. If you don't have this book, you should go get is straight away! Let us now see some of the tasty treats I have made!

Cheezy Mac and Garlic-Roasted Brussels Sprouts: I cannot say enough how amazing this mac and cheese is, it is perfect smoky, cheesy deliciousness. The variation of stirring through some grated cheese (I used cheezly) leads to an extra rich sauce, though even without it this is amazing. James recommended that I add a few drops of umeboshi plum vinegar, which makes it extra special. The Brussels sprouts have raw garlic sprinkled on at the end, but I prefer to add the garlic in the last five minutes of baking. (If you are wondering, they are some steak-sauce glazed sliced Sanitarium sausages on the side of the plate).
Rating: Mac :D, Brussels :)



Barbecued Ribz with Garlic-Dill Potato Salad: These ribs come together so effortlessly, plus they contain peanut butter! After baking, the ribs are brushed with Rough Rider Barbecue Sauce (aka the BEST BBQ sauce in the world). You are meant to finish the ribs off in a grill pan, which I don't have, but they are still amazing done in a frying pan. These are soooo good! The BBQ sauce takes a little bit of time to simmer on the stove, but it comes together super easily and is worth it. The garlic and dill potato salad is coated in a delicious, tofu-based Homemade Garlic Mayo (if you have a chance, let it sit for a bit, the flavours really mellow and mingle!). This salad is super garlicky and super dilly - yum!
Rating: Ribz :D, BBQ Sauce :D, Potato Salad :), Garlic Mayo :)



Quick and Hearty Chili and Sweet Cornbread: This chili lives up to its name - it comes together very easily and the combination of TVP and red kidney beans makes it very hearty! It has a lovely savoury flavor, which includes cocoa powder. I took the option of reducing the sugar in the cornbread, and it was still pretty sweet, but went nicely with chili. It is a very simple recipe.
Rating: Chili :), Cornbread :)



Banana Chocolate Chip Bread: It is rare that bananas get a chance to get ripe in this household (my dad is a banana addict), but when they do I jump at the chance to make baked goods. This recipe smells great and tastes even better!
Rating: :D



Biscuits and Creamy Sage Gravy: Biscuits and gravy are not something that is part of my Australian upbringing, so thanks America for introducing me to this! American gravy also tends to be a bit different, more creamy. This gravy is laced with nooch and ground sage. The Fluffy Biscuits come together easily and are super cute! I served these with the Tempeh and White Bean Sausage Patties from VWAV.
Rating: Gravy :) , Biscuits :)



Garlic Dill Bread: I have made this so many times, it is so good! It is a beer bread, and I normally use a Cooper's Pale Ale for this because it is nice and mild in flavour. Adorably, this recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of chipped dill, but I add in as much as I can!
Rating: :D



Home-Style Veggie Noodle Soup: This is simple and classic, carrts and celery in a noochy chicken-style broth with spaghetti. Great for a quick dinner on a cold night.
Rating; :)



Smoky Spinach and Tomato Salad: This involves a few components, including Smoky Curls (see below) and a Creamy Tomato Dressing, but once you have these it comes together in a snap. It has such lovely flavours. The dressing is nice and thick, with an unexpected smoky flavour.
Rating: Salad :), Dressing :)



Smoky Soy Curls: We don't have soy curls themselves here, but we have similar products. Though I made this with actual Soy Curls that I brought home from the USA. This recipe is easy and creates a delicious, snackable end product. They are are the star of the salad above, but can be used in so many other ways, such as this BLT-style sandwich!





Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Sahara loves broccoli! Sadly she can't have it anymore because she has inflammatory bowel disease, which is managed with medication and a very strict, very non-vegan diet. But this photo was taken in other times, when she could sample the wares. The broccoli lured her up to the table, but she was also very interested in the gravy!