Veganventure 2014: Part 1 (Sydney)

Okay, here we go! Earlier this month I went on an epic Veganventure with my friend and cookbook author extraordinaire, Leigh Drew. This holiday was many months in the planning. Originally it was meant to start with The Cruelty Free Festival in Sydney, however due to location changes they had to change the date to a week earlier than normal so I missed out. However that didn't in anyway diminish the absolutely awesomeness of this trek. Be ready for food photos. Also critter photos. YAY!

I got into Sydney on Saturday afternoon and caught a taxi to Leigh's place. Because she is an excellent host, she had an epic cheese platter ready for us to dig into! Sprout and Kernel is a small Sydney-based company making artisan nut cheeses. Leigh had bought one of all the flavours of their solid cheese! From top to bottom there is Aged Brazil Nut Cashew Cheese, Monster Cheddar, The Original Pepper and Cashew Log, Little Sister Macadamia Cheddar and Aged Cashew Cheese. Unfortunately these cheeses are only available in Sydney, so I was really happy to get to try so many.



Action shot! My favourite was definitely the Monster Cheddar, which was so tangy and kind of gooey. It was almost like eating melty cheese on crackers. Second in line came the Little Sister Macadamia Cheddar, which had a lovely flavour without a trace of the grainy-oily-texture that some macadamia products can have. Next up, The Original Pepper and Cashew Log, which was quite mild and creamy and great for spreading on crackers. The Aged Cashew Cheese was very nice, but definitely outshone by the other three. Finally, the Brazil Nut and Cashew Aged Cheese. This was good, but for me was more of a pate rather than a cheese. I really wanted to spread it on some baguette with some tomato and basil! They do also make a garlic and dill cream cheese spread, which was the only thing we didn't have.



Because it was super hot, Leigh also had provided some Salted Caramel Iced Chocolates from Sadhana. These were so yummy, I am craving one right now thinking about it.



When I lived in Sydney, Green Gourmet used to be one of my favourite places, but I hadn't been there in years. As the awesome pop-up Tacomatose (which had opened at the site of the closed Revolution Foods) had chosen the very weekend before my trip to close forever (so cruel), we decided to head to Green Gourmet with another friend to see how it was these days.

I was thirsty from the heat, so I ordered a coconut and mint juice. Which was actually just coconut juice with some mint sprigs.



Kelsey ordered this Raw Organic Burdock Salad, which was fresh and delicious and I could have eaten bowls of it.



Leigh highly recommended the Crispy Beiking Duck Wrap. This was lovely, though I always find mock duck to have an odd greasy texture.





The Green Beans in Chili Black Bean Sauce were delightful, another definite favourite. The chili was very mild, the black bean sauce was fantastically savoury and the beans had a sweet crunch.



Leigh and Kelsey couldn't quite decide what fried thing to get, so we ended up with Seasoned Salt and Pepper Spicy Nori Slices and Sweet and Sour Pan-Fried Nori Tofu Roll. I really liked the flavour of the Salt and Pepper, though it was a bit dry so we ended up getting some sauce for dunking it in.





One of my favourite things to order when I lived in Sydney was the Monk's Choice Hot Pot, which is full of tofu, bean curd skin, noodles, lotus root, mushrooms, red date, broccoli, carrot and baby corn in a great hoisin sauce. Sadly, while all the great whole ingredients were still in there, the sauce was a total letdown. I don't know what they have done to the recipe in the last seven years, but was just really watery with almost no flavour.



While Green Gourmet has greatly expanded their dessert menu since I was last there (they have a lot of cakes), our sights were firmly set on CreamGlacee. This is fairly new place has a vegan coconut-almond soft-serve that they can use to make many of the delights on their menu vegan. I couldn't go past the Peanut Butter and Jam Hurricane - soft serve, strawberry jam, peanut butter and macadamias. This was so good, the peanut butter flavour had spread through every bite! I could have done without the macadamias, they added an odd texture. Some roasted peanuts would have been great. Leigh ordered the Coco Chanel Hurricane - soft serve, peanut butter, chocolate and cocoa pops. Kelsey had the Peanut Butter Caramel Thickshake, which could basically make the entire world a diabetic - so sweet! These were some pretty large servings after a big meal!!



The next morning, after an evening of peppermint tea and sleeping, we headed out to Suzy Spoon for breakfast. We both ordered the Breakfast Roll, which was full of scrambled tofu and mushrooms, with a side of avocado and hashbrown. Leigh also got a smokey rasher to add to her roll. This was a very filling breakfast.



Of course I also ordered a hot chocolate, as sadly they did not have chai lattes. When ordering drinks at Suzy Spoon you need to make sure to specify that you want soy or almond, as they serve a few different types of cow milk as well.



After some snack shopping for our adventure into Victoria the next day, we headed off to Petty Cash Cafe at Enmore Park, which is a place I had heard a lot about and was keen to try. This omni cafe has several vegan options, though you may find yourself at a share table with some eating a giant stinky pile of bacon and eggs. Blergh.

Leigh had the vegan sausage roll with salad. I tried a bit of the sausage roll, which is something they make from scratch. Lots of fennel!



I had the special - Eggplant Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwich. This was pretty amazing. The eggplant was in no way crispy, but had a great smoky flavour. I would have loved some avocado on here!



To finish up we had some Gluten Free Vegan Black Forest Slices. These were very rich and moist! I was a little put off at first by the use of glacee cherries in here (my least favourite way to have a cherry), but after a few bites it became strangely addictive. They also have an adorable collection of salt and pepper shakers, including these so cute kitty ones! Oh, and we had some unsweetened iced tea as well.



All this in the first 24 hours! My next post will be a little lighter on the food photos, but has something so exciting and adorable I know you won't mind (there will still be food photos).

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Leigh's cat Squeak is always ready to sit in judgement every time I visit.

Lunch at Greenhouse Factory

I have heard a lot of buzz about the fantastic food at Greenhouse Factory, yet another addition to the bounty of vegan places down on the Gold Coast. The day before I left on my trip, I had the chance to have lunch at Greenhouse with Christy Morgan, author of Blissful Bites (see my recent recipe round-up here), who is currently traveling in Australia after hosting a retreat in Bali. She is travelling with her friend Crystal, and Leigh-Chantelle also came along.

The others were running a bit late, and I was feeling a bit under the weather, so I started with an Awake juice (I think that is what it was called?). It was carrot, orange and ginger. I requested lots of ginger, and was very happy with the good gingery burn the juice gave me.



Crystal ordered the Stuffed Sweet Potato with Chipotle Black Bean Corn Salsa, Avocado Cream and Dressed Greens. You can see how amazing it looked, just bursting with all sorts of colours and flavours. I was able to try a bite - so fresh and delicious!



I had to debate with myself a bit about what to order - there were a lot of yummy things on the menu. But I settled on a Creamed Cashew and Chickpea Open Grill with House-Made Dejonaise and Chickpea Fries, which was their version of a 'tuna melt'. This was very yummy, with some lovely thick crusty bread underneath it all. The chickpea fries were fun, though my heart still belongs to potato.



Christy went for the Hearty Start - Tofu Scramble, Kale, Avocado, Tomato, Mushrooms, House-Made Beans and Home Fries. This was a huge plate of food, as you can see!



Leigh-Chantelle ordered the Spinach and Banana Pancakes with Seasonal Fruit, Vanilla Cashew Cream and Maple Glaze (on the side). I tried a bit of the pancake, and found them to be very nice. Not too sweet, but no strong spinach flavour either.



Other things on the menu included a breakfast burrito, french toast, avocado on toast (but with salsa and homefries and beans as well), sushi, raw pad thai and a burger to name a few. There is also a good selection of juices, smoothies and hot drinks. They also have some very delicious sounding Tapas on Sunday evenings.

We sat inside as it was a very hot, sunny day and I have fair, fair skin (note, there is no airconditioning here). The cafe faces onto the street, so there will be traffic to see and hear, but beyond that the view is pretty lovely.



All up I really enjoyed Greenhouse Factory, and I am keen to go back there again. My only sadness is that all their desserts are raw, and as someone who has a reaction to too much coconut oil, most raw desserts are pretty much a no go for me. It is just over an hour drive from my place, so I probably won't be down there with any great frequency given current petrol prices, however it is certainly somewhere I will truly enjoy visiting for a special treat! Their new summer menu is due to be announced soon, I look forward to seeing what it was!

Meeting Christy was really great, she is really lovely. I had to be a bit of dork and ask if she could sign my copy of Blissful Bites.



Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



These adorable brothers came in a while ago. As you can see, they are the best of friends.

Recipe Round-Up: La Dolce Vegan

Tomorrow I will start holiday posting, I can't wait for you to see all the food! But for the moment, here is another round-up.

I wasn't initially going to buy this book, but I ended up getting La Dolce Vegan from a bookstore when they had a two for the price of three cookbook deal. I haven't cooked a whole lot from it. A lot of the recipes seem to be contributed by other people, in particular someone called Wolffie.

Pinto Bean Casserole with Tortilla Chip Crust and Sauteed Cauliflower with Cilantro: This is tasty pie topped with crunchy corn chips and melted cheese, which is a good combination. I used zucchini instead of green capsicum. It is especially good with the optional sour cream. The cauliflower recipe made a nice side, and is actually from The Garden of Vegan.
Rating: Casserole :), Cauliflower :)



Monday Morning Muesli: I love muesli for an afternoon snack. This one has oats, wheat germ, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds and your choice of nuts and dried fruit. I used almonds, cranberries and sultanas, which was a good combination.
Rating: :)



Uber Quick Breakfast Oats: This is one of those barely a recipe recipes - oats covered in milk with fruit and syrup. I seemed to have used some sort of stewed fruit here, I can't remember what it is.
Rating: :)



Wolffie's Fiesta Macaroni Bean Salad: Macaroni (I used 250g) with carrot, cucumber, celery (instead of capsicum), beans and sweet pickle relish, doused in a sweetish dressing. This was sweeter than I was expecting, but was still a nice lunch served over some greens.
Rating :)



Wolffie's Pasta Salad: This was a pretty classic kind of pasta salad - lots of olives and tomatoes and parsley. Definitely use the option nooch (it says vegan parmesan, but in my book that means nooch) in the dressing.
Rating: :)



Claire's Macaroni and Cheese: A very fast mac and cheese, based on melted cheese in the sauce. Of course I added some nooch as well. Very satisfying.
Rating: :)



Red Lentil Pasta: I always love a red lentil pasta dish, but sadly this was a bit bland. You may also need to add some extra stock while cooking. The sauce is also included as a separate recipe in the sauces chapter, as well as appearing here.
Rating: :|



Veggie Goulash: This was pretty tasty, full of veggies. I added some beans for extra protein, and some sour cream on top for extra yummy.
Rating: :)



Cousin Natasha's Everything But The Kitchen Sink Vegetable Curry: Quite a mouthful of a recipe name! While there is a list of vegetables to add, the basic premise is that you can add anything extra that you want. I added some peas and cherry tomatoes as well.
Rating: :)



Veggie Pot Pie: This was pretty nice on a winter's night. I would have liked more vegetables in the filling, I think mushrooms would be great. The pastry recipe is very easy.
Rating: :)





Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



This message is brought to you by Poppy, a kitty in boarding, who thought it would be fun to try blogging when I left my laptop on the bench at the clinic and went to do a consult:
"ghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh b"
As you can see, Poppy is overwhelmed by the exertions of her writing efforts.

Recipe Round-Up: Isa Does It

The newest book from Isa Chandra Moskowitz, Isa Does It was much anticipated. It certainly lived up to all the hype. A beautiful book full of gorgeous photos and, most importantly, some stellar recipes!

Omaha Yakisoba with Red Cabbage and Corn and Sesame Tofu: Who doesn't love a big colourful bowl of noodles and veggies? The noodles are delicious! I used 6oz of dried udon noodles (that I cooked) rather than the precooked variety you can buy as I prefer them. It says it serves two, but they are GIANT serves. But it is so yummy that you won't want to stop. The sesame tofu was super fast to make (no marinade time) and was a tasty addition.
Rating: Yakisoba :D, Tofu :)



Pureed Split Pea and Rutabaga Soup: I scaled this recipe down to one third of the original as I had just enough dried split peas for this. It made one large mug of soup for my dinner (along with grilled cheese and sauteed kale). This is a thick, satisfying soup. I really liked the flavour that the star anise gave it.
Rating: :)



Sweet Potato and Red Curry Soup with Rice and Purple Kale: I subbed in green kale for this recipe because I couldn't find purple kale, so maybe it wasn't as pretty as it could have been, but it yummy regardless. I was cooking for just myself with this, and a half recipe made one big serving. I forgot to put on the sriracha for serving, but it had a nice enough heat for me anyway from the curry paste.
Rating: :)



Shroomy Hot & Sour Soup: I love hot and sour soup, which is amusing for someone who doesn't like things too spicy, a nice gentle heat is my preference. I made this when I was under the weather one day, it is my favourite get better food. I was able to manage my heat preference easily here, and it had a wonderful sour flavour from the rice vinegar. I didn't serve it with the optional chow mein noodles, and got about three big servings from it.
Rating: :)



Harira with Eggplant and Chickpeas: This is in the soup chapter, but is thick and packed full of food - chickpeas, lentils, noodles and eggplant. It says serves 8-10, but we got 4 serves (served over baby spinach).
Rating: :)



Sesame Slaw with Warm Garlicky 'Seitan': For one big dinner, make a half serve of the cabbage mix but a whole batch of the Miso-Sesame dressing (which was a bit spicy). Hell yeah! The cabbage goes a bit soft in the marinade, it is amazing. I didn't actually have any seitan so I used the gluten free option of using some of the Sesame Tofu instead, which was great.
Rating: :)



Sunflower Mac: I am always looking for new mac and cheese recipes, but this left me a little disappointed. It was still good, don't get me wrong, but I found the sunflower sauce was a little bitter and was hard to get completely smooth, it was a bit gritty. Sorry sunflower seeds, cashew still gets my vote. The sauce seemed to make way too much for the 8oz pasta the recipe calls for, but I used gf pasta (I just had some lying around) and it didn't seem to expand as much as regular pasta did.However, you can always find uses for extra cheese sauce! I served this with kale and some sauteed sliced sausages.
Rating: :)



Tempeh Meatballs and Spaghetti: Balls are fun (tee hee), and these are great, tempeh-based and nice and juicy. I got 11 balls out of the mix. They are pan-fried, and I found that I needed to use quite a bit of oil to get them to brown nicely all over. Everything is doused in the Spicy Slurpy Spaghetti Sauce, which is studded with bits of sweet onion and very nice.
Rating: :)



Garden Shiitake and Chard Fusilli: This was a bit meh. In theory garlic, shiitake, tomatoes and silverbeet should got very nicely togehter, but it just didn't quite meld, the flavour and texture was just a bit odd. I included the option of a tin of white beans to bulk it out.
Rating: :|



Roasted Butternut Alfredo: OMG this is so delicious you will never want to stop eating it. The sauce is just gorgeous - cashew-based with mashed butternut, miso and nooch! Hell yes. I served this with some new spelt spiral pasta that I found, which was also really nice. Served with some kale and sauteed Fry's chick'n-style strips. It makes lots of sauce, so there is extra to put on top and mix with your greens.
Rating: :D



Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Dim Sim is thinking about running up the stairs.

I'm still working on the holiday posts, so watch this space!

Recipe Round-Up: How It All Vegan

Hello all! So I am back from a totally amazing vegan adventure. I ate so much food and met so many beautiful animals and amazing people! But I still need to sort out all my photos before I can blog. So in the meantime here is another recipe round-up.

How It All Vegan was one of my earlier vegan cookbooks. I went for a walk to the Glebe book store during a break between classes at uni, and happened to come across this. I was very excited! I spent my afternoon break between classes reading it out on the grass. I don't know how I had so many breaks between classes in one day, vet school is not known for breaks!

Sarah's Delicious Chili with Country Corn Muffins: This cooks up a giant pot of chili, it says six to eight servings, and six servings are giant. It is full of carrots, kidney beans, tomatoes, chickpeas, mushrooms, corn and rice. It includes some curry paste, which is unusual. I made the corn muffins with apple sauce as the egg replacer, which ended up making them quite sweet.
Rating: Chili :), Muffins :)



Scrambled Eggless Eggs: This is a pretty basic tofu scramble recipe, but I like scramble in any form. I added some nooch to it, because that is how I roll.
Rating: :)



Brainless Banana Pancakes: This is a very simple recipe, which is great when you are bleary eyed in the morning and have a desperate need for pancakes. For breakfast serve with some sliced fruit and maple syrup. If you want a dessert-vibe, add some chocolate chips to the batter and fancy up with some ice cream, berries, syrup and sprinkles.
Rating: :)





Apple-Cinnamon Cornmeal Pancakes: Rolled oats, cornmeal and apple sauce go into these pancakes. It is quite a thick batter, so when you cook you need to spread out the batter in the pan or it will be too gluggy. A half batch of these makes three large pancakes.
Rating: :)



Faux Chicken Salad: Tempeh forms the bulk of this salad, which is mixed up with mayo, celery, pickle, onion and herbs and spices. It is very nice served over some green leaves, or will make enough for 5-6 sandwiches.
Rating: :)



Faux Tuna Salad: This uses tofu that has been frozen and thawed, before mixing with celery, carrot, mayo, seasonings and kelp powder. Despite the kelp powder, this was more salty rather than fishy.
Rating: :)



Faux Egg Salad: Lots of faux salads in this book, but they are all really tasty. This uses mashed tofu for the 'egg'. It makes a heck of a lot - a full batch would be enough for about 10 sandwiches! So you may want to make a smaller batch.
Rating: :)



Exquisite Rice Salad: Carrots, raisins, peas and green onions mix up with mustard, cumin, cloves, ginger, turmeric and cinnamon to make a fairly tasty salad, though exquisite may be a bit of an overstatement. I got three servings out of this for lunches.
Rating: :)



Cousin Natasha's Rice and Bean Salad: A pretty standard rice and bean salad, but it is makes a nice lunch. I got four lunch-size servings out of this.
Rating: :)



Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Sahara says hello!